BusinessMirror January 05, 2021 by BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 5, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 86

CTRM FOR 5% MDM RATE AS BOC SLAPS 40% TARIFF w

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah & Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

CASH AID SCHEME UNDER CCT MAY NEED SOME REVISIONS—PIDS STUDY

KEY Cabinet panel on tariffs on Monday agreed to endorse maintaining the 5-percent tariff for mechanically deboned meat (MDM) of chicken and turkey to keep stable the prices of processed meat products, which make use of the ingredient.

President Duterte’s approval of the recommendation is needed, however, in order to stop implementation of the higher (40 percent) rate by the Bureau of Cus-

toms, which started to slap the new amount in January, after Executive Order (EO) 82 covering the lower rate expired on December 31, 2020. Continued on A2

PHL manufacturing falls back to contraction in December By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

ESPITE signs of growth in November 2020, the Philippine manufacturing sector’s performance worsened anew in December on sluggish demand and poor weather conditions. According to the report published by IHS Markit on Monday, the Philippines’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in November hit 49.2, rising from November’s 49.9 print. A country’s PMI is meant to gauge the health of its manufacturing sector. It is calculated as a weighted average of five individual

subcomponents. Readings below 50 show deterioration in the industry while readings above the 50 threshold signal a growth in the manufacturing sector. IHS Markit analyst Shreeya Patel said the December data indicates another contraction in operating conditions across the Filipino goods-producing sector and that the restrictions due to the pandemic are hitting manufacturers hard. “Although the latest overall sector contraction was only marginal, domestic demand remains challenging, which may stymie progress on the lengthy road to recovery,” Patel said.

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages |

By Cai U. Ordinario

T In upper photo from Dreamstime.com, the valiant Cebuano warrior Lapu-Lapu, who vanquished the conquistador Magellan, stands proudly at the Liberty Shrine at Barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City. The combo handout image (above) from the National Quincentennial Commission. has the Philippine flag fluttering in the foreground of the shrine. A National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) Board Resolution 10, signed on December 16, declared the Liberty Shrine a site of the permanent display of the Philippine flag effective January 17, 2021, as the nation prepares for the quincentennial of the Western colonizers’ “discovery” of the Philippines on March 16, 1521.

@caiordinario

HE Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) may no longer be enough to suit its purpose of extending financial assistance to the poor and should be indexed to prevailing inflation, according to a study released by state-owned think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). This was part of the recommendations of the study titled Giving Cash to the Poor: A study of Pantawid Pamilya Cash Grants Generosity, Frequency, and Modality authored by PIDS Supervising Research Specialist Kris Ann M. Melad, Research Analyst Nina Victoria V. Araos, and Senior Research Fellow Aniceto C. Orbeta Jr. Based on their findings, from the intended level of benefits in the program’s first year of implementation, a cumulative reduction in the real value of cash grants by around 30 percent was expected by 2016 due to inflation. “DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development] and PIDS should study the need to establish a principle for adjusting the grant amount provided by the program ahead of the six-year schedule of reviewing the ben-

efit level stipulated in the 4Ps Act/RA 11031,” the researchers said. “This is also important given that the country will enter the recovery phase post-Covid. An ex-ante analysis should precede the increase in the amount of grants,” they added. Prior to the passage of the CCT law, compliant household beneficiaries receive P500 a month for health grants. Each compliant child in preschool, kindergarten, and elementary (K-6) receives P300 per month while each compliant child in high school receives P500 per month. The education grant can only be received by a maximum of three children for 10 months each year for each household. Starting only in 2017, an amount of P600 per month is given to the households as a “rice subsidy”—an additional benefit supposedly aimed to improve food security among beneficiaries. “The provision of the rice subsidy in 2017 helped recover this loss in value of the cash grants, but this could also mean that no real increase in benefits was experienced by the beneficiaries for food security,” the authors said. See “Cash aid,” A2

Continued on A2

PESO exchange rates n US 48.0210

n japan 0.4658 n UK 65.5871 n HK 6.1938 n CHINA 7.3558 n singapore 36.3493 n australia 36.9762 n EU 58.7825 n SAUDI arabia 12.8039

Source: BSP (January 4, 2021)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Metro Manila hotels run out of rooms on long quarantine By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

OTELS in Metro Manila are running out of rooms as balikbayans continue to arrive, and stay longer for the governmentmandated 14-day quarantine. “We’re averaging about 70-percent occupancy right now because of the balikbayans [homecoming Filipinos]. Even more so, now that they are required to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine,” said Hotel Sales and Marketing Association President Christine Ann U. Ibarreta in an interview with the BusinessMirror. There are 21 countries on the travel ban, including the United Kingdom and the United States, from which arriving passengers will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine, regardless if they receive a negative RT-PCR test result. “The problem is, because of the 14-day quarantine, we are running out of rooms here to host the inbound travelers, which is why some of the arriving passengers are now being booked in hotels outside of Metro Manila,” said Ibarreta. “Many of them [balikbayans] said, they still want to come home to the Philippines [despite the longer

quarantine]; they just want to visit their families here,” she added. Since the travel ban is supposed to be until January 15, many are still hopeful they will be able to come home. “Only a few hotels have actually received cancellations,” she noted.

Quarantine facility choices

Of the estimated 10 million Filipinos living and working abroad, about 2 million live in the US as of 2018, according to the Migration Policy Institute. These make up most of the balikbayan market now. Ibarreta said hotels that are specified as “stringent facilities suitable for quarantine” are allowed to accept the guests who have to isolate for 14 days, but paying on their account. “So when these planes arrive bearing passengers from countries included in the travel ban, the DOT [Department of Tourism]

staff at the airport will verify if the passengers have hotel bookings, and if these hotels are considered stringent facilities. If these are not stringent quarantine hotels, the passengers will be offered the government facility for free. They also have the option to book the [stringent] hotel of their choice, provided they shall shoulder the expenses,” she explained. T he Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ), under guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases, classifies hotels into two types: stringent quarantine hotels (for Filipinos and foreigners arriving from high-risk countries with massive infections) and mandatory quarantine (for those arriving from countries not high risk or not included in the travel ban). As of December 21, BoQ has inspected 28 hotels designated as stringent quarantine facilities in Metro Manila, Tagaytay, and Batangas. Stringent quarantine facilities outside of Metro Manila include Summit Ridge and Quest Hotel in Tagaytay, and Microtel Hotels in Batangas. There are 228 hotels for mandatory quarantine in Metro Manila, Pampanga, Laguna, Cavite, and Tagaytay. (For a complete list, click https://bit.ly/38UfwXJ)

A ‘painful’ call

Not on the list of BoQ’s quarantine facilities, is Canyon Woods in

Lemery, Batangas, where a group of passengers who arrived from the US and South Korea on December 29, were allegedly brought by the Philippine Coast Guard for their 14day quarantine. Published reports quoted a few passengers who complained that said hotel had no running water and other basic infrastructure as a quarantine facility. Meanwhile, Tourism Congress of the Philippines President Jose C. Clemente III said the travel ban on 21 countries “is painful, but it’s the government’s call. It’s not easy to balance safety and health visa-vis economics, so it’s a difficult situation.” He added, “We can only hope that a solution is found as soon as possible, but this is the nature of the pandemic. Some may not agree with the new restrictions, but it is what it is. Better to err on the side of caution at this juncture.” Based on the reports, TCP has been getting, Clemente said, “Balikbayans are again disappointed,” being unable to come home to reunite with their facilities. Usually, December and January are peak months for balikbayan arrivals. Just last December 7, balikbayans and their foreign spouses and children were allowed to come home visa-free. (See, “PHL reopens to balikbayans in time for the holidays,” in the BusinessMirror, November 27, 2020.)

CTRM FOR 5% MDM RATE AS BOC SLAPS 40% TARIFF Continued from A1

In an online press briefing on Monday, Malacañang confirmed the Cabinet has already agreed to reduce the tariff for MDM from 40 percent to 5 percent. “But this still has to go through the process [before it is approved]. The Office of the Executive Secretary is still waiting for the formal recommendation of the Cabinet level committee on tariff related matters about this,”Presidential spokesman Harry Roque explained. The higher tariff immediately caused prices for MDM from P65 to P85. In June 2019, Duterte issued EO 82 to reduce the tariff for MDM products, which serve as key component for hot dogs and canned luncheon meat, to 5 percent to minimize inflationary pressures. The Cabinet-level Committee on Tariff and Related Matters (CTRM) has endorsed to President Duterte its recommendation to retain tariff of MDM at 5 percent, according to Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez. “We are in the process of completing by today the official endorsement from each member of the CTRM-Cabinet committee on tariff and related matters, but all member-secretaries have given their support to keep the tariff rates at 5 percent so that we can keep cost down and avert any huge prices increases in processed meat products,” Lopez explained.

No sense in higher rate

Lopez said the CTRM voted in favor of retaining 5-percent tariff on MDM because there are no local producers to protect in the first place. As such, he argued that raising the tariff to 40 percent will only jack up the prices of processed meat and canned products. “It will increase cost and prices of most canned meat products that are also part of basic goods in the SRP [suggested retail price] system of the DTI [Department of Trade and Industry,”Lopez added. “These products are what majority of the Filipino consumers buy and it will lead to inflation of basic goods if MDM cost increases. MDM is cheaper meat additive used in low priced canned goods,” the trade chief pointed out. Duterte’s EO 82 issued in 2019 retained the 5-percent tariff on chicken and turkey MDM until December 31, 2020, unless the President signs another order extending its effectivity. Import duty on MDM is bound to revert to the original 40-percent rate as when the Philippines passes a law converting its rice import cap into tariffs. Policy-makers in 2019 passed the rice trade liberalization law, and this signaled the return to regular tariffs of products the country conceded in exchange for its rice import cap. However, the President’s economic team found it necessary to keep MDM duty at 5 percent to mitigate any cost impact on the price of goods. The Chief Executive first kept the tariff on MDM in 2017 through EO 23 extending the temporary reduced rate of duty on certain farm goods as committed to the World Trade Organization. With its expiry due to the passage of the rice trade liberalization law in February 2019, Duterte issued EO 82 to extend the tariff rates stipulated under EO 23.

Dar backs Lopez

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar confirmed to the

BusinessMirror via a brief text exchange that he supported the retention of the 5-percent tariff on the MDM of chicken and turkey. He did not elaborate his side but said he supports Lopez’s position that maintaining the lower tariff on MDM imports is crucial in keeping prices of processed meat products affordable to avoid inflationary implications. The BusinessMirror also reached out to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), the secretariat of the CTRM, for a statement on the matter but the oversight agency was unavailable for comment as of press time.

Industry position

The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) said they are of the understanding that MDM shipments arriving in the country would not be slapped with 40-percent tariff until the Customs issues a formal memorandum circular (MC) authorizing the tariff reversion. Citing a recent dialogue with Customs officials, Pampi President Felix Tiukinhoy Jr. said they are on the same page with BOC that a higher tariff on MDM would require an issuance of an MC from Customs Chief Rey Leonardo Guerrero or from the Department of Finance (DOF), the mother agency of BOC. “They are aware of it. Our standing is that unless there is no memo coming from Guerrero or DOF to implement the 40- percent tariff, they cannot automatically change the system from 5 percent to 40 percent without the memo,”Tiukinhoy told the BusinessMirror on Monday. In a memorandum submitted to Lopez last December 31, Pampi explained that Duterte’s EO 82 “does not provide for an automatic reversion to 40 percent upon expiration unlike EO 23 which specified reversion to 40 percent upon enactment of rice tariffication law.” “Sans automatic reversion in EO 82 and unless there is a specific directive from DOF/BOC for a reversion, the prevailing rate of 5 percent continues to be applied, as what happened in March 2019 when the tariff law was passed but MDM continued to be assessed 5 percent until BOC Commissioner Guerrero directed implementation of the reversion in June,”said the memorandum, a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror. The Pampi said that since DOF already supports retaining the lower tariff, it would be “logical that the 5-percent tariff be continued to be applied until the EO is issued/released before January 17.” Duterte can issue an EO modifying tariff rates while Congress is not in session. Congress is currently in recess until January 17. “This way, we avoid confusion among stakeholders, including BOC personnel, and should enhance gov’t credibility and consistency,” Pampi said.

40 percent implemented

However, Tiukinhoy said they were informed by brokers on Monday that the BOC’s system is already showing a 40-percent tariff on MDM imports. Customs officials said they have no choice but to collect 40-percent tariff on all imports of MDM of chicken and turkey starting this January since Duterte has yet to sign an EO retaining the 5-percent tariff. While they are aware of reports that economic managers are “taking positive steps”towards recommending the issuance of an EO retaining the 5-percent tariff to President Duterte, Customs Assistant Commissioner and spokesman Vincent Philip Maronilla

told the BusinessMirror that they have no legal basis to collect 5-percent tariff on these products given that Duterte’s EO 82 has already expired. Under EO 82, the retention of the 5-percent tariff on chicken and turkey MDM is only in effect until December 31, 2020, unless Duterte issues an EO extending it. According to Maronilla, importers of these products may also ask for a refund from BOC should there be a provision under the EO that will be released by the President mandating the retroactive application of retention of 5-percent tariff. Without the retroactive provision in the EO, Maronilla said the BOC would not grant their request for refund. “Importers can exercise their option to pay under protest and/or if [there’s a] retroactive effect [in the] EO later on, then they can refund,” he said.

Shipments docked at ports

Meanwhile, Tiukinhoy explained that there are currently MDM shipments of Pampi member-companies that are docked at the port, which are supposed to be unloaded last December but were delayed due to the holiday congestion. He added that their members have opted to pay demurrage for their imports because it is “way cheaper” rather than filing an import entry with a 40-percent tariff. Tiukinhoy disclosed that as early as September they have asked their members to bring in their MDM imports before 2020 ends in order to avoid possible tariff problems. “We told them to be safe their shipments should arrive in March to give time for the possible issuance of the new EO,” he said. Nonetheless, Tiukinhoy assured the public that the meat processing industry has sufficient MDM stocks to cover the production for the whole month of January.

Economists back 5% rate

Local economists backed the recommendation of the economic team to retain the 5-percent tariff. Former University of the Philippines School of Economics Dean Ramon L. Clarete told the BusinessMirror that retaining the 5-percent tariff on MDM will help consumers in the long run, especially the poor. “Okay, your revenues will increase but that is just penalizing the consumers of processed meats, hotdogs. It’s a crazy measure [reverting to a 40-percent tariff],”Clarete said in a phone interview. “Processed meats are part of the menu of our lower income households.” Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Senior Research Fellow Roehlano Briones agreed that the 5-percent tariff should be retained. However, Briones said that if prices of goods containing MDM such as hotdogs increase, there are still substitutes to these products. As such, he said, consumption of these products may decrease in favor of more affordable substitutes. Ideally, Clarete said, tariff measures such as those imposed on imported MDM should be decided before policies expire or lapse. “It’s wrong [deciding after a policy lapsed]. It should be before, so I think this is an incompetent move of the government,” Clarete said. Nonetheless, Clarete said the statement of the economic team that they are recommending a 5-percent tariff for MDM is an assurance that prices will remain stable for these items. With reports by Cai U. Ordinario, Bernadette D. Nicolas and Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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PHL manufacturing falls back to contraction in December Continued from A1

Broken down, while new orders for manufacturing were broadly unchanged in the final month of 2020, firms reported contractions in output volumes amid ongoing pandemic restrictions. “Ongoing lockdown restrictions and poor weather contributed to a decline in output volumes in December. Although modest, the rate of decline was among the fastest in the series history,” IHS said in its report. The downturn in output volumes and weak demand conditions led firms to cut work force numbers in the final month of 2020. “Job shedding persisted at a strong rate which firms linked to restructuring efforts and voluntary resignations,” IHS Markit said. The costs of manufactured goods also rose during the month, as material shortages led to a sharp rate of input price inflation during

December. Firms then reported that they had to partially pass the cost burdens to customers. “The addition of material shortages and supply chain pressures placed pressure on operating conditions, whilst reduced output led to another month of sharp job cuts,” Patel said. “That said, positives can be drawn from the latest survey findings; new orders neared stability and sentiment recovered to levels seen before the start of the pandemic. At the same time, case numbers have moderated with expectations that restrictions will ease over the coming months,” the analyst added. The performance of the Philippine manufacturing sector has been see-sawing in previous months. In September, the country’s PMI pulled a solid recovery to hit above the growth threshold at 50.1, only to be pulled back again to 48.5 in October due to renewed lockdowns.

PHL MAY SLOW DOWN REPATRIATIONS, MAY EXPAND TRAVEL BAN Continued from A12

In an online press briefing on Monday, meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) disclosed it is studying to reduce the number of repatriated OFWs to ensure they could still be provided accommodations by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa). “I just had a meeting with Owwa Administrator [Hans] Cacdac. He is apprehensive that we are already running out of hotels [to serve as accommodation for OFW],” Bello said. Since last month, the government started requiring Filipinos coming from 21 countries with incidents of B117 to undergo 14-day quarantine. Currently the list of countries and territories with travel restrictions are United Kingdom (UK); Denmark; Ireland; Japan; Australia; Israel; the Netherlands; Hong Kong; Switzerland; France; Germany; Iceland; Italy; Lebanon; Singapore; Sweden; South Korea; South Africa; Canada; Spain; and the United States.

Cash aid… “The reduction in the real value of grants has been cited as one of the possible reasons for the lack of program impact on some outcomes, including total per capita expenditure, and prevalence of working children based on the past impact evaluation studies of the program,” they added. With the passing of the law, the health grants increased to P750 from P500 and education grants for children in senior high school increased to P700 from P500. Meanwhile, grants for children in elementary and junior high school remain at P300 and P500, respectively. These amounts are expected to be adjusted every six years based on recommendations of PIDS through the program National Advisory Council—its policy-making body composed of DSWD and other agencies. “If grant amounts cannot be adjusted proactively, supplementary interventions [other programs or other cash assistance] should be pursued,” the authors recommended. Apart from the adjustments in

Bello said the travel restriction, which will last up to January 15, 2021, may be elevated to a total travel ban to include even Filipino travelers, if OFWs from these areas now covered turn out to have been infected with B117. Bello said, however, they have yet to receive reports of any OFW bearing the new strain. Prior to the implementation of travel restriction and mandatory quarantine, returning Filipinos were allowed to go home if they will test negative for Covid-19 in their reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) test. The RT-PCR test results will usually be released after three days. During that period, OFWs stay in the accommodations provided by Owwa. As of Monday, DOLE said the government has already repatriated 396,000 OFWs, while another 60,000 to 70,000 are expected to come home in the coming weeks. It also noted 11,448 OFWs were infected with Covid-19. Samuel P. Medenilla

Continued from A1

the amount, some beneficiaries were also issued cash cards from the LandBank of the Philippines, allowing them to receive their cash grants earlier. The number of cash card holders steadily increased to 75 percent as of July 2019 from 44 percent in 2017, according to data from the DSWD. However, this showed that until a year ago, 1 million out of the 4 million beneficiaries of the program were vulnerable to delays and unpredictability of payments. This, the authors said, should prompt improvements in the processes and information technology infrastructure of DSWD and LandBank. “More than increasing the frequency of payouts, reliability and predictability of payment schedules appear to be more important. This can be done by ensuring payouts are conducted according to an explicit declared schedule and beneficiaries have reduced barriers to access the grants,” the researchers said.

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, January 5, 2021

DOJ panel indicts 9 Jolo policemen for June ’20 murder of 4 Army men By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

PANEL of prosecutors from the Department of Justice (DOJ) has found probable cause to indict for four counts of murder the nine policemen tagged in the killing last June in Jolo, Sulu of four Army intelligence officers out on a mission to track a suspected suicide bomber belonging to the Abu Sayyaf Group. Aside from murder charges, the nine policeman are also facing trial for violation of Section 38 of Republic Act 10591 (The Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act) for planting of evidence. The policemen were identified as Pol ice Senior Master Sergea nt A bdelzhimar Pajiri, Master Sergeant Hanie Badirri, Staff Sergeants Iskandar Susulan, Ernisar Sappal and Almudzrin Hadjaruddin, Corporal Sulki Andaki and Patrolmen Muhammad Nur Pasani, Rajiv Putalan and Alkajal Mandangan. The charge, according to the panel, refers to the firearm purposely planted near the left hand of one of the victims—Maj. Marvin Indammog—who was right handed. “The qualitative test to determine the

presence of gunpowder nitrates conducted [after the shooting incident] on the hands of Maj. Indammog yielded negative results. The foregoing indicates that respondents planted the firearm to cover-up for the intentional killing of the victims,” the resolution read. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra directed Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento to immediately release the resolution of the panel, file the criminal information against the nine policemen in court and to secure the arrest warrants against them. “I understand that the accused police officers have been dismissed from the service, so the court should immediately obtain jurisdiction over their person, lest they be able to flee,” Guevarra said. Murder is a non-bailable offense under the Revised Penal Code. The panel said the killing of the Army officers was attended by treachery since the victims were “unarmed, unsuspecting and were not in a position to defend themselves when they were shot.” The panel, however, dismissed the charge of neglect of duty under the doctrine of command responsibility under Executive Order

226 against Police Col. Michael Bawaya Jr., Maj. Walter Annayo and Capt. Ariel Corcino, the superiors of the nine Jolo policemen. The panel explained that under Section 4 of EO 226, violators “shall be held administratively accountable,” thus, “the investigation of the criminal liability of the three respondents does not belong to this Office.” The case stemmed from the complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) accusing the policemen of murder and planting of evidence in connection with the killing of Army Maj. Indammog, Capt. Irwin Managuelod, Sgt. Eric Velasco and Cpl. Abdul Asula. The ballistic report submitted by the NBI to the panel showed the slain Army officers mostly sustained gunshot wounds on the back. The military leadership has accused the police officers of executing the victims contrary to their claim of a “misencounter.” Among the evidence gathered by the NBI against the policemen were testimonies from 10 witnesses, forensic findings of medico-legal and ballistic experts and the affidavits of the family members of the victims. Slugs and shells recovered in the crime scene matched the firearms of the policemen.

Urban farmers reap harvest Quezon provl board from Tondo vegetable farm member in trouble for ‘coddling’ Reds

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

N emerging breed of urban farmers who cultivate a patch of land in Tondo, Manila was able to harvest 600 kilos of assorted vegetables and earned P19,000 in just two hours during the first Urban Vegetable Garden Harvest Festival last Sunday in Tondo, Manila. The activity dubbed “Pick, Harvest, and Pay” was the first of many similar activities to be held by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) under IT’S time to harvest and buy vegetables at a previously idle St. John Bosco church football field last Sunday in Tondo, Manila. Vegetable buyers were its “Buhay sa Gulay” project. The event was held in part- allowed to harvest the vegetables from the garden patch. PHOTO COURTESY OF DAR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AND MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE nership with St. John Bosco Par- ish, Department of Agriculture (DA), and the local government of Manila. go to the market because the vegetables here are More than 8,000-square-meter idle socfresh. This will also help people in the communicer field, managed by St. John Bosco Parish in ties grow healthy and strong,” he said. During this time of the pandemic, CastricioTondo, was converted into an urban vegetable nes said Filipinos must unite and help each other garden, which benefited families and residents not only to combat the impact of the pandemic in of 17 barangays around the parish to lessen the the county but also to help bring back its citizen economic and health effects of the Covid-19 to farming activities. pandemic in the area. “If the people work together with govern He disclosed that aside from Tondo, other loment and church, it will surely lead to a succal government units in Metro Manila will soon cessful and productive program that will help follow in establishing their own urban vegetable communities grow,” DAR Secretary John R. garden, such as Quezon City and Caloocan City. “Through vegetable farming, urban areas Castriciones said in a news statement after the would need not depend on other areas for their celebration of the festival. He said the Buhay sa Gulay Harvest Festival supply of fresh vegetables,” he said. demonstrated the concerted effort of the local and Josefina C. Tandog, a 65-year-old communational government agencies in delivering farm nity leader and chairman of Barangay 109, Disproduce in the city through the dedication, comtrict 1 of Tondo underscored the importance mitment, and handwork provided by the farmerof eating vegetables. She said that they were able to plant and harscientist from Cavite and the Tondo urban farmers. “The communities in Tondo can harvest vegvest spinach, pechay, kangkong and mustard in etables from this small farm, which the church the said vegetable patch with the spinach, musallowed farmers to use to grow vegetables and tard, and pechay sold at P30 per kilo, while kangsell them directly to consumers. They need not kong at P50 per kilo only.

DOJ chief says no criminal offense for voluntary inoculation of Covid vaccine

USTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday stressed that any person who voluntarily gets himself inoculated with unregistered anti-Covid-19 vaccine cannot be held criminally liable under existing laws. However, Guevarra stressed that it would be better that laws on the approval, distribution and administration of vaccines be complied with for the safety of recipients. “Under our existing laws, a person who freely and voluntarily gets himself inoculated with an unregistered or unauthorized drug or

vaccine does not incur any criminal liability, unless he himself has caused its unlawful procurement or promotes its use by other people,” Guevarra pointed out. “Although vaccination is a matter of personal survival, it is important that laws on vaccine approval, distribution and administration be strictly observed for the benefit of everyone,” the justice chief added. For those behind the smuggling and distribution of unregistered Covid-19 vaccines, Guevarra assured that they can be held criminally liable under the law. Joel R. San Juan

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

@joveemarie

LAWMAKER from Quezon province on Monday backed the filing of charges against a Quezon Provincial Board Member for allegedly coddling two suspected top members of the New People’s Army (NPA) who were recently arrested inside her home in Atimonan, Quezon. Rep. Angelina Tan of the Fourth District of Quezon issued the statement after Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año said Provincial Board Member Rhodora Tan of the Fourth District of Quezon should be held criminally and administratively liable for allegedly coddling in her own residence in Barangay Zone 3, Poblacion, Atimonan, Quezon two members of the NPA, namely, Ruel Custodio alias “Baste” and Ruben Istokado alias “Oyo Miles,” both of whom have standing warrants of arrest. Custodio is allegedly a finance officer of the Sub-Regional Military Area-4 of the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee, while Istokado is allegedly a political instructor of L1, KP1 of the Bicol Regional Party Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA. Tan, meanwhile, commended members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) operatives who apprehended the two suspected rebels. “I would like to commend our joint operatives from the AFP and the PNP for their successful operation that led to the arrest of two high-ranking rebel leaders. The arrest shows the firm resolve of our uniformed personnel to keep the country safe from lawlessness even in the midst of pandemic and holiday festivities,” Tan said. Tan, who also chairs the health panel of the House of Representatives, said she has no relations at all to the beleaguered local official. “Allow me to clarify certain misconceptions that I am related to Dhoray Tan. While we share the same family name, we are not in any manner related to each other. I took my husband’s last name, Engr. Ronnel Montanez Tan, a native of Gumaca, Quezon,” she said. “We are not also political allies inasmuch as we belong to different political parties and have different political loyalties and affiliation. I belong to the Nationalist People’s Coalition [NPC] while Dhoray Tan ran as a member of the Nacionalista Party. She is also a staunch ally of the incumbent governor of Quezon, Danilo Suarez,” she added. Earlier, Año said provincial board member Tan could face up to six years in jail if found guilty of obstruction of justice under Presidential Decree 1829. At the same time, Año said Tan will also be facing administrative liabilities for Disloyalty to the Republic under Civil Service Commission Rules and Administrative Order 23, Series of 1992.

A4 Tuesday, January 5, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

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Study: SAP not the ‘silver Let’s untap the potential of bullet’ to address poverty the Blue Philippines in 2021!

