BusinessMirror February 27, 2020

PHL RESTRICTS TOURIST TRIPS TO SOKOR

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

& Recto Mercene @rectomercene

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ILIPINO tourists are now banned from traveling to South Korea, including Jeju Island, amid the growing number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the Asian country.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, Presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) made the decision to minimize the exposure of Filipinos to the dreaded virus.

The task force has also resolved to

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Thursday, February 27, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 140

‘Virus may have slowed rice shipments to PHL’ T

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) said the 61.8-percent year-on-year decline in the country’s rice imports as of February 14 may have been partly caused by the stringent rules implemented by exporting countries to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

BOC Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla told the BusinessMirror that the bureau is now looking closely into the factors that have contributed to the decline in rice shipments to the

Philippines under the rice trade liberalization (RTL) law.

“I think trading of all goods, including foodstuff, have been affected by the regulations adopted by countries to avoid the spread of

COVID-19,” Maronilla said via SMS. “Also, the DA [Department of Agriculture] has been extra vigilant in the issuance of SPS [sanitary and phytosanitary permits] to ensure the health and safety of

Volume of rice imported from January 1 to February 14. This is lower than the 759,810 MT brought into the country during the same period in 2019

the domestic farm sector and the Filipino people,” he added.

Aside from COVID-19, Maronilla said it is also possible that traders have stayed away from the export market for now as farmers will start harvesting rice soon.

“Maybe they [traders] are anticipating that our farmers’ production would be huge [and that] they will have a hard time competing.

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PESO exchange rates n

See “Sokor,” A2

P25.00 nationwide | 6 sections 58 pages |

Food security: To grow our own or copy the Singapore model?

Rene E. Ofreneo

laborem exercens

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he proponents of rice tariffication have been arguing that it is better to import cheaper rice from the world market and nudge the “inefficient” rice producers at home to switch to the production of higher value-adding crops. This way the rice-consuming public is assured of cheaper rice, while the marginal rice farmers have the opportunity to earn more. The government is also spared of the difficult task of having to allocate extra resources to buoy up farm-gate prices for palay while keeping the retail prices for rice at a low level based on the old buy-high-sell-low operational guidepost of the downsized National Food Authority (NFA).

In this regard, the proponents of rice trade liberalization even cite Singapore as an example of a food-secure nation. Singapore literally imports all the food requirements needed by a population of 6 million citizens and 3 million or so guest workers.

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Market at 15-month low on coronavirus jitters

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See “MNCs’,” A8

for those who have been identified from the countries [with high rates of infection], then that is the time we could raise the objection [to a passenger’s] entry,” Duterte said.

However, he supported the task force decision to temporarily stop Filipino tourists from going to South Korea. “But me personally, if you ask, my answer now is I cannot do it. I will not allow ‘yung travel doon [travel there].”

In an earlier media briefing with Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and DOH Assistant Secretary for Public Health Services Maria Rosario Vergeire, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said that they will be strictly

209,320 MT

In MNCs’ rationalizing, PHL could be at risk

HE Philippines is in peril of losing some investors as a result of multinationals rationalizing their global operations. Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, who revealed this in a recent interview with reporters, admitted the country’s economy is smaller when compared to several nations.

Lopez explained that multinationals are undergoing a rationalization of operations with the worldwide slowdown in merchandize trade. When companies choose which operations to shut down, those situated in the country are vulnerable due to the relatively smaller economy here, he added.

“If you look at the world, we are a small player, a small country compared to the global world demand.

You can expect a lot of this rationalization when global headquarters assess their resources. There’s a factor there [of] how major or big a country you are, how important your market is to that company,” Lopez explained.

This is not to say that many will follow the lead of Honda in its decision to abandon its Philippine plant, he added. Lopez argued it will still depend how sensitive the multinational’s operations are, and how important the Philippine market is to them.

impose travel restrictions for passengers coming from North Gyeongsang province, South Korea, including Daegu City and Cheongdo County, effective immediately.

In an ambush interview with Palace reporters on Wednesday night, however, President Duterte said the government will tread with caution on expanding the travel ban to include all travelers from South Korea.

“No, I cannot do that. No country could do that. Why would you...you cannot do that. If the guy is healthy why would you...there cannot be a total travel ban...you are going to lock down the entire Philippines for that. It ain’t that way. For those who are healthy, they should come in. And

By VG Cabuag

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LENT IN THE TIME OF COVID A lay minister sprinkles ash on the head of a churchgoer—instead of the forehead—in a Baclaran church on Ash Wednesday (February 26), the start of the 40-day Lenten season. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines gave options to priests on how to apply ash on the faithful as churches worldwide took their own precautions against unwittingly spreading Covid-19 through rituals involving large crowds. NONIE REYES

PSA: Banana pulls up farm export receipts in 2019

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE country’s agricultural exports in 2019 managed to rise by 8.6 percent to nearly $5 billion, the second-highest recorded in the previous decade, as banana shipments were able to offset the decline in coconut-based

exports, preliminary government data showed.

Economists said, however, that the expansion of agro-based exports is still “anemic” as the Philippines remains dependent on a few commodities, which are mostly raw farm goods, instead of value-added products.

Preliminary data released by

the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) indicated that the total agro-based exports last year reached $4.98 billion, higher than the $4.584 billion recorded in 2018.

This was the second-highest recorded revenue from agro-based products in the previous decade after the $5.13 billion recorded in See “PSA,” A2

@villygc

HARE prices closed at their lowest in 15 months, with the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dipping to the 6,900-point level, still on fears over the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

The PSEi shed 277.60 points, or about 4 percent, to close at 6,909.84 points.

The last time the PSEi visited the said level was on November 13, 2018, when it closed at 6,843.83 points.

“Philippine shares tumbled after the holiday after the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] warned of more cases and companies indicated earnings would be affected from the spread of the virus,” Luis Limlingan, managing director at broker Regina Capital Development Corp., said.

More cases of Covid-19 infections were reported in South Korea, Italy and Iran, while some smaller countries in Europe reported their first case of infection. The World Hea lth Organization ( W HO), meanwhile, said the world is not

ready for the spread of the virus, which further dampened investors’ sentiment in the region.

Total value of shares traded reached P10.05 billion and foreign investors were net sellers at P3.06 billion.

All sub-indices ended in the red, dropping at least 2.5 percent.

The broader All Shares index fell 136.05 to 4,129.37, the Financials index dropped 44.19 to 1,649.56, the Industrial index plunged 389.36 to 8,416.22, the Holding Firms index declined 264.59 to 6,761.39, the Services index shed 55.47 to 1,370.28, the Mining and Oil index was down 162.09 to 6,770.32 and the Property index retreated 154.08 to 3,696.81.

Losers edged gainers 184 to 27 and 30 shares were unchanged.

Property developer Ayala Land Inc. was the day’s most actively traded and it fell P2.75 to P38.65 per share; BDO Unibank Inc. dropped P6.30 to P137; SM Prime Holdings Inc. shed P0.80 to P39.30; SM Investments Corp. gave up P25 to P985, Jollibee Foods Corp. lost P10.50 to P175.10; and ISM Communications Corp. bucked the trend to gain P0.11 to P1.70.

US 51.0140 n japan 0.4630 n UK 66.3590 n HK 6.5489 n CHINA 7.2742 n singapore 36.4777 n australia 33.6794 n EU 55.5185 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.5954

Source: BSP (26 February 2020)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Thursday, February 27, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PhilHealth bares benefit package on Covid-19

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

TATE-RUN health insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

(PhilHealth) has finally released the guidelines on the enhancement of its benefit packages for member-patients suspected or confirmed to have been infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

According to PhilHealth Circular No. 2020-0004 signed by PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Ricardo C. Morales, the agency has a comprehensive set of packages in response to the spread of Covid-19, including the Isolation Package, Referral Package and the existing All Case Rates.

“The existing package that may be accessed by PUI [Patients Under Investigation] for the 2019-nCoV infection needs to be enhanced to become more relevant in the concerned effort to address the grow-

ing concern,” read the circular addressed to all health-care providers and all concerned parties.

The circular shall take effect for admissions starting January 30, 2020.

Isolation Package with a case rate amount of P14,000 may be availed of by PUIs for Covid-19 and those with confirmed cases of the coronavirus with mild symptoms.

On the other hand, the referral package amounting to P4,000 covers PUIs who need to be referred to a higher level facility for quarantine.

Senate OKs bill repealing Anti-Terrorism Law

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HE Senate, voting 19-2, on Wednesday approved on final reading Senate Bill 1083 which provides more teeth to the law against terrorism, and effectively repealing the Human Security Act of 2007.

Senators Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Pia Cayetano, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Grace Poe, Imee Marcos, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, Joel Villanueva, Cynthia Villar, Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, Win Gatchalian, Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Richard Gordon, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Bong Revilla, Francis “Tol”Tolentino, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri and Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III voted in the affirmative while Senators Francis “Kiko”Pangilinan and Risa Hontiveros dissented.

The proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 provides a strong legal backbone to support the country’s criminal justice response to terrorism, provide the law enforcers the much-needed tools to protect the people from the threat of terrorism, and at the same time, safeguard the rights of those accused of the crime.

“We need a strong legal structure that deals with terrorism to exact accountability, liability and responsibility. Those who have committed, are about to commit, or are supporting those who commit terroristic acts should be prosecuted and penalized accordingly,” Lacson, sponsor of the measure, said.

The measure includes a new section on foreign terrorist fighters to cover Filipino nationals who commit terrorist offenses abroad.

Senate Bill 1083 introduced provisions imposing life imprisonment

Virus. . .

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The harvest season is coming,” he said. In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, the BOC said it collected P1.71 billion in rice tariffs from traders who imported 209,320 metric tons of rice from January 1 to February 14. This is lower than the 759,810 MT brought into the country during the same period in 2019.

Rice tariffs collected as of February 14 were also 23.1 percent lower than the P2.22 billion the BOC collected in the same period last year.

The BOC’s collection last year under the RTL law reached P12.3 billion from 2.03 million metric tons of private-sector imports.

P10B in tariffs

Despite this, Maronilla expressed confidence that the government will be able to collect P10 billion in rice tariffs this year. The amount will be earmarked for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

“For us, it is still too early to sound the alarm. In fact, if you look at last year, when we implemented the RTL law around March, we were able to catch up with our target of collecting P10 billion. It reached P10 billion even before the end of the year, so collection could [pick

without parole or penalizing those who will propose, incite, conspire, and participate in the planning, training, preparation and facilitation of a terrorist act; as well as those who will provide material support to terrorists, and recruit anyone to be a member of a terrorist organization.

Under the bill, any person who shall threaten to commit terrorism shall suffer the penalty of 12 years.

The same jail term will be meted against those who will propose any terroristic acts or incite others to commit terrorism.

Any person who shall voluntarily and knowingly join any organization, association or group of persons knowing that such is a terrorist organization, shall suffer imprisonment of 12 years. The same penalty shall be imposed on any person found liable as accessory in the commission of terrorism.

The measure not only establishes Philippine jurisdiction over Filipino nationals who may join and fight with terrorist organizations outside the Philippines, but also ensures that foreign terrorists do not use the country as a transit point, a safe haven to plan and train new recruits for terrorist attacks in other countries.

The bill also removed the provision on payment of P500,000 in damages per day of detention of any person acquitted of terrorism charges.

But the number of days a suspected person can be detained without a warrant of arrest is 14 calendar days, extendible by 10 days.

A new provision, designating certain Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) as Anti-Terror Courts, was also introduced to ensure the speedy disposition of cases.

Also, the use of videoconferenc-

up] anytime,” said Maronilla.

The RCEF was set up under RA 11203 to finance farm modernization initiatives, such as providing local growers with wider access to credit and training along with funds for mechanization and inputs, like fertilizer and high-quality seeds.

The excess of P10 billion collected for RCEF will also be used to finance other programs to boost the yield of farmers and improve their competitiveness.

Section 13(c) of RA 11203 states that 10 percent of the P10-billion RCEF shall be made available in the form of credit facility with minimal interest rates, and with minimum collateral requirements to rice farmers and cooperatives.

The rest of the RCEF will be set aside for farm machinery and equipment; rice seed development, propagation and promotion; and rice extension services, as provided under RA 11203.

On top of paying tariffs, the Department of Finance also said rice importers are required under RA 11203 to secure SPS-IC from the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry, which assumed the food safety regulation function of the National Food Authority under this law.

This requirement will ensure that rice imports are free from pests and diseases, that could affect public health and local farm production.

ing for the accused and witnesses to remotely appear and testify will be allowed under the measure.

The amendments also provide for the police or the military to conduct a 60-day surveillance on suspected terrorists, which may be lengthened to another non-extendable period of 30 days, provided that they secure a judicial authorization from the Court of Appeals (CA).

Any law enforcement or military personnel found to have violated the rights of the accused persons shall be penalized with imprisonment of 10 years, the senator said.

To allay concerns of possible excesses by the authorities, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) shall be notified in case of detention of a suspected terrorist.

The measure also mandates the CHR to give the highest priority to the investigation and prosecution of violations of civil and political rights of persons, and shall have the concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute public officials, law enforcers and other persons who may have violated the civil and political rights of suspects and detained persons.

Hontiveros and Pangilinan opposed some provisions of the bill that they feel would impinge on rights and liberty.

Pangilinan noted that the proposed definition of terrorism is vague and encompassing, making it open to abuse as simplest or common crimes can be framed by errant law enforcers as acts of terrorism.

“The prolonged detention is an impingement of rights and liberty.

Why 14 days? If security officials and law enforcers are doing their job, why will it take them long to file a case?

Or, is the practice of arrest and de-

Caucus. . .

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a Supreme Court decision in 2004 and, therefore, a Supreme Court [ruling] forms part of the law of the land.” Sotto was referring to remarks by former Chief Justice Reynato Puno in a CNN Philippines

Sokor. . .

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implementing the ban and will continously monitor the situation in South Korea.

He said that Filipinos and their foreign spouses or children, and holders of permanent resident and diplomatic visas will be allowed entry to the Philippines subject to existing screening and quarantine protocols.

The travel restriction will be reviewed and reevaluated within the |next 48 hours based on new developments.

On the other hand, any travel by Filipino tourists to South Korea will be temporarily suspended. Only permanent residents of South Korea, Filipinos leaving for study, and OFWs returning for work will be allowed, provided that they sign a written declaration acknowledging the risks involved, which will be complemented with a health advisory pamphlet.

“The safety and security of Filipi-

tain now, produce or invent evidence later still prevalent, as it was when opposition leader Jovy Salonga was arrested, detained, and charged in 1981? The current law is not perfect, and we, in Congress, should be working continuously to make it work for the people,” he said.

“The amendments, however, are worrisome and could make the Human Security Act an even worse tool for repression instead of an instrument for thwarting terrorists,” Pangilinan added.

Hontiveros expressed the same, adding that safety and security can never be at the expense of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.

“While all rights permit exceptions, I fear that certain provisions of the bill—specifically those allowing the preliminary proscription of suspected terrorist organizations prior to their being given an opportunity to be heard as well as those lowering the standard for warrantless arrest and detention—go too far and might lead to a number of pernicious consequences,” she said.

Dela Rosa, one of the coauthors of the bill, rallied behind the measure saying that the bill will fully equip the law enforcers not only in terms of weapons and funding but in protecting their rights as well.

“The enactment of this law will send a brave message to the world that we are in solidarity in the global fight against terrorism. I would like to extend my gratitude to our seasoned legislator and staunch ally against terror, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, for shepherding and ensuring the swift but very deliberate passage of this legislative measure,” Dela Rosa said.

interview on Tuesday.

He said senators would first “need to study this carefully.”

“We need to study this very well because we were not aware that there is such a Supreme Court decision that when a franchise ends, the franchise holder can no longer operate; you’ve to wait again for your franchise.” Butch Fernandez nos here and the outside the Philippines remain our primary concern.

Our countrymen’s welfare is foremost in our minds as concerned officials discuss updates and recommendations on the management of the coronavirus,” Panelo said.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Covid-19 has already infected 80,239 people as of February 25.

South Korea has the second-most number of confirmed Covid-19 cases at 977, only coming next to China’s 142,823 cases.

Most of the cases in South Korea are in its North Gyeongsang province.

As for the other parts of South Korea, the Task Force, said Panelo, “will conduct a risk assessment of the situation... within 48 hours to analyze whether it is necessary to expand the travel ban thereto.”

Local tourist operators have warned against the negative impact to the local tourism sector of the imposition of a travel ban for South Korea, which

The fixed amount shall redound to the member’s hospital bill as his or her PhilHealth benefit for the initial management, stabilization, and proper transfer of the patient to the referral hospital.

In more severe cases wherein the infection can cause pneumonia, PhilHealth also has existing packages for pneumonia where the causative agent is a virus such as Covid-19.

PhilHealth also offers existing case rate packages for those cases with Adult Respiratory Distress

PSA. . .

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2017, data from the PSA showed.

Figures also indicated that banana shipments, which rose by 40 percent to a record-high of nearly $2 billion, bannered the country’s agro-based exports last year. Bananas allowed total receipts to end 2019 in the black despite the slump in shipments of coco-based products, particularly coconut oil, which used to be the top farm export of the Philippines.

Shipments of banana accounted for 38.75 percent of total agro-based shipments in 2019, up from 30.14 percent in 2018, PSA data showed.

Global coconut oil prices, which started to fall in 2017, remained low. This hampered the country’s coconut oil shipments and caused receipts from the commodity to fall below the $1-billion mark for the first time in the previous decade.

Coconut oil shipments last year fell 14.5 percent to $919.849 million, from $1.075 billion in 2018, PSA data showed. Total coconutbased export products declined 16.9 percent to $1.278 billion, from $1.538 billion recorded in 2018.

Value-adding

Economists told the BusinessMirror that the decline in receipts from coconut oil should serve as a wake-up call to policy-makers and prompt them to encourage the shipment of value-added products.

Roehlano M. Briones, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) senior research fellow, said ideally the country should have a diverse portfolio of agricultural exports.

“We have pointed out that the problem has been systemic. The growth of agricultural exports has been anemic because we are dependent only on a few export mainstays. And given the vagaries of world market when one of our agriculture exports is down, the whole export portfolio is affected,” Briones told the BusinessMirror.

“It [farm exports] should be diversified. So, when one item is down, another commodity could offset the losses,” he added.

One thing the government could explore and pursue is the ramping up of production and value-adding of “other” agricultural exports, such is the top source of the Philippines’s foreign tourists.

Quarantine unit

All passengers coming from South Korea are subjected to closer examination with thermal scanners, as Korea’s Centers Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has reported new Covid-19 cases among citizens.

On Wednesday (February 26) the airport Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) unit scanned passengers coming from Incheon, South Korea on an Asiana flight that arrived at 10:45 am and Korean Airlines, at 11:20 am.

The BOQ fears that other passengers might have stayed for a longer period in Cheongdo county and Daegu City, in North Gyeongsang province where the most infections ballooned.

There are 11 incoming flights from Incheon, arriving every day at the three Naia terminals.

It was reported that Singapore will no longer allow the entry of

Syndrome, Pneumonia and Sepsis.

More than 80,000 people around the world have been infected by the virus and more than 2,700 deaths were recorded, according to international reports.

On Wednesday, the number of admitted PUIs in the Philippines stood at 101, as hundreds of previous PUIs were discharged. Only one death linked to Covid-19 was recorded so far in the country—a Chinese man who had traveled to the Philippines from Wuhan city, ground zero for Covid-19.

as avocado and mangosteen, which are in demand in other countries.

This, Briones pointed out, would avoid the possibility that other budding farm export winners will suffer the same fate that befell coconut-based products.

“We should have a long-term ambition to promote and develop other crops. If we do not start now then we will never get started. If we get our act together by pursuing aggressive research and development, then we would improve the productivity of other crops,” he said.

“So, when coconut is down, our avocado exports could offset the losses. We also have jackfruit and mangosteen. So we have the opportunity to develop our niche export markets,” he added.

Economist Pablito M. Villegas said it is not yet too late for coconut exports to recover but the government and the private sector should work on promoting the production of other high-value farm products aside from coconut oil.

“We are only a small part of the world oil market. So the best way is to shift to other coconut markets such as coconut coir, virgin coconut oil, the nontraditional markets,” he told the BusinessMirror.

The country’s avocado exports last year expanded by 46 percent to $1.341 million, from $918,785 in 2018 while exports of mangosteen surged to $55,670 from $1,149, PSA data showed.

Also, receipts from durian exports more than doubled to $2.613 million from $1.206 million while jackfruit shipments grew by 50 percent to $84,072 from $56,005. The country’s dragon fruit exports in 2019 reached $140,077, compared to just $1,288 in 2018.

The Department of Agriculture has vowed to partner with the private sector and farmers’ groups to improve the country’s farm exports via diversification and expansion of value chain from farms to processing.

“We will push for more exports of farm and fishery products to propel the agri-industrialization of the Philippine countryside,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in a previous statement.

“We need to have a systematic and long-term strategy to develop and promote exports of both raw and processed agricultural and fishery products,” Dar added. visitors from Cheongdo county and Daegu City—designated by the Singapore Ministry of Health as special care zones after a spike of Covid-19 cases.

The move was to come into effect on Wednesday at 11:59 pm and applies to all new short-term visitors who have travelled to the two areas in the last 14 days.

The rapidly evolving situation means travelers from these places pose a heightened risk to Singapore, authorities said.

Returning Singapore residents and long-term pass holders with recent travel history to the two areas will be issued with a Stay-Home Notice, which requires them to remain home for 14 days after returning to Singapore, reports said.

South Korea has reported 977 confirmed cases as of Tuesday, a majority of which are linked to a religious sect in Daegu city, while more than 100 are linked to a Cheongdo hospital.

With Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BI bars travel of 100+ HSWs at Zamboanga seaport

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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HE Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday reported that it has intercepted more than 100 undocumented Filipinos workers at the Zamboanga International Seaport (ZIS) bound for Qatar and Dubai.

BI Comm issioner Ja ime Morente said a total of 110 female passengers were intercepted in three separate interceptions by BI’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU).

During interrogation, the Filipino workers confessed that they came from different parts of the country, and were recruited by agencies that they met through Facebook.

Morente said the workers were trying to use Malaysia as a jump-off point to other Middle Eastern countries, where they received job offers to work in the service industry.

“These illegal syndicates are seemingly attempting to look for other exit points to be able to evade strict immigration inspection,” said Morente. “What they have not realized is that we have spread out our personnel, and are maintaining the same level of screening in all ports in the country, to ensure that our kababayan will not be victimized by these unscrupulous

individuals,” he added.

Out of the 110 undocumented Filipino workers, 37 were intercepted last February 10, 2020, while attempting to board the MV Antonia 1 bound for Sandakan, Malaysia.

ZIS TCEU Head Usman Sabdani reported that during interview, the 37 gave conflicting statements, while some presented altered passports and supporting documents.

It was later found out that most were bound for Qatar and Dubai, where they were recr uited to illega lly work without the proper employment documents.

A week after, another batch of 17 female passengers were prevented from boarding also for lack of proper working documents.

They claimed there were traveling to Dubai to work as household service workers, or caregivers.

Last Monday, 56 passengers also bound for Sandakan, Malaysia, were intercepted by immigration personnel and were found to be actually traveling to Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon and Kuwait, where they were recruited to work.

The 110 aspiring overseas workers were turned over to representatives of the InterAgency Council Against Trafficking for assistance and further investigation.

House presses measures to cushion effects of COVID-19 on economy and employment

“My appeal to the economic team and to the infrastructure team while the uncertainty of COVID-19 is there, and the country’s international tourism is affected, [is to] fast-track the release and execute infrastructure projects.”

—Cayetano

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

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O help cushion the effects of coron av i r u s d i sea se 2019 (COVID-19) to Philippine economy, particularly the tourism industry, the leadership of the House of Representatives urged the Duterte administration’s economic and infrastructure team to fast-track infrastructure projects of the government.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano issued the statement following the hearing of the joint House Committee on Economic Affairs and Tourism on the impact of COVID-19.

Cayetano, citing the Department of Tourism, said the local tourism industry is expected to lose an estimated P42.9 billion from February to April this year due to fears raised by the virus.

“My appeal to the economic team and to the infrastructure team while the uncertainty of COVID-19 is there, and the country’s international tourism is affected, [is to] fast-track the release and execute infrastructure projects,” he said.

According to Cayetano, the construction projects lined up under the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program, as well as other government small-, medium- and largescale infrastructure projects can definitely create jobs in various parts of the country and boost local economy.

Cayetano said that speeding up infrastructure projects can help absorb the possible “temporary displacement” in the tourism-related jobs during this “uncertain

period” while there is still a threat of a COVID-19 outbreak.

He also urged local government units to coordinate with the national government on matters related to budget alignment to prevent delay in the implementation of projects.

Impact

HOUSE Committee on Trade and Industry Chairman Wes Gatchalian said the Philippine economic managers must brace for the worst as the COVID-19 crisis continues to severely impact the country’s trade and industry. “ The increasing number of COVID-19 cases being reported all over the globe are a serious cause of concern and our economic managers must prepare for a pandemic scenario. We need to prepare and have contingencies in place,” Gatchalian said.

The World Health Organization last week hinted on the possibility of a COVID-19 pandemic as it issued a grim warning on the chances of containing the virus saying the window of opportunity was “narrowing” amid increasing number of cases in outbreaks in South Korea, Iran and Italy.

Gatcha lian, citing the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), said several industries have already been impacted by the flight and travel restrictions to and from mainland China, particularly the electronics, autos and auto parts, and pharmaceutical industries.

The lawmaker said the DTI reported that the supply of electronic parts and components from China has tightened amid the lack of air-cargo space, limited flights and the imposition of the travel ban.

Gatchalian also said several auto hubs in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic, have shut down due to the lockdown.

The lockdown has also deferred production and deliveries of pharmaceutical companies.

“There is now a need to revisit economic growth targets for 2020 due to the continuing COVID-19 crisis,” Gatchalian said.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, February 27, 2020 A3

PNP to pinpoint ‘fake news’ peddlers on narco-list probe

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By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

HE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said that it would also investigate sources of information used in the listing of 356 policemen in the government’s narcotics list (narco-list), especially those who may have been “wrongfully” included into the list.

One of the policemen, Lt. Col . Jov ie E s pen ido, ea rl ier said that while his name had been inc luded in t he l ist in 2016, he had been cleared in

2017, w ith no less than Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, then still the chief of the PNP, vouching for his integr it y.

PNP spokesman Chief Supt.

Bernard Banac said the leadership will just finish its ongoing adjudication against the policemen, including Espenido before they would shift their investigation into the narco-list’s sources of information. “ W hat w i l l come ne x t are those who have spread wrongful information so that if laws are violated, we will go after them,” Banac said.

While he stood part on the integrity of the narco-list, the PNP spokesman did not also discount the possibility that the information that were provided, and used against the policemen were incorrect and have been peddled by certain individuals.

“If their syndicates were hit, then it is not possible that they will spread fake news against our

officers, operatives. So we are assuring that we will not stop for those of our colleagues who will be cleared. We will go after those who have spread wrong information,” Banac said.

Other than the syndicates, the information could have also been provided by members of the PNP who have ill motives against their colleagues. Other individuals could have provided them also.

But Banac said all the information hurled against the policemen in the narco-list went through initial verification, and the ongoing adjudication was to inform them about the information while asking them to respond.

He said the adjudication, whose results will be submitted to President Duterte on March 5, 2020.

PhilHealth tightens accreditation of healthcare providers amid NHIP implementation

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

A

MID its renewed crackdown on fraudulent claims, the state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) issued a circular stipulating the guidelines on the denial, or withdrawal of accreditation, of healthcare providers.

PhilHealth said in its Circular 2020-0003 that it has the authority to grant accreditation to a health-care provider, which confers the privilege of participating in the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP).

PhilHealth is also mandated to supervise the provision of health benefits and to set the standards, rules and regulations necessary to ensure access to quality health care, member satisfaction, appropriate utilization of services and fund viability.

“This policy establishes the guidelines, and procedures, on the denial and withdrawal of accreditation of health-care providers. It also enumerates the conditions that lead to the denial, or withdrawal, of accreditation, and the process involved in denial, or withdrawal, of accreditation and the remedies thereafter,” read the circular signed on February 10, 2020, by PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Ricardo C. Morales.

Moreover, the policy also applies to all health-care providers both institutions and professionals that are currently participating in the NHIP, as well as to healthcare providers with intention to participate in the program.

PhilHealth shall deny, or withdraw, the accreditation of healthcare providers on either of the following grounds: noncompliance with any, or all, of the accreditation requirements; pending case filed with the Prosecution Department; violation of RA 7875, or the National Health Insurance Act of 2013, as amended and its revised implementing rules and regulations; and RA 11223; or the Universal Health Care Law and its implementing rules and regulations; commission of fraudulent or criminal acts prejudicial to the NHIP or other validated monitoring findings from any concerned office of the corporation.

All health-care providers with pending cases shall also be subjected to automatic review and deliberation by the PhilHealth Regional Office Accreditation Subcommittee for possible denial or withdrawal of accreditation,

according to the circular.

PhilHealth shall also ensure that all health-care institutions act according to their signed Performance Commitment and shall conduct monitoring activities in line with the existing PhilHealth’s

Health Care Prov ider Performance Assessment System.

Last year, PhilHealth revoked t he accred itat ion of d ia lysis center WellMed. WellMed allegedly filed bogus claims with PhilHealth using names of dead

dialysis patients.

The owner and other officers of WellMed were charged with estafa but the charges were dismissed by a Quezon City Court for having been filed in the wrong court.

A4

TheBroa

Business

Thursday, February 27, 2020

PHL building future where Lolo and L

By Jovee Marie De la Cruz & Samuel P. Medenilla| Reporters & Alladin S. Diega | Contributor

G

RAY hair made Pelagia Declaro stand out in a crowd of young people at a jobs and business fair organized by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the local government of Pasay City at the Cuneta Astrodome.

This is the first time for the 61-year-old former hairstylist to enter a job fair, which offered 15,000 job vacancies, to finally consider a career change.

Despite being a senior citizen—defined by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as those aged 60 years old and over—Declaro said she still does home service to her clients in Pasay City doing manicures or haircuts.

But due to her advanced age and hours spent taking care of her grandchildren, Declaro said she no longer earns as much as she used to.

She told the BusinessMirror she currently earns about P350 to P400 a day “unlike when I was younger, when I was able to earn P700 to P800.”

Declaro left her application papers at a booth managed by McDonald’s, one of a hundred participating firms at the job fair. She said she heard about the offer after hearing from fellow senior citizens that the Philippine business of the American fast-food chain is now accepting people her age as part of its crew.

“They told me they will call me to conduct an interview to know if I could do the job they will offer me,” Declaro said.

“They said it may involve clearing or cleaning tables. I could do that,” she added.

Small business

IT was a different case for Aurelia Inamon, 63, who traveled from her home in Cavite to the job and business fair to apply for a livelihood grant to expand her home-based peanut butter business.

Inamon said she decided to start her peanut butter-making business after closing a small-scale eatery business.

She told the BusinessMirror she needs additional capital to buy her own peanut grinder so she could expand production.

Currently, Inamon said she could only produce at least 30 bottles of peanut butter a day since she has to haul large amounts of peanuts to someone she knows who has a peanut grinder.

For someone who suffered two mild strokes, this tends to be a challenge especially since she usually processes 20 kilos of peanuts.

Inamon said she usually earns a net profit of P2,000 to P2,500 for a capital of P3,000.

Approach, aims

WHILE their approach may be different, both Declaro’s and Inamon’s motivation for seeking continuous source of income despite their advance age remains the same: to help their families.

In Declaro’s case, it is to help her orphaned grandchildren in Bicol.

“I still want to help them and be able to give them [money].

While I could still move, I will still do so to help them,” she said.

For Inamon’s, it is to lessen the financial burden of her children who are now supporting her and her husband, who is now also retired.

“Each of my five children now has their own family. I would feel ashamed if I would ask help from them whenever we would get our water or electricity bills. That is why I would still like to earn,” she said.

Both Declaro and Inamon said they have no pension since they were unable to become members of the Social Security System (SSS)

when they were still young.

Money flow

BUT even if both became SSS members, former Labor Undersecretary Rene E. Ofreneo said it is unlikely the pension will allow them to meet their individual needs much less the needs of their children and grandchildren.

“In the Philippines, SSS pension benefits are too low for seniors to survive. The monthly amount for seniors is obviously not enough; not even for the procurement of medicines,” Ofreneo told the BusinessMirror.

Currently, SSS monthly pensions start anywhere from P1,000 to P2,400. Depending on the monthly contributions one has made through decades of work to the system, that pension could rise to a range of from P4,000 to P11,000, or even in some rare cases as high as P18,000.

Ofreneo, also former dean of the University of the Philippines’s School of Labor and Industrial Relations (Solair), said that a large portion of the country’s senior citizens like Declaro and Inamon do not even receive such pensions since they are not members of SSS.

A 2017 study by the nonprofit group Coalition of Services of the Elderly (Cose) said that the biggest challenge of growing old in the Philippines is earning a living past the prime of age and onset of health issues. The report said this is particularly true for those who belong to low-income brackets and in abject poverty. Still, in their old age, senior citizens remain physically active in their communities and households that, unfortunately, are not monetized.

Universal pension

THE Cose report states that 58 percent of older people receive incomes from children within the country and 21 percent from their children who are outside the country.

The remaining do not receive any from their children, the main reason being their own poverty.

The study notes that 29 percent of senior citizens receive pensions from their previous work such as SSS, GSIS, and other schemes.

In 2017, the government allocated a budget to cover 34 percent of senior citizens with no pensions, about 2.8 million. Almost 40 percent of elderly remain with no pension of any kind.

The Cose also remarked that for those who receive pensions, allocations per person can be so low with 34 percent of SSS retirees receiving P2,000 a month or lower, and 52 percent are lower than P3,000. Since the data of the study was culled before 2016 or even earlier, these amounts have been adjusted—barely, with the increase in 2017 of P1,000. The additional P1,000 or second tranche is expected this year.

The group is advocating for a universal pension plan in the country to cover all senior citizens.

This need for additional income has prompted many senior citizens to return to the workforce.

Enabling law

LABOR Assistant Secretary Dominique R. Tutay said more senior citizens are now able to go back to work due to more senior citizenfriendly policies from the government and the private sector.

Tutay, the concurrent director of the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE), said new laws like Republic Act (RA) 10911, or the Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act, makes the workforce more open to senior citizens.

