BusinessMirror December 28, 2020 by BusinessMirror

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Monday, December 28, 2020 Vol. 16 No. 81

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 16 pages |

BREACH PLAN FOR 2020 FIRMS, CONSUMERS MORE OPTIMISTIC IN 2021—THINK TANK By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

ILIPINO consumers may become more optimistic about spending in the first quarter of next year as the economy is further opened and more jobs become available, according to a local think tank. In its Market Call report, First Metro Investment Corp.-University of Asia and the Pacific (FMIC-UA&P) Capital Market Research said optimism among firms and consumers are expected to be high in 2021. The optimism will also be supported by expectations that overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances will increase and “more than offset the balance of trade deficits in 2020-2021.” “The further opening of the economy, the relaxation of lockdown restrictions due to the approval and rollouts of Covid-19 vaccines and

TRAVEL BAN Aviation Police Staff Sergeant Christopher Agtarap passes by the flight departure schedule board on December 27. President Duterte on Saturday extended the imposition of a temporary travel ban on all flights from the United Kingdom following reports of a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 in the European nation. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III announced that one of 79 passengers who arrived in the Philippines from the UK tested positive for Covid-19, though it is not yet known whether or not the person was carrying the new strain. Story on A3. NONIE REYES

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE government’s gross borrowings as of November has zoomed past the planned amount for 2020, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed, revealing the state’s steady path to meeting the expected debt level for the year. Continued on A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.0910

the usually ebullient Christmas season, all support the view that 2021 will see a good economic recovery, even though it may not promise to be fast enough for some,” the think tank said. “Low crude oil prices will translate into balance of trade deficits falling below OFW remittances, resulting in even higher GIR [Gross International Reserves]. The country’s winning stance in the battle against the pandemic underpins the growing optimism,” it added. The think tank believes sources of optimism for consumers and businesses also include the availability of vaccines for more people next year. Last week, chief implementer of the government’s national policy on Covid-19 Carlito G. Galvez said the government will soon be sealing the deal for the purchase of 30 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine of Novavax. Continued on A4

In pandemic, PPP project pipeline grows to ₧8.45T By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

ESPITE the pandemic, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center has managed to grow its pipeline of projects in 2020, with total cost of various infrastructure projects—both solicited and unsolicited—reaching a whopping P8.448 trillion. T he agenc y sa id t he project now boasts 233 projects,

of which 176 are under impleme nt at io n . I nc lu d e d i n t he pipeline are solicited projects such as the Mariveles Mental We l l nes s Ce nter, Ph i l ip pi ne Travel Center Complex, Metro Cebu Expressway, Bicol Medical Center (BMC) Medical Arts Bui ld ing and Upg rad ing of Health Services, and the National Economic and Development Aut hor it y ( Ned a) sa Ma k at i Property Redevelopment. Continued on A4

SELL LOW Buyers line up at stores selling jewelry advertised as having a low price tag. Consumption, a key driver of the economy, may have slowly inched up during the holiday season. Still, government has yet to determine if consumer confidence has reached a level that would boost economic recovery. ROY DOMINGO

n JAPAN 0.4641 n UK 64.2688 n HK 6.2032 n CHINA 7.3501 n SINGAPORE 35.9990 n AUSTRALIA 36.1692 n EU 58.5027 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.8185

Source: BSP (December 18, 2020)

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A2 Monday, December 28, 2020

‘RECRUITMENT AGENCIES SHUTTER OPERATIONS DUE TO PANDEMIC’ By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

& Recto Mercene

@rectomercene

OR E rec r u it ment agencies, which were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, have now shutdown their operations, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). “Many of these recruitment agencies have closed down their main offices and branches due to Covid-related economic slowdown. Their numbers are now in the two digits,” POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia told BusinessMirror in a Viber message. He made the remark in response to the statement from the recruitment industry that as much as 600 to 700 Covidaffected land-based recruitment agencies have stopped their operations. Recr uitment consu ltant Emmanuel Geslani attributed this to travel restrictions imposed by several countries in the Middle East. “The overseas recruitment industry, a multibillion pesos business, has nearly collapsed with the Covid-19 pandemic hold on many parts of the world especially in the Middle East where 70 percent is our yearly deployment,” Geslani said.

Based on the initial data it presented during a Senate budget hearing, POEA said the number of deployed this year was 1,394,788 as of last month, which was considerably lower compared to the 2 million for the entire 2019. Of the said OFWs deployed this year, 1,101,040 were landbased and 293,748 were seabased. Geslani said one of the most severely affected were household service workers (HSW), which he said, make up 60 percent of the country’s yearly deployment figures. He said the low deployment in the Middle East is expected to continue up to next year since the top destination for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the region remain closed to foreigners except Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. He also noted that cruise ships in the United States is believed to start operating by the first quarter of this year, while in Europe, “very few cruise operators have started due to limited number of passenger bookings, coupled with very strict health and safety protocols.” “The deployment situation will still be low unless former labor markets open up and allow workers to come in and their own economies start moving,” Geslani said.

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Global economy needs a redesign to cure Covid inequalities–Stiglitz

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

N order to address the inequalities created by Covid-19, renowned economist Joseph Stiglitz has recommended redesigning a new global economy in the post-pandemic era. In an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Blog, Nobel Memorial Prize recipient Stiglitz said the new economy should address the problems created during the pandemic such as vaccine nationalism and ballooning debts. This includes introducing reforms such as using monetary policy that will focus on ensuring full employment and not just inflation, as well as policies that will make accountable those bankers who engaged in predatory lending. “We have an economy rife with market power and exploitation. The rules of the game matter. Weakening constraints on corporate power; minimizing the bargaining power of workers; and eroding rules governing the exploitation of consumers, borrowers, students, and workers have all worked together to create a poorer-performing economy marked by greater rent seeking and greater inequality,” Stiglitz said. “We need a comprehensive rewriting of the rules of the economy.” Reforms, Stiglitz added, should

include corporate governance laws that recognize not just shareholders but stakeholders. He said globalization should also serve more than just corporate interests and that workers and the environment should both be protected. The Nobel Prize winner added that labor legislation should protect workers and provide “greater scope for collective collective action.” According to Stiglitz, “While the pandemic has revealed the enormous cleavages across the countries of the world, the pandemic itself is likely to increase disparities, leaving long-lasting scars, unless there is a greater demonstration of global and national solidarity.” He continued: “As evidence of the disparate outcomes becomes clear, hopefully there will be a change of course. The pandemic is likely to be with us for a while and its economic aftermath for a much longer time. It’s still not too late for such a change of course,” he added. In an analysis, Ibon Foundation Inc. said the recession caused by Covid-19 is unique because it was caused by government policy choices that intentionally restricted economic activity to contain a disease.

No automatic recovery

IBON said the global lockdowns, travel restrictions, and other con-

tainment measures caused economies to tumble this year. The Philippines implemented the longest lockdown in the world. However, Ibon said lifting restrictions will not automatically lead to economic recovery. This is due to the consequences of the decision of governments to impose lockdowns. Ibon said the impact of Covid-19 on the real economy is unprecedented such that the structural damages on the economy has only started to emerge. It warned that the existing imbalances in the economy could lead to a systemic crisis. “This can happen with: too many firms going bankrupt, not reopening, and productive capacity collapsing; unemployment staying too high, incomes falling, and too many households falling into distress; and the banking and financial system correspondingly crashing,” Ibon said. Further, Ibon expressed concern that there is an “unprecedented bloating of debt which lays the basis for a financial and economic upheaval even greater than in 200809.” Much of the debts, Ibon said, were mainly used for corporate bailouts or firms to finance speculation in financial markets instead of Covid responses or social programs. Ibon said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported that governments committed $11.7 trillion to deal with the pandemic and economic collapse—equivalent to some 12 percent of global GDP, and nearly the size of the Japanese, German and French economies combined. It added that the IMF sees public debt in the advanced capitalist centers significantly rising from 105 percent of GDP in 2019 to 126

percent in 2020 and 2021 with the highest public debt levels in Japan at 264 percent of GDP and the US at 134 percent. “Total public debt will be equivalent to 100 percent of the global economy in 2021. These are the highest levels of public debt to GDP ever recorded. In the US, public debt which accelerated after 2008 has spiked even further in 2020,” Ibon said. Last week, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the Philippine government is seeking approval to borrow $325 million from the Manila-based multilateral’s new financing facility. This, the government said, will help the country fund its efforts to procure vaccines for the country. Speaking in a press briefing on Monday, ADB country director Kelly Bird confirmed that the Philippine government has already placed a request to borrow $325 million from the ADB’s Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX). The APVAX was launched on December 11 to offer “ rapid and equitable support” to its developing members as they procure and deliver Covid-19 vaccines. ADB has allotted $9 billion for the regionwide vaccine funding initiative. APVAX has two components. First, the rapid response component where financing will be used for the actual procurement of the vaccine and the logistics cost. Second is the project investment component where the funds will be used to fund the necessary infrastructure to store and distribute the vaccine. The country’s $325-million request falls under the rapid response component, which means that the Philippines will use the funds to buy vaccines for the local population.

GOVT NOV BORROWINGS BREACH PLAN FOR 2020 Continued from A1

The data showed that government’s gross borrowings for the 11-month period have already reached P3.048 trillion, a level that is already slightly above the all-time high nominal P3-trillion borrowing program that was set this year. The amount is also a threefold increase from the P981.9 billion that government borrowed in the same period last year. Nonetheless, National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said the January to November report on government’s gross borrowings reflects the “proper treatment of short-term borrowing from BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas].” De Leon has said in her January to October report that “short-term borrowing from the BSP was reported at P840 billion gross with corresponding amortization of P300 billion, which created the notion of over borrowing.” To recall, the end-October report showed government’s gross borrowings amounted to P3.22 trillion, more than three times as much as the P967.56 billion posted in the same period last year. “To rectify this, BSP short-term borrowing was presented on a net

basis similar to T-bills as true borrowing from BSP is only P540 billion in gross given original P300 billion repo receipts was rolledover into promissory note within the year,” De Leon told the BusinessMirror. “This treatment is consistent with what is prescribed by government financial statistics manual for short-term borrowing.” The data showed the government borrowed mostly from the local debt market, prompting the gross domestic borrowings to rise to P2.46 trillion during the January to November period, equivalent to more than three times as much as last year’s P681.87 billion. Broken down, the government borrowed locally through retail Treasury bonds (P827.1 billion), fixed-rate treasury bonds (P631.74 billion), short-term borrowings from BSP (P540 billion) and Treasury bills (P465.3 billion). Gross foreign borrowings of the government during the January to November period nearly doubled to P583.64 billion from only P300.04 billion in 2019. The state borrowed money from foreign lenders through program loans (P364.64 billion), global bonds (P118.74 billion), Euro bonds (P67.33 billion) and project loans (P32.93 billion). For November, the state’s gross borrowings

skedaddled to P124.04 billion, an eightfold increase from only P14.346 billion in the same month a year ago. Gross domestic borrowings for the same period also jumped 14fold to P114.84 billion from only P8.06 billion in November 2019. Meanwhile, gross foreign borrowings for November this year grew 46.4 percent to P9.2 billion from only P6.29 billion in the same month last year. Given the revenue hit, the government ramped up its borrowing program from P1.4 trillion to P3 trillion this year to cover the expected doubling of the budget deficit as well as to fund state spending requirements for its Covid-19 response. For next year, the government is also set to borrow another P3 trillion. The government has yet to release the data on its outstanding debt as of end-November. Nonetheless, the country’s debt stock as of end-October has already breached the P10-trillion mark, inching closer to the level expected by the government by yearend. Data from the BTr showed the national government’s debt stock amounted to P10.028 trillion, just P100-billion shy of the P10.16trillion outstanding debt level that economic managers had projected for this year. The government’s expected level of outstanding debt for this year is higher by 31.42 percent from P7.73 trillion as of end-2019. The Development Budget Coordination Committee earlier said it expects the country’s debt-toGDP ratio this year to increase to 53.91 percent of gross domestic product—a level it hasn’t seen in over a decade—from a record low of 39.6 percent of GDP last year.

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Senators to resolve rightsizing issues on two new depts pushed by Palace By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

WO priority bills on the Senate agenda requires resolving serious “rightsizing” issues so as to not negate efforts to trim a bloated bureaucracy while creating departments deemed crucial to overseas Filipino workers and for a coordinated and efficient response to disasters. Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri made this clear in a radio interview last Sunday as he listed the chamber’s priorities when it reconvenes January 18. When sessions resume, senators will act on the pending motion of Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon to first decide whether to settle the “rightsizing” concerns that creating a Department of Overseas Filipinos will entail, Zubiri said. More likely, he added, the Labor Committee chaired by Sen. Emmanuel Joel Villanueva will be asked to call new hearings just to take up Drilon’s concern that creating a new department goes against the avowed goal to rightsize the bureaucracy, given concerns that nearly half of the annual government budget goes

to salaries and administrative costs instead of services. Drilon had raised a similar concern about the bill creating a new Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR), which is pending in the National Defense committee chaired by Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson. While he himself authored one of the DDR bills, Zubiri acknowledged Drilon’s valid concern, which he said senators will seriously consider. As the two bills creating the two departments“for OFWs and for disaster resilience” are both tagged priority by President Duterte, Zubiri said if the Executive pushes it, the measures would likely gain approval, but stressed that “we will not railroad” them. “There is a good chance of them passing,” but, Zubiri said, the opposers of the measures must be provided with arguments based on solid data, given their serious concerns. Zubiri, a vice chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said that based on his experience, a “task force” approach such as having the current National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council “will not do.” “We need a full department,” he said.

Marikina bans use of firecrackers, pyrotechnic devices; safety cited

IMING to ensure the safety of Marikina residents this New Year amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, Marikina City Mayor Marcelino R. Teodoro ordered the ban of the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices in welcoming the New Year in the city. With this, Marikina’s annual community-based fireworks display and concert will not push through this year as this constitutes mass gathering, posing coronavirus transmission peril among residents and spectators. Marikina City is conducting the community-based fireworks display every year to prevent the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices to avoid death and other firecracker-related injuries during New Year revelry. Teodoro said the order is in compliance with Resolution 19 of the Regional Peace and Order Council adopting the recommendation banning the use of firecrackers in the National Capital Region this New Year. “I have issued an Executive Order prohibiting the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices in Marikina this New Year. This is to prevent the mass gathering of people and ensure the safety of our constituents,” he said. “Our primordial concern is the health and safety of the public, we do not want them to get infected with coronavirus which has al-

ready claimed lives.” The mayor said that an ordinance disallowing the use of firecrackers in the city will be passed by the Marikina City Council this week. The city government will then soon announce the fines and penalties that the ordinance entails for violators of the firecracker ban in Marikina. The recommendation to prohibit the use of firecrackers was in accordance with Republic Act 7183, which provides for the regulation and control of the manufacture, sale, distribution, and use of firecrackers to ensure the safety of the public. Also, the mayor said that the resolution is parallel with the Department of the Interior and Local Government Memorandum Circulars providing the guidelines on the regulation and control of the use of the firecrackers, including the designation of specific areas for community fireworks display. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, Marikina has imposed regulations on the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices during the New Year’s celebration by holding community fireworks displays at designated areas in the city. Every year, thousands of residents and even people from nearby cities and provinces visit Marikina to attend in the city’s annual New Year’s concert organized by the local government.

Govt wants more children emancipated from labor By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has increased to 340,000 its target number of child laborers it expects to remove from the worst form of child labor in the next two years. Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) Director Maria Karina Perida-Trayvilla told the BusinessMirror they made the adjustment in consideration of the effects of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on their anti-child labor efforts.

“We will adjust target for next 2 years. [The] target for 2021 is 195,000; for 2022 [it’s] 145,000,” Trayvilla said. “The unmet targets will be carried over to next year,” she told the BusinessMirror. T he or ig ina l target of DOLE under the Philippine Development Plan for 2021 and 2022 is 120,000 and 70,000, respectively. For this year, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said they were able to assist 340,000 child laborers and their families.

tourists in the area. “Here in Noveleta Town, we take care of the environment, especially here in Longbeach,” Chavez said in Filipino. Because the place is now clean, the turtles are returning to the shores of San Rafael to lay their eggs, he added. And because the beach is clean, we can also easily see if they have laid or hatched their eggs, Chavez said. Last December 5, locals of said village saw 128 sea turtle eggs on the shore and informed the local authorities for safe keeping of the reptiles. Last January 13, 44 leatherback sea turtle were released in same villages by local officials. Dennis Abrina

Of the said minors, 293,318 were referred for assistance to appropriate government agencies, while more than 47,000 were removed from child labor. Tray v i l l a admitted they were unable to meet their goal of securing 175,000 minors from child labor due to the limited mobility of their personnel and community facilitators due to quarantine restrictions. “With this, DOLE shifted its focus on referring the profiled CLs [child laborers] to appropriate agencies

EXCLUSIVE

for provisions of necessary services and monitoring of their progress,” Trayvilla said. Nevertheless, Bello said they will continue their monitoring of child labor incidents especially during the pandemic. “The pandemic has drawn children of poor families into some worst forms of child labor. This is indeed unfortunate. This is why we had to work doubly hard to arrest the situation,” Bello said in a statement. DOLE is targeting to remove 630,000 minors from child labor by 2022.

Group calls for added measure amid fishing BI starts extended ban in Visayan Sea, Zamboanga Peninsula 14-day ban on By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

N international conservation advocacy group has called on the Philippine government to ensure food and livelihood for municipal fishermen and commercial fish workers during closed fishing season, particularly for sardines and in the Visayan Sea and sardine and other species of fish in the Zamboanga Peninsula. Such complementary measure, according to nongovernment organization Oceana Inc., “is imperative” as it said it expresses support behind the declaration of closed fishing season, underscoring the importance of keeping the country’s fish stock, particularly sardines, sustainable. “The declaration of closed fishing season by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources [BFAR] this year takes a more significant turn because the National Sardines Management Plan was signed and up for implementation,” Gloria Estenzo Ramos, Oceana Vice President, emphasized. “Secondly, we have the rules on vessel monitoring measures also ready for implementation that will help in effectively enforcing the closed season.” The participatory process that the Sardines Management Plan provides can complement the strong enforcement of the closed season, Ramos, an environmental lawyer added. Ramos said “this is an opportunity to engage fishermen, civil society groups, local governments and other stakeholders in crafting the Fisheries Management Plan of sardines as an important element of managing the impact of

the closed fishing season.” “With the spatial and temporal closure in the portion of the Visayan Sea, it is imperative for Fisheries Management Areas through the Management Body and put in place a monitoring and evaluation mechanism that will look into the biological condition of the fisheries resources, and socioeconomic impact of this harvest control measure,” Ramos explained. “This science-based intervention of policies and plans that are developed through the participatory mechanism of the Fisheries Management Area will be most helpful.” Sardines is an important fisheries resource especially in this time of pandemic and calamities when it is one of the items commonly given out to the affected families in relief and emergency response packs. However, our sardines municipal fisherfolk are also among the poorest of agriculture sector that are most in need of this support, Oceana said. In the recently released thirdquarter report of the Philippine Statistics Authority, fisheries registered a 1.9-percent increase in output. It contributed 15.8 percent to the total agricultural production. Bali sardinella or tamban posted a 31.5-percent growth and among the two other fisheries species that posted higher production growths. The others being big-eye tuna with 39.9 percent increment, and blue crab at 25.5 percent. “The sustainable management of sardine fisheries is one of the goals of the National Sardine Management Plan. Part of the plan is to determine the impact of the close

Olive Ridley hatchlings released into sea in Cavite coastal town OVELETA, Cavite—In the middle of preparing for Noche Buena in each households in the country for Christmas celebration in the midst of pandemic caused by coronavirus disease, about 58 newly hatched Olive Ridley hatchlings was formally released into their natural habitat by Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (Menro) last December 24 at Sitio Longbeach, San Rafael IV, Noveleta, Cavite. Ed Chavez, head of Noveleta Menro, helped lead the release together with Board member Davey Christian R. Chua (First District of Cavite) and Arriane Mugol from Cavite Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) witnessed by local residents and

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, December 28, 2020 A3

season and support the provision of job opportunities during the close season. As we continue to grapple with the challenges of the pandemic, climate change and fisheries management.the, our fisherolk bear the heavier burden than any other sections of our population. Ironically, they are our food producers that suffer the most from hunger, barely able to give their children their basic necessities of shelter and education,” Ramos said. Based on the Fisheries Administrative Order 167-3, issued in 2013, portions of the Visayan Sea are closed for catching, selling, and buying of sardines and herrings (tamban/tabagak/tamban-tuloy/ balantiong) and mackerels (hasahasa/gumaa/bulao/alumahan). Meanwhile, the Zamboanga Peninsula’s closed fishing season is for sardines only. The closed fishing season started on November 15 in the Visayan Sea. It will end on February 15 next year. On the other hand, the closed fishing season for sardines in the Zamboanga Peninsula started on December 1, 2020. It will end on March 1 next year. Ramos said that banning commercial fishing in municipal waters is considered one of the harvest control measures that the FMA should enforce. “The use of technology like Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite can be used to detect violations during the close season. The BFAR recently issued the rules for vessel monitoring mechanisms. The installation of tracking device in the commercial fishing vessels will highly improve the enforcement efforts,” Ramos added.

travelers from UK By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

HE Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced last Sunday its compliance to the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to extend for two more weeks the travel restrictions for arriving passengers who have been to the United Kingdom (UK) in the last 14 days. BI Commissioner Jaime H. Morente said the extended travel ban would start after December 31, 2020. Duterte ordered the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) during a meeting last Saturday night to extend the period of the travel restriction on flights from the UK following reports of a new strain of Covid-19 in that country, which is reportedly 70 percent more infectious. “Consequently, all passengers who have been to the UK in the last 14 days prior to arrival in the country are still restricted entry until January 14, 2021,” Morente said. Likewise, the BI also assured that it would hasten the formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations for Executive Order 122 on “Strengthening Border Control through the Adoption and Implementation of the Advance Passenger Information System [APIS].” The BI was initially given 60 days from the publication of EO 122 last December 15, but Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra has recommended its immediate implementation to allow the BI to better trace origins and connecting flights in light of the recent findings about a more infectious Covid-19 strain affecting several countries.