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE government’s distribution of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) will not prevent millions of Filipinos from joining the ranks of the poor due to the lockdowns imposed by the government to prevent the spread of Covid-19, according to the state think tank. In a study titled Mitigating the Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Poverty, a team of researchers led by Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) President Celia M. Reyes estimated that around 2.816 million Filipinos, or 400,400 households, will still become poor despite SAP. However, without the SAP, Reyes and her co-authors estimate that as much as 7.535 million or 1.443 million households will become poor because of the efforts of the government to impose quarantines. “The poverty simulation results show that if the government did not implement an emergency subsidy program, an additional 1.44 million families, or 7.53 million individuals, will become poor as a result of the pandemic,” the authors said. “Implementation of the SAP reduces the number of Filipinos who will become poor to about 410,000 families, or 2.82 million individuals. Given the projected economic performance for 2020, poverty is projected to still increase despite the implementation of the SAP,” they added. The PIDS estimates also showed that without the SAP, the country’s poverty incidence per population will reach 23.8 percent, while the estimate with SAP showed that the poverty incidence will reach 19.4 percent. These would translate to 25.205 million poor Filipinos in a scenario without SAP, and 20.486 million with SAP. These are still higher than the 16.7 percent estimated prior to Covid-19. Based on 2018 official statistics, there were 17.670 million poor Filipinos. In terms of households or families, poverty incidence will increase to 18 percent under the without SAP scenario and 13.8 percent in the with SAP scenario. These translate to 4.447 million poor households in the without SAP scenario and 3.405 million poor families in the with SAP scenario.

Based on the 2018 data, poverty incidence for households was at 12.1 percent, or 3.005 million poor families nationwide. The study also stated that the estimated impact of the pandemic on poverty is almost the same for urban and rural areas, where an additional 700,000 families or 3.8 million individuals will become poor when no emergency assistance is implemented. With SAP, however, the study stated that the impact is estimated to be greater in urban areas with about 300,000 families, or 2 million people becoming part of the new poor, compared to only 70,000 families or 800,000 individuals in rural areas. The PIDS said many of the families and individuals who will become poor are residing in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon and Central Luzon to fall into poverty. “Being the center of economic activity, the imposed community quarantine and the stringent physical distancing protocols affect industries and establishments in these regions, leaving its workers with less or more income than usual,” the PIDS study.

Inequality

IN a separate study, PIDS researchers said that while inequality in the Philippines is improving, it remains high in the pre-pandemic years. The study titled Does Economic Growth Benefit the Poor? Reyes and her team said that inequality has been narrowing since 1997 when the Gini coefficient was at 0.5183 to 0.4305 in 2018. The Gini coefficient is a measure of income inequality within the population which ranges from 0 to 1, with 0 indicating perfect income equality among families, and 1 indicating absolute income inequality. Similar to the situation at the national level, income distribution in the urban areas has been the most equitable since 1991, with a Gini index of 0.4121 in 2018. The Gini index of rural areas

has been constantly increasing until it peaked and coincided with the Gini index of urban areas in 2012. It has since declined and is at 0.4118 in 2018, which is slightly lower than that of urban areas during the same period. Reyes and her co-authors said inequality has improved given the higher share in income of the poorest 20 percent of the population. They found that the share in income of the poorest 20 percent increased to 5.94 percent in 2018 from 5.05 in 2009 and 2012, as well as 5 percent in 1991. “This has been the highest share of the poorest 20 percent among the available data since 1991. Meanwhile, the share of the richest decile slightly decreased from 35.3 percent in 2015 to 33.8 percent in 2018. In a perfect equality, the bottom 20 percent should receive 20 percent of the aggregate income,” the researchers said. In order to address this, the researchers included in its recommendations maximizing the Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS) law passed in 2019. The authors said this will help improve anti-poverty programs and poverty and inequality in general. They said that while there were a lot of anti-poverty efforts, increasing the impact of these programs and projects will require better data. The PIDS research team said the CBMS can help in this regard. The CBMS is one of the tools developed in the early 1990s under the Micro Impacts of Macroeconomic Adjustment Policies (MIMAP) ProjectPhilippines. The system seeks to provide policy-makers and program implementers with a good information base for tracking the impacts of macroeconomic reforms and various policy shocks. It has recently been institutionalized through a law. The researchers also recommended that PSA consider improving the Family Income and Expenditure Surveys (FIES), the basis of poverty and inequality data in the country. “One of the challenges in designing and implementing effective safety nets is lack of understanding of the dynamics of poverty. Future research on chronic and transient poverty would require panel data,” the team said. “The Community-Based Monitoring System, recently institutionalized by Republic Act 11315 and placed under the supervision of the Philippine Statistics Authority [PSA], can be tapped to provide the much-needed panel data to enable us to understand better the movements in and out of poverty,” they added.

By Henry J. Schumacher

TRUST that you were happy to leave a problematic 2020 behind you and slip with great expectations into 2021. This is on opportune time to look at opportunities for the country and its citizens in the new year. There is one sector which the Philippines—government and private sector—could untap and develop: the Maritime Industry.

During the last few months, various people have written about the Blue Philippines and came up with many suggestions: 1.) Senator Angara wrote about “The untapped potential of our blue economy” and stated among many other super arguments: “The opportunity has come for us to rethink our economy’s structure. And even though we are still addressing the ongoing pandemic, now is the time to identify how we are as a society can further develop our blue economy. Indeed, the path out of recession may just lead us back to the sea.” 2.) Asis Perez, convener of Tugon Kabuhayan and former director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, said 22 pending bills in Congress are pushing for a new kind of “Department of Fisheries.” Being the third-largest archipelago in the world with the fifth-longest coastline, it’s curious why the Philippines has not yet established an agency for the maritime sector. 3.) Andrew Masigan wrote various columns about the challenges the Philippines’s maritime sector is facing and made excellent suggestions on where to go from here. His columns were called “Abusive practices of foreign shipping lines, the Philippines needs its own Philippine

OFW deployment may not recover until 2022–expert

HE deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) is not expected to recover within the next two years from 2021 to 2022 as the world grapples with the pandemic and several economies in the Middle East and Europe are less optimistic of their previous economic wealth for the coming years. In 2020, 500,000 OFWs were displaced from work with close to 380,000 repatriated to the country and another 100,000 more to arrive in 2021. The rest around 80,000 to 100,000 out of work have decided to remain in their jobs sites buoyed by unemployment insurance, which expects to last a few more months of 2021. The 80,000 to 100,000 OFWs still abroad are hoping that the economies of the countries will pick up by the middle of 2021 when the vaccine has been distributed to most of population of those countries and normalcy will return, prompting more business and industries to reopen. Meanwhile the 400,000 OFWs in the country are adjusting to their way

Low deployment in the Middle East is expected to continue up to next year since the top destinations for OFWs in the region remain closed to foreigners except Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates with limited job orders.

Recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani of life with many that have started their own business with the help of the government’s reintegration and livelihood programs. The overseas recruitment industry, which was a multibillion industry with 800 land-based agencies and around 300 sea-based manning agencies, has virtually collapsed with just less than 100 agencies still in business according to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration chief Bernard Olalia. There are very few countries which

are still open to OFWs like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Great Britain and Germany which still need health-care workers with new destinations like Poland, Czechoslovakia, Serbia still closed due to the new variant of the Covid -19 spreading to many countries in Europe and the US. Recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani attributed the grim outlook on deployment to travel restrictions imposed by several countries in the Middle East where we have 70 percent

of our yearly deployment. Based on the initial data it presented during a Senate budget hearing, POEA said the number of deployed in 2020 was 1,394,788, which is considerably lower compared to the 2 million for the entire 2019. Of the said OFWs deployed this year, 1,101,040 are land-based and 293,748 are sea-based. Geslani said one of the most severely affected were household service workers (HSW), which he said, make up 60 percent of the country’s yearly deployment figures. Unless the Middle East countries recover from the pandemic and current low crude oil prices many of these oilrich nations will remain closed due to the high rate of Covid cases and poor economic recoveries. He said the low deployment in the Middle East is expected to continue up to next year since the top destinations for OFWs in the region remain closed to foreigners except Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates with limited job orders. Recto Mercene

Flag international shipping line, and Embrace the Blue Economy.” 4.) Since early November, Henry Schumacher has written three stories: “Blue Economy, Blue Economy—the next steps to be taken,” and “Philippines—major maritime player in Southeast Asia.” All these columns are available and I am glad to send them to you if you want to have a detailed look at the arguments why it makes sense to follow Senator Angara’s push to untap the potential of the Philippine Blue Economy. To show the size of the sector we are talking about, let me quote from an article written by Andrew Masigan: “For those unaware, the Blue Economy is a development model that focuses on the maritime sector. It encompasses the shipping industry, ship building and repair, ports and shipyards, log istics ser v ices, mar itime equipment, seafarers and crewing, maritime insurance, fisheries and aquaculture; recreation and tourism; offshore energy exploration, among others. Taken collectively, the Blue Economy is large enough to fast track the country’s economic development.” Imagine, how many people are involved, how much income can be generated and poverty be eliminated, and how many new businesses will be developed with the right maritime strategies in place. The development of the Blue Economy is an endeavor that the Philippine government jointly with the private sector need to implement NOW, for the following reasons: 1.) In 2015, the fishing industry contributed 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent at current and constant prices, respectively, to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), with the fisheries sector employing over 1.6 million people, 85 percent of whom were from the municipal fisheries and 1 percent from commercial fishing, while the aquaculture sector employed 14 percent. This maritime subsector has definitely the potential to grow and contribute more to the international food demand. 2.) Through the years, the Philippines has been the world’s largest supplier of maritime services. The maritime service sector is composed of four subsectors: • Crew supply and management: need to retain and expand the Philippines as the leading maritime country in the world; • Ship management: need to promote the Philippines as the next maritime services center of Asia and the world;

• Business-process management services, including education and training: need to deepen this part of the BPO industry with the opportunity to develop businessoutsourcing services for ship managers, marine insurance, legal services, and others; • Shipbuilding and repair: the Philippines is one of the large players in this subsector. 3.) Shipping in Asean becomes critically crucial after global trade is affected by US policies. Europe is looking at Asean and Asia as a focus for trade and investments. Luckily, the 15 Asia-Pacific nations, including China, agreed mid-November to clinch the world’s largest free-trade agreement with priority. 4.) The time is now for the Philippine government to establish a world-recognized Blue Philippines by creating an International Shipping Fleet, carrying the National Flag.

What must we do to achieve the potential?

a.) Attract investments in shipping that will allow foreign shipping companies to register their ships in the Philippines. b.) Enhance a Philippine Ship Registry, which will set the regulations that will encourage and facilitate the registration of safe and environmentally friendly ships. c.) Allow Philippine flagged vessels to operate domestically and internationally in one registration to enhance their competitiveness. d.) Encourage and enable the participation of Philippine flagged vessels in the carriage of government cargo to, from and within the Philippines. e.) Government imports should be secured on FOB (freight costs are separate from the cargo value of imports) to enable Philippineflagged ships to participate in the carriage of government cargo and thereby earn foreign exchange for the country, and make the profits on these transactions taxable in the Philippines. In conclusion, the time has arrived for the Philippines to untap the potential of its “blue economy.” Some investors are on standby to clearly see the government show its determination to develop the needed maritime strategies. It may be useful for government leaders, lawmakers of both Houses of Congress and sector leaders to get together and jointly implement the needed steps to this happen. Feedback is more than welcome; contact me at hjschumacher59@ gmail.com

LandBank extends ₧231.67-billion agri loans from Jan to Nov last year By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

TATE-RUN Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) has extended a total of P231.67 billion in agricultural loans to farmers, agribusiness enterprises, and other beneficiaries from January to November last year. In a report to LandBank Board Chairman and Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, LandBank President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia Borromeo said the amount is already equivalent to 94.5 percent of its target of P245-billion in agricultural lending for the year. For November alone, Borromeo revealed, LandBank released P1.44 billion in loans. Broken down, about two-thirds, or P144.13 billion, of the P231.67billion agricultural loan releases for the 11-month period went to small, medium, and large agribusiness enterprises; agri-aqua related projects of local government units and

government-owned and -controlled corporations (P50.16 billion); and small farmers and fisherfolk (P37.38 billion), according to Borromeo. In terms of economic activity, loans for the construction of irrigation systems and post-harvest facilities took the lion’s share, or 45 percent, of the amount at P104.19 billion. The remaining balance was extended to finance agri-processing and trading activities (P71.53 billion), livestock subsector (P36.69 billion), crops subsector (P17.59 billion), and fisheries subsector (P1.67 billion). Lending conduits such as cooperatives and farmers’ associations, rural financial institutions, and other lending mechanisms received loans amounting to P36.04 billion, while small farmers and fishers borrowed a total of P1.34 billion through direct lending. LandBank has also helped a total of 2,588,627 farmers and fisherfolk during the 11-month period, surpassing its 2-million target for 2020.

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BBB program ‘not responsive’ to social infra requirements, PIDS study shows By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

HE lack of social infrastructure projects in the government’s Build, Build, Build (BBB) program may affect the Duterte administration’s efforts to achieve its Philippine Development Plan (PDP) targets, according to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). In a study titled Review of the “Build, Build, Build” Program: Implications on the Philippine Development Plan 20172022, PIDS Research Fellow Janet S. Cuenca reported that infrastructure projects, such as school buildings and health facilities were not included in the program. Part of the PDP is to reduce gaps in basic infrastructure for human capital development. This, the PDP stated, aims to reduce inequality nationwide. “The health-related projects identified to address gaps in basic infrastructure for human capital development were focused on construction and upgrading of health facilities nationwide under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program,” Cuenca said. “The list of IFPs [Infrastructure Flagship Programs] as of August 19, 2020 does not contain major capital projects of this sort. In this sense, it is not responsive to the PDP targets for social infrastructure,” she added. Cuenca noted that the latest IFP list only includes the proposed establishment of the Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines (VIP), which has an estimated cost of about P500 million. Based on the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), she said, the VIP will secure P284 million in fiscal year (FY) 2021 to purchase equipment and other needs for start-up research activities.

The proposed VIP, Cuenca added, still has a pending bill in the House of Representative and the Senate. It aims to study and develop vaccines on humans, animals and plants. “No major capital projects address the PDP targets in the area of social infrastructure [e.g., school buildings and health facilities], and technology adoption and innovation. Thus, attainment of the relevant PDP targets will depend heavily on priority PAPs [Projects and Programs] in the PIP [Public Investment Program],” Cuenca said. “The findings of the study are aimed at providing guidance in the formulation of future public policy relating to accelerating infrastructure development and also, in prioritization of infrastructure projects,” she added. Based on the PDP target for 2022, the government needs to increase Barangay Health Stations (BHS) to 36,336 from 26,732 in 2017, while Rural Health Units (RHUs) should be raised to 5,700 by the end of the plan from 2,961 in 2017. The PDP also targets to increase the number of polyclinics to 1,140 in 2022, from 300 in 2017. The plan also aims to increase the number of government hospital beds to 57,597 by next year from 38,607 in 2016. In terms of classrooms, the government aimed to decrease the classroom student ratio from 1:34 in 2014 to 1:25 by 2022 for kindergarten while for junior high school, the target is to decrease to 1:40 in 2022 from 1:48 in 2014. The PDP also aims to increase the proportion of public schools with adequate water and sanitation facilities to the total number of public schools. For Primary or Kindergarten to Grade 6, the target is 98 percent in 2022 from 91 percent in 2014 while for Junior High School, the target is 100 percent in 2022 from 94 percent in 2014.

UPAA resets deadline for nominations of 2020 distinguished alumni awards

HE University of the Philippines A lumni Association (UPAA), in view of the Covid-19 pandemic protocols, is extending the deadline for nominations to the 2020 UPAA Distinguished Alumni Awards to February 16, 2021 (Tuesday). This was announced by UPAA President and Alumni Regent Reynaldo C. Laserna. The awarding ceremonies will be held at the 2021 UP General Alumni Homecoming to be set on a more propitious date that will be published sometime before the event. The awards are conferred on UP

alumni who have demonstrated in their respective chosen fields of endeavor exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions that bring about substantial benefits to society and distinct honor to the university. Recognition will also be given to families with at least three successive generations of UP alumni. Nomination forms are available at the UPAA, Room 211, Ang Bahay ng Alumni, Magsaysay Avenue, UP Diliman Campus, Quezon City. For more information, please contact the UPAA Secretariat at (8)9206868/71/75; (0917)837-2098; or e-mail at upaa.awards@gmail.com.

Tuesday, January 5, 2021 A5

BOC exceeds revised full-year ’20 goal, collects ₧539.66B By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) surpassed its revised full-year collection target for 2020. In a news statement issued on Monday, Customs said they managed to collect a total of P539.66 billion as of end-December, exceeding their adjusted target of P506.15 billion by 6.6 percent. For the seventh consecutive month in December, the BOC said it also surpassed its revised monthly target. Revenue take for December alone reached P47.316 billion, 9.1 percent higher than its target for the month of P43.368 billion based on a preliminary report from the

BOC Financial Service. Moreover, 10 out of 17 collection districts also exceeded their target last year, namely, Ports of Cebu, Tacloban, Surigao, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Davao, Subic, Clark, Aparri and Limay. The bureau also attributed its positive revenue collection performance to the improved valuation and intensified collection efforts of all the ports, gradual improvement of importation volume and the government’s effort in ensuring unhampered movement of goods domestically and internationally considering the pandemic situation. To recall, the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) earlier slashed

the collection targets of the government’s main collection agencies as the economy was crippled by Covid-19 induced lockdowns. The DBCC slashed the collection target for BOC by 30.76 percent from its original goal of P731 billion. On the other hand, Bureau of Internal Revenue’s collection goal was also reduced by 34.55 percent to P1.686 trillion from initial goal of P2.576 trillion. Last month, the DBCC also announced that it has narrowed down its projection for 2020 budget deficit from 9.6 percent of GDP or P1.815 trillion to 7.6 percent of GDP this year or P1.38 trillion as economic managers are expecting an increase in revenues, as well as in disbursements.

DFA repatriates 327,511 overseas Pinoys last year

HE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday said it has capped its “unprecedented” repatriation efforts for 2020 by bringing home 327,511 overseas Filipinos. Land-based repatriates make up 231,537, or 70.7 percent of the total numbers, coming from at least 90 countries around the world. The remaining 29.3 percent or 95,974 are seafarers from more than 150 cruise ships, oil tankers, and other bulk vessels. The breakdown, according to a DFA news statement, of the repatriates traveling, or transiting through the following regions are as follows: M id d l e E a s t —2 2 8 , 8 9 3 or 69.89 percent Asia & the Pacific—36,868 or 11.26 percent Americas—30,971 or 9.46 percent Europe—28,909 or 8.83 percent Africa—1,870 or 0.57 percent Since February 9, 2020—the day when the DFA mounted its first Covid-19 repatriation flight to Wuhan, China, the department has been relentless in bringing home overseas Filipinos despite the multitude of challenges it faced. A 10-member team from DFA and Department of Health (DOH) Manila personally flew to Wuhan when it was still the epicenter of Covid-19 in February. This pioneer mission successfully brought home 30 Filipinos from the Chinese city. The 10-member team was courageous and dauntless despite the fact that much was yet to be discovered about Covid-19 at that time, the same statement read. Also in February, a three-person rapid response team flew to Japan to assist the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo in the disembarkation and repatriation of Filipinos on board the Covid-19 stricken

Diamond Princess cruise ship. This marked the beginning of the pandemic’s immediate impact on the cruise line industry where thousands of Filipino seafarers were working. When countries started to close their borders in March 2020, the tourism industry was heavily hit and cruise line companies were forced to suspend their operations. From March to June 2020, the DFA facilitated the daily arrival of chartered flights—each carrying hundreds of seafarers from cruise ships docked all over Europe, North America, and the Carribbean. Many of the repatriated seafarers have only been on board their ships for weeks when the pandemic struck. They had no choice but to come home, without certainty as to when they will be called again for work. The DFA said when businesses started to close shop because of the effects of the worldwide lockdown, the repatriation of our land-based overseas Filipinos followed suit. In April, the DFA chartered flights to Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Maldives, and Italy to bring home 1,096 distressed overseas Filipinos who lost their jobs

and had no means to come home from those countries. Calls for repatriation from the Middle East came in May 2020 as the DFA sent its first sweeper flight to the Middle East, via Riyadh and Dammam, Saudi Arabia. This marked the beginning of the mass repatriation of more than 220,000 overseas Filipinos from the region. Thereafter, in June 2020, the DFA sent a sweeper flight to Africa which stopped by Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya before heading home to the Philippines with 287 distressed overseas Filipinos on board. In August 2020, the DFA was confronted with two Herculean tasks. First was the repatriation of our compatriots in Uzbekistan where the Philippines does not have an embassy, let alone an honorary consulate. Through the Philippine Embassy in Tehran and in coordination with leaders of the Filipino community, the DFA worked on the repatriation remotely but was nevertheless able to bring home 257 Filipinos. The second task was the need for a swift organization of a repatriation flight for the Filipino victims of the blast at the Port of Beirut. The DFA

DOST pushes vital R&D work in Covid-19 response Conclusion

By Lyn Resurreccion

Despite its huge work on Covid-19 and the mobility concerns brought by the quarantines since March, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) pushed through its research and development (R&D) programs in other sectors. Its Grants-in-Aid Program, provided grants for R&D sectoral DOST planning councils in their projects that are consistent with the priorities identified in the Harmonized National R&D Agenda. The DOST councils involved were the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development; Philippine Council for Health Research and Development; the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development; and the National Research

Council of the Philippines. “The outputs of many of these projects were among those that DOST committed to deliver during the year,” the report said. The projects “were estimated to have significant impact in the lives of Filipinos” in the areas of agriculture, enterprise technology, space science, genomics, mass transportation, development of smart cities, health and nutrition, disaster preparedness, nuclear technology. The major programs and projects include the development of Maya-3 and Maya-4, the first Philippine university-built nanosatellites; revival of bamboo musical instruments; establishment of regional yarn production and innovation center. There were also the deployment of tissue cultured and hybrid coconuts; development of hybrid trimaran, a fast sea craft that uses renewable wave energy from ocean waves as a mass transport

Nonetheless, the revised projected full-year 2020 budget deficit is nearly double that of 2019 budget gap at P660.2 billion, equivalent to only 3.4 percent of GDP. Budget deficit occurs when expenditures exceed revenues. The government also expects the Philippine economy to sink deeper by 8.5 percent to 9.5 percent in 2020, potentially marking the worst economic downturn in 36 years since 1984 when the economy contracted 7 percent. For 2021, the government expects the economy to bounce back and post a 6.5-percent to 7.5-percent growth. However, budget deficit for this year is seen to increase to 8.9 percent of GDP or P1.78 trillion.

solution; development of biomedical devices; and R&D projects with the Department of National Defense.

Science for Change Program

THE report said the component projects of the Science for Change Program—such as Nicer (Niche Centers in the Regions for R&D), Cradle (Collaborative R&D to Leverage the Philippine Economy) and RDLead (R&D Leadership)—“were aggressively implemented despite the limitations posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.” In 2020, the DOST approved eight Nicer Programs in 12 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) with funding amounting to P448 million. This brought the total approved number of Nicers to 26. They are implementing 75 R&D projects in 34 HEIs across the country’s 16 regions. The program received total funding amounting to P1.1 billion.

Nicer was established to address disparity in access to R&D funding as resources are mostly concentrated in the National Capital Region and its neighboring regions. The program provides grants for HEIs in the regions to undertake quality research to promote regional development with their existing capabilities and resources. Under the Cradle Program, a total of 38 projects were approved in 2020 with a total budget allocation of P83.7 million. Since the program started, the DOST has 63 approved Cradle projects across 16 regions with accumulated approved funding of P285 million. Under Cradle, an industry partner identifies their problems requiring R&D to be performed by an HEI (academe) or the R&D institution. This ensures that R&D provides solutions that exactly meets the need of industry. Meanwhile, the RD Lead Program engaged 18 experts in 2020, bringing the total to 34 RD

Leaders who are deployed to 32 institutions in 16 regions of the country. The RDLead Program employs the services of experts with strong leadership, management skills, and innovative policy-making proficiencies to be in-charge of strengthening the research capabilities of higher education or R&D institutions.

Pushing growth in regions, other programs BESIDES these programs and projects, the DOST also implemented programs on Pushing Growth in the Regions through S&T. Among these are the Innovations for Filipinos Working Distantly from the Philippines Program; Innovation, Science and Technology for Accelerating Regional Technology-Based Development; Grassroots Innovation for Inclusive Development; and Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading program. The DOST also provided scholarship

sent a chartered flight to Lebanon and brought home 386 repatriates, many of whom sustained injuries from the blast. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. welcomed the repatriates personally upon their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. In September 2020, the DFA also organized a goodwill mission to Lebanon. Together with the Chief of Presidential Protocol, the DFA travelled to Beirut and brought 5,000 boxes of relief goods for overseas Filipinos in Beirut. Medical supplies such as vitamins and face masks were also donated to various Lebanese hospitals and other nongovernment organization. On the return flight, another 317 distressed Filipinos were repatriated. Even as the DFA entered its eighth consecutive month of repatriation efforts, October still marked severa l “ f irsts”—t he mass repatriation of more than 500 Agrostudies students from Israel, the first repatriation of 92 overseas Filipinos from Benghazi, Libya since 2017, and the first-ever repatriation by sea from Indonesia of 40 Filipino fishermen via the BRP Tubbataha.

programs “to produce and develop highquality human resources to ensure the active participation and leadership roles of Filipinos in the country’s science and technology.” The development of the country’s S&T Human Resource Pool is being handled the DOST-Science Education Institute. In 2020 it supported 35,091 undergraduate and graduate scholars (28,900 BS, 4,264 MS, and 1,927 PhD), including those under the Bangon Marawi Program. The DOST’s other programs implemented in 2020 were under the Building Resiliency to Disaster Risks and Climate Change, which was primarily the task of Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. It also had programs on international S&T linkages, and on communicating science to the people.

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ZI, MEIHUA Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

38.

LIU, BANGXIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

72.

MEI, XUEFEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

109.

CHEN, JIEYUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

73.

NGUYEN QUANG TIEN Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

110.

CHEN, JIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

39.

OU, NINGBO Chinese REN, BOWEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

74.

NGUYEN TONG TUAN Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

111.

CHEN, SHENGKE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

75.

PHAM MINH CANH Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

112.

CHENG, YUECAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

76.

PHAM THI PHUONG Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

113.

CHENG, SHIDA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

77.

SHI, WEIZHE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

114.

CONG, SHAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

78.

TRAN VAN DONG Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

115.

CUI, GUOLO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

79.

TRUONG VAN CUONG Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

116.

CUI, XIAOLING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

80.

YI, GANGXIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

117.

DAI, SIBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

118.

DAI, GUIMENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

119.

DENG, YONGLI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

120.

DENG, BO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

BAYVIEW TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 43/f Yuchengco Tower Rcbc Plaza Ayala Ave. Cor. Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Bel-air Makati City 7.

HUANG, JIAYUE Chinese

CS ASSISTANT MANAGER (MULTI-LINGUAL)

GAO, FEIXIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SUPPORT (MULTI-LINGUAL)

HAN, BIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SUPPORT (MULTI-LINGUAL)

10.

INWAN, SUPAKIT Thai

CUSTOMER SUPPORT (MULTI-LINGUAL)

11.

KARAAOM, JUTARAT Thai

CUSTOMER SUPPORT (MULTI-LINGUAL)

12.

KHAMDA, CHAWARAT Thai

CUSTOMER SUPPORT (MULTI-LINGUAL)

13.

LIEN TRIEU TUAN Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SUPPORT (MULTI-LINGUAL)

14.

NAKONG, ROONGTHIDA Thai

CUSTOMER SUPPORT (MULTI-LINGUAL)

15.

NOYPIA, PORNCHITA Thai

CUSTOMER SUPPORT (MULTI-LINGUAL)

16.

PANPIRIYA, PITIPAT Thai

CUSTOMER SUPPORT (MULTI-LINGUAL)

17.

PONGJIRA, LALACHA Thai

CUSTOMER SUPPORT (MULTI-LINGUAL)

18.

GUO, ENDE Chinese

ELITE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE (MULTI-LINGUAL)

19.