Signed in 2016, RA 10911 penalizes companies found using the age of a jobseeker as basis to reject an employment application.

However, crediting RA 10911 to the increasing participation of senior citizens in the workforce is frowned upon by other groups.

Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. noted that while many of their members comply with the provisions of the said law, especially when it comes to advertising for job placements, most eschew an older workforce.

Likewise, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said they have yet to encounter any job applicant who filed a complaint citing RA 10911.

“There is a need to remove biases, prejudices and ignorance on the part of enterprises in employment of retired and senior citizens,” TUCP Spokesman Alan A. Tanjusay said.

Lifting numbers

DESPITE the criticism on RA 10911, the DOLE was still able to record a consistent surge in the number of senior citizens going back to the labor market.

In 2013, only 1.5 million senior citizens were employed, but the following year after the passage of the RA 10911, the number of employed senior citizens reached 1.68 million. It rose again in 2018 at 1.8 million and to 1.88 million as of April 2019.

Tutay said working senior citizens are employed in administrative support or jobs requiring less physical activities.

She said they could usually be found working in the hotel and tourism industry as well as in fastfood businesses such as in the case of Declaro.

Tanjusay expressed concern over such trend, saying these firms may be merely using senior citizen employees as a marketing gimmick.

“There seems to be a concentration of opportunities for retired and senior citizens employed in restaurants rather than in another industry,” Tanjusay said. “It appears [to me] they are being used merely for good company image purposes and not based on their skills.”

Benefits, standards

WORKING senior citizens, however, face a new set of challenges upon their return to the workforce, including their deteriorating health as well as their exemption from social security benefits.

With this in mind, the DOLE imposed policies that reduced hours of work for senior citizens.

Labor Undersecretary Santos M. Benavidez said, for instance, a four-hour work should be exercised for senior citizens working in the fast-food industry so it will not be detrimental to their health.

“The normal hours of employees [should not be] more than eight hours. Hence, work hours of four hours or two hours is okay,” Benavidez said.

However, he noted that the pay for senior citizens should be based on their actual work hours.

Benavidez also stressed that senior citizens must be entitled to other general labor standards such as overtime pay and holiday pay as well as occupational safety and health standards.

As for being a cutoff from some social security benefits, BLE Director Tutay said a possible solution will be changing the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 70 years old.

However, she noted such regulation must be industry-specific rather than as a blanket policy.

“There are peculiarities in some of the occupations where stamina and strength is needed. That is why

they want to lower the age retirement. But if you look at other literature especially outside of the Philippines, they would want the retirement age to be extended up to, let us say, 70 years old,” Tutay said.

Federation of Free Workers (FFW) Vice President Julius H. Cainglet objects to the notion of delaying the retirement age.

Cainglet noted that the additional pension to be received by the senior citizens while they are working will greatly help augment their income, especially amid the prevailing low minimum wage in the country.

“Their pensions should not be touched since they already worked

hard for it,” Cainglet said.

Measure for teachers

THE House has already passed a bill for government workers who want to avail themselves of early retirement.

Last year, the House approved on third and final reading House Bill 5509 lowering the optional retirement age of government employees from 60 to 56 years old.

The bill seeks to amend Section 13-A of RA 8291, otherwise known as the “Government Service Insurance Act of 1997” wherein benefits are only given to those who retired at 60 years old.

Under the measure, govern-

ment workers who have reached the age of 56 years may file for retirement and be entitled to old-age pension for life from the GSIS. For her part, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France L. Castro, principal author of the bill, said earlier retirement is one of the demands of public school teachers.

Castro said teachers in the Philippines retire five years later than those in most countries, noting that retirement age is 60 in most North American, European and Asian countries.

“Respect and humane consideration demand that a person of 55 years—a few years shy of being a senior citizen—should not

aderLook

sMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace | Thursday, February 27, 2020

A5

Lola remain part of the working class A 2017 study by the nonprofit group Coalition of Services of the Elderly said that the biggest challenge of growing old in the Philippines is earning a living past the prime of age and onset of health issues. The report said this is particularly true for those who belong to low-income brackets and in abject poverty. Still, in their old age, senior citizens remain physically active in their communities and households that, unfortunately, are not monetized. In photo, a watch repair man works in his makeshift shop in Antipolo City. JUNPINZON | DREAMSTIME.COM

Filipino tradition of caring for the elderly, addresses the inadequate special programs for senior citizens, prevents their mental health and physical deterioration, taps their wealth of life and work experiences, fosters their capacity to attain a more meaningful and productive aging, motivates and maximizes their contributions to nation building and augments their pensions and retirement savings, if they have any, than giving the elderly the access to employment opportunities.

“This is what our [House Bill 5362] is aiming for. Currently, while we have the ESCA of 2010 and the Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act, we see that the government, despite having various unfilled positions, has only taken the passive role of providing information and matching services for senior citizens in private employment,” Ong said.

“While private entities are entitled to tax deduction of 15 percent of the total amount paid as salaries, we observe that this barely encourages companies to actually hire senior citizens for 15 years now, since 2004,” he added.

HB 5362 seeks to institutionalize special work-for-pay programs for senior citizens.

Under the bill or the Senior Citizens Employment Opportunity Act, Ong said the private sector is encouraged to hire senior citizens and, in return, they shall be entitled to an additional tax deduction from their gross income equivalent to 70 percent of the total amount paid as wages to senior citizens subject to compliance or the pertinent provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code.

Ong said his proposal seeks to ensure the automatic employment allocation for Filipinos aged 60 years old and above.

SKYPIXEL | DREAMSTIME.COM

Employment program

be required to perform the arduous functions expected of a publicschool teacher in the Philippines,” he said.

“At such stage of their lives, public school teachers should at least be given the choice if they wish to rest from the profession and enjoy better and healthy years ahead,” Castro said.

Opportunities, benefits

STILL, Tutay noted the advantage in hiring senior citizens is the wisdom they are able to impart to the company that would hire them.

She said the increasing number of working senior citizens will also be ultimately beneficial to the

local economy since it will increase the number of income-earning members of society.

“First, their pay will go to consumption, increasing production,” Tutay said. “Second, in terms of social security, they will no longer be much of a burden since they are working. This will help augment what they are getting from their pension, which is usually not much, after they retire.”

Partido Manggagawa (PM) Chairman Renato B. Magtubo also agreed with Tutay, saying hiring senior citizens will allow companies to tap their experience.

“Allowing more senior citizens opportunities for employment will

definitely help increase the demand of goods and services in the economy,” Magtubo said. “It will also provide continuing transfer of knowledge, skills and talents to the new entrants of the labor force derived from the long years of experience in jobs or function by senior citizens.”

Valued values

THERE are pending bills in the House of Representatives providing for employment opportunities to senior citizens.

House Committee on Economic Affairs member and Ang Probinsyano Party-list Rep. Ronnie L. Ong said, “There is no other timely act of love that reaffirms the

HB 5362 seeks to amend Section 5 of RA 9994 to ensure that senior citizens whose annual income is below the poverty threshold as determined by the Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) are given priority employment through job matches provided by the DOLE and the National Commission on Senior Citizens (NCSC).

HB 5362 also compels all government offices to invite, select and hire qualified senior citizens for positions, qualifications and functions initially determined by DOLE, the NCSC and the Civil Service Commission.

Ong hopes to change this by forging a partnership with the DOLE and tap its Tulong Panghanapbuhay para sa Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad) program to provide employment for senior citizens in various government offices, including public schools and state universities.

Earlier, Ong said his party-list has signed partnerships with the DOLE, UP, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila International Airport Authority, Philippine Children’s Medical Hospital

and some provincial government units for the pilot implementation of the special employment program for senior citizens.

Ong said that senior citizens who will be hired to work will do tasks that are important but not physically strenuous—requiring at least three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon.

Employment will be given priority to senior citizens who live around the various pilot areas and their salaries will be drawn from DOLE’s Tupad allocation.

The salaries of the senior citizen workers under this program shall be based on the minimum salary in each region. In the National Capital Region (NCR), for example, they would get P537 per day.

Extenuating circumstance

RESTITUTO DE DIOS JR., one of the senior citizens who was assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport under the special employment program of Ong’s party-list, appealed to the national government to provide jobs physically and mentally fit senior citizens.

“At the age of 66, I don’t take maintenance medicine and, hence, I can still work even alongside workers who just recently graduated from college,” De Dios said in Tagalog.

He added he knows many senior citizens like him who want to work and can be up to task but are not given opportunities. Notably, De Dios was recently recognized for returning a bag he found inside the airport containing P20,800 worth of money and pieces of jewelry.

He said it is useless for the government to give them discounts on food, entertainment and medicine if they don’t have money to spend for these. “Kahit bigyan kami ng government ng mga discount sa pagkain at gamot, kung wala ka rin pambili, ano’ng silbi?”

After he retired from his company, De Dios said he tried to put up a small business to support his family. He borrowed P20,000 as capital for a pushcart, pots and pans, plates and utensils.

These were, however, confiscated during a road clearing operation. He hasn’t been able to recoup his losses.

After that, De Dios said he applied for a job at the Public Employment Service Office at their city hall. He was given a recommendation but the company he submitted it to told him there wasn’t a vacant position for him.

Building a system

TO address situations like what De Dios experienced, San Jose del Monte Bulacan Rep. Florida P. Robes is pushing for the passage of HB 2387 or “An Act Instituting an Elderly Employment System in the Philippines.”

Robes stressed that without a special employment program designed for the elderly, the ESCA and RA 10911—which prohibit age discrimination against any in-

dividual in employment—can be rendered futile.

“Hence, my proposal is to mandate both public and private institutions to design, formulate or institutionalize an employment program where our senior citizens can be tapped,” she added.

“To genuinely achieve development, we should adopt a holistic approach where no one is left behind by tapping into that ‘wealth of experience,’” she said.

According to Robes, elderly employees are more emotionally matured, more independent, competent, skilled and dedicated.

Under the bill, all government agencies and private corporations shall be mandated to institute an employment program ensuring the employment of senior citizens who have the qualification, capacity and interest to be employed.

Employment opportunities for the elderly shall include but not limited to clerical or secretarial works, consultancy, cleaning or janitorial services, event organizing, teaching, kitchen help, sale assistance, call-center jobs and such other jobs or volunteer works that may not be detrimental to their physical well-being.

The measure said a task force that will look into the employability of senior citizens shall be created under the DOLE and CSC to redesign jobs and human resource systems suitable to them.

Maximize efforts

MEANWHILE, Rep. Precious Hipolito-Castelo of Quezon City also proposed the creation of a Senior Citizens Technology and Livelihood Center (SCTLC) in every barangay in the country to motivate and encourage the elderly to take part in the development of society.

Hipolito-Castelo raised the proposal through HB 1347, which aims to maximize the efforts and contributions of senior citizens to nation-building.

“To honor the hard work of the senior citizens during their more productive years, we should uphold this opportunity for them to make the most of their role in national development. One of the ways would be to establish a technology and livelihood center where they can learn new skills that would open the doors of opportunity for their gainful employment,” Hipolito-Castelo said. “It is the very intent of this bill to in fact and in effect widen their base of participation as senior citizens in the nation’s economic development.”

The bill seeks to mandate the Department of Social Welfare and Development, in coordination with the local government units, to set up a SCTLC in every barangay nationwide; establish technology and livelihood programs; and, provide guidelines and working mechanisms fitted to the elderly.

In order to carry out the provisions of the Act, the necessary funds shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act of the year following its enactment into law.

A6 Thursday, February 27, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Positioning the country as manufacturing hub

G

lobal manufacturers must have learned valuable lessons from the US-China trade war and the coronavirus outbreak, two events that exposed the downsides of leaning too heavily on China to power their growth. If the trade war allowed them a chance to find alternative locations for their factories to evade hefty US tariffs, the COVID-19 is bound to accelerate the exodus. Countries in Southeast Asia have emerged as alternative manufacturing hubs to China, whose factories have been crippled by the spreading virus.

As the COVID-19 has paralyzed factories in China and disrupted global supply chains, reality sets in: It’s indeed not wise to put all your eggs in one basket. By now, global manufacturers should have reassessed their China strategy. Building capacity in other countries eager to move up the value chain, even if they prove more costly, is a better way to ensure unhampered growth.

In the context of the changing global conditions, the Philippines can position itself as an alternative production hub in the region. We can consolidate and intensify the investment promotion efforts of various agencies like the BOI and Peza, but we must first cater to the needs of global manufacturers: Available manpower, investment perks where applicable, and, above all, cheap and dependable power supply.

The Philippines generates electricity from various sources, such as coal, oil, natural gas, biomass, hydroelectric, solar, wind and geothermal sources.

Currently, coal reigns supreme, followed by natural gas, geothermal and hydro. As the country is a party to the Paris Agreement, we committed to reduce our carbon emissions to mitigate the catastrophic effects of climate change. Although many countries have set a timeline to shut down their fossil fuel power plants, particularly their coal plants, which is the cheapest source of electricity, pressures are mounting for the Philippines to do the same.

What is being proposed, however, is the intensified development of natural gas for our power needs. This is being opposed by Party-list group AGHAM (Alyansa ng mga Grupong Haligi ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Mamamayan), which said the country should not invest too much in natural gas as “contrary to popular belief, natural or methane gas is not as clean as it has been made out to be.” (See, “Group: Natural gas is also harmful to environment,” in the BusinessMirror, February 21, 2020).

AGHAM President Angelo B. Palmones said natural gas, or methane gas, is a fossil fuel, like coal and oil, and may produce the same amount or even higher greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions than other fossil fuels.

“We agree with our government and regulator in pursuing cleaner energy sources, but it is crucial to look in the right directions. LNG or methane gas may not be the best option. And limiting methane is not what determines whether gas is positive for the transition to clean energy,” said Palmones, adding that “the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has calculated that methane is 34 times stronger as a heat-trapping gas than CO2.” The AGHAM head referred to methane as CO2 on steroids, as it spends roughly 12 years trapping atmospheric heat, or 87 times more effectively than CO2, then it becomes CO2 itself.

In an article published last month in The Atlantic—“America’s Coal Consumption Entered Free Fall in 2019”—author Robinson Meyer said: “The switch from coal to natural gas has not been wholly good for American emissions. As utilities have adopted natural gas, they have created a vast and exceptionally leaky apparatus for moving it around the country. Some critics argue that this infrastructure is as bad for the climate as the coal system that it is replacing, because, in the shorter term, methane captures more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.”

We want more global manufacturers to locate their factories in the Philippines. However, in our haste to provide them the electricity needed to operate their machines, it is wise for energy officials to carefully study our energy sources in line with our commitments to help mitigate climate change.

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Scribbles

I

write this on a Tuesday, my column deadline day. I know that tomorrow, Wednesday, will be a tough day. My doctors want me to be at the clinic by 6:30 in the morning for pre-op procedures. My surgery is scheduled at 9 a.m. on February 26.

So by the time you read this, I would have left the operating room of the Asian Breast Center with a team of excellent doctors led by my oncologist/surgeon, Dr. Norman San Agustin, that took out my left breast and did some minor surgery on my right one. Having that operation done leaves me longing for Thursday, my first official day of healing and recovery.

I have come to realize that it takes a village of medical experts to take Mr. Sneaky out of me.

Mr. Sneaky is the name I gave the malignant tumor found in my left breast. I imagine him as a tap-dancing, Fred Astaire look-alike, with a raspy voice and a cane to poke my insides with. I can’t wait to get rid of Mr. Sneaky. I can’t have him tap-dancing through my lymph nodes, into my bones and sinew. Mr. Sneaky is bad.

Say the word “malignant” out loud.

Doesn’t it sound malevolent? Benign

sounds much better. But, I digress.

When I woke up from the surgery, my left breast was gone. When I peered down, I saw an empty parking lot next to a skyscraper. Oh, all right then, a flat land next to a mid-rise condominium. I will miss the soft, sagging mound of a left breast—the same breast that blossomed as I approached puberty, which I thought would always be with me until I die.

What has my life been like ever since I was diagnosed with breast cancer?

Having cancer made me sit up, and notice the noise and clutter that infest my life. I now choose to spend my time wisely. Nowadays, when I glance at a clock, I see the potential for joy in every passing second. Cancer has made me value relationships, especially with the handful of people that I chose to tell first.

It makes me write in the truest way, because I value my readers, and

Three questions

Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso

Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President VP-Finance VP Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

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Let me think of Thursday

James Jimenez

spox

L

ike just about everyone else, I’ve been following the developments in the case of that broadcasting giant very closely.

Considering public pronouncements made by the main players in this unfolding saga, I knew it was just a matter of time before the conversation meandered its way into my neck of the woods. And, sure enough, last Monday, it did.

Are negative campaign ads allowed by law?

Yes, they are. Under election laws and regulations, the term “election campaign” refers to an act designed to promote the election or defeat of a particular candidate or candidates to a public office. “Political advertisement” or “election propaganda,” on the other hand, refers to “any matter broadcasted, published, printed, displayed or exhibited, in any medium...to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the election” of a candidate. In other words, election propaganda—and this necessarily

includes political advertisements aired on television during campaign season—can be either positive, i.e., it boosts a candidate’s chances of winning; or negative, i.e., designed to discourage people from voting for a candidate.

It is important to remember that the regulation exercised by the Commission on Elections over political advertisements, or campaign ads, is limited to two aspects only: how often the ads are aired, and how much money is spent on producing and airing them. Apart from the general exhortation for campaigns

I value my life as a writer. I don’t ever want to sugarcoat. Having cancer is tough. As a person scared of needles and even the slightest twinge of physical pain, I thought, “Hey why not appendicitis instead?” You take out an appendix, and no one ever notices. You take out a breast, and, well, the void is clear.

Having a tumor does have its own upside.

It gave me an opportunity to be decisive. Should I have a single mastectomy or a double mastectomy? Will I opt for mastectomy with breast reconstruction? Should I just get the mastectomy without having an implant? My doctors laid down my treatment options so that I can make an informed choice. For a cancer patient, nothing is trivial. Long stretches of indecisiveness can cut your life short.

It also gives you an opportunity to be prayerful. OMG! Not to take Your name in vain, but Lord, have You ever heard me rattling off so many prayers each night? My spiritual antidote to the three hardest words—“You have cancer”—is a three-word personal affirmation: God will provide.

Cancer opens your heart to kindness. When my last column— “Hello, Cancer!”—became viral, I was amazed at the outpouring of support and kind messages that came my way. I learned that when you open up your heart, people are likely to do the same.

It teaches you to lean.

I lean on my only daughter, Estelle. We play pickup sticks and bingo at home, and watch Netflix together.

She looks after me, and I let her, because her love is the emotional pillow that I need the most. I am fighting Mr. Sneaky because I want to grow older to see my daughter through tough and best times. I want to continue to exist because of her. This fight is for Estelle.

I lean on my partner and companion for the last 20 years, my best buddy named Fort, whose patience and humor keeps me smiling through the pain. While my dad was alive, Fort promised him that he would always look after me. That promise has yet to be broken.

I lean on my siblings, on my 91-year-old mom, on an assortment of terrific friends from all walks of life, colleagues from the Kennedy School of Government and, of course, the inspiring messages from overseas Filipino workers around the world. I also lean on my staff, especially my executive director at the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, Jerome Alcantara.

I pray, dear reader, that you are well. If you are not, then know this—God will provide. And this, too, shall pass. We shall all have our own Thursdays to look forward to.

Susan V. Ople heads the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, a nonprofit organization that deals with labor and migration issues.

She also represents the OFW sector in the InterAgency Council Against Trafficking.

to observe the principle of “truth in advertising,” the Comelec does not regulate the content of campaign ads.

How much are presidential candidates allowed to spend for their campaigns?

Election laws are very specific on the matter of authorized expenses of candidates and parties: The aggregate amount that a candidate or party may spend for an election campaign shall be as follows: for presidential and vice presidential candidates, P10 for every registered voter in the country, including those voting abroad via the overseas voting system. Political parties, on the other hand, may spend P5 for every voter in the constituency where it has an official candidate—in a presidential and vice presidential elections, that effectively means all registered voters.

Putting that into context: in 2016, we had 54,363,844 registered voters going into the elections. This means that presidential candidates in 2016 were allowed to spend P543,638,440.

It’s important to note that this spending cap applies to the candidates’ total expenses, and not just expenses for television advertisements.

May candidates spend all

of their money on television advertisements?

When it comes to televised campaign advertisements—referred to in the law as “broadcast election propaganda”—candidates are allowed not more than a total of 120 minutes of television advertising, on a per originating station basis, whether appearing on national, regional, or local, free or cable television. For radio, the maximum is 180 minutes.

This means that two caps are in effect to rein in a presidential candidate’s use of broadcast election propaganda: first, there’s the P10 per voter spending cap. Obviously, if the candidate overshoots that limit, he/she would be guilty of the election offense of overspending.

And yes, a high-ranking official has already been sacked precisely for that offense.

The second limitation is the cap on how much airtime a candidate can actually use, i.e., a maximum of 120 minutes per station for television; and a maximum of 180 minutes per station on radio. Considering how many stations there are, we’ve yet to see any candidate violate this particular limitation during the campaign period.

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

House probes PSALM books; SMC cries foul

Desert survival Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

Alálaong Bagá

Val A. Villanueva

Businesswise

O

ur exposé on the inability by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) to collect overdue accounts from Independent Power Producer Administrators (IPPAs) and electric cooperatives has pried open a scheme by which congressmen allegedly act as protectors of some of those in the list.

The thought that PSALM has been forced to take out loans which the government guarantees in order to timely fulfill the former’s mandate of liquidating the financial obligations of the National Power Corp. certainly leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

PSALM took over all the assets and debts of Napocor when Congress passed the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or Republic Act 9136.

Records show that, as of last year, while PSALM was able to trim its debt to about P424.8 billion from P1.2 trillion in 2003, it borrowed P23 billion in 2018, and $1.1 billion more last year from foreign lenders so it could service its dollar and yendenominated loans. This has set back the government by P2.62 billion per year in interests, guarantee fees and other finance charges alone.

Just imagine: Had the IPPAs’ loans been paid on time; government funds could have otherwise been used for the construction of public-school classrooms or roads and bridges. This is why Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Sonny Dominguez had instructed PSALM to relentlessly pursue collection efforts against these IPPAs, and use all remedies available to protect the rights of the government and the Filipino people.

A recent congressional hearing to ascertain the financial stability of PSALM has cut open an interlocking web of relationship between Congress’ officials with oversight powers over the energy industry and companies that are blamed for keeping the government deep in debt.

The probe by the House of Representatives’ Good Government Committee, headed by Bulacan Rep. Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado, in conjunction with the House Committee on Public Accounts, headed

by Anakalusugan Party-list Group Rep. Michael T. Defensor, aims to determine if PSALM could be out of the red given how heavy the huge debts that have been pulling it down.

According to some industry insiders, the padrino system is very much the norm when it comes to the PSALM issue, insinuating that other public officials and some members of Congress are serving as intermediaries to get some companies in the list off the hook. To be fair, these remain allegations that still need to be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

While it is condemnable that PSALM had to borrow just to pay off the debts of IPPAs and electric cooperatives, I should, however, caution the House Committee on Public Accounts, PSALM and the DOF to temper their public pronouncements.

For one, some of these companies are contesting in various courts PSALM’s allegations and to render judgment before the courts give theirs is prejudicial. San Miguel Corp., whose Ilijan power plant was named as one of the companies, with an alleged unpaid obligation of P23.94 billion to the government, has urged these government agencies to respect the rule of law.

“Let us not undermine the integrity of the court, and return to basics. We would always choose to be on the side of law, instead of presenting a good yet misleading story.

Let us stick to the facts of the case, and let the court decide,” SMC President and COO Ramon S. Ang said.

Ang is reacting to a series of stories com ing out in t abloid s a nd

broadsheets quoting the DOF as running after SMC over its alleged unpaid debts to PSALM, through its power arm South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC), on the 1,200-MW Ilijan power plant. The subject of contention has been pending with the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court (RTC) since 2015.

The statement reads: “To expedite its resolution, SPPC filed a motion for production of documents by PSALM in order to have full disclosure of the facts. However, instead of just proceeding with the discovery process by submitting the requested documents, PSALM filed a motion to hear other defenses unrelated to the merits of the case, which the RTC and the Court of Appeals have both denied.

“The RTC has also indefinitely enjoined PSALM’s termination of the IPPA Agreement in favor of SPPC while the case remains pending.

Such injunction has been upheld both by the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.”

Ang maintained that his company is one with the DOF and PSALM in wanting to have closure to the case. However, “premature closure by distorting the facts through the court of public opinion is only compromising the integrity of our justice system.”

The main dispute between PSALM and SPPC is due to different interpretations in computing generation payments provided for under the IPPA Agreement, not in the amount stated in SMC’s bid.

Generation payments are based on actual generation data and the determinants of revenues derived from the capacity of the Ilijan power plant, both of which could not be reasonably determined and, thus, would not be information included in the bid when the IPPA for the plant was bidded out.

As of January 31, 2020, out of the P314.6 billion paid by SPPC to PSALM as IPPA of the Ilijan power plant, about P240.7 billion paid by SPPC is considered as generation payments.

PSALM also failed to explain its reasons for claiming an additional amount of P23.94 billion in generation payments and related charges from SPPC. Ang explained that the dispute stems from PSALM’s erroneous use of Wholesale Electricity Spot Market prices in computing for generation payments beginning January 2013 to the present. SPPC used the tariff rate approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission for the Ilijan power plant, when appropriate, as required under the IPPA Agreement in computing generation payments to PSALM. This approach is also consistent with the baseload nature of the Ilijan power plant, and the fact that its capacity is contracted in full to bilateral customers, primarily Meralco, which pays a tariff rate approved by the ERC. At stake here is the financial viability of PSALM and its collapse will have a negative impact on us taxpayers. I believe that as long as all the issues remain unresolved, and given the penchant of some politicians to grandstand to further their presidential ambitions, public officials who are mandated to oversee the industry should keep a safe distance from the issue and moderate their own self-indulgence.

For comments and suggestions, e-mail me at mvala.v@gmail.com

E

ach year at the start of the Lenten season, we are led to the desert to undergo a survival course with Jesus. The narration of the temptation in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) shows us that to be tempted is human, but to overcome temptation is Christian.

‘If you are...’

The desert is a place of truth, as it is a place of trials. In the wilderness we look into our inner selves and reflect on our motives and goals. Following His pivotal religious experience of God at His baptism at the Jordan, Jesus withdrew into the desert “to be tempted by the devil.” It was the Spirit leading Him into this encounter with the devil, so that His relationship with God and His perceived mission may be discerned further and deepened.

Like Israel of old, Jesus’ “40” days and nights in the wilderness would be either a “yes” or a “no” to God with the struggle it entails.

Being truly human, Jesus could not bypass the trial. At the Jordan He heard, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mat-

thew 3:17). The devil picked it up from there, to make Jesus doubt what God proclaimed, just like the way the devil seduced the woman to doubt God’s word (Genesis 3:1-6). But here subtly and no outright contradiction, but a suggested testing of God’s word: “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” Verify the truth, get a sign —changing stones into bread would be just timely to appease His hunger after a long fast. Hunger for food had also led Israel in the desert to doubt whether God had really chosen them (Exodus 16:3). They would know they were loved only if their stomachs were full.

God’s word as life

The stand of Jesus was unequivocal:

Thursday, February 27, 2020 A7

One does not doubt God’s word; in fact it alone gives life. Quoting from (Deuteronomy 8:3), Jesus countered the devil’s imagined bread with the apodictic truth that “man lives by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.” For God’s word is as the manna that concretized God’s promised care for His people journeying in the desert. Jesus knows that His status as the beloved son should not be equated with His being always full; He may be hungry but still the beloved son.

As expected, the devil does not give up easily. The next temptation is a variation of the first. From the parapet of the temple in Jerusalem, a jump before the teeming crowds below would certainly establish God’s expressed love for Jesus. Using God’s own word, the devil cited Scripture to reason out that some dramatic experience of God’s concern for Jesus would prove that He is truly the Son of God. And the response of Jesus to the tempter the second time around is also but a repetition of His total faith in and radical commitment to God. Again relying on God’s word, Jesus told the devil, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test” (Deuteronomy 6:16). Jesus would not do what the people did at Massah and Meribah challenging God to prove Himself to them (Exodus 17:7). Jesus

knows that He is still God’s beloved son even if He is hurt; God loves Him also amid pain and suffering.

Alálaong bagá, the stand of Jesus is final and irrevocable: absolute fidelity to God—“The Lord, your God, shall you worship and Him alone shall you serve” (Deuteronomy 6:16). Jesus has no other gods; He is the beloved son even in poverty and without political power. The devil’s final attempt to distract Jesus with the trump card of having all the kingdoms of the world if only Jesus would prostrate Himself before Him in adoration, received the clear-cut rebuke “Get away, Satan!”

The devil is unmasked; calling Satan

by His name is to expose and reject Him, the purpose of all exorcism. One makes no deal with the devil; its sole purpose is to separate us from God into perdition. We need to expose it in whatever way it tries to ensnare us.

Lent is our annual journeying in the desert in imitation of Jesus Christ. Like Him “led by the Holy Spirit,” we look into ourselves and examine our priorities in life. We need to affirm our absolute commitment to listen and live by the word of God. Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, from 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

Food security: To grow our own or copy the Singapore model?

Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS Continued from A1

B

ut Singapore is not comparable to the Philippines. It is a city state with virtually no agricultural lands.

Singapore is not also in the business of importing food sans any development framework. In fact, Singapore’s food security is a study on the centrality of the role of the government in securing food security for its population. Singapore has a Singapore Food Agency, which oversees the multiple tasks of diversifying sources of food imports (involving over 100 countries), coordinating with food importers and processors, ensuring the safety and availability of rice and essential food stuffs, preventing volatile swings in food prices, and so on. In short, Singapore has a holistic approach to food security.

Landless Singapore is also in agriculture. It invests in the lands of other countries. It is a keen promoter of urban agriculture. Singapore claims that it is now “self-sufficient” in tomatoes, thanks to hydroponics.

To boost urban agriculture and promote R&D, Singapore even set up an Agriculture Productivity Fund, with a beginning budget of $45 million in 2014.

Singapore also tries to add value to its food and raw materials imports by processing and re-packaging them into exportables. Philippine supermarkets carry some of the re-processed Singapore food exports such as snacks in cans or in tetrapaks.

Incidentally, Singapore has a strong-dollar policy. In sharp contrast to the continuous depreciation of the Philippine peso, the value of the Singapore dollar has hardly changed vis-à-vis the US dollar for several decades already. A senior Singaporean economist explained to this author that Singapore needs

a strong Sing dollar to be able to import all its food and raw material requirements at affordable rates.

But at the same time, Singapore has to add extra value for every unit of import. Eventually, a great percentage of these imports are converted into higher value exports. This can only happen if a country moves up the industrial ladder and invests continuously on productivity and innovation.

Like South Korea and Taiwan, Singapore had become a “newly industrialized country” or NIC in the 1980s-1990s, bypassing the Philippines in those decades. Unknown to many Filipinos, Singapore has become a little Germany, exporting high-precision products such as munitions, aircraft parts and pharmaceutical products. In the 1980s-1990s, Singapore became a major destination of Philippine electronics because Singapore had by then “graduated” at a higher level of electronics assembly while the Philippines remained stuck

at the low or middle levels of the global value chain production for electronics (still true at present).

When Malaysia imposed restrictions on the supply of water to its neighbor, the Singapore’s Public Utilities Board promoted the development of “NEWater,” clean water based on purified waste water (sewage). The NEWater technology is now being exported by Singapore to the Middle East and other countries.

In summary, the argument that Singapore is food secure because this country has embraced full economic deregulation, as represented by our rice trade liberalization program, rings hollow. The agricultural economists imagining a seamless global market for rice and other food items doing wonders for Singapore and other countries are simply engaged in idle imagining.

A deregulated market by itself cannot secure food security for its population. Nor can it sort out what are the best uses of its land and other resources. The reality is that most countries in the world pursue their respective food security programs through the very visible and interventionist hand of the government.

This is exemplified by the United States and the European Union, both of which are heavy subsidizers of their farmers. India and other developing countries have been questioning the hypocrisy of the developed countries, which seek the all-out opening of agricultural markets while providing tens of billions of dollars annually to their home producers. This is one reason why the World Trade Organization (WTO) has failed to conclude its Doha Development Round trade talks that started two decades ago, in 1999-2000.

Big rice producers with limited rice imports such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea all maintain a balanced ap-

proach to rice production at home, which they shower with government assistance and protection, and rice importation, which is strictly monitored and regulated.

China even aggressively looks for lands in other countries where they can invest on the production of crops they need to export back to China. The point is that most countries of the world have a state-centric policy on food security.

Meantime, in the Philippines, there is so much uncertainty as to what will happen next under the rice tariffication law dubbed by organized farmers as rice liberalization law. The first year of RTL’s implementation saw big rice importers gaming the rice trade sector. They imported over 3 million tons of rice, making the Philippines the world’s biggest rice importer.

In the process, they succeeded in depressing the farmgate prices of palay to the great sorrow of palay producers all over the archipelago.

Rice farmers who cannot earn or make profits from their rice lands under the new rice trade lib regime, no thanks to RTL, are likely to give up rice farming and sell their lands or land rights to the land bankers, land speculators and big agribusiness consolidators. Small rice farmers, especially the landless tenants who are simply renting the lands or still doing share cropping, cannot switch easily to the imagined production of higher value-adding crops. In the first place, there is the role of culture. Ano ang nakagisnang gawain ng magsasaka sa palay maliban sa pagsasaka sa palayan?

Second, the infras in the rice areas are not easy to change or modify to give way to new farming systems.

The switch can only be made by the richer agribusiness investors, who have the capacity to invest on new infras.

In the end, government agricultural policy-makers should ask themselves: Para kanino ba talaga ang RTL?

A kiss is just a kiss except when it spreads the coronavirus

By Thomas Mulier & Marthe Fourcade Bloomberg Opinion

K

ing Henry VI of England banned kissing in 1439 to battle the plague. As the world confronts the coronavirus spreading from China, some health authorities are, again, urging people to refrain from physical displays of affection.