2,700 Pinoys returned home this week–DFA

BOARD member Davey Christian R. Chua of First District of Cavite and his two sons led the release of 58 newly-hatched Olive Ridley marine turtle last December 24 at Sitio Longbeach, San Rafael IV, Noveleta, Cavite. PHOTO COURTESY DENNIS ABRINA

HE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it has brought home this week a total of 2,700 overseas Filipinos, flown in by various airline companies. The repatriation includes those coming from the following countries: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia flights SV 862 and SV 870; from Korea via Asiana Airlines flight OZ 703; from the United Arab Emirates via Philippine Airlines flight PR 659; from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, via Philippine Airlines flight PR 863; from Abu Dhabi, UAE, via Etihad Airways flight EY 424; and, from Dubai, UAE, via Emirates Airlines flight EK 332. Also, the repatriation includes those coming from: Qatar via Qatar Airways flight QR 932; from Turkey via Turkish Airlines flight TK 84; and, from Japan via Cebu Pacifc Air flight 5J 5055. Recto Mercene

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

A4 Monday, December 28, 2020 • Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

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PSA: Farm-gate price of rice hits 7-week high By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

HE average farm-gate price of dry palay (unmilled rice) as of the first week of December grew by 0.8 percent to a 7-week high of P15.97 per kilogram, from the previous week’s P15.84 per kg, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed. “It also rose further at an annual rate of 1.5 percent, from its average price of P15.73 per kg in the same week in 2019,” the PSA

said in its weekly palay and corn price monitoring report. Historical PSA data showed that this is the highest average quotation for dry palay nationwide since the P15.76 per kg recorded in the first week of October, when most farmers started harvesting their crop. The highest average price of dry palay (14 percent moisture content) was recorded in Ilocos Region at P17.55 per kg while the lowest average price was reported in Davao Region at P14.84 per kg, PSA data showed. Despite the uptick in dry palay pric-

es, both the wholesale and retail prices of well-milled and regular-milled rice varieties declined during the reference period, according to the PSA. “The average wholesale price of well-milled rice dropped to P37.5 per kg or by 0.4 percent this week, from its previous week’s level of P37.64 per kg. Meanwhile, it picked up at an annual rate of 1.2 percent from its average price of P37.06 per kg during the same period of the previous year,” it said. “Likewise, the average price of well-milled rice at the retail trade decreased to P41.13 per kg or

by 0.4 percent during the period, compared with its level of P41.29 per kg in the previous week. Also, it declined further at an annual rate of 0.9 percent from its average price of P41.51 per kg in the same week of the previous year.” The PSA said the wholesale price of regular-milled rice fell slightly to P33.46 per kg from last week’s P33.62 per kg but grew by 1.4 percent from last year’s P33 per kg. “The average retail price of regular-milled rice, likewise, dropped to P36.29 per kg or by 0.4 percent

DA extends validity of sanitary permit for imported staple

OLLOWING a dialogue with stakeholders, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it has extended the validity of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC) for rice imports to ensure shipments would arrive in the country. Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar issued Memorandum Circular (MC) 43 which amended his earlier MCs on import rules for rice, corn and wheat. Under MC 43, rice, wheat and corn shipments from Asean countries except Myanmar should arrive in the country no later than 60 days from the issuance of the SPS-IC. Importers are given a 90-day deadline to bring in these commodities in the country if these come from Myanmar and other non-Asean countries. “After consultation with concerned stakeholders as directed in MC 38, the stakeholders suggested some adjustments in the days the SPS-IC must be used after issuance to accommodate possible delays in processing shipment by foreign suppliers,” Dar said in MC 43. “The Department of Agriculture

continues to appeal to importers’ nationalistic sense to ensure the fair and equitable price of local rice by avoiding arrivals of imports during peak harvest periods.” The agriculture chief noted that there is a “need to ensure enough supply and buffer stock to ensure the availability, accessibility and affordability of safe rice” while recognizing that “most of the traders and millers” are cooperating with the DA “to ensure both the well-being of local farmers and producers and national food security.” Earlier, the DA shortened the validity of SPS-ICs for rice imports so that shipments would “arrive when needed” and would not “depress local production prices.” In his MC 38, which seeks to strengthen current import guidelines for plant products against unscrupulous practices and protect domestic farmers, Dar said the amendments to existing import rules aim to prevent unscrupulous traders from “misusing and abusing” SPS-ICs to “avoid their legal responsibilities.” The circular slashed in particu-

lar the validity of SPS-ICs for rice imports to 20 days from 60 days. Based on the MC, rice imports must be shipped out within 20 days and must arrive not later than 35 days from the SPS-IC issuance date for rice coming from Asean countries except Myanmar. Rice shipments from Myanmar and other non-Asean countries must arrive within 65 days of the issuance of the SPS-IC, according to the circular. “There is a need to ensure that imports should arrive when needed and not be used to depress local production prices. Hence, importers should take cognizance of local supply availability and avoid dumping of imports during local harvest periods to benefit our local farmers,” Dar said in the MC 38. Dar ordered the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), which oversees the importation of plant products, to conduct a dialogue with concerned stakeholders to “refine” the new requirements under MC 38. “BPI shall also conduct dialogues with both importers and local producers to assess local supply and

demand appropriately,” Dar said. Citing industry sources, a Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report noted that MC 38 is “likely to restrict rice trade.” The Gain report, which was prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila, has revised downward its rice import forecast for the Philippines for market year (MY) 2020-2021. A rice market year starts from July and ends in June of next year. “Post lowers MY2020/21 rice imports from 2.6 MMT to 2.3 MMT [million metric tons] due to lower SPS Import Clearances issued to date. The Bureau of Plant Industry [BPI] issued 678 SPS-ICs from July to October in 2020 for 490,441 MT, down 53 percent from the 1,187,015 MT representing 1,462 SPS-ICs issued during the same period in 2019,” the report read. “Moreover, the volume of reported rice shipments arriving in the Philippines from July to October of MY20/21 is 500,097 MT [metric tons], 40 percent lower than the same period last year.” Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

New Covid-19 strain prompts PHL to tweak travel rules continued from a8 Foreign nationals currently allowed to enter the Philippines are those who already possess resident visas, the diplomatic corps, heads of multinational companies, those working for foreign nongovernment organizations, as well as balikbayans, even those who are already passport-holders of their adopted countries and their foreign spouses and children. Meanwhile, separate government sources who declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak on the matter, also said the IATF will be meeting this morning to discuss “the final outcome” of an expanded travel ban, if any. A member of the IATF technical working group had apparently recommended a total closure of the country’s borders because of the new virus strain. But, the sources said, “We have to consider our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) whose contracts/visas have expired, homesick, sick, etc. Do we ban them too? And for how long. There are many issues to be settled.” In a related development, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said it “empathizes with the affected families who would not be able to spend the holidays with their loved ones from the UK,” even as it threw its “unequivocal support” to Duterte’s decision to suspend all flights from the UK. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat in a news statement reiterated that ensuring public health and safety takes precedence, even as the IATF carefully reviews the restriction on the entry of foreign nationals into the country. All foreign carriers which had transported passengers from the UK, including those with layovers in other countries such as the Middle East, are also covered by the flight suspension. IATF resolution 90 dated Dec. 22, had also directed passengers in transit from the UK before the flight ban on Dec. 24, to be quarantined for 14

days at the Athletes’ Village in New Clark City “notwithstanding a negative RT-PCR result.” The DOT and DFA were the government agencies that had appealed to allow balikbayans and their foreign spouses and children to come home for the holidays, in a bid to lift the tourism industry and spur the economy.

Local transmission

ALTHOUGH health experts have agreed that travel ban will help in preventing the entry of the new variant that was detected in the UK, they warned that local transmission is still possible. “So, kung nangyari ‘yun sa UK, pwede ring mangyari sa atin [If it happened in UK, it can happen also to us]. Actually, di nga natin kailangang mag- antay ng importation [Actually, we don’t have to wait for that to happen],” said Dr. Anna OngLim, Division Chief of the Infectious and Tropical Disease, Department of Pediatrics at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine during a Department of Health (DOH) media forum. Lim also said it is also possible that a new variant may emerge in the Philippines. Dr. Cynthia Saloma, Philippine Genome Center Executive Director, echoed Lim saying, “it is very possible that locally the virus may mutate.” “And we have to watch out for patients who are immunocompromised,” Saloma said, stressing the need to conduct genome sequencing to monitor mutations. Dr. Celia Carlos, Director of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), noted that viruses like the one that causes Covid-19 are living organisms that can multiply. “If you are watchful of the sequences that have been emerging in other countries, we should also be watchful of the sequences which are emerging in our country,” Carlos said. “We never can tell what type of

changes or mutations can happen even among our isolates. And whether these changes will cause more severe illness or will not be important at all.” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III assured that the government will boost genomic surveillance in the country amid the threat of the new variant. “We support all the recommendations of our experts because we need to strengthen the capacity of our genomic surveillance [and to] institutionalize this as a comprehensive system,” Duque said.

Genome sequencing

SPECIMENS from travelers, who will test positive for Covid-19 from affected countries, will be sent to the Philippine Genome Center, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, and the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health, for genome sequencing. The measure is part of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development’s (DOST-PCHRD) “biosurveillance” to determine if they are carriers of the new strain of Covid-19 from UK dubbed B117, which is said to be more infectious. PCHRD Executive Director Jamime Montoya said the government will also conduct regular genome sequencing for cases in areas in the country, where there are clusters of infection. “We have to bear in mind that the mutations, as was already repeatedly mentioned by the medical experts, will not only happen from outside of the Philippines but can also happen within the country, independent of what is happening outside of the country by virtue of burden of disease infection,” Montoya said during Duterte’s meeting with members of the IATF and medical experts last Saturday.

WHO reservation

THE World Health Organization

(WHO) supported the genome sequencing initiative, but it expressed its reservations about the travel restrictions. WHO country coordinator Socorro B. Zarate-Escalante noted that international B117 infection remains low and happened in countries, which have “very stringent public health interventions.” “The WHO recommendation for now is not to restrict travel but to ensure that our public health interventions are in place and that the country is ready to mitigate any event that this new strain will come into the country,” Escalante said.

Vaccine impact

WITH the emergence of the B117, Edsel Maurice T. Salvaña of the government Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Covid-19, said there is no assurance that existing vaccines or those which are still under development will work on the new strain. “There is no guarantee that it will not continue to mutate and then the vaccine will start to lose efficacy,” Salvaña said. But based on their initial data on B117, he said the existing vaccines are likely to work on it since it has minimal variance from the regular strain of Covid-19. Furthermore, he said vaccine developers have already taken note of the new strain and they may implement the necessary modifications in their vaccines to fight it. Currently, the government is negotiating to secure a Covid-19 vaccine from Novavax, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, Moderna, Sinovac, and Gamaleya. Among the said manufacturers, Pfizer-BionTech, have applied for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of their vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration. The EUA is necessary before a Covid-19 vaccine or drug is allowed for local use. With Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

this week from its previous week’s price of P36.43 per kg. On the other hand, it inched up at an annual rate of 0.2 percent, from P36.24 per kg during the same week of the previous year,” it added. Last week the PSA said that the country’s unmilled rice output this year is on track to reach a record high this year despite the series of typhoons that battered the farm sector. PSA data indicated that the country would produce 19.44 million metric tons (MT) of palay by

the end of 2020. While the agency adjusted downward its estimated production in the October-to-December period to 7.54 MMT, the volume is still higher than the 7.49 MMT produced last year. For next year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will shoot for another record as it has set a palay production target of 20.48 MMT. The DA said it intends to encourage more farmers to plant quality inbred and hybrid rice seeds in rain-fed and irrigated areas nationwide to achieve this target.

Firms, consumers more optimistic in 2021—Think tank continued from a1 Galvez said they will be meeting with the representative of Serum Institute of India (SII), the manufacturer of the Novavax vaccine, to finalize the details of the said agreement. SII has agreed to go through the transaction without the need of any advance cash payments in compliance with Republic Act 9814 or the Government Procurement Act, according to Galvez. Meanwhile, FMIC-UA&P Capital Market Research also said the Philippines is already winning the fight against Covid-19. The think tank said the 7-day moving average (MA) of daily cases has gone down to 1,398 from a high of 4,421 in mid-August. Similarly, the number of active cases has plunged to 21,980 from a high of 83,044 on August 15. It added that the country had “more than enough” beds to accommodate Covid-19 cases and that the death of medical personnel such as doctors and nurses have already been “diminished greatly.” “While the pandemic rages on in advanced economies—usually in temperate countries—and in some parts of Asia (e.g. India, Indonesia, among others), the Philippines appears on the winning side in the fight against Covid-19 based on data provided by our Department of Health (DOH) to Worldometer,” the think tank said. Meanwhile, FMIC-UA&P Capital Market Research said the recent

uptick in commodity prices is a “one-off event” and that inflation would likely be lower in the coming months. Slower inflation will help shore up commodity spending. The think tank estimates that inflation will average 2.6 percent for 2020 and only slightly higher in 2021. The recent increase in inflation, the think tank, can be attributed to Typhoon Ulysses which disrupted the flow of commodities nationwide. The typhoon caused severe flooding in Metro Manila and brought destruction in northeastern and southeastern portions of Luzon. In the first week of December, more expensive food items increased inflation in November to its highest in 19 months, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The PSA said inflation averaged 3.3 percent, the highest since March 2019 when inflation was at the same rate. This brought average inflation for the year at 2.6 percent. The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the restrictions on public transport as a result of Covid-19, persistence of African swine fever, and damage and losses in high-value crops following the onslaught of several typhoons and flooding in November 2020 were among the factors that fueled inflation.

In pandemic, PPP project pipeline grows to ₧8.45T continued from a1 Also included are new unsolicited proposals such as the Operation & Maintenance of Francisco B. Reyes Airport and the New Busuanga Airport, New Metro Manila Food and Transport Hub, Tuguegarao City Septage Management, Iloilo Commercial Port Complex and Dumangas Port, the Davao Sasa Port Modernization, and the Development, Operations and Maintenance of General Santos Port. “These additional projects are currently in various stages of development, evaluation, and approval,” the PPP Center said. “We will continue to seek out more efficient ways to deliver our mandate and provide technical assistance to implementing agencies (IAs) as they pursue PPPs both in traditional sectors—transportation and water supply —and emerging sectors—health, IT, solid waste management and climate resiliency sectors.” Aside from providing Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF) and providing assistance to implementing agencies for unsolicited proposals, the PPP Center has also taken the program to the local government level. Through its Local PPP Strategy, the PPP Center is empowering local IAs, such as local government units (LGUs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), water districts, and special economic zones, to implement infrastruc-

ture development projects to benefit their stakeholders. There are currently 18 local PPP projects in the pipeline, 12 solicited and six unsolicited. “These include bulk water supply projects, solid waste management facilities, IT parks, transport, and tourism projects. The Center also developed a framework for appraising draft LGU PPP codes. It serves as a guide for LGUs in crafting their own PPP code, while the PDMF has a specific panel of consulting firms for PPP projects of Local Implementing Entities in support of the Local PPP Strategy,” the PPP Center said. It highlighted its initiative in providing “capacity building support,” which still continued despite the lockdowns brought about by the pandemic. The center conducted a total of 21 online capacity building activities with 596 participants on different PPP topics, along with five online workshops on developing project concept notes. “The PPP Center will continue to provide its technical assistance to IAs and build a viable pipeline of PPP projects for 2021. This effort is in collaboration with the private sector as a committed partner working towards the country’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and rebuilding the lives of the Filipino people,” the PPP Center said.

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Monday, December 28, 2020

California cases breach 2 million, New Jersey records worst month Men wearing full protective suits against coronavirus take a box containing Covid-19 vaccines from military personnel at the National Center for Storage of the Covid-19 Vaccine, a military run facility, in Bucharest, Romania on Saturday, December 26, 2020. AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

EU launches vaccine rollout, historic day in Covid-19 fight

ARSAW, Poland—Medical workers, nursing home residents and politicians are set to be vaccinated against the coronavirus across the European Union on Sunday, part of an effort by the bloc's 27 nations to roll out shots in a coordinated and equitable fashion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen released a video celebrating the vaccine rollout, calling it "a touching moment of unity" in the battle to protect the bloc's nearly 450 million people from the worst public health crisis in a century. As it turned out, some EU immunizations began a day early in Germany, Hungary and Slovakia. The operator of a German nursing home where dozens of people were vaccinated Saturday, including a 101-year-old woman, said "every day that we wait is one day too many." The rollout marks a moment of hope for a region that includes some of the world's earliest and worst-hit virus hot spots—Italy and Spain—and others like the Czech Republic, which were spared earlier in the year only to see their health care systems near collapse in the fall. It also should ease frustrations that were building up, especially in Germany, as Britain, Canada and the United States kicked off their inoculation programs with the same vaccine weeks earlier. Altogether, the EU's 27 nations have recorded at least 16 million coronavirus infections and more than 336,000 deaths— huge numbers that experts still agree understate the true toll of the pandemic due to missed cases and limited testing. The first shipments of the vaccine developed by Germany's BioNTech and American drugmaker Pfizer were limited to just under 10,000 doses in most EU countries, with its mass vaccination programs expected to begin only in January. Each country is deciding on its own who will get the first shots. Spain, France and Germany, among others, are vowing to put the elderly and residents in nursing homes first.

In Italy, which has Europe’s worst virus toll at over 71,000 dead, a nurse in Rome's Spallanzani Hospital, the main infectious diseases facility in the capital, will be the first in the country to receive the vaccine, followed by other health personnel. Poland is also prioritizing doctors, nurses and others on the front lines of fighting the virus. The central European nation was largely spared the surge that badly hit Western Europe in the spring, but has been hit by high daily infections and deaths this fall. EU leaders are counting on the vaccine rollout to help the bloc project a sense of unity in a complex lifesaving mission after it faced a year of difficulties in negotiating a post-Brexit trade deal with Britain. "It's here, the good news at Christmas," said German Health Minister Jens Spahn. "This vaccine is the decisive key to end this pandemic...it is the key to getting our lives back." Among politicians who plan to get virus shots on Sunday, as a way of promoting a wider acceptance of vaccinations, are Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova and Bulgarian Health Minister Kostadin Angelov. Meanwhile, the first cases of a new virus variant that has been spreading rapidly around London and southern England have now been detected in France and Spain. The new variant, which British authorities said is much more easily transmitted, has caused European countries, the United States and China to put new restrictions on travel for people from Britain. The German pharmaceutical company BioNTech is confident that its coronavirus vaccine works against the new UK variant, but said further studies are needed to be completely certain. The European Medicines Agency on January 6 will be considering approving a second coronavirus vaccine, this one by Moderna, which has already been approved for use in the United States. AP

alifornia’s hospitalizations rose to a new high even as most of the state remained under a stay-home order through the holidays.

The state added 26 new patients to 19,797, though the number of available intensive-care unit beds —hovering near a record low—increased slightly. The number of infections statewide surpassed 2 million this week, and it added 30,375 on Saturday, bringing the total to 2.07 million. It added just 36 new deaths, reflecting a pause in testing at some sites for the holidays. Fatalities totaled 23,983. New Jersey has had about as many cases in December as it did from May through October. This month’s tally is already a record. The state reported 4,000 cases on December 25, bringing its total so far this month to roughly 117,000. From May 1 to October 31, it reported nearly 119,000. Of 458,901 total cases since the outbreak first hit New Jersey in March, just under half were reported in November and December, data show. Hospitalizations from Covid-19 have tripled in that same two-month time period. Nor t h C a rol i n a s u r p a s s e d 500,000 infections over the holiday, reporting more than 19,000 new cases since December 23. The state’s total is now 513,930, the Department of Health and Human Services reported. The state’s weekly-average number of hospitalizations hit a high. Total deaths, trending downward over the last several days, are now 6,526. In New York, state investigators are looking into reports that an upstate health-care agency obtained Covid-19 vaccine doses and improperly distributed them. A press release from Howard Zucker, the state health commissioner, suggested Parcare Community Health Network in Orange County may have diverted the vaccine to people not on the state’s list to receive it first health-care workers and residents and staff of nursing homes. “We take this very seriously and DOH will be assisting State Police in a criminal investigation into this matter,” Zucker said in a statement. Key developments:

Mutant strain found in Canada

The Canadian province of Ontario

announced that it had found two cases of the coronavirus variant now widespread in the UK They were identified as a couple “with no known travel history, exposure or high-risk contacts,” according to a statement. “This further reinforces the need for Ontarians to stay home as much as possible and continue to follow all public health advice, including the provincewide shutdown measures beginning today,” said Barbara Yaffe, the province’s chief medical officer. The lockdown restricts gatherings, limits in-person shopping and prohibits indoor and outdoor dining.

20 Nigerian doctors die from Covid in one week: Report

Registered nurses Robin Gooding (left) and Johanna Ortiz treat a Covid-19 patient at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in the Mission Hills section of Los Angeles on December 22, 2020. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

traveling from the UK, where it is widespread, and in other areas of the country including Veneto, La Repubblica reported on its web site.

At least 20 Nigerian doctors have died from Covid-19 in a week amid a second wave of infections, the Premium Times reported, citing the Nigeria Medical Association. The outbreak has been caused by intense community transmission in nearly two-dozen states. Nigerian health workers had complained of exposure to coronavirus infections due to a lack of adequate personal protective equipment, which has led to more than 1,000 infections among health workers.

Ireland cases accelerate

UK cases stay above 30,000

Portugal on Saturday reported the smallest daily increase in confirmed virus cases since October. There were 1,214 new cases in a day, less than a fifth of the daily record of 6,994 reported on November 19. The number of patients in intensivecare units rose by nine to 513.Portugal is scheduled to start providing Covid-19 vaccines on Sunday, and will begin by giving the shots to health-care workers.

The UK reported more than 30,000 cases for the seventh consecutive day. Saturday’s tally of 34,693 cases is in line with the average over the previous seven days. Deaths were significantly lower at 210, compared to a daily average of 522 for the past week.

Italy cases slow

Italy reported 10,407 new cases, a decrease from 19,037 the day before, and the number of newly-recorded deaths fell to 261. The country on Thursday began what will be the first of two strict lockdown periods as the government tries to curb contact between citizens during the holiday period. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a Facebook post on Saturday that the first doses of the vaccine arrived in Rome. A new Covid-19 strain was found in the region of Campania, which includes Naples, in six passengers

Ireland recorded almost 1,300 new virus cases on Saturday, breaking 1,000 for the second day in a row and taking numbers back to the peak of the so-called second wave of the disease. The government has already brought forward new curbs, closing all bars and restaurants on Christmas Eve and restricting travel for at least three weeks. It hasn’t ruled out a return of tougher measures.