ROMMAYES, CHONRADA Thai

HEAD OF THAI CUSTOMER SERVICES

BIG EMPEROR TECHNOLOGY CORP. Eastfield Center Cbp1, Macapagal Blvd. Brgy. 076 Pasay City 20.

CHAO, WANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

21.

FU, YUESEN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

22.

LUO, BIN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

23.

TAO, JIN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

24.

XIANG, XINGE Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

25.

ZHAO, YINGYUN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

40.

HAMMERTIME CONSTRUCTION INC. Unit 203-s3 2nd Flr. Fbr Arcade Bldg. #317 Katipunan Ave. Loyola Heights 3 Quezon City 41. 42. 43. 44.

45.

LIN, JINXIAO Chinese

ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER

YANG, HANQUAN Chinese

CHINESE FINANCIAL CONTROLLER

CHEN, NINI Chinese

CHINESE FINANCIAL MANAGER

CHEN, WUJIAN Chinese

PROJECT CONSULTANT

LIU, HAIWEI Chinese

QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA) / QUALITY CONTROL (QC) ADVISER

HCL TECHNOLOGIES PHILIPPINES, INC. Net Cube Center, 3rd Avenue Corner 30th Street, E-square Zone Bonifacio Global City Taguig City 46.

NGUYEN VAN TUAN Vietnamese

ANALYST

HYDROCORE CORP. Unit 1207 12th Flr. The Trade & Financial Tower 32nd St. Cor. 7th Ave. Bonifacio Global City Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 47.

ZHAO, LIUGEN Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

IDNPLAY CORPORATION 8/f Burgundy Corporate Tower 252 Sen. Gil J.puyat Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City 48.

TAN, XIFEN Chinese

CHINESE-SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE

49.

NGUYEN TRAN MINH QUAN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE-SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE

INVECH TREASURE PROCESSING CORPORATION Ground, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Floor Six West Campus Mckinley West Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 50.

LAI WAI YE Malaysian

COMPUTER SYSTEM ANALYST

51.

HUANG, ZAILIANG Chinese

COMPUTER TECHNICAL SUPPORT SPECIALIST

52.

CHENG, JINGRAN Chinese

I.T TECHNICAL MANDARIN

53.

GE, XINGGANG Chinese

I.T TECHNICAL MANDARIN

54.

HE, YI Chinese

I.T TECHNICAL MANDARIN

55.

KONG, YINGXUE Chinese

I.T TECHNICAL MANDARIN

56.

LI, WENQIANG Chinese

I.T TECHNICAL MANDARIN

57.

WANG, WEI Chinese

I.T TECHNICAL MANDARIN

58.

WANG, FUCHENG Chinese

I.T TECHNICAL MANDARIN

59.

XU, XIAODONG Chinese

I.T TECHNICAL MANDARIN

60.

YANG, QUAN Chinese

I.T TECHNICAL MANDARIN

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST (BI LINGUAL IN MANDARIN)

61.

YANG, ZHONGQUAN Chinese

I.T TECHNICAL MANDARIN

ERICSSON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INC. 22/f Two/neo Bldg. 3rd Ave. Cor. 28th St. Crescent Parkwest Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

62.

YUN, BING Chinese

I.T TECHNICAL MANDARIN

63.

LI, BAOLI Chinese

QA (QUALITY ASSURANCE) SPECIALIST

CASPO INCORPORATED 43f, 45f, 49f Pbcom Tower 6795 Ayala Avenue Corner V.a. Rufino Street Bel-air Makati City 26.

KEVIN ANGKASA Indonesian

CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM LEAD

CENTURY MARINA PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CORP. 14/f Bdo Equitable Tower 8751 Paseo De Roxas Bel-air Makati City 27.

CHENG, CHIN-CHENG Taiwanese

HEAD OF SALES AND MARKETING FOR TAIWAN

CHINA ENERGY ENGINEERING GROUP GUANGDONG ELECTRIC POWER DESIGN INSTITUTE CO. LTD., (PHILIPPINES) BRANCH U-1205 12/f 6750 Ayala Bldg. Ayala Ave. San Lorenzo Makati City 28.

GUO, CHUANGANG Chinese

RESIDENT AGENT

CINATECH LIMITED CORP. 10-1 One Global Place 25th St., Cor. 5th Ave. Bgc Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 29.

30.

CHOW, WAYNE Canadian

RIZKY TONY ADESERA Indonesian

IMPROVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE MANAGER

FAREAST OUTSOURCE PROCESSING INC. 7th, 8th, 9th Flr. Nu Tower Moa Coral Way Brgy. 076 Pasay City 31.

HE, YANGFENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

JINDINGYUAN BUSINESS SUPPORT, INC. 3-9/f Filinvest Cyberzone Bldg. A, Bay City Brgy. 076 Pasay City 64.

GAO, QINGSEN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

LERIB SERVICES CORPORATION U-3d Rose Industries Bldg. Choice Market Ortigas Kapitolyo Pasig City 81.

JEONG, YUJIN South Korean

MARKETING SPECIALIST

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 4th-11th Flr. Nexgen Tower C4 Rd. Edsa Ext. Brgy. 076 Pasay City 82.

FU, JIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

121.

DONG, ZEFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

83.

LE, CHANGBANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

122.

FAN, JIANKE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

84.

PANG, FEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

123.

FAN, XULONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

124.

FAN, ZHENGGUANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

125.

FAN, ZIHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

126.

FANG, SONGTAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

MYGOLANA PHILIPPINES INC. 7/f Finman Center 131 Tordesillas St. Bel-air Makati City 85.

WANG, LAWRENCE CHIA-YEN American

CHAIRMAN / CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO)

NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION 1331 Pearl Plaza Bldg. Quirino Ave. Tambo Parañaque City 86.

AN, BING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

127.

FANG, YONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

87.

BAI, GANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

128.

FANG, ZELIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

88.

BI, QIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

129.

FENG, YONGQIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

89.

BI, GUANFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

130.

FENG, NINGNING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

90.

CAI, RONGRONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

131.

FU, FUJIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

91.

CAI, WENXIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

132.

GAO, WEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

92.

CAI, FEIFEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

133.

GAO, HAOWEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

93.

CAO, WEIWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

134.

GONG, CHAOYI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

94.

CAO, HUAXIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

135.

GONG, YU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

95.

CHEN, HAOBIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

136.

GUO, HANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

96.

CHEN, HAIYANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

137.

GUO, SHUAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

97.

CHEN, MIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

138.

HAN, LINGLING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

98.

CHEN, JINRUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

139.

HAN, MENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

99.

CHEN, GUOYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

140.

HAN, MIAOMIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

100.

CHEN, MO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

141.

HE, DESUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

101.

CHEN, YUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

142.

HE, SHIBAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

143.

HE, MING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

190.

JIA, YANGYANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

237.

LIN, DE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

284.

LUO, DEYIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

144.

HE, QIUSHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

191.

JIANG, TAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

238.

LIN, FENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

285.

LUO, SANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

145.

HE, XIAOFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

192.

JIANG, HONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

239.

LIN, QINGJIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

286.

LUO, LIJUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

146.

HE, HAICHUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

193.

JIANG, XIAODONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

240.

LIN, CHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

287.

LUO, QIANLONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

147.

HE, TAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

194.

JIANG, HONGYANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

241.

LIN, SHAOXING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

288.

LUO, SIJIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

148.

HONG, CHANGXING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

195.

JIN, ZHANGFEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

242.

LIN, JIAMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

289.

LUO, DAZHI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

149.

HONG, YICHUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

196.

JING, HAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

243.

LIN, ZHENWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

290.

LYU, XIANGBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

150.

HOU, YANGWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

197.

JU, YANFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

244.

LIN, SIJI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

291.

MA, SHIQIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

151.

HU, QIHONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

198.

KANG, MINGLI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

245.

LIN, ZHIXIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

292.

MA, XINNA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

152.

HU, GUANGBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

199.

KONG, JUNFEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

246.

LIN, QIUSHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

293.

MEN, PENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

153.

HU, JIANZHOU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

200.

KOU, SICHEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

247.

LIN, YONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

294.

MENG, NIJUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

154.

HU, XINGWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

201.

LAI, RUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

248.

LIN, LICHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

295.

MENG, JIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

155.

HU, SHAOFU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

202.

LAI, ZHENGPEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

249.

LIN, ZONGZHEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

296.

MENG, JIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

156.

HU, JINCHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

203.

LAI, DONGLIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

250.

LIU, JUNHONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

297.

MIAO, BENBIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

157.

HU, XIAOJUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

204.

LAN, QIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

251.

LIU, WEIWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

298.

MIN, HUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

158.

HU, ZHONGSHAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

205.

LAN, ZHIDONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

252.

LIU, YISHOU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

299.

NIU, ZHIGANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

159.

HU, XIAOLAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

206.

LEI, LIANGCONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

253.

LIU, ZEJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

300.

OUYANG, HAIKANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

160.

HU, CHUANCHUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

207.

LENG, JIANFEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

254.

LIU, YANGCHUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

301.

OUYANG, DONGSHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

161.

HU, JUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

208.

LI, YANLIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

255.

LIU, BOWEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

302.

PAN, JUNLONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

162.

HU, JINBAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

209.

LI, XIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

256.

LIU, YUFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

303.

PANG, LIPING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

163.

HU, SHUANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

210.

LI, XIAOFANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

257.

LIU, YUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

304.

PENG, QIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

164.

HU, GUANGYUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

211.

LI, CAIJIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

258.

LIU, HONGKANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

305.

PENG, CHENGJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

165.

HUA, NA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

212.

LI, XIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

259.

LIU, SHUANGWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

306.

PI, MENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

166.

HUANG, HUA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

213.

LI, XIULI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

260.

LIU, XINYUE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

307.

QIN, FENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

167.

HUANG, JIARAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

214.

LI, PENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

261.

LIU, YUNJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

308.

QIN, YANHUA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

168.

HUANG, SUJUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

215.

LI, KEHAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

262.

LIU, YACHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

309.

QIN, LIMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

169.

HUANG, ZHICHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

216.

LI, YUJIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

263.

LIU, FANGYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

310.

QIU, JUNJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

170.

HUANG, WEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

217.

LI, YING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

264.

LIU, ZHAOPAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

311.

QIU, HUOLIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

171.

HUANG, SIYI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

218.

LI, ZIHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

265.

LIU, QI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

312.

QIU, ZHIXIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

172.

HUANG, CHANGQUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

219.

LI, YIYOU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

266.

LIU, SHUAIQI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

313.

RAO, JIAMIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

173.

HUANG, LI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

220.

LI, XIAOBIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

267.

LIU, KUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

314.

RAO, ZHIZHI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

174.

HUANG, QIAOCHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

221.

LI, GANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

268.

LIU, FEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

315.

REN, XING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

175.

HUANG, LIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

222.

LI, XIAOYONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

269.

LIU, YIRU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

316.

REN, SONGCHEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

176.

HUANG, HAOLIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

223.

LI, LIANGRONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

270.

LIU, JUNLAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

317.

REN, YONGFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

177.

HUANG, JIJUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

224.

LI, GUOWANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

271.

LIU, HAILUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

318.

RU, YI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

178.

HUANG, FENGJIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

225.

LI, SIYANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

272.

LIU, ZHEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

319.

SHANGGUAN, JIANYUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

179.

HUANG, JUNWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

226.

LI, ZHISHUO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

273.

LIU, QINGFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

320.

SHE, YINGDE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

180.

HUANG, XING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

227.

LI, HONGPENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

274.

LIU, LIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

321.

SHEN, YUPEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

181.

HUANG, YONGXIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

228.

LI, ZHONGJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

275.

LIU, ZHENGPENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

322.

SHEN, HUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

182.

HUANG, YICHUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

229.

LI, JINGJING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

276.

LIU, RUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

323.

SHEN, XIAOFANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

183.

HUANG, HUAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

230.

LIANG, KAIFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

277.

LOU, BICHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

324.

SHI, YONGKANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

184.

HUANG, LONGGANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

231.

LIANG, ZHEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

278.

LU, YONGLIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

325.

SHI, HANGUO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

185.

HUANG, XIAOYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

232.

LIANG, TIANYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

279.

LU, HAIYAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

326.

SHI, YANLONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

186.

HUANG, YANFEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

233.

LIAO, SHUAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

280.

LUAN, YINGXIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

327.

SHI, MING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

187.

JI, XIAOQI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

234.

LIAO, HUALONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

281.

LUO, LIANXIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

328.

SHUAI, HAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

188.

JI, YU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

235.

LIN, YUEFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

282.

LUO, YULIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

329.

SI, ZHIGUO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

189.

JI, HAOCHEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

236.

LIN, YONGFU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

283.

LUO, JIAJUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

330.

SONG, XIAOJIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

BusinessMirror

A8 Tuesday, January 5, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

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NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

POSITION

331.

SONG, JUNCHUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

374.

WANG, YUGANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

417.

YANG, DONGDONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

460.

ZHANG, TAIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

332.

SONG, JIPENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

375.

WANG, MINGSHAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

418.

YANG, ZAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

461.

ZHANG, YU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

333.

SONG, ZIQUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

376.

WANG, YAPING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

419.

YANG, XINCHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

462.

ZHANG, GUOHUA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

334.

SU, JIANGNAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

377.

WANG, SHILIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

420.

YANG, LEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

463.

ZHANG, YANXIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

335.

SU, TENGLAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

378.

WANG, YONGQIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

421.

YANG, PING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

464.

ZHANG, PING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

336.

SU, PEILING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

379.

WANG, WENHUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

422.

YANG, SHAOMAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

465.

ZHANG, HANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

337.

SU, XIAOMEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

380.

WANG, JIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

423.

YANG, YAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

466.

ZHANG, JIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

338.

SU, XIAOQIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

381.

WEI, YUNPENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

424.

YANG, GUANGYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

467.

ZHANG, JUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

339.

SU, SHANHE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

382.

WEI, KUIYAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

425.

YANG, KAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

468.

ZHANG, YAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

340.

SUN, JINYUE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

383.

WEI, ZHAOHUA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

426.

YANG, FAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

469.

ZHANG, NING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

341.

SUN, WENCHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

384.

WEI, YIXIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

427.

YANG, YUJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

470.

ZHANG, LUYAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

342.

SUN, GUOHUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

385.

WEI, YI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

428.

YAO, CHANGZHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

471.

ZHANG, FUYONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

343.

SUN, XIONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

386.

WEN, MEIRUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

429.

YAO, JIELIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

472.

ZHANG, CHENGMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

344.

TAN, QIYUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

387.

WU, XIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

430.

YAO, YINCHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

473.

ZHANG, WEIJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

345.

TAN, JINHE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

388.

WU, TAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

431.

YAO, SHENHUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

474.

ZHANG, JIABO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

346.

TANG, TING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

389.

WU, JIAHAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

432.

YE, JIANGFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

475.

ZHANG, JINJIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

347.

TANG, JIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

390.

WU, PENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

433.

YE, CHANGJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

476.

ZHANG, TIANQI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

348.

TU, MENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

391.

WU, XUDONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

434.

YE, QIONGHUA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

477.

ZHANG, JUNSHAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

349.

WAN, WEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

392.

WU, SHIJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

435.

YI, PINLIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

478.

ZHANG, LIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

350.

WAN, YONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

393.

WU, JIANYOU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

436.

YIN, SHIMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

479.

ZHANG, DEYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

351.

WAN, SONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

394.

WU, YUQIU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

437.

YIN, JUNBAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

480.

ZHANG, QINCAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

352.

WANG, HONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

395.

WUDUMU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

438.

YIN, ZHANGJING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

481.

ZHANG, QIANGQIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

353.

WANG, XIWEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

396.

XIA, MAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

439.

YU, HAILIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

482.

ZHANG, HUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

354.

WANG, XUECHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

397.

XIANG, FENGJUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

440.

YU, GUILIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

483.

ZHANG, PAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

355.

WANG, YAJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

398.

XIE, YUANLING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

441.

YU, XIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

484.

ZHANG, SHENGLI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

356.

WANG, SEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

399.

XIE, WENCONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

442.

YU, HAIYANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

485.

ZHANG, XI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

357.

WANG, YANQIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

400.

XIN, JIYANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

443.

YU, ZHENWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

486.

ZHANG, YANCHANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

358.

WANG, XUESHI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

401.

XIONG, JIXIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

444.

YUAN, ZHENGRUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

487.

ZHANG, QIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

359.

WANG, PENGHUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

402.

XU, XIUJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

445.

ZENG, YUXIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

488.

ZHANG, YU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

360.

WANG, JINWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

403.

XU, FEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

446.

ZENG, HAIBO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

489.

ZHANG, HANWU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

361.

WANG, LIZHI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

404.

XU, RUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

447.

ZENG, XINYI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

490.

ZHANG, LU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

362.

WANG, RUIHU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

405.

XU, TAIWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

448.

ZENG, LI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

491.

ZHANG, XIAOFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

363.

WANG, PENGTAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

406.

XU, SHUANGSHUANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

449.

ZENG, QIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

492.

ZHANG, LEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

364.

WANG, LUXIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

407.

XU, YANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

450.

ZENG, HONGZHI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

493.

ZHANG, PENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

365.

WANG, SHUNLI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

408.

XU, XIAODONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

451.

ZENG, TAIMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

494.

ZHANG, HAOYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

366.

WANG, TAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

409.

XU, LIFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

452.

ZENG, XIA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

495.

ZHANG, HUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

367.

WANG, KAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

410.

XU, YANAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

453.

ZENG, YIQIANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

496.

ZHANG, TENGFEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

368.

WANG, YANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

411.

XU, WENXIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

454.

ZHAN, YIZHEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

497.

ZHANG, JIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

369.

WANG, YINGJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

412.

XU, JIPENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

455.

ZHANG, YI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

498.

ZHANG, TAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

370.

WANG, HAISHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

413.

YAN, LIRONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

456.

ZHANG, YI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

499.

ZHANG, XIAOXUE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

371.

WANG, YUNJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

414.

YANG, ZHENFEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

457.

ZHANG, XIAOTONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

500.

ZHANG, HAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

372.

WANG, WEINAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

415.

YANG, XIAOMEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

458.

ZHANG, SHOUFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

501.

ZHAO, WENJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

373.

WANG, YANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

416.

YANG, LONGGUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

459.

ZHANG, WENLI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

502.

ZHAO, GANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

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NO.

549.

503.

ZHAO, XIANLIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

504.

ZHAO, YIDUO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

505.

ZHAO, HE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

506.

ZHAO, PING Chinese

507.

ZHAO, NA Chinese

508.

ZHAO, YOULU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

NO.

ZHOU, YAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

550.

ZHOU, JINGBIN Chinese

551.

POSITION

NO.

596.

ARR CHAING Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

640.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

597.

ARR PYUE Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

SA RIVENDELL GLOBAL SUPPORT, INC. 2741 P. Zamora St. Brgy. 097 Pasay City

ZHOU, CHANGJIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

598.

ARTAL Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

641.

CAI, FUCAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

552.

ZHOU, MIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

599.

AUNG KYAW PHYO Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

642.

CHEN, ZEXIONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

553.

ZHOU, HANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

600.

AUNG KYAW WIN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

643.

CHEN, RONGBIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

554.

ZHOU, ZHIWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

601.

AUNG NAING MOE Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

644.

CHEN, PENGTENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

555.

ZHOU, XIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

602.

AUNG SOE MIN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

645.

CHEN, TIANPENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

556.

ZHOU, YANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

603.

CHAN MYAE KO KO Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

646.

CHENG, XUYONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

557.

ZHU, BIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

604.

HEIN MIN OO Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

647.

DAI, ZHENGFEN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

558.

ZHU, LIQING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

605.

HLA HLA Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

648.

DONG, ZHOUYANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY ZHAO, QUANQIU Chinese

POSITION CHINESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHAO, BEIBEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

510.

ZHAO, JIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

511.

ZHAO, NA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

512.

ZHAO, WENDONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

559.

ZHU, HONGTAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

606.

KAUNG MYAT THU Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

649.

GAO, JUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

513.

ZHAO, YONGJIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

560.

ZHU, TING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

607.

KYAW CHIT SHWE Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

650.

HAN, RONGLI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

514.

ZHAO, GUANGWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

561.

ZHUO, FULIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

608.

KYAW SEIN THET Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

651.

HUANG, XINSHENG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

515.

ZHAO, LAISHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

562.

ZOU, DA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

609.

LI SHAUK LIN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

652.

JIANG, HAILONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

516.

ZHAO, ZHONGSHENG Chinese

563.

ZOU, HUALU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

610.

LIN LIN SHEIN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

653.

JIANG, PENGFEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

564.

611.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

ZOU, SIHAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

517.

ZHAO, YUPENG Chinese

MAUNG MAUNG SEIN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

654.

LI, FENGXING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHAO, HONGFEI Chinese

565.

612.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

ZOU, MAOMAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

518.

PHYO PHYO WIN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

655.

LIAO, MENGQI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHAO, SHUJIAN Chinese

566.

613.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

ZOU, YIDING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

519.

SAI KAUNG SAN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

656.

LIU, WEN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

567.

SAE CHAO, KANOKPORN Thai

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

614.

SAI MIN ZAW Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

657.

LIU, JIANQING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

568.

TWAN YWIN SENG Myanmari

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

615.

SHIN, YE Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

658.

LU, HONG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

569.

APRIANTO Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE

616.

SHINE LIN NYI NYI Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

659.

TRAN THI MY HANH Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

570.

FENDY APRIYANTO Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE

617.

SUE KYAR CHONE Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

660.

WANG, KAIJIN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

571.

JULIANTINI Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE

618.

WIN HTET KO Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

661.

WANG, CHUN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

572.

SUWANDI Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE

619.

YAN SHIN AUNG Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

662.

XIONG, GEN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

573.

GAN SUK FEUNG Malaysian

MALAYSIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE

620.

HUANG, CHUN-WEI Taiwanese

TAIWANESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

663.

ZHAN, JINGFU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

574.

KHOR CHEAN LIANG Malaysian

MALAYSIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE

621.

CHANG CUN MUI Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

664.

ZHANG, JIANFEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

575.

LEE HOI MAN Malaysian

MALAYSIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE

622.

DANG VAN HOANG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

SECURITY BANK CORPORATION Security Bank Centre Bldg. 6776 Ayala Avenue San Lorenzo Makati City

576.

NG YEE CHING Malaysian

MALAYSIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE

623.

DAU VAN DANG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

577.

TAN YONG KEONG Malaysian

MALAYSIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE

624.

GIN TUYET DIEM Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

578.

YEE KANG SHUN Malaysian

MALAYSIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE

625.

HUYNH THI HIEN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

666.

LI, CUIMEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

579.

GUO, JINYUAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

626.

LUONG VAN DAM Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

667.

LIEW PIN HUAT Malaysian

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

580.

HU, XIAOTAO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

627.

NGUYEN THI HUONG Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

668.

LYU, HUIJIE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

581.

HU, TIANWEN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

628.

NIM A TAI Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

669.

MIN, WUQIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

582.

HUANG, GUIPING Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

629.

TRAN VY NHAN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

583.

HUANG, SUZHEN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

630.

VAY LUC MUI Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

670.

ZHANG, YIHAN Chinese

ACCOUNT MANAGER

584.

LI, MIAOMIAO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

631.

VU NGOC LY Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

671.

ZHAO, ANLAN Chinese

COMMERCIAL MANAGER

585.

LIU, XIANGYAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

OKKDA ASIA TECHNOLOGY INC. Unit 5b 5/f Marvin Plaza 2153 C. Roces Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City

672.

GAO, ZHIKE Chinese

COMMUNICATION DESIGN

586.

SHEN, SHIFEN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

632.

SHE, YUAN Chinese

BRAND SPECIALIST

673.

CHI, BANGSHI Chinese

PROJECT FINANCE MANAGER

587.

SUN, CHANGSHENG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

633.

ZHOU, WEICHUN Chinese

BRAND SPECIALIST

588.

WANG, XIAOTING Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

ONPOINT CORP. Unit Ug-11 Ug/f Cityland 10 Tower 2 154 H.v. Dela Costa Cor. Valero Sts. Bel-air Makati City

589.

WANG, PENGFENG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

634.

XU, TIESHU Chinese

MANDARIN COLLECTION OFFICER

590.

WU, RENBO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

635.

WANG, JING Chinese

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591.

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509.

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524.

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525.

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526.

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527.

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528.

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529.

ZHENG, LONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

530.

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531.

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534.

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535.

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536.

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537.

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539.

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540.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

541.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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XU, PUJIE Chinese

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636.

CHANG, WEN-HAO Taiwanese

CHINESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

546.

ZHOU, ZHENGWEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

593.

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MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

637.

CHEN, BIN Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

547.

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CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

594.

ZHANG, YANHUI Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST

638.

TIAN, BAO Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

548.

ZHOU, GUANHUA Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

595.

NANG SHANG HOM Myanmari

MAYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE

639.

ZHANG, HAORAN Chinese

CHINESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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A10 Tuesday, January 5, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

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editorial

Who will police the police?

E have dedicated, intelligent, honest and hardworking policemen in the Philippine National Police. But there are many corrupt cops whose criminal activities have been destroying the image of the PNP. Their rogue and often violent behavior erodes the people’s trust in those mandated to protect them. What is troubling is that some policemen, who are mandated to enforce the law, are the ones violating the law. If they are the ones who sanction, tolerate or even perpetrate criminal acts, then who will police them? Who will police the police? The lawmen that are found to be on the wrong side of the law must not only be dismissed but also jailed. Police Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca, who was caught on video shooting dead a woman and her son in Paniqui, Tarlac, had been involved in two homicide cases. He participated in alleged shootouts in buy-bust operations in 2016 and 2018 where three suspects were killed, but he had been cleared both times. Nuezca’s cold-blooded double murder elicited outrage and disgust among many citizens. It is quite obvious now that he had no business being a cop. But many people were not the least bit surprised. Another killing? Another policeman implicated in wrongdoing? What’s new? There is a long list of these police brutalities going all the way back to previous administrations. This may be the more worrying pattern: That even after decades of civilian rule, we are still so used to police abuses that we have lost the ability to be surprised or angry. We have lost our ability to protest against the kinds of abuses that make abductions and killings de rigueur. We just accept that even in this supposedly democratic republic the police can turn their guns on anyone, and indeed they often do. We are again hearing the usual noises about cleaning up the police force. Corruption has become endemic and a way of life for many custodians of law and order and this has led to the prevalence of violence. When you find policemen on the wrong side of the law—engaging in corrupt activities like jueteng, logging and drugs—shootings and killings cannot be far behind. The PNP recently reported that 46 policemen were caught through random drug tests and that criminal and administrative charges will be filed against them. The fact that there are cops who regularly test positive for drug use is already alarming, more so as there has already been a great deal of concern about police conduct. Unfortunately, because of lack of funds, the PNP can only test perhaps around 25 percent of the police force, at best. The PNP should conduct more extensive drug testing among its ranks. The public would certainly feel a lot better if all police officers could be tested to ensure a drug-free police force. Also, all policemen involved in shootings should be tested for drug use. There must be a serious campaign to root out addicts in the PNP because drug use is directly linked to corruption and police abuses, which often also lead to the loss of innocent lives. Policemen who are drug abusers are often involved, one way or another, in illegal activities, because they have to find the means to support their drug dependence. They will surely do bad things with their gun and badge. They have no business in the police force and should be behind bars or in rehab clinics. It’s very hard to police the police. But the people rightly expect policemen, more than anyone, to uphold the law. President Duterte should also initiate a lifestyle audit in the PNP to weed out the truly corrupt officers who have tarnished the image of policemen. There are so many rags-to-riches stories about policemen who do not even hide their wealth. How did these police officers acquire their loot? This administration has always said it has a zero-tolerance policy toward corruption, but what we have seen are mostly just cosmetic changes. It must deal with corruption more decisively and must match its rhetoric with real action in the ranks of the police force.