Epidemiologists say limiting contact could help slow the march of a disease that’s turned up in dozens of countries

in just two months and killed more than 2,700 people. Americans ought to think twice about bro hugs and high fives, they say, while the French and Italians might want to reconsider their traditional pecks on the cheek. “Clearly if coronavirus is circulating in your community, it’s a very prudent thing to do,” said Michael Osterholm, an expert on infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota. “It’s one of the few things you can do yourself to actively reduce your risk.”

In Italy, where infections are surging, and seven have died from a virus that

spreads through droplets contained in coughs and sneezes, people are starting to embrace the advice. Giorgia Nigri, a 36-year-old economist in Rome, said people have become less willing to pucker up.

“People in groups have started suggesting we don’t give each other the double kiss on the cheek as a greeting or goodbye anymore,” Nigri said. “I was caught off guard and upset by that at first. But I suppose in larger groups, especially with strangers, it makes sense.”

Elsewhere in Europe, such suggestions have provoked surprise or deri-

sion: In the UK over Valentine’s Day, tabloids, including the Daily Mail and The Sun bemoaned virologist John Oxford’s advice that Britons should remain “standoffish” rather than engaging in touchy-feely greetings.

Some churches in Italy have stopped placing communion wafers on the tongue, putting them in people’s hands instead. Others have canceled services altogether. Public health authorities in Singapore, India, Russia and Iran have gone public with calls to avoid hugs, kisses and handshakes.

A8 Thursday, February 27, 2020

Pinoy HSWs of HK, Macau still stranded

M

By Recto Mercene

@rectomercene

ORE than 10,000 Filipino household service workers (HSWs) remain stranded in Manila, unable to leave for jobs in Hong Kong and Macau due to the existing travel ban on local air carriers.

Foreign airlines, either transiting or with regular scheduled flights to Hong Kong and Macau, however, are not covered by the ban.

Although, the government has lifted the travel restriction on local carriers, the stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFW) could not leave for the two destinations “because they are holding tickets issued by local carriers Philippine Airlines [PAL], Cebu Pacific and AirAsia,” explained travel consultant Emmanuel Geslani.

As of this writing the local carriers are still “threshing out with the IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases] and the Bureau of Quarantine the procedural problem of flights crews who will be on those flights but would have to subject themselves to quarantine,” he added.

Majority of the 10,000 HSWs are holding tickets or reservations for PAL and Cebu Pacific that were purchased by their agencies before

Congress reso seeks to avert ABS-CBN closure

T

HE Senate and the House of Representatives were asked Wednesday to adopt a Concurrent Resolution expressing the sense of lawmakers that ABS-CBN broadcasting corporation be allowed to operate under the terms of its existing franchise pending final determination of its renewal by the 18th Congress.

Introduced by Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Senate Concurrent Resolution 6 also asks the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to issue ABSCBN “the appropriate provisional authority.”

The Resolution cited Republic Act 7966 that earlier granted ABS-CBN a franchise to “construct,

install, operate and maintain, for commercial purposes and in the public interest, television and radio broadcasting stations in and throughout the Philippines, through microwave, satellite, or whatever means including the use of any new technologies in television and radio systems, with the corresponding technological auxiliaries or facilities, special broadcast and other broadcast distribution services and relay stations.”

Drilon’s Resolution 6 also acknowledged pertinent provisions of RA 7966 which granted the ABSCBN franchise for 25 years from effectivity of the existing law or unil May 4, 2020.

EASTERLIES AFFECTING THE EASTERN SECTION OF THE COUNTRY as of 4:00 pm - February 26, 2020

It also noted that “various bills seeking to renew the ABSCBN franchise reman pending in Congress.”

At the same time, the Senate Minority Leader reminded fellow lawmakers that only eight session days remain before the franchise of ABS-CBN expires, adding that both the Senate and the House of Representatives need additional time to review and determine whether or not ABS-CBN shall be granted the franchise renewal.

A former Justice Secretar y himself, Drilon recalled that the Department of Justice had earlier opined that “the grant of a franchise is an exercise of sovereign power,” adding that under the Constitution

that power is vested in Congress.

“By necessary implication, such power of Congress also includes the power to prescribe the rights of the franchisee-applicant pending final determination of the renewal of its franchise by Congress,” said Drilon.

The senator stressed “it is, therefore, respectfully submitted that Congress, by concurrent reolution, may authorize the NTC to issue a provisional authority, subject to such terms and conditions as the NTC may deem fit, to ABS-CBN, and other entities similarly situated, authorizing them to continue operating subject to Congress’s eventual disposition of the renewal applications.” Butch Fernandez

ABS-CBN case tackled in senators’ caucus soon

S

ENATE President Vicente Sotto III indicated on Wednesday he is set to convene an allsenators caucus to tackle the ABSCBN franchise issue.

Asked if the Senate will issue a provisional authority to ABS-CBN, Sotto III said they still need to study the matter.

“We will still discuss that. I’m not sure why the NTC [National telecommunication Commission] said a Senate Resolution is needed.

Did they require that in the Iloilo electric franchise case? Did they require that in Smart? Did they ask for that in Globe’s case? Why don’t they want to act on their own? They should decide. Why will they pass it on to us?” Sotto III asked, in a mix of English and Filipino.

Instead, the Senate President advised against rushing to issue a concurrent or joint resolution on the issue, as Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon proposed.

“I think my advice is for us to really study and review it well because right now, I just heard that the 1994 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)” which he said he himself had invoked as basis for saying before that a franchise is deemed extended after termination date if there is a pending bill for renewal had been “superseded by See “Caucus,” A2

MNCs’. . .

Continued from A1

“It still depends how sensitive the company is. What I mean there is that the global market is slowing down. It [problem] used to be the US-China trade war, now it’s the coronavirus [spread] that we have yet to know when [it] will be solved,” the trade chief argued.

“It’s their [multinationals] reaction to the world market and market forces. Are you a company that fits with the market segments in

the imposition of the travel ban two weeks ago.

He added that a small number of HSWs have departed for Hong Kong onboard international carriers “on the insistence of their employers, or they would be replaced ,or dismissed.”

He said the employers have recourse to hire other nationalities like Vietnamese or Indonesians.

He said, meanwhile, that Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III seems

ill-informed to state that OFWs bound for Hong Kong and Macau “are waiting for the situation to improve in those destinations.”

“The main reason is that local carriers PAL and Cebu Pac have not mounted flights to Hong Kong due to the procedural problem with the Bureau of Quarantine,” said Geslani.

The local carriers hope that the ban would be lifted and expect the resumption of regular flights by March.

POST-BREXIT MAY FAVOR PHL, BOOST ITS EXPORTS TO U.K.–UNCTAD PAPER

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

A

P O S T- B R E X I T s ce n a r i o may be a blessing to the Philippine economy, particularly in terms of the country’s exports to the United Kingdom, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

In Unctad Research Paper 42, titled “Brexit Beyond Tariffs: The role of non-tariff measures [NTMs] and the impact on developing countries,” developing countries like the Philippines are said to stand to benefit from the Brexit.

Unctad estimates Brexit to boost Philippine economic growth by less than a percentage point, but exports to the UK could see a growth of over 3 percentage points.

“A no-deal Brexit could offer some opportunities for developing countries as trade barriers between the UK and the EU would benefit suppliers from third countries. By contrast, a deal between them would preclude the incentive to turn to third countries, the study finds,” Unctad said.

Unctad said the study quantitatively explores the post-Brexit role of NTMs and the consequences for developing countries by simulating possible impacts using a panel data gravity model.

Under a tariffs-only scenario, exports of developing countries to the UK would increase 1.3 percent to 1.5 percent, while a tariffs-andNTMs scenario would see them rise 3.5 percent to 4 percent, according to the study.

“The positive impact would be strongest in agriculture, food and beverages, wood and paper sectors; and weakest in electrical and machinery, metal products, chemicals, and textiles and apparel industries,” Unctad said.

In terms of the economy, the Brexit will increase Philippine GDP growth of 0.002 percentage points, taking into consideration tariffs, and 0.005 percentage points when tariffs and NTMs are considered.

Using only tariffs as basis, the country’s overall exports growth will see a boost of 0.022 percent-

the Philippines?” he said, posing aloud a question to investors.

At the end of the day, Lopez said “it’s the competitive stand” that matters to multinationals.

As for Honda, he said the motorcycle segment could be a better business for them here than automobile, which is dominated by two vehicle assemblers combining for over 60 percent of the total market.

“In reality, their motorcycle business is their stronger business here so that’s what they are keeping now. That’s I guess their business

age points while imports growth will see a 0.32-percentage point increase.

Tariffs and NTMs considered, the Brexit will lead to a growth of 0.059 percentage points for exports and 0.085 percentage points for imports.

Unctad said the country’s exports to the UK are expected to get a major boost of around 1.416 percentage points using only tariffs, while the impact would be larger at 3.812 percentage points when both tariffs and NTMs are considered.

The Philippines’s exports to the remaining members of the EU or EU27 would still increase by 0.024 percentage points when tariffs are considered while the impact would be larger at 0.051 percentage points when tariffs and NTMs are considered.

“The positive third-country effect could be diminished by increasing regulatory divergence. If the UK’s regulations divert over time from the EU’s, trade costs would rise for third countries due to production process adjustment costs and potential duplication of proofs of compliance.

This would disproportionately affect smaller and poorer countries, as well as small and mediumsized enterprises,” Unctad, however, said.

Last week, UK Trade Envoy to the Philippines Richard Graham said the UK’s decision to leave the EU gave trade partners the opportunity to forge FTAs with it. He said one of the terrains explored by London is Manila, as merchandise trade between the two parties is complementary.

However, he admitted the UK has its priority trading partners at the moment that it plans to deal with, including China, Japan, Australia, the United States and New Zealand. After forging FTAs with these countries, only then will the UK consider negotiating a trade deal with the Philippines, as well as other Southeast Asian states.

Graham ranked who among the Southeast Asian economies will the UK focus on in terms of coming up with a trade deal. He said Singapore and Malaysia are on top of the list, while the Philippines and Indonesia come next.

decision globally. When things go our way in the overall global economy, then you can see they will be more flexible in expansions, in diversifying their production sources,” Lopez explained.

Honda Cars Philippines Inc. is closing down its manufacturing plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna, in March, a decision made by its parent unit as part of the multinational’s moves to optimize operations. With the decision, over 300 workers in the plant are expected to be jobless once the factory is shut down.

Elijah Felice E. Rosales

www.businessmirror.com.ph

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Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE NCR Regional Office located at 967 Maligaya St., Malate, Manila, within 30 days after its publication.

Please inform DOLE NCR if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

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Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, February 27, 2020

B1

Its net income flat in ’19, MPIC to focus on less risky business

C

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

ONGLOMERATE Metro Pacific Investment Corp. (MPIC) on Wednesday said its net income was flat last year as higher interest costs on borrowings made to finance capital expenditures for growth held down its profits despite higher contribution of its main units.

In comparison, 2018 had nonrecurring expenses of P930 million, due primarily to the net effect of peso weakening, project write-downs, loan refinancing and provisions for asset impairment.

Strains with govt

“The continued expansion in our overall service coverage and attempted constructive engagement on tariffs has not endeared us to the government, which now deems various long-established and operationalized contracts as having onerous provisions. Meanwhile, the fall in our share price, along with the prices of other listed companies with government concessions, shows that despite our growth, investors now attach sharply higher risk premiums for government adherence to contract,” Lim said.

Maynilad Water, the concessionaire for the west zone of Metro Manila, is currently unable to pay dividends, thereby forcing MPIC to recast its investment program in light of lower inbound cash flow, higher regulatory risk lack of investor enthusiasm for this asset class.

“Ironically, even though there is huge demand for the services we provide, our discretionary investment

spending beyond committed infrastructure projects will divert to less risky businesses like warehousing, real estate, and tourism,” Lim said.

The company has also launched a P5-billion buy-back program as it believes its share price is trading at a heavy discount at the Philippine Stock Exchange. MPIC shares was last traded at P2.97 apiece.

“Our record of consistent growth in earnings and book value per share—the latter at P6.05 at 31st December 2019—is not translating to share price performance. While we might attribute some of this to market factors and some to conglomerate discount, the discount, so we are advised, reflects concern on political developments,” MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

“In these circumstances, questions have been raised regarding investment in Philippine regulated infrastructure and the sources of capital to support this. There are no quick or easy answers to these questions, but the current model of a listed infrastructure business with a wide pool of dedicated Philippine and foreign shareholders putting their faith in these longterm contracts needs serious review,” he said.

The company said it had a core income of P15.6 billion for the entire 2019, a mere 4-percent growth from the previous year’s P15.1 billion.

Operating revenues rose 6 percent to P88.15 billion from the previous P83.02 billion.

“Our 7 percent growth in contribution from operations reflects a decade and more of sustained capital investment to enable meaningful volume increases in all our major businesses. Our high-quality management and thousands of dedicated front-line employees work hard to deliver world-class service levels and improve operating efficiencies,” said Jose Ma. K. Lim, the company’s

president and CEO. Power accounted for P11.6 billion or 55 percent of net operating income; toll roads contributed P5.2 billion or 25 percent; water contributed P3.6 billion or 17 percent; and hospitals provided P867 million or 4 percent of the total; while the rail, logistics and other businesses combined for a net loss of P352 million.

Last year it had a non-recurring income of P8.3 billion, due primarily to the de-consolidating of its investment in the hospitals portfolio, partly offset by restructuring costs for its logistics business and a reduction in the carrying values of some water investments.

DOLE checks Honda plant closure impact on suppliers

Widus Group unveils Hann Resorts

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

T

HE Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to defer its resolution on the motion filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for the issuance of a gag order against television giant ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiary ABS-CBN Convergence in connection with the quo warranto petition it filed to seeking the cancellation of the legislative franchises.

SC spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka said the 15-man High Tribunal reset its discussion and possible resolution on the motion on March 10.

Hosaka said the justices decided to defer a resolution on the matter to be able to study further the pleadings submitted by the parties on the gag-order plea.

“The case will be taken up again by the en banc on March 10, 2020.

This is to give the justices time to go over the pleadings submitted by the parties including the comments recently filed by the respondents,” Hosaka said.

ABS-CBN said the issuance of a gag order will not only violate press freedom, but will also deprive the public of vital information relating to its franchise issue.

Solicitor General Jose Calida is seeking the cancelation of ABSCBN and its subsidiary’s legislative franchise due to their “highly abusive” practices.

Calida accused the company of being engaged in broadcasting for a fee, which is beyond the scope of

its legislative franchise.

Calida added that the television network has been allowing foreign investors to take part in the ownership of a Philippine mass media entity, in gross violation of the foreign interest restriction of mass media provided under Section 11, Article XVI of the Constitution.

Calida said the network’s management also violated its franchise when it launched and operated a pay-per-view channel in ABS-CBN TV Plus, the KBO Channel, without prior approval or permit from the National Telecommunications Commission.

With regard to its subsidiary, ABS-CBN Convergence Inc. (formerly Multi-Media Telepony Inc.), the OSG accused the latter of resorting to corporate layering scheme in order to transfer its franchise without the necessary congressional approval.

Calida said a gag order is necessary as he accused the respondents of engaging in propaganda “to elicit public sympathy, sway public opinion, and, ultimately, to influence the resolution” of the quo warranto case that the OSG filed against the companies.

He cited several news, commentaries, interviews and statements that came out from the network which tend to influence the outcome of the resolution of the petition.

However, the network said the OSG should trust the SC justices would be able to decide on the merit of the case and would not be swayed by public discussions on the issues.

Covid-19 causing delivery delays for solar panels, stalling MGen projects

T

HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Wednesday said it is now checking if the labor displacement from the looming closure Honda Cars Philippines Inc.’s (HCPI) plant in Laguna will spread to other companies.

In a statement, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said they are now determining the number of HCPI’s suppliers and dealers, which may be affected by the closure.

“My worry is that the workers of the dealers and providers [of HCPI] may also be affected [by the closure],” Bello told reporters in an ambush interview.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), which is conducting its own assessment on the suppliers of HCPI, said their initial report showed the car manufacturers has at least six suppliers.

“We heard these suppliers have 1,000 to 2,000 employees including mechanics,” TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay told the BusinessMirror in an SMS. Tanjusay said they are closely monitoring the situation of HCPI’s suppliers to ensure that they “get fair and just treatment from Honda Cars Philippines in the same way that its management treats its 387 workers.”

Bello said the displaced employees of HCPI got a generous separation pay from their management. “Under the law, if a company closes it should give one-half monthly pay for every year of service. The offer of Honda Philippines is one and a half months for every year of service,” Bello said.

“So that is about three times the legal requirement for separation pay.

They have some workers who will get from P1 million to P 2 million,” he added.

In an ambush interview, Labor Assistant Secretary Officer in Charge Dominique R. Tutay told the BusinessMirror the closure would likely not lead to any mass displacement from the closure of HCPI. Samuel P. Medenilla

SC wants more time to decide on gag-order plea vs ABS-CBN

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

T

Daesik Han, president and CEO of Hann Development Corp., a member of the Widus Consortium, speaks to the select crowd that attended the unveiling of Hann Resorts, the first luxury lifestyle brand in Clark that addresses the future of travel and seeks to offer guests an all-new integrated resort experience. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

C

LARK FREEPORT—The first integrated lifestyle resort by the Widus Consortium was officially unveiled through a formal gathering at the grand ballroom of Clark Marriott Hotel here on Tuesday.

Hann Resorts, a world-class international destination brand that seeks to offer guests a whole new dimension to sophisticated destinations, was presented in a black-tie affair led by Korean businessman Daesik Han, chairman of the Widus Consortium and president and CEO of Hann Development Corp., and Widus Group director Agnes “Neki” Liwanag.

“Hann Resorts has two subbrands—the Hann Casino Resort here in Clark and the 450-hectare property in New Clark City (NCC) which is the Hann Lux Lifestyle Resort,” said Han. “We will create a synergy effect.

This property will be transformed into a genuine five-star international brand. It is going to be the first integrated resort outside Metro Manila,” he added.

The P12-billion luxury mountain

resort will be located in the southernmost portion of NCC. The development of Phase 1 will have a total investment of P5 billion which includes an 18-hole championship golf course and the development of the Angsana Hotel and the Banyan Tree Hotel—a leading global hospitality group that is rooted in the ethos of sustainability. Phase 1 is set for completion within five years.

Phase 2 includes the development of Westin and Luxury Collection by Marriott, two 18-hole championship golf courses, outdoor recreation facilities, premium villas and residences, a mixed-use commercial center, and a 10-hectare public park for a total investment of P7 billion.

According to Liwanag, Widus Hotel started operations in 2007 with only 120 hotel rooms while the casino began its operation in 2009 with 24 casino tables and 150 slot machines.

In 2019, the Clark Development Corp. recognized Widus Group as the top revenue producer as Widus Hotel continues its undeniable growth by having 233 hotel rooms, 70 casino tables and 440 slot machines and electronic table games.

Before the end of the year, it registered another 260 hotel rooms for the

first five-star hotel category in north of Luzon—the Clark Marriott Hotel.

“We are currently under construction [in some areas]. There will be additional 370 hotel rooms, 200 tables to 1,000 slot machines,” Liwanag said.

“For the past 13 years, Widus has strategically evolved and changed. It will probably change the landscape of Clark, and probably even for the country,” Liwanag declared.

“Soon, we will be adding four more international hotel brands, three 18hole championship golf courses and other luxury facilities,” she added.

The event was emceed by celebrity hosts James Deakin and Daphne Oseña-Paez while the guests were served with a six-course dinner by Clark Marriott Hotel’s executive chef Jan Broz and a soothing serenade by Asia’s harp angel, Noelle Cassandra, with an exquisite performance by Asia’s Nightingale Lani Misalucha.

The memorandum of agreement for the Han Lux Lifestyle Resort was signed by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and Hann Development Corporation last October 2019.

Hann Development Corporation is a member of the Widus Consortium.

HERE is a delay in the two solar power projects of the Meralco PowerGen Corp., the power generation arm of (Meralco), because of the 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

These are the 50-megawatt solar power facility in San Miguel, Bulacan and the 40-MW solar power project in Tarlac.

“We have two solar projects we are involved in. One in Bulacan and one in Tarlac. Both are experiencing delays in the delivery of PV panels from China. The other projects are still not affected,” said MGen president Rogelio Singson in a text message Wednesday.

On Monday, the MGen official said that while “construction is a go” for the solar power projects, “there is a delay in the delivery of panels” due to the Covid-19 disease. However, he said, “fencing is almost done, site clearning is almost complete.”

The travel ban imposed to and from China was cited as the cause for delay in the delivery of the solar panels.

“We really can’t say at this time until we see the panels delivered on site,” said Singson when asked for the schedule of the solar power facility’s commissioning.

The Bulacan solar project is the company’s first solar investment, according to Singson.

It will be put up by PowerSource First Bulacan Solar Inc. (PFBSI) at a cost of P4.25 billion.

PFBSI is 40-percent owned by MGEN Renewable Energy Inc. (MGreen), 36 percent held by PowerSource Global Holdings Corporation (36 percent) and 24 percent by Singapore’s Sunseap

International Pte. Ltd. MGreen, the renewable energy subsidiary of MGen, has tapped SUMEC Complete Equipment & Engineering Co. Ltd. to construct the solar facility in Bulacan.

‘Lego pieces’

Despite the setback, MGen is still committed to achieve its target RE portfolio of 1,000MW over the next five to seven years. The focus is on the development of a portfolio of utility-scale solar, wind and hydro-power projects to supply Luzon grid and electricity consumers with competitive tariff.

“This start is one of the Lego pieces that will make a thousand,” Singson earlier said.

MGreen recently secured an equity funding of P424 million from Meralco to be invested in various solar projects.

The power to be produced from PFBSI will be sold to Meralco under an approved 20-year power supply agreement (PSA) for P4.69 per kilowatt hour (kWh), subject to 2-percent annual escalation.

The rate, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has said, is “reasonable” because the PSA underwent the competitive selection process (CSP). Even with the application of the 2-percent annual escalation, the rate of P4.69 per kWh is “still significantly lower than the prevailing feed-in-tariff [FiT] rate and most of the approved rates for solar power plants.”

From P4.69 per kWh, the rate will go up to P5.7516 per kWh on the 20th year. The ERC said this is still lower than the prevailing FiT rate of P8.69 per kWh for solar.

The 20-year term of the PSA will not be extended, the ERC said.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, February 27, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

February 26, 2020

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

BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK FILIPINO FUND MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

137 81 24.75 11.1 59.1 11.5 30 51 19.6 156 57.5 6.1 0.38 740 0.71 172.7 1795 1.14

137.2 81.1 24.8 11.18 59.2 12.5 30.5 52.5 19.9 156.2 57.6 7.18 0.39 834.5 0.73 173 1850 1.19

142.9 81.5 25 11.2 59 12.04 31.15 51.35 20.2 160.6 57.9 6.5 0.4 810 0.73 175 1795 1.17

142.9 81.65 25 11.2 59.2 12.04 31.15 53.4 20.2 160.6 57.9 6.5 0.4 810 0.73 175 1795 1.2

136.3 80 24.75 10.96 57.2 12.02 28.9 51.2 19.5 153 57.5 6 0.37 760 0.7 172.7 1795 1.15

137 81 24.75 11.1 59.1 12.02 30 51.2 19.6 156 57.6 6 0.39 760 0.73 172.7 1795 1.19

6600630 4129320 312200 364200 4376380 20800 277900 18790 25300 532660 7120 28600 2530000 190 390000 150 10 325000

910684280 332472655.5 7740775 4016950 257077654.5 250316 8273055 963295 502922 82918107 409481 185600 985500 153130 281750 26164 17950 374760

-370988967 -86566598 -804395 -252090 -60107880.5 -368215 -23564 -31623604 -7600 10950 25299.9999

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 2.06 2.09 2.09 2.12 2 2.09 7072000 14606880 1.18 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 29000 34800 ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER 29.1 29.25 30.6 30.6 28.15 29.1 3452000 102569885 BASIC ENERGY 0.213 0.216 0.223 0.223 0.214 0.216 990000 213890 18.5 18.76 19.62 19.62 18.24 18.5 1925800 36365500 FIRST GEN 62.6 63 63.05 63.05 62.6 62.6 62840 3944938 FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO 257 260 261 265.8 255.2 257 599710 155070206 MANILA WATER 11.9 11.98 11.98 12.06 11.3 11.98 4841300 57344410 3.36 3.4 3.46 3.46 3.36 3.36 924000 3140680 PETRON 3.35 3.47 3.4 3.49 3.4 3.48 35000 119610 PETROENERGY PHX PETROLEUM 10.32 10.86 11.2 11.2 10.28 10.86 342300 3715048 PILIPINAS SHELL 27.3 27.5 28.3 28.4 27.3 27.3 237400 6540720 8.98 9 9.26 9.26 8.51 9 647100 5830007 SPC POWER 7.05 7.25 7.68 7.68 6.9 7.25 2642000 18697767 AGRINURTURE AXELUM 2.78 2.8 2.85 2.85 2.66 2.78 2386000 6598200 BOGO MEDELLIN 88 88.2 88.25 88.25 88.2 88.2 450 39697.5 14.02 16 16.4 16.4 16 16 4100 66800 CNTRL AZUCARERA 14.76 14.8 14.86 14.86 14.5 14.76 267600 3946640 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 4.5 4.79 4.79 4.79 4.79 4.79 4000 19160 7.41 8.05 8.19 8.35 7.41 7.41 3263700 25899631 DNL INDUS 7.65 7.66 7.64 7.72 7.63 7.65 1723300 13184071 EMPERADOR 70 73 72.5 73.4 69.15 73 266780 19191169 SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.65 0.6 0.63 2007000 1251390 1.7 1.71 1.73 1.74 1.57 1.71 35033000 58669820 FRUITAS HLDG 33 33.5 35.5 35.5 32 33.5 227300 7418990 GINEBRA 175.1 175.2 180 181.3 170.2 175.1 2328310 406968820 JOLLIBEE MACAY HLDG 6.5 6.52 6.52 6.52 6.52 6.52 4600 29992 MAXS GROUP 9.05 9.2 9.64 9.64 9 9.05 248900 2320653 0.153 0.163 0.155 0.155 0.155 0.155 500000 77500 MG HLDG 1.79 1.82 1.77 1.82 1.77 1.79 450000 807330 PEPSI COLA SHAKEYS PIZZA 8.7 8.74 9 9 8.74 8.74 102700 907275 ROXAS AND CO 1.62 1.63 1.6 1.65 1.55 1.62 1018000 1624910 5 5.26 5 5 5 5 100 500 RFM CORP 1.5 1.68 1.51 1.51 1.51 1.51 2000 3020 ROXAS HLDG UNIV ROBINA 140.5 140.8 146.5 146.5 139.1 140.5 2551960 358879740 VITARICH 1.11 1.12 1.11 1.13 1.09 1.12 4535000 5043960 2.4 2.52 2.52 2.52 2.52 2.52 1000 2520 VICTORIAS 59.1 59.5 60 60 60 60 450 27000 CONCRETE A CONCRETE B 59.55 70 62.05 62.05 62 62 700 43410 1.38 1.39 1.38 1.39 1.35 1.38 8455000 11524570 CEMEX HLDG 11.14 11.32 11.72 11.72 11.12 11.14 225600 2605868 EAGLE CEMENT 8.2 8.25 8.3 8.5 8 8.2 638800 5232945 EEI CORP HOLCIM 12.54 13 13.2 13.2 12 13 473700 6109400 13.62 14 14.3 14.3 13.58 14 1302100 18093836 MEGAWIDE 9 9.4 9.7 9.7 9 9.4 66800 607340 PHINMA TKC METALS 0.84 0.88 0.9 0.9 0.83 0.84 851000 712360 0.91 0.93 0.92 0.93 0.89 0.93 1214000 1103150 VULCAN INDL 185 227 227.8 227.8 227.8 227.8 20 4556 CHEMPHIL 2.02 2.05 2.06 2.06 2.01 2.05 169000 342980 CROWN ASIA EUROMED 3.34 3.36 3.1 3.57 2.76 3.36 16385000 54279810 MABUHAY VINYL 3.1 3.22 3.2 3.26 3.2 3.24 12000 38810 4.77 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 2000 9600 PRYCE CORP 28.9 31.9 30.05 30.05 28.9 28.9 300 8790 CONCEPCION GREENERGY 1.36 1.41 1.55 1.56 1.32 1.36 3196000 4499800 INTEGRATED MICR 4.56 4.6 4.9 4.9 4 4.56 4450000 20227890 1.15 1.18 1.23 1.23 1.11 1.18 110000 124720 IONICS 4.65 4.95 4.71 4.71 4.65 4.65 9200 43025 PANASONIC SFA SEMICON 1.05 1.06 1.05 1.06 1 1.05 1437000 1459830 CIRTEK HLDG 6.71 6.74 7.49 7.49 6.01 6.71 1546400 10497331

123370.0003 -79191635 -16359302 -1839958 -89082674 12491988 -33340 -155206 -3674800 2810216 217152 -1252960 1326034 -5608978 4758920 -6337837 3489190 5375100 -145531743 6519.9999 -145495 -0 -21480 -153860 64800 -147538777 445090 -432956 -86624 -1050028 -13703268 -9400 -46500 -13860 -9750 187730 421220 50600 -76150

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.75 0.76 0.75 0.76 0.72 0.76 17265000 12790380 9.89 9.95 10.28 10.28 9.89 9.95 4500 44865 ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP 689.5 690 712 712 679 690 453090 312847395 ABOITIZ EQUITY 45.4 45.65 49 49.15 45.4 45.4 2141000 99374450 10.02 10.04 10.02 10.1 9.9 10.02 23326600 233853245 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 2.18 2.19 2.35 2.35 2.16 2.19 3482000 7678520 AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR 6.1 6.29 6.1 6.36 6.1 6.1 68300 416708 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.66 0.69 0.67 0.69 0.66 0.66 105000 69880 0.89 0.9 0.89 0.9 0.88 0.89 481000 425980 ATN HLDG A 0.85 0.95 0.95 0.95 0.95 0.95 1000 950 ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL 6.19 6.3 6.13 6.33 6.13 6.3 2840700 17806638 DMCI HLDG 5.21 5.22 5.29 5.29 5.15 5.21 12397900 64510030 11.62 12.48 11.62 12.48 11.62 12.48 5700 68556 FILINVEST DEV 0.23 0.236 0.226 0.236 0.226 0.236 500000 114700 FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL 720 722 720 724 715 720 261010 187518285 JG SUMMIT 69 69.5 72.9 72.9 68.9 69 4045890 281555580.5 6.01 6.52 6.2 6.52 6.01 6.01 209200 1360539 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 5.7 6.3 5.51 5.51 5.51 5.51 112400 619324 KEPPEL HLDG B LODESTAR 0.48 0.49 0.49 0.49 0.485 0.485 20000 9750 3.82 3.99 3.9 4 3.81 3.99 188000 728820 LOPEZ HLDG 8.7 8.74 9 9 8.62 8.7 3393000 29445815 LT GROUP 0.54 0.59 0.54 0.59 0.54 0.59 853000 461690 MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV 2.97 2.98 2.98 3.04 2.87 2.97 45281000 134531790 PACIFICA HLDG 4.02 4.22 4.22 4.22 4 4.22 57000 233160 1.07 1.08 1.1 1.1 1.05 1.07 45000 48610 PRIME MEDIA 1.1 1.13 1.1 1.11 1 1.11 991000 1081150 SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID 157 173 170 180 157.5 157.5 490 81215 SM INVESTMENTS 984 985 1000 1000 978 985 719395 707861300 125.8 130 131.9 131.9 120 130 305780 39101028 SAN MIGUEL CORP 0.76 0.79 0.77 0.79 0.76 0.79 174000 133030 SOC RESOURCES TOP FRONTIER 163.5 164.8 164 169.9 164 164.8 1750 295849 WELLEX INDUS 0.218 0.227 0.228 0.23 0.228 0.23 830000 190700 0.171 0.178 0.177 0.178 0.17 0.178 2790000 480320 ZEUS HLDG

-332090 -114473775 -68811470 24771870 438000 409310 1524551 -40076350 25039585 -166220282.5 -171400 -10430186 -162000 -72767670 3150 -744500 31340 -362754115 -11984537 -15400 49840 -30740

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.76 0.77 0.78 0.78 0.75 0.76 988000 750690 8.8 9.6 8.77 8.77 8.77 8.77 100 877 ANCHOR LAND AYALA LAND 38.65 39.3 40 40.1 38.15 38.65 34613600 1358977525 ARANETA PROP 1.6 1.67 1.6 1.67 1.6 1.67 51000 81670 1.48 1.5 1.5 1.51 1.48 1.5 1132000 1694360 BELLE CORP 0.58 0.59 0.6 0.6 0.55 0.58 917000 538890 A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT 0.78 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 81000 64800 CROWN EQUITIES 0.17 0.178 0.175 0.175 0.17 0.171 2080000 354400 6.1 6.3 6.48 6.6 6.1 6.4 110700 728389 CEBU HLDG 4.44 4.45 4.5 4.5 4.41 4.44 677000 3003880 CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP 0.48 0.485 0.49 0.495 0.48 0.485 7392000 3598880 CYBER BAY 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.35 0.34 0.34 1870000 640100 16.88 17 17 17 16.02 17 890800 14738966 DOUBLEDRAGON 8.85 9 8.8 9 8.7 9 2319300 20408295 DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST 0.375 0.385 0.375 0.375 0.375 0.375 10000 3750 1.28 1.29 1.32 1.32 1.25 1.28 17609000 22576770 FILINVEST LAND 0.99 1.04 1.02 1.03 0.99 0.99 1350000 1344590 GLOBAL ESTATE 14.68 14.7 14.64 14.72 14.64 14.68 1332200 19586512 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV 0.98 1 1.03 1.03 0.95 0.98 1083000 1052720 0.71 0.77 0.7 0.77 0.7 0.77 2000 1470 CITY AND LAND 3.45 3.49 3.6 3.6 3.41 3.45 40409000 141251760 MEGAWORLD 0.191 0.192 0.197 0.2 0.192 0.192 7770000 1516010 MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES 0.435 0.44 0.45 0.455 0.44 0.44 1200000 542500 2.05 2.06 2.04 2.06 2.02 2.06 1247000 2537320 PRIMEX CORP 23.65 24.5 24.95 24.95 23 23.65 2379600 56197010 ROBINSONS LAND 0.29 0.32 0.305 0.305 0.29 0.29 750000 221700 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 1.9 2.05 1.95 1.95 1.9 1.9 277000 528840 3 3.11 3.03 3.11 3 3.11 48000 144610 SHANG PROP 2.39 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.38 2.4 215000 514900 STA LUCIA LAND 39.05 39.3 39.6 39.6 38.15 39.3 22000600 859562565 SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS 5 5.05 5.03 5.05 5 5.05 55200 277428 1.61 1.64 1.58 1.65 1.5 1.61 5105000 7984140 SUNTRUST HOME 6.72 6.73 6.9 6.9 6.66 6.73 2760200 18581520 VISTA LAND

