BusinessMirror January 13, 2021 by BusinessMirror

Foreign arrivals dip 84% in 2020 on travel curbs By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo Special to the BusinessMirror

HE Department of Tourism (DOT) will continue with its domestic tourism push, in light of continuing international restrictions and a growing travel ban on countries that have reported the new variants of the Covid-19 virus. This, following the 83.97-percent fall in international visitor arrivals to 1.32 million in January to December 2020, from 8.26 million in 2019, according to data reported by the agency. Reflecting this, receipts generated from foreign tourists slumped by 83.12 percent to P81.4 billion from the P482.16 billion recorded in 2019. In an online presser Tuesday,

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Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said, “Domestic tourism will continue to be the main strategy to reboot Philippine tourism. The DOT and TPB [Tourism Promotions Board] will spearhead product diversification and enhancement activities with the regions and LGUs [local government units].” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque also announced Tuesday the inclusion of China, Pakistan, Jamaica, Luxembourg and Oman, which have already recorded the new Covid variants. This brings to 33 the number of countries and territories whose citizens are banned from entering the Philippines. Filipinos traveling from the banned countries will have to take an RT-PCR upon arrival at the airport and quarantine for 14 days at

government-assigned facilities or quarantine hotels of their choice, on their own account. With the new Covid-19 variants recorded in countries abroad, Romulo Puyat said, “Entry protocols will need to be further strengthened.” She added, “On our part, the continued development of health and safety guidelines for the operations of other tourism enterprises and activities will be prioritized to ensure the well-being of visitors and workers, as well as help improve the readiness of destinations to reopen for business,” said the DOT chief.

More destinations eyed for reopening

THE government agency hopes to

reopen more tourism destinations, but the DOT chief said, “This was dependent on the LGUs to see if they are ready.” Destinations now open to leisure guests include Boracay Island, Bohol, Baguio City, the Ilocos region (except La Union), El Nido and Coron in Palawan, as well as several resort islands in the province, Polillio Island (Balesin) in Quezon, to name a few. She added the DOT will help LGUs that have declared their readiness to accept tourists, but “there is a need to harmonize the different LGU requirements” to standardize travel protocols and encourage movement, adding that, “the adoption of a unified contact-tracing app is recommended in light of the different ones currently in use.” See “Foreign,” A2

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Wednesday, January 13, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 93

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UP SPENDING TO P4.2T THINK TANK: PHL MAY HAVE BUDGETED TOO LITTLE FOR HEALTH By Bianca Cuaresma

Continued on A2

A BUYER looks for bargains among clothes while two men play chess at one of the just reopened retail/wholesale shops in Taytay, Rizal, the garments capital of the Philippines. One of the manufacturing sectors hit by the lockdown is now trying to regain its foothold in the online business as the government enforces GCQ in certain areas. BERNARD TESTA

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

OTAL government spending went up by 11 percent to P4.206 trillion last year as the state was forced to allot more money to cushion the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.0910

Citing preliminary figures from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III on Tuesday said the amount disbursed by the government last year is already above the P3.798 trillion that the government spent in 2019. “This includes the spending mandated under Bayanihan 1 and 2, as well as the continuation of the key infrastructure projects we are banking on to support economic recovery. The total expenditure

is 11 percent higher compared to the 2019 level,” Dominguez said in remarks at the 72nd Inaugural Meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).

Deficit spending

IN the same speech, Dominguez revealed that the country’s emerging deficit spending last year amounted to P1.36 trillion or equivalent to 7.5 percent of the government’s projected GDP for 2020.

ITCH Solutions, the research arm of the Fitch Group, on Tuesday warned that the Philippines’s funding allocation for healthcare may not be enough, especially as the country will remain vulnerable to potential outbreaks without a vaccination program in place. In a research note, Fitch Solutions particularly noted the breakdown of the 2021 national government budget, which was signed into law in end-December of last year. The P4.5-trillion national budget, which was 9.9 percent larger than the previous year’s, was passed with the goal of “addressing the pandemic, boosting infrastructure development, generating job opportunities and assisting communities adapt to the post-pandemic life.” Education, public works and local governments were the top three beneficiaries of the 2021 national budget. Fitch Solutions cautioned that risks could emanate from potential further Covid-19 outbreaks in 2021, as seen in both developing and emerging economies, and could expose the limited funding allocation toward the pandemic response. The Department of Health (DOH) has the fourth largest budget by department at P210.2 billion. “The budget allocated toward its pandemic response is around 4.9 percent of the total budget and only 1.1 percent of GDP [gross domestic product],” Fitch Solutions said. “Given that the Philippines has experienced the second-highest fatality rate in the Southeast Asia region, after Indonesia, and the discovery of more contagious strains in the UK and South Africa, the Philippines remains vulnerable to another surge in Covid-19 cases,” it added. Of the P210.2 billion budget of the DOH, P2.5 billion is allocated for vaccine procurement. Another P70 billion is provided under unprogrammed appropriations vaccine procurement and logistics. These unprogrammed appropriations may only be tapped when any of the following exists: (1) excess revenue collections; (2) new revenue sources; and (3) approved loans for foreignassisted projects. “We expect the Philippines to lag behind other Asia-Pacific economies in securing vaccines for the population, which will mean risks remain elevated through 2021,” Fitch said. See “Health,” A2

Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4613 n UK 65.0046 n HK 6.2012 n CHINA 7.4223 n SINGAPORE 36.1396 n AUSTRALIA 37.0060 n EU 58.4450 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.8185

Source: BSP (January 12, 2021)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Balance in response moves to shape Aspac recovery

By Bianca Cuaresma

HE Asia-Pacific region is expected to bounce back from the negative economic effects driven by the pandemicrelated restrictions at different rates, depending largely on how respective governments will continue to handle local outbreaks.

In a research note published on Tuesday, Moody’s Investor Service said its overall 2021 outlook for the Asia-Pacific region remains negative, as pandemic shock amplified vulnerabilities and governance strength is driving asymmetric recovery in the region. “The shape of the recovery for each economy will depend on how governments balance facilitating a

return to growth against possibly competing health and fiscal objectives, and monetary and external stability. The lasting credit impact will ultimately depend on the effectiveness and persistence of governments’ containment measures, and their ability to restore fiscal strength and return to planned structural reforms,” Moody’s said. The international credit watcher said that higher rated

countries like Singapore, New Zealand and Taiwan all displayed “governance strength” in dealing with the management of the pandemic. He said Australia and South Korea, which were also highly rated, were also “reasonably effective.” Lower rated economies, however, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, were noted to have greater local transmission and are reflective of their governance strength. An exception was Vietnam, which was lower-rated but displayed “greater policy effectiveness,” according to Moody’s. “Effectiveness with which governments have contained outbreaks will influence their ability to restore economic output to previous peaks,” Moody’s said.

Constraints to PHL recovery

“IN India, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore, continuing pandemic-related constraints inhibit a complete recovery to 2019 output levels in 2021, despite our projections of relatively rapid real GDP growth,” it added.

Moody’s also warned that the travel restrictions can also weigh on countries like the Philippines which are big recipients of money sent home by migrant workers. “Ongoing restrictions on cross-border travel that hamper the deployment of migrant labor may not only exacerbate joblessness in source countries such as Bangladesh, India and the Philippines, but also weigh on remittances, notwithstanding the resilience of such flows over the latter part of 2020,” Moody’s said. Just last week, Moody’s Analytics, the research arm of the Moody’s Group, said the Philippines will be the last country in the Asia Pacific to regain its GDP growth level to pre-Covid levels. The think tank’s growth projection of the country’s economy is a 9.9-percent contraction in 2020, 4.5-percent growth for this year and a 6.2-percent growth in 2022. This is in contrast to the government’s expectation that local economic growth is expected to reach 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent this year.

MBC: Leave Cha-cha to ’22 poll winners By Elijah Felice Rosales

HE Makati Business Club (MBC) urged political leaders planning to run in the 2022 national elections to relax foreign ownership restrictions required by the Constitution within the first year of their term. In turn, the MBC called on policy-makers to give their attention to efforts to boost the recovery of the economy that suffered setbacks after setbacks from the Covid-19 pandemic. As much as the group advocates freeing the market, it said it understands the priority should be on the country’s recovery from the damage wrought by the global crisis. In a statement, the MBC aired its concern that the congressional plan to amend the Constitution may just divide the nation at a time it needs to be united in overcoming the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Further, it argued that any move to change the Charter in a few months before the next presidential elections would only raise fears that legislators are up to something. With the national polls set next year, the MBC added there are worries that revisions to the highest law of the land may include provisions outside of economic issues. “We continue to support this initiative but we believe that introducing any Charter change 15 months before presidential elections will only raise fears that other constitutional changes, some of which may be highly controversial, may be introduced and passed,” the MBC said. That’s why the MBC instead asked presidential and congressional candidates eyeing the office in the 2022 polls to include in their platform the relaxation of constitutional restrictions on foreign equity. They are also told to carry