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he year 2020 caught the world unprepared for a pandemic that forced many countries to try various strategies, including restricting mobility and closing borders, in a bid to contain the spread of the virus. However, it came at a price—people lost their jobs and many families suffered from hunger. Governments responded by providing food subsidy that resulted in higher budget deficit and debt. Private companies did their part by donating food, cash and services to help the poor. Despite the unprecedented assistance, it was not enough to support the whole population affected by lockdowns and community quarantine. It is the people, after all, who drive the economy. It was a lesson that we should remember as we welcome 2021. But he health crisis is not over, with a new Covid-19 strain that originated in the UK posing a more potent threat, according to reports. This means we should continue to sustain the health protocols that proved effec-

tive in containing the virus, such as wearing face masks and face shields outdoors, constant washing of hands and social distancing. We may need to continue these health protocols until most of our population receive the Covid-19 vaccines by the second half of 2021. Experts believe these vaccines will also be effective against the new virus strain first discovered in Europe, although it is too early to make a definitive conclusion. Last year was an eye-opener for all of us. We should strengthen our health-care system and avoid closing the economy as much as possible. The National Economic and Development Authority has already warned that reverting back to the modified enhanced community quarantine could cost Metro Manila and its ad-

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The 2021 budget, the highest on record, will also support our economic recovery, fund infrastructure projects and continue to assist the most vulnerable members of our society. This year gives us good reasons to be hopeful. We should also learn from the lessons of the past year, so we can adjust and adapt to the economic opportunities and challenges that 2021 brings. jacent regions some P2.1 billion in wage losses a day. Neda estimates the general community quarantine that was extended until January 31, 2021 already costs these regions around P700 million in daily wage losses. I agree with Neda. The losses and setbacks stress the need to work together to safely reopen the economy further in 2021. Every week of ECQ/MECQ in the NCR and the adjacent regions, according to Neda, shaved off 0.28 percentage point from the gross domestic product growth in the second and third quarters, or around P2.1 billion in lost wages a day. Under the GCQ, the loss was lower at around P700 million. Neda said a big part of forgone wages was caused by restricting

Predictions for the year 2020

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror

MEMBER OF

Lessons from 2020

ou may have noticed that those who make a living out of predicting the future are relatively silent if not extremely cautious with what they say going into this new year.

“I can see 2021 will possibly be more difficult in terms of financial, more difficult in terms of opportunities, more difficult in terms of money.” That is as safe a forecast as you can get. This prediction for 2021 will probably be 100 percent accurate. “If there’s one thing we learned from 2020, it’s that sometimes the truly unexpected happens.” Let’s be honest. The main reason we read these forecasts is so that we can look back and see how wrong the predictions were. The more incorrect, the more fun it is. So, with that thought in mind, let us travel back and look at some predictions—both short and long term—for the past year. Twenty-

twenty was a big year to make predictions for as it is a “zero” year and the beginning of a new decade. Usually, the tendency is to start any discussion of “predictions” with Nostradamus. Unfortunately, his desire to be a physician was cut short by “the Black Death.” He finally settled on prophecy and astrology, particularly for the rich that asked him for horoscopes and psychic advice. In a lecture at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1911, Richard Clement Lucas, a surgeon, said that the “useless outer toes” will become used less, so that “man might become a one-toed race.” That sort of goes along with a 1939 issue of British Vogue when designer Gil-

Perhaps the one prediction for 2020 that is 100 percent accurate is this one made in 2012. “By 2020, predicting the future will be commonplace for the average person. We are amassing unprecedented amounts of data, creating unprecedented insight.”

bert Rhode was asked what people in the future would be wearing, he said that by 2020, we would have disposable socks. In 1994, the global think tank RAND Corporation said they expected us to have animal employees by the year 2020. “During the 21st century, those houses that don’t have a robot could have a live-in ape to do the cleaning.” That makes sense since in 1966, Time magazine in an essay called “The Futurists,” predicted that “machines [or maybe apes] will be producing so much that everyone in the US will in effect be independently wealthy.” Those were about as accurate as Popular Mechanics being fairly sure back in 1951 that every family in the early 21st century would have one helicopter in their garage.

children and family activities in the Philippines, which derives most of its growth from demographic dividend given its very young population. The country’s median age is 25, while 36 percent of the population is 18 years old or younger. Acting Neda Director-General Karl Kendrick Chua says as “children are not allowed to go out of their homes, even to study, family activities are restricted, and thus a big part of the economy is not functional.” GDP growth in Q3 2020, if there were no such restrictions, could have been 4 percentage points better at -7.5 percent rather than the -11.5 percent recorded, he says. I fully agree with Secretary Chua. The key to economic recovery is to continue managing risks, not avoiding them completely. Recent trade indicators show we are on course to recovery. While merchandise trade contracted 12.6 percent in October from a year ago, the decline was a significant improvement from the 59.5-percent drop in April. The Department of Finance said the figures reflected “economic recovery as the country eased lockdown measures intended to curb the pandemic.” If we continue the calibrated reopening of the economy, while observing the health protocols and See “Villar,” A11

However, as disappointing as it will be to some people, the worst predictions for 2020 have to do with climate change and global warming. “A secret report, suppressed by US defense chiefs and obtained by The Observer, warns that major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a ‘Siberian’ climate by 2020.” In 2009 we were told that “China to cut emissions 40 percent to 45 percent below 2005 level by 2020; India to cut 20 percent to 25 percent.” In 2020, China’s emissions are about 85 percent higher than 2005 and India’s are about 150 percent greater. Perhaps the one prediction for 2020 that is 100 percent accurate is this one made in 2012. “By 2020, predicting the future will be commonplace for the average person. We are amassing unprecedented amounts of data, creating unprecedented insight.” Just read social media. Everyone is an expert on almost everything. E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stockmarket information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

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Tuesday, January 5, 2021 A11

Transfer pricing thresholds Presidential hopefuls in 2022 Atty. Irwin C. Nidea Jr.

Manny F. Dooc

Tax law for business

TELLTALES

T is beneficial for any government to hear the concerns of its people and address them accordingly. A government’s willingness to adapt and adjust will result in a mutually beneficial result. This is true in the recent issuance of transfer pricing guidelines (RR 34-2020) by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Department of Finance, wherein the cries of small and medium taxpayers were heard. First, transfer pricing documentation is no longer required to be submitted together with the Income Tax Return (ITR). But taxpayers must be ready to produce the said documentation within 30 days from the receipt of a Letter of Authority covering all internal revenue taxes. This will give the taxpayer more time to prepare and collate all needed documents. This will also avoid unnecessary submissions that will have no use for the BIR. The decision not to require the submission of the TP documentation unless required is both economical and efficient for the government and the taxpayer. It is worth noting though that the LOA need not be exclusively issued for transfer pricing. Receipt by a taxpayer of a regular LOA on all internal revenue taxes is sufficient to trigger the mandatory submission of the TP documentation. Second, there is now a threshold—finally. The previous issuance requires all companies with related party transactions to submit BIR Form 1709. There was no distinction between a small enterprise and a multinational corporation. That is why it is very good news that the government has finally agreed to limit the persons covered by the requirement. It is not cost efficient for the taxpayer and the government to require the submission of BIR Form 1709 for a P100 transaction. Now, only the following are required to submit BIR Form 1709 together with the ITR: a. Large Taxpayers; b. Taxpayers enjoying tax incentives; c. Taxpayers reporting net operating losses for the current taxable year and the immediately preceding 2 taxable years; c. A related party with transactions with those enumerated above. By limiting the required persons to submit BIR Form 1709, the BIR will be able to focus on taxpayers with substantial transactions. It will also unburden small and medium enterprises from incurring additional compliance cost that they can barely afford. Third, only the following entities are required to submit not only BIR Form 1709 but Transfer Pricing Documentation: a. Companies with annual gross revenue exceeding P150,000,000 and total amount of related party transactions with foreign and domestic related parties exceed P90,000,000; or b. Aggregate amount of related party transactions that involve sale of tangible goods exceed P60,000,000; c. Service transaction, payment of interest, utilization of intangible goods,

Villar. . .

Continued from A10

administering an effective vaccination program nationwide, I believe merchandise trade may reach the positive territory in 2021. Meanwhile, the United States and Europe—the territories most affected by the virus—already provided doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to millions of their people. We hope the Philippines will also secure adequate supply of the vaccines this year, so we can make significant gains in our quest to achieve the so-called herd immunity from Covid-19. Our government led by President Duterte is focusing on securing supply contracts with vaccine makers to make sure most of our people will

RR 34-2020 is a welcome development for small and medium enterprises. Small family corporations no longer need to comply with the submission of BIR Form 1709 and TP documentation. But everyone must remember that it is not an immunity from compliance of the transfer pricing rules. All companies, small or large, must still transact at arm’s length. or other related party transaction exceed P15,000,000. Submission of Transfer Pricing Documentation is also required if during the immediately preceding taxable period, the above thresholds were exceeded. Fourth, taxpayers who are not required to submit BIR Form 1709 must disclose this fact in the Notes to the Financial Statements. A simplified Form 1709 was also issued. It has the following changes: a. Key Management Personnel are no longer required to submit BIR Form 1709; b. Replaced disclosure of related party transactions based on category of relationship (i.e. parent, joint control or significant influence, subsidiaries, associates, and joint ventures) with that based on the kind of transaction (i.e. sale/ purchase of goods and services, loans to/from, and other related party transactions). RR 34-2020 is a welcome development for small and medium enterprises. Small family corporations no longer need to comply with the submission of BIR Form 1709 and TP documentation. But everyone must remember that it is not an immunity from compliance of the transfer pricing rules. All companies, small or large, must still transact at arm’s length. You may not be the BIR’s priority because you are not required to file BIR Form 1709 or TP documentation, but if you do not transact with a related party at arm’s length, the long arm of the law may still catch up on you. The author is a senior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices, a member-firm of WTS Global. The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at irwin.c.nideajr@bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-2001 local 330.

be inoculated this year. President Duterte recently signed the P4.5trillion government budget for 2021, which includes a P72.5-billion allocation for the vaccination program, seen as the best strategy out of this pandemic. The 2021 budget, the highest on record, will also support our economic recovery, fund infrastructure projects and continue to assist the most vulnerable members of our society. This year gives us good reasons to be hopeful. We should also learn from the lessons of the past year, so we can adjust and adapt to the economic opportunities and challenges that 2021 brings. For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail. com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

he smoke and the acrid smell of the fireworks had not yet settled when we were greeted by the results of the Pulse Asia survey of the possible presidential and vice-presidential bets in 2022 as we woke up on New Year’s Day. We have yet to see a single arm officially inoculated in our country to defeat the coronavirus and we are already threatened by the worst kind of pandemic—the election virus. The pandemic is still very much with us with the numbers expected to surge after the holidays. The presidential election, to us Filipinos, is like opium—it gives us a hallucinogenic effect, which makes us forget our problems and sufferings. Soon, the political carnival is here again. After June this year, there will be frenetic political activities in preparation for the filing of certificates of candidacies for the 2022 elections, both local and national offices. Election isn’t our national pastime where rival candidates vie for political power, pelt, popularity and prestige. Let’s hope that life is back to normal by then. Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte led the list of presidentiables if elections were held during the polling period. She garnered the support of 26 percent of the people polled. Sen. Grace Poe and former Sen. Bongbong Marcos collected 14 percent each, with Mayor Isko Moreno getting 12 percent. Sen. Manny Pacquiao received 10 percent. Surprisingly, Vice President Leni Robredo only got 8 percent and the other probables whose names are mentioned in the presidential derby like Senators Ping Lacson, Dick Gordon, and Bong Go did not figure prominently in the survey. In the vice-presidential contest, the survey showed that Mayor Isko Moreno is ahead of the pack. He is closely followed by Mayor Sara and Senate President Vicente Sotto III. The margins among them are slim that they actually tied statistically for the post. The survey was based on a poll conducted on November 23 to December 2, 2020 over a sample of

2,400 adult respondents. It has a +/- error margin and the first survey published on the 2022 elections. Mayor Duterte reacted by saying that right now the 2022 presidential election is farthest from the minds of the Filipinos. That may be so, but it’s the thing closest to the hearts of the ambitious politicians hankering for the coveted position. It’s the subject preoccupying the thoughts of political pundits and kingmakers who crave to see their anointed candidate capture Malacañang. Mayor Sara also requested that her name be stricken out from the list of probable presidential candidates in any future surveys to be conducted. It must be recalled that President Duterte, who also got a strong following in the early surveys conducted before the 2016 election, had been denying that he was running for president. Former Vice President Jojo Binay’s lesson is too soon to be forgotten. If you declare yourself too early in the game, the early comer shall draw the unsolicited attention, disparagement and

Mayor Duterte reacted by saying that right now the 2022 presidential election is farthest from the minds of the Filipinos. That may be so, but it’s the thing closest to the hearts of the ambitious politicians hankering for the coveted position. It's the subject preoccupying the thoughts of political pundits and kingmakers who crave to see their anointed candidate capture Malacañang.

attack from all opposing sectors. In fact, President Duterte did not file his certificate of candidacy within the reglementary period for filing such certificate. He was the last in the field to join the presidential contest by eventually substituting a partymate, now DILG Undersecretary Martin B. Diño, who had duly filed his candidacy for president in the 2016 elections. It might have been pre-planned to divert enemies’ attention but it was a masterstroke. Frontrunners Binay and Sen. Grace Poe had been mugged and bashed by the opposition when President Duterte joined the fray. Even during the rounds of debates, he did not get the most depraved denunciation like Binay for alleged corruption and Poe for being non-Filipino. The issue is: Will the alleged sins of her father visit upon Mayor Sara? Other than Mayor Sara, another city mayor, Yorme Isko Moreno of Manila, scored notably on the survey. For the presidential derby, Yorme placed 4th and ahead of Senator Manny Pacquiao but he topped the vice-presidential bets. Yorme is a populist mayor and pursues programs that are strongly pro-people. He is a very visible politician who personally attends to problems on the ground. His leadership style and decisive actions to remove Manila’s eyesores, clear the streets of illegal hawkers and address the woes brought by the pandemic have attracted large following not only in

his beloved city but also around the country. The Iskomania fever has infected the country wondering whether his newly found status and popularity is enough for the people to vote for him to a national office. Another young hopeful is Sen. Bong Go who may be considered a political upstart compared to other seasoned and veteran public servants who are seeking the presidency. If Mayor Sara and company are concerned that they are still young and inexperienced to run for a higher office, a young BlackAmerican senator from Illinois with barely a two-year service in the US Senate with a funny name Barack Hussein Obama was once struggling whether he would run for the presidency or not. He was hesitant to wade into the presidential water but his elder colleagues in the Senate who he thought had more rights to seek the office gave him encouragement. Sen. Harry Reid, then the Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer, the current Senate Minority Leader and Sen. Dick Durbin, the senior senator of his own state, delivered the same message—that he should run and that he had a chance of winning. Ultimately Obama sought the counsel of the heir of the most famous political family in the US, Sen. Ted Kennedy. Four and a half years after leaving the White House, Obama could still remember every word of what Senator Kennedy told him. “I won’t be wading early. Too many friends. But I can tell you this, Barack. The power to inspire is rare. Moments like this are rare. You think you may not be ready, that you’ll do it at a more convenient time. But you don’t choose the time. The time chooses you. Either you seize what may turn out to be the only chance you have, or you decide you’re willing to live with the knowledge that the chance has passed you by.” Sara, Yorme, Bong and others out there who feel that their heart beats in unison with the pulse of our people, remember this: “Time waits for no man.” Good luck!

Singapore’s Covid success isn’t easily replicated By Daniel Moss | Bloomberg Opinion

T the dawn of 2021, Singapore feels like a coiled spring where growth is just waiting to be unleashed. Last-minute dinner reservations are once again almost impossible to secure and the countless malls that dot the map are hopping on weekends. The Central Expressway, a core artery running north from downtown, is again prone to congestion. Children—mercifully—are in school. The government projects gross domestic product will increase between 4 percent and 6 percent this year, compared with a contraction of 5.8 percent in 2020, the worst in history. This brighter outlook and cautious easing of restrictions reflects Singapore’s success at containing Covid-19 infections, and makes the place look great relative to the US and Europe, where the disease is again spreading rapidly. Even Japan and South Korea, generally praised for their handling, are wrestling with new outbreaks.

But as real as Singapore’s coronavirus-fighting achievements are, they rest on a model that isn’t easily exported. Its results are facilitated by a degree of state influence that other countries might find uncomfortable. Granted, there aren’t many places I would rather have been during this pandemic. Still, I find it doubtful that Singapore’s approach can work beyond its borders. In numerous cases, constitutions don’t easily give national governments the ability to do what’s been achieved here. Last week, the country entered phase three of its reopening. The government now allows social gatherings of eight people, up from five. The size of congregations at religious services has been expanded, subject to tight regulations, and authorities are trying to make it less onerous for workers to be in their offices. If this sounds enviable, consider the amount of compliance it took to get here. It’s compulsory to swipe into any establishment using its QR code, preferably with a government app on your smartphone, though taking a photo works, too. You also must submit to a temperature check, and keep your mask on. The

first-time offense for not wearing a mask is a fine of S$300 ($225); second transgressions receive a S$1,000 penalty. Repeat offenses invite prosecution and, for foreigners, revocation of work permits. For those without a smartphone or who prefer not to use the app, the government is rolling out a token that you are urged to carry when leaving home. Even kids above age seven are expected to comply. Officials tied this stage of reopening to wider adoption of the TraceTogether app and tokens. By mid-December, about 65 percent of the population used them. “Please understand that even as we enter phase three, the battle is far from won,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an address last month. “The Covid-19 virus has not been eradicated.” The effectiveness of Singapore’s approach lies in its combination of subtlety and pervasiveness. Even taxis have barcodes to be scanned. Wearing masks has become so routine that it’s easy to forget them when leaving the house, almost like walking out without your keys. (Never mind, most taxi drivers have a ready supply to share.) I was horrified to learn that despite the recent outbreak in the northern

suburbs of Sydney, mask-wearing was only just made mandatory, starting Monday. In France, winter resorts have sued the government to keep ski lifts operating over the holidays, and more than a million people a day passed through US airports in the week leading up to Christmas. My Singaporean friends shake their heads in amazement. It all strikes them as an own-goal, and they are right. There’s little disquiet about the enforcement of these precautions. Even the political opposition, which made gains in July’s election, refrained from directly attacking the government’s handling of Covid-19. Public gatherings are tightly controlled, ruling out the kind of protests over social and economic curbs that gripped the US last summer. Safe Distancing Ambassadors, civilians who make sure pedestrians and shoppers don’t get too close to each other, were an ubiquitous and forceful presence when the lockdown started easing in June. A good number were furloughed staff from state-backed companies like Singapore Airlines Ltd. The last contact I had with an SDA—everything and everyone in Singapore has an acronym—was to ask directions to a taxi queue at a shopping center. She was friendly, knowledgeable and appeared almost relieved to have someone approach her. A few meters away, two boredlooking attendants sat at a desk near the entrance, monitoring people’s smartphone displays to make sure they had “checked in.” The duo looked up every now and then to cast an eye over the temperaturescreening machine. The once exceptional has become mundane. That might be its genius. When I checked into Toast Box, a popular local cafe chain, nobody badgered me to scan in with my phone. Their assumption was I would do it of my own volition, and they were correct.

The primacy of the state goes way beyond whether the budget is in deficit or surplus, or taxes are going up or down. Singapore didn’t suddenly discover big government during this pandemic. From the state-linked companies that drove the rapid development of the past six decades to supermarkets run by government-aligned unions, publicsector activism is one of Singapore’s defining qualities. This kind of machinery could be deployed effectively once the pandemic struck. Multiple fiscal stimulus packages aimed at putting a floor under the recession have also played a role in this resilience. Singapore can only control so much, however. The bumper year projected for the economy will depend at least as much on what transpires beyond its borders. A muscular recovery in the rest of the world, facilitated by mass vaccine distribution, will be key. Asian growth forecasts have also been marked up on the notion that Joe Biden will pursue a less overtly confrontational approach to dealing with China when he enters the White House. As a vital hub for cargo, money and talent, Singapore’s fortunes are tied to this broader global picture. Until people can move in and out freely—border restrictions are still tight—growth will be sub-par. Curtailing the spread of Covid-19 is a necessary but not sufficient requirement for economic growth. The republic has done some hard yards. The payoff, should it come, will arrive not a moment too soon. As much as I wish that outcome upon other parts of the world, it requires a big psychological shift. But take another year or two of health-care chaos in London, New York or Sydney, and attitudes about the boundaries of state responsibility and the domain of individual liberty might change.

A12 Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Fuel marking so far nets govt ₧170.27B in duties and taxes

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE government has so far collected P170.27 billion in duties and taxes since the start of fuel-marking program.

From September 2019 until December 24 last year, a total of 17.3 billion were injected with fuel markers, based on the infographic shared by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III with Finance reporters. Of the P170.27 billion, 86.24 percent or P146.84 billion was collected by the Bureau of Customs (BOC)

while the remaining 13.76 percent or P23.43 billion was collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as of December last year. In terms of fuel type, diesel cornered the bulk or 61.39 percent of fuel marked, followed by gasoline (38.07 percent) and kerosene (0.58 percent). Most of the fuel marked was in

Luzon (73.99 percent), then Mindanao (20.94 percent) and Visayas (5.07 percent). Leading the 22 companies that participated in the fuel-marking program is Petron with a 22.87-percent share of fuel marked or 3.96 billion liters. Trailing Petron is Shell with 19.64 percent or 3.4 billion liters, followed by Unioil with 10.54 percent or 1.82 billion liters, Seaoil with 8.26 percent or 1.43 billion liters, and Chevron with 7.81 percent or 1.35 billion liters. Fuel marking makes use of a unique chemical marker that can be embedded at a molecular level in petroleum products—gasoline, diesel and kerosene—thereby enabling authorities to test, identify

and distinguish petroleum products with paid excise taxes. Under Republic Act 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN), petroleum products that are refined, manufactured or imported to the Philippines such as, but not limited to, unleaded premium gasoline, kerosene, and diesel, shall be marked by an official marking agent after payment of taxes and duties. Spearheaded by the Department of Finance, the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the fuel-marking program was launched with the aim of halting illegal importation, manufacturing and other fraudulent activities relating to the use and sale of petroleum products in the country.

PHL MAY SLOW DOWN REPATRIATIONS, MAY EXPAND TRAVEL BAN

HE government is now eyeing to slow down the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) amid its mandatory quarantine requirement for travelers coming from countries with the new strain of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19). It is now also considering imposing travel restrictions on more countries which have reported cases of B117, the new more infectious variant of Covid-19 from the United Kingdom (UK). The Department of Health (DOH) is considering expanding the list of countries with existing travel restrictions

due to having cases of B117 to include China and Vietnam. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) is now just waiting for an advisory of the World Health Organization (WHO) before it decides to expand the list. Health authorities have been repeatedly asked about the case of China, where a case of a woman infected with the new strain was reported on December 14. Social-media commenters wondered why China is not yet on the travel ban. Continued on A2

Only a new law can stop PhilHealth, SSS rate hikes–DOH chief By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

T will take a new law to stop the looming implementation of the premium hike of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and the Social Security System (SSS). The Department of Health (DOH) explained the state insurer is mandated to raise its contribution from 3 percent to 3.5 percent this year under the Universal Health Care Law. “So there needs to be an amendment in the law to defer or delay the imposition or implementation of the premium contribution rate [hike],” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in an interview with PTV on Monday. Aside from PhilHealth, the Social Security System (SSS) is also scheduled to raise its premium this year. Lawmakers and labor groups are pushing for the postponement of the said premium increases for PhilHealth and SSS due to the economic slowdown of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19), which led to the displacement of many workers last year. In the case of SSS, Senator Joel Villanueva said he already filed Senate Bill 1965 to postpone its premium increase this year to allow workers cope with the effects of the pandemic. The contribution rate of SSS should have increased from 12 percent to 13 percent by 2021. “In our proposed bill, we want to maintain the status quo for this year alone,” Villanueva said. He said he is confident SSS could afford the postponement of its rate hike since it was able to register P220 billion worth of revenues in 2019. On Sunday, lawmakers urged the state-run PhilHealth to consider the six-month suspension of the increase in premium contributions of its members, citing the notion of a “fortuitous event” with the Covid-19 pandemic. House Committee on Health Vice Chairman Michael Defensor of Anakalusugan said PhilHealth’s board of directors should meet to consider suspending the increase in contributions from 3.0 percent to 3.5 percent of members’ monthly earnings. His pitch was echoed in the Senate by the Health committee’s chief, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go. However, when sought for com-

ment by BusinessMirror, PhilHealth warned that suspending the scheduled premium contribution hike would make it difficult to sustain benefit payments for its members in the long run. “Our rough estimate is that PhilHealth will be postponing less than P500 million worth of incremental premiums on an annual basis from direct contributors. The P500 million is a drop in the bucket for PhilHealth. However, if the money is taken from the pockets of salaried employees, especially minimum wage earners, it will add to their financial hardship,” Defensor said. In seeking the deferment of the scheduled increase in monthly contributions, Senator Go said, “While I recognize that this increase is mandated by law, we must explore all possible legal remedies to avoid any additional burden to Filipinos at this time when we are still addressing the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.” He said he would personally appeal to President Duterte to order the deferment, and have the economic managers explore options for “deferring or restructuring payment terms and rates of various financial obligations in accordance with existing laws.” PhilHealth spokesman Rey Baleña said on Sunday they respect the lawmakers’ position but warned of its implications. Baleña said PhilHealth is mandated under the UHC to implement the increase in premium contribution. “Our ability to sustain the benefits in the long term will be impacted,” Baleña said, partly in Filipino. Sought for comment on Defensor’s pitch, Baleña separately told BusinessMirror: “We respect the views of Cong. Defensor, however the issue is a matter of law and only Congress has the power to amend the law.” Baleña explained in the radio interview that the projected total benefit payment of PhilHealth for 2020 is expected to reach P177 billion, higher than the P148.2 billion they expect to get from direct contributions and subsidy from the national government. The state health insurer projected direct contributions to reach P76.8 billion for 2020—on top of the total P71.3 billion subsidy it expects to receive from the national government. Currently, he said PhilHealth’s reserve fund is at P137 billion.

A 3-wheeled electronic bike that drives like a car is seen parked along A. Bonifacio street in Cainta, Rizal. More vehicles like this have been seen on streets as the pandemic restricted public transportation to curb the spread of Covid-19. E-bike advocates say it is also the answer to parking problems and dilapidated public utility transport. BERNARD TESTA

DOH revokes RT-PCR lab’s license; four others eyed

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

OR its repeated failure to submit Covid-19 test results, the license of one RT-PCR laboratory was revoked by the Department of Health (DOH). Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire also revealed that four other laboratories are facing possible revocation for the same violation. She refused to name these laboratories. Likewise, Vergeire reported a 5-percent decrease in the number

of positive daily cases in recent days due to two reasons: laboratories went non-operational and few patients were seen in Covid-19 laboratories. From 36,000 submissions from the laboratories, the number went down to 22,000 this holiday season. As of January 4, 2021, the number of Covid-19 cases in the country rose to 478,761.

Surge in number of cases

However, Vergeire warned that they expect that the number of cases will rise in mid-January.

“We are expecting if and when, this surge would really happen maybe mid-January,” Vergeire said in an online media forum. “Huwag naman sana, pero kung saka-sakali diyan siya makikita [Hope it will not happen but if ever, we expect the cases to increase by that time],” Vergeire said. The DOH reminded the public to be cautious in interpreting these numbers as an increase in cases in the coming weeks is still possible. The DOH continues to assess the extent of the effects of the holiday season on Covid-19 transmission.