-385062490 4440 58400 -44820 -157715 193240 -0 -14553230 -1014388 -59927610 -64680 -27538165 -120000 -335111380 -7952386

SERVICES ABS CBN 22.95 23 21.95 23.75 21.2 23 3167000 72076475 5.3 5.33 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.32 1368600 7308604 GMA NETWORK MANILA BULLETIN 0.43 0.435 0.455 0.455 0.4 0.435 2360000 1005050 1824 1826 1864 1914 1809 1826 116015 215037215 GLOBE TELECOM 1000 1002 1009 1010 990 1002 270070 270372682.5 PLDT 0.044 0.047 0.047 0.047 0.047 0.047 1000000 47000 APOLLO GLOBAL DFNN INC 3.71 4 3.81 4.09 3.8 4.09 384000 1564170 0.097 0.1 0.102 0.102 0.097 0.097 240000 23450 ISLAND INFO 1.69 1.7 1.54 1.72 1.51 1.7 225393000 381418690 ISM COMM 2 2.02 2.08 2.08 1.95 2 5927000 11817140 NOW CORP TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.231 0.235 0.234 0.234 0.21 0.231 2920000 670210 2.58 2.6 2.79 2.79 2.46 2.58 2761000 7147640 PHILWEB 7.46 7.8 8 8 7.4 7.46 42300 320777 2GO GROUP 17.5 18.58 17.5 17.5 17.5 17.5 48000 840000 ASIAN TERMINALS CHELSEA 3.9 3.92 3.98 3.98 3.6 3.9 781000 2902690 CEBU AIR 76.8 76.85 76.2 76.95 74 76.8 114770 8685203.5 102 102.2 113.4 113.4 94.85 102 2775290 291753826.5 INTL CONTAINER 11.7 12.14 12.14 12.14 12.14 12.14 400 4856 LBC EXPRESS LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.86 0.9 0.87 0.91 0.85 0.9 152000 129940 9.45 9.46 9.51 9.58 9.21 9.45 2632000 24906917 MACROASIA 1.43 1.47 1.55 1.55 1.38 1.47 3461000 4985210 METROALLIANCE A 1.37 1.4 1.52 1.52 1.27 1.36 73000 103250 METROALLIANCE B PAL HLDG 6.95 7 7.3 7.3 6.95 6.95 24500 170950 HARBOR STAR 1.02 1.07 1.07 1.08 1 1.07 1765000 1803610 1.36 1.43 1.44 1.44 1.34 1.34 63000 87620 ACESITE HOTEL 0.042 0.043 0.044 0.044 0.042 0.042 17000000 723800 BOULEVARD HLDG WATERFRONT 0.53 0.54 0.54 0.55 0.53 0.54 1718000 925890 890 927 900 900 890 890 650 578600 FAR EASTERN U 7.53 8.5 8 8.5 7.53 8.5 30100 231450 IPEOPLE 0.55 0.57 0.56 0.56 0.55 0.56 4773000 2667330 STI HLDG BERJAYA 2.65 2.7 2.7 2.74 2.64 2.7 433000 1150610 8.33 8.69 8.75 8.75 8 8.69 2127000 17932440 BLOOMBERRY 1.94 2.04 1.95 2.04 1.84 2.04 571000 1061890 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.88 1.89 1.91 1.92 1.88 1.89 358000 678420 LEISURE AND RES PH RESORTS GRP 4.02 4.65 4.02 4.02 4.02 4.02 2000 8040 0.52 0.53 0.54 0.55 0.51 0.53 24087000 12666150 PREMIUM LEISURE 9.91 10 10.3 10.3 9.85 10 1756200 17557317 ALLHOME 1.64 1.65 1.72 1.72 1.61 1.65 1302000 2144940 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 36.75 38 37.55 38 35 38 499700 18,586,360( ROBINSONS RTL 70.3 70.55 71.1 71.1 70.15 70.55 206000 14498279 145 152 140 141 140 140 1250 175030 PHIL SEVEN CORP 1.94 2 2 2 1.83 2 2028000 3922370 SSI GROUP WILCON DEPOT 18.5 18.52 18.5 18.54 18.1 18.5 3513300 64335610 0.385 0.39 0.385 0.39 0.375 0.39 1340000 508350 APC GROUP 6.7 7 7.58 7.58 6.5 7.25 30100 207205 EASYCALL GOLDEN BRIA 405 413 417 417 406 413 640 265042 IPM HLDG 5.51 6.7 5.41 5.41 5.41 5.41 100 541 0.28 0.29 0.3 0.305 0.28 0.29 7980000 2296450 PRMIERE HORIZON

-2865245 -101590100 -709680 71510 -3200 813750 11100 1388349.5 -163041713.5 7208906 31425 -71400 -1999700 -1258572 -928510 66340 149580 -11385911 -790490 3,968,975.0003) -450463 110580 510910 -957033.9999 8312 -21000

MINING & OIL

ATOK 10.94 11.3 11.48 11.48 10.94 11.3 4500 49738 APEX MINING 1.03 1.04 1.07 1.1 1.02 1.04 4155000 4358640 5200 ABRA MINING 0.0012 0.0013 0.0013 0.0013 0.0013 0.0013 466000000 605800 13000 2.19 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.18 2.19 109000 239530 -17440 ATLAS MINING 1.12 1.23 1.12 1.12 1.12 1.12 1000 1120 BENGUET A COAL ASIA HLDG 0.27 0.275 0.265 0.27 0.265 0.27 310000 82200 2.79 2.82 2.93 2.93 2.78 2.82 3421000 9735380 1566720 CENTURY PEAK 6.57 6.79 6.57 6.57 6.57 6.57 700 4599 DIZON MINES 1.16 1.17 1.23 1.23 1.13 1.17 2122000 2484990 -69670 FERRONICKEL GEOGRACE 0.198 0.202 0.198 0.202 0.198 0.202 140000 27760 0.091 0.095 0.096 0.098 0.091 0.095 5480000 517660 LEPANTO A 0.088 0.095 0.094 0.096 0.09 0.096 220000 19900 LEPANTO B 0.67 0.69 0.71 0.71 0.65 0.69 156000 103710 MARCVENTURES NIHAO 0.97 0.99 1.01 1.01 0.98 1 12000 11810 -1010 NICKEL ASIA 2.45 2.46 2.47 2.47 2.28 2.45 3366000 8027770 -146080 0.6 0.65 0.61 0.65 0.61 0.65 31000 18950 ORNTL PENINSULA 2.98 3.05 3.04 3.05 2.95 3.05 299000 895820 9000 PX MINING SEMIRARA MINING 19.28 19.42 19.4 19.42 19 19.28 1253500 24,122,184( 10,227,635.9996) UNITED PARAGON 0.0039 0.0048 0.0048 0.0048 0.0048 0.0048 2000000 9600 6.32 6.45 6.72 7 6.3 6.45 194000 1284887 -73767 ACE ENEXOR 0.0095 0.0098 0.0096 0.0096 0.0096 0.0096 1000000 9600 ORNTL PETROL A ORNTL PETROL B 0.0099 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 68600000 686000 -10000 PHILODRILL 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.011 19500000 205500 6.8 6.87 7.24 7.24 6.75 6.87 435300 2987782 143900 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 99 100.5 99.85 99.85 99 99 18440 1834880.5 AC PREF B1 501 502 502 502 501 501 270 135520 100.3 104.7 100.4 100.4 100.1 100.1 2000 200408 ALCO PREF B 503 504 502 503 502 503 1460 733330 733330 AC PREF B2R 101.1 102 101.1 101.1 101.1 101.1 1300 131430 CPG PREF A DD PREF 101 101.1 101 101 101 101 34960 3530960 105 107 108.2 108.2 108.2 108.2 100 10820 FGEN PREF G 502 508 502 502 502 502 1450 727900 GLO PREF P 990 998 990 990 990 990 50 49500 GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF 100 101.2 100.5 100.5 100 100.1 25510 2551260 100.2 102 100.1 100.1 100.1 100.1 2500 250250 PNX PREF 3A 105 109.7 105 105 105 105 70 7350 PNX PREF 3B 1033 1050 1050 1050 1031 1050 7045 7368400 PNX PREF 4 SMC PREF 2C 77.6 77.7 77.6 77.6 77.5 77.6 4320 335107 77 77.1 76.5 77 76.5 77 126530 9,728,872( 4,818,494.9998) SMC PREF 2F 76.05 76.4 76 76.3 76 76.05 30630 2336436.5 SMC PREF 2H 76 76.95 76 76 76 76 29400 2234400 SMC PREF 2I

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 17.6 17.62 17 17.84 16.88 17.62 608800 10572006 GMA HLDG PDR 5.11 5.15 5.15 5.15 5.1 5.11 1344900 6886632 -6375632

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 1 1.08 1.02 1.08 1 1.08 300000 303340

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 2.85 2.89 2.9 2.9 2.76 2.85 178000 505540 KEPWEALTH 8.22 8.34 9.1 9.1 8 8.22 321000 2667147 0.76 0.77 0.78 0.78 0.75 0.76 2523000 1916590 37500 XURPAS

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 105.3 112.4 108.5 108.8 105 105.3 214590 22715489 49948

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Google PHL campaign boosts MSMEs, drive to digitalize biz

G

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

OOGLE Philippines on Wednesday launched a campaign aiming to encourage micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to open a web site in an initiative to assist the government in its objective to digitalize business transactions.

The campaign, labelled as an MSME caravan, will teach small firms digital skills and introduce tools that can help them compete in the online landscape. Google Philippines reported that just 1 percent of the over 1 million MSMEs in the country has a web site.

During the campaign, Google Philippines and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will conduct training sessions among MSME owners that will orient them

of the digital world, latest consumer insights and business tools such as Google My Business and the Primer app.

The training sessions have already started, and more than 2,780 MSMEs from across eight regions have been trained by the program since last year. Google Philippines has not set a goal on how many MSMEs they plan to train this year, but said that in coordination with the DTI, they hope to reach more

Wilcon income grows 16% in 2019; ₧2.9-B capex allocated for 2020

W

ILCON Depot Inc. said its net income grew to almost 16 percent last year to P2.12 billion from the previous P1.83 billion, despite the changes in accounting standards on rents.

“Coming off a high base, we had a respectable topline growth and the margin improvement we gained from our product mix strategy cushioned the spike in our operating expenses as we had planned. These results certainly will encourage us more to continue in our strategic direction and give us assurance that we can deliver consistent growth in the coming years,” Lorraine Belo-Cincochan, the company’s president and CEO, said.

This year, the company has allocated some P2.9 billion in capital expenditures to fund the construction of new stores, more renovations and extensions as it upgrades some old branches to put them on a par with new stores and others, she said.

“We are targeting to maintain a mid-teen topline and net income growth for 2020 as well as a steady 5[-percent] to 6-percent comparable sales growth,” she said.

Net sales for 2019 grew 16 percent to P24.47 billion for 2019 from the previous year’s P21.04 billion on the back of a steady ramp-up of the new stores which contributed P2.33 billion, or 68 percent of the total increase, and comparable sales growth of 5 percent for the full year.

It said six new depots were opened last year, increasing the branch tally to 57 at the close of 2019.

The depots comprised 96 percent of net sales totaling P23.469 billion generated from 50 branches, or a sales growth of 16 percent.

Sales from its smaller format, Home Essentials, accounted for 2.7 percent or P658 million, a growth of 6 percent.

There are no immediate plans to expand the smaller format, it said.

Project sales, meanwhile, accounted for the remaining 1.4 percent or P349 million, growing 28 percent.

New accounting standard

The company adopted the new accounting standard for leases, Philippine Financial Reporting Standard 16 (PFRS 16) starting January 1, 2019, which involved the recognition of the company’s qualified operating leases as right-of-use assets with the corresponding lease liabilities in the balance sheet.

As a result, qualified lease-related expenses previously classified as rent expense are reflected in the income statement as depreciation/amortization of the right-of-use assets and interest expense on the lease liabilities.

Total actual rental payments in 2019 amounted to P1.18 billion including rent of transport and other equipment, and leases exempted from the adoption of PFRS 16.

“Our capital expenditure for 2019 reached P2.65 billion comprised mainly of construction of new stores, warehouses and extensions to or renovation of existing stores and investment in computer software, among others. We are on track to finish 2020 with at least 65 stores as we are set to open between eight to nine depots this year,” Belo-Cincochan said. VG Cabuag

Vivant Corp.: We have nothing to do with ‘Vivant’ that owes PSALM ₧4B

C

EBU-BASED Vivant Corporation clarified on Monday that it has no unpaid obligations with the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).

“Vivant Corp. and our subsidiaries Vivant Energy Corp. and Vivant Renewable Energy Corp. are not connected with Vivant-Sta. Clara Northern Renewables Generation Corp.,” it said.

The listed firm released this statement after PSALM said Vivant-Sta. Clara Northern Renewables Generation Corp. (Northern Renewables), which administers the Ippa (Independent Power Producer Administrator) agreement for the Bakun Hydroelectric power plant in Ilocos Sur, has an unpaid account of P4.19 billion.

Vivant Corp. said the “Vivant” in Vivant-Sta. Clara is a remnant from its previous engagement with Northern Renewables, but “we have

since sold our complete stakes in Vivant-Sta. Clara Northern Renewables Generation Corp, which was equivalent to 48 percent, as far back as October 2018.

“That said, we are not connected to the Bakun hydroelectric power plant in Bakun, Alilem, Ilocos Sur. That project is fully owned by Northern Renewables,” it pointed out.

Vivant Corp. added that it has no delinquent accounts with PSALM, and is fully compliant and up-to-date with all payments.

PSALM earlier said that it would go after IPPAs with delinquent accounts amounting to a total P33.62 billion.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who chairs the PSALM Board, has instructed PSALM to pursue all legal remedies to compel these Ippas to pay up at once. Lenie Lectura

throughout 2020.

Google Philippines Government Affairs and Public Policy Head Yves Gonzalez said the firm intends to help the DTI in achieving its targets listed under the e-commerce road map through this initiative.

Under the new road map on ecommerce, the government is eyeing to get 100,000 MSMEs ready to transact with consumers online.

However, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez last year said this number might be increased due to the momentum the Philippines is gaining in terms of available technologies.

As such, the DTI is looking at improving the target to 500,000 digitally ready MSMEs by 2022.

With this, Lopez envisions hiking the contribution of e-commerce to the economy to 50 percent of the country’s GDP. At present, the objective is to make e-commerce contribute at least 25 percent to GDP by this year, from 10 percent based on data

mutual funds

from i-Metrics Asia-Pacific Corp.

According to Google Philippines, the number of searches for products, stores and services “near me”—proximity to the user—have jumped by 250 percent in the last three years.

The MSME caravan, therefore, seeks to train business owners on how they can be listed on Google My Business. This will make them discoverable online to users searching for goods and services that their firm might be offering.

Google My Business is a free-only listing on Google Maps and Searches to help MSMEs link with more consumers in the digital space. It also helps businesses build their online presence, control their business information and create free web site and posts.

On the other hand, the Primer app—downloadable on the Google Play Store—is a free mobile software that has courses on digital marketing skills.

February 26, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 233.49 -12.36% -2.91% -3.74% -7.3% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.2166 -22.9% -4.57% -5.47% -11.97% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.2518 -21.21% -7.12% -6.28% -11.59% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.811 -14.73% n.a. n.a.

-9.6% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7849 -9.04% n.a. n.a.

-7.58% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.9287 -11.06% -1.7% -3.5% -7.5% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,6 0.7815 -11.4% -5.45% n.a.

-8.45% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 94.93 -23.1% n.a. n.a.

-8.13% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 47.0495 -10.06% -1% n.a.

-8.25% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 492.81 -9.81% -1.67% -3.22% -7.5% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,8 0.9625 n.a. n.a. n.a. -6.56% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.1901 -9.57% -1.16% -2.3% -7.52% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 34.9778 -9.9% -0.23% -2.16% -7.7% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.9399 -9.46% n.a. n.a.

-7.68% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.7961 -9.33% -0.37% -1.55% -8.18% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 800.78 -9.28% -0.4% -1.72% -8.18% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.7564 -15.93% -4.08% -5.48% -11.16% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.8331 -11.31% -1.04% -2.43% -8.93% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.919 -9.5% -0.57% n.a.

-8.17% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.3864 -8.14% 1.18% -0.72% -7.31% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 107.4865 -8.92% 0.27% -0.8% -8.1% ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $0.9942 -0.68% 2.76% -0.32% -3.33% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.4178 14.39% 9.02% n.a.

2.84% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5259 -11.52% -4% -4.94% -2.36% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0718 -10.07% -3.19% -2.85% -5.01% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.5263 -4.48% 0.13% -2.96% -4% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,5 0.2104 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-7.92% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.9104 -0.01% 1.33% -0.45% -2.68% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.6426 0.02% 0.11% -1.52% -3.87% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 16.2865 -1.19% 0% -1.61% -3.97% -3.81% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.0449 -4.81% -0.37% -0.93% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.652 -4.74% 0.23% -1.39% -5.48% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d,2 0.9756 -1.78% n.a. n.a.

-3.95% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d,2 0.9354 -5.52% n.a. n.a.

-6.12% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d,2 0.9276 -6.25% n.a. n.a.

-6.6% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.91 -6.44% -0.76% -2.85% -6.65% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03923 9.95% 3.6% 2.28% 2.62% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -a $1.0227 4.05% 3.25% 0.5% -1.46% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.0063 11.42% 7.17% 3.99% 2.44% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,7 $1.1504 8.42% 4.3% n.a.

1.91% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 359.44 4.01% 2.77% 2.3% 0.46% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9091 2.51% 0.5% -0.56% 0.37% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.14 4.94% 5.17% 5.17% 0.76% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2433 4.45% 2.3% 1.92% 0.82% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.37 6.34% 2.27% 1.42% 0.46% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.4084 12.32% 2.65% 0.81% 1.69% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.7882 6% 2.88% 1.31% 0% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 0.9762 7.32% 1.68% 0.29% 1.23% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.0985 9.38% 4.42% 2.56% 0.73% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7055 8.42% 3.75% 2.03% 0.26% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $472.42 4.66% 2.76% 2.71% 0.9% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є221.34 3.13% 1.78% 1.33% 0.73% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2188 5.87% 3.16% 2.52% 0.96% 1.16% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0261 4.4% 1.58% 1.52% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -a $1.1124 5.95% 1.49% 0% 1.57% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4769 11.58% 4.1% 3.12% 3.04% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0609536 6.02% 2.39% 1.91% 1.06% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2849 12.19% 3.84% 3% 3.45% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 126.52 3.9% 2.97% 2.24% 0.59% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a,3 1.0319 2.93% n.a. n.a.

0.55% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a 1.2595 6.13% 3.13% 1.72% 0.22% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2706 3.65% 2.95% 2.45% 0.47% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0401 2.02% n.a. n.a.

0.28% Feeder Fund Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,4 $0.99 n.a. n.a. n.a.

0% 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 January 3, 2019. 2 - Launch date is January 28, 2019. 3 - Launch date is February 1, 2019. 4 - Launch date is November 15, 2019.

5 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 6 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.).

7 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019. 8 - Launch date is December 09, 2019.

"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."

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Thursday, February 27, 2020 B3

Average farm-gate price of rice at 8-year low

A

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

head of the expected start of rice harvest in March, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the farm-gate price of unmilled rice fell to its lowest level in 8 years in the first week of February.

PSA data indicated that the average farm-gate price of dry palay settled at P15.97 per kilogram. The figure was 19.1 percent lower than the P19.73 per kg in the same period last year.

On a weekly basis, however, PSA data showed that the figure was the same as price recorded in the last week of January.

Historical PSA data showed that the current average farm-gate prices of dry palay is the lowest since the P16.02 per kg recorded in the first week of July 2011.

Palay harvest will kick off in the first week of March and will run until the middle of May. The decline in farm-gate prices, which started last year, was attributed by authorities and industry players to the surge in rice imports after Republic Act (RA)

11203, or the rice trade liberalization law, took effect on March 5, 2019.

To prevent farm-gate prices from declining steeply during harvest, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said recently that it will void all unused import clearances for some 1.8 million metric tons of rice issued last year.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar also said the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) will no longer issue sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPS-ICs) to farmers’ organizations that serve as dummies of unscr upu lous traders.

Dar made an assurance that invalidating SPS-ICs issued in 2019 will not cause a shortfall in rice supply, as the Philippines has stocks sufficient for at least three months. Apart from

Pinoy farmers harvest edamame for the first time

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar (center) joins farmers in harvesting edamame or young soybeans in Cabanatuan City.

Story & photo by Ashley Manabat Correspondent

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LARK FREEPORT—A joint project between a company and Northern Luzon farmers’ cooperatives allowed the Philippines to harvest edamame, or young soybeans from Japan, for the first time.

A 20-hectare farm located in Barrio Talipapa, Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija produced the first edamame beans. The beans are now bound for Japan.

The farm is a joint project of Top Shelf Corp. and a number of Northern Luzon farmers’ cooperatives. Top Shelf Corporation is a company formed by young farmers Raphael Pelayo, Elaine Timbol and Jeff Fernandez.

The goal of Top Shelf is to expand edamame production to 500 to 700 hectares in two years and export to South Korea, Australia and the United States.

According to Pelayo, the farms would be located in Central Luzon, Ilocos in Region 1 as well as in Region 2.

Edamame is Japanese for “beans on a branch” and often found in East Asian cuisine sold both in the pod and hulled. The crop is ready for harvest

after only 62 days.

The edamame initiative was in response to Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar’s call for land and farm consolidation and prioritizing agriculture as an industry.

It can be recalled that during the blistering summer last year, farmers were told to plant edamame beans which can withstand the ravages of El Niño.

Former Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo said his group, composed of private individuals, is still looking for farmers with lands that can be planted with edamame beans, which require very little water and are not affected by the prolonged dry spell.

The group secured a $5-million purchase order from Japan for edamame beans. Farmers will serve as contract growers who will get seedlings and capital.

The group will put up a processing plant and will take charge of logistics.

After harvest, it will buy the edamame beans of farmers.

Edamame beans planted in the Philippines, he said, are far better in quality than those planted in Taiwan, which means the Philippines is the most suitable area for growing the crop.

Farmers in Bayambang, Pangasinan, continue to produce rice despite the fall in farm-gate prices. A policy brief published by the Philippine Rice Research Institute in November 2019 indicated that the drop in rice prices caused planters to incur P61.77 billion in losses. LAILA D. AUSTRIA

this, he said 175,000 metric tons (MT) of imported rice entered the

country in January.

“We will void unused SPS-ICs be-

cause we have rice inventory good for 90 to 94 days. Plus harvest is

coming,” he told reporters in an interview.

The agriculture chief said he has instructed BPI Executive Director George Culaste to find out why there are still unused SPS-ICs, some of which were issued a few months after the effectivity of the rice trade liberalization law.

He added the government may indicate an expiration date for the SPS-ICs to force traders to bring rice into the Philippines within a specified period of time.

Data from the BPI, an attached agency of the DA, showed that there were some 1,752 unused SPS-IC at the end of 2019. The BPI issued a total of 4,069 SPS-ICs from March 5 to December 31, 2019, for 3.63 MMT of imported rice.

The agriculture chief urged traders to desist from applying for SPS-ICs during harvest so as not to depress the farm-gate price of unhusked rice. He said the BPI may approve fewer SPS-ICs during harvest.

The enactment of RA 11203 deregulated the rice industry and eased import requirements. Under the law, traders must secure SPSICs from the BPI prior to purchasing imported rice.

The DA said it is banking on the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund and its hybrid rice program to increase palay output to 19.6 MMT, from last year’s 18.48 MMT.

DA, Corteva Agriscience build farm school in Nueva Ecija

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he Department of Agriculture (DA) said it has partnered with multinational Corteva Agriscience to set up 80 educational farms (EduFarm) that will expose rice and corn farmers to best agricultural practices.

The DA and Corteva forged a partnership agreement in October 2019 to set up farming academies in 40 municipalities, covering a total of 50,000 hectares of rice and corn production. The first EduFarm was built in Talavera, Nueva Ecija. The province of Nueva Ecija is considered the top producer of rice in the Philippines. The DA and Corteva inaugurated the farm recently.

The EduFarm seeks to provide

farmers with season-long field and classroom training sessions and promote high-quality seeds, good agricultural practices, and modern farming technologies.

“Through the EduFarm project we are sharing our knowledge of agricultural best practices and products in order to raise crop productivity and improve farmer income. For example, by planting high-yielding hybrid rice varieties and applying the corresponding crop protection treatments, farmers can lower costs, spend less time laboring in the field and improve productivity,” Corteva Country Lead Arun Mittal said in a separate statement. “The EduFarms

will build capacity in various areas to fulfill our shared goal with the government of food security and self-sufficiency,” Mittal added.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar supports the expanded use of hybrid rice seeds in the country as it has “undoubtedly contributed in our efforts to secure the nation’s food requirements and the creation of new jobs in our rural areas.”

“Under the [rice trade liberalization law], we vigorously promote the use of high-quality seeds, among other good practices, to modernize and develop the Filipino rice industry towards greater productivity and competitiveness. We therefore welcome and commend this initia-

tive by Corteva as it supports and complements government efforts to produce our national rice requirements,” said Dar. In a report, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the Philippines produced 18.814 million metric tons of unmilled rice last year, 1.3 percent lower than the 19.066 MMT produced in 2018. Palay produced last year was valued at P915.459 billion at current prices.

Corn produced last year, according to PSA, reached 7.978 MMT, 2.7 percent higher than the 7.771 MMT produced in 2018. The Philippines’s corn production in 2019 was valued at P305.107 billion at current prices.

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

PSA: Value of food, live animals traded in PHL down 50.9%

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

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he value of food and live animals traded domestically contracted 50.9 percent in the last quarter of 2019, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Based on preliminary data released by the PSA on Wednesday, shipments of these commodities were valued at P20.75 billion in the last quarter of 2019, significantly lower than the P42.3 billion posted in the same period in 2018.

In terms of quantity, shipments reached 1.21 million metric tons in the October to December period last year, a 42.2-percent contraction from the 2.09 MMT posted in 2018.

It can be noted that the outbreak

of the African swine fever (ASF) was confirmed by the Department of Agriculture and the World Organisation for Animal Health in September 2019.

The ASF outbreaks in the Philippines started on July 25, nearly a month before the government formally announced that a “mystery” disease had killed hogs, according to Manila’s notification to the OIE. Overall, domestic trade declined 27.8 percent to P127.76 billion in the fourth quarter in 2019 from P177 billion in the same period in 2018.

In terms of quantity, PSA data showed overall domestic trade contracted 45.4 percent to 3.95 MMT in 2019 from 7.24 MMT in 2018.

“Almost all or 99.8 percent of the commodities were traded through

water (coastwise) while the remaining commodities were through air,” PSA said.

PSA data showed that machinery and transport equipment led in terms of value of traded commodities with P54.23 billion or 42.4 percent share to total.

It was followed by food and live animals and manufactured goods classified chiefly by material with values of P20.75 billion or 16.2 percent and P13.85 billion or 10.8 percent, respectively.

The National Capital Region ranked first with P42.59 billion, or 33.3 percent share to total value of domestic trade in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Eastern Visayas ranked second with P27.40 billion (21.4 percent) followed by Northern Mindanao with

P12.27 billion (9.6 percent).

Data from the PSA indicated that food and live animals ranked first in terms of quantity of domestic trade, accounting for 30.5 percent of the total.

It was followed by commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere in the Philippine Standard Commodity Classification and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials with 630,000 tons (15.9 percent) and 540,000 tons (13.8 percent), respectively.

Bicol region registered the highest quantity of traded commodities with 730,000 tons, or 18.5 percent share to total in the fourth quarter of 2019. Metro Manila ranked second with 690,000 tons (17.3 percent), followed by Mimaropa with 650,000 tons (16.5 percent).

Australian farmers plant smallest cotton area since 1979 after driest year ever

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fter minimal rainfall last year, the McVeigh family in Queensland, Australia, planted just one paddock of cotton on their parched property this summer, about 5 percent of the usual amount.

“It’s been one of the worst summers in history for us,” said Matt McVeigh, whose family has grown cotton and other crops in the Darling Downs area in the south of the state for about 120 years. “A lot of people are very happy to see 2019 behind

us,” he said in an interview.

Australia’s devastating drought is expected to slash the country’s cotton output in 2020 as farmers plant the smallest area in more than 40 years.

Cotton is just one of the nation’s landmark primary industries being scarred by drought, after the country experienced the warmest and driest year on record in 2019. The sheep flock is now the smallest in more than 100 years, according to Meat & Livestock Australia, while this

year’s wine grape crush could drop by as much as 15 percent, Australian Grape & Wine forecasts.

The cotton area is expected to slump by 82 percent to 61,000 hectares in the 2019-20 season, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences on low supplies of irrigation water and soil moisture. That’d be the lowest since 1978-1979 when 50,000 hectares were planted.

“It’s directly related to water,” said Cotton Australia Chief Execu-

tive Adam Kay. “When there’s no water for irrigation, our growers don’t plant cotton.” Most of the cotton planted this year will be watered by underground supplies, which are less variable than surface water, he said.

Australia was the world’s third largest cotton exporter in 2018-19, behind the United States and Brazil, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture. The value of exports is expected to slump to A$890 million ($588 million) in 2019-2020, well below the A$2.56

billion in 2018-19, Abares forecast in December.

Empty dams and dry soil are not the only challenges facing the industry. The outbreak of the deadly coronavirus, which has caused more than 2,600 deaths worldwide, is delaying transport of the fiber in the key Chinese market and concern is mounting that factory closures there will weigh on demand.

China slowdown

“There’s definitely a big slowdown

in the factories and mills in China.

That is a concern,” Kay said. “China is a massive customer for Australian cotton so we want this situation to resolve itself as quickly as possible.”

Australian cotton exports to China have not been significantly affected so far, because the first quarter of the year is typically slow for shipments, according to the Australian Cotton Shippers Association. That could change if the supply chain is not back to normal by the end of March.

Bloomberg News

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Thursday, February 27, 2020

The World BusinessMirror

Global coronavirus cases climb; South Korea infections top 1,000 W

Editor: Angel R. Calso

How deadly is COVID-19?

It’s still too early to tell

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he US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans to prepare for a potential coronavirus outbreak at home, while mounting cases across the Middle East, Europe and Asia sparked concern the outbreak is widening into a pandemic.

South Korea has emerged as a hot spot for the virus, with infections surging to more than 1,000 from only 51 a week ago. A US soldier in South Korea became the first American military case reported. A Brazilian patient tested preliminary positive for the coronavirus, in what would be the first infection in Latin America.

In Japan, companies, including Shiseido Co. are asking employees to work from home as cases pop up in office buildings. The heightened fears roiled financial markets again, with Asian stocks falling after a rout on Wall Street.

Thailand’s virus fight

Thailand said it will step up efforts to contain the novel coronavirus after confirming three more cases, taking the country’s total to 40.

Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said in a briefing that COVID-19 has been classified as a dangerous communicable disease.

Under the change, anybody with suspect symptoms after visiting a high-risk country must report to the authorities within three hours.

Visitors who lie about symptoms or travel history could be deported.

There’s no widespread community transmission of the disease in Thailand, yet, Permanent Health Secretary Sukhum Kanchanapimai said at the briefing.

Asia supply chains

More than one-quarter of businesses grappling with coronavirus in Asia say they’re setting up or using supply chains that reduce their reliance on China, according to a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.

Some 28 percent said they were making such adjustments, and 14 percent said they were shifting some or all of their supply chains outside of China, according to a poll of members conducted February 12 to 18 and released on Wednesday with Sandpiper Communications. About two-thirds of AmCham members are US-based companies.

The poll offers a glimpse into firms’ evolving strategies as confirmed cases of the virus accelerate in countries within and outside Asia, slamming global financial markets and forcing policy-makers to unveil stimulus packages and monetary easing.

Japan big events

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for major sporting and cultural events to be called off, postponed or scaled down over the next two weeks, saying the move was crucial in preventing the domestic spread of the new coronavirus.

Abe introduced a new government plan on Tuesday to control the disease that called on employers to encourage telework and stagger working hours in an attempt to slow the spread of the disease.

One major concern facing Abe has been whether the virus will derail Tokyo’s plans to host the Summer Olympics later this year. Japanese and Olympic officials have said there is no change to holding the Games as planned, but there is a lot at stake for Abe. Tokyo has been preparing for the Games for about seven years, spending more than $26 billion to ready the city, according to some estimates.

HK $15-B stimulus package

Hong Kong Financial Secretary

In this Thursday photo, a US military policeman and South Korean security person check visitors at the US Army base Camp Walker, in Daegu, South Korea. The number of new virus cases in South Korea jumped again on Wednesday and the first US military soldier tested positive, with his infection and many others connected to a southeastern city where the outbreak has clustered. Kim Hyun-tae/Yonhap via AP

Paul Chan announced a HK$120 billion ($15.4 billion) relief package, in an effort to shore up economic confidence in a city battered by political unrest and the coronavirus.

The main feature of Chan’s annual budget announced on Wed nesd ay i s a pay ment of HK$10,000 to each permanent resident of the city 18 or older.

He unveiled an official forecast for economic growth this year of between -1.5 percent and 0.5 percent, and confirmed a contraction of 1.2 percent in 2019.

The administration of Chief Executive Carrie Lam is seeking to put a floor under the collapsing economy, rolling out a bolder budget than has been seen in recent years. Months of political unrest pushed Hong Kong last year into its first annual recession in a decade, with economists forecasting a second annual contraction in 2020 as disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak further depress the city’s output.

Cathay unpaid leave

More than 25,000 Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. staff have agreed to take unpaid leave, according to an internal memo from Chief Executive Officer Augustus Tang, in which he thanked employees for their support as the airline contends with the impact of the coronavirus.