Portugal reports fewest cases since October

Turkey signs vaccine accord with BioNTech

Turkey signed an agreement with Pfizer Inc. partner BioNTech SE for 4.5 million doses of their coronavirus vaccine, with an option to raise it to 30 million. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Friday that an initial 550,000 doses will arrive by the year-end or in early January, state news agency Anadolu reported. Turkey made its first Covid-19

vaccine deal with Sinovac Biotech Ltd. for 50 million doses, saying it found the Chinese vaccine to be the safest as it’s manufactured using conventional methods. But the CoronaVac needs to be administered in two shots, which means the amount Turkey signed for will be enough only for 25 million of its citizens out of a population of more than 83 million people.

Russia allows Sputnik V vaccine for elderly use

Russia reported 29,258 more infections in the past day, with cases reaching 3,021,964. Deaths rose by 567 to 54,226. The country’s health ministry allowed the use of the Sputnik V vaccine for mass vaccination of those older than 60, ministry head Mikhail Murashko said on Russia-24 TV. Russia started a mass vaccination program domestically for people 18-60 years old earlier this month. Authorities have put the effectiveness of the locally developed shot at 91.4 percent.

South Africa sees another daily record

South Africa reported record daily infections for a third straight day, with 14,796 new cases, the health ministry said late Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 983,359. The government rejected allegations that a new variant in the country had spurred a second wave in the UK, and criticized its decision to impose travel restrictions. Several other countries have also halted flights from South Africa. Bloomberg News

Thailand finds new virus EU, UK unveil vast trade pact set to enter force on January 1 clusters in south and east

ANGKOK—Health officials in Thailand said Saturday that two new clusters of coronavirus cases have been found that appear to be linked to a major outbreak discovered a week earlier among migrant workers in an industrial province near Bangkok. The new cases were found in 19 members of a motorcycling club who held a holiday gathering on Lanta island in the southern province of Krabi, and in nine people who were in a gambling den in the eastern province of Rayong, said the Disease Control Department. The first of the motorcyclists to be diagnosed with the virus had come from Samut Sakhon province, where the outbreak among migrant workers occurred. On Saturday morning, 110 new coronavirus cases were reported, bringing Thailand's total to 6,020. Sixty of the 110 were linked to the Samut Sakhon outbreak. At the beginning of December, Thailand had 4,008 cases. The death toll has remained at 60 since early November. Until recently, almost all new cases had been found among people who were quarantined upon arrival from abroad. Cases linked to the Samut Sakhon out-

break, which was first found at a major seafood market, have now been reported in 33 provinces. The Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, which coordinates Thailand's battle against the virus, said Friday that unless social distancing and other restrictions are observed, a nationwide lockdown might have to be implemented by March. Thailand had been considered a success story in controlling the disease by taking early significant measures, including banning the arrival of virtually all foreign tourists. It has recently been seeking to restart its lucrative travel industry, but the discovery of more than 1,300 cases in Samut Sakhon among the migrant workers, mostly from Myanmar, has put the authorities on high alert. Restrictions, including limiting the nighttime hours of public places and temporary closings of schools, have been tightened province by province according to the number of infections. There are 40 active cases in Bangkok, and contact tracing has led to several restaurants and other businesses being closed for decontamination, and the city's schools being shut down for 12 days. AP

RUSSEL S —T he European Union and the United Kingdom made public on Saturday the vast agreement that is likely to govern future trade and cooperation between them from January 1, setting the 27-nation bloc's relations with its former member country and neighbor on a new but far more distant footing. EU ambassadors and lawmakers on both sides of the English Channel will now pore over the "EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement," which contains over 1,240 pages of text. EU envoys are expected to meet

on Monday to discuss the document, drawn up over nine intense months of talks. Businesses, so long left in the dark about what is in store for them, will also be trying to understand its implications. Most importantly, the deal as it stands ensures that Britain can continue to trade in goods with the world's biggest trading bloc without tariffs or quotas after the UK breaks fully free of the EU. It ceased to be an official member on January 31 this year and is days away from the end of an exit transition period.

But other barriers will be raised, as the UK loses the kind of access to a huge market that only membership can guarantee. They range from access to fishing waters to energy markets, and include everyday ties so important to citizens like travel arrangements and education exchanges. EU member countries are expected to endorse the agreement over the course of next week. British legislators could vote on it on Wednesday. But even if they do approve it, the text would only enter force provisionally on New Year's Day as the European Parliament

must also have its say. EU lawmakers said last weekend that there simply wasn't enough time to properly scrutinize the text before the deadline, and they will debate and vote on the document in January and February, if the approval process runs smoothly. Despite the deal, unanswered questions linger in many areas, including security cooperation—with the UK set to lose access to real-time information in some EU law enforcement databases—and access to the EU market for Britain's huge financial services sector. AP

rected that all DOJ resources be made available to assist in the investigation.” Trump said he planned to do a video conference with military personnel following a round of golf at his private club in West Palm Beach. “Going now to make a short speech to service members from all over the world,” Trump said in a tweet. “It is a celebration of

Christmas.” The president on Wednesday vetoed a major defense policy bill that included a pay raise for troops. He said he opposed it because it included language that could result in the renaming of bases that now honor Confederate officers and that failed to strip social media companies of a liability shield. Bloomberg News

Trump briefed on Nashville blast

resident Donald Trump has been briefed on a Christmas morning explosion in Nashville, Tennessee, that police have said they believe was intentionally set. The FBI is leading the investigation into the blast, which wounded three people, shattered windows and damaged buildings in the largely deserted downtown area around

6:30 a.m. local time Friday, the Associated Press reported. Trump, who is spending the holidays in Florida, will continue to receive regular updates on the incident, White House spokesman Judd Deere said. The Department of Justice said in a statement that Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen has been briefed on the explosion as well “and di-

Monday, December 28, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Will the pandemic lead to social revolts?

he Covid-19 pandemic has brought suffering and misery to billions of people all over the world, but its impact is not shared equally. In the US, reports said that some of the very wealthy citizens “self-isolated” on their Hamptons estates or luxurious yachts. A Hollywood tycoon, for example, quickly deleted an Instagram post of his $590 million boat after a public outcry. Even the merely well heeled can feel pretty safe working from home via Zoom and Webex Meetings. Many of the most vulnerable have already suffered terribly due to a lack of government investment in healthcare. Others are living through conflicts, witnessing the erosion of International Humanitarian Law. The International Labor Organization has warned that the pandemic will erase close to 200 million jobs worldwide, and drastically affect the income of another 1.25 billion people, most of them are already poor. The sad reality is that all over the world, the vulnerable populations are left disproportionately exposed to Covid-19 while the rich self-isolate in their mansions. In an opinion article for Bloomberg—This pandemic will lead to social revolutions—Andreas Kluth said that Covid-19 has put a magnifying glass on inequality both between and within countries. Kluth said: “The immediate effect of Covid-19 is to dampen most forms of unrest, as both democratic and authoritarian governments force their populations into lockdowns, which keep people from taking to the streets or gathering in groups. But behind the doors of quarantined households, in the lengthening lines of soup kitchens, in prisons and slums and refugee camps—wherever people were hungry, sick and worried even before the outbreak—tragedy and trauma are building up. One way or another, these pressures will erupt.” Kluth said social unrest had already been increasing around the world before the coronavirus began its journey. According to one count, there have been about 100 large anti-government protests since 2017, from the gilets jaunes riots in a rich country like France to demonstrations against strongmen in poor countries such as Sudan and Bolivia. About 20 of these uprisings toppled leaders, while several were suppressed by brutal crackdowns and many others went back to simmering until the next outbreak. The most misleading cliché about the coronavirus is that it treats us all the same, Kluth said. It doesn’t, neither medically nor economically, socially or psychologically. In particular, Covid-19 exacerbates preexisting conditions of inequality wherever it arrives. Before long, this will cause social turmoil, up to and including uprisings and revolutions. Kluth said it would be naive to think that, once this medical emergency is over, either individual countries or the world can carry on as before. Anger and bitterness will find new outlets. Early harbingers include millions of Brazilians banging pots and pans from their windows to protest against their government, or Lebanese prisoners rioting in their overcrowded jails. “In time, these passions could become new populist or radical movements, intent on sweeping aside whatever ancient regime they define as the enemy. The great pandemic of 2020 is therefore an ultimatum to those of us who reject populism. It demands that we think harder and more boldly, but still pragmatically, about the underlying problems we confront, including inequality. It’s a wake-up call to all who hope not just to survive the coronavirus, but to survive in a world worth living in.”

Cooperation as centerpiece for 2021 Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

ith Covid-19 cases reaching almost 78 million worldwide and more than 1.7 million coronavirus-related deaths, it has become even more urgent to come up with clear strategies for recovery this coming 2021.

Even with the vaccines presenting a very promising solution to our problems, there is undoubtedly more work to be done as far as recovery is concerned. It’s a time to rebuild and climb back up after a really nasty fall. According to the Global Economic Prospect report that the World Bank issued in June, Covid-19 sent the world into the deepest recession it has seen in decades. Trade and investment declined and financial

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his can be the year that never was, with many disruptions, casualties and adjustments in our way of life. Among the most affected was the transport and travel sector. Here is my list of the top 10 transport-related news in this year of the pandemic:

T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “The Covid-19 pandemic provides overwhelming evidence that we need more—and more effective—multilateralism, with vision, ambition and impact...we need more international cooperation and stronger international institutions.” He then announced a $2-billion Humanitarian Response Plan to help the “ultra-vulnerable.” The Asean, the African Union and the EU also met and agreed to band together to fight the pandemic. G-20 members vowed to “rise to the challenge together” by making united efforts to stabilize the global economy. The world’s biggest trade pact, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, was signed in November by 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including Asean’s 10 member-states and China. This is meant to “enhance regional and global economic stability, and facilitate regional economic integration, multilateralism and free trade.”

Top 10 transport and travel news in the year of the pandemic

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markets suffered. Because of the pandemic, there has been an urgent need for policy action to soften the effects, protect the vulnerable communities, and strengthen the countries’ economies to face the challenges. Apparently, the problems are not over as we face a new strain of the virus and as a new series of lockdowns sweeps across several countries. In 2020, some economies chose to

work together, and yet others decided that either isolation or turning a blind eye on the problem was a better strategy. The US, for example, left the World Health Organization and the Open Skies Treaty and established sanctions against other countries. Those who ignored science and refused to work with the medical experts suffered greater consequences arising out of weak disease control and prevention strategies. But the good news is that there are more countries working together, and for them, cooperation is the way to go. To be united against one common enemy strengthens the efforts and opens more opportunities to everyone involved. Friendship and unity are reliable weapons in the face of any adversity, not just the pandemic. It is better to face climate change, racism, poverty, etc. together rather than divided. It is even translatable on a smaller scale: unity within family, community, and country works better than isolation.

1. Global travel comes to a standstill: With the world realizing the seriousness of the virus, countries went on lockdown, barring initially travel to and from China, then later on, other countries, as the virus spread. The airline industry was the hardest hit with more than 90 percent of flights cancelled at one time. Maritime was equally disrupted with cruise ships unwelcome in many ports, then later on parked for an indefinite period. Economists predict years for the industry to rebound even after the pandemic ends. 2. The emergence of micro-transport: As people shunned crowds, public transport became a casualty. This led to the increase in the usage of individual mobility devices, most especially bikes and scooters, as well as people walking. This will have an impact on future urban design and transport policies of many governments. 3. Price of gasoline drops: With people travelling less, the price of gasoline dramatically dropped, signaling what maybe the beginning of the end of the oil era. At the same

time, this served as an opportunity to push for alternative energy. Fuel-related stocks plummeted while alternative transport and energy companies saw an increase in value. 4. Surge of online deliveries: This year saw a massive increase of close to 50 percent in online deliveries as most of us stayed home. Online delivery services fulfilled the need for our basic necessities. This contributed as well to the survival of many business establishments that otherwise would have closed shop and jobs to many displaced workers. 5. The rise of the pre-transport checks: As public transport resumed slowly, safety travel measures were implemented. This included the mandatory wearing of face masks, disinfection of vehicles, temperature checks, health registrations and Covid tests were required before any form of travel. 6. The 15-minute city model: In the same manner that past pandemics reshaped cities then, this pandemic will give rise to the micro-cities where most of the needed supplies and services will be housed within

Indeed, there were many disruptions, casualties and adjustments that we all went through this year. Because of this pandemic, our way of travelling and transporting will never be the same again. There were many realizations and lessons learned. Hopefully, once the lockdowns are lifted, such lessons are not forgotten and the necessary rectifications in how we conduct our businesses on the road would be in place. the confines of communities, making survival better in in any future lockdowns. 7. Realizing the importance of domestic food security: From a global economy that heavily relied on global trade to provide the basic food necessities, the lockdown forced governments to rethink their food security. Future policies are expected to be supportive of domestic food production, including encouraging investments in agriculture and cold chain and storage facilities. 8. The push for cashless transactions: With the fear of transmission via human contact, cashless transactions became the norm to include public transport payments as well as tollway entries. In some cases, this caused much initial inconvenience to many, as transport systems were unprepared. Future technologies are expected to make such transactions seamless for the users. 9. The work-from-home norm: As

most of us were forced to stay in our homes, normal daily activities such as work, shopping, schooling, health checks and even our religious obligations were fulfilled online. There were difficulties initially, but eventually people adjusted. And with better technologies, work-from-home and doing activities from home is expected to become part of the new normal. 10. The rise of domestic tourism: With most international travel limited, interest increased in domestic tourism, even with the many restrictions before one can visit the local attractions. Hopefully, once international lockdowns are lifted, such tourism appreciation will remain, thus helping domestic tourism as well as limiting unnecessary international travel that cause much carbon emissions into our already damaged atmosphere. Indeed, there were many disruptions, casualties and adjustments that we all went through this year. Because of this pandemic, our way of travelling and transporting will never be the same again. There were many realizations and lessons learned. Hopefully, once the lockdowns are lifted, such lessons are not forgotten and the necessary rectifications in how we conduct our businesses on the road would be in place. Thomas “Tim” Orbos is currently a transport policy advisor for an international organization and worked in government on transport and urban development matters. He is an alumnus of Georgetown University and the MIT Sloan School of Management. He can be reached via e-mail at tmo45@ georgetown.edu/thomas_orbos@sloan.mit.edu

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Monday, December 28, 2020

Climate change: A threat Regulatory compliance ecosystem underestimated? By Reynaldo A. De Dios

Joel L. Tan-Torres

hile the world is currently focused on controlling the coronavirus pandemic, it is overlooking the threat of climate change or global warming. A recent report by an Australian think tank disclosed that ecological shocks caused by climate change would adversely affect the poor and under developed countries by 2030! What are some of the risks that may be caused by this underestimated threat? They are as follows: population growth resulting in a heavy urbanization, food insecurity, water shortage, floods, typhoons, droughts, rising temperatures and sea levels. A new risk is the annual forest fires in the USA and Indonesia, causing hazardous air pollution. In addition, it is also feared that climate change could expose new epidemics. The think tank also claimed that at least 60 percent of the countries covered would be exposed to flood threats due to rising sea levels and temperatures caused by the melting of the glaciers in both the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans, thus water and food scarcity would follow as the global population outpaces the world’s resources. A report by the United Nations emphasized the importance of reducing greenhouse-gas emission and limit global mean temperature increase to 1.5 degree Celcius above pre-industrial levels. This was the commitment agreed upon by 153 nations at the Paris Agreement in 2015. It is fortunate that a number of major nations have pledged to support forest protection and other nature-based solutions. In Asia-Pacific, we cite the valued contribution of Mitsui Sumitomo

Insurance Co. Ltd. of Japan, which has partnered with Conservation International Asia-Pacific to support conservation efforts and raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity and nature. MSIG has also launched a knowledge portal to highlight biodiversity conservation. The public can visit the knowledge portal at www.msig.asia.com/ biodiversity. Just recently, Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, in his opening speech at the Climate Ambition Summit held online to mark five years since the Paris conference, called on governments to declare a state of climate emergency and make good on their promises to slash carbon pollution. It was also disclosed that the pandemic lockdowns and restriction of movements have brought down carbon emissions by 7 percent. To cope with calamities and disasters, either natural or manmade, it is vital to invest substantially in resilience measures. A forward step by the Philippines is the proposed Disaster Resilience Department, which will be responsible in managing and organizing national efforts to prevent and reduce disaster risks. The author is the Publisher-Editor of Insurance Philippines.

The silver lining of 2020 By Tyler Cowen | Bloomberg Opinion

or obvious reasons, 2020 will not go down as a good year. At the same time, it has brought more scientific progress than any year in recent memory—and these advances will last long after Covid-19 as a major threat is gone. Two of the most obvious and tangible signs of progress are the mRNA vaccines now being distributed across America and around the world. These vaccines appear to have very high levels of efficacy and safety, and they can be produced more quickly than more conventional vaccines. They are the main reason to have a relatively optimistic outlook for 2021. The mRNA technology also may have broader potential, for instance by helping to mend damaged hearts. Other advances in the biosciences may prove no less stunning. A very promising vaccine candidate against malaria, perhaps the greatest killer in human history, is in the final stages of testing. Advances in vaccine technology have created the real possibility of a universal flu vaccine, and work is proceeding on that front. New CRISPR techniques appear on the verge of vanquishing sickle-cell anemia, and other CRISPR methods have allowed scientists to create a new smartphonebased diagnostic test that would detect viruses and offer diagnoses within half an hour. It has been a good year for artificial intelligence as well. GPT-3 technology allows for the creation of remarkably human-like writing of great depth and complexity. It is a major step toward the creation of automated entities that can react in very human ways. DeepMind, meanwhile, has used computational techniques to make major advances in protein folding. This is a breakthrough in biology that may lead to the easier discovery of new pharmaceuticals. One general precondition behind many of these advances is the decentralized access to enormous computing power, typically through cloud computing. China seems to be progressing with a photon method for quantum computing, a development that is hard to verify but could prove to be of great importance. Computational biology, in particular, is booming. The Moderna vaccine mRNA was designed in two days, and

without access to Covid-19 itself, a remarkable achievement that would not have been possible only a short while ago. This likely heralds the arrival of many other future breakthroughs from computational biology. Internet access itself will be spreading. Starlink, for example, has a plausible plan to supply satellite-based Internet connections to the entire world. It also has been a good year for progress in transportation. Driverless vehicles appeared to be stalled, but Walmart will be using them on some truck deliveries in 2021. Boom, a startup that is pushing to develop feasible and affordable supersonic flight, now has a valuation of over $1 billion, with prototypes expected next year. SpaceX achieved virtually every launch and rocket goal it had announced for the year. Toyota and other companies have announced major progress on batteries for electric vehicles, and the related products are expected to debut in 2021. All this will prove a boon for the environment, as will progress in solar power, which in many settings is as cheap as any relevant alternative. China is opening a new and promising fusion reactor. Despite the absence of a coherent US national energy policy, the notion of a mostly green energy future no longer appears utopian. In previous eras, advances in energy and transportation typically have brought further technological advances, by enabling humans to conquer and reshape their physical environments in new and unexpected ways. We can hope that general trend will continue. Finally, while not quite meeting the definition of a scientific advance, the rise of remote work is a real breakthrough. Many more Zoom meetings will be held, and many business trips will never return. Many may see this as a mixed blessing, but it will improve productivity significantly. It will be easier to hire foreign workers, easier for tech or finance workers to move to Miami, and easier to live in New Jersey and commute into Manhattan only once a week. The most productive employees will be able to work from home more easily. Without a doubt, it has been a tragic year. Alongside the sadness and failure, however, there has been quite a bit of progress. That’s something worth keeping in mind, even if we can’t quite bring ourselves to celebrate, as we look back on 2020.

DEBIT CREDIT Eighth of a series

here are various measures in bringing about transformation in the way government can enhance the regulatory compliance ecosystem. Over the years, the following measures have been undertaken: capacity building and training of government employees, enlightened leadership, incentivizing good performance of bureaucrats, sanctioning below par performance, organizational structure changes, designating champions, oversight by civil society, streamlining of procedures, and anti-red tape legislation. To effect transformation in the delivery of public service towards enhancing the regulatory system, the synergy and combination of these various measures are required. Digital transformation is an initiative that recently has been focused on in the bureaucracy. Digital or e-government presents promise towards improving the delivery of public service. In the Philippines, it is only recently that the apparent champion for e-government was anointed. The Department of Information and Communications Technology was just created in 2016

with the enactment of Republic Act 10844. The DICT was tasked to be the lead agency for governing and overseeing ICT policies and programs, including the framework for 3-governments. In the past, every change of administration results in a change in the policies in steering E-government implementation. The establishment of the DICT is a policy milestone in

the evolution of E-government in the Philippines. The DICT now can be the anointed institution to move forward and mainstream E-Government innovations. Is DICT up to the challenge? One of its first acts upon its creation was the formulation of the EGovernment Masterplan 2022. The EGMP 2022 is the road map for a harmonized government information system. This plan presents the direction for development of the country’s e-Government systems through the digital transformation of basic services such as public health, basic education, and ease of doing business. The services that cut across the whole of government are expected to result in a more cost effective and efficient public services. E -government can increase accessibility of public services to citizens, specifically in terms of availability, speed, cost, and convenience. Businesses can also be provided with more support for easier investment, establishment, operation, and scaling-up. The Philippines has also made inroads in United Nations as published the United Nations E-Government Survey (Survey). This Survey is leading benchmarking reference on egovernment and a policy tool for

Police, victims, and a call for change By Gustavo Gonzalez

he December 20 killing of two unarmed civilians, Sonya and Frank Gregorio, has rightly met with widespread condemnation and ignited the debate about the need for police reform in the Philippines. There are different views emerging in this public debate. Some see the killings as an isolated incident by a “bad cop” who needs to be prosecuted and removed from the police force. Others point to lawlessness and lack of respect for the police, contributing to an “us versus them” mentality. Yet others emphasize a policing culture of addressing crime by resorting to violence and abuse of power. There may be elements of truth in all these views. Allegations are emerging about a string of infractions by the officer involved in the killings that were not adequately addressed. There are also strong indications that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has increasingly relied on the use of force in recent years, resulting in thousands of killings

according to the PNP’s own statistics. Every life and family impacted is precious. But this high number of killings is, in itself, a broader institutional concern. The police officer involved in the incident was caught on camera, and promptly detained and charged. However, in the majority of cases where there are allegations of human rights violations, there are no cameras. Perpetrators are not always brought to justice, and victims are left behind, with a sense of fear and powerlessness. This feeds the conspiracy of silence, where police officers do not report when the rules are broken, and this, in turn, creates an environment in which abuse of power can escalate. Consistency and fairness in addressing

infractions and violations, rather than the imposition of the death penalty, is likely to strengthen the rule of law. In recent weeks, a number of killings, by unknown assailants, of individuals playing a role in protecting their communities have been reported. The killing of two human rights activists in August, of a journalist in November; the killing of two lawyers in Cebu in November and December, respectively, and of a doctor and her husband on December 16 are among the most recent such cases. This impacts negatively on security and development. Human rights treaties that the Philippines has ratified provide clear guidance for addressing these challenges. And cooperation between the Philippines and the UN in areas such as strengthening domestic accountability mechanisms and data gathering can help contribute to a policing culture that seeks to protect its citizens, particularly the most vulnerable, while also recognizing the important and challenging work

decision makers. This was started in 2001 and is a bi-annual report on E-government information on 193 countries. The Philippines did well in the past two most recent Surveys, being ranked 71 in the 2018 Survey and improving to 57 in the 2020 Survey. In the DICT’s task of moving forward the ICT and e-Government initiatives, it is supported by three attached agencies, the National Privacy Commission, the National Telecommunications Commission, and the Cyber Crime Investigation and Coordination Center. The tagline of DICT in pursuing the E-government initiatives is “One digitized government Philippines.” Are we now on track in attaining this? To be continued Joel L. Tan-Torres is the Dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business. Previously, he was the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy and partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co. and the SyCip Gorres and Velayo & Co. He is a Certified Public Accountant who garnered No. 1 in the CPA Board Examination of May 1979. This column accepts contributions from the business community. Articles not exceeding 600 words can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.

police officers face in carrying out their duties. The Human Rights Council resolution adopted by consensus on October 7 of this year, with the support of the government of the Philippines and a large number of member states, has provided a basis for such cooperation. Since the adoption of the Human Rights Council Resolution, the UN has actively engaged with civil society organizations, the National Human Rights Commission of the Philippines and a range of different government actors to set the basis of an ambitious program. However, we should agree that the success of technical cooperation greatly relies on the existence of an enabling environment, with strong commitment to change. The killing of Sonya and Frank Gregorio impacts on all of us. Preventing such killings and ensuring accountability must be our foremost priority. Gustavo Gonzalez is the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Philippines.