The DOH asks all stakeholders to be vigilant in guarding against complacency in the fight against Covid-19. An additional 959 cases were logged on Monday with additional cases of 26 recoveries and six deaths. Of the total number of cases, 4.4 percent (21,219) are active, 93.6 percent (448,279) have recovered, and 1.93 percent (9,263) have died. Three labs were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Data Repository System on January 3, 2021.

Pogo workers’ vaccination probed; Palace hails PSG men

UTHORITIES are now inquiring into the reported immunization from Covid-19 of some 100,000 Chinese nationals working in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) industry. In an interview with PTV on Monday, the Department of Health (DOH) said the claim made by anticrime advocate Teresita Ang-See will be included in the investigation by concerned agencies. Health Secretar y Francisco Duque III said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), together

with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will now also look into the purported mass use of unregistered vaccines in POGOs. Over the weekend, the NBI said it will start looking into the alleged use by some members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) of unregistered Covid-19 vaccine from Chinese drug maker, Sinopharm. Philippine Ambassador to China Chito Sta. Romana said Sinopharm is expected to apply for a Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from FDA

this week. If approved by FDA, it will allow the local use of Sinopharm’s Covid-19 vaccine. While the unauthorized use by PSG of the vaccine drew criticism from the public since it violated existing regulations, it was commended by Malacañang as an act of selflessness. “They put their lives at risk to give protection to the President... President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, thanked and commended members of PSG, who were injected [with the vaccine], courage, and honesty,”

Harry Roque said. Roque, however, refused to comment on the legality of the importation of the Chinese vaccine used by members of PSG. The law prohibits the importation, distribution as well as administration of any drug and vaccine without authorization from the FDA. Duque said they will be getting the identity of the PSG members, who were inoculated for Covid-19, to determine if they will exhibit any side effect from using the Sinopharm vaccine. Samuel P. Medenilla

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

PHL slaps safeguard duty on imported cars, LCVs

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

he Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has imposed an additional tariff per unit of P70,000 on passenger cars and P110,000 on light commercial vehicles (LCVs) to protect local assemblers from a surge in imports. The DTI on Monday issued its preliminary determination to the petition lodged by the Philippine Metalworkers Alliance to apply safeguard measure on vehicle imports. Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the DTI found merit in the petition, and it is putting safeguard duty on the import of automobiles in response. Lopez argued his agency can no longer delay the imposition of the safeguard, as prolonging the issuance may result in further damage to the automotive industry. “The Philippines has one of the most open markets relative to our

Asean neighbors,” Lopez said in a statement. “While we generally do not restrict products coming into the market, we also need to ensure the level playing field for our local industry.” As a provisional measure, the safeguard duty takes effect for 200 days from the issuance of an order by the Customs chief and while the case is being investigated by the Tariff Commission. “ The provisional safeguard measures will provide a breathing space to the domestic industry, which has been facing a surge in importation of competing brands.

To clarify, importation is not being banned, and consumers will still have the options to choose, but imported vehicle models covered by the rule shall have safeguard import duties,” Lopez said. “With that being said, it will also facilitate the structural adjustment of the local industry to be more cost efficient and technologically advanced.” Based on the DTI’s report, imports of passenger cars increased an average of 35 percent during the period of investigation from 2014 to 2018. The share of imported vehicles when compared to domestic production jumped to 349 percent in 2018, from 295 percent in 2014. Imports of LCVs tripled to 51,969 in 2018, from 17,273 in 2014, to signify an increase in its share relative to domestic manufacturing to 1,364 percent in 2018, from 645 percent in 2015. As for those made here, market share of locally made passenger cars declined to a range of 22 percent to 25 percent, while the share of imports captured more than 70 percent. Likewise, the market share of LCVs made in

the Philippines dipped to 7 percent in 2018, while that of their imported counterparts improved to 93 percent. Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the DTI said in its report employment in the manufacturing sector for motor vehicles went down by 8 percent in 2018, from a total of 90,275 workers in 2017. “Safeguards are imposed to protect local manufacturers and producers and to prevent other companies from leaving the country. If we recall, the discontinuation of the production of Isuzu D-Max in July 2019 and the assembly plant closure of Honda Motors Philippines in the first quarter of 2020 affected local jobs and the Philippine economy,” the trade chief explained. “It may also attract vehicle manufacturers to operate in the country and create more jobs.” The DTI concluded the domestic industry suffered a slump in market share, sales, employment and inventories, and endured losses over the period of investigation, affecting their cash flows and financial liquidity.

Govt told to develop energy sources By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

he Duterte administration was prompted Monday to frontload early preparations to tap alternative power sources with the Malampaya gas field projected to dry up next year to “avert possible rotational brownouts.” For its part, the Senate Committee on Energy, chaired by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, convenes Tuesday to set in motion Senate deliberations on options to further develop the natural gas industry, aiming to provide “a replacement of the Malampaya deep water gas-topower project even before its supply

PAL slowly restoring flights from Davao hub

avao City—Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said it is slowly restoring air travel from its hub here, with flights to Manila, Cebu and Zamboanga City. From a peak of 10 flights to Manila before the quarantine period last year, 3 have been installed but still, not on a daily basis, the PAL station here said. The morning flight, for instance, scheduled at 8:30 am, flies on Tuesdays, Wednesday, Fridays and on weekends. Its noon flight, 12:25 pm, flies only on Mondays and Thursdays. Its 5:25 p.m. flight flies only Saturdays. It has mounted a single flight to Cebu, only on Tuesdays and Saturdays, at 10:10 a.m. The flight to Zamboanga City has also been installed but only on Mondays, at 1:30 p.m. In March last year, only a few days before the lockdown in Metro Manila and Luzon, the Davao City hub of PAL flew to 7 destinations, including Iloilo, Siargao, Panglao in Bohol, and Clark. PAL Spokesperson Cielo Villaluna told reporters in Manila that it would revive the flights to Iloilo, Siargao and Tagbilaran from its Davao City hub to help revive the economy in Mindanao. Villaluna disclosed that PAL’s Davao City hub would be the first to be revved up as a large part of its operation in Manila, Cebu and Clark hubs remained suspended due to the Covid-19 restrictions imposed on air travel. Manuel T. Cayon

runs out and avert possible rotational brownouts beginning 2022.” On top of the committee agenda is Senate Bill 1819 earlier introduced by Gatchalian in anticipation of the nearing depletion of gas output from the Malampaya-Camago wells, noting that the output of the gas was projected to “start going down by 2024.” “The direction of the Department of Energy [DOE] is to encourage the private sector to build receiving terminals for imported liquefied natural gas [LNG],” the senator said, adding: “And because we haven’t discovered new sources of gas in our country, we have to resort to importing LNG just to

make sure that those 3,200-megawatt gas-fired power plants keep on running.” Gatchalian pointed out that the Malampaya gas field fuels 5 power plants comprising 20 percent of the installed capacity of the Luzon grid, based on the 2019 Department of Energy (DOE) Power Statistics, serving 53.75 percent of Meralco’s electricity demand. Moreover, the Senator noted that apart from the declining reserves, Malampaya’s service contract will expire in 2024. At the same time, Gatchalian recalled that the DOE had issued a circular in November 2017 outlining the regulations to be followed

by all stakeholders in the downstream natural gas industry. The senator said, however, that DOE’s issuance needs a complementary law to cover all aspects of the midstream natural gas industry which includes transportation, transmission, storage, and marketing of natural gas in its original or liquefied form. The Senator reminded that “owing to the intricacy of the midstream natural gas industry, a comprehensive legislation is needed to fill in the gaps and strengthen existing bridge policies in order to unlock the potential of natural gas as a vital source of energy for the country.”

QC hospitals to get 3,500 newborn kits

early 2 million babies are expected to be born in 2021 with over 200,000 unplanned births, according to the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM). As the world continues to fight against the pandemic, however, it is no surprise that today’s pregnant women are frantic and anxious in an otherwise joyous and exciting journey. Understanding the evolving realities of parents and the need to protect newbor ns, JOHNSON’S, a global leader in healthcare, continues to partner with Mercury Drug Foundation Inc. (MDFI) to provide gentle protection to babies in need. Now in its third year, the partnership aims to raise 3,500 newborn kits for mothers and babies in Quezon City. “In today’s world of uncertainty, fear, and confusion, our commitment to being parents’ trusted partner and ensuring the protection of babies and kids has never been stronger. We are thrilled to continue our meaningful partnership with MDFI in line with our pursuit of a gentler, better world where every baby thrives,” said JOHNSON’S Mar-

Contributed Photo

keting Director, Justine Anne Gaurino-Aruta. This year, JOHNSON’S and MDFI has chosen the Quezon City Government as the partnership’s beneficiary. With almost 3 million in population, Quezon City is the most populous city in Metro Manila and the largest city in the country to be hit by the pandemic. A total of 3,500 newborn kits, containing JOHNSON’S CottonTouch wash 200ml, CottonTouch lotion 200ml, Messy Times Wipes 20s, and JOHNSON’S Baby Powder 50g, will be turned over to 12 hospitals and lying in centers in Quezon City. Recommended by

pediatricians and dermatologists, JOHNSON’S wash and lotion provides 100 percent Gentle Skin Protection against dryness, redness, irritation, germs, and pol lution helping ensure the health and protection of babies’ first line of defense—their skin. “In 2019, with help of parents all over the country, we were able to produce and turnover 3,600 maternity kits to hospitals and birthing centers in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Once again, we hope to rally parents nationwide to extend gentleness into helping babies who need protection the most,” said MDFI Executive Director Annie Fuentes.

Senators back fresh franchise for ABS-CBN S

enate President Vicente Sotto III led a fresh bid by senators to give ABS-CBN Corp. a new franchise by filing an enabling bill Monday, a measure that gained snowballing support with several senators indicating they would vote in favor of renewal. Sotto also said he sees a bigger chance for the network to get back its franchise in the House of Representatives since it is under a “new Speaker and officers.” “Yes. New Speaker, new officers. Could be a better chance,” he said. He also noted that “the TV stations have been replacing their news programs with animes. It means competition is absent and mediocrity is creeping in because of the absence of a strong competitor like ABS-CBN.” The Senate leader also played down questions on why the franchise will be renewed since it already lapsed. “It could also mean a new franchise,” Sotto III replied, adding it is “a matter of semantics and could be understood that they used to have one before.” Senator Juan Edgardo Angara affirmed Senate majority support for the ABS-CBN franchise renewal even as he clarified that the enabling bill needs to emanate from the House f Representatives. “We support that but as you know it’s all dependent on what the House will do since it is subject to the origination clause of the Constitution where certain types of bills including franchise bills must originate from the House,” Angara said.

At the same time, Senator Joel Villanueva confirmed he signed up as co-author of the ABS-CBN franchise renewal billl, saying: “I am coauthoring that bill. We all know that ABS-CBN deserves the renewal of its franchise given the service it has rendered to the Filipino people.” Asked if he would support the ABSCBN franchise bill, Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon replied: “Yes. But we cannot take it up in the Senate, unless the House will pass it first.” However, Drilon dodged when asked if he thought the ABS-CBN franchise renewal stands a chance to be approved under the new leadership in the House of Representatives, saying only that it “depends on President Duterte.” For her part, Senator Grace Poe, who chairs the franchise granting Senate Public Services Committee, assured that the ABS-CBN franchise bill will be accorded “utmost priority.” “Given the crippling effects of the ABS-CBN shutdown and the need for more news outlets with the widest reach during the raging pandemic, the issue will be given utmost priority as soon as it is referred to the Committee on Public Service,” said Poe. Poe, however, said that “the Constitution requires that bills of such nature originate from the House (and) it will most likely be referred to Rules until the House grants the franchise.” Still, Poe affirmed “my support for a free and fair media in the name of public service remains,” adding she “will make sure that the Committee acts on it in due course.” Butch Fernandez

Foxconn in talks with Chinese EV start-up Byton for funding

pple Inc. supplier Foxconn Technology Group is in talks to invest in embattled Chinese electric-vehicle start-up Byton Ltd. in a deal that could mark a large bet by the iPhone assembler on the car-making business, according to people familiar with the matter. Foxconn, whose main listed arm is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., plans to invest around $200 million and the companies aim to start mass production of the Byton MByte by the first quarter of 2022, one of the people said, declining to be named discussing information that isn’t yet public. An announcement on the pact could come as early as Monday, the people said. Such a deal, if it eventuates, would represent a lifeline for Byton, which is struggling to produce its first vehicle having unveiled its MByte concept car several years ago. Foxconn, based in Taiwan, is also talking to other Chinese electriccar makers on potential collaborations, another person said. Foxconn representatives didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Byton declined to comment. Tech companies are increasingly pouring money into developing next-generation cars, including all-electric vehicles and the smart technologies that go with them like autonomous driving and car-to-car communication systems. Foxconn is the single most important production partner for Apple, which is reportedly considering developing a self-driving car of its own. Foxconn is also seeking to diversify a business that depends on the United States smartphone giant for half its revenue.

Tesla supplier

In early 2020, Hon Hai announced a plan to form a joint venture with

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV to develop and make electric vehicles in China, though it won’t be involved in any assembly itself. In October, the Taiwanese company unveiled its first electric-vehicle chassis as well as an open software platform that’s aimed at helping EV makers deliver models to the market faster. It will start shipping its first developer kit in April. The Foxconn group has been supplying parts to other major carmakers including Tesla Inc. “The electric vehicle-related business will be very good in the first half of 2021,” Hon Hai Chairman Young Liu said at a company event in Taipei last month. Hon Hai’s shares extended gains Monday morning after analysts at JPMorgan and Wedbush forecast robust iPhone sales, and were up almost 8 percent in afternoon trading. Byton, one of the highest-profile Chinese EV startups, had a tough 2020. It suspended all domestic operations and furloughed staff in July after the coronavirus pandemic made it tougher to get its business off the ground. That suspension has been extended now until June. Even before Covid-19 the company had encountered difficulties meeting announced deadlines on producing and delivering its first model. The company’s website still accepts reservations for cars. Founded by former BMW AG managers, Byton, initially named Future Mobility Corp., had about 1,000 employees in China as of June and about 500 elsewhere, including the US. Its investors include state-owned China FAW Group Corp. and EV battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., which supplies batteries to Tesla. Bloomberg News

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

January 4, 2021

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

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

43 105 81.3 25 10.7 47.85 10.82 29 54.55 97.05 18.68 133.7 71.95 0.91 34 0.63 3.94 6.9 1.61 0.37 780 0.69 153.4 1,970 1.04

44.85 105.1 82.4 25.1 10.76 47.95 12.46 29.25 54.6 119 18.88 135 72 0.95 34.5 0.71 3.98 7.36 1.63 0.385 800 0.72 153.5 1,998 1.1

44.9 106.9 81.4 24.9 10.8 49 12.5 29.5 54.6 120 18.94 135 71.9 0.91 34 0.72 3.9 6.9 1.67 0.37 800 0.63 153.8 1,965 1.04

44.9 108 82.4 25.2 10.9 49.05 12.5 29.5 54.6 120 18.98 135 72 0.95 34.9 0.72 4 6.9 1.67 0.39 800 0.75 153.8 1,965 1.04

44.85 104.7 81 24.85 10.68 47.6 12.46 28.95 53.6 120 18.68 132.8 71 0.85 32 0.7 3.9 6.9 1.52 0.37 800 0.6 153.2 1,951 1.04

44.9 105 82.4 25 10.7 47.95 12.46 29 54.55 120 18.68 135 71.95 0.95 34.9 0.71 3.94 6.9 1.61 0.385 800 0.72 153.5 1,951 1.04

800 4,355,110 1,757,250 145,100 697,700 5,111,800 5,200 640,000 250 930 49,400 570,380 23,840 209,000 12,500 32,000 245,000 8,000 733,000 880,000 2,000 1,511,000 4,500 25 2,000

35,895 460,975,189 143,629,166 3,618,535 7,496,454 246,009,550 64,972 18,620,390 13,505 111,600 931,758 76,509,422 1,712,317 190,940 421,390 22,740 963,950 55,200 1,183,320 325,950 1,600,000 1,004,580 690,261 48,845 2,080

-129,288,321 -26,794,476.50 201,400 -730,476 -64,161,615 -873,890 -132,300 2,884,385 -69,346 111,000 1,600,000 -38,500 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 10.16 10.2 9.15 10.2 9.15 10.2 67,713,900 664,761,639 ALSONS CONS 1.3 1.31 1.3 1.33 1.26 1.31 2,717,000 3,493,370 26.9 27 26.6 27.15 26.55 27 1,191,800 32,132,465 ABOITIZ POWER 28.15 28.2 28.15 28.7 28.15 28.2 703,400 19,880,665 FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG 76.35 77 76.8 77 76 77 139,840 10,750,096 293.6 295 293 295 292 295 180,930 53,190,440 MERALCO 16.1 16.26 15.94 16.26 15.72 16.26 2,546,000 40,746,188 MANILA WATER PETRON 3.98 3.99 3.97 3.99 3.95 3.98 2,098,000 8,330,400 PETROENERGY 3.6 3.69 3.74 3.74 3.6 3.6 44,000 162,440 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.4 12.3 12.3 33,300 410,066 PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL 20.95 21.1 20.5 21.1 20.5 20.95 385,600 7,983,025 SPC POWER 9.7 9.72 9.82 9.83 9.7 9.72 1,061,700 10,361,339 14.02 14.8 14.98 14.98 14.8 14.8 1,400 20,774 VIVANT AGRINURTURE 7.8 7.84 7.98 7.98 7.8 7.84 392,700 3,070,110 AXELUM 3.37 3.47 3.37 3.47 3.35 3.47 1,472,000 4,966,400 14.2 14.5 14.52 14.52 14.2 14.2 19,200 277,296 CNTRL AZUCARERA 17.9 17.92 17.5 17.92 17.5 17.9 1,632,200 29,033,914 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 7.25 7.26 7.2 7.4 7.2 7.26 158,800 1,153,053 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.78 7.45 7.6 1,696,600 12,813,433 DNL INDUS 10.14 10.16 10.16 10.18 10.12 10.16 4,259,600 43,261,520 EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV 67.15 67.5 67 67.9 66.8 67.5 56,040 3,757,719.50 0.68 0.69 0.66 0.69 0.66 0.69 263,000 178,290 ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG 1.68 1.69 1.7 1.7 1.65 1.69 20,226,000 33,795,190 GINEBRA 50.35 52.8 49.4 53 49.4 52.8 49,900 2,620,845 JOLLIBEE 194.3 194.4 195.2 195.2 194 194.4 625,440 121,614,565 38.4 39 39.8 39.8 38 39 4,600 179,200 LIBERTY FLOUR MACAY HLDG 8.04 8.6 8.31 8.85 8.03 8.03 11,200 91,653 MAXS GROUP 6.91 6.93 6.86 7 6.85 6.91 529,600 3,670,779 0.235 0.238 0.221 0.239 0.217 0.235 8,490,000 1,956,950 MG HLDG 7.53 7.56 7.66 7.66 7.5 7.56 343,400 2,598,186 SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO 1.3 1.32 1.29 1.35 1.28 1.32 6,546,000 8,626,720 4.55 4.76 4.55 4.55 4.55 4.55 8,000 36,400 RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG 1.67 1.75 1.62 1.78 1.62 1.64 25,000 41,340 SWIFT FOODS 0.124 0.125 0.128 0.128 0.123 0.124 250,000 30,920 152.2 153 152.5 153.3 149.7 152.2 888,470 135,286,622 UNIV ROBINA 0.92 0.93 0.92 0.93 0.89 0.92 5,811,000 5,288,430 VITARICH VICTORIAS 2.33 2.41 2.3 2.43 2.3 2.42 82,000 192,820 CONCRETE A 53.55 55.7 53.55 55.85 53.55 55.85 300 16,525 55.3 59.9 55.3 59.95 55.25 59.95 1,210 66,909.50 CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG 1.46 1.48 1.45 1.5 1.45 1.46 7,580,000 11,200,400 DAVINCI CAPITAL 5.11 5.15 5.11 5.15 5.08 5.11 196,500 1,003,552 14.4 14.46 14.24 14.5 14.22 14.46 186,000 2,668,520 EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP 7.58 7.59 7.57 7.59 7.55 7.58 402,900 3,049,229 HOLCIM 7.4 7.41 7.25 7.45 7.18 7.4 4,065,000 29,864,202 7.66 7.67 7.98 7.98 7.52 7.66 6,669,100 51,360,225 MEGAWIDE 9.47 10 9.98 10 9.45 10 38,500 383,814 PHINMA TKC METALS 0.91 0.94 0.93 0.97 0.91 0.91 570,000 521,460 1.07 1.08 1.05 1.11 1.04 1.08 5,772,000 6,142,710 VULCAN INDL 127.9 139.9 127.8 127.8 127.8 127.8 50 6,390 CHEMPHIL CROWN ASIA 1.84 1.86 1.87 1.88 1.85 1.85 57,000 106,150 EUROMED 2.21 2.22 2.35 2.35 2.2 2.21 1,228,000 2,737,430 4.4 4.8 4.45 4.45 4.4 4.4 82,000 362,250 LMG CORP MABUHAY VINYL 4.43 4.65 4.5 4.65 4.5 4.65 11,000 49,650 PRYCE CORP 5.2 5.24 5.01 5.3 5.01 5.2 93,500 488,323 22.85 23.45 23.4 23.5 22.55 22.65 8,400 194,240 CONCEPCION GREENERGY 2.54 2.58 2.6 2.61 2.54 2.58 5,185,000 13,344,150 INTEGRATED MICR 9.3 9.35 9.12 9.3 9.12 9.3 703,900 6,501,257 1.13 1.15 1.18 1.18 1.1 1.13 3,199,000 3,613,780 IONICS 5.15 5.47 5.58 5.58 5.12 5.47 6,900 36,529 PANASONIC SFA SEMICON 1.54 1.55 1.53 1.55 1.5 1.54 1,833,000 2,799,510 6.82 6.83 6.7 6.91 6.7 6.83 3,593,000 24,538,054 CIRTEK HLDG

40,331,352 -63,500 -3,746,325 10,239,940 -8,318,503.50 -1,959,352 2,955,688 -2,611,040 -14,960 239,850 -891,195 235,883 172,658 -418,800 4,350 176,032 21,900 3,787,114 9,097,868 1,162,389 -293,370 2,430,155 -21,260,373 743,242 -259,840 -381,603 1,143,170 5,340 -19,538,439 -664,680 57,610 98,730 -236,040 238,798 1,116,782 -6,313,234 100,100 67,410 12,525 -122,625 2,755,900 -537,675.00 8,960 24,240 -323,947

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

0.65 9.72 832 46.7 10.32 3.68 6.56 0.77 0.85 0.85 5.61 5.67 9.4 3.01 0.21 585 3.92 71.25 5.1 4.96 0.8 3.72 13 0.51 1.8 4.25 3.21 0.87 2.62 1.12 236 1,058 128.5 0.74 1.85 139 0.224 0.177

0.66 9.85 836 47.1 10.34 3.69 6.76 0.78 0.86 0.9 5.68 5.68 9.47 3.32 0.23 595 4 73 5.74 5.28 0.82 3.73 13.04 0.52 1.9 4.26 3.22 0.89 3 1.18 239 1,060 134 0.8 2.49 140 0.229 0.182

0.65 10.38 827 46.55 10.56 3.43 6.6 0.77 0.85 0.9 5.7 5.66 9.43 3.02 0.21 588 4.02 71.6 5.77 5.28 0.83 3.71 13 0.51 1.8 4.3 3.16 0.87 3 1.12 237 1,055 128.1 0.74 1.85 139 0.224 0.18

0.66 10.44 837.5 47.35 10.6 3.72 6.6 0.8 0.87 0.9 5.71 5.8 9.5 3.03 0.21 604 4.15 73.9 5.77 5.28 0.83 3.73 13.16 0.53 1.9 4.3 3.38 0.87 3 1.18 239 1,068 134 0.8 1.85 139 0.224 0.18

0.62 9.7 823 46.55 10.22 3.43 6.6 0.75 0.84 0.84 5.55 5.65 9.4 3.02 0.21 583 4 70.95 5.74 4.87 0.78 3.71 12.9 0.51 1.8 4.2 3.16 0.87 3 1.12 236 1,046 125.5 0.74 1.85 139 0.223 0.171

0.65 9.86 836 46.7 10.34 3.69 6.6 0.78 0.86 0.85 5.61 5.67 9.47 3.02 0.21 595 4 71.25 5.74 5.28 0.8 3.73 13.04 0.53 1.9 4.26 3.21 0.87 3 1.17 236 1,060 134 0.74 1.85 139 0.224 0.18

23,948,000 145,700 161,610 912,200 8,651,900 9,010,000 3,800 530,000 5,236,000 932,000 1,973,800 6,517,500 17,200 30,000 150,000 309,180 275,000 1,777,780 38,800 9,000 1,547,000 1,082,000 1,453,600 33,000 36,000 16,872,000 62,000 67,000 150,000 117,000 1,350 208,000 219,000 530,000 3,000 1,240 550,000 2,750,000

15,298,220 1,449,379 134,307,665 42,691,625 90,026,284 32,772,060 25,080 405,580 4,453,660 806,040 11,137,171 36,975,051 162,730 90,630 31,500 183,333,260 1,101,510 128,484,305 223,186 44,308 1,226,790 4,019,250 18,916,092 16,950 68,000 71,567,360 203,000 58,290 450,000 133,010 319,220 220,503,350 28,343,547 392,760 5,550 172,360 123,190 484,990

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP ANCHOR LAND AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP AREIT RT BELLE CORP A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV KEPPEL PROP CITY AND LAND MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME PTFC REDEV CORP VISTA LAND

0.62 7.81 41.3 1.14 29.2 1.69 0.9 0.78 0.141 5.5 5.12 0.44 0.34 15.54 7.5 0.305 0.083 1.11 0.93 7.84 1.37 3.36 0.72 4.16 0.62 0.395 1.4 21.2 0.305 1.58 2.69 1.94 39.25 4.16 1.7 44 4.65

0.63 8.18 42 1.25 29.25 1.71 0.92 0.81 0.145 5.9 5.15 0.45 0.36 15.66 7.6 0.315 0.085 1.12 0.94 8.1 1.38 3.52 0.73 4.18 0.63 0.425 1.43 21.25 0.32 1.59 2.7 2 39.3 4.26 1.71 47.5 4.66

0.65 7.81 40.8 1.11 29.35 1.72 0.91 0.78 0.141 5.9 5.05 0.45 0.33 15 7.6 0.31 0.086 1.12 0.93 8.24 1.42 3.36 0.71 4.07 0.62 0.385 1.53 21 0.305 1.55 2.68 1.95 38.5 4.14 1.68 47.5 4.68

0.66 7.81 42 1.13 29.4 1.72 0.94 0.81 0.145 5.9 5.15 0.46 0.355 15.66 7.6 0.32 0.086 1.13 0.94 8.24 1.42 3.55 0.73 4.18 0.63 0.395 1.53 21.3 0.325 1.58 2.7 2.08 40.4 4.2 1.71 47.5 4.7

0.62 7.81 40.65 1.11 29.2 1.69 0.9 0.78 0.14 5.2 5.01 0.44 0.325 14.96 7.45 0.305 0.083 1.11 0.92 7.9 1.36 3.36 0.71 4 0.59 0.385 1.4 20.6 0.305 1.54 2.68 1.95 38.45 4.14 1.64 47.5 4.56

0.63 7.81 42 1.13 29.25 1.69 0.9 0.81 0.145 5.48 5.15 0.445 0.355 15.66 7.6 0.315 0.083 1.11 0.93 8.12 1.38 3.53 0.73 4.18 0.62 0.385 1.4 21.25 0.32 1.58 2.69 2 39.25 4.16 1.7 47.5 4.65

2,444,000 1,000 5,282,500 70,000 586,700 447,000 2,603,000 24,000 2,050,000 14,400 1,668,100 13,690,000 2,740,000 6,283,100 226,200 2,860,000 1,280,000 12,599,000 499,000 27,500 7,927,000 7,000 38,000 36,278,000 219,103,000 140,000 539,000 14,959,600 770,000 104,000 50,000 66,000 12,522,700 76,000 4,108,000 1,000 4,008,000