Foreign… Health… Continued from A1

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Romulo Puyat said the DOT is still looking to create travel bubbles with neighboring countries, but she underscored that these “demand the strict enforcement of health and safe protocols at the destination countries. The proper infrastructure needs to be established and certified by both governments to ensure symbiotic and harmonious results.” She said the agency is currently updating its National Tourism Development Plan for 2016-2022, and working out the framework for the new 2022-2028 plan. DOT Spokesman and Undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon Jr. said a new domestic tourism survey is being completed, which will help them update the NTDP targets.

“We highlight the risk that the economy could face further Covid-19 outbreaks that divert funds toward the pandemic response and suppress revenue, thereby worsening the fiscal outlook and the budget’s ability to drive a recovery,” Fitch Solutions said. Consistent with the provisions of the Constitution, the education sector received the largest portion of the national budget with an allocation of P751.7 billion or 16.7 percent of the budget. This is followed by the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) budget of P695.7 billion and the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) P249.3-billion budget.

out such reform within the first 12 months of their term.

PCCI’s call

LIKE the MBC, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) earlier pressed policymakers to set aside the amendment of the Constitution and prioritize the passage of economic reforms to sustain government efforts to recover from the contagion. The PCCI on Monday argued now is not the right time to revise the Constitution to open up the economy to foreign participation. The group explained there are ways to achieve such objective without the need to tinker with the highest law of the land. It proposed, for one, passing bills filed in Congress that seek to lift or ease business restrictions, particularly the amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA). Under Article 12, Section 11 of the Constitution, public utili-

ties must solely be operated by firms that are 60 percent owned by Filipinos. In amending the 84-year-old PSA, the definition of public utilities will just be limited to distribution of electricity; transmission of electricity; water pipeline distribution; and sewerage pipeline. The PSA amendment was passed by the House of Representatives in 2019 and is now awaiting deliberations in the Senate. The PCCI is banking on senators to enact the measure into law before the end of the 18th Congress. On Monday also, Rep. Alfredo A. Garbin Jr. of Ako Bicol, chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, said the plan to revise the Constitution will only focus on economic regulations. For him, the amendment is needed to attract foreign capital to the shore in a period when millions have lost their jobs to the pandemic.

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CHINA, 4 OTHERS NOW LISTED IN PHL TRAVEL BAN; DOH SAYS NEW COVID STRAIN NOT HERE By Samuel P. Medenilla & Claudeth Mocon Ciriaco

HINA together with four other countries have been included on the list of countries with travel restrictions for having cases of the new variant of novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced on Tuesday the inclusion of the People’s Republic of China, Pakistan, Jamaica, Luxembourg and Oman on the list. He said the restriction will be in effect from January 13, 2021 until January 15, 2021. Once the restriction takes effect, foreign travelers from these countries will be barred from going in the country. However, Filipinos traveling from these places will still be allowed to enter the Philippines, but must undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine. Aside from the five countries, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) already imposed travel restrictions for 27 other territories in relation to the international spread of the more infectious variant of Covid-19, B117. These are the United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel,; the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Switzerland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea and South Africa. Also on the list are Canada, Spain, the United States, Portugal, India, Finland, Norway, Jordan and Brazil. The travel restrictions are also set to expire on Friday unless the IATF recommends extending its period beyond the said date.

‘New variant not yet here’ THE Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday clarified that the new SARS-CoV-2 variant has not yet been detected in the country, particularly in Metro Manila, contrary to reports circulating on social media. “The DOH and the Philippine Genome Center (PGC), to date, have not detected the United Kingdom variant, or any new variant of SARS-CoV-2, in any of the positive samples tested," the DOH said. The DOH and the PGC have assured that they are closely working together in order to intensify ongoing biosurveillance efforts. They also called on the public to refrain from disseminating unverified information which only creates panic and confusion. “Furthermore, whether or not a new variant is detected, the DOH reiterates that strict adherence to minimum public health standards (MPHS) is the best defense against Covid-19 and strongly urges the public to continue practicing MPHS across all settings to lower the rate of infection and reduce the risk of viral mutation,” the DOH concluded.