Macron and Merkel get the least bad Brexit option Lionel Laurent

BLOOMBERG

he defining image of Britain’s Christmas Eve trade deal with the European Union was a beaming Boris Johnson with his thumbs up in the air. There were no celebratory pictures from any of his continental counterparts.

Getting to this point is a win in itself for the UK. An end to Brexit’s drama should let the Brits reenter a more breathable political atmosphere after almost five years talking about nothing else—other than Covid-19. Avoiding a messy “no deal” will save the economy from a longterm shock that might have cost 3 percent of gross domestic product. Even Nigel Farage is pleased. The European Union, with comparatively less to lose, has less cause to rejoice. The costs of no deal for the bloc would have been relatively manageable, at about 0.5 percent of potential output. It’s also hard to sell the departure of a big member state as a victory, however rocky the historical relationship. European Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen expressed “relief” and “quiet satisfaction” when announcing the treaty, while her top negotiator Michel Barnier reiterated

his view of Brexit as a “lose-lose” for both sides. Yet as officials in Paris, Berlin and elsewhere comb through the fine print of the trade agreement’s 1,250 pages, the EU’s capitals should feel they’ve been handed the least bad way to bring Brexit’s opening chapter to a close. The deal enshrines tarifffree, quota-free trade in goods, which will make a big difference to several member nations. New agricultural levies would hit Ireland hard, given that 40 percent of its agri-food exports go to the UK, its biggest trading partner. Tariffs would cost Germany 8.2 billion euros ($10 billion) of its exports to Britain, and France 3.6 billion euros, according to Euler Hermes. While the level of access being offered to the EU’s single market of 450 million people is unprecedented for a non-member, the bloc has

hardly opened the floodgates. Trade won’t be frictionless. There will be customs forms, regulatory checks and other non-tariff barriers. The deal doesn’t cover services, meaning financial trade and data flows are in the gift of Brussels. France’s Emmanuel Macron, for whom fish became a symbolic Brexit red line, will be happy that UK fleets will take only 25 percent of the current EU catch in British waters, rather than the 80 percent first demanded by Johnson. The Brits have had to give things up. Ensuring the deal has teeth will now be the priority for Von der Leyen. Protecting the single market was key for the EU, and a rallying point for its 27 members against the British threat to compete head-on with a “Singaporeon-Thames” deregulatory drive. An analysis of the provisional treaty by my Bloomberg News colleagues outlines how the UK and EU have agreed to uphold their environmental, social, labor and tax transparency standards to make sure they don’t undercut each other. The punishment is tariffs, subject to arbitration by an independent panel. This sounds rather like being nibbled to death by ducks—as is the case in existing long-running EU trade spats, such as the one between Airbus and Boeing—but if upheld it does offer a sensible deterrent.

Tough geopolitical and strategic questions lie ahead for Brussels and the member states. Brexit redraws the map of European power, halving the number of permanent EU seats on the United Nations Security Council and cutting 40 percent of the bloc’s military capability. It removes 14 percent of the EU’s GDP, making it smaller as a single market, and deprives it of more than $100 billion in budgetary resources. At the same time, the departure of one of the EU’s least enthusiastic integrators—a country instinctively opposed to deeper union—is an opportunity to create a more ambitious and assertive bloc, one deserving of a seat at the superpower table alongside the US and China. It’s hard to believe that the EU’s new $859 billion Covid-19 emergency fund, a historic agreement for fiscal transfers from wealthier member states to their less fortunate partner nations, would have been possible with the Brits in tow. It’s not just Johnson and his fellow Brexiters who want to “take back control.” The EU, too, wants to create a more “sovereign” bloc that’s less dependent on others (namely the US) for its security and prosperity. How it asserts itself with its UK neighbor, whose own vision of sovereignty seems to be the freedom to escape pesky EU rules, will be an important test.

A8 Monday, December 28, 2020

New Covid-19 strain prompts PHL to tweak travel rules By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

& Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

HE reported spread of a new strain of Covid-19 from the United Kingdom prompted Malacañang to extend the restrictions on flights from the UK and the cancellation of face-to-face classes.

In a statement on Sunday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque disclosed that President Duterte approved on December 26 the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) recommendation to prolong the ban on flights from the UK for two more weeks. He said the restrictions will remain in effect beyond the original deadline of December 31.

Duterte also approved the suggestion of the Department of Health (DOH) to make mandatory the 14-day quarantine for travelers from areas that reported the new Covid-19 variant, including Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia, regardless of the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results. The quarantine and testing protocol will be enforced by the Bureau of Quarantine and the Overseas

Workers Welfare Administration.

Canceled pilot study

DUTERTE also ordered the cancellation of the scheduled pilot study of face-to-face classes that will be conducted by the Department of Education (DepEd) starting next month. “This variant attacks even young people. So there will be no face-toface classes,” Duterte said. He said he may consider allow-

ing such scheme by June after the government starts its Covid-19 vaccination drive by the first quarter of 2021.

Expanding ban

THE country still has an existing travel ban on foreign tourists, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), as it sought to allay fears on the possible entry of the new strain. “There are IATF resolutions

allowing certain visa classes of foreign nationals to enter, inc lud ing recent ly, balikbayans [homecoming Filipinos],” said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns Brigido D. Dulay in a Viber message to the BusinessMirror. “Those [foreigners] entering for tourism are still not allowed. That’s the last that will be opened.” Continued on A4

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Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, December 28, 2020

Globe to further expand telco services in Visayas, Mindanao

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

lobe Telecom Inc. aims to “further expand services to other underserved areas” in Visayas and Mindanao, a company official said. Joel Agustin, Globe SVP for Program Delivery, said this plan comes after the telco modernized its network in six locations in Cebu City. “Our target is to further expand services to other underserved areas not only in Visayas but as well as in many locations in Mindanao,” he said.

Site upgrades in Labangon, Guadalupe and Kalunasan resulted in “significant” improvements in upload and download speeds in six locations in the city. Due to its site upgrades, the company said customers in Sitio Kamanggahan in Monterrazas now experience an average upload speed

of 22.8 mbps and download speed of 47.8 mbps from nothing at all. It added that customers in Celestial Garden have recorded a "significant increase" of upload speed to 21.24 mbps and download speed of 15.59 mbps. "Globe subscribers in Sta. Ana Road, Foresthills, Abellan Extension and Martin Heights Subdivision have also noted an improvement in their call, SMS and data services," Agustin said. “Our successful upgrades in Cebu City are an example of how we make connectivity more accessible, efficient and available to a wider coverage to include more customers in the coming New Year." He noted that as Globe builds new sites in the area, the company is focusing on upgrading its existing

network to accommodate the growing demand of customers especially those who are working from home, attending distance learning classes, abs operating a small or start-up online businesses. Aside from Cebu City, Globe is set to finish its various network modernization activities too in Davao City, Cagayan de Oro City, Cebu City, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, Bacolod City, Iloilo City, and Boracay in Aklan until the end of this year. “We need to anticipate the demand for connectivity, bigger data, products and services that will make the most of the limited resources of many Filipino households next year. To do this, we need more towers, better technologies, faster speed and ever improving quality of network service,” Agustin said.

Excelerate LNG permit extended By Lenie Lectura @llectura

he Department of Energy (DOE) has extended the Notice to Proceed (NTP) permit to develop the LNG (liquefied natural gas) project of Texas-based Excelerate Energy LP (Excelerate). “I already signed the extension of Excelerate. If not early this month, late last month,” said Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi. The agency first issued the NTP to develop a floating LNG import terminal in Batangas Bay to Exceler-

Orix to buy Spanish energy firm Elawan

ate in September last year. The permit expired this year but was “just recently” extended by the agency, according to an official of the company’s local partner when sought for confirmation. “Our NTP just got extended. I believe it’s 3 months from date of receipt,” said Michael Acebedo Lopez, Topline Energy Executive Vice President. Excelerate is in the final phases of preparing to commence construction on the Filipinas LNG Gateway project, the country’s first open access LNG import terminal. The terminal will utilize Excel-

erate’s state-of-the-art offshore Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) technology, specifically designed to perform in extreme weather conditions. The technology has been proven at Excelerate’s operations in the United States within the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic, Israel, and most recently, the Bay of Bengal. With import capacity of about 5 million tons of LNG per annum, the project will be able to supply fuel for up to 4,000megawatts (MW) of baseload power generation, allowing it to service multiple power plant customers in Luzon.

The LNG project follows a Third Party Access (TPA) model, whereby LNG import capacity is marketed to multiple gas users in the region on an open and transparent basis. This is in contrast to the “Own Use” model where separate LNG terminals are being built for each independent power plant. Unlike comparative "Own Use" solutions, the "TPA" model allows gas users to enter into shorterterm contracts for quantities that meet their specific requirements. This method is considered highly efficient as there is less “wasted” capacity due to underutilization.

Petron to offer fuel discount promo next year

illionaire Elon Musk said it’s “impossible” to take Tesla Inc. private now even though he would have liked to spend more time on innovation. “Tesla public company duties are a much bigger factor, but going private is impossible now [sigh],” Musk said in response to a tweet saying he should optimize his time in areas such as innovation. “Engineering, design & general company operations absorb vast majority of my mind and are the fundamental limitation on doing more.” Tesla shares, which were included in the S&P 500 index this week, have surged eightfold this year ahead of the addition to the benchmark measure. The gain is twice the advance of the next best performer on the gauge. The share price jump also created millionaires among its investors, and propelled Musk’s net worth by $132.2 billion to $159.7 billion, making him the world’s second-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Musk also said Starlink, SpaceX’s budding space-internet business, would likely be a candidate in his group to go public once its revenue growth becomes “reasonably predictable,” echo-

ing similar comments by the company’s president to investors earlier this year. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has already launched more than 240 satellites to build out Starlink, President Gwynne Shotwell said at a private investor event in February. A listing would give investors a chance to buy into one of the most promising operations within the closely held company. “Right now, we are a private company, but Starlink is the right kind of business that we can go ahead and take public,” she said then. Investors have to this point had limited ways to own a piece of SpaceX, which has become one of the most richly valued venture-backed companies in the United States by dominating the commercial rocket industry. In addition to a contract from NASA for a version of its nextgeneration Starship spacecraft that can land astronauts on the moon in 2024, SpaceX also has an agreement with a Japanese entrepreneur for a private flight around the moon in 2023. And it will be ready to launch its first Starship flight to Mars in 2026, Musk said earlier this month. Bloomberg News

Smart moves to improve 5G offering

rix Corp. agreed to buy Spain’s Elawan Energy, the Japanese financial conglomerate’s first deal to acquire a majority stake in an overseas renewable power company, people with knowledge of the matter said. Tokyo-based Orix is purchasing an 80-percent stake in Elawan from its management and Spanish industrial company Acek, said the people, who asked not to be identified before an announcement. With an additional capital injection later, the deal is worth about 100 billion yen ($965 million), the people said. The acquisition will expand Orix’s global renewable energy operations as it broadens a business portfolio that ranges from leasing to banking and real estate. Acek, which also owns car parts maker Gestamp Automocion SA, has been selling stakes in renewable assets. Tokyo-based Orix spokeswoman Yuka Kanaoka declined to comment. A call made to Madrid-based Acek on the Christmas Day holiday went unanswered. Elawan, set up in 2007, develops and operates wind and solar power projects in Europe and the Americas. It has 714 megawatts of operational projects, more than 460 megawatts under construction and a development pipeline of over 10 gigawatts. Orix has been ramping up investment in renewable energy at home and abroad in recent years. The company is also looking for such assets in the United States, the people said. In September, Orix agreed to buy a roughly 20-percent stake in Indian renewable energy developer Greenko Energy Holdings for $980 million, the conglomerate’s biggest investment in the sector overseas. Bloomberg News

Musk says ‘impossible’ to take Tesla private

Photo from www.petron.com.

ETRON Corp.'s 50-percent price-off promo will be offered to motorists again next year, its top official said on Thursday. Following the success of the promo implemented at 1,142 participating Petron service stations last Tuesday, Petron President Ramon S. Ang said the same promo would be offered soon. “Next year,” replied Ang in a text message when asked if Petron would extend the promo. Petron offered the discounted price on all fuels from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. last Tuesday. This move is part of the oil firm’s “12 Days of Merry” promo. “It is our desire to extend assistance to the public by offering

discounted fuels for a limited period, as well as give back to all the loyal customers who continuously support Petron,” the company said. Petron apologized for the inconvenience, particularly the heavy traffic, caused by the promo. For the past few days, Petron has been giving away big prizes and discounts daily through its 12 Days of Merry promo as a way of thanking all Petron Value Card (PVC) holders for their continued support. On December 25—the 12th and last day of the promo—Petron PVC holders were given a chance to win a one-year supply of fuel equivalent to P88,000. The 12 winners, which will be drawn on December 28, will

be notified via telephone call and registered mail. For a minimum P500 single-receipt purchase of any Petron fuel on December 25, a customer earned one raffle entry to join the online raffle. An SMS notification, with the raffle reference number as proof of promo entry, will be sent to the PVC holder. There are over 1,000 participating stations nationwide. “This is our way of giving back to all the motorists who continue to make Petron their fuel brand of choice. While this year’s Christmas will be quite different, we still want to give something special to our customers by rewarding them for their loyalty and putting more savings in their pockets,” said Ang. Lenie Lectura

mart Com mu n ic at ions Inc. is further developing its 5G offering through the preparation of its network for carrier aggregation (CA) features, which essentially allow the telco to combine various frequencies to provide more seamless and faster mobile data services to its subscribers. Arvin L. Siena, who heads the technology strategy and transformation office at PLDT Inc., said Smart has successfully tested 5G CA, making it one of the first operators in Asia Pacific to test CA in a live 5G network. "With the right 5G CA-capable phones supporting these frequency bands, customers will be able to have two bands of 5G in addition to the LTE bands, enabling even higher speeds and better performance, especially for applications that have very high demand for data, such as Augmented Reality [AR]/Virtual Reality [VR] and streaming of high-definition videos, for example,” he said. In a nutshell, CA combines two or more separate bands of radio frequencies to create a bigger pipe for even faster data rates, increasing the capacity thus improving the overall user experience. Smart is currently using CA for its 4G services in various areas in the country. Smart and partners Ericsson and Huawei tested 5G CA using the mid band 2.6 gigahertz (GHz)

and 3.5 GHz frequencies through a Huawei 5G fixed wireless access device. It also tested 5G CA on lowband 700 megahertz (MHz) and mid band 3.5 GHz through a Huawei Mate 40 Pro 5G smartphone. Mid band frequencies provide higher capacity, while low band frequencies provide wider coverage. Smart has been conducting 5G tests since 2016. It introduced its first 5G service in select cities and provinces earlier this year. Currently, Smart’s serves 5G in the following areas: Makati Central Business District (CBD), Bonifacio Global City CBD, Araneta City, Mall of Asia Bay Area, North Avenue in Quezon City, Taft Avenue in Manila, Ortigas CBD, New Clark City in Pampanga, Edsa, strategic locations in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and the cities of Manila, Quezon City, Makati, Taguig, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Parañaque, Valenzuela, Caloocan, Navotas, San Juan, and Pasay. Smart’s 5G push is part of PLDT’s commitments to further improve its networks, which are now being used widely for distance learning and remote work due to the pandemic. PLDT is investing P70 billion in capital expenditures for 2020, and is increasing the amount to as much as P92 billion in 2021 “to meet the requirements of mobile and fixed line customers.” Lorenz S. Marasigan

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, December 28, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

December 23, 2020

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

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

46.05 107.3 88.5 25.5 11.6 49.35 9.72 21 29.65 52.65 105 19.2 121 65.9 0.91 27.5 0.68 4.15 1.25 0.335 0.65 158.6 2000 1.05

47 107.4 88.6 25.55 11.62 49.4 9.8 22 29.75 53.2 106.5 19.3 122.5 66 0.94 27.6 0.7 4.16 1.26 0.34 0.66 160 2096 1.09

45 105 87.4 25.3 11.3 47.7 9.79 20.5 29.65 53.5 99.9 19 113 65.8 0.91 27.5 0.73 3.58 1.22 0.34 0.66 162 2000 1.05

48 110 89 25.55 11.8 49.8 9.8 22 30.25 53.5 106.6 19.5 122.5 66.5 0.94 27.6 0.73 4.95 1.26 0.34 0.67 162 2000 1.09

44.8 104.9 87 25 11.22 47.6 9.6 20.5 29.55 52.55 99.9 18.68 113 65.6 0.91 27.5 0.68 3.58 1.22 0.325 0.64 160 2000 1.05

46.05 107.4 88.6 25.55 11.6 49.4 9.8 22 29.65 53.2 106.6 19.22 122.5 66 0.94 27.6 0.7 4.16 1.25 0.34 0.64 160 2000 1.09

43800 14493050 6738850 295700 2045700 10333900 44400 47400 1750000 2920 130 246400 3443760 125140 75000 32200 132000 3048000 90000 730000 456000 17880 1790 67000

2001000 1572347106 594814753 7531700 23670260 506691915 431897 986800 52190600 155908.5 13194 4743414 414423595 8258415 68310 887390 91240 13222360 111230 242150 298040 2861440 3580000 72950

-95 12621819 148386443 603775 1782316 -167132415 -36821765 65227829 1913040.5 -466440 -66200 3580000 -

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 VIVANT AGRINURTURE AXELUM BOGO MEDELLIN CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG GINEBRA JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP MG HLDG SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH VICTORIAS CONCRETE A CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG DAVINCI CAPITAL EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP HOLCIM MEGAWIDE PHINMA TKC METALS VULCAN INDL CHEMPHIL CROWN ASIA EUROMED PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS PANASONIC SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

6.38 1.44 27.95 0.242 29 65.4 301 15.34 3.9 3.5 12.7 18.34 10.48 13.36 8.18 3.14 75.05 16.7 17.7 5.35 7.16 10.08 67.25 0.71 1.51 53 193 52.1 8.3 7.7 0.162 8.76 1.23 4.74 1.77 0.114 152 0.94 2.4 52 52.3 1.8 5.37 15.34 7.63 7.27 10.32 8.41 0.87 1.09 122.8 1.89 2.9 4.64 21.95 2.61 7.66 1.12 5.21 1.61 7.26

6.39 1.45 28 0.243 29.05 66.05 302.2 15.4 3.94 3.54 12.9 18.66 10.5 13.96 8.19 3.15 87.1 16.8 17.86 5.36 7.2 10.1 67.5 0.72 1.53 53.45 193.2 54.95 8.49 7.71 0.167 8.8 1.24 4.84 1.8 0.117 153 0.95 2.49 54.6 54.9 1.81 5.49 15.52 7.65 7.28 10.34 8.8 0.88 1.12 159.5 1.9 2.94 4.74 22 2.62 7.67 1.13 5.5 1.62 7.27

6 1.41 27.65 0.22 28.7 66.55 304.2 15.44 3.81 3.4 12.9 18.16 10.48 13.98 8.2 3.08 87.1 17.26 17.7 5.34 7.28 10.1 65.15 0.72 1.53 53.5 195 55 8 7.45 0.17 8.48 1.25 4.83 1.77 0.113 151 0.91 2.43 52 52.05 1.75 5.55 15.86 7.49 7.34 10.7 8.75 0.87 1.12 122.2 1.9 2.49 4.64 22 2.68 7.6 1.11 5.59 1.57 6.9

6.45 1.48 28.45 0.242 29.1 66.55 309 15.6 3.98 3.53 13 18.7 10.48 13.98 8.2 3.15 87.1 17.26 17.96 5.38 7.28 10.14 69.8 0.74 1.58 53.6 195 55.5 8.5 7.8 0.17 8.8 1.25 4.83 1.77 0.113 153 0.95 2.5 52 55.1 1.84 5.55 15.86 7.65 7.42 10.9 8.95 0.9 1.17 122.2 1.9 3.17 4.75 22.5 2.69 7.7 1.14 5.59 1.62 7.3

5.92 1.4 27.65 0.216 28.5 65.15 301 15 3.78 3.4 12.7 18 10.36 13.98 8.14 3.07 87.1 16.08 17.7 5.3 7.1 10 65.15 0.7 1.48 52.55 192.2 52 8 7.45 0.162 8.48 1.23 4.83 1.77 0.113 150.5 0.91 2.4 52 52.05 1.75 5.25 15.2 7.45 7.01 10.02 8.75 0.86 1.09 122.2 1.87 2.49 4.64 21.95 2.58 7.55 1.1 5.5 1.54 6.88