-310,940 15,020 -57,809,810 -4,666,495.00 -1,875,464 1,576,850 17,160 400,500 470,228 1,928,895 -31,500 -77,785,910 -209,490.00 47,438,060 80,000 96,850 -530,434 -18,389,890 18,488,040 -3,551,542.00 7,400 -

1,534,660 7,810 219,120,850 78,390 17,177,585 762,630 2,372,260 19,380 288,730 76,804 8,486,088 6,101,550 942,000 96,952,554 1,700,461 890,900 107,480 14,038,860 467,920 221,254 10,942,820 24,580 27,100 149,245,670 134,647,810 54,100 784,340 313,328,825 235,200 163,030 134,830 131,120 495,011,890 317,180 6,833,150 47,500 18,456,430

138,660 -23,924,420 11,100 -5,326,560 7,750 -45,620 112,550 -16,500 -23,081,202 40,300 -526,610 396,200 4,380 -21,832,780 -1,581,510 -14,730 -59,461,940 131,720,475 125,400 1,803,500

SERVICES ABS CBN 11.66 11.68 11.68 11.72 11.58 11.66 269,100 3,134,888 GMA NETWORK 6.02 6.03 6.02 6.05 6 6.02 897,900 5,405,228 0.44 0.45 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.44 570,000 250,800 MANILA BULLETIN MLA BRDCASTING 10.82 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.6 200 2,320 GLOBE TELECOM 2,018 2,030 2,030 2,070 2,018 2,018 37,670 76,938,280 1,363 1,380 1,359 1,393 1,356 1,363 183,700 252,948,565 PLDT 0.163 0.164 0.138 0.163 0.133 0.163 2,648,830,000 389,256,010 APOLLO GLOBAL CONVERGE 15.04 15.08 14.9 15.08 14.54 15.08 3,512,900 52,127,400 DFNN INC 5.12 5.14 5.27 5.27 5.14 5.14 69,400 361,560 13.02 13.04 11.4 13.08 11.4 13.02 129,105,000 1,573,406,628 DITO CME HLDG IMPERIAL 1.59 1.66 1.59 1.79 1.58 1.66 142,000 230,800 ISLAND INFO 0.12 0.122 0.12 0.127 0.12 0.121 2,440,000 300,960 1.92 2.04 2.1 2.1 1.91 2.04 153,000 304,380 JACKSTONES NOW CORP 4.23 4.24 4.33 4.55 3.96 4.24 40,282,000 166,265,760 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.345 0.35 0.34 0.36 0.335 0.35 21,250,000 7,351,500 3.05 3.08 2.89 3.1 2.85 3.08 1,254,000 3,696,470 PHILWEB 8.27 8.3 8.3 8.5 8.22 8.27 89,300 741,414 2GO GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS 15.18 15.58 15.14 15.14 15.14 15.14 1,000 15,140 5.6 5.62 5.2 5.68 5.16 5.6 13,634,500 74,800,415 CHELSEA 48.6 48.65 50 50 47.9 48.6 1,467,280 71,210,055.50 CEBU AIR INTL CONTAINER 124.6 126 124.5 127 123.5 126 637,590 79,907,821 15.48 15.9 15.5 15.94 15.48 15.5 10,000 156,464 LBC EXPRESS 0.97 0.98 0.96 0.98 0.96 0.98 12,000 11,740 LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA 6.54 6.55 6.7 6.7 6.52 6.54 7,434,100 48,932,894 METROALLIANCE A 1.91 1.93 1.87 1.93 1.84 1.93 718,000 1,347,970 1.82 2 1.77 1.83 1.77 1.83 7,000 12,750 METROALLIANCE B PAL HLDG 6.58 6.7 6.56 6.7 6.56 6.7 110,300 727,248 HARBOR STAR 1.52 1.53 1.58 1.58 1.5 1.52 4,027,000 6,191,690 1.45 1.48 1.39 1.49 1.39 1.49 9,000 12,610 ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG 0.038 0.039 0.04 0.04 0.038 0.039 34,400,000 1,340,600 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.35 2.59 2.59 2.59 2.59 2.59 1,000 2,590 10.5 10.92 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 700 7,350 GRAND PLAZA WATERFRONT 0.57 0.58 0.57 0.58 0.56 0.58 12,631,000 7,163,200 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.88 6.99 7 7 6.65 6.99 37,400 256,942 584 627 581.5 581.5 581.5 581.5 30 17,445 FAR EASTERN U IPEOPLE 8.03 9 9 9 9 9 1,000 9,000 STI HLDG 0.445 0.45 0.465 0.47 0.44 0.445 7,150,000 3,210,900 BERJAYA 5.6 5.99 6.05 6.15 5.35 5.6 1,307,700 7,795,651 8.32 8.34 8.12 8.38 8.04 8.34 6,484,900 52,847,902 BLOOMBERRY PACIFIC ONLINE 2.03 2.08 2.11 2.11 2.03 2.03 112,000 231,310 LEISURE AND RES 1.88 1.93 1.94 1.94 1.86 1.88 426,000 803,190 2.31 2.32 2.32 2.32 2.32 2.32 4,000 9,280 MANILA JOCKEY PH RESORTS GRP 3.03 3.04 2.85 3.05 2.85 3.04 22,885,000 67,944,110 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.455 0.465 0.44 0.475 0.44 0.455 17,150,000 7,797,150 6.71 7 7 7 6.8 7 2,100 14,520 PHIL RACING ALLHOME 8.9 8.91 9.15 9.2 8.82 8.9 973,000 8,718,536 METRO RETAIL 1.48 1.49 1.5 1.5 1.45 1.49 3,058,000 4,506,980 41.05 41.1 41.1 41.9 41 41.05 2,261,600 93,116,840 PUREGOLD 64.75 64.8 66.45 66.45 64.8 64.8 1,131,750 73,775,218 ROBINSONS RTL PHIL SEVEN CORP 120 123 119.9 120 117.3 120 6,760 805,498 SSI GROUP 1.48 1.5 1.48 1.52 1.47 1.48 7,491,000 11,167,670 17.9 17.98 17.06 17.98 16.88 17.98 1,541,200 27,124,702 WILCON DEPOT APC GROUP 0.405 0.41 0.41 0.415 0.39 0.405 1,750,000 714,650 EASYCALL 7.12 7.35 6.86 7.4 6.86 7.35 44,200 315,922 433 450 420 450 420 450 430 193,020 GOLDEN BRIA IPM HLDG 6.59 7 7.95 7.95 6.01 7 28,200 200,032 PAXYS 2.34 2.46 2.35 2.35 2.35 2.35 10,000 23,500 1.32 1.33 1.17 1.34 1.14 1.32 328,062,000 411,018,870 PRMIERE HORIZON 5.16 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.6 5.6 50,300 282,920 SBS PHIL CORP

-15,570,750 10,484,560 3,980,480 7,825,976 147,190.00 62,988,650 -17,589,210 92,600 -26,100 -105,127 -2,091,583 -6,862,583 -3,687,661 -38,750 -571,529 -660 -18,480 15,600 301,280 -298,050 -2,960,350 113,100 -2,526,480 -273,200 -717,191 -58,510 -32,473,905.00 15,601,024 407,332 -247,690 7,378,116.00 -8,000 11,214,270 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 7.96 8.13 7.9 8.2 7.65 8.13 198,100 1,551,794 1.8 1.81 1.77 1.8 1.73 1.8 15,073,000 26,838,800 5,010 APEX MINING 0.0029 0.003 0.0029 0.0031 0.0027 0.0029 16,787,000,000 49,131,400 -890,700.00 ABRA MINING ATLAS MINING 6.72 6.8 6.46 6.8 6.4 6.8 489,600 3,242,459 -498,530 3.15 3.2 3.1 3.28 3.1 3.2 308,000 975,060 BENGUET A BENGUET B 3.1 3.15 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 201,000 623,100 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.28 0.295 0.29 0.29 0.275 0.29 1,670,000 479,100 CENTURY PEAK 2.88 2.91 2.95 2.95 2.83 2.91 416,000 1,210,090 42,900 8.02 8.19 8.01 8.19 7.99 8.19 11,100 89,351 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 2.96 2.97 2.8 2.97 2.79 2.96 27,796,000 81,096,770 9,828,350 GEOGRACE 0.285 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.28 0.29 580,000 165,350 0.183 0.184 0.161 0.185 0.161 0.183 159,350,000 27,974,180 LEPANTO A LEPANTO B 0.18 0.182 0.176 0.18 0.163 0.18 12,110,000 2,125,870 51,600.00 MANILA MINING A 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 29,500,000 300,000 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.011 17,800,000 191,000 MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES 1.62 1.63 1.5 1.65 1.47 1.62 7,941,000 12,495,290 108,190 NIHAO 3.04 3.05 3.02 3.09 3 3.04 699,000 2,117,520 -560,550 5.68 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.68 10,323,200 59,155,673 2,210,938 NICKEL ASIA 0.375 0.385 0.375 0.375 0.375 0.375 140,000 52,500 OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA 0.81 0.84 0.8 0.87 0.78 0.83 4,939,000 4,035,030 161,000 5.37 5.39 5.06 5.46 5.06 5.37 3,529,000 18,645,940 672,650 PX MINING 13.98 14 13.86 14 13.6 14 2,941,700 40,581,452 7,956,614 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.0059 0.0065 0.0058 0.0059 0.0058 0.0059 11,000,000 64,200 ACE ENEXOR 14.02 14.5 11.7 14.78 11.62 14.02 2,587,200 35,148,858 -1,564,674.00 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.013 0.011 0.012 249,800,000 2,985,100 ORNTL PETROL A ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 26,900,000 323,300 -146,400 PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.01 0.012 73,800,000 812,400 10,800 11.9 11.92 11.1 12.08 11 11.92 1,883,000 21,725,098 -410,270 PXP ENERGY PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100 100.1 100.1 100.1 100 100 1,300 130,030 2,000 AC PREF B1 515 520 520 520 515 515 1,830 943,200 101.2 103 101.2 101.2 101.1 101.1 1,190 120,312 ALCO PREF B AC PREF B2R 506 514.5 499.2 503 499.2 503 3,850 1,933,800 CPG PREF A 102 106 102 106 102 106 1,640 167,440 101.5 103.5 102.6 103.5 101.1 103.5 4,880 501,362 DD PREF GLO PREF P 517 518.5 517 517 517 517 4,680 2,419,560 GTCAP PREF A 1,018 1,046 1,018 1,018 1,018 1,018 250 254,500 GTCAP PREF B 1,029 1,030 1,029 1,029 1,029 1,029 550 565,950 100.4 101.5 100.5 101.5 100.4 101.5 22,250 2,255,072 MWIDE PREF MWIDE PREF 2A 100 100.9 100 100 100 100 2,000 200,000 MWIDE PREF 2B 100 101.5 100 100 99.8 99.8 1,000 99,980 103.6 104 103 104 103 104 1,070 110,844 51,800 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 1,008 1,010 1,008 1,009 1,008 1,008 5,440 5,486,620 146,160 PCOR PREF 2B 1,010 1,029 1,010 1,029 1,010 1,029 610 616,290 1,036 1,075 1,015 1,075 1,015 1,074 3,105 3,303,800 PCOR PREF 3A SFI PREF 1.42 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 20,000 32,000 SMC PREF 2C 78.5 78.75 78.25 78.5 78 78.5 5,290 414,900 -39,250 75.15 75.5 76 76 75.4 75.5 31,800 2,400,000 38,000 SMC PREF 2G 76 77.8 75.65 78 75.65 78 520 40,502 SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2J 75.1 76 76 76 75.1 75.1 1,200 90,740 75.5 75.6 75.2 75.5 75.2 75.5 16,510 1,244,672 SMC PREF 2K PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 12.1 12.9 12.6 13 12.6 12.9 11,400 147,600 GMA HLDG PDR 5.95 5.98 5.95 5.95 5.95 5.95 5,100 30,345 WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.99 1.03 1.02 1.05 0.97 1 362,000 359,110 SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 12.18 12.2 12.2 13 12.2 12.2 341,900 4,204,444 -507,718 ITALPINAS 3.39 3.4 3.21 3.39 3.21 3.39 8,507,000 28,084,270 412,060 6.06 6.1 6.1 6.12 6.06 6.06 93,800 572,280 KEPWEALTH MAKATI FINANCE 2.61 2.7 2.68 2.7 2.68 2.7 100,000 269,000 MERRYMART 7.98 7.99 6.6 8 6.6 7.99 127,127,800 930,194,819 10,746,515 EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF 108.6 108.8 109 109.2 108 108.6 18,320 1,992,933 17,412

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Axelum extends ₧500-M share buyback scheme until June 30

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

xelum Resources Corp., a fully-integrated manufacturer and exporter of coconut products, has once again extended its P500million share buyback program by another six months. In a filing to the local bourse, Axelum said the share buy-back program has been extended until June 30 this year from December 31, 2020. It started buying shares back in March with the program originally set to close on September 16.

The company noted that its allotted amount for the program “may be increased from time to time by the Board of Directors as the circumstances may warrant and subject to the availability of unrestricted retained earnings.”

“The actual number of shares to be included in the buy-back program cannot as yet be determined as this will depend on the total buy-back price of the shares,” the disclosure read. Currently, the company has an authorized capital stock of 5 billion shares, with issued and outstanding shares standing at 3.9 billion, while treasure shares at 79.4 million. Axelum is executing the buyback program in the open market through the trading facilities of the Philippine Stock Exchange. For the three quarters of the year, Axelum’s net income fell 37 percent to P383.09 million from last year’s P608.98 million. Revenues fell 4 percent to P3.75

billion from last year’s P3.92 billion. For the third quarter alone, Axelum generated sales of P1.37 billion, almost flat from last year’s P1.32 billion driven by global market demand across all product segments particularly coconut water and coconut milk powder. From January to September, coconut water volumes increased 14 percent on the back of robust retail consumption while coconut milk powder volumes rose 5 percent owing to its extensive use as a key ingredient for food and non-food commercial applications. To date, coconut water and coconut milk powder collectively account for 43 percent of total revenues.

MGM Resorts raises bid for Entain M

GM Resorts International increased its offer for online-betting partner Entain Plc to more than $10 billion, according to people familiar with the bidding. The amount tops an earlier allcash bid made late last year, said the people, who asked not be identified because the negotiations are still private. A spokesman for MGM declined to comment, while Entain didn’t immediately respond to an email after regular business hours. MGM, the largest casino operator on the Las Vegas Strip, formed a joint venture in 2018 with Entain, formerly known as GVC Holdings Plc, to capitalize on the growth of online betting in the United States. The partnership got off to a slow start as the venture had some disagreements over strategy. A merger would consolidate control of the company’s online betting operations at a time when the industry is seeing dramatic growth. The US sports betting market alone is expected to quintuple in size to $8.4 billion by 2024, according to the consulting firm Vixio Gambling Compliance. The talks are still ongoing and may not lead to a transaction, the people said. The Wall Street Journal reported on the deal earlier. Entain shares jumped 28 percent

last year, giving it a market value of 6.6 billion pounds ($9.1 billion). MGM shares fell 5.3 percent in 2020.

Betting boom

In 2018, the US Supreme Court said states outside of Nevada could offer sports betting if they choose. Nineteen states now do so and it’s been approved in six others, according to the American Gaming Association. The US sports betting market alone is expected to quintuple in size to $8.4 billion by 2024, according to the consulting firm Vixio Gambling Compliance. Entain, headquartered on the Isle of Man, has grown dramatically in recent years, including the acquisitions of online operator Bwin.Party and famed British bookmaker Ladbrokes. The casino industry has seen a surge of partnerships and mergers as online betting grows in the US. Las Vegas rival Caesars Entertainment Inc. is in the process of acquiring British bookmaker William Hill Plc, its partner in sports betting. MGM, despite the steep drop in its casino business due to Covid-19, is flush with cash after a series of asset sales in recent years. It also has a strategic shareholder in Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp., pressing for a bigger presence in online betting. Bloomberg News

PSE rings in 2021

Photo shows from left, by row: Capital Markets Integrity Corporation President Daisy P. Arce and Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines COO Renee D. Rubio; PSE COO Roel A. Refran and PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon; PSE Finance Division Head Roberto Jose R. Jimenez and Technology Division Head Philip A. Driz. Contributed Photo

he Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) Board of Directors and Management Committee and heads of PSE subsidiaries welcomed the first trading day of 2021 with a bell ringing ceremony. In his welcome remarks during the program, PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said, “It is only day one, but we will hit the ground running to deliver more to our stakeholders – from products to

technology-based services, financial inclusion and sustainability programs and regulatory reforms. We laid the foundation for most of these initiatives the previous years and we hope to see these come to fruition this year.” On the first trading day of the year, the PSE index closed at 7,197.50, higher by 57.79 points or 0.81 percent. Value turnover was at P10.03 billion.

mutual funds

January 4, 2021

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 227.22 -8.96% -8.67% -1.58% 0.18% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.3132 -3.75% -6.39% 2.3% 0.32% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1334 -13.59% -12.45% -3.03% 0.17% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.8045 -9.52% -7.65% n.a. 0.45% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7417 -11.86% n.a. n.a. 0.03% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.9418 -6.41% -6.64% -1.31% 0.19% -10.12% -8.97% -4.89% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.7601 0.13% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 101.39 -2.42% n.a. n.a. 0.67% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 46.8477 -7.78% -6.54% 0.06% 0.24% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 488.98 -7.44% -6.48% -0.67% 0.18% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 1.0973 7.95% n.a. n.a. 1.46% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.1682 -8.31% -6.38% -0.07% 0.5% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 34.7698 -7.42% -5.92% 0.58% 0.5% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.913 -9.47% n.a. n.a. 0.35% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.7912 -7.41% -6.08% 0.77% 0.22% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 801.65 -7.19% -5.96% 0.67% 0.24% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.719 -14.37% -9.89% -3.43% 0.06% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.6243 -13.1% -8.02% -1.06% 0.1% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9178 -7.43% -6.25% 0.56% 0.24% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.3192 -8.46% -5.43% 1.18% 0.09% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 107.5583 -7.16% -5.72% 1.41% 0.24% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.1881 15.25% 2.3% 6.06% 0.2% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.6687 21.33% 9.51% n.a. -0.04% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.6688 7.35% -4.05% -0.81% 0.17% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.2856 5.45% -2.71% 1.39% 0.27% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6272 0.4% -2.01% -0.48% 0.14% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1986 -12.32% n.a. n.a. 0.15% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.9671 0.58% -0.72% 1.93% 0.16% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.7881 0.38% -1.54% 1.23% 0.12% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 16.9366 0.29% -1.58% 1.16% 0.14% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.0941 -2.61% 0.92% 0.06% -1.03% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.5734 -7% -4.02% -0.09% 0.28% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 1.0226 1.26% n.a. n.a. 0.11% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9492 -3.99% n.a. n.a. 0.19% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9331 -5.29% n.a. n.a. 0.2% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8878 -8.32% -4.85% -0.84% 0.06% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03912 2.41% 2.71% 2.02% -0.05% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.1416 9.99% 2.58% 5.21% -0.09% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.4973 15.18% 7.07% 7.64% -0.1% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1996 6.3% 3.31% n.a. 0% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 371.07 3.67% 3.24% 2.83% 0.01% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9003 -0.12% 0.02% 0.07% 0.01% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2134 3.1% 4.44% 4.83% -0.01% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.296 3.18% 2.94% 2.4% -0.02% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4534 4.01% 3.36% 2.15% 0.03% 5.89% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.6346 4.51% 3.06% 0.06% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3212 5.15% 4.5% 2.69% 0.02% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.0011 5.69% 4.5% 2.83% 0.01% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.042 8.09% 4.03% 2.58% 0.05% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.2059 4.23% 4.9% 3.48% 0.17% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7551 3.2% 4.22% 2.86% 0.06% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $483.87 3.33% 2.75% 2.95% 0.02% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.18 -0.26% 0.86% 1.24% 0.01% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2805 6.12% 4.13% 3.2% 0.01% 2.09% 1.83% 0% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0266 3.1% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0925 -0.25% 0.54% 0.69% -0.04% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5356 5.62% 4.03% 3.74% 0.06% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0623182 3.3% 2.9% 2.36% -0.15% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2241 1.74% 2.27% 2.59% 0.05% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.81 3.15% 3.34% 2.58% 0.01% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0481 1.67% n.a. n.a. 0.01% 2.51% 2.97% 2.61% 0% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2965 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0524 1.46% 1.76% n.a. 0% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.1133 n.a. n.a. n.a. -0.06% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.98 -2% 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 September 28, 2019. 2 - Launch date is November 15, 2019. 3 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019. 4 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 5 - Launch date is December 09, 2019. 6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund). 7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020. "While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa.com.ph to see the

latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

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Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

OK of law seeking fiscal rules for mining sought By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

ITH a digital economy increasing demand for electronics, the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means is pushing for the immediate approval of House Bill (HB) 6135 or the Fiscal Regime for the Mining Industry. House Ways and Means Chair Joey Sarte Salceda emphasized the importance of HB 6135, “in view of the critical importance of the natural resource trust fund it creates, which could serve as a model for other resource-intensive and resource-seeking industries in the country as well as the opportunities it creates in this global period of higher prices for extracted resources.” In his aide memoire to the House leaders, Salceda wrote that “gold will continue to be in high demand for as long as the period of post-Covid monetary expansion continues, as the metal is viewed as an inert store of value against inflation.” The lawmaker further explained that nickel and copper (and their byproduct, cobalt) are poised to be in greater global demand with the rise of the electric vehicle sector. “Most mineral resources abundant in the Philippines will continue to be in high demand as the digital economy increases the demand for electronics,” Salceda said. “There is no better time to maximize our mineral resources than now.” According to the lawmaker, there are two ingredients to maximizing the benefits of mining for the economy: a trust fund that taxes the sector when global prices are high and domestic industries that use up the minerals for higher-value exports during periods of low mineral prices. “The problem with the current Philippine mining sector is it exports most of its production instead of linking it with the domestic manufacturing sector,” Salceda said. “And we do not keep its windfall profits for the future.” The lawmaker said this results to straightjacketing mining communities in poverty “because the attribution of benefits is not direct, while the economy does not get to maximize value-added.” As a result of this policy gap, Salceda said, “we mistake it [mining] for a low-value sector.” “That’s not the right way to view it. The world will always need mining, because there is no digital economy without mining. Every essential part of the digital economy, from data storage to transmission to data generation, uses mineral products. Mining is an essential ingredient to the future,” Salceda added. The bill has been approved

by the Committee on Ways and Means on January 30, 2020, and has been included in the official business for the plenary since February last year. Under the bill, revenues of margin-based royalties collected from large-scale mining operations shall accrue to a Natural Resource Trust Fund, a special account under the Bureau of Treasury. The trust fund’s proceeds can be used by local governments where mining operations are located to “support educational programs, technological research programs of local relevance, disaster risk management, rehabilitation of abandoned mines, health services programs of communities directly affected by mining activities.”

Stagnant industry

CITING a US State Department paper, Salceda estimated the Philippines to have $840 billion in untapped metallic mineral reserves. The lawmaker estimates that, under current production levels, it will take four centuries before the Philippines realize the potential of its reserves. “Without a fiscal regime for mining, this stagnation in the sector will continue,” Salceda said. The lawmaker pointed to Executive Order 79, series of 2012, as having prevented the grant of new mineral agreements “until a legislation rationalizing existing revenue sharing schemes and mechanisms shall have taken effect.” “In the past, our approach was to just ignore the whole industry, because we couldn’t figure out how to manage it better. In fact, if we use our policymaking tools more wisely, we can also regulate this essential industry better.” Salceda’s paper cites data that indicates gross production value for metallic resources has remained between P100 billion to 150 billion. “At this rate, the country will take 400 years to realize the potential of untapped reserves—a waste of opportunity when our stage of development requires rapid economic growth within the next 10 to 20 years,” he added. According to him, the country should strive, for one, for a robust ecosystem that has domesticallyextracted mineral wealth as an input to higher-value exports. For another, the state should also strive to create a system of capturing surplus value in raw commodity exports during periods of global price hikes, “most plausibly through a natural resource trust funds that reserve such value for future use, especially in periods of low global commodity prices.” That way, Salceda added, the country benefits from low prices through manufacturing exporters and from high prices through robust public revenues.

Banker sees growing interest in short-term investments

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

@Tyronepiad

bank executive believes there is growing interest in shortterm fixed income investments as investors swing to conservatism amid a low-interest rate regime.