The CEO, who took over last year after his predecessor Rupert Hogg was ousted amid the fallout from anti-government protests in Hong Kong , said Cat hay’s business cha l lenges

“remain acute.” The airline has about 33,000 employees worldw ide, w it h nea rly 20,0 0 0 in Hong Kong.

Cathay has sharply cut its flight capacity because of the impact the virus has had on travel, presenting a fresh challenge after the protests in Hong Kong weighed on the company’s performance in the second half of 2019.

US soldier infected

A US soldier stationed at a military base near Daegu, South Korea, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the first time a US service member has been infected, according to a statement from the United States Forces Command.

The soldier is a 23-year-old male based in Camp Carroll, located about 20 kilometers from Daegu, which has emerged as a hot spot for the outbreak in South Korea.

The soldier has a history of visiting Camp Walker, located inside Daegu, the statement said.

Brazilian tests positive

A 61-year-old man in Sao Paulo tested positive for the new coronavirus, in what can be the first case of the disease in Latin America.

A counter-test is being made

by Brazil’s reference hospital, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, the Health Ministry said in a statement published on its web site and in its Twitter account.

The man traveled to Northern Italy for work February 9 through February 21, and has mild symptoms that match the ones of a suspected COVID-19 infection, the statement said. Bloomberg News

6 European nations report virus cases with Italy link

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ER L I N — S i x E u r o p e a n countries announced cases of COVID-19 disease on Tuesday in people who had recently traveled from northern Italy, where the virus emerged as a fast-growing cluster last week.

For Switzerland, Austria and Croatia it was the first confirmed new coronavirus cases in those countries. Germany, France and Spain, which had previously reported cases, confirmed new infections in people who were from or had visited northern Italy.

A 70-year-old man from Switzerland’s southern canton (state) of Ticino, which borders Italy, tested positive after returning from a trip to Milan, the head of the Swiss Federal Office for Public Health said.

The man is being isolated at a clinic in Lugano while authorities try to trace anyone he had contact with, Pascal Strupler said. It is the first case in Switzerland, but Strupler said it was likely the country would see more in future.

Croatia also confirmed its first case on Tuesday in a man who had traveled to Milan.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said it’s a “younger man, with a mild form of the disease” and that he has “been isolated and his condition is good.”

Authorities in the western Austrian state of Tyrol said the country’s first two cases involved a woman and a man, both 24 years old and from the Bergamo area in Lombardy. They had driven to Austria in their private car on Friday, the same day the coronavirus cases in Italy spiked.

T he woman fell ill Saturday and developed a fever on Sunday, said Guenter Weiss, a senior doctor at Innsbruck ’s university hospital. T he woman’s boyfriend got a fever and a sore throat on Sunday.

The couple reported themselves to authorities late Monday.

Both are in a stable condition with only mild symptoms but will be kept in isolation until the weekend, said Weiss.

“We have to work on the assumption that due to the proximity to Italy, one or the other case may still come,” he added.

Franz Katzgraber, the head of

the Tyrol state health department, said authorities are currently tracing possible contacts the patients may have had in Austria. Local daily Tiroler Tageszeitung reported that the woman worked at a hotel in the center of Innsbruck, which was temporarily ordered closed.

Herbert Kickl of Austria’s opposition far-right Freedom Party immediately called for border crossings to be “reduced to a minimum.”

“Everything must be done to stop the virus from spreading further in Austria,” said Kickl, who also called for illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers to be put in quarantine.

But Italy’s health minister, Roberto Speranza, said late Tuesday after meeting with counterparts from neighboring countries, inc lud ing Austr ia, Sw it zerland and Croatia that they had agreed closing borders would be “inappropriate.”

Yet, even as European countries tried frantically to coordinate their response, Italy reported a spike in the number of confirmed cases of the virus on Tuesday to 322—100 more than a day earli-

er—and four more deaths, bringing the total to 11.

Speranza said that all the participants in the meeting, who included representatives from Germany, France and tiny San Marino, planned to consult regularly about the situation by conference call.

France announced two new cases of the virus, a young Chinese woman who arrived from China on February 7 and now hospitalized in Paris, and a young French man who had returned from a trip to Lombardy. Jerome Salomon, France’s health services chief, said the young man is hospitalized in the Rhone-Alpes region in southeast France.

Authorities in Germany, which early on in the outbreak reported about a dozen cases linked to a traveler from China, said Tuesday that a new infection had been confirmed in the southwest of the country.

Hea lth of f icia ls in BadenWuer ttemberg state said the 25-year-old man from the Goeppingen area had likely contracted the v irus on a recent v isit to Milan. AP

ASHINGTON—Scientists can’t tell yet how deadly the new virus that’s spreading around the globe really is—and deepening the mystery, the fatality rate differs even within China.

As infections of the virus that causes COVID-19 surge in other countries, even a low fatality rate can add up to lots of victims, and understanding why one place fares better than another becomes critical to unravel.

“You could have bad outcomes with this initially until you really get the hang of how to manage” it, Dr. Bruce Aylward, the World Health Organization (WHO) envoy who led a team of scientists just back from China, warned on Tuesday.

What do we know about the death rate?

In the central China city of Wuhan, where the new coronavirus first exploded, 2 percent to 4 percent of patients have died, according to WHO. But in the rest of hard-hit China, the death rate was strikingly lower, 0.7 percent.

There’s nothing different about the virus from one place to another. Instead, the never-before-seen strain of coronavirus struck Wuhan fast—before anyone knew what the illness was—and overwhelmed health facilities. As is usual at the beginning of an outbreak, the first patients were severely ill before they sought care, Aylward said.

By the time people were getting sick in other parts of China, authorities were better able to spot milder cases—meaning there were more known infections for each death counted.

And while there are no specific treatments for COVID-19, earlier supportive care may help, too. China went from about 15 days between onset of symptoms and hospitalization early in the outbreak, to about three days more recently.

Still, Aylward expressed frustration at people saying: “’Oh, the mortality rate’s not so bad because there’s way more mild cases.’ Sorry, the same number of people that were dying, still die.”

What about deaths outside of China?

U n til t he pa st wee k , most people d i ag nosed outside of C h i n a h a d b e c ome i n fe c t e d wh i le t ravel ing t here.

People who travel generally are healthier and, thus, may be better able to recover, noted Johns Hopkins University outbreak specialist Lauren Sauer. And countries began screening returning travelers, spotting infections far earlier in places where the medical system wasn’t already strained.

That’s now changing, with clusters of cases in Japan, Italy and Iran, and the death toll outside of China is growing.

Aylward cautioned that authorities should be careful of “artificially high” death rates early on: Some of those countries likely are seeing the sickest patients at first and missing milder cases, just like Wuhan did.

How does COVID-19 compare to other diseases?

A cousin of this new virus caused the far deadlier severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003, and about 10 percent of SARS patients died.

Flu is a different virus family, and some strains are deadlier than others. On average, the death rate from seasonal flu is about 0.1 percent, said Dr. Anthony Fauci of the US National Institutes of Health.

That’s far lower than what has been calculated so far for COVID-19. But millions of people get the flu every year around the world, leading to an annual death toll in the hundreds of thousands.

Who’s most at risk from COVID-19?

Older people, especially, those with chronic illnesses, such as heart or lung diseases, are more at risk.

Among younger people, deaths are rarer, Aylward said. But some young deaths have made headlines, such as the 34-year-old doctor in China who was reprimanded by communist authorities for sounding an early alarm about the virus only to later succumb to it.

In China, 80 percent of patients are mildly ill when the virus is detected, compared with 13 percent who already are severely ill. While the sickest to start with are at highest risk of death, Aylward said, a fraction of the mildly ill do go on to die—for unknown reasons.

On average, however, WHO says people with mild cases recover in about two weeks, while those who are sicker can take anywhere from three to six weeks. AP

Rising Thailand virus cases stoke fear of wider spread

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hailand confirmed three more novel coronavirus cases, taking the country’s total to 40, and said it will step up efforts to contain the disease.

Two of the new cases had returned from Hokkaido in Japan and are thought to have contracted the illness there, but one of them didn’t report symptoms until three days after they developed, Permanent Health Secretary Sukhum Kanchanapimai said in a briefing on Wednesday.

The two then spread the infection to a family member, an elementary school student, but Sukhum said there’s no widespread community transmission of the virus in Thailand, yet. Officials are checking on 50 to 100 people, including those from the school, who may have been in contact with the three new cases. The student’s classmates have been told to self-quarantine for 14 days.

The outbreak of the disease known as COVID-19 has hurt Thailand’s tourism-reliant economy and pummeled both its stock market and currency.

The SET index tumbled as much as 3.6 percent on Wednesday to its lowest intraday level in more than three years, amid a global rout this week sparked by the spread of the illness outside of epicenter China. The baht’s about 6-percent drop against the dollar this year is the worst in a basket of Asian currencies

tracked by Bloomberg.

Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said at the briefing on Wednesday that COVID-19 has been classified as a dangerous communicable disease.

Mandatory reporting Under the change, anybody with suspect symptoms after visiting a high-risk country must report to the authorities within three hours. Visitors who lie about symptoms or travel history could be deported.

Anutin said Thailand isn’t at the stage yet of banning incoming flights from affected countries, but added that “we’re going to fight with all the tools that we have.”

In an earlier Facebook post, Anutin wrote that Thailand had detected more suspected cases and groups at risk of contracting the disease, as well as infections from travelers returning home after visiting high-risk countries.

“Those who are planning to travel abroad in this period, if it’s possible to avoid that, please avoid it,” Anutin wrote. “We are entering a full war with COVID-19.”

Returning travelers must report where they went to disease control officers stationed at airports, he said in the post, adding people shouldn’t conceal symptoms as that could cause the virus to spread. Bloomberg News

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Death toll rises to 20 from New Delhi riots during Trump visit

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EW DELHI—At least 20 people were killed in three days of clashes in New Delhi apparently sparked by President Donald J. Trump’s first state visit to India, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals were overflowed with dozens of injured people, authorities said on Wednesday.

New Delhi’s top elected official, Chief Minister Arjind Kerjiwal, called on Wednesday for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send the Indian army to areas in a northeastern corner of the sprawling capital affected by the riots.

Police characterized the situation as tense but under control. Schools remained closed, and a ban on assembly continued.

The clashes between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a contentious new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam escalated Tuesday, according to Rouf Khan, 43, a resident of Mustafabad, an area in northeast New Delhi.

Khan said the mobs were wielding iron rods, bricks and bamboo sticks, and attacked the homes of Muslims amid chants of Jai Shri Ram, or “Victory to Lord Ram,” the popular Hindu god of the religious epic “Ramayana.”

As Air Force One flew Trump and his delegation out of New Delhi late Tuesday, Muslim families huddled in a mosque in a northeast corner of the city, praying that Hindu mobs wouldn’t burn it down.

“After forcing their way inside the homes, they went on a rampage, and started beating people and breaking household items,” said Khan, adding that he and his family had to run out of fear and take shelter inside a nearby mosque that he said was guarded by thousands of Muslim men.

“I don’t know if our house was burned or not, but when we were running away we heard them asking people to pour kerosene and burn everything down,” Khan said.

Although autopsies were pending, some of those killed had bullet wounds, according to Dr. Sunil Kumar, medical director of the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.

Others came to the hospital with gunshot or stab wounds, injuries incurred from jumping from heights and head injuries.

Among them was Mohammad Sameer, 17, who was being treated for a gunshot wound to his chest Wednesday at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.

Speaking to The Associated Press after an operation, Sameer said he was standing on his family’s apartment terrace watching Hindu mobs enter Mustafabad when he was shot in the chest.

“When Sameer was shot, I took him on my shoulders and ran downstairs,” said the boy’s father, Mohammad Akram. “But when the mob saw us, they beat me and my injured son. He was bleeding very badly. While they were beating with sticks, they kept on chanting Jai Shri Ram slogans

and threatened to barge inside our homes.”

Akram said he managed to get his son into an auto rickshaw, but they were stopped several times by Hindus demanding they pull their pants down to show whether they were circumcised before they managed to escape from the area and reach the emergency room.

In addition to the deaths, at least 189 people were injured in the clashes, said Anil Kumar, a New Delhi police spokesman.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he had heard about the violence but had not discussed it with Modi. Instead, Trump gloated about a mega-rally Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Partyled government organized for him in Modi’s home state of Gujarat that drew an estimated 125,000 people.

India has been rocked by violence since Parliament approved the citizenship law in December. Opponents have said the country is moving toward a religious citizenship test, but Trump, in keeping with his tendency not to criticize the leaders of countries he has visited, declined to comment on it.

“I don’t want to discuss that. I want to leave that to India and, hopefully, they’re going to make the right decision for the people,” he said.

Black smoke rose into the sky over northeastern New Delhi on Tuesday after Hindu protesters set fruit and vegetable shops and a Muslim shrine on fire, witnesses said.

Television images showed streets littered with mangled remains of vehicles, rocks and burned tires in the worst-hit areas of Chand Bagh, Bhajanpura, Gokulpuri, Maujpur, Kardampuri and Jaffrabad, which witnesses pitched battles between the rival groups who also hurled gasoline bombs and opened fire on Monday and Tuesday.

The group of protesting Hindus shouted praise for Hindu gods and goddesses. Police fired tear gas to disperse them and a group of rival Muslims.

The two groups retreated to the opposite sides of a highway.

Also Tuesday, protesters in several other areas of northeastern New Delhi defied orders prohibiting the assembly of more than five people, throwing stones and setting several shops and vehicles on fire, said a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose details. Some homes were attacked with rocks.

During Monday’s protests, police fired tear gas and used canes as they charged at protesters in several areas of New Delhi. The rival groups hurled rocks at each other and set houses, shops, vehicles and a gasoline pump on fire. Police closed two metro stations.

One police officer was killed in the violence after he was hit by rocks, police officer Anuj Kumar said. Eleven other officers were injured by rocks as they tried to separate rival groups, police said. AP

Malaysia’s Mahathir says will return as PM if he has support

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UALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Mahathir M o h a m a d s ay s h e w i l l re t u r n a s Malaysia’s prime minister if he has majority support from lawmakers.

Breaking his silence two days after the abrupt collapse of his ruling coalition and his shocking resignation, Mahathir said Wednesday that he had quit to show he isn’t power crazy and because he cannot work with the former Malay party that he had ousted in 2018 polls.

He said he can take up the mantle again if chosen by lawmakers but, if not, he will accept whoever is chosen.

If given the chance, he said he will build a government that isn’t party-centric but one that prioritizes national interests. He spoke as the king completed a two-day consultation with all 222 lawmakers to determine who they support as prime minister or if they want fresh elections.

Malaysia’s king held unusual consultations with lawmakers for a second day on Wednesday to resolve a political vacuum caused by the abrupt collapse of the ruling coalition and the resignation of Mahathir.

The king’s role is largely ceremonial in Malaysia, but he appoints the person with majority suppor t in Parliament as prime minister.

Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah met with 83 lawmakers on Tuesday and is meeting the remaining 139 now to determine who they support as prime minister and if they want fresh elections.

Mahathir’s Bersatu party ditched the ruling

alliance Monday but failed to form a new government with parties to thwart an agreed transition of power to Anwar Ibrahim.

The 94-year-old Mahathir resigned as premier and Bersatu chairman in what allies say was a protest of his party’s plan to work with the former corrupt regime that he had ousted in 2018 elections.

The departure of 37 lawmakers, including 11 from Anwar’s party, deprived the governing Alliance of Hope of majority rule and sparked a crisis less than two years after its election victory ousted a corrupt-tainted coalition that had ruled for 61 years.

The king dissolved the Cabinet but reappointed Mahathir as interim leader.

A nwa r a n d m o re t h a n t h re e - d oze n lawmakers from his party arrived at the palace Wednesday morning in an open-top doubledecker bus.

“God willing, may there be a good outcome for all,” Anwar tweeted.

The turmoil has strengthened Mahathir’s position, with both Anwar’s alliance and the defectors trying to grab power by supporting him as their leader. Some analysts said it could allow Mahathir’s comeback with a clean slate with Anwar still in the running for the top job.

“The [power transition] deal will have to be renegotiated, but support for Anwar among the [Alliance of Hope] remains strong and he remains the leading contender,” said Bridget Welsh, honorary research associate at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia. AP

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Study begins in US to test possible virus treatment

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MAHA, Nebraska—The first clinical trial in the US of a possible coronavirus treatment is under way in Nebraska and is eventually expected to include 400 patients at 50 locations around the world, officials said on Tuesday.

Half of the patients in the international study will receive the antiviral medicine remdesivir while the other half will receive a placebo. Several other studies, including one looking at the same drug, are already under way internationally.

Dr. Andre Kalil, who will oversee the study at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said

the clinical trial was developed quickly in response to the virus outbreak that originated in China. Patients who are hospitalized with the COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, will be eligible to join the trial if they have at least moderate symptoms.

“The goal here is to help the people that need it the most,” Kalil said.

Fourteen people who were evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan are being treated at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Twelve of them have tested positive for COVID-19.

There are no proven treatments or vaccines for the new and mysterious virus, which has infected more than 80,000 people worldwide and killed more than 2,700, with the overwhelming majority of cases in China.

Doctors give patients fluids and pain relievers to try to ease the symptoms, which can include fever, cough and shortness of breath.

In the case of those who are severely ill, doctors use ventilators to help them breathe or a machine that pumps and oxygenates their blood outside the body, easing the burden on the heart and lungs.

At least two patient studies are already under way in China,

including the other study involving remdesivir, which is made by Gilead Sciences, and another that tests a combination HIV drug containing lopinavir and ritonavir.

In a draft research plan published last month, the World Health Organization said remdesivir was considered “the most promising candidate.” It was used briefly in some Ebola patients in Congo before that study stopped.

But the WHO cited laboratory studies that suggested it might be able to target SARS and MERS, which are cousins of the new virus.

Gilead has provided the drug for use in a small number of patients, including a man in Washington state who fell ill after a trip to Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the outbreak. He is no longer hospitalized, but it is not clear whether the remdesivir helped him. AP

Syrian troops press ahead with campaign as air strikes kill 16

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N K A R A , Tu r k e y — A i r strikes on rebel-controlled northwest Syria killed at least 16 people on Tuesday, including two students and two teachers, opposition activists said, as government forces captured a town considered a symbol of the uprising against President Bashar Assad.

The capture of Kafranbel was another blow to insurgents after government gains over the past three months. Kafranbel was a major opposition-held town that gained attention in the early years of the Syrian conflict because of weekly anti-government protests that included humorous Englishlanguage banners carried by protesters.

The banners were initiated by anti-government journalist Raed Fares who was shot dead in the town along with his friend Hammoud al-Juneid in November 2018. Fares was a harsh critic of Islamic militants who control much of Idlib.

The government controlled Syrian Central Military Media said Kafranbel was captured late Tuesday after fierce fighting with al-Qaida-linked militants. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the town was taken by the government after punishing bombardment from the air and ground.

The violence came as Turkey’s president announced that a Russian delegation would arrive the following day to resume talks aimed at easing tensions in the northwest Idlib region. The area is the country’s last rebel-controlled stronghold and the Syrian government’s military campaign there, backed by Russia, has created a humanitarian catastrophe with nearly 1 million people displaced from their homes since December 1.

Most of them are now crowding areas close to the border with Turkey, living in camps, shelters, abandoned homes and in open fields. It is the largest single displacement of Syria’s war, now in its ninth year.

In response to the upsurge in violence, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UN has launched a revised appeal for $500 million to assist at least 1.1 million people in need. He said discussions are under way with Turkey double the number of trucks crossing the border with humanitarian aid from

Turkish backed Syrian fighters prepare to go to a frontline near the village of Neirab, in Idlib province, Syria, on Monday, February 24, 2020. AP/Ghaith Alsayed

50 to 100.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said no consensus was reached for a four-way meeting next month between the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Turkey meant to address the crisis.

He added, however, that Russia’s Vladimir Putin may still come to Turkey next week for a bilateral meeting. Moscow has so far not confirmed a March 5 visit by the Russian president to Turkey.

Tensions have been running high between Turkey and Russia, which support opposing sides of the war in Syria. The Syrian government offensive has shattered a fragile cease-fire agreement that Turkey and Russia reached in 2018, and Turkey has threatened military action unless Syrian forces retreat to positions they held before the advance by the end of February.

“Russia supports Syria at the highest level,” Erdogan told reporters before departing for a visit to Azerbaijan. “Even if they deny it, we have evidence. We are forced to be in this fight.”

Turkish officials had reported small progress in two previous rounds of Turkey-Russia meetings but said the results were not satisfactory.

Turkey had set up a dozen observation posts as part of the 2018 agreement, many of which are now behind Syrian government lines.

Ankara also sent thousands of additional troops into Idlib in recent weeks and has frequently engaged in military exchanges with Syrian troops.

At least 16 Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes this month during the Syrian government’s push on the last rebel stronghold.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a news conference at the State Department on Tuesday that the Syrian government’s offensive “only heightens the risk of conflict with our Nato ally, Turkey,” adding that the US was working together with Turkey “on seeing what we can do together.”

He called for a permanent cease-fire, saying “the regime will not be able to obtain military victory.”

The fighting appeared to intensify, however, with dozens of air strikes reported on Tuesday.

Opposition activists and a war monitor said at least 16 people were killed in Idlib province on Tuesday. They included two students and two teachers who were killed in Idlib city when a school

was struck with a cluster bombfilled rocket, and 10 civilians who were killed in air strikes on the town of Maarat Misreen in Idlib province. The deaths were reported by the Observatory and Idlib-based opposition activist Hadi Abdullah.

The Observatory and Idlibbased opposition activist Taher al-Omar said insurgents captured the village of Nairab late Monday after intense fighting with government forces that had captured the village earlier this month. The village is close to the town of Saraqeb where two major highways in the country meet.

To the south of Nairab, Syrian troops captured two new villages raising to 10 the number of areas captured in the province since Monday, according to state media.

The capture of Maaret Tamater and Maaret Seen paved the way for government forces to storm Kafranbel.

In Damascus, one civilian was killed and two others were injured by bombs planted in two cars near Umayyad Square in the Syrian capital Damascus, state-run news agency SANA said. It was not immediately clear who the target was. AP

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NHMF launches BALAI rewards & incentives program

HARI debuts Hyundai modern jeepney class 3 at Negoshow Oro Mobility Expo

The power of three. Hyundai Modern Jeepney H100 Class 1, HD50S Class 2, and HD50S Class 3 complete HARI’s proud contribution to the nationwide PUV Modernization Program, making Hyundai the first PUVMP player to complete its Modern Jeepney lineup.

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YUNDAI Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official Philippine distributor of Hyundai commercial vehicles’ (CV) showcased its full lineup of Hyundai Modern Jeepneys— the H-100 Class 1, the HD50S Class 2, and the debuting HD50S Class 3 at Negoshow Oro, HARI CV’s opening salvo for 2020.

The power trio makes HARI the first player of the national PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP) to complete its lineup of Modern Jeepney offerings. To date, HARI has penned over 2,000 unit orders of its Modern Jeepney line with various transport

groups across the country. At Negoshow Oro, 16 more transport cooperatives signed MOUs with HTB Calamba for 1,708 units of the Modern Jeepney Class 2 and 570 units of the Modern Jeepney Class 3 or a total of 2,278 units.

The two-day Negoshow Oro Mobility Expo, held at Hyundai Trucks and Buses (HTB) Calamba. HTB Calamba is under the umbrella of the Areza Group of Companies which celebrates its 30th year of operations.

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Assistant Secretary for Road Transport

and Infrastructure Atty. Mark Steven Pastor graced the event. In his keynote speech, he outlined the socio-economic and environmental benefits of PUVMP and commended the various stakeholders from the private sector who have thrown their solid support for the nationwide implementation of the program: Asec Pastor, who also graced the turnover of another batch of Hyundai Modern Jeepneys in General Santos earlier this year, reported that since the PUVMP was launched, there are now 562 PUVMP-authorized routes to be plied by 15,650 authorized units.

Laguna Governor Ramil Hernandez likewise sent his well wishes to HARI and HTB Calamba: “With this expo, I am confident that PUVMP’s objective to make our public transportation system efficient and environmentfriendly will be realized. " For her part, HARI President and CEO Maria Fe Perez-Agudo was bullish about the impact of Negoshow Oro on CALABARZON business. “It is fitting that Calamba City, the richest city in CALABARZON, be the first stop of Hyundai’s mobility expos for 2020. "

Co-working office GreatWork Studio opens in Quezon City

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HE second branch of GreatWork, an office space provider conveniently located in Quezon City (dubbed as the City of Stars), opened last November at the second floor of ABDC Building in number 45 Scout Rallos corner Scout Tuason. The first branch, situated at the 3rd floor of Ben Lor IT Center along nearby Quezon Avenue, began its operations in summer of 2018.

GreatWork, a subsidiary company of HK-based company Jet Innovations Inc, offers several business savvy solutions for the modern-day entrepreneur or businessmen. It focuses on providing workspace solutions such as serviced offices, co-working spaces, virtual office services, and business solutions.

“This concept is rapidly gaining popularity in the Philippines especially in the cosmopolitan cities in Metro Manila that embrace office spaces,” said Nikita Yu, chief greatness officer of GreatWork Global.

She explained, “The growth and outlook is positive since metro cities in Visayas and Mindanao have already started adapting this concept as well.”

GreatWork helps members save money by reducing overhead costs and eliminating the need for high capital expenditures. Imagine being able to focus on your work and earning that profit

Nikita Yu (second from left), chief greatness officer of GreatWork Global, with media guests.

quicker than expected!

The first branch is 537 sqms while the second is 500 sqm, both located in the most populous and busiest city in Metro Manila.

Yu added, “GreatWork has no plans of slowing down. We are actively looking for space opportunities to broaden our reach and make every day a ‘Greatwork’ day for everyone. We believe in revolutionizing the way people work every day.”

GreatWork aims to maximize clients’ productivity and increase workplace environment satisfaction by eliminating operational redundancies and providing them with world class amenities and service while also helping clients save money through various affordable workspace

solutions. It does not only provide space, but also assists its clients in dealing with the legal side of their businesses, from company incorporation to renewal of business permits. Aside from this, it also offers topnotch amenities like shower facilities, bike stations, napping houses, pantry, among others.

Its diversified clientele includes BPO companies travel agencies, PR agencies, freelancers, architectural firms, government agencies, professional IT solutions, real estate consultancies, online educators, and health and wellness companies.

Online channels: @greatworkglobal FB www.greatworkglobal.com email hello@ greatworkglobal.com

NHMFC President Felixberto Bustos Jr. (seated center) and officers of the Collection and Accounts Management Group (standing) join some of the corporation’s housing loan beneficiaries during the launch of the BALAI Rewards.

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OUSING loan borrowers of National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) can now enjoy points redemption reward through its recently launched BALAI Rewards and Incentives Program (BALAI Rewards).

BALAI Rewards can be availed by the borrowers whose accounts are active and updated starting January 1, 2020.

Borrowers who pay their monthly amortizations on or before their respective due dates earn one (1) point. For every 12 BALAI Rewards points earned within a 15-month period, a borrower is entitled to receive a gift certificate worth Php1,000.00. A bonus gift certificate will also be given if a borrower earns 12 points for 3 consecutive years.

Eligible accounts under this program are automatically qualified to the raffle draw.

Winners will be picked electronically and awarding will be every December to coincide with NHMFC’s anniversary. Cash prizes at stake are Php 200,000.00 (1st Prize), Php 100,000.00 (2nd Prize), Php 50,000.00 (3rd Prize), and 3 consolation prizes of Php15,000.00 each.

“For several years, the NHMFC has concentrated on providing repayment incentives for delinquent and non-performings loans, and rarely on the regular or prompt paying accounts.

Consider this new program as a reward for our borrowers who religiously pay their monthly amortizations,” NHMFC President Felixberto U. Bustos said during the launch.

BALAI Rewards can be easily accessed through BALAI Rewards mobile app, My NOA kiosks located at NHMFC offices, and the NHMFC’s official website www.nhmfc.gov.ph.

Promo runs until December 31, 2022.

Heads up, podkids: SM Supermalls teams up with #TheLinya Linya Show for a special ‘self-love’podcast episode

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HO said love month is just for couples? It’s for singles (a.k.a. selfpartnered), too!

Let’s talk about self-love this Valentine’s season as SM Supermalls and The Linya-Linya Show team up for special podcast episodes featuring pop-doctor-slash-love-guru Gia Sison with show host Ali Sangalang!

“We value self-love just as much as any other forms of love. With our diverse retail offerings and leveled up malling experiences, we give our shoppers all the reasons to celebrate love at SM whether they are single or partnered,” said SM Supermalls senior vice president for marketing Jonjon San Agustin.

With their crazy antics and playful banter, Ali and Doc Gia take listeners on a #WisdomWalk at SM Megamall as they talk about the true meaning of self-love in this day and age, and how they can practice it through the many fun lifestyle experiences available in SM malls nationwide.

Make sure to catch the latest #TheLinyaLinyaShow special podcast episode on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/

episode/1DiyfIBzjAh6plD0CF3H4k.

While you’re at it, you may also listen to your favorite valentine hits on SM Supermalls’ “Pinoys In Love” playlist.

Join SM’s #MeForMe online promo for a chance to win a Linya-Linya shirt! Check out the @smsupermalls Faceboook page to know more.

For updates on SM Supermalls’ latest activities and events, visit www.smsupermalls.com.

PSC partners with Seven Bank subsidiary to bring ATMs to 7-Eleven stores nationwide

In attendance at the recent partnership were, from left: (from PSC) Jun-ya Liu, Chief Finance Officer; Atty. Evelyn S. Enriquez, Corporate Secretary; Lawrence M. De Leon, Finance Division Head; Jose Victor P. Paterno, President and CEO; (from Seven Bank, Ltd.: Yasuaki Funatake, President and Representative Director; Hiroshi Takeuchi, Managing Executive Officer; Masaki Yagyu, President and Director, Pito AxM Platform, Inc.; and Shigeyoshi Matsutoku, General Manager of Philippine Project, Seven Bank, Inc.

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HILIPPINE Seven Corp. (PSC), the exclusive franchise holder of 7-Eleven in the Philippines, recently announced partnership with PITO AxM Platform, Inc. (PAPI), a local and wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-based financial institution Seven Bank, Ltd., in an agreement that will equip 7-Eleven stores across the country with pioneering and innovative Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) that can facilitate both real-time cash deposits and withdrawals.

PSC is the largest convenience store chain operator in the Philippines with a total of 2,864 stores nationwide as of December 31, 2019.

Under the agreement with PAPI, cashrecycling machines will be deployed in 7-Eleven stores in the Philippines to to begin in June 2020 and is expected to be in all stores in the next few years.

Among the features of the ATMs is a cash recycling function that enables the machines to dispense banknotes deposited

by the 7-Eleven stores and customers of PAPI partner banks. All ATM cardholders can benefit from these ATMs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Seven Bank is a subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd., the parent company of 7-Eleven Japan. Operating since 2001, Seven Bank specializes in providing ATMs in convenient locations across Japan, such as 7-Eleven convenience stores, airports and train stations.

PSC President and CEO Jose Victor Paterno said “Both PSC and Seven Bank have believed in the potential for sustainable financial inclusion presented by recycling ATMS in 7-Eleven stores all across the Philippines for some time.

There has never been a better time to formalize this collaboration than today, as a growing and increasingly digitized economy provide demand for digitizing cash, as the rapid growth in our Cliqq payments business has shown. We look forward to building other services atop the combined infrastructure of nearly 3,000 stores, recycling ATMs, and 6M downloads of our CliQQ app.”

RELIEF SUPPORT. Standard Chartered Bank Philippines mobilized its employees to provide relief support to communities impacted by the Taal Volcano eruption. In collaboration with the Philippine Business for Social Progress, employee volunteers delivered grocery packs, hygiene kits, medicines and warm meals to more than 400 families staying in evacuation areas hosted by the municipalities of Santo Tomas, San Pascual and San Luis in Batangas City.

Home Credit PH welcomes back David Minol as President and CEO

David Minol HCPH CEO

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AVID Minol has returned as President and Chief Executive Officer of Home Credit Philippines (HCPH). Fresh from his stint as the Regional Executive Director of Home Credit International and with a 16-year

track experience working across numerous Home Credit operations under his belt, David is excited to take over the reins of HCPH once again. He served as HCPH’s first-ever President and CEO from 2013 to 2016, in which he played a key role in making the business the fast-growing brand it is today. Former President and CEO Annica Witschard has now moved on to head Home Credit Vietnam.

HCPH is a consumer finance business which now has over six million customers. The company launched in 2013 as the pioneering provider of in-store loans for gadgets and other goods, and has since diversified its products to include digital platforms. HCPH launched its MyHomeCredit app in 2017 on the Google Play Store, and now has 2.7 million registered users, in line with the company’s goal to reach its customers wherever they are, whenever they want.

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Thursday, February 27, 2020 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

TOKYO 2020: GAMES GO ON AS PLANNED

A WOMAN removes her mask before taking pictures with the mascots of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics as people wait in line to also to take photos with the Olympic rings near the New National Stadium in Tokyo. AP

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By Stephen Wade The Associated Press

OKYO—A spokesman for the Japanese government on Wednesday said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and local organizers are going as planned with the Tokyo Olympics despite the threat of the spreading coronavirus.

The comments from spokesman Yoshihide Suga follow the assertion by IOC veteran member Richard Pound that organizers face a three-month window to decide the fate of the games.

The Olympics are set to open on July 24, with 11,000 athletes. The Paralympics open August 25, with 4,400.

Pound told The Associated Press that the fastspreading virus could cancel the Olympics. Suga says Pound’s opinion does not reflect the official view of the IOC, which has repeatedly said there are no plans to cancel or postpone the Tokyo Games.

The viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 80,000 people and killed more than 2,700 globally. China has reported 2,715 deaths among 78,064 cases on the mainland. Five deaths in Japan have been attributed to the virus and the COVID-19 illness it causes.

“With regard to this member’s comment, the IOC has responded that this is not their official position, and that the IOC is proceeding with preparations toward the games as scheduled,” Suga said, speaking in Japanese at his daily news conference.

Pound is a former IOC vice president and a member since 1978, and was the founding president of the World Anti-Doping Agency. He also represented Canada as a swimmer at the Olympics.

In a telephone interview from Montreal, Pound said the IOC has a three-month window to decide, and suggested other options like moving events of postponing seemed less likely.

“In and around that time,” he said, “I’d say folks are going to have to ask: ‘Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or now?’”