6.39 1.45 28 0.242 29.05 65.4 301 15.34 3.9 3.53 12.7 18.34 10.48 13.98 8.19 3.14 87.1 16.7 17.7 5.35 7.16 10.1 67.25 0.71 1.53 53 193 52 8.49 7.7 0.162 8.8 1.23 4.83 1.77 0.113 152 0.95 2.4 52 55.1 1.81 5.47 15.52 7.65 7.28 10.34 8.8 0.87 1.12 122.2 1.89 2.9 4.64 22 2.62 7.67 1.13 5.5 1.61 7.27

72503300 10420000 4239100 115330000 1660400 51580 264020 2125800 13249000 29000 91500 3346700 211900 2900 752600 2750000 10 36900 601800 119600 2475600 11538300 466860 1624000 27989000 89050 813110 1410 28500 1252300 1320000 863900 4710000 4000 6000 50000 1070840 8656000 249000 500 650 28104000 206600 341700 569100 5695900 7970300 90200 218000 3799000 10 119000 20336000 106000 207300 13241000 1814100 1290000 4300 2349000 8518300

446831914 -20282981 15126920 19290 119375570 -15380900 26166640 -394860 48177120 -22100990 3377866 -2388001 79,940,000( 40,894,588.0004) 32590120 3376432 51659590 -985180 101480 1173078 14190 61747330 -44866742 2206146 40542 6157324 205250 8585460 36980 871 613056 10732064 -4285192 640165 -152474 17722680 -375967 116396782 23113682 31852509.5 -13423910 1163090 -14000 42632230 483660 4738915.5 157155622 -40127631 74812 234577 9536289 49600 218250 7502138 716942 5809430 -621260 19320 10620 5650 162567830 47515477 8102810 84980 621700 26000 34780.5 50449990 -2999810 1123922 5264564 -1151064 4298699 117114 41155793 529198 83482364 -10314634 794175 191900 4249720 1222 224810 59568220 -297130 495640 -47500 4563070 -2177875 34693800 1568740 13908015 423807 1445290 23659 3719200 60560776 5421835

HOLDING & FRIMS

ABACORE CAPITAL ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT KEPPEL HLDG A LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES SEAFRONT RES TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

0.6 9.15 840 46.9 9.81 3.26 6.4 0.69 0.92 0.91 5.45 5.47 9.11 0.216 610 4.01 73.25 4.96 0.82 2.95 13.68 0.53 4.3 4.35 0.83 1.18 294 1053 134.9 0.69 1.9 144 0.228 0.169

0.61 9.52 841 47 9.85 3.27 6.6 0.71 0.93 0.94 5.47 5.49 9.29 0.229 621 4.09 73.3 5 0.83 2.96 13.74 0.56 4.36 4.38 0.84 1.21 295 1055 135 0.7 2.28 144.6 0.237 0.17

0.62 9.4 855 46.85 10 3.3 6.6 0.71 0.92 0.91 5.38 5.53 9.07 0.23 603 3.8 73.4 4.92 0.82 2.85 13.74 0.55 4.23 4.39 0.84 1.23 299 1035 126 0.7 1.91 137.6 0.225 0.176

0.63 9.6 856.5 47.95 10.1 3.34 6.6 0.72 0.94 0.94 5.52 5.7 9.3 0.23 633.5 4.06 73.45 4.98 0.84 2.97 13.8 0.57 4.38 4.39 0.84 1.25 299.2 1070 142.9 0.7 1.91 144.5 0.238 0.176

0.59 9.02 840 46.8 9.81 3.2 6.6 0.68 0.9 0.91 5.38 5.47 9.07 0.215 603 3.75 72.65 4.92 0.82 2.84 13.46 0.52 4.22 4.2 0.82 1.21 291.4 1035 125 0.7 1.9 137.6 0.225 0.167

0.6 9.52 840 46.9 9.81 3.26 6.6 0.71 0.93 0.94 5.45 5.47 9.29 0.215 610 4.06 73.25 4.96 0.82 2.95 13.68 0.56 4.3 4.35 0.84 1.21 299.2 1055 135 0.7 1.9 144 0.237 0.169

21107000 16200 409920 1058600 14045700 7569000 16400 673000 3584000 26000 8435900 16170900 23000 500000 319930 287000 1001790 17600 2026000 5406000 3697700 406000 49782000 17000 306000 105000 1470 217855 914820 26000 14000 32610 1190000 4990000

12819210 151577 346454740 50128925 139074409 24668870 108240 469990 3298180 23690 45956614 89909122 213677 107650 199074775 1142040 73379537.5 87262 1662620 15834710 50679380 220190 213795440 72430 255140 127860 432616 230013585 124419871 18200 26630 4593278 271320 844810

-1159870 -46894460 -3682285 -39740944 5381340 7560 940 -14495113 8984770 23814005 -25721105 -4529340 -10801678 -815790 -17400 -50400 24215555 18046561 -3086182 -62530

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.66 0.67 0.66 0.67 0.64 0.67 2622000 1726220 8 8.18 7.82 8.19 7.82 8.19 5300 42383 ANCHOR LAND AYALA LAND 38.7 39 39.9 40.3 38.7 38.7 12266200 486109145 1.2 1.24 1.13 1.25 1.13 1.2 695000 830590 ARANETA PROP AREIT RT 27.45 27.5 27.1 27.6 27.05 27.5 1658800 45534155 BELLE CORP 1.6 1.61 1.64 1.7 1.6 1.61 2545000 4173510 0.89 0.9 0.86 0.89 0.85 0.89 4491000 3946780 A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT 0.8 0.81 0.79 0.81 0.79 0.8 110000 88330 0.154 0.155 0.16 0.161 0.154 0.154 7260000 1152080 CROWN EQUITIES 6.04 6.3 5.8 6.4 5.8 6.3 641100 3964056 CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS 4.69 4.7 4.71 4.74 4.67 4.7 514000 2413410 0.445 0.45 0.445 0.45 0.445 0.445 18200000 8139600 CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY 0.37 0.375 0.37 0.38 0.36 0.37 6270000 2303900 14.88 14.9 14.6 15.14 14.56 14.88 9386800 139894602 DOUBLEDRAGON 6.02 6.07 6.1 6.17 5.98 6.07 632400 3816922 DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST 0.315 0.325 0.32 0.33 0.305 0.325 3380000 1072400 0.087 0.09 0.088 0.09 0.088 0.09 6530000 576540 EVER GOTESCO FILINVEST LAND 1.08 1.09 1.04 1.1 1.04 1.09 73209000 78854480 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.9 0.92 0.88 0.93 0.88 0.9 2942000 2658810 9 9.2 8.35 9 8.35 9 189200 1630775 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV 1.71 1.72 1.63 1.72 1.62 1.71 7576000 12723150 0.71 0.73 0.72 0.73 0.71 0.71 58000 41700 CITY AND LAND 3.99 4 3.94 4.06 3.9 4 220367000 881221450 MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED 0.54 0.55 0.53 0.56 0.51 0.55 213326000 113989550 0.38 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 140000 58800 PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP 1.35 1.37 1.31 1.35 1.28 1.35 990000 1312570 17.7 17.76 16.86 17.98 16.8 17.7 14409300 252527848 ROBINSONS LAND 0.275 0.285 0.27 0.285 0.27 0.285 950000 266250 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 1.57 1.59 1.57 1.59 1.57 1.58 1954000 3083940 2.71 2.72 2.75 2.75 2.72 2.72 66000 180650 SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND 1.99 2 1.95 2 1.93 2 4880000 9552650 SM PRIME HLDG 38.55 39.15 39.4 40.5 38.55 38.55 10947700 430017685 4.75 4.79 4.65 4.8 4.65 4.75 188000 891520 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 1.53 1.54 1.52 1.56 1.47 1.54 7349000 11125970 4.53 4.54 4.35 4.59 4.35 4.53 11782000 53019380 VISTA LAND

3960 5741475 11819.9997 -1439450 -1575890 -17200 267400 -2552096 20960 2348500 180000 -100533622 -908907.9999 -1049520 -1301190 27000 3081210 16888040 -12714360 -42737962 -5600 -2069220 -35400 -1950 46995310 71700 -810930 -2001480

SERVICES ABS CBN 11.48 11.5 11.36 11.54 11.34 11.5 507000 5789150 5.88 5.89 5.75 5.9 5.73 5.89 1202300 7029002 GMA NETWORK MANILA BULLETIN 0.435 0.45 0.435 0.46 0.435 0.45 2390000 1077400 11.2 11.52 11.2 11.5 10.9 11.5 5800 65632 MLA BRDCASTING GLOBE TELECOM 2044 2048 2028 2050 2014 2048 61410 125393490 17696830 PLDT 1379 1380 1381 1400 1377 1380 126205 174594500 18752795 0.051 0.052 0.053 0.053 0.051 0.052 38540000 1973260 APOLLO GLOBAL CONVERGE 16.6 16.62 16.9 16.98 16.62 16.62 8447200 141,860,280( 36,972,198.0004) 4.34 4.42 4.23 4.42 4.15 4.32 287000 1237900 -131500 DFNN INC 6.31 6.32 6.4 6.47 6.27 6.32 26170700 165666572 3107441 DITO CME HLDG ISLAND INFO 0.116 0.117 0.118 0.119 0.117 0.117 4670000 550200 18720 1.74 1.77 1.7 1.77 1.68 1.74 188000 324040 JACKSTONES NOW CORP 4.52 4.53 4.65 4.8 4.48 4.52 13514000 62350340 -1149980 0.3 0.305 0.315 0.315 0.305 0.305 20260000 6231150 TRANSPACIFIC BR 3.19 3.21 3.15 3.24 3.1 3.19 3760000 11962020 9970 PHILWEB 2GO GROUP 9.2 9.24 9 9.26 8.71 9.24 510900 4578802 -50385 5.39 5.4 5.53 5.58 5.37 5.39 7488100 40584281 430626 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 51.25 51.3 50 51.7 49.85 51.25 1975200 100376395 -21772480 INTL CONTAINER 125 125.2 128 128 124.2 125.2 1871140 234807640 -52518352 15.5 15.98 16.18 16.26 15.5 15.5 94100 1464804 4650 LBC EXPRESS LORENZO SHIPPNG 1 1.03 0.99 1.04 0.99 1 254000 255380 8.36 8.37 7.66 8.37 7.66 8.37 8944000 72953848 4379631 MACROASIA 2.26 2.27 2.15 2.37 2.15 2.27 7504000 17074520 METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B 2.24 2.4 2.19 2.3 2.19 2.24 79000 175310 7.65 7.68 7.5 7.65 7.44 7.65 240200 1807390 PAL HLDG HARBOR STAR 1.5 1.51 1.58 1.58 1.5 1.5 6732000 10262760 444950 1.5 1.55 1.5 1.5 1.41 1.5 211000 308930 -7500 ACESITE HOTEL 0.032 0.033 0.032 0.033 0.031 0.032 67400000 2137000 BOULEVARD HLDG DISCOVERY WORLD 1.7 1.78 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 12000 20400 0.71 0.72 0.7 0.72 0.68 0.72 16281000 11414900 10500 WATERFRONT FAR EASTERN U 615 650 615 650 615 650 190 121450 7.66 7.99 8 8 7.63 7.99 3700 28382 IPEOPLE 0.415 0.42 0.41 0.42 0.4 0.415 18930000 7731800 STI HLDG BERJAYA 4.48 4.62 4.85 4.85 4.39 4.62 784000 3635200 -18800 8.8 8.88 8.8 8.93 8.76 8.88 8988800 79535369 -14075672 BLOOMBERRY 1.97 1.98 2.06 2.06 1.93 1.98 196000 387440 -9900 PACIFIC ONLINE LEISURE AND RES 1.79 1.8 1.7 1.79 1.68 1.79 1924000 3381840 -101670 2.45 2.47 2.47 2.47 2.47 2.47 5000 12350 MANILA JOCKEY PH RESORTS GRP 3.32 3.33 3.04 3.35 3 3.33 70913000 227534900 556120 0.435 0.44 0.435 0.445 0.43 0.435 18050000 7923700 140300 PREMIUM LEISURE 6.8 6.9 6.7 6.9 6.7 6.9 6500 44630 3350 PHIL RACING ALLHOME 8.29 8.3 7.76 8.35 7.76 8.3 3216100 26077506 935694 1.71 1.72 1.64 1.73 1.62 1.71 14653000 24460810 -759450 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 43.95 44 44 44.15 43.8 43.95 2820900 124106000 19769285 ROBINSONS RTL 69 69.2 69.6 70 69 69 319180 22090479.5 -13356503 110.5 111 112.8 112.8 110 111 134980 14980440 5037200 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.64 1.65 1.6 1.65 1.58 1.64 11995000 19454330 545400 15.94 15.98 16 16.04 15.94 15.98 2140100 34217406 5846052 WILCON DEPOT 0.4 0.405 0.39 0.41 0.39 0.405 6240000 2500250 60000 APC GROUP EASYCALL 7.7 7.8 7.31 8.07 7.31 7.8 405800 3133664 -75000 399 400 400 400 399 400 1660 663670 GOLDEN BRIA IPM HLDG 3.77 3.79 3.75 3.79 3.75 3.79 7000 26490 2.25 2.34 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25 3000 6750 PAXYS 0.81 0.82 0.79 0.83 0.75 0.81 190006000 150179530 732060 PRMIERE HORIZON SBS PHIL CORP 4.71 4.79 4.83 4.85 4.58 4.71 106000 500310 MINING & OIL ATOK 9.5 9.55 9.52 9.68 9.1 9.55 380000 3551930 APEX MINING 1.84 1.85 1.88 1.9 1.82 1.84 10183000 18962080 -2009230 0.0009 0.001 0.0009 0.001 0.0008 0.0009 7309000000 6578400 32500 ABRA MINING ATLAS MINING 5.36 5.4 5.17 5.4 5.17 5.4 1744500 9257805 -1531300 BENGUET A 3.04 3.19 3.19 3.19 2.9 3.19 289000 884570 3.03 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 14000 43400 BENGUET B COAL ASIA HLDG 0.26 0.265 0.26 0.265 0.26 0.26 450000 117300 2.51 2.52 2.55 2.55 2.45 2.52 229000 573730 500960 CENTURY PEAK 8.2 8.49 8.49 8.49 8.21 8.49 3900 32448 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 1.89 1.9 1.81 1.89 1.81 1.89 12186000 22765380 982570 0.255 0.26 0.275 0.275 0.255 0.255 230000 59850 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.149 0.15 0.152 0.152 0.149 0.149 30810000 4603290 0.15 0.152 0.152 0.152 0.151 0.151 730000 110390 LEPANTO B 0.0097 0.01 0.0098 0.0098 0.0098 0.0098 27000000 264600 MANILA MINING A MANILA MINING B 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 17500000 180000 1.11 1.12 1.11 1.15 1.11 1.12 7649000 8611140 15979.9998 MARCVENTURES NIHAO 2.61 2.63 2.61 2.66 2.6 2.63 310000 811190 -261520 NICKEL ASIA 4.45 4.46 4.4 4.62 4.4 4.45 11524000 51,689,600( 1,268,150.0004) 0.38 0.385 0.36 0.45 0.345 0.38 18160000 7479300 -465100 OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA 0.68 0.69 0.7 0.7 0.67 0.69 2075000 1409900 5.08 5.12 5.1 5.2 5.03 5.12 2928000 14904640 -72120 PX MINING 12.62 12.64 12.22 12.68 12.22 12.64 7958500 99431500 -13733930 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.0051 0.0052 0.0053 0.0053 0.0051 0.0051 5000000 25900 7.08 7.09 7.09 7.14 6.92 7.08 896200 6321130 -82184 ACE ENEXOR ORNTL PETROL A 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 69600000 758000 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.014 0.011 0.011 830300000 11567100 -56200 ORNTL PETROL B 0.0086 0.0087 0.0081 0.0086 0.0081 0.0086 69000000 581100 PHILODRILL PXP ENERGY 12.08 12.1 12.28 12.3 12.02 12.08 1148700 13930884 311824 PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100.1 101.1 100 100.1 100 100.1 1130 113103 512 517 513 513 512 512 70 35870 AC PREF B1 ALCO PREF B 102 103 102 102 102 102 490 49980 102.1 108 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 80 8120 ALCO PREF C AC PREF B2R 502 509.5 506 509.5 500 500 750 379400 101.5 102 102 102 101.5 101.5 4280 436310 CPG PREF A 101 102 101 101 100.6 101 13610 1370336 -50500 DD PREF FGEN PREF G 110.5 113 112.9 112.9 110.4 112.9 2080 234632 1029 1030 1029 1029 1029 1029 260 267540 GTCAP PREF B 100.9 101 101 101 100.7 101 30090 3039064 1010 MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A 100 101 100 101 100 101 250 25050 103 104 103 103 103 103 990 101970 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 987 990 995 995 987 990 1050 1040130 1012 1014 1041 1041 1014 1014 1420 1440015 PCOR PREF 2B 1060 1069 1061 1065 1060 1065 540 572670 PCOR PREF 3A PCOR PREF 3B 1091 1100 1107 1110 1091 1091 1150 1261530 1.6 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.8 4000 6900 SFI PREF SMC PREF 2C 78.2 78.4 78.15 78.4 78 78.4 9780 763955.5 398694.5 SMC PREF 2E 76.1 76.3 76.1 76.3 76.1 76.3 530 40339 77.55 78.2 77.55 78.25 77.55 78.2 10600 827138.5 SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G 76.05 77.5 76.05 76.05 76.05 76.05 6380 485199 76.35 76.9 76.3 76.9 76.3 76.9 27340 2087253.5 SMC PREF 2I 76.05 76.1 76.1 76.5 76.05 76.1 2770 210869 SMC PREF 2J PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 11.1 11.4 11.04 11.04 11.04 11.04 4100 45264 5.65 5.67 5.5 5.65 5.5 5.65 290100 1628935 167716 GMA HLDG PDR WARRANTS LR WARRANT 1 1.07 0.86 1.13 0.86 1 2677000 2703090 SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 13.2 13.26 12.9 13.3 12.88 13.2 488500 6424706 145476 3.75 3.76 3.45 3.79 3.45 3.75 7935000 28788580 3012020 ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH 6.69 6.7 6.2 6.75 6.2 6.69 336800 2202580 5.52 5.53 5.48 5.6 5.44 5.52 23087200 127473100 -790566 MERRYMART EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF 108.5 108.6 108.2 109.3 108 108.6 34820 3784373 41429

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SEC defers accounting rules for real estate sector to 2023

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has deferred the implementation of certain accounting rules covering the real estate industry to 2023 to help the industry cope with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. In its Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 34, the SEC decided to defer the application of Philippine Interpretation Committee Question and Answer (PIC Q&A) No. 2018-12 with respect to the accounting for significant financing component and

the exclusion of land in the calculation of the percentage of completion. The new rule will be implemented in 2023 instead of January 1 next year. The real estate industry will also have 3 more years to comply with the International Financial Report-

ing Standards (IFRS) Interpretations Committee’s Agenda Decision on over time transfers of constructed goods under Philippine Accounting Standards (PAS) 23-Borrowing Cost. “The real estate industry has suffered from Covid-19 pandemic as well as other sectors. With the deferral of the accounting rules, the real estate industry will have enough time to further evaluate and resolve the remaining implementation issues,” SEC Chairman Emilio B. Aquino said. Nevertheless, real estate companies may comply in full with the requirements of PIC Q&A 2018-12 and IFRIC Agenda Decision beginning January 1, 2021. Those opting for the deferral will have to disclose in the notes to the financial statements the accounting policies applied, a discussion of the

deferral of the subject implementation issues, and a qualitative discussion of the impact in the financial statement had the concerned application guidelines been adopted. The regulatory reliefs are not considered in accordance with the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS) and as such, real estate companies that will adopt and record them for financial reporting purposes must specify in the “Basis of Preparation of the Financial Statements” section of their financial statements that they were prepared in accordance with PFRS, the SEC said. The external auditor must also state in the opinion paragraph that the financial statements were prepared in accordance with the compliance framework described in the notes to the financial statements.

PAL offers complimentary inflight WiFi

lag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said it is offering complimentary 100MB to passengers on international flights to and from Canada and select United States and Asia flights via its myPAL WiFi's Holiday Promo. This will be available on PAL’s modern aircraft such as the Boeing 777, Airbus A350 and A321neo. Passengers will only need to log-in the Wi-Fi portal to avail of the promo. PAL's myPAL Holiday Promo is

on top of the built-in complimentary 100MB for Business Class passengers and 3MB chat plans for Economy Class passengers for use on various messaging apps, such as Facebook Messenger, Viber, Line and others. During the duration of the promo, renewable plans are continuously offered on board at the following rates: $5 for the Renewal Chat Plan and $40 for the Wi-Fi Plan-Unlimited. For more information on other

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK Last week

Share prices fell last week as investors were already in a holiday mood and took a break from trading. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 68.42 points to close at 7,204.38 points. The main index was down in two of the three-day trading week, and gained merely 1.99 points on Wednesday. Investors are monitoring developments related to the Covid-19 vaccine as well as the new coronavirus strain found in Europe. Average daily trade for the week was high at P7.86 billion, but foreign investors were still net sellers at P1.54 billion. Among the subindices, only the Property index posted gains of 9.53 points to close at 3,694.05 points, while the rest closed in the red. The All Shares index fell 54.90 to close at 4,294.45, the Financials index lost 20.73 to 1,467.96, the Industrial index declined 231.77 to 9,320.18, the Holding Firms index lost 63.47 to 7,448.07, the Services index shed 22.23 to 1,526.43 and the Mining and Oil index retreated 261.72 to 9,286.72. For the week, losers edged gainers 188 to 47 and 19 shares remained unchanged. Top gainers were Millennium Global Holdings Inc., Da Vinci Capital Holdings Inc., Apollo Global Capital Inc., AC Energy Philippines Inc., Abra Mining and Industrial Corp. and Asiabest Group International Inc. Top losers, meanwhile, were Manila Mining Corp. B, Seafront Resources Corp., EverGotesco Resources and Holdings Inc., Chemical Industries of the Philippines Inc., Easycall Communications Philippines Inc. and Boulevard Holdings Inc.