Robert B. Ramos of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) said he observed their clients in unit investment trust fund (UITF) have been channeling investments to money market funds and short-term funds. The latter investment instruments are considered less volatile, which means less risk as well. “It is very intuitive; investors don’t want to take added risks. Thus, they invest in the two,” Ramos, RCBC Trust and Investments Group Head, was quoted in a statement issued by his bank last Monday. RCBC shares dipped 1.06 percent,

or 20 centavos, to close at P18.68 each amid the 0.81-percent uptick for the main index on Monday. As of end-October last year, the Yuchengco-led bank’s peso-denominated and dollar-denominated money market products reached P9.4 billion, higher than P6.2 billion in December 2019. Peso money market fund’s volume climbed to P5.1 billion from P2 billion while dollar money market fund’s volume rose to P703.9 million from P321.5 million in the same period. The RCBC executive said “that any

@BNicolasBM

S investors flocked to the first government securities auction for the year, the Bureau of the Treasury awarded P24 billion in Treasury Bills (T-bills), an upsize from its initial offering of P20 billion. Broken down, the Treasury awarded P7 billion each for 91-day T-bills and 182-day T-bills while it fully awarded P10 billion in 364-day T-bills. However, National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said rates were down across the board on the back of expectations of easing inflation in December. Government statisticians would release the December figures today, January 5. Rates were all lower than the previous auction and secondary market

trading levels. The auction was more than 4.2-times oversubscribed with total bids reaching P83.6 billion, prompting the auction committee to double the accepted non-competitive bids for the 91-day T-bills and 182-day T-bills to P4 billion each. Asked for comment, De Leon attributed the strong liquidity to the maturing P21 billion in T-Bills this week. She said the auction committee also decided to open the tap facility for an additional P10 billion offering for 364-day T-bills. “[We] welcome [a] strong market for first auction in 2021,” De Leon told reporters after the auction. “Rates decline ahead of tomorrow’s December CPI [consumer price index] report [and expected] easing of inflation last month.” The 91-day T-bills fetched an av-

reversal of interest rates affects all fixed income securities, taking into consideration factors such as inflation, low-interest rates environment, investment terms and hopes for economic recovery.” “The shorter the investment term, the lesser the impact,” Ramos said. “When the market expects the interest rates to adjust against their position, they buy the shortest possible fixed income asset to manage this price risk.” At the same time, he explained that investors opt to invest in shortterm funds to “temporarily park funds” to earn interest income, which is potentially higher than the traditional time deposit accounts. Ramos earlier gave a positive outlook for offshore investments amid reports on the production of Covid-19 vaccine with high effectivity rate, which is seen to support economic recovery and foreign investment markets. Offshore investments refer to funds invested in various kinds of financial instruments in a jurisdiction

To deliver or not to deliver?

few years back, I was introduced to delivery-service providers Grab and Lalamove. I remember wasting a lot of time in traffic because I left a document back home, and it is imperative that I will not go back for that document because it was the most important document for that day. Gone are these days because of the delivery services available today. I can now be in several places because of the delivery services that is now available; from documents I had to send somewhere on the same day to a cellphone charger I left somewhere. As years passed, these companies had explored their delivery services where in fact there are also additional services that is now being offered such as “pabili” service as well as food delivery services such as Grab Food and Foodpanda. Before Covid-19, I used to book services through Lalamove and book a ride through Grab if my car’s on coding until around March of this year. And I started to use a lot more of the services such as “pabili” for grocery and medicine items. I remember during the lockdown period when I was unable to go to the house of my parents, who are both senior citizens, and I advised them to just stay home and I will book a service to have the things they need delivered at home. I tried to book the way I used to. However, the delivery service fee really shot up. Maybe this is due to the limit on the number of drivers taking on the services. So I tried to explore and compare the service fee of each. I discovered that there is a limit of P2,000 for Grab for “pabili” service. But for so long as the driver has more than P2,000, the driver would accept the order. While for Lalamove, some of my friend chose not to use their “pabili” service as it is a little expensive than Grab. You also have to make sure you mark your order

Jendee de Guzman

personal finance as purchase handling and also cash handling; both things add separate fees to the base fare. Around same time of this year, I saw from my Facebook timeline about “Mr. Speedy”—thanks to artificial intelligence, as it seems it captured that I am really looking for cheaper delivery services. I found out that Mr. Speedy is really cheaper in terms of base fare. However, when it comes to the “pabili” service, their cap is at P1,500 only. If you are a heavy user of the online delivery services application, you first have to identify what is that you will ship so that you will know which delivery service will best fit your requirement. What you can do is to simulate it in the application as the fee varies also at the time you are placing your booking. Another factor that will matter in booking a service is the location. As an example, since after the lockdown I am able to go to my parents’ house already, I will book all my requirements through delivery services application when I am in my parents’ house in Pasig City, as it is cheaper compared to where I live now in Rizal. Our place is already considered a province although we are just at the boundary of Markina City and Rizal. In this way, I am able to save. Other strategies you can use, aside from the location and time of booking, is the number of bookings per week as the delivery service application gives a voucher or a discount when you have used their service for a number of times

Govt raises ₧24B in first sale of debt papers for 2021 By Bernadette D. Nicolas

Tuesday, January 5, 2021 B3

erage rate of 0.987 percent, 3.5-basis point lower than the previous auction’s 1.022 percent. The tenor attracted total tenders of P19.4 billion, nearly four times higher than the P5-billion initial offering. Meanwhile, the 182-day T-bills posted an average rate of 1.369 percent, slipping by 3.1 basis points from 1.4 percent in the previous auction. Volume of bids for the tenor reached P21.17 billion, equivalent to four times as much as the P5-billion initial offering. The 364-day T-bills’ average rate settled at 1.614 percent, dropping by 7.2 basis points from 1.686 percent in the previous auction. Bids for the security reached P43.055 billion, up by more than four times compared to P10-billion offer. For this month, the Treasury has

programmed to borrow P140 billion, a chunk of the P3 trillion that government’s planned borrowing for the year. Economic managers expect the country’s outstanding debt to further swell to P11.98 trillion and the country’s debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio to rise to 58.28 percent. The government has last year ramped up its borrowing program to an all-time high nominal P3 trillion from the planned P1.4 trillion. The funds should cover the expected doubling of the budget deficit as well as finance the spending requirements for a Covid-19 response. The government has earlier projected the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio in 2020 to increase to 53.91 percent of GDP—a level it hasn’t seen in over a decade—from a record low of 39.6 percent of GDP in 2019.

within the week. Also, if the items you need to send are required to be delivered on the same day, I suggest that you go to LBC, Xend or DHL as, aside from their expertise in package handling, that will still be cheaper, not to mention that your items will be insured as well. With the pandemic still being battled with, I would say that based on around 20 friends and family members I have asked, they would still continue to use the online delivery services application in combination with the traditional way of sending such as LBC, DHL and or Xend as they would still prefer to work from home. In fact, Filipinos are really creative as gifts are also being sent through these online delivery services to avoid exposure to the virus but still able to show their appreciation to their workmates, friends and loved ones. As a Registered Financial Planner, my only note is that, it is still best to install several applications that you only trust so that you can

outside the investor’s home country. These can be in the form of bonds, stocks, mutual funds, real estate, and life insurance, among others. In his observation, the bank official said that RCBC clients expressed interest in channeling their funds to offshore investments. These customers usually have excess funds or seeking to diversify their investment portfolios, he explained. The bank launched its first Additional Tier 1 offshore offering with an initial size of $300 million last year. The Reg S issuance was priced in at 6.50 percent. The proceeds of the offering were earmarked to finance asset growth and other general corporate matters and to maintain enough reserves above the minimum requirements by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The listed bank saw its net income in January to September 2020 drop by 11.3 percent to P4 billion from P4.5 billion in 2019 due to additional provisions for potential credit losses.

easily compare the service fees the moment you need it. Installing the applications are free anyway. Also, based on my personal experience, prices really vary but you would be able to compare which application best suits you, especially when you are sending the same items or booking the same service every week. For “pabili” service, now that the government has relaxed a little on the rules in going out, you may still want to buy in bulk in grocery and markets so that you don’t fall into using the “pabili” service when you or someone in the household can cook healthier and more delicious meals. It is still better to save and be safe than sorry. So: To deliver or not to deliver? Jendee de Guzman is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about personal-financial planning, attend the 87th RFP program this January 2021. To inquire, e-mail info@rfp.ph or text at 0917-6248110.

Tuesday, January 5, 2021 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Art

BusinessMirror

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Today’s Horoscope

❶ Yes I Believe!,

Arkiv Vilmansa, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 39.4” x 48”

By Eugenia Last

❷

Maybe, I’m Afraid, Arkiv Vilmansa, 2020, acrylic on canvas 23.6” x 23.6”

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: January Jones, 43; Bradley Cooper, 46; Carrie Ann Inaba, 53; Diane Keaton, 75. Happy Birthday: Shake off the past and bounce into the future with optimism. It’s time to let go of dead weight and replace it with stamina and the desire to sign up for a new adventure. Release any doubt you have and concentrate on reality and what you can do to better your life. Trust facts and experts, not hearsay and speculative offers. Your numbers are 8, 15, 21, 24, 29, 35, 44.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Channel your energy into gaining access to information that will help you navigate your way to a better place or position. A positive change in a meaningful relationship will unfold. HHH

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Temptation to join someone’s team instead of leading the way will hold you back. Believe in your ability to get things done on your own. What you end up producing will far exceed what you can gain being someone’s lackey. HHH

❶

❷

Arkiv Vilmansa circles back to his characters works,” said Gaby dela Merced, owner of Vinyl on Vinyl. “After doing abstracts in the past years, he is now back creating characters, which makes this new exhibition much awaited.”

ndonesian artist Arkiv Vilmansa lived a bachelor’s life with a brightness rivaled only by the colors of his signature flat art. With the unique ability to interpret whatever subject into his style of bold hues and sharp eyes— from butterflies to dragons and even Jollibee— Vilmansa, an architecture graduate, decided to pursue drawing figures instead of structures. He quickly made a mark in the designer toy scene with his vinyl figurine, Arkiv Instant, which led to the development of other whimsical characters that he has showcased around the world through art exhibitions and brand collaborations. When the toy designer/painter decided to settle down a few years ago, he embraced a drastic change not only in life as a family man but in his art as well. Vilmansa’s distinct characters seemed to slowly exit the canvas, leaving only the backgrounds behind in an aesthetic shift toward abstraction. Over the past five years, his works have featured mostly dramatic gradients, textured waves and kinetic lines. In his latest solo exhibition, however, Vilmansa marks two comebacks. One is his return to the country—his new works, at least—with the ongoing show presented by Makati-based art space Vinyl on Vinyl. The other, Vilmansa’s long-awaited revisitation of his characters. “When we did our first show with Arkiv, people weren’t really familiar with his super flat technique, but people quickly began to respond well to his

FIGURES AGAIN Vilmansa’s return to his vaunted style was prompted by the unfortunate events of 2020. The artist, who’s on a lifelong pursuit to understanding life and making sense of everything, came up empty in his attempt to fathom this tumultuous year of sickness and disasters. Overwhelmed, Vilmansa, now a father, then noticed how his young son was unmindful of the world’s ills. He observed his child go about his innocent life, concerned only with watching cartoons and playing with toys. The sight reminded Vilmansa of his own characters and what they stood for: humor and hope. He realized that after doing abstracts these past few years, now is the opportune time to revisit his characters. The result is Vilmansa’s ongoing show, titled

Silhouette, which features the artist’s favorite cartoon characters, as well as his son’s, depicted in gestures of loneliness and defeat, the theme of 2020. The portrayals do not simply capture the emotions, but acknowledge them as if to remind the audience that negative feelings are valid and human, to the point that even our favorite characters—these champions of happiness—are vulnerable like us, especially during this challenging year. In Smirkiv, Vilmansa’s take on The Smurfs, shown is a character that normally exudes energy but is now muted in tone and emotion. Meanwhile, Slow Bob features a heavy sense of anxiety weighing down on the giddy yellow underwater creature. Vilmansa’s latest exhibition in Vinyl on Vinyl is just the latest in the string of solos and groups shows that the artist has done with the gallery since 2010. According to dela Merced, her group met the artist when the gallery was still primarily dedicated to vinyl records and vinyl figurines. “He created characters within minutes,” the gallery

Continued on B5

Araneta City, Gateway Gallery’s ‘KulturaSerye’ returns with webinar on Rizal THIS Rizal Month, Gateway Gallery aired its fifth “KulturaSerye” webinar recently, titled “Rizal Kritikal: Mga Aral sa Sibika, Mga Isyung Panlipunan, at Pagbubuo ng Bansa.” The talk brought insights on José Rizal in the context of culture, social issues, and nation-building of his time. The KulturaSerye webinar was delivered by Gateway Gallery’s go-to historian, John Ray Ramos, a history lecturer at Ateneo de Manila University and author of the book Bayani Biographies: José Rizal. The talk gave an overview of Rizal’s critical ideas as seen from his novels Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, as well as his political and social writings.

Oftentimes, Rizal is misinterpreted as a passive reformer as opposed to a critical nationalist. From Rizal, we can learn how critical views of social issues and society itself are important in trying to address them and ultimately contribute to making a better country. In sum, the talk showed the critical social and political ideas of Rizal during his time which are still relevant in today’s society. Managed by the J. Amado Araneta Foundation, Gateway Gallery is the art museum of Araneta City devoted to the promotion of Philippine culture, heritage and art. It is located at the 5th floor of Gateway Tower.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Someone will let you down if you are too trusting. If you want something done, be prepared to do it yourself. An unexpected change will lead to uncertainty. Be creative when it comes to investments, contracts and joint ventures. HHHHH

CANCER (June 21-July 22): An opportunity will require your undivided attention and discipline if you want to make a profit. Home improvements will pay off and encourage you to do the work yourself to save money. HH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Curb spending habits. Someone will blame you if something goes wrong. Be upfront and protect your reputation. Facts matter, and sticking to the truth will benefit you in the end. HHH

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You’ll encounter problems if you don’t take care of yourself and the ones you love. Problems will arise if honesty is lacking. Engage in projects that will improve your workspace, allowing you to do your best. HHH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Emotional issues will surface if you get into a discussion with someone demanding. Take a step back and consider what you want. Don’t give in to someone or agree to something that may cost you financially. HHH

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Reconnect with people you miss. The suggestions you receive will help you perform your best. Uncertainty regarding a friend or relative will make you think about your future and the lifestyle changes that will lead to positive results. HHH

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You’ll discover an innovative way to use your skills. Making minor adjustments will put you in the running for a position that has plenty of room for growth and financial gain. Romance is apparent, but so is deception. Proceed with caution. HHHH

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Keep your distance; abide by the rules to avoid repercussions. Look at every angle of a situation before considering the best way to maintain your position without offending someone who doesn’t share your beliefs. Be inventive, positive and realistic. HH

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Look for unique investments that will build equity. Do what will benefit you the most. Accommodating others may be a nice gesture, but don’t let anyone take advantage of you. Participating in a physical activity and sharing something special with someone you love are favored. HHHHH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Reach out to people who share your vision. Working in conjunction with others will help you gain support as well as confidence. Inside information will come your way, but before you take action, consider the risk involved. HHH Birthday Baby: You are energetic, practical and determined. You are smart and engaging.

‘flower arrangement’ by rob and mary lou guizzo The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Texter’s “No more details, please!” 4 Files for Adobe Reader 8 Needed to repay 12 US Pacific territory 13 Forewarn 14 Novelist ___ Neale Hurston 15 Frozen snow queen 16 Creme de ___ 17 So-so 18 Auto-racing fans, collectively (see letters 4 to 12 in this answer) 21 Demolition letters 22 The ___ Little Puppy 23 Little angel 27 Twilled fabrics 29 “Not again!” 30 “There ___ no words...” 31 Maya Angelou’s third volume of poetry (9 to 12) 35 Frozen princess 37 U-turn from WSW 38 One of five Norwegian kings 39 It may be bitter or sweet (2 to 6) 44 Bon ___ (cleanser brand)

45 Little guy 46 Dorothy of old films 49 Abhor 51 Certainly not cheery 53 36-Down within “Danielle” 54 Classic children’s book that hints at this puzzle’s hidden words, with “The” 57 Grilling events, briefly 60 Painter Matisse 61 H’s, in sorority names 62 Actress Jessica 63 Printer brand 64 Carpenter’s clamp 65 Online crafts site 66 Digits you can wiggle 67 Realize DOWN 1 New Orleans school 2 Trains, buses and planes 3 Apple desktop 4 Core exercise 5 Canine problem? 6 Sorority relative, informally 7 Unlikely to show anger

8 Stratospheric layer 9 Kao pad cooker 10 Obama ___ (when Sonia Sotomayor was appointed) 11 One of 365 in 2021 12 Chivalrous guys 13 Word above this puzzle’s first clue 19 Imitated 20 “Didn’t think we’d both be here!” 24 It’s under a track 25 Nocturnal bear? 26 Patty meat 28 Tiny part of an annoying cloud 29 Longtime sitcom about a musical club 32 Ticked (off) 33 LLC relative 34 One of nine in Clue 35 Barely 36 Miss Scarlet or Dr. Orchid 40 When all ___ fails 41 Increase incrementally, with “up” 42 Software add-on 43 Actress Reid 47 Disquiet

48 Dishwasher cycle 50 Part of a college application, often 51 Packed in like sardines 52 Others, in Spanish 55 Forfeited auto 56 Races, as an engine 57 Honey 58 Sandwich with crisp meat, for short 59 TD throwers, perhaps Solution to December 24’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Tuesday, January 5, 2021

ATOM ARAULLO, MAKI PULIDO ANCHOR ‘STATE OF THE NATION’

CLOCKWISE: Janine Gutierrez, Migs Almendras, Alfred Vargas, Charlie Dizon, James de los Santos, Rabiya Mateo, Richard Somes and Elijah Canlas

The underdogs of 2020 Charlie Dizon, a first-time movie actor who bagged the recent Festival Best Actress for her role in Tonette Jadaone’s Fan Girl. Dizon has been waiting in the sidelines for some time now among the hundreds of hopefuls in the roster of Star Magic contract artists. She was usually categorized as “ordinary looking”—until the call for auditions for a new actress to play the titular role in this movie came about. And when the film was finally shown, she did not just impress but also mesmerized.

E always root for the underdogs. They are the usually quiet ones who dream big, set realistic goals and work hard. And the year that was saw a lot of them rising to the occasion and edging out the favorites in their respective fields. Cheers to these underdogs who will all move forward and take bigger, bolder leaps this new year.

ELIJAH CANLAS ONLY 20 years old, Elijah is no doubt the most accomplished local actor of 2020. For his brave and heartfelt performance in the movie Kalel, 15, Canlas scored best actor wins at the Urian, Famas and the 17th Asian Film Festival in Rome. We first caught his natural flair for acting as a child actor in Sundalong Kanin, an entry to the Cinemalaya 2014 edition. He also had memorable scenes in Babae at Baril and Edward, both exemplary movies of 2019. This year, Canlas accepted one of the two lead roles in the Boy Love (BL) series Gameboys, which turned out to be an online hit. There’s just no stopping him now. JANINE GUTIERREZ THE granddaughter of Pilita Corrales, Eddie Gutierrez and Nora Aunor surprised film aficionados when she accepted the lead role in Rae Red’s Babae at Baril, a move that worked wonders for this model-celebrity. She bagged best actress honors at the QCinema International Film Festival, the Urian and Famas. A contract star of GMA for many years, it is ironic it was through the film medium that Gutierrez’s potential as an actress was tapped, utilized and maximized, and where she eventually shone as an actress. Her parents, Ramon Christopher Gutierrez and Lotlot de Leon, must be beaming with joy and pride over their daughter’s many achievements this year. CHARLIE DIZON TWENTY-TWENTY’S breakout female star is named

ALFRED VARGAS TWENTY-TWENTY seemed like a roller coaster year for actor-politician Alfred Vargas. In July, Vargas found himself being bashed by so many in the entertainment world when he chose to inhibit himself in the controversial ABS-CBN franchise renewal voting as a member of congress. Vargas, who continues to serve his constituents well in the Fifth district of Quezon City, acted out of propriety and cited conflict of interest as his reasons. He was hurt, but he set aside his personal feelings and carried on with his duties during the pandemic, even quietly reaching out to help people outside his district. Last year also saw Vargas producing and acting in the movie Tagpuan for the annual year-end film festival where the movie even scored a win as third Best Picture. But the joy was short-lived because just a day after the awards ceremonies, Vargas and some of his colleagues at the House of Representatives were implicated by President Duterte in a corruption allegation. Vargas has denied this indictment and asserted that his conscience is clear. We’ve known Vargas for a long time now, and we have been witness countless times to how hard he works and how good his heart is. RABIYA MATEO ILOILO’S pride Rabiya Mateo was not on top of the favorites’ list of pageant experts when she joined the first-ever Miss Universe Philippines search. But her competitive spirit surfaced during the finals and she won the title. Call it destiny, but her big win just proves that if we really want something that bad, and we work hard on it, the elements of the universe will conspire to grant us our goals and dreams. MIGS ALMENDRAS CREATING waves is promising newbie Migs Almendras, who just won the Aliw Award for Best Actor in a Play for his heartfelt performance in Peta’s Under My Skin. Almendras has played small but significant roles, including the young Michael de Mesa character in

the filmfest movie Isa Pang Bahaghari. Almendras’s photo was not included in the poster of the movie, as he was deemed “wala pa naman pangalan compared to his coactors.” When Phillip Salvador saw the film during the preview, the veteran actor was overheard asking what’s the name of this new actor playing the young Michael de Mesa. “Mahusay siya” was Salvador’s remark. Like his coactors in the hit online series Hello Stranger, Almendras now enjoys a fan base among the younger audience who are all looking forward to the movie version of the series that has already wrapped up principal photography under Blacksheep Productions. JAMES DE LOS SANTOS KARATE champion James de los Santos first hogged the headlines in 2019 after he was unceremoniously excluded from the Philippine team that participated in the biennial Southeast Asian Games. He stood up to alleged corruption within the sports body, perhaps one of the reasons why he was left out in the selection process. Undaunted by this setback, de los Santos remained focused and went on a personal training trip in Japan under the mentorship of Masa Saito. All his sacrifices have paid off as he is now the highest-ranking e-kata athlete, dominating the international virtual kata circuit with a total haul of 36 gold medals, beating the best of the world. And who knows, we might see this 30-year-old charmer from Cebu trying out local show business in this new year, too! RICHARD SOMES ONE of the few we knew who successfully hurdled depression and anxiety during the pandemic lockdown, filmmaker and TV director Richard Somes was always firm that he should and will win over this unwelcomed disorder. Somes, who was diagnosed as diabetic, took the organic and natural way to combat his fluctuating sugar levels. He didn’t take any maintenance medication but instead worked out at home, ran, jogged, ate healthy and recalibrated his mind. Now, he is just a few pounds off his ideal weight, and he is happy with how he feels, inspiring his close circle of friends to do the same. He also took to painting to release his suppressed emotions. He has finished and sold more than a dozen large artworks. Somes has also shifted his director’s adrenaline to high gear as he is about to start a new psycho-thriller-action movie that will star JM de Guzman, Sid Lucero, Annicka Dolonius, Julio de Leon and Paolo Paraiso.

Claude Bolling, popular jazz-classical musician, dead at 90 NEW YORK—Claude Bolling, the French pianist, composer and arranger who attained a worldwide following through his melodic blend of jazz and classical influences and stayed on the Billboard classical charts for more than a decade with his 1975 album Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano, has died. Bolling’s representatives announced on his web site that he died on Tuesday in Garches, France, at age

90. A cause of death was not provided. A lifelong admirer of Duke Ellington, the Cannes native was a professional musician by his teens and over the following decades would perform with everyone from Lionel Hampton to Yo-Yo Ma. He arranged music for Brigitte Bardot and Juliette Greco, among others; wrote soundtracks for hundreds of French film and television

AWARD-WINNING broadcast journalists Atom Araullo and Maki Pulido take the helm as the new anchors of GMA News TV’s flagship newscast State of the Nation, now on its earlier timeslot at 9:15 p.m. weeknights. Considered as one of this generation’s notable journalists, Araullo currently anchors the pioneering mobile journalism newscast Stand for Truth, where he leads the new breed of journalists with the program’s compelling and exclusive stories. Pulido, who is known for her passion for news and in-depth reporting, has won acclaim for her exclusive reports and coverage on significant national issues. She previously anchored the afternoon daily newscast Balita Pilipinas Ngayon alongside Mark Salazar where they reported on the day’s news from the different regions in the Philippines. Both Araullo and Pulido have shown their skills beyond news reporting. A documentarist at heart, Araullo also banners the bimonthly documentary show The Atom Araullo Specials, and is one of the hosts of the top-notch documentary program i-Witness. Pulido, on the other hand, has extended her craft in journalism to investigative reporting via the internationally acclaimed public affairs program Reporter’s Notebook, which she hosts together with Jun Veneracion. As seasoned journalists, Araullo and Pulido are expected to show an accurate and deep understanding of the stories they present and help the audience make sense of the news. “We want to continue the excellent contextual news reporting that State of the Nation became known for under the irreplaceable Jessica Soho. At the same time, we want to bring important national stories even closer to everyday Filipinos who are ultimately most affected by these events,” Araullo said. Pulido added: “I’ve been in the streets, rain or shine, at peace or in war time, Covid or no Covid, covering the news for more than two decades. I won’t be just reading the news for State of the Nation; I will be covering the news we will be delivering on that day.” Originally anchored by top GMA News figure Jessica Soho, State of the Nation has been providing viewers with depth and context to the headlines. It is geared to provide the audience not only with stories that matter, but with insightful and well-explained reporting of the day’s biggest news as well. The newscast is known for securing first and exclusive interviews where viewers are sure to gain added knowledge and a wider perspective of the issue at hand. It recently took home the Best News Program win at the 42nd Catholic Mass Media Awards for its “Tracing the Origins of Covid-19 in the Philippines” story. Viewers can continue to watch Soho in the awardwinning and trending news magazine program Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho on GMA Network, as well as other special programs of GMA News and Public Affairs.

productions, and his compositions could be heard on such American releases as The Holiday and Joker. Bolling’s three Grammy nominations included one for best chamber music for Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano, a collaboration with flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal which featured the playful “Baroque and Blue” and the more reflective “Irlandaise” and sold more than 1 million copies. He would

later collaborate with Angel Romero on “Concerto for Classic Guitar and Jazz Piano” and with Yo-Yo Ma on “Suite for Cello and Jazz Piano Trio.” In 1984, Bolling was joined by American flutist Hubert Laws for a performance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Bolling’s wife of 48 years, journalist Irène DervizeSadyker, died in 2017. They had two sons, David and Alexandre. AP

ARKIV VILMANSA CIRCLES BACK TO HIS CHARACTERS CONTINUED FROM B4 owner recalled. “I have never seen anyone do strokes that fluid and direct. It was like watching him dance.” Vilmansa’s newest show with Vinyl on Vinyl serves as the gallery’s only international exhibition of 2020, as well as its year-ending showcase. Silhoutte opened on December 14 and is on view until January 7. VINYL ON VINYL IN 2021 ACCORDING to dela Merced, before Covid-19 hit, the gallery had planned to celebrate its 10th anniversary last year. Lined up were an exhibition and a “big party” that would also pay homage to the gallery’s music roots. “Since we haven’t done anniversary shows in the past years, we wanted to celebrate” she said. “Hopefully we can do that this year instead.” Dela Merced added that this 2021, Vinyl on Vinyl will have more cross-exhibitions and collaborations with other galleries, featuring different artists and curators. “We’ve been fortunate that people have been very kind and very helpful,” she said. ■

B6 Tuesday, January 5, 2021

RWM weathered storms with LOVE San Juan City receives handwashing facilities to help avoid spread of COVID-19

THE inauguration ceremony was graced by Mayor Francis Zamora and Atty. Belle Zamora of San Juan City, and representatives from Department of Health, Manila Water Foundation and Manila Water Company.

AN Juan City is the fifth city in Metro Manila to get new handwashing facilities under the Safe Philippines campaign and WASH in Pandemic program of P&G, Safeguard Philippines, and Manila Water Foundation, respectively. The partnership turned over two new handwashing

facilities to the City Government on December 18 located at two high foottraffic areas –at Agora Public Market and Barangay Balong Bato Health Center. The WASH in Pandemic Program builds handwashing facilities in various locations in the country to reinforce hand hygiene practices that help protect

against the spread of COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. This is aligned with Safeguard’s Safe Philippines campaign, which aims to encourage Filipinos to adopt proper hand hygiene habits, including in essential public spaces. Mayor Zamora is thankful to the organizations for the donated facilities as they can help support the city’s fight against the pandemic. The WASH in Pandemic Program of MWF builds handwashing facilities that feature a “hybrid” design. There is a one-meter distance between faucets to observe physical distancing and even children and persons with disabilities (PWDs) may be able to access the facility through a lowered sink. Each facility is built with three faucets with soap containers and installed with signages about COVID-19 precautionary measures, proper handwashing, and the responsible use of water. The project is supported by the Department of Health (DOH), City Government of San Juan, and Manila Water through its Makati-Mandaluyong Business Area.

Security Bank donates COVID-19 test kits to UP-NIH, Philippine Genome Center

N an effort to help contain the spread of COVID-19, Security Bank donated real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) test kits to the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Philippine Genome Center (PGC). Security Bank tapped Manila Health Tek, Inc. (MHTI) to produce the test kits and Security Bank Foundation, Inc. (SBFI), the Bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm, to facilitate the donation. The MHTI is the local research and development company founded by Dr. Raul Destura who led the team that developed the locally produced, low-cost COVID-19 test kit known as GenAmplifyTM. “Security Bank gives us inspiration to continue working, serving and doing good science that will help our country win the fight against COVID-19,” expressed Dr. Destura in appreciation of Security Bank’s involvement in strengthening the mass testing program. The funding for Security Bank's test kit donation was generated through the Treasury Group's Deals for Donation

operations banded together to provide relief to those severely affected. The CSR team deployed donation boxes to internal departments to collect relief supplies. Employees pooled resources together and filled up over 220 boxes of relief supplies and other essentials, along with light construction materials. Through the company’s safety and security department, the CSR team coordinated with the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) for immediate deployment of donations to most vulnerable areas in Tuguegarao City.

Give the gift of wellness and healthy, clear skin on a budget in the new normal

G initiative, wherein a portion of the Bank's income from foreign exchange and government securities trades was donated. Overall, 1.3 million pesos worth of kits were procured from the donation drive. “Putting people at the heart of the business is not only important for us – it’s also necessary. We are always proactively looking for opportunities that enrich and

save lives, including efforts that would help the nation overcome the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Security Bank President and CEO Sanjiv Vohra. Security Bank is one with the nation in building healthy and safe communities against COVID-19 as part of its #GetBetter corporate social responsibility campaign. To know more, visit securitybank.com/get-better.

Hassle-free online shopping now available via Personal Shopping Service and AllDay Market

LLDAY Supermarket, now with 26 locations across the country, takes pride in elevating the essential task of grocery shopping. AllDay Supermarket is a curated experience, one that combines convenience, comprehensive offerings and a gorgeous ambiance, unmatched in the country and inspired by the best supermarkets on the world stage.