If the IOC decides the games cannot go forward as scheduled in Tokyo, “you’re probably looking at a cancellation,” said Pound, who repeated the IOC’s stance that as of now the games are on.

The three-month window also goes for sponsors and television broadcasters who need to firm up planning.

Not to mention travelers, athletes and fans with 7.8 million tickets available for the Olympics and 2.3 million for the Paralympics.

As the games draw near, Pound said, “a lot of things have to start happening You’ve got to start ramping up your security, your food, the Olympic Village, the hotels.

The media folks will be in their building their studios.”

The threat of the virus seems to be growing.

At a government task force meeting Wednesday on the virus outbreak, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he was asking organizers to cancel or postpone major sports or cultural events over the next two weeks.

“The next one to two weeks is extremely important for the prevention of the escalation of the infection,” Abe said. “We ask organizers to cancel, postpone, or scale down the size of such events.”

He did not name specific events but said he was speaking about nationwide events that attract large crowds.

Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto, speaking in parliament, said “we believe it is necessary to make a worst-case scenario in order to improve our operation to achieve success.” She added plans were being made “so that we can safely hold the Tokyo Olympics.”

Also Wednesday, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported that that Colombian Olympic Committee has decided not to participate in pre-Olympic training camps in southern Japan.

“As far as we all know, you’re going to be in Tokyo,” Pound said. “All indications are at this stage that it will be

business as usual. So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation.”

The modern Olympics, which date to 1896, have been canceled only during wartime. The Olympics in 1940 were supposed to be in Tokyo but were called off because of Japan’s war with China and World War II. The Rio Games in Brazil went on as scheduled in 2016 despite the outbreak of the Zika virus.

Pound repeated the IOC’s stance—that it is relying on consultations with the World Health Organization, a United Nations body, to make any move.

As for the possibility of postponement, he said: “You just don’t postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics. There’s so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons, and competitive seasons, and television seasons. You can’t just say, ‘We’ll do it in October.’”

Pound said moving to another city also seems unlikely “because there are few places in the world that could think of gearing up facilities in that short time to put something on.”

London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has suggested the British capital as an alternative. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike suggested the offer was an attempt to use the virus for political purposes.

Pound said he would not favor a scattering of Olympic events to other places around the world because that wouldn’t “constitute an Olympic Games. You’d end up with a series of world championships.” He also said it would be extremely difficult to spread around the various sports over a 17-day period with only a few months’ notice.

Holding the Olympics in Tokyo but postponing them by a few months would be unlikely to satisfy North American broadcasters, whose schedules are full in the fall with American pro football, college football, European soccer, basketball, baseball and ice hockey. Other world broadcasters also have jammed schedules.

“It would be tough to get the kind of blanket coverage that people expect around the Olympic Games,” Pound said.

He also cast doubt on the possibility of a one-year delay. Japan is officially spending $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics, although a national audit board

says the country is spending twice that much.

“You have to ask if you can hold the bubble together for an extra year,” Pound said. “Then, of course, you have to fit all of this into the entire international sports schedule.”

Pound said the IOC has been building up an emergency fund, reported to be about $1 billion, for unforeseen circumstances to help the IOC and the international sports federations that depend on income from the IOC. About 73 percent of the IOC’s $5.7 billion income in a four-year Olympic cycle comes from broadcast rights.

“It’s not an insurable risk, and it’s not one that can be attributed to one or the other of the parties,” he said.

“So everybody takes their lumps. There would be a lack of revenue on the Olympic movement side.”

Pound said the future of the Tokyo Games is largely out of the IOC’s hands and depends on the course the virus takes.

“If it gets to be something like the Spanish flu,” Pound said, referring to the deadly pandemic early in the 20th century that killed millions, “at that level of lethality, then everybody’s got to take their medicine.”

Torch Relay organizers consult with Greek Italian govt bound to lift ban health agencies due to coronavirus worries on sporting events by Monday H M

ellenic Olympic Committee President Spyros Capralos revealed the threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak has prompted organizers of the 2020 Olympic Torch Relay to hold consultations with health authorities in Greece.

No cases have yet been reported in the country, but Capralos said the precautionary measure had been taken “in case anything happens.”

“On the issue we are all facing the coronavirus, we are taking a number of measures,” Torch Committee President Sakis Vassiliadis said. “We will do whatever is humanly possible to have no problems whatsoever during the relay.”

He insisted organizers will remain in constant touch with the health agencies.

The Torch will be lit in Ancient Olympia on March 12, in a ceremony attended by outgoing Greek President Prokopios Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. They will join International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

The Flame will be lit by high priestess Xanthi Georgiou.

Although she kindled the flame for the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games, it will be the first time she has performed a lighting in Olympia, having participated in the ceremony as a dancer since 2008.

“The role is a great honor and responsibility,” Georgiou said.

“In the 12 years I have been involved in the ceremonies, I have learned that the symbolism of the Flame signifies respect for life and human existence.”

The dancers have been rehearsing in the Olympic velodrome in Athens but will spend the final days before the ceremony in Olympia itself.

“We are ready, we have completed all the rehearsals in Athens and are getting ready to go down to Ancient Olympia for the final

rehearsals in the archaeological site,” ceremony director Artemis Ignatiou said. “This year’s choreography is inspired by images on archaic vases, frescoes and statues.”

The flame lit at each of the dress rehearsals will be kept in reserve, in case it is not possible to light one from the rays of the sun on the day of the actual ceremony.

High priestess Xanthi Georgiou will light the Olympic Flame.

The Relay will pass through 32 cities, including Thessaloniki on the Aegean coast. It is expected to visit 15 archaeological sites during the journey and will make a traditional stopover in the shadow of the Acropolis, before the final ceremony in the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, on March 19. Insidethegames

ILAN—The Italian government could lift its ban on sporting events by Monday in areas affected by the coronavirus if the number of cases stabilizes.

The outbreak forced a number of sporting events to be called off throughout the country this past weekend, including four Serie A matches in the north of Italy.

This week, the ban on sporting events was extended from Lombardy, Veneto and Piedmont— the areas hardest hit by the outbreak—to also include the regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, EmiliaRomagna and Liguria, until March 1.

“If, as I hope, the statistics don’t give us different signs then maybe already by Monday these measures won’t be continued,” Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora said. “But it’s only Tuesday today, and we have to wait and see what happens over the next few days. The health of the Italian citizens is the most important thing.”

Italy reported a 45-percent increase in the number of coronavirus cases Tuesday, from 222 to 300.

Ten people have died, all of them elderly or suffering from other ailments.

“Obviously, I can’t say I’m not worried because I don’t want anyone to think we’re underestimating this emergency,” Premier Giuseppe Conte said before meeting with visiting World Health Organization representatives. “But we trust that with the measures we have implemented, there will be a containing effect in the coming days.”

Italy has closed schools, museums and theaters in the two regions where clusters have formed and troops are enforcing quarantines around 10 towns in Lombardy, and the epicenter of the Veneto cluster, Vo’ Euganeo.

Serie A matches this weekend are set to be played behind closed doors, including Juventus’ key match against Inter Milan. That game is not only potentially crucial to the title race but also sees the return of former Juventus Coach Antonio Conte.

Inter’s Europa League match at home to Ludogorets on Thursday will also take place without any fans allowed in.

Serie C canceled all games in two leagues which have teams in the north. Volleyball and rugby games were also suspended nationwide through next weekend.

The Italian Winter Sports Federation suspended all of its events throughout the country for an entire week, although it said that “for now” next weekend’s World Cup ski races in La Thuile in the Valle d’Aosta region were still set to go ahead. Those races are operated by the International Ski Federation, which has already canceled races this season in China that were slated to test the course for the 2022 Beijing Games. AP

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OS ANGELES—LeBron James sees a long, prosperous future ahead of Zion Williamson and the up-tempo New Orleans Pelicans.

In the immediate present, James and Anthony Davis are a whole lot closer to basketball’s ultimate goal, as they proved in their first meeting with their fellow No. 1 overall draft pick.

James had 40 points and eight rebounds in his first career meeting with Williamson while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to their sixth straight victory, 118-109 over New Orleans on Tuesday night.

Williamson had 29 points and six rebounds in his first showdown with James and Davis, his predecessor as the Pelicans’ centerpiece.

James and Williamson still haven’t talked, but the 35-year-old James sees greatness in the teenager.

“He’s playing exceptional basketball,” James said. “I think his game is going to get better and better, just having that experience.

I think today’s game is the perfect fit for his game. The high pace, the way they play, it fits his game.... It works perfectly, and our game is so many possessions now, so much space, it’s perfect for his game, so he’s doing exceptionally well with that.”

Williamson was still injured for the Pelicans’ first two meetings of the season with the Lakers, but his delayed debut in Hollywood was as entertaining as everyone hoped. In his 13th National Basketball Association game, Williamson scored at least 20 points for the ninth consecutive time, but managed only one field goal in the fourth quarter.

“It was a great experience,” Williamson said.

“He’s an incredible player. His resume speaks for himself.... He handled business. He came out here and did what he had to do to help his team get the win.”

The Lakers still haven’t lost to the team with which they made the blockbuster summer trade that has appeared to benefit both teams.

Davis has been just as good as the Lakers hoped in propelling them back to NBA championship contention, while the Pelicans are getting an All-Star season from Brandon Ingram alongside Williamson in an increasingly potent core.

Davis had 21 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots while improving to 3-0 against

LEBRON FOILS ZION, PELICANS New Orleans. Davis and Williamson briefly were theoretical teammates during the time between the draft and Davis’ departure for the Lakers, and Williamson admitted he entertained the idea they might play together, even though Davis had requested a trade.

“He’s a great player,” Davis said of Williamson.

“He’s got a quick first step. Very explosive. He’s going to continue to get better and better as he goes on.”

Although Davis missed 15 of his 21 shots and failed to score 40 points against New Orleans for the first time, James picked him up with a masterfully efficient, 17-for-27 performance that included five 3-pointers.

In the Lakers’ first game after an emotional memorial service for Kobe Bryant at Staples Center on Monday, James opened up a close contest with back-to-back buckets at the rim with about three minutes left. Danny Green sealed it for Los Angeles with his fifth 3-pointer with 51 seconds to play.

Ingram had 34 points against his former team, but just six in the final period as New Orleans lost for only the second time in seven games.

Williamson had several impressive dunks in his usual fearsome floor game, and only six missed free throws kept him from surpassing his career high of 32 points. “[James] might see himself a little bit in Zion, the way they both came in with all the hype,” Lonzo Ball said of his former and current teammates. “I think Bron goes out there and plays his game every night no matter who’s the opponent.” AP

Dustin Johnson reacts after chipping in for eagle on the 17th hole during the second round of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club recently. AP

NOISY WEST COAST SWING NOT ALL ABOUT GOLF M

THE Lakers’ LeBron James dunks over the Pelicans’ Josh Hart. AP

Astros’ Verlander to debut against Scherzer, Nationals

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EST PALM BEACH, Florida—Houston ace Justin Verlander is slated to make his 2020 spring training debut on Thursday, when former teammate Max Schezer is scheduled to be on the mound for World Series champion Washington.

The pair were teammates on the Detroit Tigers from 2010-14 and have combined for five Cy Young Awards.

“It wasn’t done intentionally. That is a pretty good matchup, though,” new Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “I’m sure you guys will hype it up.”

Verlander won his second Cy Young last season, going 21-6 with a 2.52 ERA. His 225 wins are the most among active players. Zack Greinke, second among active pitchers with 205 wins, is to make his first spring training appearances the following day.

Scherzer, a the three-time Cy Young winner, won the World Series opener last October and did not get a decision in Game 7. Verlander lost Games Two and Six. Scherzer opened spring training with two scoreless innings against Houston on Saturday.

Houston’s starting outfielders from 2019 are to make their first exhibition appearances on Wednesday. George Springer and Michael Brantley will travel to Port St. Lucie and face the Mets, while Josh Reddick is expected to remain in West Palm Beach with the other squad against St. Louis.

Houston starting infielders Yuli Gurriel, José Altuve, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman made their exhibition debuts on Monday at Lakeland against Detroit. Fans booed them in the wake of Major League Baseball’s finding that the Astros broke rules by using a television camera to steal catchers’ signs in 2017 and 2018. AP

Houston ace Justin Verlander is slated to make his 2020 spring training debut. AP

Kenin bows out in Doha, Barty wins

D Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin is not in her elements.

OHA, Qatar—Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin lost her opening match for the second week in a row as Dayana Yastremska defeated the American, 6-3, 7-6 (4), Tuesday at the Qatar Open.

Kenin has yet to win a Women’s Tennis Association Tour match since earning her first Grand Slam title in Melbourne after going out in the opening round in Dubai last week.

She was given a bye into the second round in Doha, but lost to an opponent that also beat her at Wimbledon last year.

“I just feel like I can’t find my game, I’m not playing the way I want to be playing, so

EXICO CITY—The Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour delivered plenty of drama during the West Coast swing.

Most of it was outside the ropes.

After two months that went from rain in Hawaii to sunshine at Pebble Beach to the high altitude of Mexico City, about the only conclusions to draw were that Rory McIlroy is playing good golf, Dustin Johnson is not playing to his standard and Patrick Reed is facing a long, loud year no matter how he plays.

Next up is the Florida swing. It starts this week with the Honda Classic, which five years ago had as strong as any regular PGA Tour event on the schedule and now has attracted only one player from the top 10 in the world.

Turns out players aren’t the only ones who endure the occasional slump.

Nothing was wrong with the quality of golf.

Justin Thomas got it started by winning a playoff at Kapalua that lasted three holes and 2,031 yards because they kept playing the par-5 18th hole until they had a winner. Thomas beat Reed, Xander Schauffele and darkness.

He turned out to be the only player in the top 10 to win, though three other players—Reed in Mexico City, Adam Scott at Riviera and Webb Simpson in Phoenix—moved into the top 10 by winning.

McIlroy went all the way to the top, replacing Brooks Koepka, when he tied for fifth in the Genesis Invitational. That matched his worst finish in three starts this year, and it was his sixth straight top 5, all against strong fields.

Even so, the loudest conversations were not on the golf course. That featured manifestos providing more innuendo than immediate solutions.

The buzz in San Diego shifted from Tiger Woods making his 2020 debut—his first shot at his 83rd career PGA Tour victory to set the record—to whether he would be interested in a new world tour offering a big chunk of Saudi money to 12 player-led teams that would face off 18 times a year around the world.

It came up during the mandatory player meeting at Torrey Pines. At the end of the week, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan sent out a memo for players who were not at the meeting and those who were at the meeting but had never heard of the Premier Golf League.

For either ones, the message was clear that they would have to choose one tour or the other.

A month later, the only public answer came from McIlroy, who said he wasn’t interested. “I would like to be on the right side of history on

this one,” he said, adding he values his freedom to choose when and where he plays over whatever riches the new league is offering.

Phil Mickelson played with league organizers in the Saudi International pro-am and is intrigued.

He said he might be ready to announce his decision at The Players Championship in two weeks. Other decisions could come as early as this week. No matter; the golf world waits on word from Tiger.

The concept has consumed so much chatter that it practically drowned out another hot-button issue at Pebble Beach when the USGA and the R&A released their two-year study called “Distance Insights Project.”

That’s a fancy way of saying golfers are hitting the ball farther than ever and it might be time to do something about it. The phrase from USGA chief Mike Davis was to break the cycle.

How? That’s to be determined, and it won’t be this year. The governing bodies wanted 45 days to publish a specific set of research topics, feedback that could take up to a year. And if there are changes, more feedback is likely among manufacturers.

Good thing the report wasn’t released in Mexico City, where nine players hit 400-yard drives at 7,800 feet.

So it’s been a busy two months. And it feels as though the year hasn’t even started.

Woods has played only twice, and it doesn’t sound as if he’s going to be making up for lost time.

He skipped the Mexico Championship last week and the Honda Classic next week. Woods is 44 and wants to stay out on tour as long as he can, which in his mind means playing less. And that’s not much—15 times in 52 weeks in 2019, about the same this year.

He was coy as ever during a conference call Tuesday ahead of the Masters. When asked about his schedule leading up to the Masters, Woods said, “It’s weather dependent.”

Koepka, on the other hand, held nothing back when asked in a town hall meeting to preview the PGA Championship whether he thought Reed was cheating when he swiped away sand in the Bahamas. He said, “Yeah,” on three occasions and followed that by saying Reed was “building sand castles in the sand.”

Reed has faced small crowds in Hawaii, chill crowds in California, Spanish-speaking crowds in Mexico and he has still heard his fill from the fans.

He has four more stops—three in Florida, one in Texas—to endure before he gets to the Masters.

That’s where the sounds are unmistakable. And they’re usually all about golf. AP

it’s pretty frustrating right now,” Kenin said.

“Obviously coming off of Melbourne where I felt I was playing the best tennis of my life coming down to playing, not the worst tennis, but not playing the tennis I want to be playing.”

Top-ranked Ash Barty cruised past Laura Siegemund 6-3, 6-2, while No. 3 Karolina Pliskova ousted Bernarda Pera of the United States, 6-3, 6-0.

Fourth-seeded Belinda Bencic and Petra Kvitova also advanced.

In Santiago, Chile, Argentine duo Juan Ignacio Londero and Federico Delbonis both advanced to the second round of the Chile

Open with straight-set victories on Tuesday.

The fifth-seeded Londero beat compatriot Federico Coria, 6-4, 6-2, and will face Brazil’s Thiago Wild for a place in the quarterfinals.

The seventh-seeded Delbonis defeated Martin Klizan of Slovakia, 6-1, 7-6 (5). He’ll next play Italy’s Salvatore Caruso, who eliminated Jozef Kovalik, 6-2, 6-3.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain beat Andrej Martin of Slovakia, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, to set up a meeting with top-seeded Christian Garín, who won the Rio Open last week.

The clay-court tournament in the Chilean capital is taking the slot previously held by the Brasil Open in Sao Paulo in recent years. AP

orts

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Thursday, February 27, 2020

LUISITA TIES CANLUBANG FOR SRS LEAD

PHL netters brace for tough Davis Cup duel with Greeks

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HE Philippines will get to experience world-class tennis as it clashes with world No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas and a heavily favored Greece in the World Group II Davis Cup tie on March 6 and 7 at the Philippine Columbian Association’s Plaza Dilao clay court in Paco, Manila.

The Filipinos drew Tsitsipas and the Greeks after Davis Cup organizers introduced a new format that paved the way for the former to play a non-Asian side for the first time since they faced Sweden in the World Cup qualifier in 1991.

“We’re looking forward to a really tough duel but we’ll try to use the experience to toughen up the team,” Philippine non-playing captain Chris Cuarto said.

Besides the Alcantara-Patrombon duo, the host will also be represented by Filipino-American Ruben Gonzales, AJ Lim and Eric Olivarez Jr. Greece will also parade Tsitsipas’s younger sibling Petros, Michail Pervolarakis and Markos Kalovelonis, and skipper Dimitris Chatzinikolaou.

But it will be the talented Tsitsipas who is expected to give the Filipinos the biggest problem.

“He’s not the No. 6 player in the world if he isn’t great,” Cuarto said.

Tsitsipas, who reached a high No. 5 in the Association of Tennis Professionals rankings, is the youngest in the top 10 at 21 years old. He is also riding the crest of his 2020 Open 13 Provence triumph in Marseille, France, over weekend for his fifth ATP title and is currently seeing action in the Dubai Duty Free Championships.

In this new system, a total of 12 home-and-away ties will be played in the World Group II simultaneous with the World Qualifiers and World Group I playoffs. The top 12 in the World Group II playoffs will then advance to the World Group II ties in September along with losing countries from the World Group I. The losers here will be demoted to the Regional Group III scheduled in June and July or September.

Davao de Oro seeks PSC help for meet preps

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AVAO de Oro sought the help of Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) not only for a better performance by its athletes but also to successfully host the Davao Region Athletic Association (DAVRAA) Meet 2020 that was reset to April 1 to 7 in the municipality of Montevista.

Davao de Oro Provincial Sports Coordinator Miles Atugan sought PSC Chairman William Ramirez and relayed the request of Gov. Jayvee Tyron Uy to the sports body.

“Governor Uy wants the PSC’s help to train our coaches and athletes to improve our ranking in the meet because we are this year’s host,” Atugan said.

Davao de Oro ranked ninth in last year’s regionals.

Ramirez told Catugan to put premium on medalrich sports instead of the popular ball games.

The PSC chief committed to send coaches and trainers for basketball, volleyball, football, boxing, swimming, athletics, table tennis, archery, taekwondo and arnis in March.

Ramirez also underscored to the sports coordinators the importance of leadership in training athletes.

“Leadership is important to succeed in sports. If there is no leadership, nothing will prosper,” Ramirez said. “Coach leadership, discipline and character are vital in producing competitive and champion athletes.”

He also challenged Davao de Oro to improve its ranking to a modest No. 5.

“I’m so glad that the chairman committed to help us for our DAVRAA preparation,” Atugan said. “We are inspired to be even more united in our goals and plans for the youth of Davao de Oro.” Davao City is the perennial meet champion.

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HE Senate on Wednesday approved Senate Bill 1086 that creates and establishes the Philippine High School for Sports (PHSS) “to train and develop future generations of world champion Philippine athletes.”

“The most universally understood language is not English. Nor, is it French or Chinese. Rather, it is sports,” said Senate Committee Chairman on Education, Arts and Culture Sherwin Gatchalian, who steered the approval of the bill.

“The end view of this legislation is to unleash the potential of young Filipinos who have shown early potential in excelling in sports for a sportsrelated career,” Gatchalian said.

He said the PHSS would be a world-class educational and athletics facility which is on a par with international standards.

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) will provide the land for the PHSS at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac,

By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

UCENA CITY—Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance finally showed its fangs with a podium sweep behind Ronald Lomotos’s Stage 4 victory in the 10th Ronda Pilipinas on Wednesday.

Lomotos, 25, topped the long 206-km stage from Daet with Junrey Navarra and El Joshua Cariño to completing a 1-2-3 finish for Navy-Standard Insurance on identical clocking of four hours, 56 minutes and 28 seconds.

Bicycology-Army’s Mark Julius Bordeos, meanwhile, got the leader’s red jersey back from Scratch it’s Jerry Aquino Jr. Bordeos arrived with an 18-man second group that crossed a minute behind the Navymen.

After four stages, the 24-year-old Bordeos amassed 14:41:17, but only six seconds ahead of George Oconer also of Navy-Standard Insurance and Rustom Lim of 7Eleven CliqqAir21 by Roadbike Philippines.

Aquino, who borrowed the red jersey following a dramatic Stage 3 triumph in Naga, slipped to fifth, behind No. 4 Marcelo

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and shall be in charge of the construction of classrooms, dormitories, other sports facilities and related amenities.

The PHSS will offer full or partial scholarship programs to students who have demonstrated the potential of excelling in sports and, at the same time, provide its students with quality secondary education in their chosen track which shall not be limited to the sports track.

The PHSS will be under the supervision of the Department of Education.

Aside from Gatchalian, the bill was coauthored by Sens. Sonny Angara, Christopher Go, Pia Cayetano, Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri, Bong Revilla Jr., Joel Villanueva, Risa Hontiveros and Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa.

“Despite the fact that Filipinos love sports, he said the Philippines has been lagging behind other countries in sporting competitions and events,” Gatchalian said. “While the Philippines has been

Felipe of 7Eleven. “Nice to have the jersey back,” said Bordeos, who zoomed to the top by ruling Stage 1in Sorsogon Sunday.

The stage win was a redemption of sorts for Lomotos, who was disqualified two years ago for drafting.

Navy-Standard Insurance also knocked off 7Eleven in the team classification. The Navymen have an aggregate time of 51:00:54, almost three minutes ahead of 7Eleven.

Bordeos’s Bicycology squad was at No. 3 with 51:04:12.

“It’s our time to shine,” said Cariño, the former Le Tour de Pilipinas champion who seized the King of the Mountain lead from Celeste Cycles’ Roel Quitoy.

It was a frustrating day for 7Eleven—it didn’t only lose the team lead, it was left with only two riders in the top 10 from the five in the previous two stages.

7Eleven’s Aidan James Mendoza, Mark Galedo and Mervin Corpuz slipped to 20th place or further wityh Go for Gold’s Daniel Ven Carino, Jonel Carcueva and Ismael Grospe Jr. winding up in sixth to eight places in the general classification.

Stage 5 on Thursday will take the riders to a 146.5-km ride from Lucena City to Antipolo City.

ESports collegiate league up ineski formally announced on Wednesday its partnership with the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) for the the National Interschool Collegiate League (NICL).

Mineski and PCCL agreed to include eSports into the mainstream collegiate league and the collegiate

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EFENDING champion Luisita and rival Canlubang were tied for the lead after the first round of the 34th Philippine Airlines Seniors Interclub golf team championships on Wednesday in Bacolod City.

Both teams struggled on the putting surface with nobody breaking the 50-point barrier at the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club (NOGCC) course.

Eddie Bagtas led Luisita with 48 points, his round marred by four closing bogeys, including a botched tap-in in the final hole.

“I lost my temper,” conceded Bagtas who was backed by Jingy Tuason’s 46 and Demetrio Saclot’s 45.

An even-par card is worth 54 points under the Molave scoring system.

Luisita captain Jeric Hechanova was

relieved of the outcome despite a bad day on the greens.

Canlubang had a chance to seize the lead in the final foursome, but Tommy Manotoc three-putted the ninth, their final hole to settle for 46 points.

“It was a bad putt,” rued Manotoc who rallied coming home after making the turn at 7-over par.

Abe Avena led Canlubang with 48 points while Damasus Wong added 45.

Not scoring for their respective teams were Zaldy Villa of Canlubang with 44 and Chino Raymundo of Luisita with 38.

NOGCC was four shots behind the coleaders while Cebu Country Club, the other team in the championship division, wound up with 125 points.

Scoring for Negros were Edwin Ordonez (49), Francis Gaston (43) and Chito Garcia (43).

Del Monte Golf Club loomed as a potential challenger after posting 134 points in the Founders division.

Ramon Velez shot the day’s best round‚ 51 points, but failed to get solid support from his teammates—Erning Apas (44) and Romeo Bautista (39).

Del Monte opened a four-point lead over Eagle Ridge with the Orchard taking third spot with 124.

In other divisions, Club Filipino de Cebu paced Aviator with 118, Van City led Sportswriters with 120 while Lumbia was on

top with 94 in the Friendship class.

Partial Results: n Championship: Canlubang 139, Luisita 139, Negros Occidental 135, Cebu Country Club 125 n Sportswriter: Van City 120, Team Coral 116, Club 1872-Los Angeles 113, Veterans Team A 113, Bennett Valley 109, Forest Hills 109, Davao City 108, Sarangani 106, Lanang 104, Paoay 102, Rancho Palos 101, Guam Seals 100, Par 2000 100, Iligan 97, SF Maharlika 94, UP Tee Jots 94, Baguio Country Club 92, PGA British Columbia Team 1 89, Moffet Field Team 1 89, Taotaomona Guam 87, Fort Bonifacio Team 2 86, Bay City Golf 83, Pinoy Vancouver 73, Bay Area Golf Organization 59. n Friendship: Lumbia 94, Bacolod 93, Cotabato 89, Dirab 89, SFO East Bay 85, Fil Am New Jersey 84, Fort Bonifacio Team 1 78, Fil-Am Fairfield 77, Fil-Am SFO 75, Guam Compadres 74, EZ Par 74, South Bay 74, PGA British Columbia Team 2 73, Honolulu 73, Seattle 72, Moffet Field Team 2 71, E Yona 71, Philam Central Florida 69, Mt. Malindang 69, MSU Marawi Team B 67, Pittsburg FilAm 65, FilOz Sydney 64, Mabuhay Golf Club of SFO 65, Filcansa 54. n Founders: Del Monte 134, Orchard 132, Eagle Ridge 130, Manila Southwoods 125, Riviera Golf 122, Camp John Hay 119, Manila Golf 109, Southern California Redhawk 107, Valley Golf 105, Wack Wack 101, Leyte Golf 98, Fil-Am Hawaii 92.

SENATE APPROVES BILL FOR PHL SPORTS HIGH

STANDARD INSURANCE BETS IN SHOW OF FORCE

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EDDIE BAGTAS makes 48 points and Tommy Manotoc settles for 46 points for Canlubang.

programs. The announcement was made during a press conference in San Juan The partnership aims to transform eSports into “a world-class, big-league competitive sports in schools nationwide.”

It would also create the Youth ESports Program, a comprehensive and structured program that will

participating in the Summer Olympic Games since 1924, Filipino athletes only garnered 10 medals, and not a single gold medal.”

Of the 13 Philippine athletes in the in Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games, Gatchalian noted that Hidilyn Diaz’s silver in women’s weightlifting was the country’s only podium finish.

“Filipino athlete lack the support due them that other countries give to their athletes,” Gatchalian said.

“While many foreign governments invest billions of money to support their athletes, the Philippines has allocated only P207 million to the Philippine Sports Commission for 2020,” he said.

“The passage of Senate Bill 1086 into law would establish a dedicated national high school offering a secondary course with special emphasis on developing the athletic skills of the students through subjects pertaining to physical education and sports development,” he added.

SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian initiates the approval of Senate Bill 1086.

3x3 squad training starts

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THE Navy-Standard Insurance riders—(from left) Junrey Navarra, Ronald Lomoto and El Joshua Cariño—dominate Wednesday’s fourth stage.

be included in the school curriculum to “engage students not just in competitions but also in training, coaching and even development of full career in eSports.”

The partnership was prompted after the Philippines dominated eSports in the 30th Southeast Asian Games with three gold and one silver medal.

“The continued growth and development of eSports in the country presents us with another avenue for excellence, sportsmanship, and

inclusion. ESports advance not just skills but also values of hard work and determination among players,” Mineski Global CEO and founder Ronald Robins said.

The NICL also aims to promote a different perspective and open new opportunites of the eSports industry in the grass-root level of the country, Robins added.

The games include Starcraft II, Dota 2, League of Legends, Arena of Valor and Mobile Legends. Ryniel Berlanga

HE Philippine team to the 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament has started training for the event set March 18 to 22 in Bengaluru, India.

The team is composed of Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Moala Tautuaa and CJ Perez. They are being trained by Serbian Coaches Stefan Stojajic and Darko Krsman, both 3x3 specialists.

Tautuaa expressed his eagerness to learn from Stojajic and so did Perez, who earnestly arrived for the camp on Wednesday despite having recently returned from Jakarta where the country played a Fiba Cup qualifier last Sunday.

The team will face four Serbian 3x3 players in practice where the team will simulate games specifically against Slovenia, France, Qatar and Dominican Republic in Pool C of the qualifiers.

The team members were selected by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Selection Committee chaired by SBP Executive Director Sonny Barrios with SBP Coaches Academy Head Jong Uichico, Pat Aquino, Eric Altamirano and Ronald Magsanoc as members.

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Tessa Jazmines tessa4347@gmail.com

PART OF THE GAME

Bully-proofing Quaden SOMETIMES your worst day could be your best day ever. Or at least the start of something good.

When nine-year-old Quaden Bayles was bullied in school in his native Australia because of his dwarfism, he felt bad enough to want to die. In a video posted by his mother Yarraka Bayles to call attention to the dire effects of bullying, the young Quaden tells his mother, “Give me a knife. I want to kill myself...I wish I could stab myself in the heart. I want someone to kill me.”

“This is what bullying does, this is the effect that bullying has” his mother said in her video post that has since gone viral. “Every single day something happens. Another episode, another bullying, another taunt, another name-calling. Can you please educate your children, your families, your friends?”

The video made the rounds of the cyber universe and touched many. The reactions were quick and tsunamilike in their impact. From a bullied boy, Quaden became, overnight, an object of love and a cause to fight for. Huge heaps of public sympathy from every corner of the world poured in for him. The sports world responded as one and swept away the dark, angry clouds for the bullied boy. He became a hero.

First, the little boy who dreams of becoming a professional rugby player, was given a super treat by rugby players in Queensland just days after the video aired. He walked hand in hand with pro rugby players as they strode to the pitch in an exhibition match between Australia’s Indigenous All Stars and the New Zealand Maori. Latrell Mitchell of the South Sydney Rabbitohs had invited him to lead out their side, and Bayles held the hand of team captain Joel Thompson on the way out. Earlier, actor Hugh Jackman, standup comedian Brad Williams, who was also born with achondroplasia—the same condition Quaden has—and Boston Celtics big man Enes Kanter had expressed their support for him.

More recently, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong posted a video that could change Quaden’s view of the world forever. “To the parents and children out there. Let’s stop this bullying. Let’s be kind to one another. The world needs it now, more than ever,” he said. Then Chatri invited Quaden and his family to visit Singapore, all expenses paid as his personal guest so he could learn martial arts. The family accepted and Quaden is now in the land of the Merlion to check out the martial arts gym at Evolve MMA. “I just spoke to his amazing Mom, Yarraka over the phone. She has graciously accepted my invitation to come to Singapore for an all expenses paid vacation so Quaden can learn martial arts at Evolve.

Our instructors will be sure to bully-proof Quaden.

If he wakes up from his nap, we plan to FaceTime tonight. Yarraka said that he might sleep through the night. If so, we will FaceTime tomorrow. Let us all take the opportunity to show little Quaden how much the world cares,” Chatri posted.

Then more champions stood up for the little guy.

“I would do anything for this kid. Truly had tears in my eyes watching [the video]. I got your back, little champ,” tweeted Bellator star Dillon Danis.

Demetrious “ Mighty Mouse” Johnson came out in a ONE video to say “With me being 5’3 growing up in my school, I got made fun of a lot.... So I hope this message finds you in warm spirits and always keep your head up. We’re all beautiful in our own little way.

Don’t let anybody tell you that you’re different, take the pain you get from them and use it.”

“Hey, my little man Quaden,” said ONE World Heavyweight Champion Brandon Vera. You know that you have a friend over here. I’m with you in this. You need somebody to hang out with? I’m him. I wish the world was a nicer place, [but] it’s not always.”

“I believe you’ll become something special once you come through this. So please stay strong,” said Singaporean Muay Thai champion Amir Khan.

Alain Ngalani, Cameroonian-born Hong Kong mixed martial artist, lickboxer and four-time Muay Thai champion shared: “As a victim of bullying myself, I totally understand what you’re going through. And this is just to show you support. Just want to tell you that you are not alone. We love you.”