This week

Trading is expected to be lackluster during the remaining two days of trade for the year as many have already taken their holiday break. Trading will only happen during Monday and Tuesday, and the rest will be on a public holiday through the New Year. “The index heading into 2021 above the 7,000 level, pushing skeptics to challenge whether the index’s valuations are ‘too rich to trade.’ This is not unwarranted, the PSEi’s 2020 earnings, 75 percent of which have been announced, trades at 21 times price to earnings ratio, at the higher end of its five year P/E range,” broker 2TradeAsia said. The said high P/E ratio was last seen during the PSEi’s rally to 9,000 points in 2018. The broker said this implies a possible break of 8,000 points for the main index by 2021, assuming some conditions has been met, such as mass vaccinations, full quarantine liftings and the next round of tax reform package. “Seasoned investors will take the period to reflect on portfolio strategies planned for next year,” it said. Immediate support for the main index is seen at 7,070 and resistance at 7,300 points.

Stock picks

Broker Regina Capital Development Corp. gave a cut loss advise on the Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions Inc. stock as its price dipped last week, pushing its price lower than its three-week support of P15.34 per share. “It is now trading close to its closing price of P15.22 during its debut to the local bourse. There is an immediate support at P15.10 that [Converge] may test in the coming days,” it said. Converge ICT’s shares closed last week at P15.34 apiece. Meanwhile, the broker gave a buy rating on the stock of Double Dragon Properties Corp. but only when its support price of P15.76 to P15.49 per share holds. Profit taking ensued on the stock of the property company last week, which dragged towards its immediate support price of P15.76 and back below its 260-day moving average of P16.39. “While the indicators are still uniformly showing bullishness, the momentum started to taper,” it said. Shares of Double Dragon closed at P15.70 apiece on Wednesday. VG Cabuag

promos and get updates, passengers may visit www.philippineairlines.com, follow the official PAL Facebook page or call PAL's hotline numbers. Last week PAL said it has increased domestic flights on various routes in line with its network restoration plan and in time for the holiday season. At the same time, PAL has resumed services to 15 additional dest inat ions—increasing t he PAL network to a grand total of

mutual funds

25 domestic and 32 international flights. The expanded lineup of flights is so far the flag carrier’s biggest ramp-up of domestic commercial operations this year—a 103-percent increase in PAL flights vs. November 2020 levels—as the local travel industry continues to bounce back gradually with the calibrated easing of travel requirements, reopening of tourist routes and enhanced health and safety protocols. Recto L. Mercene December 23, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 229.14 -8.85% -7.28% -1.47% -9.01% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.3179 -3.11% -6.08% 2.81% -4.64% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1657 -12.81% -11.04% -2.83% -13.93% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.8106 -8.79% -7.12% n.a. -9.73% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7493 -11.21% n.a. n.a. -11.77% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.9874 -5.79% -5.41% -1.06% -6.4% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.7681 -9.62% -7.7% n.a. -10.02% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 101.45 -0.71% n.a. n.a. -1.72% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 47.267 -7.4% -5% 0.23% -7.83% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 493.18 -7.01% -5.07% -0.49% -7.43% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 1.0873 8.53% n.a. n.a. 5.55% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.1748 -8.32% -5.11% 0.01% -8.71% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 34.9539 -7.37% -4.63% 0.65% -7.77% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9203 -9.17% n.a. n.a. -9.61% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.8353 -6.98% -4.51% 0.92% -7.43% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 808.76 -6.77% -4.41% 0.81% -7.25% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.7273 -13.55% -8.47% -3.2% -14.58% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.6614 -12.56% -6.55% -0.92% -13.01% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.926 -7.01% -4.72% 0.7% -7.47% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.3472 -8.04% -4.09% 1.23% -8.38% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 108.5089 -6.7% -4.16% 1.56% -7.22% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.1842 16.05% 3.17% 6.03% 15.15% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.6592 9.65% n.a. 20.35% 21.74% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.669 7.46% -3.11% -0.82% 6.8% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.2941 5.66% -1.83% 1.49% 5.18% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6414 0.83% -1.12% -0.32% 0.38% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1996 -12.15% n.a. n.a. -12.65% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.972 0.83% 0.19% 1.95% 0.53% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.8065 0.84% -0.41% 1.4% 0.46% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 17.0117 0.65% -0.53% 1.28% 0.3% -1.77% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.1046 -0.84% 0.99% -0.82% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.5936 -6.54% -3.03% 0.05% -6.99% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 1.0258 1.38% n.a. n.a. 0.99% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9569 -3.4% n.a. n.a. -3.96% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9409 -4.74% n.a. n.a. -5.27% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8955 -7.54% -3.7% -0.71% -8.14% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03917 2.49% 2.78% 2.06% 2.54% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.1434 10.9% 3.02% 5.38% 12.98% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.4786 15.47% 7.18% 7.77% 14.52% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1965 6.56% 3.42% n.a. 6.01% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 370.99 3.75% 3.26% 2.83% 3.65% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.8996 -0.07% 0.05% 0.04% -0.13% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2129 3.23% 4.49% 4.82% 3.05% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2972 3.46% 3.02% 2.46% 3.32% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4512 4.03% 3.45% 2.16% 3.9% 3.17% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.6319 6.14% 4.69% 5.92% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3198 5.14% 4.47% 2.64% 5.02% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9858 5.56% 4.54% 3.09% 5.22% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0391 8.03% 4.16% 2.53% 7.76% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1974 4.29% 4.79% 3.71% 3.96% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7493 3.12% 4.12% 3.19% 2.83% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $483.67 3.36% 2.78% 2.95% 3.27% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.15 -0.27% 0.83% 1.22% -0.29% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2791 6.07% 4.08% 3.18% 5.96% 2.09% 1.83% 3.1% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0266 3.1% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.093 -0.01% 0.76% 0.71% -0.05% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5344 5.61% 4.11% 3.7% 5.45% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0623872 3.45% 2.82% 2.39% 3.46% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2255 1.77% 2.37% 2.61% 1.58% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.76 3.23% 3.35% 2.57% 3.12% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0477 1.6% n.a. n.a. 2.09% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2961 2.58% 2.99% 2.61% 2.46% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0522 1.49% 1.75% n.a. 1.34% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.1073 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.98 -1.01% n.a. n.a. -1.01% a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU). 1 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 2 - Launch date is November 15, 2019. 3 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019. 4 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 5 - Launch date is December 09, 2019. 6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund). 7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020. "While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa.com.ph to see the

latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

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Banking&Finance

Easing to resume as cash flow slows–economists By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

lower cash supply growth and the reversion of inflation back to its tamer trajectory will give the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) confidence to resume its monetary policy easing measures early next year. Despite already being on its record lows, the central bank’s main interest rate could see further cuts, particularly at 25 basis points in the first three months of 2021, according to economists at the First Metro Investments Corp. (FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P). “Money growth continues to decelerate and this, together with inflation going back closer to 2 percent by January 2021, provides the BSP with more elbow room to cut policy rates by another 25 basis points in the first quarter of 2021 to provide a further boost to the domestic economy and lower borrowing costs of the national government,” FMIC and UA&P analysts said in their most recent assessment of the local economy through their publication. Latest data from the BSP showed that domestic liquidity—broadly measured as “M3”—grew slower at 12.3 percent to P13.5 trillion in

September. This is tamer than the 13.7 percent growth seen in the previous month. Bank lending—which is one of the primary drivers of domestic liquidity—grew at 2.8 percent in September, also weaker than the 4.7 percent growth in August. Inf lation, meanwhile, hit a 19-month high in November at 3.3 percent. This uptick, however, is caused by the severe typhoons that ravaged the country in recent months and is expected to wane off back to normal in the coming months. “We think November’s uptick will turn out as a one-off event and prices will revert to pre-typhoon days. Thus, we keep our annual forecast of 2.6 percent for the year,” analysts said in the Market Call. Annually, the BSP holds eight meetings every six weeks. For 2020, five of these meetings were rate cuts to bolster monetary policy support for the pandemic-ravaged economy. In total, the central bank has already cut its rates by 200 basis points - 25 basis points in February, 50 basis points in March, another 50 basis points in an off-schedule monetary board meeting in April, another 50 basis point cut in June and the latest 25 basis point cut just last month.

Perspectives

Target tried-and-tested transformation

our finance function might need to replace technology that’s coming up for retirement, prepare for regulatory changes, get ready for a divestment or set up for a merger. Whatever your immediate requirements, you can target proven long-term outcomes with your transformation.

ture and master data governance that will help you drive business insights and optimize decision making. n Governance: How everything will be overseen. Your internal controls, your policies and how duties are segregated.

Uncompromisingly fit for purpose

Uncompromising standards across all of these layers is the key to successful transformation. It’s how KPMG “Powered Finance” enabled by Microsoft Dynamics 365 delivers reliable efficiencies. By taking the direct route to KPMG’s target operating model and the “Powered Enterprise” approach to transformation in the cloud, businesses have seen: n 45 percent cut in general accounting costs n 15 percent improvement in working capital n 20 percent saving in budgeting and forecasting expenses n 50 percent reduction in manual reconciliations (https:// h o m e . k p m g /x x /e n / h o m e / i n sights/2020/08/powered-enterprisefinance.html)

Instead of starting with businessas-usual, successful transformations start with a tried-and-tested target operating model. A model which defines the optimum way businesses can work in the future and sets out the potential consequences of decisions made along the way. This model must give a clear picture of what leading practice looks like across: n Process: How everything in your finance function is framed. The methods and procedures you use. n People: Who does what. Reporting lines, required skill sets, roles and responsibilities. n Service delivery model: What gets done and where. The capabilities you need to deliver and how you deliver them. n Technology: How you will enable and automate process. The way your environments, applications and integrations will work. n Performance insights and data: What will be reported and how. The information requirements, KPI framework, struc-

Changing the game for finance

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

BusinessMirror

Monday, December 28, 2020

Tax perks, money laundering bills top Senate agenda in ’21

By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

enators will give priority to two bills boosting the economy and the financial sector when the Senate reconvenes on January 18, Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said last Sunday.

The first is the Palace-endorsed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create) bill, a key plank of the Duterte administration’s tax reform that underwent major tweaks as businesses were hit hard by lockdown measures against the Covid-19 pandemic. The second is the amendments to the 2001 Anti-Money Laundering Act (Amla), which Manila is under pressure to pass to avert landing on a grey list that could complicate international financial transactions such as remittances of migrant workers. The Senators approved the Amla measure on second reading before their yearend holiday break. On the other hand, Senators rushed to approve on third and final reading the Senate version of Create last November 26, since the House of Representatives had passed its own version months ago. Shortly after the Senate version was approved, the senators got word— from Ways and Means chairman Rep. Joey Salceda—that the House will simply adopt the Senate version in order to avoid convening a bicameral conference panel; thus hasten signing of the bill into law

before the Christmas break. However, two weeks later, the House leadership decided to have the measure undergo full bicameral deliberations and designated its members for the panel. This prompted Sen. Pia S. Cayetano, Salceda’s counterpart, to make a manifestation before the Christmas break, expressing her dismay. “I would like to put on record that the delay in the passage of Create this year is a huge setback,” Cayetano said. “We recognize the importance of this bill particularly for the MSMEs [micro, small and medium-scale enterprises] and the business sector.” The latter would have benefited from the instant 5-percent reduction provided by the bill in the corporate income tax. Cayetano recalled: “We had daily deliberations to the extent of setting aside other very important bills because we recognize the importance of this bill particularly for the MSMEs and the business sector.” “It will be noted that the Create version of the Senate immediately lowers the corporate income tax from 30 percent to 25 percent,” while the House version “is only a lowering of

Corporate Income Tax by one percent every year,” the lawmaker added. Further, MSMEs earning less than P5 million would only be paying 20 percent corporate tax in the Senate version, Cayetano said.

Incentives issues

THE second part of Create—the incentive portion—was the more contentious. But Cayetano noted how, despite their fierce debates, senators reached a “fair and happy” compromise on each issue. The incentives portion was so important, the senator emphasized, “because we wanted to plug the leakages and we wanted accountability. There is roughly P400 billion last recorded—I believe that was 2017— unaccounted for incentives that are being given away.” She noted that “the importance of this measure was simply for accountability and transparency.” “These are incentives that otherwise would have been tax collections by the government,” Cayetano said. “And that’s why I mentioned MSMEs [because they have no] incentives. They pay taxes.” Under the measure, if government incentivizes a business and says, “You are entitled not to pay taxes, you’ll get incentives.” All the bill seeks to do, the lawmaker explained, “is to ensure that there is accountability; that there is the FIRB [Fiscal Incentives Rationalization Board] that will ensure that [these] incentives [are in order] and that the commitment of those companies would be delivered commitment to create jobs, etc, etc.” The Senate version, she noted, was a package that “was really well thought of.” “There’s a 10-year transition pe-

riod for companies that are currently receiving incentives, much longer than the version of the House, even longer than the original version of the Senate,” Cayetano said. “And then, when they apply, for new applicants or those who will reapply; also very generous provisions.” Even the advocacy group Action for Economic Reforms (AER), which tangled with senators during deliberations, conceded that the final version was good enough. The Senate version, the AER said, “has met its primary objectives of making incentives time-bound and performance-based and rationalizing the governance of incentives through the FIRB.” “We also hope that the sharp reduction of corporate income tax can be responsive to the stimulus and in the longer term, help make Philippine businesses competitive,” the AER added. While compromises were made, specifically in having a longer transition for the ending of incentives, the AER said, “these compromises are tolerable and will do no harm.” “We understand that the dynamics of the political economy led to these compromises.” Meanwhile, Cayetano lamented that with the House deciding—after two weeks—not to skip the bicameral process, the Create bill was not signed into law before Christmas. And this means “there will be no immediate decrease in the Corporate Income Tax, there will be no rationalization and certainty,” she added. “What the businessmen had asked us is certainty. So that when the new year starts, they know” what ventures to invest in or expand, or forgo, according to Cayetano.

Insurer’s pro-women tack gets IFC, UN’s nod Reds’ bank accounts

nsular Life Assurance Co. Ltd. (InLife) announced it was recently cited by the International Finance Corp. (IFC) and the United Nations Women for the insurer’s “Sheroes” program, digital sales system and health-care subsidiary that support women during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the IFC-UN Women publication “Bridging the Gap: Emerging Private Sector Response and Recovery Measures for Gender Equality amid Covid-19,” InLife was listed as one of the companies and organizations around the world that are taking concrete actions to ensure the economic inclusion and social well-being of their women employees, customers, and suppliers, and local communities. “InLife is grateful and honored to be included in the IFC and UN Women’s roster of companies and organizations that support women during this difficult times,” InLife Executive Chairman Nina D. Aguas said. “During this pandemic and community quarantine, InLife provides insurance and health-care products to Filipinos, particularly women, through our fully digital operations. InLife also continues to empower women through our ‘Sheroes’ program’s financial literacy initiatives,” she added. In one of the publication’s six thematic areas– ensuring equal access to financial and non-financial services–the IFC and the UN Women noted that Covid-19 likely affects women’s risk profile and worsens their protection gap. The international organizations pointed out that in addition

to financial literacy, providing insurance coverage for all women is “crucial for supporting women economically during the pandemic and beyond.” In this area, IFC and UN Women cited InLife’s fully digital insurance selling system called Virtual Business Enabler (ViBE), “Sheroes” program and health care. “By using the ViBE platform, InLife’s financial advisers have been able to complete insurance sales with no face-to-face contact with their clients, but still enable them to buy the important insurance products they need. InLife, with IFC’s help, also re-aligned its gender-sensitivity training program for its agents into a virtual format during Covid-19 so that the agents can continue engaging with women customers,” the IFC-UN Women publication stated. The publication further cited the “Sheroes” program for its webinars to equip Filipino women entrepreneurs with the tools to respond to financial challenges; and its information materials to advise women on how to maintain their physical, psychological and financial well-being in response to Covid-19. It also cited InLife’s health maintenance subsidiary InLife Health Care for extending the coverage for Covid-19-related claims across all its healthcare products, including the affordable pre-paid health-care emergency cards which are primarily purchased by women for themselves and their family members.

ordered frozen–DOJ By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

USTICE Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra disclosed last Sunday that the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has issued a freeze order covering suspected bank accounts of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed group the New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). Guevarra said the order was issued last December 23 by AMLC Executive Director Mel Georgie B. Racela. However, Guevarra could not provide further details on the bank accounts and number of bank accounts covered by the freeze order. The freeze order came after it was announced on Christmas Day that the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) designated the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization. Guevarra is a member of the ATC and headed the technical working group that crafted the implementing rules and regulation of the Anti-Terrorism Law. ATC Resolution 12, dated December 9, said it found probable cause that the CPP-NPA committed or conspired to commit terrorist acts as prescribed by Republic Act 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. President Duterte issued a proclamation in 2017 declaring the CPP-NPA as a communist organization under RA 10168 or the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppressing Act of 2012.

China eyes Ant’s return to payments services roots

hinese regulators ordered Jack Ma’s online financial titan Ant Group Co. to return to its roots as a provider of payments services, threatening to throttle growth in its most lucrative businesses of consumer loans and wealth management. The central bank summoned Ant executives over the weekend and told them to “rectify” the company’s lending, insurance and wealth management services, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement Sunday. While it stopped short of directly asking for a breakup of the company, the central bank stressed that Ant needed to “understand the necessity of overhauling its business”

and come up with a timetable as soon as possible. The series of edicts represent a serious threat to the expansion of Ma’s online finance empire, which has grown rapidly from a PayPal-like operation into a full suite of services over the past 17 years. Before regulators intervened, Ant was poised for a public listing that would have valued it at more than $300 billion. The Hangzhou-based firm now needs to move forward with setting up a separate financial holding company to ensure it has sufficient capital, and protect personal private data, the central bank said. “This is the culmination of a string

of regulations and sets the direction for Ant’s business going forward,” said Zhang Xiaoxi, a Beijing-based analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics. “We haven’t seen clear indication of break-up yet. Ant is a giant player in the world and any breakup needs be to be cautious.” Authorities also blasted Ant for sub-par corporate governance, disdain toward regulatory requirements, and engaging in regulatory arbitrage. The central bank said Ant used its dominance to exclude rivals, hurting the interests of its hundreds of millions of consumers. China last week intensified its scrutiny of the twin pillars of billionaire

Ma’s internet domain when it also kicked off an investigation into alleged monopolistic practices at Ant affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The e-commerce firm’s US-listed shares tumbled the most ever on news of the probe. The State Administration for Market Regulation dispatched investigators to Alibaba on Thursday and the on-site investigation was completed on the day, according to a Saturday report posted on a news app run by the Zhejiang Daily. The report cited an unnamed official from the local market regulation watchdog in Zhejiang province, where Alibaba is based. Bloomberg News

This undated photo shows a mascot of Ant Group Co. The online financial giant is now under scrutiny by Chinese regulators. Bloomberg Photo

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How to Lead When Your Team Is Exhausted—and You Are Too

By Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg

s we navigate the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, workers in a variety of companies and sectors are going through the same experience. It goes by different names: “pandemic fatigue,” “mental fog,” “work/life blur,” “extended vacuum” and an “endless wait,” just to mention a few of the phrases I have heard my clients use to describe it. Leaders mention that they are fed up and bored. contrast to the reactions of the first wave, the second wave requires perseverance, endurance and defiance against the gloom and burden of the pandemic. Cultivating resilience during this second phase will require you to identify the biggest challenges ahead and then tap the psychological stamina you and your team need to overcome them. There are three key steps:

1. Understanding the difference between urgency and importance

During crises we tend to become shortsighted and push aside all that is not urgent. Once we have fixed what is urgent, we feel we deserve a good rest. Leaders and teams must avoid this temptation and focus on what is important for the business to thrive in the long term instead. While rest is vital outside the workday, inactivity during it can backfire. In military units, for example, boredom and waiting time are perceived as more stressful than actual combat. So don't rest on your laurels, even though your business has been successful throughout the pandemic. Ask instead: How do we turn the short-term momentum into long-term advantages? You could come up with ideas for the future and set up a task force with high-performing talents from across your organization. Another approach could be to ask yourself and your colleagues

WWW.FREEPIK.COM

Even those working in booming industries report that they feel “emotionally amputated.” Others struggle with not being able to devote time to activities like exercising with greater enthusiasm, as they did during the first wave of the pandemic. Their brand-new collection of fitness gear is gathering dust. And no one gets a kick from virtual happy hours at work. It feels like the whole world is tired. Even though the vaccine is the light at the end of the tunnel, the home stretch will be long. To move through this phase successfully, leaders need to reexamine their personal resilience and that of their team members. How strong are people under pressure? How quickly do they bounce back from defeat? Most importantly: How can they find the mental strength to get through the last mile? During the pandemic's first wave, personal resilience relied on a psychological emergency response called arousal. Shocks, threats and sudden uncertainty make us superalert, activating resources that are skin-deep: adrenaline, fighting spirit and pulling together. Personal resilience in the second wave is a different story, because it relies on psychological stamina. Stamina is required because, frankly, the second wave is not exciting at all. People report feeling bored, disconnected and unnerved. In

whether you are in fact fully prepared for the feeding frenzy that will inevitably kick off after the vaccine is widely distributed. For many businesses, dealing with the aftermath will be just as intense as dealing with the crisis. Ask yourself and your teams: Are you doing all you can to emerge from the crisis as a stronger company?

2. Balancing compassion and containment

At this point in the crisis, the conditions that breed depression, loneliness and anxiety are all present: work in isolation, health concerns, job insecurity, heavy workloads and rapidly shifting priorities. Leaders need to be serious about mental well-being and intervene sooner rather than later. This means that your employees need your compassion, warmth and comfort—now more than ever. There are a couple of ways to achieve this. One involves sharing your own feelings of discomfort.

When you dare to tell your team about the issues you struggle with, they will follow suit. Another approach involves encouraging the fundamental feeling that people are good enough, that they have earned their place and that their worth is not just a function of their actions and results. So, don’t talk only about “getting things done,” but also recognize “who they are,” using specific examples of how their personal qualities enhance the team. Compassion, however, must be balanced with containment. Containment is described by Anand Narasimhan, a professor at IMD Business School, as “the ability to observe and absorb what is going on around you, but to provide a sense of stability.” Stability comes from setting limits, raising the bar, keeping the pressure at the optimal level and helping people snap out of self-pity. The goal is helping people catch a second wind. As any boxer will

tell you, a second wind is brought on by defiance, anger, fear and frustration—feelings that we usually suppress or intellectualize in our professional lives. But right now it might be a good idea to turn up the heat and go into fight mode. Take a good look at the battles that will meet you next year. How can you stay ahead of the curve? How can you prepare for the next stages?