ESORTS World Manila (RWM) responds with L.O.V.E. when two super typhoons swept through the nation in the beginning of November. Typhoons Rolly (international name Goni) and Ulysses (Vamco) brought record amounts of rainfall and destroyed thousands of homes in its path within a span of two weeks. The devastation led to thousands of damage to property and businesses for Filipinos already crippled by a pandemic. The League Of Volunteer Employees (L.O.V.E.), RWM’s umbrella program for CSR, in the midst of limited business

With the “new normal” changing the way the people interact and go about their way of life, the need for creativity in how to do business safely while still putting importance on customer ease and satisfaction is much more apparent. To provide a safer and more convenient experience to its customers nationwide, AllDay Supermarket made a quick pivot to e-commerce. Now, grocery

shoppers who wish to buy their day-today essentials at home can do so using the AllDay Market website (https:// www.alldaymarket.com/). AllDay Market is the AllValue group’s official e-commerce website. Not only can you shop for any and every essential grocery item, you can also check out the All Day’s affiliate brands, such as AllHome, AllDay Rx, AllToys and AllSports, making every online shopping trip complete, convenient and comprehensive, with same-day delivery to boot! What’s more, AllDay Supermarket launched the All Day Personal Shopper Service—a safe and convenient way to shop for essentials, and even the occasional treat. The All Day Supermarket’s Personal Shopper Service is very simple: send in your grocery list via Viber and personal shoppers do the groceries for you! Personal Shopper orders are served the very next day! From 2017 up to present, All Day Supermarket has now opened 26 stores, mostly located in nearby provinces. All Day also has 77 convenience store locations all across the country.

IFT yourself or your loved ones with a journey to wellness, a holiday for the skin and body as well as a rejuvenation for the mind this new year. Imagine a world of true pampering amd ‘Me Time’ as a great experience. Bioessence promises these and more. A non-invasive skin services center in a relaxing environment and a brand that cares beyond beauty, Bioessence has been in the industry for 25 successful years and still going strong with over 32 branches nationwide to cater to the wellness needs of all Filipinos with presence in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. So let your beautiful, clear skin shine

through with the best facial treatments in town. A wide range of products designed for every skin type and its needs—from skin cleansers, to serums, to soaps, and aromatherapy—await customers needing ultimate relaxation. Then there's more. Discover premium treatments that not only bring relaxation and wellness, but also eliminate unwanted fats and toxins from the body. For appointment, call the Bioessence hotline number (09188232889) or head to the nearest branch. Bioessence Gold West at 67 Jasi Bldg. West Quezon City is open Monday - Satueday at 10:00AM to 9:00PM.

El Nido resorts offer ‘travel bubble’ scheme

ANY out of town trips may have been cancelled due to the pandemic, but destinations like Lio Beach has sustained its momentum and offers intimate escapes under the successful “travel bubble” format being run by El Nido Resorts. The scheme offers a comprehensive endto-end travel solution, such as RT-PCR Covid test by QualiMed, a private hangar, and dedicated carrier by AirSwift which lands at the private Lio Airport. At the resort, the personnel follow the tourist safety protocols pioneered by El Nido Resorts, the first tourism destination in Palawan to earn a certificate to operate from

the Department of Tourism. The successful travel bubble prompted the reopening of Lio Beach last month, with Huni and Seda Lio offering more lodging options. Lio Beach takes pride in its sustainable practices and a good mix of rest and play, and activities like kayaking, paddle boarding, trekking, bird watching, stargazing, and children’s coco leaf art classes. Lio Beach remains a safe community with its strict observance of health standards, and a Covid-19 response committee for a safe environment and worry-free experience. For more information, email reservations@ lioestateresorts.com (0917-5708179) and lio@sedahotels.com (0917-8190852).

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

The World BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

US ramps up vaccinations as death toll tops 350,000

Bloomberg photo

Thailand to get 2 million doses of China’s Sinovac Covid vaccine

hailand will get its first lot of Covid-19 vaccines from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. next month, allowing the country in the middle of a resurgence of the coronavirus outbreak to begin inoculating people with the highest risks for infections. The Southeast Asian nation will receive the Chinese vaccine in three batches, with the first 200,000 doses arriving in February, 800,000 in March, and another 1 million in April, according to the Health Ministry. Thailand has also started local production of vaccines developed by AstraZeneca Plc under a technology transfer agreement, which is expected to be ready for distribution in May, the ministry said. Thailand is racing to curb the spread of a new wave of local infections that started from seafood markets near Bangkok, the nation’s capital and the largest city. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha has imposed a new set

of restrictions on businesses and gatherings in Bangkok and 27 of its worst affected provinces from Monday to contain the outbreak. Thailand, which was relatively successful in containing the pathogen after becoming the first country outside China to report the deadly virus, may see cases spike to about 1,000 a day even with strict control measures, according to the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The country reported 315 new virus cases on Sunday with 294 of them locally transmitted, taking the nation’s total to 7,694. Prayuth’s government has set a target of inoculating 50 percent of its population, or about 33 million people, by the end of 2021 with vaccines from various sources, including the World Health Organization-backed Covax program. It’s also negotiating with other vaccine developers for additional supplies, according to the health ministry. Bloomberg News

India approves AstraZeneca, locally made Covid vaccines

EW DELHI—India authorized two Covid-19 vaccines on Sunday, paving the way for a huge inoculation program to stem the coronavirus pandemic in the world’s second-most populous country. The country’s drugs regulator gave emergency authorization for the vaccine developed by Oxford University and UK-based drugmaker AstraZeneca, and another developed by the Indian company Bharat Biotech. Drugs Controller General Dr. Venugopal G. Somani said that both vaccines would be administered in two dosages. He said the decision to approve the vaccines was made after “careful examination” by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, India’s pharmaceutical regulator. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the vaccine approval a “decisive turning point to strengthen a spirited fight.” “It would make every Indian proud that the two vaccines that have been given emergency use approval are made in India!” Modi tweeted. AstraZeneca has contracted Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, to make 1 billion doses of its vaccine for developing nations, including India. On Wednesday, Britain became the first country to approve the shot. India, however, will not allow the export of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine for several months, Adar Poonawalla, Serum Institute’s CEO, said Sunday. The ban on exports means that poorer nations will probably have to wait a few months before receiving their first shots. The move was made to ensure that vulnerable populations in India are protected and to prevent hoarding, Poonawalla said in an interview with The Associated Press. But questions have been raised by health experts over the vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech. They point out that clinical trials began only recently, making it almost impossible for the firm to have analyzed and submitted data showing that its shots are effective in preventing illness from the coronavirus. India has confirmed more than 10.3 million cases of the virus, second in the world behind the US, though its rate of infection has come down significantly from a mid-September peak. It also has reported over 149,000 deaths. The country’s initial immunization plan aims to vaccinate 300 million people—healthcare workers, front-line staff including police, and those considered

vulnerable due to their age or other diseases—by August 2021. For effective distribution, over 20,000 health workers have been trained so far to administer the vaccine, the Health Ministry said. But the plan poses a major challenge. India has one of the world’s largest immunization programs, but it isn’t geared around adults, and vaccine coverage remains patchy. Still, neither of the approved vaccines requires the ultra-cold storage facilities that some others do. Instead they can be stored in refrigerators, making them more feasible for the country. Although Serum Institute of India doesn’t have a written agreement with the Indian government, its chief executive, Adar Poonawalla, said India would be “given priority” and would receive most of its stockpile of around 50 million doses. Partial results from studies for the OxfordAstraZeneca shot in almost 24,000 people in Britain, Brazil and South Africa suggest that the vaccine is safe and about 70% effective. That isn’t as good as some other vaccine candidates, and there are also concerns about how well the vaccine will protect older people. The other vaccine, known as COVAXIN, is developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with government agencies and is based on an inactivated form of the coronavirus. Early clinical studies showed that the vaccine doesn’t have any serious side effects and produces antibodies for Covid-19. But late clinical trials began in mid-November. The second shot was to be given 28 days after the first, and an immune response prompted two weeks later. That time frame means that it isn’t possible that the company submitted data showing that the shots are effective in preventing infection from the virus, said Dr. Gagandeep Kang, an infectious diseases expert at the Christian Medical College at Vellore. All India Drug Action Network, a public health watchdog, issued a statement demanding greater transparency. Somani, the regulator, said that “the vaccine has been found to be safe,” but refused to say whether any efficacy data was shared. The Health Ministry said in a statement that permission was granted for Bharat Biotech’s shot for restricted use in the “public interest as an abundant precaution in clinical trial mode, especially in the context of infection by mutant strains.” But Kang said that the claim that the vaccine could help against a mutant variant of the virus was “hypothetical” and without any evidence. Indian regulators are still considering approvals for other vaccines, including one made by Pfizer. AP

he US ramped up Covid-19 vaccinations in the past few days after a slower-thanexpected start, bringing the number of shots dispensed to about 4 million, government health officials said Sunday. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, also said on ABC’s “This Week” that President-elect Joe Biden’s pledge to administer 100 million shots of the vaccine within his first 100 days in office is achievable. A nd he rejected President Donald Trump’s false claim on Twitter that coronavirus deaths and cases in the US have been greatly exaggerated. “All you need to do...is go into the trenches, go into the hospitals, go into the intensive care units and see what is happening. Those are real numbers, real people and real deaths,” Fauci said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The US death toll has climbed past 350,000, the most of any country, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, while more than 20 million people nationwide have been infected. States have reported record numbers of cases over the past few days, and funeral homes in Southern California are being inundated with bodies. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the pandemic is getting worse in his city as the virus spreads rapidly within households and people

let their guard down with news of a vaccine’s arrival. “This is a virus that preys off of our weakness, preys off of our exhaustion,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Experts believe that the real numbers of US deaths and infections are much higher and that many cases were overlooked, in part because of insufficient testing. Fauci said he has seen “some little glimmer of hope” after 1.5 million doses were administered in the previous 72 hours, or an average of about 500,000 per day, a marked increase in vaccinations. He said that brings the total to about 4 million. He acknowledged the US fell short of its goal of having 20 million doses shipped and distributed by the end of December. “There have been a couple of glitches. That’s understandable,” Fauci said. “We are not where we want to be, there’s no doubt about that.” But he expressed optimism that the momentum will pick up by mid-January and that ultimately the US will be vaccinating 1 million people a day. Biden’s “goal of vaccinating 100 million people

in the first 100 days is a realistic goal,” Fauci said. Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the chief science adv iser to Operation Warp Speed, the government’s vaccine development and distribution effort, told CBS that 17.5 million doses have been shipped. About 13 million of those have been distributed to clinics, hospitals and other places where they will be administered, according to Fauci. The 20 million-dose goal hasn’t been reached in part because local health departments and medical facilities had to stay focused on testing to handle a surge in cases, US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said. And the holiday season meant health workers were taking time off, he said. “I don’t want anyone to think I’m being Pollyannish here. There’s what we delivered, and we hope that those will be translated into vaccinations. That has not occurred to the way that we would like,” Adams said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” On Sunday morning, Trump falsely tweeted that the outbreak has been “ far exaggerated” because of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “ridiculous” methodolog y. He complained, too, that Fauci has been credited by the news media with doing “an incredible job” when Fauci “works for me and the Trump Administration, and I am in no way given any credit for my work.” Fauci and others are warning that an additional surge is likely because of holiday gatherings and the cold weather keeping people indoors.

“It could and likely will get worse in the next couple of weeks, or at least maintain this very terribly high level of infections and deaths that we’re seeing,” Fauci said. Arizona on Sunday reported a one-day record of more than 17,200 new cases, eclipsing the previous mark of about 12,000 set in early December. Health officials said the jump appears to reflect infections from Christmas gatherings but was also probably inflated by a reporting lag over New Year’s weekend. North Carolina and Texas reported record numbers of people in the hospital with Covid-19— nearly 3,600 and over 12,500, respectively. Overseas, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said more onerous lockdown restrictions in England are likely as a variant of the coronavirus has pushed infection rates to their highest levels on record. More than 50,000 new infections have been reported daily over the past six days. Scientists have said the variant is up to 70 percent more contagious. While Fauci said the US needs to do its own study, he noted that British researchers believe that the mutated version is no deadlier or more likely to make people sicker and that vaccines are effective against it. But Scott Gottlieb, a former US Food and Drug Administration commissioner who serves on the board of vaccine maker Pfizer, said on “Face the Nation” that the variant “really creates more urgency around trying to get this vaccine out more quickly and get more people vaccinated.” AP

Republicans condemn ‘scheme’ to overturn election for Trump

A S H I N G TO N —T h e e x t r a o rd i n a r y Republican effor t to over turn the presidential election was condemned Sunday by an outpouring of current and former GOP officials warning the effort to sow doubt in Joe Biden’s win and keep President Donald J. Trump in office is undermining Americans’ faith in democracy. Trump has enlisted support from a dozen Republican senators and up to 100 House Republicans to challenge the Electoral College vote when Congress convenes in a joint session to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 win. With Biden set to be inaugurated on January 20, Trump is intensifying efforts to prevent the traditional transfer of power, ripping the party apart. Despite Trump’s claims of voter fraud, state officials have insisted the elections ran smoothly and there was no evidence of fraud or other problems that would change the outcome. The states have certified their results as fair and valid. Of the more than 50 lawsuits the president and his allies have filed challenging election results, nearly all have been dismissed or dropped. He’s also lost twice at the US Supreme Court. On a call disclosed Sunday, Trump can be heard pressuring Georgia officials to “find” him more votes. “The 2020 election is over,” said a statement Sunday from a bipartisan group of 10 senators, including Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mitt Romney of Utah. The senators wrote that further attempts to cast doubt on the election are “contrary to the clearly expressed will of the American people and only serve to undermine Americans’ confidence in the already determined election results.” Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland said, “The scheme by members of Congress to reject the certification of the presidential election makes a mockery of our system and who we are as Americans.” Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, said in a statement that “Biden’s victory is entirely legitimate” and that efforts to sow doubt about the election “strike at the foundation of our republic.” Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking

House Republican, warned in a memo to colleagues that objections to the Electoral College results “set an exceptionally dangerous precedent.” One of the more outspoken conservatives in Congress, Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, said he will not oppose the counting of certified electoral votes on Jan. 6. “I’m grateful for what the president accomplished over the past four years, which is why I campaigned vigorously for his reelection. But objecting to certified electoral votes won’t give him a second term—it will only embolden those Democrats who want to erode further our system of constitutional government.” Cotton said he favors further investigation of any election problems, separate from the counting of the certified Electoral College results. O ther prominent former officials also criticized the ongoing attack on election results. In a brief op-ed in The Washington Post, the 10 living former defense secretaries—half of them having served Republican presidents—called on Pentagon officials to carry out the transition to the new administration “fully, cooperatively and transparently.” They also asserted that efforts to involve the US armed forces in resolving election disputes “would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory.” Citing election results, legal challenges, state certifications and the Electoral College vote, the former defense secretaries said that “the time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the Electoral College votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived.” The unusual challenge to the presidential election, on a scale unseen since the aftermath of the Civil War, clouded the opening of the new Congress and is set to consume its first days. The House and Senate will meet Wednesday in a joint session to accept the Electoral College vote, a typically routine process that’s now expected to be a prolonged fight. Trump is refusing to concede, and pressure is mounting on Vice President Mike Pence to ensure victory while presiding in what is typically a ceremonial role over the congressional session. Trump is whipping up crowds for a rally in Washington.

The president tweeted Sunday against the election tallies and Republicans not on his side. Biden’s transition spokesman, Mike Gwin, dismissed the senators’ effort as a “stunt” that won’t change the fact that Biden will be sworn in on January 20. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues that while there is “no doubt” of Biden’s victory, their job now “is to convince more of the American people to trust in our democratic system.” The effort in the Senate was being led by Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Hawley defended his actions in a lengthy e-mail to colleagues, explaining that his Missouri constituents have been “loud and clear” with their belief that Biden’s defeat of Trump was unfair. “It is my responsibility as a senator to raise their concerns,” Hawley wrote late Saturday. Hawley plans to object to the state tally from Pennsylvania. But that state’s Republican senator, Pat Toomey, criticized the attack on Pennsylvania’s election system and said the results that named Biden the winner are valid. Cruz’s coalition of 11 Republican senators vows to reject the Electoral College tallies unless Congress launches a commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results. They are zeroing in on the states where Trump has raised unfounded claims of voter fraud. Congress is unlikely to agree to their demand. The group formed with Cruz, which presented no new evidence of election problems, includes Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Mike Braun of Indiana. New senators in the group are Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. The convening of the joint session to count the Electoral College votes has faced objections before. In 2017, several House Democrats challenged Trump’s win but Biden, who presided at the time as the vice president, swiftly dismissed them to assert Trump’s victory. Rarely have the protests approached this level of intensity.

The moment is a defining one for the Republican Par ty in a post-Trump era. Both Hawley and Cruz are potential 2024 presidential contenders, cementing their alignment with Trump’s base of supporters. Others are trying to forge a different path for the GOP. Pence will be carefully watched as he presides over what is expected to be a prolonged showdown, depending on how many challenges are mounted. The vice president “welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections,” Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, said in a statement Saturday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has warned Republicans off such challenges but said little when asked about it as at the Capitol as the Senate opened Sunday. “We’ll be dealing with all of that on Wednesday,” he said. But Republicans simply said they do not plan to join the effort that will fail. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday his colleagues will have an opportunity to make their case, but they must produce evidence and facts. “They have a high bar to clear,” he said. Congress have been loathe to interfere in the state-run election systems, a longstanding protocol. States choose their own election officials and draft their election laws. During the coronavirus pandemic many states adapted by allowing mail voting to ease health risks of voting in person. Those changes and others are now being challenged by Trump and his allies. Trump, the first president to lose a reelection bid in almost 30 years, has attributed his defeat to widespread voter fraud, despite the consensus of nonpartisan election officials and even Trump’s attorney general that there was none. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the latest challenge from Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, and a group of Arizona electors, who filed suit to try to force Pence to step outside mere ceremony and shape the outcome of the vote. The appellate court sided with the federal judge, a Trump appointee, who dismissed the suit. AP

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Tuesday, January 5, 2021

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

HIDILYN AVOIDING OLYMPIC SPIES E

By Josef Ramos

XPECT Hidilyn Diaz to take it easy when she steps on the competition ramp during the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent in April—the sixth and last qualifying tournament that she needs to complete to formalize her entry to the Tokyo Olympics. Why? Diaz wanted to avoid scouts. “I told coach Julius [Naranjo] that we just need to qualify. It’s tough for us because our foreign counterparts are looking at us,” Diaz told BusinessMirror from her training camp in Malacca, Malaysia, on Monday. “My opponents’ eyes are on me because after three Chinese lifters, I am next in the rankings, then followed by Kazakhstan,” she said. “If ever, I will prepare discreetly. At the end of the day, the Olympics is the ultimate and important competition, not the Asian Championships.”

Diaz, 29, is basically No. 2 in the women’s 55 kgs rankings for the Tokyo Games with 3,717.0982 points. China’s Jiang Huihua is No. 1 with 4,667.8878. Uzbekistan’s Muattar Nabieva (3,519.9108) is No. 3 followed by Colombia’s Yenny Sinisterra Torres (3,432.7232) at No. 4 and Kazakhstan’s Zulfiya Chinshanlo (3,413.5078) at No. 5. Three other Chinese—Liao Qiuyun, Zhang Wanquiong and Li Yajun—are mathematically ahead of Diaz in the rankings but because only one weightlifter per country is allowed in the Olympics, Diaz got the second spot. The top eight in each weight class will earn tickets to Tokyo. “As long as I set my feet on the competition stage, I will qualify for the Olympics and that’s okay with me,” said Diaz, silver medalist in the Rio 2016 Olympics. “But Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are my other tough opponents.” Diaz’s strength and conditioning coach Naranjo and Chinese Coach Kaiwan Gao tinkered with Diaz’s program for the Uzbekistan qualifiers set from April 15 to 25.

Tolentino in PSA Forum

HE Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) begins 2021 with a bang as it will have no less than Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino as its lone special guest in Tuesday’s webcast edition. Tolentino is expected to talk about a wide array of sports matters, ranging from the country’s campaign in the Tokyo Olympics to the title retention bid in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games set late this year. The incumbent representative of the Eighth District of Cavite will also talk about cycling following his recent re-election as president of the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines or PhilCycling. The 10 a.m. session is presented by San Miguel Beer, Go For Gold, Milo, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Powered by Smart with Upstream Media as official webcast partner, the public sports program is livestreamed via the PSA Facebook page fb.com/ PhilippineSportswritersAssociation and also shared by Radyo Pilipinas 2 Facebook page.

Diaz returned to her normal training routine and diet since Saturday after taking a day’s off to enjoy the holidays. “I gained a kilo and I was 60 kilos during the lockdown. But I am now 58 kgs and still trimming down,” she said. “I haven’t actually checked my actual weight since December 16, but I already got my target weight so I’m not worried.” Four Filipinos—world champion gymnast Carlos Yulo, boxers Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish Magno and pole vaulter EJ Obiena—have so far qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. HIDILYN DIAZ takes a day’s off during the holidays.

Baltazar wants one more year with La Salle

IG man Justine Baltazar prefers to keep his act at De La Salle for one more year in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) before turning pro. “I want to finish my playing years in La Salle before jumping to the pros,” the 6-foot-7 Baltazar told BusinessMirror. “But I am still waiting for the decision of Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda [if I will stay in La Salle or apply for this year’s Philippine Basketball Association Draft].” Baltazar played on the all-amateur national team that beat Thailand twice—93-61 and 93-

69—in the second window of the International Basketball Federation Asian qualifiers last November 27 and 30 in a bubble environment in Manama, Bahrain. He averaged seven points and 8.5 rebounds in those two games. “I want to make the La Salle community happy, I want to win a title for them before I leave,” he said. “But I am waiting for the decision of Governor Pineda. He is a father figure to me.” Pineda manages Baltazar’s basketball career. Baltazar said he would like to again play for

the national team. “It helps me a lot [national team]. If there’s another opportunity to play for the country, I am very much willing,” said Baltazar. De La Salle coach Derick Pumaren said Baltazar is an all-around player with a decent good ball-handling skills, a sharp perimeter shooting touch and a threat at low post. Baltazar is expected to be picked very early in the rookie draft in March. But Pumaren is keeping his finger crossed, believing the 23-year-old Sports Management

BEST boys world champs

student from Mabalacat, Pampanga, will stay as a Green Archer for one more year. “As far as I know, Justin and his handler have committed to play one more year for us,” Pumaren said. In UAAP Season 82, Baltazar averaged 15.14 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.07 blocks per game average. Josef Ramos

JUSTINE BALTAZAR is one talented big man.

CURRY BACK IN HIS ELEMENTS

AN FRANCISCO—Stephen Curry let it fly from way out under pressure with a minute-plus left for another perfect swish on the way to a career-high 62 points, and the Golden State Warriors beat Portland, 137-122, on Sunday night to split the twogame set with the Trail Blazers. Curry had the highest-scoring game in the National Basketball Association (NBA) this season, finishing 18 for 31 and 8 of 16 on threepointers after beginning with a 21-point first quarter. He had his 10th career 30-point half to help the Warriors take a 66-54 at the break. One small blemish in his brilliant night: Curry had his streak of free throws snapped at a franchise-record 80 in the first. The run dated to March 29, 2019, against Memphis. Against Portland, he made a career-high 18 on 19 attempts. Damian Lillard scored 32 points for Portland, and CJ McCollum added 28. McCollum shot 2 for 8 from deep after his 25 3-pointers over the initial five games left him and Curry as the only players to ever do so. After Portland’s 25-point win Friday night, the Warriors were embarrassed and determined to be more aggressive and defend better after the Blazers came out firing to finish 20 of 43 from deep—and they looked more energetic on the defensive end. Portland shot 14 of 43 on 3s Sunday. Curry did it all on the other end. When he sat down for good in the waning seconds and received hugs from teammates, the piped in crowd noise seemed extra loud in an arena devoid of real fans.

Draymond Green had eight assists and scored one point playing his second game of the season with his minutes increased from just below 18 to 28. Green is still finding his wind. His return Friday marked his first game since February 27 against the Lakers and a stretch of 309 days. He had been sidelined the first four games by a right foot injury after being delayed starting training camp because he had the coronavirus. Warriors No. 2 overall draft pick James Wiseman had 12 points, a career-best 11 rebounds and two blocks. He took a flagrant foul from McCollum in the third. Lillard and Green received a doubletechnical at the 5:06 mark of the first quarter. AP STEPHEN CURRY scores a career-high 62 points as the Warriors beat the Blazers. AP

Messi plays 750th game for Barçelona

ARCELONA, Spain—Lionel Messi set up Frenkie de Jong for a goal to help earn a 1-0 win at Huesca on Sunday in the Argentine great’s 750th overall appearance for Barçelona and his 500th in the Spanish league. The 33-year-old Messi trails only Xavi Hernández as the Barcelona player with the most games played. Xavi played 767 games in all competitions, including 505 la Liga matches. Messi’s latest milestone came less than two weeks after he surpassed Pelé’s all-

time club scoring record for Santos by netting his 644th goal for Barcelona. Barcelona dominated last-place Huesca but could only manage De Jong’s goal in the 27th minute. Messi lobbed a pass forward to meet De Jong’s run behind the defense, with the Netherlands midfielder steering the ball inside the upright. Coach Ronald Koeman said the goal was an example of how he wants his midfielders to join the attack, especially when Messi drifts out of the area to become a playmaker.

HE award-winning Basketball Efficiency and Scientific Training (BEST) Center wrapped up 2020 with its boys’ team winning the overall crown and its girls’ squad settling for the silver medal in the inaugural United Nations of Basketball (UNB) U17 World Team Skills Championships. The BEST Center boys’ squad was crowned world champion after beating participants from Spain, Samoa, Palestine, Romania, Lebanon and Hawaii. The squad formed around National Capital Region representatives Peeco Napenas, Adrian Malapo, Kennard Alde and Lanze Ronquillo, Harvy Guevarra (Pampanga), Asher Vidal (Pangasinan), Pankie Capistrano (Lucena), Emmon Ferrer (Cabanatuan), Paul Barcelona (Bacolod), Zak Gumaya (Baguio), LJ Dellosa (CDO) and Lebron Lim (Zamboanga), won all three drills in impressive fashion over their Spanish counterparts from the Molina Basket Club. BEST Center Sports scored five, six and four points in the agility, ball handling and shooting drills, respectively, to win the world crown. The girls’ team of Ysabela Gonzales, Aishe Solis, Kharel Siapoc, Bonie Solis, Ava Fajardo, Issa Martires, Shinee Solis, Marga Villanueva, Princess Villarin, Shanna Nuguid, Ynnia Abella, Kyla Mataga and Julliene Galgana bowed to PROformance of Hawaii in the battle for gold, however. The BEST Center, founded by the late national coach Nicanor Jorge in 1978, is also a Philippine Sportswriters Association Hall-of-Fame awardee and a recipient of the Philippine Olympic Committee Olympism Award. “It was a great pass from Messi and a good goal,” Koeman said. “And that is what I like from my midfielders. The spaces left by Messi or Pedri—we have to occupy those positions.” Huesca goalkeeper Álvaro Fernández saved Messi’s two chances, preventing him from adding to his league record of 451 goals. He blocked a free kick just before halftime and smothered shot from close range in the 68th. Both Ousmane Dembele and Pedro “Pedri” González went close to scoring and set up teammates for good chances in a strong first half by Barcelona. Antoine Griezmann only went on as a late substitute. Barcelona’s win came after Messi sat out a 1-1 draw with Eibar last round to recover from an ankle problem. The victory moved Barcelona ahead of Sevilla into fifth place. Koeman’s team is 10 points behind leader Atlético Madrid, which got a late goal from Luis Suárez to win 2-1 at Alavés. AP