Covid cases AS of 4 p.m. of January 12, an additional 1,524 Covid-19 cases were logged, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 491,258. There were also 44 recoveries and 139 deaths. Of the total number of cases, 4.8 percent (23,532) are active cases, 93.3 percent (458,172) have recovered, and 1.94 percent (9,554) have died. Six laboratories were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Data Repository System on January 11, 2021.

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UP SPENDING TO P4.2T Continued from A1

This is slightly below the government’s projected budget deficit for the year at P1.38 trillion or 7.6 percent of GDP, but is more than double the country’s budget deficit in 2019, which only stood at 3.4 percent of GDP or P660.2 billion. “Because none of the emergency spending for the health crisis was programmed, we needed to bridge the budget gap with additional borrowings,” Dominguez said. The finance chief said revenues fell to P2.84 trillion last year, which is 0.46 percent short of its revised P2.853trillion total collection outlook for the year and lower by 9 percent from P3.138 trillion in 2019. It is also a drop of 19 percent from their original target of P3.49 trillion before the crisis struck.

For 2020, Dominguez said they projected the country’s debtto-GDP ratio to reach 53.5 percent. This is significantly higher than their prepandemic target of 40.2 percent and the country’s actual debt-to-GDP ratio in 2019 which fell at a historic low at 39.6 percent. But Dominguez said the projected debt-to-GDP ratio of the country for last year “kept us well within the prescribed bounds of fiscal viability.” For this year, Dominguez said they expect the national government’s debt to settle at 57 percent of GDP as the country aims to borrow a total of P3.03 trillion, roughly the same amount it borrowed in 2020. “Even with the upscaling of our borrowing plan, we will still be able to keep our debt ratio within a sustainable threshold. This gives us the advantage over economies who were already saddled with heavy debt prior to the crisis,” Dominguez said. The finance chief also said total gross financing raised by the national government last year

DOMINGUEZ: “The battle against Covid-19 is going to be a marathon, not a sprint.” AP

reached P2.63 trillion, excluding the P540-billion emergency short-term loan from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which was already paid in full in December and re-availed by the national government this month. Preliminary figures from the BTr cited by Dominguez also showed 73 percent or P1.91 trillion of the total borrowings was raised from the domestic market. The remaining amount was sourced from official development

assistance (P403.1 billion) and global bonds (P318.1 billion). “We appreciate the importance of continuing fiscal discipline to ensure the resilience of our economy. The public health emergency could last for months or possibly years. The battle against Covid-19 is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. While we hope for the best, we must be prepared for the worst,” he said. “Let me assure you that the Duterte administration has ample ammunition to outlast this enemy.”

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Nolcom creates IP desk led by Army tribesman from Benguet

HE military’s Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) has created its Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Desk (IPAD) with the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), acknowledging the vulnerability of indigenous groups in Northern and Central Luzon from possible exploitation of the New People’s Army. The Nolcom said that with more than 2 million indigenous people within its area of operations, the creation of its IPAD will fasttrack coordination and facilitate efficient implementation of projects and programs to the different indigenous communities in Northern and Central Luzon. The desk will allow the military’s area command to work closely with the NCIP, local government units and other stakeholders in addressing issues affecting indigenous people within its area, which might be exploited by the NPA and its front organizations. “The Northern Luzon Command recognizes the important role of the indigenous people in promoting peace and development in this part of the country,” Nolcom commander Lt. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said during a meeting creating the IPAD on Monday. “Hence, the creation of the IP affairs desk is a manifestation of our unwavering commitment to protect the welfare of the indigenous peoples [IP] and preserve our cultural integrity,” Burgos said. The desk is headed by Brig. Gen. Henry Doyaoen, deputy commander of Nolcom, himself an IP member with an ancestral lineage from the Ibaloi tribe in Benguet. Other officials, including Roland Rivera, NCIP commissioner for Region 3 and the rest of Luzon, attended the meeting. “The creation of the IP affairs desk is a big step towards protecting and promoting the rights of the indigenous people and preserving our cultural heritage,” Rivera said. He said the “NCIP will work closely with the AFP to advance the well-being of the indigenous people, develop a culture of nonviolence and support in developing a progressive indigenous cultural communities.” Burgos said the creation of the IPAD was just among the proactive measures that his command is undertaking as it continues to collaborate and work with key stakeholders in ending communist insurgency within Nolcom’s area of responsibility. “As advocates of peace and development, Nolcom will continue to collaborate and partner with the different government agencies and other concerned stakeholders for the implementation of programs and projects that will capacitate and empower the indigenous people and improve their living condition,” he said. Rene Acosta