3. Energizing everyone, every day

As we enter the last stretch, the greatest challenge for leaders may be to sustain their energy levels and those of their direct reports. The key is to get the energy flowing and never let meetings and interactions become stale or boring. There are many ways to achieve this: sharing success stories, setting up competitions, dividing long projects into sprints, shortening the length of your Zoom meetings, cutting tumbleweed projects and allowing honest feed-

back exchange among members of your team. How you do it matters less. What matters immensely is that you do it. Make also sure to cultivate an environment in which setbacks are seen as temporary and reversible. When something is viewed in such a way, it leaves us able to think: “It will go away sometime, it can be curbed, and I can do something about it.” This perspective enables us to act. Resilience is fundamental for navigating chaos. Without it, we tend to act indecisively or follow directions blindly. If we are not confident that we have the necessary abilities to succeed, we risk getting paralyzed. Managing your own mind, deciding to take charge of your destiny and helping others do the same is where you find mental strength for the last mile. Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg is the author of Battle Mind: How to Navigate in Chaos and Perform Under Pressure.

When you’re younger than the people you manage H

By Jodi Glickman

ello, new manager! Welcome to the ranks: More than 60 percent of millennials and nearly half of Generation Z employees say that they are people managers. Before we get into the nitty-gritty, take a moment to bask in your glory. Adding the word “manager” to your title might feel intimidating at first, but you’re here. You did it. Now take a deep breath, because, the real work is just beginning. You may be designated as a “manager,” but what you’re really aiming for is to lead your team. What’s the difference? A manager is responsible for delegating tasks and assignments. While this will be one part of your role, the other part will be leading: bringing out the best in people, and inspiring them to do great work, make sound decisions and work toward a mutual goal. Among your first challenges will probably be managing and leading someone older than you. How do you engender their trust, respect and

admiration when there’s a five- or maybe even a 10-year (or more) age difference? Here are four key strategies you can put into practice:

Check your insecurities

A common fear of young managers and leaders is: My colleagues will not take me seriously. You may find that this manifests in many different ways: “I look too young.” “I sound too young.” “Maybe I act too young.” “How will my subordinates ever respect me?” To get out of your head the next time you have these thoughts, try looking for real-world evidence that supports them. Then, look for evidence that suggests the opposite. Ask yourself: Would I have been promoted into this role if my supervisor, and the company, thought that I was incompetent? Probably not. You may find that your colleagues don’t actually attribute competence or high performance to age. (And if they do, that’s ageism, and you should probably tell human resources or your manager.)

No matter what you find, remind yourself of this often: You belong in the seat you're occupying.

Get everyone on the same page

People get picked to be managers because of their talents and people skills. This could be your ability to make sound decisions, bring different people together, influence others and stay calm during tough moments. When you start out, engage with your older direct reports in one-onone meetings. Talk about your vision and goals for the team. Remember that they come with experience, and their experience can help you refine your ideas. Leave space for two-way dialogue and stay open to feedback.

Be confident enough to be vulnerable

If you are feeling unsure or insecure while leading, your team will be able to read that energy and may become unsure of your leadership too. That’s why it’s important to practice confidence when speaking to your team: Make eye contact, use gestures to ac-

centuate your point, stand up straight and maintain strong body language. Practicing your delivery method will help you speak with conviction, be clear about your intentions and show up as the leader you aspire to be. At the same time, don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and relate to your team during challenging projects or conversations. You’re not expected to walk in and be an expert on day one. You are, however, expected to be 100% honest—about the challenges your team is facing, the strategies you are contemplating and your willingness to listen and learn from those around you. When you share your ideas, leave room for your team to (honestly) reflect on them. Let them know that you value their opinions and experiences. You could say, “This is what I had in mind, and here’s why...what do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Is there anything we’re missing here? I’d love your thoughts and feedback.” Especially when it comes to older direct reports who may have been in the organization for a longer period than

you, solicit their opinions on what has worked in the past, what their current working style is and where changes are needed. Ask how you can best support them. Say, “I know we started this new workflow last month. I wanted to know how you feel about it and take some time to review it.” When you do that, it’s important to be receptive to their ideas and views. Be transparent about your desire to establish a true partnership. Your goal should be to bring out the best in one another.

Be generous

Leaders who are generous—with their time, energy and resources, with sharing credit and giving meaningful feedback—are the ones who earn respect and admiration from their teams. Generosity at its most basic is this: Walking in every day and asking yourself, “How can I make my teams’ lives better or easier?” “What can I do to help them do their jobs successfully?” “How can I be an advocate for their ideas or support their initiatives?” “How can I showcase what they

do right and have their back when things go wrong?” Recognize that your older employees may be at a different life stage than you. Spend time to learn more about them, get a deeper sense of any barriers they may be facing and how can you try to remove them, or at the very least, be creative in coming up with workarounds or ways to collaborate. For instance, you may find that one employee has to home-school their child during work hours. What can you do to support them? Being empathetic is critical to being a good leader. Do your best to accommodate different needs. Great leaders, of all ages, show strength and humility, demonstrate a willingness to learn and also an ability to make decisions. Nothing about your age predetermines your success as a leader. Rely on your transferable skills, build a solid team and remember to set stereotypes aside as you venture into your new role.

Jodi Glickman is the CEO of Great on the Job.

Style

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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Monday, December 28, 2020

‘In Masks Outrageous and Austere’

SCIENCE TO BRING OUT NATURAL GLOW LET’S face it: the prolonged usage of a face mask since the start of the new normal has made it hard for us to feel completely confident in our skin. Skin care has become all the more challenging because face masks cause—and worsen—“maskne,” wrinkles, and fine lines that lead to premature aging. With Bio-Science, which is available at Watsons, SM Departmental Stores and other beauty sources online, allow yourself to achieve a healthy and younger-looking skin. Born from an understanding of the skin-care needs among Asian women, and an ongoing commitment towards scientific innovation, BioScience is the leading Asian skin-care brand from Singapore. Bio-Science offers a collection of lightweight and easy-to-absorb products that cater to concerns like premature aging, aging, blemishes and dark spots, dry, rough and flaky skin. Formulated with natural extracts, Bio-Science products are known for 3E’s: effectiveness, efficiency and economical. Some consumers have claimed that they were able to see the results within seven days. Bio-Gold Gold Water, lightweight essence water, is one of Bio-Science’s flagship products. An instant favorite across Southeast Asia, the visible 24K gold flakes in this product helps instantly plump up the skin, tightens pores, and provides intensive moisture deep into the skin. Experience self-care in the new normal with a special skin care with Bio-Science: Bio-Water Energizing Water Face Mist, which locks in the moisture absorbed from Gold Water. This hypo-allergenic, fragrance-free product can be used every three hours to prevent mask acne, popularly known as maskne. Niacinamide as an active ingredient in this PH-balanced formula refreshes the skin, regulates oil and sebum production, and provides moisture to keep your skin hydrated throughout the day. Beyond that, the Bio-Water Energizing Water Face Mist acts as a primer and a perfect make-up setter. Don’t miss the chance to truly indulge in luxury and give yourself the gift of healthy and youngerlooking skin with Bio-Science.

FIRST row: Jaz Cerezo Skinz (worn by Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach), Jet Salcedo, “Impalpable Dream of Hope” bridal mask by Michael Cinco, and Belo mask (worn by Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray); second row: Heritage Mask by Nardie Montoya Presa, Ablaze Artcessories by Jun-Jun Ablaza, Dragun by Mara Chua, and Lumad Mask by Christopher Lim Zamora (worn by MJ Heje); third row: Randy Ortiz for Aerian Essentials (worn by Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo), Bark and White by Vic Barba, Kalachuchi by Joel Rosales, and Rainbow Pride by Roel Rosal (worn by JayTea Cruz)

’M brazenly borrowing this title from the last full-length play of Tennessee Williams (1911-1983). The prolific American playwright described it as “nightmarish,” “extremely funny” and “bizarre as hell.” His frenemy, Gore Vidal, said the subject was about death and corporate greed. A Williams scholar, Linda Dorff, considered the play as having an “apocalyptic conspiracy plot.” The title, incidentally, was lifted from the last stanza of Elinor Morton Wylie’s poem, “Let No Charitable Hope”: “In masks outrageous and austere/ The years go by in single file;/But none has merited my fear,/And none has quite escaped my smile.” Quite apropos for our Covid times, as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still studying the effectiveness of face masks. It has deemed that the most effective fabrics for cloth masks are tightly woven fabrics, such as cotton and cotton blends that are breathable, and have two or three fabric layers. The less effective fabrics for cloth masks are loosely woven fabrics, such as loose knit fabrics, difficult-to-breathe-through materials (like plastic or leather), and those with a single layer. The Filipino designer, in responding to the pandemic, made face masks that are either protective or decorative. Outrageous or austere in design, the masks are always made with the trademark Filipino creative flourish. And because our hapless country is languishing last on the Covid-19 vaccine list, the masks make for fantastic, pragmatic gifts as we enter 2021. Nardie Montoya Presa created “Heritage” masks. “The masks are a photocopy of indigenous materials laid down on 90-percent polyester and 10-percent cotton,” he shared. “The three-ply material includes a washable filter. Fashionable, washable and easy to handle.” Joel Rosales used white twill fabric, 60-percent polyester and 40-percent cotton for his colorful Philippine flora and fauna mask series. They were achieved by sublimation printing using nontoxic and sublimation ink. “Even if you try to blow a candle while wearing the mask, there’s no air coming out from it.” Jaz Cerezo (@jazskinz) released sensuous masks designed to unleash your animal instincts. In crocodile, leopard, raven and python, her premium quality jacquard masks are lined with Swiss cotton. Jet Salcedo (@jetsalcedo0214), of Iloilo City, created a mask of pearls to indulge his capricious streak. To fight prejudice and the pandemic, you can wear the cotton-jersey Roel Rosal (@roelrosal) face mask

with Pride. In a prescient move, Jun-Jun Ablaza (@ablazablaze) of Ablaze Artcessories made a leather mask with studs and spikes pre-pandemic. Always edgy and forward-thinking, Mara Chua (@maraxchua) unleashed “Dragun,” a fantasy mask in faux silver metallic leather with spikes and stones. In his denim “Lumad” series, Christopher Lim Zamora of Davao City was inspired by his signature clay beads he calls “Orden de Vida,” his current prêtà-porter collection: “After all, wearing masks is the new normal.” The “Bark and White” masks by Vic Barba (@barba.fashion) will delight dog lovers: “All our masks have bendable nose clips for better fit and protection. Aside from its outer lining, our masks have interlined webbing which acts as a filter. They have been blow-tested and prewashed. They are washable and durable, light and surprisingly breathable.”

For his fall/winter 2020 bridal collection, “Impalpable Dream of Hope”, Michael Cinco went sustainable during the lockdown: “The lace and embroidered tulle, and the crystals I used were from the extra materials that I found from my past collections,” he told The Filipino Times. Catriona Gray, Miss Universe 2018, pushed for the nonmedical-grade mask from the Belo Medical Group (shop.belomed.com): “The proceeds will be donated to Young Focus, a charity dear to my heart that tackles poverty and sponsors education for Filipino children in need.” Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo, meanwhile, gave a friendly reminder: “Wear your mask, drink your vitamins and stay healthy, everybody! [I’m] wearing a high-quality mask made by Randy Ortiz (@randy_e_ortiz) for Aerian Essentails (@aerian.essentials) with nano silver technology that kills the virus and protects the body. [A] perfect Christmas gift to your special someone.” ■

LIPSTICKS WITH A CLICK STROKES Beauty Lab has released its line of premium click lipsticks, two months after the success of its The Brow Artist Collection. The Velvet Click Stick Collection is Strokes Beauty Lab’s line of matte lipsticks that comes with a unique, nonretractable click stick feature to ensure little to no product waste. The full body cover protects the product’s creamy and buttery texture that allows for a moisturizing feel despite its matte finish. The velvet matte lipsticks are lightweight, longwearing and highly blendable and buildable. They give a flawless, rich and pigmented pop of color with just the right amount of the product at hand. The click lipsticks come in nine universal shades: Cameo, Teresa, Flamingo, Contessa, Copperhead, Viper, Lady Luck, Spice and Vittoria, which is Strokes Beauty Lab Founder and CEO Momoi Supe’s personal favorite. The beauty market’s newest lip beauty

must-haves are infused with Vitamin E, plant-based squalane and sunflower seed oil to condition the lips for long-term skin smoothness and softness, staying true to the brand’s practice of combining beautification with treatment. Designed in California and made in PRC from responsibly sourced global ingredients, the crueltyfree and high-grade quality products are being offered at a reasonable price of P398 each. It also continues the brand’s signature inclusion of empowering statements on its packaging. “I am thriving,” “I am captivating” and “I am compelling” are just some of the assurances found on the lipstick tubes. Supe, finding inspiration from his eye studio’s lip tattoo services, wanted to make readily available and reasonably priced counterparts of the level of artistry that his brand promises. Strokes Eye Beauty Studio by Momoi Supe has been offering a variety of semi-permanent makeup services that cater to the brows, eyes and lips since its establishment in 2015 as the first and only eye beauty studio in the country. With the beauty enthusiasts who would opt for a more temporary lipstick fix in mind, Momoi created the Velvet Click Stick Collection. “At the heart of the Strokes brand is the promise of everyday confidence, and so I wanted to create products that would be wearable any day and for any occasion. The Velvet Click Stick Collection is just one of the many results of wanting to fulfill this promise, and I’m so excited to have unveiled another one so soon after introducing The Brow Artist Collection,” said Supe.

Lip balms for medical frontliners

ONE of the things I hate about wearing masks is that my lips have become drier than usual. In quarantine, I became very obsessed with lip balms. I imagined that if I, who would venture out only twice a month to buy food and needed to wear masks only during those times, had that experience, imagine the frontliners who need to wear masks for eight to 12 hours everyday. Because of the face masks we need to wear when we go out, our lips are hidden, too, and they don’t get any air. The skin that covers the lips is also thin and very delicate. When we cover up with a mask, we mostly breathe through our mouths and that contributes to lip dryness. Dry lips are uncomfortable. Sometimes, they bleed. This may be a minor discomfort that medical frontliners suffer compared to everything they go through everyday, but it still needs to be addressed. Medical frontliners have been hailed as the heroes of this pandemic but this is not enough. I have relatives and friends who are doctors and nurses, and

I’ve seen how they’ve struggled in this pandemic. Thus, the announcement of Burt’s Bees Philippines that it is donating 1,000 lip balms to medical frontliners is something that made me so happy. The lip balms are for frontliners in five hospitals around Metro Manila: The Medical City, St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Children’s Hospital and Cardinal Santos Medical Center. “We hope that by treating our frontliners with something as simple as Burt’s Bees lip balm, we can spark hope and lift their spirit,” said Burt’s Bees International Sales and Marketing Director for Southeast Asia Paulo Lao. “This is our little way of sharing joy, expressing our gratitude and paying our respects to their heroic efforts in helping protect the health of Filipinos.” Burt’s Bees lip balm has allnatural ingredients that maintain the lips’ moisture and prevent them from drying.

B6 Monday, December 28, 2020

Online art auction for Smile Train Philippines launched

NAC skips party to give P332K event funds to Cagayan Province

NAC employees’ representatives, led by Gerry B. Ongkingco, VP for Human Resources, presented the funds to Fr. Reu Jose C. Galoy, OFM, parish priest of Santuario de San Antonio (SSAP). SSAP has aggressive relief operations in Cagayan. The donation will be used to help families affected by the typhoons

ICKEL Asia Corp. (NAC) employees skip the annual Christmas party to extend their event fund of P332,000 to the victims of the recent typhoons in Cagayan. NAC employees regularly commit to Personal Social Responsibility (PSR) programs where they pool together personal funds to extend support and assistance to the communities. For years, with PSR, NAC employees have built a library in Eastern Samar, distributed school supplies to thousands

of students in Isabela and Surigao del Norte, assisted a young cancer patient from Rio Tuba to complete her treatment, distributed hundreds of kaldero and kumot to victims of typhoons and the volcanic eruption in Batangas. This holiday season, despite the pandemic, NAC employees reach out to the victims of the recent typhoons. NAC employees, with support from family and friends, also “passed around the hat” to provide gifts of toys, candies, crayons, peanut butter and crackers, and

face shields to about 300 children in Isabela. “We received many support from all over the country during and after the typhoons, we are grateful to all, but the toys brought happiness to the parents and we got wide smiles from the children, our hearts are warmed by this gesture,” says Lucy Ambatali, LGU employee in Ilagan, Isabela. Meanwhile, Rio Tuba Nickel (RTN), a subsidiary of NAC in Rio Tuba in Palawan, also extended P350,000 CSR funds to the victims of the typhoons in Cagayan. NAC is among first responders to COVID challenge spending about P50M as early response to the threat of COVID-19. Through its subsidiaries – Cagdianao Mining (CMC), Dinapigue Mining (DMC), Hinatuan Mining (HMC), Rio Tuba Nickel Mining (RTN) and Taganito Mining (TMC) with Emerging Power, Inc. (EPI) and Cordillera Exploration Inc. (CExCI) – spent more than P50M from their Social Development Management Program (SDMP) and Corporate Social Responsibility funds for sacks of rice, food packs, vitamins, and medical supplies such as alcohol and hand sanitizers, distributed to thousands of families and frontliners. A separate CSR budget of P18M was turned over to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to build a molecular testing laboratory in Surigao City to support the province’s efforts for early detection of COVID-19 cases.

Int’l Migrants Day calebrated with launch of capacity-building programs

BEAUTIFUL charcoal drawings featuring Smile Train Global Ambassador Catriona Gray, Smile Maker Marian Rivera and patients by Riz Cabrera

ISUAL artist Riz Cabrera has partnered with Smile Train to raise awareness for children born with a cleft through the launch of her online art auction which she hopes can contribute to sustaining Smile Train’s goal to provide children the urgent support and care needed. Every day, 540 babies are born around the world with this serious health condition – preventing them not only from smiling, but also posing difficulties in eating, breathing, and speaking. Through the auction, Riz hopes to help fund the surgeries and therapies that could transform the lives of Filipino cleft patients. “When I came across the Smile Train website, I was deeply moved by their advocacy. While I initially wanted to just be a channel of blessings for the patients, my goal was to raise awareness for this generation, specifically to those dealing with mental health issues just like myself,” shared Cabrera. “Although we all have our own personal problems and trials,

if we would just look beyond ourselves, we can still be a message of hope to somebody. I believe that focusing on helping other people is therapy itself and partnering with Smile Train rekindles hope within me,” she shared. “We are grateful for the work Riz has done and continues to do for the benefit of Smile Train and we look forward to this generation to join our cause and act on behalf of children born with a cleft lip and/palate.” This Christmas, you can bring a smile to the lives of people by supporting the auction. Check out https://www.32auctions.com/ smile2020 to view the artworks. Donations are also accepted in the site. You may also follow Riz through her Facebook and Instagram accounts @carizzze. For more information about Smile Traqin Philippines’ local efforts and to refer a patient in need, visit smiletrain.ph/get-help, follow Smile Train Philippines on Twitter and Instagram @ SmileTrainPh, and like them on Facebook at @SmileTrainPhilippines.

Proudly Filipino-owned brand LEUPP offers affordably-priced everyday-wear timepieces

OU won’t see any insignia on the face of LEUPP (pronounced loop) Watches. Instead, the brand’s emblem is placed on the back case and on the buckle. “We want to keep our watch face-free of logos,” reiterates LEUPP Watches founder Riane Garfin. “We are less focused on the brand label and more focused on the design and function.” LEUPP is an independent watch company established in 2018 to fill the gap in affordably-priced everyday-wear timepieces. “Watches in this price range are not particularly aesthetically pleasing and tend to be just logos being stamped on a generic product,” notes Riane. Having been in fashion accessories industry since 2014, Riane and her business partners saw an opportunity. She says, “After several years in operation, we realized that our watches were the obvious favorite. So, in 2018, we changed direction and focused solely on timepieces. That’s when we renamed the brand to LEUPP.” The name is a play on the word “loop.” Riane reveals, “Because that’s how this machine

keeps time — through a cycle of repetitions.” The designs are creations by Riane, herself, and a small team of designers based in the leafy district of Putney in southwest London. The company’s creation hub is essential to their identity, as Riane elaborates, “Today’s era is digitized and socialized. Tastes are evolving to a more global look and feel. Filipinos have become very particular. There is a need for elevated design at an accessible price. This is where LEUPP comes in. LEUPP is a Filipino-owned brand with its roots set in London. Our studio is tucked in London, a melting pot of cultural diversity. This is a strong influence to LEUPP’s universal appeal.” For Riane, LEUPP is not just a business but a vocation to offer people beautiful things of lasting value. She sums LEUPP’s mission statement this way: “We are purveyors of time machines.” LEUPP Watches are available through their official store, www.Leuppwatches.com, and through Zalora PH and Lazada; and at select physical stores.

‘Quaranegosyo’ set up to help budding business owners

N celebration of the Month of Overseas Filipinos, the Safe and Fair: Babaeng Biyahero Campaign hosted Sama-Sama Tayo Babaeng Biyahero, an online town hall and cultural night on its Facebook page on December 18. The campaign’s year-end online event is aligned with the United Nations’ global #WeTogether campaign theme for the 2020 International Migrants Day, which emphasizes unity, inclusion and solidarity with migrants around the world: #We Live Together. Hosted by Suzi Entrata-Abrera, the program also featured performances from women artists-songwriters who are members of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) as well as singer and actress, Glaiza de Castro. The Babaeng Biyahero Celebrity Champion, The Phenomenal Star Maine Mendoza also graced the event to announce the winners of the program’s online gallery initiative which was launched last November 25.