“Stay strong. You have people around you who love you dearly. I think now is the perfect time that we stand up as one, unite together as human beings with morals, to step in and say no to bullying,” said a very concerned Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen, ONE Featherweight Champion of the World.

Team Lakay athletes including Filipino champion Eduard Folayang, Team Lakay Coach Mark Sangiao, reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio and other Lakay heroes aired a message from their newly built gym in Baguio City: “Life can be tough. But life is also beautiful. Keep fighting because we are all fighting for you,” they said as one.

The other side of midnight is sunshine. Right, Quaden?

MATCH-FIXING Sports CRACKDOWN BusinessMirror

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| Thursday, February 27, 2020 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

The Asian Football Confederation disciplinary and ethics committee said the two players were found guilty of “conspiring to manipulate the result” of an international friendly between Hong Kong and Laos in Hong Kong on October 5, 2017.

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UALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has found two Laos national team players guilty of match-fixing and banned them for life.

The AFC’s disciplinary and ethics committee issued a statement Wednesday saying Khampheng Sayavutthi and Lembo Saysana were found guilty of “conspiring to manipulate the result” of an international friendly between Hong Kong and Laos in Hong Kong on October 5, 2017.

“In order to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, no other details will be disclosed,” the statement said.

Hong Kong won the match 4-0, scoring goals in the 10th, 13 and 73rd minutes before converting from the penalty spot in the 83rd.

Cyprus’s political parties, meanwhile, fully support efforts to clean up domestic soccer and have agreed to start crafting new legislation that will regulate all sports and make it easier to root out corruption, the country’s justice minister said on Tuesday.

George Savvides said parties have also pledged their backing to a new sports ethics and protection committee whose role will be to act as a shield against match-fixing.

Savvides said after a meeting with political party chiefs that top police officials have agreed to beef up a special squad investigating match-fixing allegations by increasing its number to 13 officers.

A committee will also be set up to collate anti-corruption actions that political parties have recommended.

“It’s been made crystal clear in this meeting that there’s complete agreement on the aims and goals, as well as the desire for all political forces to work together with the government to remove this festering sore from

soccer,” Savvides said.

The decisions come amid a slew of fresh match-fixing allegations that unleashed a torrent of claims from ordinary citizens to top political figures that authorities have for years turned a blind eye to rampant corruption and underworld dealings in the sport.

UEFA reports of unusually heavy betting on a number of second-division and cup matches got the ball rolling last month by prompting a pledge from Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades to eradicate match-fixing.

The president of second-division club Ayia Napa and a referee are set to stand trial next month on charges that they tried to influence the outcome of a game between Ayia Napa and Othellos.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, has been banned from hosting international soccer games by the

said Tuesday it had been told by the governing body “that our stadiums do not meet Confederation of African Football standards to host international matches.”

Zifa said the ban affected “all upcoming international matches.”

CAF initially found Zimbabwe’s main stadium, the National Sports Stadium in Harare, inadequate. But the ban now extends to the rest of the country’s venues. Zifa had hoped to use Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo, the country’s second-largest city, but that has also been ruled substandard.

Zifa spokesman Xolisani Gwesela said the association has not yet decided on the venue for the Algeria game.

“We only received the letter today, so we are looking for options,” Gwesela told The Associated Press.

Zifa is in a difficult position as it doesn’t own any of the stadiums. They are owned either by the national government or city councils. The southern Africa nation is in the midst of an economic crisis and spending money on soccer stadiums is not a top priority.

“So in the longer term future, after the Algeria tie, we will be guided by the government,” Gwesela said.

Zimbabwe’s next scheduled African Cup qualifier at home after the Algeria game is in September. Zimbabwe is second in its group behind Algeria and in line to qualify for next year’s African Cup in Cameroon if it stays there. AP

Confederation of African Football (CAF) because of substandard stadiums.

Zimbabwe was due to host defending champion Algeria next month in African Cup of Nations qualifying but will now need to find a neutral venue for that game and maybe the rest of its qualifiers.

The ban stems from an inspection visit

by CAF late last year, when the African soccer body ordered Zimbabwe to upgrade its stadiums.

That hasn’t happened.

The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa)

Alonso returns to McLaren for another shot at Indy 500 Napoli’s Piotr Zielinski and Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic vie for the ball during their Champions League round of 16 first-leg match against Barcelona at the San Paolo Stadium in Naples, Italy, on Tuesday. AP

Fernando Alonso goes for motorsports’ Triple Crown. AP

F

ernando Alonso will again attempt to complete motorsports’ Triple Crown with a return to the Indianapolis 500 in May with McLaren.

The team failed to qualify Alonso for the race last season in a spectacular comedy of errors, including not having its car properly prepared to put the two-time Formula One champion in the field.

“We beat ourselves,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown said Tuesday. “We have unfinished business with Fernando.”

McLaren has now aligned with Sam Schmidt’s team and will field a third Indy 500 car for Alonso. He will attempt to qualify driving the No. 66 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP with sponsorship from Ruoff Mortgage, which was a partner on Takuma Sato’s winning Indy 500 entry in 2017.

“I am a racer and the Indy 500 is the greatest race in the world,” Alonso said. “I have maximum respect for this race and everyone who competes in it and all I want to do is race against them and give my best, as always.”

Alonso’s quest is to win Indianapolis and complete a prestigious Triple Crown that includes Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car endurance race. Graham Hill is the only driver to have completed the triple.

Juan Pablo Montoya (Indy and Monaco) and Alonso are the only active drivers to have won two of the three legs. Alonso came up short in 2017 driving for Andretti Autosport when his Honda engine failed 21 laps from the finish. He had led 27 laps.

The Spaniard returned last year for another attempt with McLaren, which was running as a one-car team making a one-off appearance in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Nothing went right from the beginning. The team struggled to obtain a steering wheel in time

for testing. Its track time at the first test was cut short because the paint scheme on the car was not the proper McLaren “papaya orange” and the team did not want it photographed in the wrong shade.

On the final morning of qualifying, wholesale changes were made to the car in a frantic effort to get Alonso into the race. But a team member incorrectly converted settings when switching the numbers from the metric to imperial system and the car bottomed out as Alonso attempted a lap.

A return to the 500 this year for Alonso was expected to be with Andretti again, but that deal was rejected by Honda because of a fallout between the engine manufacturer, the driver and McLaren over past criticism of its power plants. The Andretti ride instead went to James Hinchcliffe, who had spent five years driving for Schmidt but was dumped by the team when McLaren came aboard.

“It was important for me to explore my options for this race but Arrow McLaren SP has always been at the top,” Alonso said. “I have a special place with McLaren, we’ve been through a lot together and that creates a bond, a loyalty that is strong.”

After dropping Hinchcliffe, the new McLaren team instead hired Indy Lights champion Oliver Askew and Pato O’Ward, who will form the youngest IndyCar lineup in history.

Askew, an American, is 23. O’Ward, a Mexican, will turn 21 in May. AP

Button urges Hamilton to extend Mercedes contract

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ONDON—Lewis Hamilton’s delay in committing his future to Mercedes is perplexing to former Formula One champion Jenson Button.

Hamilton, the reigning F1 champion, has yet to decide where he’s racing after this season despite being a favorite to clinch his seventh title this season and equal the record held by Michael Schumacher.

But according to Button, a former teammate to Hamilton, there shouldn’t be much to think about and the contract talks are becoming a needless distraction.

“It’s just talked up more than it should be because they’re both in a great situation,” Button said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“It should be the easiest contract to talk about because [of what] they’ve both

Lewis Hamilton has yet to decide where he’s racing after this season. AP

achieved. So just make it happen...and we can focus on the actual racing.”

Mercedes has collected the last six constructors’ titles, with Hamilton winning the drivers’ trophy in five of those seasons. The exception was 2016 when teammate Nico Rosberg was victorious before immediately retiring.

As a fellow Briton, Button is rooting for Hamilton get that seventh title—but he’s also hoping to see more of a challenge from the other teams.

“The whole of the UK hopes that [Hamilton] does achieve that [record], but I think everyone hopes that it’s not just to walk in the park,” Button said. “You can’t just give it to Lewis. We need Ferrari, we need Red Bull to challenge him. One, because it’s a sport. We want to see excitement, we want to see challenge, and we want to get people interested in this sport that maybe haven’t been interested in the past.”

Hamilton finished 87 points ahead of secondplace teammate Valtteri Bottas last season.

“We all love watching an in-house fight between teammates, but I think if you can get a fight between manufacturers, as well, that really adds to the excitement,” Button said. “We need a good fight and that’s what Formula One should be. It should be competitive, not just one team fighting at the front. We need two or three teams that are really getting in there for every race win.”

After winning his only title in 2009, Button raced alongside Hamilton for the next three seasons at McLaren in a trophyless period for the team.

Winning hasn’t been a problem for Hamilton since the move to Mercedes in 2013.

“Lewis has achieved more than any British driver and soon is going to achieve more than any driver worldwide,” Button said. “You’ll still keep racing until he’s not able to win anymore.”

Hamilton turned 35 last month—a year younger than when Button chose to retire in 2016.

Even if Hamilton signs a new deal with Mercedes, a decision will have to be made at some point when to stop racing.

“If he’s still in a Mercedes, it’s very difficult to turn away,” Button said, ”because you’re still winning and you’ve been given a car that can win races. How do you walk away from that?

That’s a situation that not many people find themselves in. A lot of us are in cars that don’t have that opportunity when we’re at the end of our careers.” AP

D

Peace

EAR God, we believe You as our refuge in time of disaster, turmoil and violence. You never leave us in any circumstances. “Peace, I leave with You, my peace I give unto You—not as the world giveth, give I unto You. Let not Your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid,” John 14:27. All our worries are gone, oh Lord, because our trust is unchanging all our life. Our faith is steadfast in our love for You. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

Life

REELING: A SCREAM, A PLEA, AND A FILM FESTIVAL D4

BusinessMirror

Thursday, February 27, 2020

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❷ ❶ TWO of the

Baroque statues and statuaries along Charles Bridge in Prague

❷ PULITZER

Restaurant in Bratislava, Slovakia

❸ PRAGUE’S Old Town Square

❹❼ THE

Church of the Virgin Mary the Victorious in Maia Strana (the Little Quarter), home of the 47-centimeter high wax figure sculpture of the Holy Infant of Prague

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SOME of the views in Prague

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Conclusion: Travel in the time of coronavirus S

STO�Y & PHOTOS

BY DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ

ALZBURG, aside from housing many of the locations showcased in The Sound of Music, is a city known for its Baroque architecture. Its Old Town is a Unesco World Cultural Heritage Site. Salzburg is also where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born.

We took the train from Vienna (round trip train ticket costs about P3,000 round trip) to Salzburg on an early morning for around two-and-a-half hours.

It was a very comfortable journey. The train seats are way more comfortable than airline seats, that’s the truth. The WCs on the train are also clean so make sure to use them before you get to your destination because most public toilets cost 50 cents to access and this one is free. When you’re in Europe, it always helps to cut corners when and where you can.

After getting to Salzburg, we took a bus to Mirabell Palace and Gardens (a Sound of Music location), where we experienced a fall of graupel (a form of snow). It wasn’t not exactly snow but certainly good enough for us.

We then proceeded (also by bus) to Getreidegasse in the heart of Salzburg’s Old City, which is Mozart’s birthplace. The Mozart Museum is a favorite among tourists because aside from being the great composer’s birthplace, it is located in a shopping destination with a good mix of designer and highstreet brands, chocolate shops, restaurants and coffee shops, and many others like Longchamp, Zara, Marrionaud, Starbucks, Aesop and Café Mozart.

We ate at Nordsee, a seafood restaurant, and it was my most expensive individual meal in Europe for this trip at nearly €30 (P1,600 ) but it was worth it. It was

just a casual dining restaurant but the seafood was so fresh and tasty.

For Day 4, we made a trip to Budapest in Hungary.

Travel time was around three hours, and the bus fare around P1,100 round trip. Before we left Vienna, we were told that Hungary has its own currency (Hungarian forint) that we should use while we were there unlike other member-countries of European Union where we could use the euro. One Philippine peso is equal to about 16 Hungarian Forint. So we changed our money once we arrived at the train station in Budapest.

From there, we took another bus and from the bus stop where we went down, we walked (it was long walk) to Buda Castle, which is massive. I didn’t go past the grounds because by this time, I was already tired from walking. The word to describe Buda Castle is imposing. It overlooks the Danube River and nearly everything else in Budapest. The palace was completed in parts and became a residence of kings.

After Buda Palace, we had lunch at Jamie Oliver’s Italian and then took a walk on the way to the Shoes on the Danube Bank, a memorial to honor the Jews killed by fascist militiamen during World War II. The executions took place between 1944 and 1945.

The memorial, a collaboration between film director Can Togay and sculptor Gyula Pauer, is beautiful and poignant.

On Days 5 and 6, we went to Prague in the Czech Republic, where we stayed overnight at Hotel White Lion. We took the train (fare was around P3,100 round trip) and the ride was four hours. The hotel was simple but clean, secure and served the typical European breakfast of breads and pastries, spreads, cheese, cold cuts, cereals and yogurt. They were a bit extra in that they served scrambled eggs and hot sausages. We paid

P13,000 for four rooms that accommodated 17 people.

Not bad at all.

Now on to Prague. All the places we went to were beautiful but Prague is a jewel. No wonder it is a dream destination of many travelers. Prague is the Czech Republic’s capital. Like most cities in central Europe, the Old Town is where all the action is. One of the attractions is the Prague Astronomical Clock, or Prague Orloj. When the clock strikes the hour, the procession of the Twelve Apostles is set in motion.

There is so much action in this area that one of my colleagues had her wallet stolen here while we were looking at a food stall. Even before I came to Europe I had been warned to take care of my belongings.

Another important place to see is Charles Bridge, which crosses the Vltava River. The bridge, decorated by a continuous alley of 30 Baroque statues and statuaries, which were built around 1700 but now replaced by replicas. The bridge itself was built around 1357, and completed by the 15th century. It’s been damaged several times and has borne witness to historic events.

Of course, we had to visit the early Baroque Church of the Virgin Mary the Victorious in Maia Strana (the Little Quarter), the home of the 47-cm high wax figure sculpture of the Holy Infant of Prague.

Our Day 7 destination was Bratislava in Slovakia.

We had a guided tour for P2,300 (inclusions were bus fare from Vienna and back, and lunch at Pulitzer).

We went to the Old Town, visited a church (Saint Martin’s Cathedral), had lunch and walked around while exploring the shops. We had coffee and later in the day, the Slovakian national dish Halušky, potato dumplings cooked in cheese and butter.

On our last day in Vienna, we got to make quick stops at the Schönbrunn and Belvedere Palaces.

Schönbrunn Palace was the former summer residence of the Habsburgs, while Belvedere, which consists of two palaces, was home to the Habsburg dynasty and was built during a time of prosperity.

Our trip was done with a budget per person.

The company took care of our airfare and hotel accommodations. They also gave us an allowance to pay for train passes, meals, bus and train fares, and other expenses like Philippine travel tax. Everything else, such as whatever we shopped for and coffee shop visits, came out of pocket. Some of us saved money for months and, of course, there was the trusty credit card. I was lucky enough to get my one-month writing fee from BUSINESSMIRRO� before the trip.

My daughter and brother also gave me some cash.

We were happy that we got to do Europe on a budget but we didn’t have to backpack our way. It was a comfortable trip. Hectic but very comfortable.

Special mention goes to my colleague and friend Yssa Berdin, who was our walking Waze and Google Maps. I wish I had her patience and knack for directions. I wouldn’t be able to do this trip alone, truthfully.

We left Vienna on an early evening and came back to a panic-stricken Manila. Our flight was one of first to land at Naia 1 after Philippine government issued the Taiwan travel ban. But it was worth the scare. The trip was something I thought my body could no longer make. I thought I was too old for a long-haul flight and walking long distances. I’m a spoiled hag who hardly commutes or walks outdoors. I’m not used to traveling without my daughter, who helps me carry my stuff and holds me when I need go use the stairs, but I was happy to get out of my comfort zone. I am proud to have done it with colleagues and friends who are young enough to be my kids. ■

D2

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Entertaining BusinessMirror

Low oven temperature and cucumber can make swordfish shine SWORDFISH en cocotte with Shallots, Cucumber and Mint, the recipe for which appears in the cookbook Complete Mediterranean. AP

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By America’s Test Kitchen The Associated Press

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Josh Groban, 39; Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, 49; Donal Logue, 54; Howard Hesseman, 80.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Concentrate on what needs to be done this year. Pour your energy into goals that will change the way you move forward. Learning new skills combined with experience and the desire to do better will bring the results you want. Follow your inner voice, and don’t stop until you are satisfied with what you’ve accomplished. Your lucky numbers are 8, 17, 20, 24, 35, 39, 44.

a

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b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Make observations, but not changes that will affect your home or those you love. Gather information and check out all your options. Being fully prepared to discuss what you want to do will help you gain the support necessary to follow through. HH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Stick close to those you can trust. Taking on a task that doesn’t belong to you or giving in to someone who is untrustworthy will cause problems. Stay well-informed and don’t be afraid to state facts if necessary. HHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Concentrate on what needs to be done. Don’t dillydally or someone will complain that you aren’t pulling your weight. Open up about your likes and dislikes to avoid getting stuck with something you don’t want.

HHH

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LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Get into activities that require physical energy. Strive to be the best you can without giving in to expensive procedures that promise the impossible. Travel and spending should be minimized. Keep your feelings a secret. HHH

SWORDFISH EN COCOTTE WITH SHALLOTS, CUCUMBER AND MINT Servings: 4 Start to finish: 1 hour 3/4 cup fresh mint leaves 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper Salt and pepper 3 shallots, sliced thin 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced thin 4 (4- to 6-ounce) skin-on swordfish steaks, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick

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VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Spend time with the cherished people in your life and you will gain insight into the best ways to make personal improvements. Sometimes it takes others to point out our shortcomings. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You can make a difference. Sign up for something that will give you a voice and contribute to a movement you want to join. Listen to good advice, but don’t give up on something that you feel passionately about. HHHH

shallots, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about five minutes. Off heat, stir in processed mint mixture and cucumber.

Pat swordfish dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Place swordfish on top of cucumber-mint mixture. Place large sheet of aluminum foil over pot and press to seal, then cover

tightly with lid.

Transfer pot to oven and cook until swordfish flakes apart when gently prodded with paring knife and registers 140°F, 35 to 40 minutes.

Carefully transfer swordfish to serving platter.

Season cucumber-mint mixture with salt and pepper to taste, then spoon over swordfish. Serve. n

Pia Wurtzbach joins Jollibee family as newest endorser

EVENT host Vince Velasco (from left), Jollibee Brand Engagement Officer Celina Tan, Jollibee AVP for Brand PR, Communications and Digital Arline Adeva, Pia Wurtzbach, Jollibee Marketing Director for Core Products Mari Aldecoa, and Jollibee Brand Manager for Core Products Pamie Cruz

Today’s Horoscope

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Look for an event or activity that interests you and get involved.

Don’t feel like you have to have company to enjoy trying something different. Sometimes going it alone works in your favor and encourages new beginnings. HHHHH

HE premise behind the French method of cooking en cocotte (or casserole roasting) is to slow down the cooking process in order to concentrate flavor.

Fish cooked for an extended period of time usually winds up dry, but a combination of low oven temperature, moist-heat environment, and the right cut of fish allows it to remain juicy and tender.

We found that meaty swordfish steaks were particularly well suited to cooking en cocotte. The fresh Mediterranean flavors of mint, parsley, lemon and garlic easily combined with sliced cucumber to make an insulating layer on which to cook the fish; we then turned the cucumber mixture into a complementary flavorful topping for serving.

It is important to choose steaks that are similar in size and thickness to ensure that each piece will cook at the same rate. If swordfish isn’t available, you can substitute halibut.

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 250°F. Process mint, parsley, 3 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in food processor until smooth, about 20 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add

www.businessmirror.com.ph

WHAT’S better than one Pia Wurtzbach? How about two Wurtzbachs, announcing to the world—or the universe, rather—the much-awaited return of a Jollibee favorite, the crispy and creamy “twona sarap” Jollibee Tuna Pie, now in Original and Spicy variants?

No less than the 2015 Miss Universe herself, looking confidently beautiful as ever, is the latest addition to the star-studded Jollibee family of ambassadors. In the new commercial, two versions of Wurtzbach represent the two-na variants of the Tuna Pie. This reflects how Wurtzbach is in real life—a person who is dynamic

and adaptable—when she’s with friends and loved ones, she could simply be her amazing self like the Original variant; or when the event calls for it, she could also be fierce and fiery like the exciting kick of the Spicy variant. “I’ve been dreaming of working with Jollibee for a long time now,” says Wurtzbach. “It’s a brand I grew up with. I even had a birthday party at Jollibee as a kid growing up in Cagayan de Oro City. Who doesn’t love Jollibee?”

“We believe Pia Wurtzbach is the perfect choice to be the face of our two-na variants for the Jollibee Tuna Pie, because of how dynamic she

can be,” says Mari Aldecoa, Jollibee marketing director for core products.

“She can be as effortlessly elegant or as fiery and adventurous as she wants, and we absolutely love that. We’re excited for all the memories we can make with Pia now that she’s part of the Jollibee family.”

Whether you love the timeless classic of the Original Tuna Pie, or you like that extra hot kick of the Spicy variant, the Tuna Pie’s crispy and creamy deliciousness will keep you coming back for more.

Tuna Pie is available for dine-in, take-out, drive-thru, and delivery at all Jollibee stores nationwide.

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Instead of letting what others do upset you, put your energy into getting things done and accomplishing your goals. Being active will bring good results and help deter criticism from those expecting you to give up. HH

i j

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Emotional spending or trying to impress someone with gifts or a lavish lifestyle will put you in a vulnerable position. You can’t buy love—you have to earn it through kindness and consideration. HHHHH CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Pull in the reins if you find that you are moving too fast. Take time to listen to what others have to say and to decipher the best way to move forward.

Partnerships are not unilateral—it takes two to tango.

HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Make today more about the ones you love, and appreciate and do something that will encourage better relationships. Personal changes can be made if you do the work required to improve your living space, appearance or attitude. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You know what you have to do, so don’t hesitate to move forward. Put your own unique spin on whatever you do and you will stand out, and make a statement that will separate you from the herd. HHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are generous, caring and helpful.

You are knowledgeable and persuasive.

‘is this thing on?’ BY ENRIQUE HENESTROZA ANGUIANO The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Kiss wrapping 5 Dancer de Mille 10 “Dungeons & Dragons” and others, in brief 14 Actress Anderson 15 Jump scare, for one, in horror movies 16 Make, as a living 17 All things considered...try this clue: Unstable 19 Pelvic bones 20 www.example.com, e.g.

21 The Matrix hero 22 Look of contempt 23 ^^ 26 Assume responsibility for...try this clue: Become very popular 28 “Really?”

29 Yellowfin tuna 32 Coffee shop top 33 “Be ___ way!”

34 Mishandle 36 Cattle call?

39 SWAT team command...try this clue: Begin successfully 42 Bill in a tip jar

3 Viola’s love 4 44 Said “Guilty,” say 45 Hit show letters 46 Compose 47 Latin list ender 48 Readily available...rats, try this clue: Casual, as a remark 52 In a weird way 54 Substantial 55 Seek advice 58 DC fund-raising group 59 Vogue alternative 60 “Challenge accepted!”...try this clue: Carry out a plan 64 General idea 65 Furry frolicker 66 Taken by mouth 67 Ice rink jump 68 Utter 69 Ratatouille rat DOWN 1 Woman in Progressive ads 2 Cry after a punch 3 Enrage 4 Opera text 5 Ga. airport code

6 Mom’s mom 7 Zilch 8 Florida theme park 9 “Didn’t I tell you?”

10 Pulled (in) 11 Caveman-style diet 12 Annoying criticism, informally 13 Gobble (up) 18 ___-rock 22 One may go downhill 23 Oil company with a triangular logo 24 Very pale 25 Paella spice 27 Completely used up 30 Humble homes 31 “You dig?” reply 35 Nota ___ 36 Kind of processor 37 Oscar winner Tatum 38 “Strange to say...”

40 Venture 41 Zero personality?

45 Yentl setting 48 Greek alphabet ender 49 The Odd Couple neatnik 50 F on a test?

51 Villainous Vader 53 Lead-in to “center” 56 Location 57 Something to take in protest 60 Red Sox, on sports tickers 61 (Get off my lawn!)

62 Your peeps 63 ___ in the ointment Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Parentlife BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Thursday, February 27, 2020

D3

FROM left: With founders of BrainRx Philippines Mel Sua and Joy Go at their most recent event, with guest speaker BPI Family Savings Bank President Maria Cristina L. Go; with the UEC Center West Avenue with Teacher Jennifer, Head Trainer Rafi Sartin, Franchisee/Teacher Michelle Enriquez and Franchise Executive Clark Malanog; Marcus and Meagan on their first trial UEC class.

What is the purpose of ‘good reading’?: Part III MOMMY NO LIMITS

MAYE YAO CO SAY

mommynolimits@gmail.com

T

HIS is my last installment for this topic on “good reading”. During the last two weeks, I shared my late but worthwhile entry into the reading world. I also shared my discovery with my kids about each child differing in finding their purpose and comfort in books, but as parents, we can help pave this path with them. This week let me share two distinct and unique reading enrichment programs I have researched on.

I like these two programs because it zeroes in on what I feel are critical in our child’s reading journey: skill and interest.

Reading struggles impact every area of learning and life. Over a six-year period, 2,112 children and adults came to BrainRx Center with dyslexia and/ or reading struggles. The leader in one-on-one brain training around the globe, BrainRx measured the cognitive performance of these clients before brain training, and again after brain training, paying special attention to the cognitive skills associated with auditory processing, since weak auditory processing is at the root of 85 percent of reading struggles. According to their findings, most reading struggles are caused by cognitive weakness.

ReadRx is an intensive sound-to-code reading and spelling intervention for individuals ages six to

adult developed by BrainRx. It includes all BrainRx procedures, auditory processing training, plus basic and complex code reading training. They originally tested 2,000 struggling readers and found common weak skills that included long- and short-term memory, processing speed and auditory processing.

As a result, the first half of ReadRx focuses on these four skills plus any individualized weak skills. The second half builds on that foundation with reading and spelling skills.

ReadRx is unique because of its methodology, as it provides: n IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK: one-on-one training allows for immediate correction of errors and encouragement of correct responses. n CONCENTRATION: the training drills require full attention, which brings faster results because of less time off task. n SEQUENCING: an introduction of tasks and information from simple to complex in small enough steps so that new material can be mastered quickly and easily. n STRETCHING: constantly pushing activities to more demanding levels that challenge or stretch the student skills to improve. n LOADING: adding task upon task concurrently thus forcing automation and mastery of skills to a subconscious level.

It embeds the standard English reading code to an automatic level instead of passively teaching lessons that are easily forgotten in a short period of time. It is especially beneficial for older readers who have developed many bad reading habits and will fall back into old ineffective reading patterns if the skills are not taught appropriately and brought to an automatic level. BrainRx Center is at McKinley Park Residences in Taguig City (www.brainrx.com/philippines1).

I also recently discovered this new enrichment program, called “The Unique English Classroom,”

which fuels interest in reading. UEC is an English program that shapes creativity in writing and communication. The Unique English Classroom, developed in Singapore by media and education specialists, does not reteach what has been taught in the classroom; rather, it builds and develops that knowledge and take it one step further beyond just simple literacy. To date, more than 200 Ministry of Education government and private schools in Singapore have experienced the Unique English Classroom. With a program for every child, each of the Unique English Classroom programs have been developed with the learner in mind. The method includes “thinking out of the box,” a highly interactive and fun series of programs that accelerates the teaching of English and provides a pathway to eventually creating the student’s own masterpiece.

According to Michelle, a mother of seven-year-old Dawn, “My daughter showed no interest in reading or books before the program, always glued to the iPad. Now she drags me to the library and wants to read me stories. Her English and usage has improved a lot, and her teachers and other parents keep asking me what enrichment is she in that made such improvement.

Thank you Unique English Classroom and the programs you have created.”

Both my kids did a test class and they did experience the personalized method of the program.

They have a program, called “Kids Can Read!,” to spark your child’s interest in reading, and develop language and vocabulary. The “Alphabet Learners” program is best if you want your child to increase comprehension and understanding, The most popular program is the “Aspiring Writers & Illustrator Scheme” because your child gets to publish his very own book.

For inquiries, you can e-mail them at clark@enrichasia.com, or visit their office of Enrich Asia in Jolibee Plaza, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center. n

Greta Thunberg’s award money used to create foundation COPENHAGEN, Denmark—A Swedish organization that gave Greta Thunberg an award that is often described as an alternative Nobel Prize says the teenage climate activist is using her prize money to establish an eponymous foundation.

The purpose of the nonprofit Greta Thunberg Foundation “is to promote ecological and social sustainability, as well as mental health,” according to the Right Livelihood Foundation. Thunberg, 17, was one of four recipients of the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, which was founded in 1980 to “honor and support courageous people solving global problems.”

The 1 million kronor ($102,500) that came with the award was transferred to create Thunberg’s foundation, the Right Livelihood organization said.

Capital is required to set up a foundation in Sweden.

Thunberg said in January that she had established a foundation to transparently handle the money she gets from such things as book royalties, donations and prizes. The Swedish teenager first drew attention two years ago when she skipped school once a week to protest inaction to curb climate change by her country’s lawmakers. Her activism inspired other students in Europe and grew into an international movement called Fridays for Future.

Thunberg’s parents have said she experienced severe depression as a preteen and that activism has been good for their daughter’s mental health.

Thunberg also has discussed being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. Earlier this year, two Swedish lawmakers nominated Thunberg for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. AP

Poor oral hygiene can seriously affect your child’s health ORAL health, though important, is one of the most neglected aspects of a child’s overall well-being, especially here in the Philippines. The Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 reported that the country has the most number of children under five years old who are suffering from dental caries throughout Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific region. Dental caries or tooth decay, which is a result of poor oral hygiene, may sound like a simple problem but it’s actually a serious health concern parents should not overlook.

According to a top hospital in the Philippines, Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed, www.makatimed.net.ph), poor oral hygiene can lead to tooth decay or early tooth loss which affects the ability to chew food and may lead to poor nutrition. This may also impair speech, which contributes to poor school performance. Dental health issues can also affect a child’s self-confidence and self-esteem.

Missing teeth, bad breath, or black stained teeth may make it difficult to develop social relationships. More important, poor oral hygiene is also linked to serious health problems like pneumonia and heart disease.

“Dental health problems are mostly preventable with proper oral hygiene and regular visits to the dentist.

Parents should be the first ones to introduce healthy oral-care habits to their children,” says Geraldine J. Campos, DDS, chairman of the Department of Dental Medicine.

In time for the National Children’s Dental Health Month this February, Campos shares some reminders for parents regarding proper oral hygiene for their children. n CHOOSE THE RIGHT TOOTHBRUSH AND TOOTHPASTE FOR YOUR CHILD. Make

sure that your child’s toothbrush has a small head, soft bristles and a large handle. It should also be replaced with a new one every three months or sooner if the bristles are frayed.

For infants, a soft washcloth or a soft toothbrush can be used by parents to wipe the baby’s gums—even prior to tooth eruption—to establish a daily oral hygiene routine.

Campos adds that children under two years old should use a smear layer size of toothpaste containing no less than 1,000 ppm (parts per million) fluoride, while children two years

old and above should use a pea size toothpaste with 1,350 to 1,500 ppm of fluoride.

“Make sure that the child brushes his or her teeth twice a day,” Campos says as she emphasizes the importance of adult supervision until the child can brush his or her own teeth. n PRACTICE REGULAR FLOSSING. An essential part to the tooth-cleaning process, flossing removes food particles and plaque in between the teeth that brushing is not able to reach.

Flossing should begin when two teeth start to touch which typically happens when the child reaches the age of two.

Children usually need assistance with flossing until they are eight to 10 years of age. n TAKE YOUR CHILD TO THE DENTIST. Dental check ups every six months are an important part of good oral hygiene for children. “We highly encourage parents to take their children for a dental checkup after their first birthday or as soon as their first tooth comes out,” Campos says.

Prevention is always better than cure. Instilling good oral-care habits early in your child’s life is the best way to prevent both tooth decay and gum disease.

JERICHO, KUYA J BRING CHEERS TO KIDS AND FAMILIES AFFECTED

BY TAAL ERUPTION

JERICHO ROSALES reached out and spread smiles and happiness to over a thousand families affected by the recent eruption of the Taal Volcano in Batangas.

Rosales led relief operations program which was supported by the Philippine Army, Kuya J Group and other sister companies of Kuya J (www.kuyaj.ph), namely Popeyes Louisiana Chicken, Isla Sugbu Seafood Restaurant, Tsay Cheng, The Grand Con, Majestic, Landers Central, Doppio, and Manila Comisario.

The project gave assistance to a total of 196 families who were relocated to Alitagtag Central School, and another 898 families at Bauan Technical High School.

Together with the project partners, Rosales gave assistance to affected communities in forms of relief packs and other basic needs. Waves for Water, a nonorganizational group, also provided access to clean water for everyone, while celebrity family Team Kramer gave out clothes and toys.

Kuya J invited Jive Manila for a special performance where they sang and dressed up as popular Disney Princes and Princesses to cheer up the kids in the evacuation centers. Rosales also hosted and participated in a number of fun games for the kids and their families during the program.

D4

Show BusinessMirror

Thursday, February 27, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

A scream, a plea, and a film festival REELING

TITO GENOVA VALIENTE

titovaliente@yahoo.com

FILIPINO-AMERICAN FILM ‘DEATH OF NINTENDO’ TO PREMIERE AT BERLINALE

BEGINNING last week, the German capital started getting caught up in almost 10 days of film high as the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, or Berlinale, unfolded. The world’s largest international film festival draws over half a million attendees, including film professionals from over 130 countries. It showcases 300 films across many categories.

As the festival celebrated its glittering start in the Berlinale Palast, it is worth noting that a standout little gem from the Philippines can be found in the deluge of films that is sweeping the festival: Death of Nintendo.

The film is a homage to puberty and adolescence with a pop touch. Set in Manila in the early 1990s when Nintendo’s market leadership reached its peak, the film is a Filipino “coming-of-age dramedy in which four teenage friends go on a journey of self-discovery together as they try to one-up each other’s high scores and face life’s obstacles,” wrote Gabriele Niola of Screen Daily.