Palace moves to stem online child porn proliferation amid pandemic restrictions

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

NTERNET service providers (ISP), which were found to have allowed their platforms to be used for child pornography, are now facing sanctions from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). This after President Duterte approved the recommendation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) during a Cabinet meeting on Monday to hold accountable the said ISPs for violating the provisions

of Republic Act 9775, or the AntiChild Pornography Act. “The NTC is directed to immediately impose sanctions on Internet service providers or ISPs for failure to perform their duties

By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

HE Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday acknowledged that no arrest warrant has been issued yet by the Jolo, Sulu regional trial court more than a week following the filing of four counts of murder and planting of evidence against nine policemen involved in the killing of four Army intelligence men. Lawyer Honey Delgado, spokesman of the Office of the Prosecutor General said the criminal information against the policemen were filed on January 4. However, Delgado said the delay in the issuance of the arrest warrants could be due to the fact that Sulu province is now on lockdown. It can be recalled that the Sulu provincial government placed the province on lockdown to prevent entry of the new variant of the Covid-19 virus following reports that it has reached Sabah, Malaysia already. “Insofar as the DOJ is concerned, the criminal information was filed on January 4, 2021.We are still awaiting for the issuance of the warrant of arrests from the court,” Delgado said. “However, we were informed that Sulu is still on lockdown,” Delgado added.

ASIDE from protecting marine turtle nests, the Cleanergy Park team is also about rescuing and rehabilitating injured marine turtles. Photo shows Fermin Edillon of Davao Light (left) assisting a veterinary team while attending to an injured Hawksbill turtle that figured in a fishing accident. PHOTO COURTESY OF CLEANERGY

@jonlmayuga

NOTHER nest of the endangered marine turtles was discovered at the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park in Davao City, officials said, capping the company’s environmental sustainability program. The nest discovered on December 20 last year was the third nest discovered inside the park. The first and second pawikan nests containing soon-to-be-hatched eggs were discovered last November 26 and December 3, respectively. The eggs in the third nest are expected

under Republic Act 9775,” Cabinet Secretar y K arlo Nograles said during an online briefing on Tuesday.

Alarming increase

HE said this was in response to the “alarming” spike in incidents of online child pornography, which soared to 47,937 last year from 19,000 last year. “It has been discovered, however, that the pandemic has contributed to or even has been used…as we see the disturbing rise of online sexual exploitation in the country,” Nograles said. This could have been prevented, he said, had ISPs complied with RA 9775’s mandate to install technol-

ogy to intercept, or immediately block access to child porn. Under RA 9775, he said, erring ISPs could be fined between P500,000 and P2 million, and even have their license to operate revoked depending on the number of their offenses.

New order, laws

A SIDE from penalizing ISPs, Nogra les disclosed President Duterte will also be issuing an executive order that will strengthen the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), the InterAgency Council Against Child Pornography and other relevant agencies; formulate case management protocol; streamlining of online

exploitation information and dissemination effort to be headed by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO). Furthermore, the President also asked to prioritize pending legislations, which will exempt human traffickers from the AntiWire Tapping Law; broaden the membership of IACAT; impose obligations on ISPs and tourism establishments to ensure they will not be used for child porn; strengthen the IACAT by providing plantilla positions and additional funding. “This makes it clear that the government will not allow more sexual exploitation during the pandemic,” Nograles said.

No warrant issued yet vs Jolo cops in killing of 4 Army intel men–DOJ Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra also said the current lockdown in Sulu could have delayed the issuance of the arrest warrant. “The DOJ prosecution filed the criminal information against the nine police officers last January 4. The court was supposed to issue the warrants of arrest thereafter, but apparently failed to do so because of the current lockdown in Sulu,” Guevarra said. Charged were Police Senior Master Sergeant Abdelzhimar Pajiri; Master Sgt. Hanie Badirri, Staff Sgts. Iskandar Susulan, Ernisar Sappal and Almudzrin Hadjaruddin, Cpl. Sulki Andaki and Patrolmen Muhammad Nur Pasani, Rajiv Putalan and Alkajal Mandangan. They were discharged from the service last January 1 and were subsequently released from detention as there have been no warrant of arrest for them. Guevarra said they were released from PNP despite requests of the DOJ to hold them awhile until the arrest warrants were issued. “We hope that the 9 accused will voluntarily turn themselves in when such warrants are eventually released by the court. Otherwise, law enforcement agents will look for them and take them into cus-

Sea turtle nest with egg clutch found anew at Aboitiz’s Cleanergy Park in Davao City