Headlining the event were the launches of several capacity-building services, programmes and opportunities for Filipina migrant workers, that can reduce risks to violence and enhance their choices and options throughout their migration journey: pre-departure, on-site/abroad, and reintegration. Information is a crucial element in helping women migrant workers kickstart their migration journey. From legal assistance to job opportunities and knowledge on important hotlines and service-providers and support groups - information can help women migrant workers to prevent violence and abuses, assert their rights, seek redress and help, and ensure safe and fair working conditions abroad. To address this, the UN Women and International Labor Organization, partnered with the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to install the Babaeng Biyahero May I Help You Information Kiosks at the Ninoy

Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal 1 and 2. Coupled with the kiosk’s launch is the introduction of the Babaeng Biyahero mobile app, which aims to provide an efficient and quick way for women migrant workers to access important information channels found in babaengbiyahero.info. The mobile app also enables users to locate embassies closest to them, as well as dial-out for hotlines abroad. The online Post-Arrival Orientation Seminar (PAOS) of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Hong Kong (POLO - HK) was launched in partnership with the FAIR II project, and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). This enables Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong to access the training program by simply logging-on to paos-hk.com. A PAOS certificate is also issued to migrant workers who complete the online course.

UNNING a business requires having signs or signages in any form. Wherever you go outside of home, you will find signs that create awareness, promote a product, or simply give directions. Simply put, signs are important in marketing strategy and this has been recognized more than two decades ago by Willie Que, Signarama Philippines President Wesley Que's father. Signarama has been around and operating for more than 34 years. With its vision to help grow businesses and spark innovations, the brand seeks to be the leading sign company in the Philippines. “Ironically, while sign businesses are tagged as advertising companies in the country, they rarely focus on their own branding,” Wesley shared his thoughts. “We decided to take the Master Franchise License for the whole Philippines and believe that this would take us to that next level of growth,” he said. Wesley worked as General Manager in the family's Signarama franchise when it started in 2014 and took on the role as President in 2018. His heart, from the start, has been after helping businesses grow through signs. In order to serve our customers better, be true to our vision of helping businesses grow, and reach more of those we haven't reached before, we have decided to create subbrands under the main one: Signarama Corporate, Signarama Home Business, and Signarama Personalized. As Signarama thrives in its business category, it attempts to live up to its commitment to service by giving back to fellow business owners. Wesley announced the Quaranegosyo program (in partnership

Signarama President Wesley Que

with The Narrative) specifically aimed at people who have been laid off during the pandemic, those whose businesses have slowed down or stopped, and others who have started a business during this season. Quaranegosyo is Signarama Philippines' simple way of giving hope to and rewarding the hard work of a deserving kababayan. Interested participants must have: Started own business during the pandemic (Validity begins April 2020), Experienced one of the following: Retrenchment / job loss, Reduced work schedule or Closing down of business. To join, submit a testimonial video (maximum of 3 minutes) with the following elements: Previous occupation/ business, How it was affected by the pandemic, How it affected you and your family, Why you chose to start your business, How the business was conceptualized, current state of business. Prizes at stake is Php70,000 in business signage package and Php30,000 in cash. Deadline for submissions is January 31, 2021. Send to quaranegosyo@signarama.com.ph.

Marketing BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, December 28, 2020 B7

The coronavirus chronicles:

Social media 2020 B By Millie F. Dizon

TikTok brings back organic content

“What makes TikTok the social media platform of 2020 isn’t just the escape it provided everyone. It’s also about the algorithm [love it or hate it] that gives everyone the opportunity to become ‘TikTok Famous,’” says Patrick Pho, senior content producer and production manager at Volkswagen. This means “in 2020, anyone— no matter what their follower count—could riff of a meme, tell a story, or do a little dance, and as long as it was entertaining enough it

Entertainment: Behind Ikaw ang Liwanag at Ligaya—How ABS-CBN and Unilever pulled off a first for their 2020 Christmas I.D.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—It isn’t a Filipino Christmas without the sounds of children and folk caroling by the time the ber months hit, some of them even in broad daylight. Listen to the mashup of carols closely, and it’s likely you’ll hear an ABS-CBN tune alongside the familiar lines of “Sa may bahay, ang aming bati…” The annual Christmas ID launch by the network is one of those pop culture phenomena that have earned its place alongside other cultural Christmas traditions—almost as commonplace as setting up a parol and Christmas ornaments in front of one’s home, as well as attending simbang gabi and feasting on bibingka and puto bumbong. So in the wake of 2020 and its flurry of disruptive events, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the shutdown of the network’s broadcasts, was there room for the annual Christmas ID? According to Robert Labayen, head of Creative Communication Management at ABS-CBN, the answer was a resounding yes. The creative communication chief said that the

times of adversity made the Christmas ID even more resonant this year, ultimately leading to the theme “Ikaw ang Liwanag at Ligaya” (You are the light and the joy). “We thought that this was the most difficult year to celebrate Christmas, therefore [all the more that] we should exert extra effort to spread the Christmas period,” Labayen shares. “So that was our attitude before creating the campaign.” Not that the circumstances surrounding ABS-CBN’s Christmas ID weren’t fraught with changes. Shooting and producing under Covid-19 restrictions, instead of showing off the size and magnitude of the whole roster of network talents in an aerial shot, the stars featured in the video were shot individually in the safety of their homes and the studio, while complying with strict guidelines by the IATF. This year’s Christmas ID also introduced a first in the network’s history: a collaboration with long-time partner, Unilever Philippines. As the biggest advertiser in the country, the company was not new to working with ABS-CBN in various forms of content, but joining forces with an advertiser for the Christmas ID was unheard of. As Labayen explains, “In the past, we didn’t have advertisers in the Christmas ID because we thought you shouldn’t give out a Christmas message with ads. But during our hard times, our clients, especially Unilever, were very supportive. And we thought that [since] they’re already [practically] part of the ABS-CBN family, we might as well make them part of our Christmas campaign.”

made the splash like the new platform TikTok has, Maerowitz notes it has “quietly armed communicators with organic success and a high potential for conversions.” She cites Kelly Stone, senior director of global social media at CompTIA who says that LinkedIn Live’s growing feature in 2020 has proved invaluable for her company. “Getting early on this, before the pandemic gave us an edge in speaking directly to our audience,” shares Stone. “We’ve since done more than 100 live broadcasts and recordings using the software behind LinkedIn Live with phenomenal engagement and conversion rates to match.

Short-form, passive content grows in popularity

tracy-le-blanc | pexels.com

PR Matters

Y this time, many PR Pros are already making plans for 2021 in a world that has significantly changed. A marked shift to things digital—online classes for kids, online banking, zoom meetings, endless digital campaigns— brought about by lockdowns and travel restrictions has made this decidedly a crowded space. This means it would take a lot of thought and planning for one’s marketing initiatives like social media and creatives to be noticed. Gone are the days when one could proudly present to management campaigns with many likes and shares, which of course were boosted by agencies tasked to do so. In an article in PR News Online, Sophie Maerowitz says that as communicators take stock of their existing social media toolkit and prepare for campaigns in 2021, “it may be helpful to look at this year in terms of its most noteworthy social media trends and updates.” She also notes another challenge as “in 2020, the Covid economy brought waves of layoffs and budget cuts, making it likely PR pros have to take on the monumental task of overseeing all their brand’s social media activities solo or with a skeleton crew.” In her PR News article “5 Trends that Defined Social Media Communications in 2020,” Maerowitz shares with us five social media developments that have impacted communicators in 2020—and are likely to have staying power.

would reach more and more people.” With that, “the dark ages for those without a paid social media budget may be over. That’s the difference that makes TikTok stand out in a world where organic reach is all but dead on legacy platforms. The content that goes viral on Tiktok is no different from what worked back in the early days of social media, but now you don’t need media buy in order to reach hundreds, even thousands of people.” Even better news is that TikTok is on its way to television, after sealing a deal with Samsung, potentially challenging the dominance of other streaming platforms.

Big social media players aren’t dead yet

While TikTok has become a social media darling, big tech is still very much in the picture. Don’t count

According to Labayen, the Christmas ID was a culmination of their strengthened ties this year, after Unilever became one of the first companies to support the network’s Pantawid ng Pag-Ibig program— ABS-CBN Foundation’s fund-raising campaign for families affected by the Luzon enhanced community quarantine (ECQ)—as well as other year-long efforts such as digital concerts and donation drives. Through their partnership, Unilever was able to provide several packs of their products as relief goods for those who were affected by this year’s Covid-19 crisis. Joseph Meñez, ABS-CBN’s Digital Sales Head, notes, “For us this year was all about partnering to help. With the pandemic as well as typhoons that has affected the country, we have always wanted to partner with all of our advertisers to help the different communities most affected by it.” He adds, “We have done efforts to help for us to solicit and partner with organizations and every step of the way we encourage our advertisers to partner with us too. And it is fitting to end the year with the same offer.” The collaboration was a dream come true for Dennis Perez, Country Media Director for Unilever Philippines. “Getting into the Christmas ID has always been part of Unilever’s wish list for the past six years. We know that it’s been part of pop culture, and a really great platform for advertising.” “However, there’s a big but— we are also very respectful. At the end of

Facebook and Twitter out just yet. “The legacy platforms know how to compete with new upstarts,” Pho says, noting the tradition of copycat moves—Facebook with Stories and Reels, and Twitter with Fleets by which they have flexed their muscles. Pho notes, however, that increased scrutiny of the elder platforms, especially with the 2020 US election cycle may prove to be challenging to them.

The year of remote connection

“2020 was the year we were all sent home and not allowed to come out,” says Justin Buchbinder, director of social media at Finn Partners. With consumers yearning for meaningful contact with friends and family, “socia l net works jumped into action and provided us with new opportunities and up-

the day, it’s the ABS-CBN Christmas ID. It is basically something that the network produces to really embody what the network stands for. And therefore, I always tell the team that we cannot plaster brands there.” This meant an emphasis on not hard-selling any of Unilever’s products— a guideline that both ABS-CBN and Unilever were happy to comply with. Sales head Meñez shares how both the network and Unilever had to agree on placements within a grueling 24-hour window before shooting. “When we learned that the Christmas ID will be open to our partners, we actually cascaded it to all of our advertisers, and Unilever was one of the first, if not the first who acted on it as quickly as possible. Because scenes where brands can take part in were already set, it’s either a brand joins or they miss the boat. I think that’s how we appreciate the trust with each other— with them letting us also take [the lead and] also understanding that the Christmas ID is sacred to [ABS-CBN]. They didn’t meddle with it so much. But they trusted us on how we would be able to creatively implement it so that it will be as subtle as possible, and deliver the message at the same time.” While Perez notes that he is typically hands-on when it comes to Unilever’s brand campaigns, he also mentions that he and his team had minimal input when it came to conceptualizing and producing the video, waiting to respond to whatever the network would need from them. “This is ABS-CBN’s Christmas ID,” Perez quips. “This is not our ID,

grades that allowed us to connect digitally.” Buchbinder points to Instagram and Facebook’s live video updates which have included: n Re-introducing joint Facebook Live videos and the ability to share Messenger Groups to Facebook Live n New Instagram Live stickers n Beta tests allowing for more than two participants in an Instagram Live In addition, Buchbinder says that Facebook, Linkedin and other platforms offered ways to monetize events “providing us with sorely needed functionality that will only continue to help us make the best in a bad situation in the year to come.”

LinkedIn Live expands the corporate communications toolkit

While LinkedIn may not have

but we can make it good together.” He adds, “With what ABS-CBN wants to do with with their Christmas ID, there’s just this perfect fit of sincerely helping Filipinos. It’s not about advertising altogether, it’s about us moving as partners as one Kapamilya, getting together in order for us to help those who are suffering because of the pandemic in this this Covid-19. So that, that we felt that ‘Okay, maybe this is the right time to do it.’ Because we are also very careful of not being too intrusive, especially in something that is basically sacred to ABS-CBN.” According to Perez, he and his team at Unilever knew that joining forces with ABS-CBN on their Christmas ID was not about branding, but an opportunity to be a force for good—a common value that both Unilever and the network share. “We’re very aware as well of Christmas IDs, even all the other Christmas ID, it’s really brand-free. One thing that that we also [worked out] with ABS-CBN is how can we use this platform to help out in the service of the Filipino. This is where Unilever saw a good synergy of what we do as two different corporations—that is basically to bring light, life, joy, and hope back to Filipinos.” The Unilever media chief mentions the stories of real Filipinos shared in the Christmas ID, including the man who had biked to Samar for 10 days, whom they gifted with a livelihood showcase so he and his family can put up a sari-sari store. “These are real people that we’ve helped,” Perez adds, “And that’s basically I think in the core of Unilever, and in the core of ABS-CBN

“Content that can run in the background has proven soothing to the media-weary masses,” says Maerowitz. With that, “2020 was the year of at-home crafts, and many consumers got hooked on feel-good passive content. Forget emotionally gripping television or celebrity videos—audiences have gone for a mood boost by watching DIY crafts from paint mixing to origami, play dough art to cake decorating.” Given the high engagement metrics, it’s likely that communicators will employ more crafty creators for branded video in 2021, seeking to entertain without selling.” PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the senior vice president for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the former local chairman. We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.

as well.” According to Perez, Unilever donated over 250 gift packs for the beneficiaries, some of whom were featured in the Christmas ID. Macce Samarista, Country Media Manager for Unilever, shares that the message of Ikaw ang Liwanag at Ligaya resonated with what the country had gone through in the midst of a turbulent year. She says, “2020 is a year of disruptions. This pandemic has shaken our audiences’ normal external routines and have caused them to develop new ones since they’re just staying at home. It has caused audiences to go dark. I can still remember ABSCBN presenting a lot of digital content pivots which we experimented and launched in H2. When we heard this year’s Christmas ID song, it was so meaningful that it really struck a chord with all the issues we encountered this year; so landing May Liwanag at Ligaya project is very fitting for our business partnership this year.” It’s clear that the Christmas ID ushered in the opportunity for both Unilever and ABS-CBN to lean into their brand values and uplift the Filipino nation. The collaboration can also be seen as a sign of what’s to come in the space of branded entertainment in the future. For what it’s worth, however, Christmas has not been cancelled even in the midst of adversity—and together with Unilever, ABS-CBN was able to deliver and carry on the tradition of releasing another feel-good Christmas ID that evokes the spirit of the season. As Robert Labayen puts it best, “Bad times need a good song.”

Sports BusinessMirror

| Monday, December 28, 2020 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

SEN. Manny Pacquiao says he wants to experience facing a mixed martial arts fighter.

PACQUIAO WANTS MCGREGOR S

By Josef Ramos

EN. Manny Pacquiao admitted to BusinessMirror his desire to fight Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) superstar Conor McGregor in a boxing match next year. “I think I can help a lot of Filipinos if I’ll do the fight with [Conor] McGregor,” said Pacquiao who celebrated his 42nd birthday and spent the holidays from his mansion in General Santos City. “I will donate a huge part of my earnings to

the people,” he added. “That is my goal—to help the Filipinos.” The eight-division world champion Pacquiao is the reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight titlist, while McGregor is also a multi-titlist mixed martial art figher and a huge draw in the UFC. Pacquiao also admitted he prefers McGregor over unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. and World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Terence Crawford.

James AP Male Athlete of the Year

EBRON JAMES told the world in 2020 that Black Lives Matter. He helped convince many who had never voted to finally head to the polls. He found more ways to continue elevating the lives of people in his hometown. If that weren’t enough, he won another National Basketball Association (NBA) championship. James’s on-court performance this year was

spectacular again. A fourth NBA title and fourth NBA Finals MVP trophy were his, as he lifted the Los Angeles Lakers back atop the basketball world. And after a year where he was brilliant, on the court and off, James was announced Saturday as the winner of The Associated Press’s (AP) Male Athlete of the Year award for a recordtying fourth time. “I still know what I do on the floor and

McGregor is no alien to a boxing match. He fought unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. who is now retired, in August 2017 in Nevada, losing via 10th round technical knockout. McGregor reportedly earned $130 million in that fight while Mayweather collected $280 million. The Pacquiao-McGregor fight is penned next year in Dubai. Pacquiao (62-7-2 win-loss-draw record with 39 knockouts) said he likes to experience facing an MMA fighter atop the ring. He also wants a

obviously, I give everything to the game,” James told AP. “But I can make a greater impact off the floor right now, more than I can on the floor. And I want to continue to inspire people with the way I play the game of basketball. But there’s so many more things that I can do off the floor to help cultivate people, inspire people, bring people together, empower them.” The AP award was first given out in 1931. James’s fourth win matched Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods for the most by men. Three women have won the AP award at least four times; Babe Didrikson was a six-time winner,

piece of the talkative Irishman, who will face Dustin Poirier in a lightweight battle on January 23 in Abu Dhabi in UFC 257. “I really want to experience fighting a UFC fighter. At the same time, he’s very talkative,” Pacquiao said. The fighting senator said he keeps himself in fighting condition even during the pandemic by playing basketball and individual workout. “I workout everyday. I never forget to take care of our body,” he said.

Serena Williams has won five and Chris Evert four. The AP’s Female Athlete of the Year will be announced Sunday. James finished with 78 points in voting by a panel of 35 AP customers and editors. Kansas City quarterback and reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes was a narrow second

Tokyo Games local sponsors agree to seal new contracts

OKYO—Tokyo Olympic officials said Thursday they have reached a “basic agreement” with all 68 domestic sponsors to extend their contracts into next year to support the postponed Games. Yoshiro Mori, the president of the organizing committee, said at an online briefing that the new contributions “will exceed” 22 billion yen, or about $210 million, to patch up holes in the growing budget. Japanese domestic sponsors had already contributed a record of $3.3 billion to the local operating budget, and the new money pushes the total past $3.5 billion. This is at least twice—perhaps three times—as large as any previous Olympics and is driven by Dentsu Inc., the giant Japanese advertising company that is also the marketing agent for the Tokyo Games. Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the organizing committee, said Dentsu had conducted the negotiations. “It’s not that we went through negotiations to force the companies to invest,” Muto said. with 71 points. Formula One seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was a distant third with 14 points. James—also the AP’s male athlete of this past decade—also won the yearly AP award in 2013, 2016 and 2018. Michael Jordan, a threetime winner, is the only other basketball player to win the AP award more than once. AP

Mori also said the companies were not “pushed.” Mori acknowledged that many companies were facing tough financial times. It’s also clear that the Tokyo Olympics have become a priority for Japan’s national government, which would make it difficult for companies not to renew. “We have also heard from our partners about the difficult situation that each of them is facing in the midst of the pandemic and the unprecedented economic crisis,” Mori said. The Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported earlier this month that each of the 15 so-called “Gold Partners” would contribute about $10 million each. Some of the Gold Partners include well-known names like Canon, Fujitsu, and the Mizuho Financial Group. Nikkei is also a domestic sponsor along with other dailies including Asahi, Mainichi, Yomiuri and several smaller newspapers. Sponsors like the airline ANA and Japan Airlines are among those struggling during the pandemic, but they are also reported to be contributing. Muto acknowledged that not all the contributions involved cash. He said some would be “in-kind” in which goods and services are provided in lieu of cash payments. Tokyo Olympic organizers announced earlier this week that their new budget, swollen by the postponement and the cost of holding the Olympics during a pandemic, had increased by $2.8 billion, pushing the official cost to $15.4 billion. Government audits over the last several years have shown the total is probably closer to $25 billion. All but $6.7 billion is public money. The University of Oxford said in a study four months ago that Tokyo is the most expensive Summer Olympics on record. Tokyo officials said the Olympics would cost about $7.5 billion when they won the bid in 2013 from the International Olympic Committee. AP

LEBRON JAMES wins the award for the fourth time. AP

2020 Brewskies Awards Rick Olivares | bleachersbrew@gmail.com

Bleachers’ Brew EVERY year end since 2006, I have handed out my own personal column awards called, The Brewskies. Sort of a dubious awards conferment on the scandalous, controversial, and plain dumb sports folks and events of the year. With sports hardly played, what is there to hand out, right? Oh, a lot. Let’s start off with this award. I Think We’re Alone Now Award CUE in that hit song by Tiffany from way back in 1987.... We can understand many things shutting down during the coronavirus outbreak. The French Ligue 1 though ended their season on March 13 and its officials announced on April 28 that the season would not resume and Paris St. Germain was awarded the title despite having played only 27 matches (although they were 12 points ahead of second placer, Marseille). The funny thing was of all the big European football leagues, it was Ligue 1 presidents who proposed a resumption of the season. The German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, English Premier League, Spanish La Liga as well as top tier competition from Portugal, Belgium, Holland, and Austria to name a few resumed and had a clear cut champion. While Ligue 1 was in hibernation, club presidents sat and fired broadsides at league officials who instead pointed to the national government as the source to blame. Most Helpful Award THIS one without a shadow of a doubt goes to VAR or the Video Assistant Referee in the English Premier League. VAR has been nothing but a negative impact on the game with more wrong calls than correct ones. We’ve lost count! Let’s just say every week there is some bad call about a finger, a badge, or an armpit being offside. VARy frustrating indeed. Farmer of the Year Award THIS one goes to Aldin Ayo and the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers who went into this illegal bubble to train for a season that never came. How they made it through so many checkpoints and quarantine regulations is anyone’s guess. And they were there for what—to appreciate farming techniques? Sure they had them, says the former UST coach who resigned (albeit not right away) after this illegal

bubble controversy. But his lieutenants are still there so who knows—a comeback is in the offing perhaps? Unfortunately, they will not be able to harvest anything right away as almost the entire team has de-camped for other programs. Goals and Controversies Award I CAN’T recall a footballer having so many controversies. Maybe the late Diego Maradona had a lot more when he was alive, but for Lionel Messi who owns the scoring record for most goals scored for one club. The Argentinean, who has played for only one team in Barcelona for his entire professional career broke Brazilian great Pele’s scoring feat of 643 goals with Santos from 1956 to 1974 for a total of 665 matches. Lionel Messi took the record after he scored in a 3-0 win by Barcelona over Villadolid. Goals aren’t the only one this scoring machine is racking up. He is always embroiled in controversy whether it’s a red card for Argentina during his debut to accusing CONMEBOL for corruption to spitting at players or fighting with a former teammate turned manager to declaring he is leaving his club instead stays. Oh, there’s a lot more on this and that could fit an entire column and more. Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore Award EASY. This goes to Novak Djokovic which hurts because he is currently my favorite tennis player. To his lack of adherence to Covid-19 guidelines to his misconduct in the Australian Open to his hitting a line judge in the US Open, it has been a year to forget for the man they call The Joker. Joaquin Phoenix might have won an award for his portrayal of the Joker but this tennis star is losing fans and turning off people. Me included. And lastly, there is this... Club of the Year Award TO Global Football Club. Controversies and non-payment of salaries goes hand in hand with this team. How local football officials don’t even bother to clean up this mess is beyond me. How they can have this joke of a team operate with dubious owners is also beyond me and logic. How many lawsuits does this club have? I hear they just lost another. Simply a model on how not to form a football club.