Death of Nintendo had its world premiere in Berlinale at Urania last February 22, and continues to screen in various theaters up to February 28. It is in the section of Generation, described by Berlinale as a “convention-breaking young people’s cinema.” Under Generation, it is in the competition program of Generation Kplus, described by Berlinale as “screening state-of-the art international cinema...comingof-age stories: awesome, wild and angry, heartfelt and headstrong.”

The story takes us into the colorful pop-culture world of these four 13-year-old friends, back in the days when video games were still a novelty in the Philippines. Tomboy Mimaw and her friends Paolo, Kachi and Gilligan live lives that revolve around Nintendo. Challenging their enjoyment is the climate-changing eruption of Mount Pinatubo, which is causing a series of earthquakes and nationwide blackouts, preventing the friends from engaging in their No. 1 activity. To add to the emotional melee, the friends begin to wrestle with new dilemmas—puppy love, circumcision and other teenage horror stories. Will they all survive and grow up from these?

Death of Nintendo is a collaboration between two reconnected childhood friends that encapsulates their shared suburban childhood experience in the 1990s. Valerie CastilloMartinez, a Filipino-American writer and producer, wrote the screenplay for this coming-of-age story loosely based on her own experiences growing up in the Philippines before moving to the US. She shares, “I was at a midpoint in my life. I’ve spent almost an equal amount of years living in the US and the Philippines, and I started fearing about losing my childhood memories. It made me think of the simplest times I had growing up and summers in the Philippines. The 1990s, in particular, were special.”

Not a stranger to film festivals, Martinez has had her other works screened in Venice, Toronto, Busan, and won multiple awards around the globe. That she gets to collaborate with childhood friend, schoolmate and acclaimed filmmaker Raya Martin, whose works, include Independencia (2009) and Smaller and Smaller Circles (2017), is a noteworthy element in the process.

She explains, “Working with Raya has excited me in two different ways. The most important reason is our connection to the story, and how he deeply understood the nuances of all the cultural specificities of that place and time. Raya and I grew up in the same middle-class neighborhood and attended the same elementary school for 12 years. What’s more is that we wanted the Philippines to be depicted specifically to our experience and not be exoticized or serve certain cultural stereotypes involving extreme poverty or crime.”

For his part, Martin, who deviates from his usual filmmaking genre on Death of Nintendo, felt this was an important story to tell having grown up queer in the 1990s.

“Val and I had the exact same Catholic suburban-bred world being schoolmates. I also remember it was the beginning of the Internet aside from the console wars, so we were really fascinated between this virtual new world and touching ground that I felt was unmistakable in her story,” Martin shares.

Produced by Black Sheep Film Productions, a production company under ABS-CBN, Death of Nintendo stars Noel Comia Jr., Kim Chloie Oquendo, Jiggerfelip Sementilla, John Vincent Servilla, Moi Bien, Nikki Valdez, Angelina Kanapi, Jude Matthew Servilla, Elijah Alejo, Cayden Williams, and Agot Isidro. The film will be shown in the Philippines after it finishes its festival tour, but for now, its proponents are excited to once again showcase world-class Filipino talent on the global stage.

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MAN is seen drawing with crayon the Mayon Volcano. He finishes the drawing and recites the allure of the famous mountain in Bicol. He then gathers taro leaves, a plant that is linked to the hot cuisine of the region. The man again rhapsodizes about the leaves.

Next, he is shown with the broad leaf of a taro with beads and crystals of water on its waterproof surface.

The water slides around the leaf as the man tries to catch and drink the drops. He then eats the leaves like a wild man. We wonder what wisdom pushes him to do that. As the leaves are masticated in his mouth, he spits them and declares: Taro leaves must be cooked before one could eat them.

The audience laugh at this wit.

The same man now is seen putting on a black windbreaker. He struggles with it. After he has zipped up the jacket, he covers his face with a black plastic trash bag. He wraps the thin plastic around his head and presses the material against the features of his face. He looks as if he is suffocating; we feel we cannot breathe.

The man takes a toy gun and fires away. He inserts the wooden gun inside the plastic that covers his head and face, pokes through the dark cellophane-like material and fires the gun.

The scene moves to a dark theater where a concert is happening. The man is there again but this time he is ranting about being god and being the owner of China. He looks mad and sad. He is Nietzsche’s madman full of poetry and fury. His scream is drowned by the music that gets louder and louder.

Onscreen, a strong man from an old film smashes a statue. A clown walks around selling balut. The sound and music get more furious and ear-splitting.

Then the show—the short film—abruptly ends.

RoxLee is back in Naga, his hometown, the place of birth of the wild man of Philippine independent cinema. He is there to open the 12th edition of Cinema Rehiyon not with one but with two films.

In the other film, RoxLee pays a tribute and, at the same time, subverts an already subversive work— Edvard Munch’s The Scream. In German, its title is The Scream of Nature.

RoxLee’s work begins with a drawing. This time though the act is wholly part of the subject, which is

a drawing or a painting. But for this filmmaker and visual artist, the scene showing a man with his mouth open is not a piece of stasis but of great and moving movement.

From the drawing of the scream, RoxLee sculpts with clay the form of that scream. He is now the divinity of creation, half-insane and half-inspired.

The mask becomes a face of a man imitating the scream of Munch. Or is RoxLee reminding us that the painted cry does not come from art but from life?

To call the film disturbing is an understatement.

RoxLee’s Manila Scream is anguish taking over faith, pollution ruling over politics, and poverty caught in the open mouth of a humanity running berserk. There is no smile in this world, he seems to say, no grin and no smirk but that cursed opening of the mouth broken apart for eternity.

RoxLee does not make films as he unmakes the tools and traits of a film. It is not so much as being anti-film as it is being into non-film and nonnarrative. It is, however, this lack of linearity and logic that makes his intentions and achievements easy to measure in terms of a different cinema.

In a period when short filmmakers are turning out feature films under a new studio system, RoxLee’s two films are admonitions about the kind of cinema needed in a disrupted world.

Why create sensible films when the surroundings do not make any sense at all anymore?

As RoxLee’s second film finishes, I turn away from the screen because another filmmaker wants to share with me his thoughts about the two films.

Jay Altarejos is telling me something. I could read the word “Primo,” for that is clear from the movement of his mouth. Cousin. Kin. Paisano. We address each other that way because we know we are both from Ticao Island.

Altarejos is in Naga because he is screening after 10 years his work, titled Pink Halo-Halo. Gender and politics when they are surfaced from the film are almost over-reading given how subtle and utterly simple the narrative of this film. This must be the quietest work dealing with growing up, the tenderest rites of passage ever made by a Filipino filmmaker.

Nothing disturbs the surface of this peaceful film about the death of peace in the childhood of a boy.

But Altarejos is also in Naga after the news about his latest film, Walang Kasarian ang Digmaang Bayan (Revolution Knows No Gender), is released. It has been pulled out from 2020 Sinag Maynila Film Festival. We know the story: as the film ends, the character of Rita Avila regrets not having enough strength to kill the president.

Altarejos is in Naga and the worlds around him are bothered. Everything has been disturbed. There are no ripples and no bubbles. There is an impending explosion.

Two Bicolano directors—RoxLee and Joselito “Jay”

Two Bicolano directors—RoxLee and Joselito “Jay” Altarejos—open Cinema Rehiyon, held for the first time in the Bicol region. There is no need for guns or vows to kill. The films different in the telling and told in different languages are protests against the timid and tired stories from the big production houses.

Altarejos—open Cinema Rehiyon, held for the first time in the Bicol region. There is no need for guns or vows to kill. The films different in the telling and told in different languages are protests against the timid and tired stories from the big production houses.

It is Cinema Rehiyon—a gathering of independent filmmakers from all over the country—and it is not just a celebration but a plea for freedom, a revolution in how we narrate the nation.

The 12th edition of Cinema Rehiyon happens from February 24 to 29, in the city of Naga, with screenings in SM Naga and in selected halls inside the Ateneo de Naga University Campus. It is a flagship project under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, with support from the Film Development Council of the Philippines. The local government of Naga City has supported significantly the film festival, with additional funds and logistical assistance. Ateneo de Naga is a main sponsor. The provincial government joined the festival by sponsoring a night in the provincial capitol. ■

‘Hospital Playlist’ premieres on Netflix FROM the director of Prison Playbook and the creators of the Reply series, Hospital Playlist explores the chemistry among five friends who have stayed close with each other since they attended medical school together 20 years ago. They can practically read each other’s mind just by looking into their eyes. The day-to-day lives of the people living, dying and just passing through the hospital where they all work is a microcosm of the world beyond.

Jeon Mi-do plays Song-hwa, the de-facto spiritual leader of the quintet.

Kim Dae-myung plays Seok-hyeong, a reclusive loner. Cho Jung-suk plays Ikjun, a self-described “inside operator” who has excelled academically, as well as socially. Chong Kyung-ho plays Jun-wan, who is an outstanding surgeon but is a miserable person. Yoo

Yeon-seok plays Jeong-won, who is always polite and caring at work, but in private is a rather edgy character.

These five diverse personalities emerge from behind the hospital curtains. There is a hint of the deep

connections they share, as well as the complicated lives that are hidden from the patients, family, staff and fellow doctors they interact with every day. There are many surprises and revelations awaiting in this fresh new

drama. Audiences will discover the chemistry among longtime friends who stick together through thick and thin. Hospital Playlist premieres on Netflix on March 12, with new episodes every Thursday.

Sam Worthington will lead suspense flick to be filmed in Manila

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor HOLLYWOOD actor Sam Worthington will star in a new action thriller, titled CounterPlay, which will be shot in the Philippines in August of this year, announced Blue Fox Entertainment.

In this suspense film, he plays the lead role of John Craig, a retired K&R (kidnap and ransom hostage negotiator) specialist who comes out of retirement to take on one last job.

This is to help a young man, played by up and coming actor/musician Alex Diaz, who has been

wrongly suspected for drug trafficking, to escape and go back to his home and family in Australia.

“This is a great character-driven action thriller, with an iconic lead role that is perfect for Sam Worthington, and we’re very excited to be working with a great team of filmmakers on this project,” said James Huntsman of Blue Fox. The award-winning Australian actor rose to stardom with his leading role in the global box-office phenomenon Avatar, as well as starring turns in Terminator Salvation, Clash of the Titans and the sequel Wrath of the Titans, and in Everest and Hacksaw Ridge.

Filipino director Pedring Lopez will direct

CounterPlay.

He is best known globally for his recent work, Maria, a local movie acquired by Netflix that has become a critically acclaimed hit worldwide.

The group producing CounterPlay is led by Scott Rosenfelt, along with Michael McDermott of MAM Media (Pte.) Ltd. Andy Green of Fusion Pictures will be serving as executive producer.

This is the first international film produced by newly established MAM Media in association with BlackOps Studios Asia Inc. Blue Fox is handling global sales for the movie. It will introduce the project to buyers at EFM.

Envoys&Expats EXPAT EXECUTIVE

www.businessmirror.com.ph | Thursday, February 27, 2020 E1

IT exec discovers the ‘incredible’ among Filipinos

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By Tony M. Maghirang | Contributor

URRENT country manager of Asus Philippines, George J.H. Su, arrived in the country in January 2012 after successful stints in managing the brand’s offices in the Middle East and Malaysia.

For the past nine years, Su and his Filipino team have conspired to pole-vault the Asus brand in terms of market share in the local information-technology (IT) industry—from seventh place when he first arrived, to its present position at close second.

That says a lot for the brand’s products that carry a premium price over the competition while, at the same time, flaunt cutting-edge architecture that helps improve productivity to enterprises and individual end-users, as well.

The Taiwanese executive explained, “[The company does] not carry secondhand or refurbished end-of-life models just to make our products affordable. We offer instead the latest ones. We are usually the brand that brings in the latest technology in central-processing units, in storage, or in the design of laptops, personal computers [PCs] and digital devices.”

The essence of such marketing practice is embedded in the Asus name itself. Drawn from the mythical winged horse Pegasus, company founders made sure to embody its essence into its products’ aesthetics and innovation.

Su further referenced to the white equine of lore for elegance that exudes a dimension of novelty and beauty.

Asus Philippines’s country manager said that the concept also borrows from the Oriental Zen philosophy, best illustrated by the duality of yin and yang. In fact, the company’s product line seeks harmony in performance and aesthetics. For instance, these two aspects blend together in its signature ZenBook line.

Early on, the combination of form and function at a higher price point missed to catch on in a major way with the preferences of Filipino customers. In the last four to five years though, the market has evolved.

Eager millennials became receptive to Asus offerings, and the renewed traction boosted the company near the top of the local IT sector in sales and popularity.

According to Su, its extensive end-user support infrastructure also sets the company apart from other brands. Today, it has about 100 authorized service providers, covering around 60 cities nationwide. They are all directly supported and managed by the after-sales service team based in Manila.

The IT company also owns a warehouse in the country for genuine spare parts. The setup helps shorten turnaround time for repairs—wherever a customer may be, and when the fixes are warranted.

Proprietary software preinstalled in all Asus laptops and smartphones locates via GPS the nearby service provider to a customer needing a quick fix. It assures customers will enjoy the same after-sales service quality, regardless if they purchased a P20,000 or a P200,000 priced Asus product. That should give Asus customers extended peace of mind.

Journey of detours

SU described his journey so far as the result of a series of “detours,” with one mission in mind: To go abroad

and experience different cultures.

With a degree in political science, he then took a different path by enrolling in a master’s course on China’s political economy.

After a compulsory military training, the Taiwanese engaged in corporate work to experience employment in the private business world. He was hired by a Japanese medium-sized subsidiary that produces stationeries. There, he learned the key factors of business operations: from sales and marketing, to distribution and logistics.

Three years later, the young Su moved on to his next detour—this time, a propitious one. Despite lacking a degree in engineering or business management, he initially fancied getting employed by one of the movers and shakers of Taiwan’s flourishing IT industry at that time.

He planned to work for the likes of a competitor and an Australia-based nongovernment organization.

It also dawned upon him an overarching theme of his life’s journey: To challenge himself to go beyond the comfort zones of the same industry or discipline, and achieve his foremost dream of going abroad.

Fortunately, Asus took Su in and assigned him to its Middle East office in Dubai, where he learned the ropes from scratch. “I learned the business, the products, the technologies, the customers, distribution, reselling, supply-chain marketing, aftersales servicing, human resources, and even registering a company,” he elaborated. “I managed everything, plus the nitty-gritties of running a business in a foreign country.”

On his own, the country manager gained a better appreciation of himself as a person and as a fellow worker. He said, “The learning journey became a good foundation that contributed to what I am now. When I encounter something unfamiliar or new, I treat it as just another element that I have to learn or overcome and be familiar with. That is my attitude to everything, and that’s where I come from.”

Never the disciplinarian at work and instead leads by example, Su describes himself as someone who would rather “walk the talk,” skipping long-winded speeches by actually demonstrating the way to get things done. Coworkers would catch him as one of the early birds in the office and the last to leave at the close of business.

Filipino core team

IN the United Arab Emirates, Su obtained great help from overseas Filipino workers in the company office. “I hired the first Filipino service staff, the second, then the third,” he enthused. “Actually, the service center in Dubai is run by a group of Philippine nationals. They’re very skilled and very hard working, which resulted to a high level of consumer satisfaction with the good service they provide.”

T he IT executive told Envoys&Expats that when he first arrived in the Philippines in 2012, the Asus office only had 30 employees. By now, the number of its core staff has grown to 110 Filipinos.

Continued on E2

Envoys& BusinessMirror

E2 Thursday, February 27, 2020

CULTURE AND HERITAGE

Korean culture in PHL seen to peak in 2020

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T was another milestone year for Korean culture (K-culture) in the country in 2019, which witnessed the staging of countless concerts, fan meets, events, gatherings, exhibitions, collaborations and activities, especially as it marked the 70th anniversary of the bilateral relations between the Philippines and Korea.

The Korean Culture and Information Service, a government agency under Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, conducted a study among 10,000 respondents from 20 countries.

It turned out that the Philippines—one of the seven countries included in Korea’s New Southern Policy—ranked first in areas where South Korea has the highest positive image with a score of 97.4 percent.

Last year, the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines (KCC) and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea both spearheaded

unique activities that gathered huge support and audiences.

Most recently, some 2,652 individuals visited the “Korean Life Aesthetics” exhibit, which showcased exceptional skills and contemporary art pieces of the Korea Crafts and Design Foundation, set in a hanok, or a traditional Korean house. It ran for two months at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and ended on January 31.

Meanwhile, the Korean Contemporary Artists Association exhibit is still running and will continue until February 28 at the

same venue, highlighting the Koreans’ modern take on art.

Packed itinerary

K-CULTURE supporters can expect more than music, food, performances and all things Hallyu as the KCC will be kicking off its 2020 events with something new, yet very much popular among Filipinos: a “K-beauty” event.

Expect to know tips and tricks on getting that healthy luminous skin this summer from renowned skin-care experts and beauty gurus, as well as some fun games and activ ities in “Chok- Chok Korea” this April.

Following the said event, the KCC will bring K-pop fans together at the “K-street” festival, with two-days worth of activities meant to expand the understanding of Korea and its rich culture.

Gathering around 3,500 audience members and more than 1,000,000 combined views in the KCC ’s social-networking sites last year, the Filipinos’ own talent and interpretation of K-culture will take center stage anew in the following events: “Global Taste of Korea” in June, “Pinoy K-pop Star” in July and the “Phil-

Kor Festival” in September.

The Korean Film Festival and K-culture Day, also known as “Guerilla K-Night,” will also return bigger and stronger in September and December this year, respectively, where Filipinos are assured of a free platform where they can appreciate, relate and be entertained by K-culture.

After educating and bringing Korea closer to a total of 24,000 students in Luzon last year, the Korean Culture Caravan will be returning to bring the free KCC experience booths, film screenings and art tutorials to seven other schools that have adopted the Special Program in Foreign Language-Korean Language Training program this year.

The KCC expects a packed year, as exciting and informative events await all old and new Kculture supporters in 2020. For more information or inquiries, e-mail pr@koreanculture.ph or contact 8878-6319. Follow the KCC in the Philippines on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KoreanCulturalCenterPH/, as well as @kccphil on both Instagram and Twitter for more updates on events and activities.

PHL-Japan Historical Museum renovation completed

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N January 23, Ambassador Koji Haneda and Consul General Yoshiaki Miwa attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony that celebrated the completion of the renovation and enhancement of the Philippine-Japan Historical Museum.

The effort was supported through the Grant Assistance for Cultural Grassroots Projects of the Japanese government.

The museum in Calinan, Davao City, opened in 1994 through the efforts of Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai Inc. Its exhibits allow visitors to learn about the historical relationship between Japan and Davao, which started during the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the city in

AMBASSADOR Koji Haneda (second from left) and Consul General Yoshiaki Miwa (second from right) inaugurate the Philippine-Japan Historical Museum in Davao City.

the 1900s.

Renovation and enhancement efforts to commemorate its 25th anniversary were initiated. The grant supported the renovation of the exhibit space and materials, as well as the installation of digital devices to further enrich the learning experience for visitors.

Haneda made a congratulatory address at the ceremony, as various activities livened up the event. Attendees witnessed the unveiling of a new signboard, the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and the sake barrel-breaking called kagami biraki in Japanese. Children from the Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai International School also rendered a song-and-dance number.

Instituto Cervantes presents discussion on ‘Manila’s jewel’

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OGNIZANT of the importance of Intramuros as a key symbol of Philippine heritage, the Instituto Cervantes collaborated with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain and the Intramuros Administration as it presented a roundtable discussion on “Intramuros, the Underrated Jewel,” where various Spanish and Filipino experts on fortifications tackled challenges of conservation of the walled city.

The forum was held on February 18 at the Intramuros branch of Instituto Cervantes in Plaza San Luis Complex, Real Street, Intramuros.

The walled city of Manila is a cultural icon with historical significance for the Filipinos. Destroyed during the World War II, the city has risen from its ruins, with the Philippine government entrusting the preservation of the historical site to the Intramuros Administration. It has a mandate to ensure that the general appearance of Intramuros shall conform to Philippine-Spanish architecture of the 16th to the 19th centuries.

Various Spanish experts on fortifications of the said period, Alfredo J. Morales, Ignacio J.

IT exec discovers the ‘incredible’ among Filipinos Continued from E1

“The most important thing for me and the company are the team members,” Su said. “I enjoy working with them. I have mostly young employees, whose average age is below 25 years old, mixed with experienced professionals.”

“There are those who think there are disadvantages in having a young team, but I have incredible moments with my young staff,” the IT executive opined. “We usually introduce new technologies, so we set the pace of innovation.”

He further stated, “If you follow the oldfashioned way, it’s very difficult to succeed. You really have to think out-of-the-box and challenge the past. I give due credit to our Filipino team who helped us gain new know-how and knowledge along the way.”

Su also sang high praises for the openmindedness of Filipinos, as he articulated, “They are willing to accept new ideas, new guidelines and new procedures. I think the Filipino staff members comply with the rules much better than other races.”

“And [they] are a jolly bunch to work with,” he observed. “Ready to mingle and collaborate even if in a stressful environment, or under a very tight schedule.”

He remembered a time that his Filipino team prepared for a big event and worked tirelessly for several days, with hardly any sleep. With the extra workload, one would expect members to be exhausted and grouchy at the conclusion. Instead, the team members bonded so well and enjoyed instead their time together working on a difficult project. After the event turned into a huge success, everyone enjoyed their bonding time, as well as the accomplishments they have achieved.

Chessboard to CSR

SAN Agustin Church

López Hernández, Manuel Gámez Casado and Pedro Luengo, as well as Intramuros Administrator Atty. Guiller B. Asido dis-

cussed the exceptional historical worth, as explored the challenges of proper conservation and highlighted the significance of Intra-

muros, whose design mostly corresponds to the 18th century, and is a remarkable case in the international historical heritage scene.

IN his many visits around the country, Su comes back to Manila with wonderful stories to share with his family and friends. He still remembers one particular happy episode in the Zamboanga City office of the Philippine Coconut Authority.

“When I got there, I saw several carpenters making furniture and small gift items out of coco lumber. On a whim, I asked one of them if he could make a foldable chessboard, with complete pieces.

The guy actually hesitated at first, but I told him to name his price, he agreed to do it.”

He revealed, “I don’t think the carpenter knew how to make [one] beforehand. Regardless, I flew back to Manila with the first foldable chessboard—complete chess pieces made from coco lumber!”

That sensibility of giving a break to others is also reflected in Asus’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) work. Six years ago, Su, through the Asus Foundation, got involved in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s Distance Opportunity Center project initiated by the Taiwanese gov-

COUNTRY manager of Asus Philippines George J.H. Su: The learning journey became a good foundation that contributed to what I am now.

ernment. (A-DOC, now called T-DOC after Taiwan took over from Apec in 2015, seeks to reduce the digital divide in member-countries targeting the underprivileged in remote rural areas.)

In the Philippines, the Asus Foundation has partnered with the Love and Care Foundation to raise funds for the delivery of refurbished 20foot containers. They have been converted into digital labs that will provide computer-literacy skills to villagers.

“The beauty of the CSR’s advocacy is that all training participants get certified by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority,” Su explained. “That means graduates of the program are duly trained with certificates and can be employed in basic office jobs.”

The Asus CSR program has donated six mobile trailers that have been dispersed in various rural parts of the country. On top of that, the foundation has distributed 200 recycled and pre-owned PCs with monitors to 10 beneficiary-organizations, including a women-in-need center in Naga City.

New donations will be coming in the next three weeks in response to a growing list of prospective recipients.

Incredible in PHL

APART from his company’s unique CSR initiatives, the Taiwan national’s love for Filipinos extends into his fondness for the Philippines. He claims to have visited almost all of Asus offices in the country: from Zamboanga to Cagayan de Oro down south; to Cebu and Iloilo in the Visayas; and most of the major cities in Luzon, like Naga and Laoag.

This IT executive has taken his family for rest and recreation in resorts around the Calabarzon region, especially in the Province of Batangas.

The dish he has constant cravings for is bangus (milkfish) sisig.

The friendliness of the people in the places he has gone to is something he treasures: “Filipinos are very warm and very open, especially when I come on as a window-shopping foreigner. I have good conversations with them. That makes my stay here easier and more fun.”

Su’s constant search for the incredible might have just been fulfilled right here in the Philippines, with the help of its people.

&Expats

envoys.expats.bm@gmail.com |Thursday, February 27, 2020 E3

FASHION, ARTS, MUSIC, ENTERTAINMENT

Italian pieces depict modern-art movement

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HE Embassy of Italy recently introduced Arte Povera: Italian Landscape—arguably one of the most important art movements to come out of the European republic.

According to the embassy, Arte Povera started around the 1960s, and persisted through the 1970s.

It attempted to break down rules of traditional art by redefining its “purpose,” engaging its audience in highly experimental ways. This included fascinating studies of using unprocessed materials alluding to the emergence of consumer culture.

By reflecting the sociopolitical life of Italians at the time, the embassy said Arte Povera inevitably changed the way society viewed art: “Art was no longer a bystander of its time; it could be used as a tool to generate dialogue. What was considered ‘beautiful’ was no longer caged in what was ‘perfection,’ but what was happening at the present time. It is

inevitable, then, that such a powerful movement shaped contemporary art [as we know it].”

The exhibit is curated courtesy of Danilo Eccher, a highly respected Italian art critic and curator who has served as director for several cultural institutions since 1989, including the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome.

Being shown for the first time in Asia, the exhibit will run until April 30, at the Tall Galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, and its branch at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas complex, Roxas Boulevard, Malate, Manila, in partnership with the Security Bank Corp. To learn more, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Manila web site.

MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO, Orchestra di stracci (1968)

GILBERTO ZORIO, Star to Purify Words (1978)

MARIO MERZ, Untitled (Igloo, 1978)

FE RODRIGUEZ (from left), Joselito Campos Jr., Ambassador of Italy Giorgio Guglielmino, curator Danilo Eccher, Tina Colayco, Doris Magsaysay-Ho, Chuchu Madrigal Eduque and Luis Virata Jr.

GUGLIELMINO (from left), Daniela Gaschen and Ambassador of Switzerland Alain Gaschen

ALIGHIERO BOETTI, Prisente (1985)

GIOVANNI ANSELMO, Lung oil sentiero verso oltremare (1997)

Sweden brings ‘fashion revolution’ to USC-Cebu

KEY pieces made of sustainable textiles

IKEA Philippines’s Jasmin Cruz (from left); H&M Philippines’s Dan Mejia; Ambassador Harald Fries; University of San Carlos’s Father Narciso Cellan, SVD with Anthill Fabric Gallery’s Mario Carbon Jr.; and Kristen Gayagoy

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FTER a successful staging at the Cebu Design Week, SM City Cebu and SM Seaside Cebu, the Embassy of Sweden in Manila and Ambassador Harald Fries spearheaded the launch of Fashion Revolution: The Future of Textiles at the University of San Carlos (USC) in the Queen City of the South.

The exhibit highlighted the need for a more sustainable fashion and textile industry, as well as Sweden’s active role in promoting it. This, according to the embassy, is because the fashion industry is one of the most polluting sectors in the world.

Curated and produced by the Swedish Institute with the help of researchers and sustainable

fashion experts, the exhibition highlights the fashion industry’s major environmental challenges, showcases solutions from Sweden, and guides consumers to contribute effectively to a more sustainable world.

T he exhibition, which w ill run until March 18, at the USC’s School of Architecture, Fine Arts and Design, is supported by major Swedish brands, such as H&M, Ikea and BabyBjorn.

H& M feat u red ke y pieces made from sustainable textiles out of its Conscious Collection, while BabyBjorn exhibited babycarriers that are all created from recycled and upcycled products.

Socia l enter pr ise and textile designer Anthill Fabric Gallery

showed a Filipino example of a circular business model and the role of local fabrics in fashion sustainability.

A forum and panel discussion accompanied the launch. Speakers from global home furnishing brand Ikea, shared the company’s sustainability efforts, while USC alumna Barbara Page Uy-Tiu presented upcycled flour sacks into an outerwear collection.

The embassy said that globally, the world’s population consumes about 62 million tons of clothing per year—equivalent to the size of a small suitcase full of clothes per person. Only 20 percent is reused or recycled. Since 2000, global clothes production has more than doubled, as the average

person now buys 60 percent more items of clothing every year, and keeps them for about half as long as they did 15 years ago.

It takes 10,000 to 30,000 liters of water, and about two to four kilos of chemicals to produce 1 kilo of treated cotton. Around 15 percent to 30 percent of plastic pollutants in the oceans consist of microplastics and 35 percent of that comes from laundering synthetic textiles.

At the launch, Fries expressed his hopes for consumers to become more conscious and mindful of their consumption of fashion: “The better informed people are, the greater the pressure that can be exerted on companies to act sustainably.”

CLASSICAL KEYBOARD Internationally acclaimed pianist Dr. Ingrid Sala

Samantaria recently performed Johannes Brahms’s Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 and Robert Schumann’s Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54 before venerables of the Buddha’s Light International Association-Philippines, BLIA Young Adult Division-Philippines, as well as her closest family members and friends. Praising the Buddha’s practice of legacy, she shared her desire to be part of passing down the faith to the next generation—the legacy of Humanistic Buddhism. The essence was explained in four points—The Legacy of Compassion, The Legacy of Wisdom, The Legacy of Morals and The Legacy of Faith.

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

E4 Thursday, February 27, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

COVID-19 WATCH

WHO urges governments, companies, news orgs to spread Covid-19 facts

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ORLD Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called on governments, corporations and news organizations to strengthen their efforts in spreading facts about the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

He said these initiatives would greatly contribute to efforts in combating fake news about the outbreak of the disease worldwide.

“Work with us to sound the appropriate level of alarm, without fanning the flames of hysteria. Fake news

spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous,” Ghebreyesus said in his speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. “That’s why we’re also working with search and media companies like Facebook, Google, Pinterest,

WORLD Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus XINHUA/PNA

Tencent, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and others to counter the spread of rumors and misinformation.”

He added the WHO is concerned about the levels of rumors and mis-

information that could be hampering the collective response in containing the spread of the disease globally.

“We’re concerned by the continued increase in the number of cases

in China and the number of health workers who have been infected or have died. We are concerned by the lack of urgency in funding the response from the international community,” the WHO official said.

Citing severe disruption in the market for personal protective equipment against COVID-19, Ghebreyesus said such scenario is putting frontline health workers and caregivers at risk.

“We’re concerned about the potential havoc this virus could wreck in countries with weaker health systems,” he added.

In his speech, Ghebreyesus also underscored the strategies undertaken by China and other countries to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, despite the impossibility to predict its direction.

“Although the PHEIC [Public Health Emergency of International Concern] [had been] declared, with 99 percent of cases in China, this is still very much an emergency for that country. Because in the rest of the world, we only have 505 cases, and in China we have more than 66,000,” he confirmed.

He said global research communities are working together on the identification and acceleration of the most urgent research needs for diagnostics, treatments and vaccines.

“We’re encouraged that we have been able to ship diagnostic kits, as well as supplies of masks, gloves, gowns and other personal protective equipment to some of the countries that need them most,” Ghebreyesus said. Ma. Teresa Montemayor/PNA

SFA, China state councilor, ministers meet to address epidemic

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IENTIANE—Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. convened with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on February 19 in the Lao PDR capital on the eve of the Special Asean-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (SFMM) organized to respond the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

During the meeting, Locsin extended the Philippines’s sympathies to the Chinese people, especially to those from Wuhan City and Hubei province.

The foreign affairs secretary conveyed, as

well, the government’s appreciation for the assistance and facilitation of the Chinese government in the repatriation of Filipino nationals from Hubei on February 8.

Expressing the Philippines’s confidence that China will eventually overcome the public health crisis, the secretary handed a letter from President Duterte for President Xi Jinping conveying the country’s solidarity and support.

In reply, Wang manifested gratitude for the Philippine government’s support for China amid the COVID-19 outbreak, attesting to

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. (third from left) lead the Philippine delegation in its dialogue with China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (second from right) and the rest of the Chinese contingent at the Special Asean-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

the deepening of mutual trust and friendship between the Philippines and China.

Wang also expressed appreciation to the Philippines as the country coordinator for Asean-China relations facilitating the SFMM, which he and Locsin are due to cochair.

Meanwhile, all foreign ministers in the SFMM exchanged views on COVID-19,

particularly in strengthening collaboration in dealing with the epidemic. They also discussed national, regional and global efforts to counter the widespread malady, as well as possible practical measures to address it at the regional level. Lessons learned and insights from experiences were exchanged, especially on concerns shared

by the countries.

The foreign ministers expressed condolences on the loss of lives, and extended sympathies to those still suffering and being threatened by the disease. They also commended those who have worked courageously on the frontlines in battling the disease. Everyone expressed confidence in China’s ability to overcome the epidemic.

The meeting adopted a statement on COVID-19, where the foreign ministers agreed to step-up cooperation in the region, including sharing of information and best practices in a prompt manner, capacity building for decisive response, strengthening existing measures, optimizing Asean-led and AseanChina mechanisms, as well as initiatives with external partners to address COVID-19 in a comprehensive and effective manner.

The SFMM also emphasized the role of risk communication and community engagement in ensuring that people receive accurate and timely information. These, all other measures and allied initiatives that were discussed are hoped to expedite the prevention and control of the epidemic so that Asean member-states, China and the rest of the world can resume and enhance exchanges and cooperation. DFA

DFA consular affairs office conducts awareness seminar

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HE Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) staged an awareness seminar, “Coronavirus Disease [COVID-19]: The Agent and the Disease” on February 20.

The seminar, facilitated by City Health Officer of Parañaque and the President of the Health Officers of Metro Manila, Dr. Olga Z. Virtusio, was broadcast live to the 35 consular offices of the DFA across the country.

Virtusio gave a brief history, definition and description, as well as described the signs and symptoms of COVID-19. She also shared effective, preventive and protective measures against the disease, then briefed the team on the various initiatives led by the Department of Health.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Neil Frank R. Ferrer thanked Virtusio for the invaluable information and insights she shared.

He also noted that the OCA has implemented measures and initiated information campaigns on COVID-19 to protect the health of the frontline staff and the public who visit the consular offices for passport and other consular services. DFA

FOREIGN Affairs Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Neil Frank R. Ferrer thanks Dr. Olga Z. Virtusio for conducting the COVID-19 awareness seminar.