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, January 13, 2021 A3

to hatch on the second or third week of February 2021. Locally called pawikan, almost all marine turtle species are in endangered owing to habitat loss and illegal wildlife trade. Pawikans are hunted for their meat, shells, and other derivatives, while their eggs are harvested for domestic consumption. As a conservation measure, the DENR is promoting the establishment of marine turtle hatcheries, while working to build networks of marine turtle sanctuaries where they can reproduce and thrive. In a news statement, Aboitiz Cleanergy Park managers said the discovery of the third nest

reaffirms the park’s status as a sustainable environmental haven conducive to a variety of wildlife. An 8-hectare ecological preserve located in Punta Dumalag, Davao City, and the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park is operated by AboitizPower utility and subsidiary Davao Light & Power Company and the Aboitiz Foundation. Known as an urban-based biodiversity conservation site, it is home to the critically endangered hawksbill turtle, almost 100 endemic and migratory bird species, and marine species. Since its launch in 2014, the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park has released 4,811 hatchlings from 40 discovered nests within the area, and at present five rescued pawikans are in the park’s repository. These include three hawksbill turtles, one green sea turtle and an olive ridley turtle. “This is very commendable considering that hawksbill turtles are considered as critically endangered among the five marine turtle species in the Philippines. We commend the Aboitiz Foundation and the Davao Light and Power Company for their unending efforts in protecting the nesting sites of marine turtles, as well as their conservation initiatives in order to increase the pawikan population in the area,” Bagani A. Evasco, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 11 executive director said in the same statement. “Indeed, our forged partnership with the Aboitiz Foundation has come to fruition in protecting and conserving marine turtles in the middle of the city,” Evasco added. The nest’s discovery was unforeseen as pawikan nests are not expected to be discovered this year. Nesting or laying of eggs happen every other year.

tody,” Guevarra said. Guevarra added that he has instructed prosecutors handling the case to file an urgent motion in court for the issuance of a hold departure order against all the accused. The policemen were tagged in the killing last June in Jolo, Sulu of four Army intelligence officers out on a mission to track a suspected suicide bomber of the Abu Sayyaf Group. Guevarra earlier expressed ap-

prehension that the accused might flee and go into hiding if arrest warrants are not issued immediately 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. The case stemmed from the complaint filed by the National Bureau of

Investigation accusing the policemen of murder and planting of evidence in connection with the killing of Army Maj. Marvin Indammog, Capt. Irwin Managuelod, Sgt. Eric Velasco and Cpl. Abdul Asula. The military leadership has accused the police officers of executing the victims, contrary to their claim of a “misencounter.” Murder is a non-bailable offense under the Revised Penal Code.

A4 Wednesday, January 13, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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DHSUD readies database on PHL housing projects

Manila readies trade retaliatory measures vs Thailand amid lingering cigarette row T By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

HE Philippines is gearing up to retaliate against Thailand for its noncompliance to the ruling on their cigarette case, as the Tariff Commission begins its procedure to suspend preferential rates on dozens of Thai imports. The Tariff Commission on Tuesday announced it will conduct a public hearing on January 27 to start the procedure for the country’s move to suspend concessions to Thailand. In its notice, the agency asked parties that would likely suffer from the trade remedy to file their position papers before the proceeding. The retaliatory measure includes corn, milled rice, soya bean oil, mixed condiments and mixed seasonings,

and non-dairy creamers. Likewise, it covers white cement, lubricating oils, monosodium glutamate, medicaments, face or skin creams and lotions, among others. The retaliations also hits boards, sheets and panels, as well as semifinished products of iron and nonalloy steel, wire of refined copper wire and scores of appliances, machines and their parts. As declared by trade officials in 2019, the trade remedy attacks Thai imports of motor vehicles, including agricultural tractors, fuel tanks and car accessories, and motorcycle parts. The public hearing on January 27 will be carried out online. Parties who plan to either support, or block the retaliation may present their arguments during the proceeding. Last December the Philippines

and Thailand at the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to appoint Australia as a third-party facilitator tasked to identify ways and means on how to resolve their cigarette dispute. In spite of the development, the Philippines maintains the position it is allowed under WTO rules to retaliate against Thailand, made evident by the public hearing the Tariff Commission is about to conduct. Manila is trying to punish Bangkok by suspending preferential tariffs on $594 million worth of Thai imports. The Philippines filed the petition in Geneva in February 2020 in compliance with its commitment to abide by rules of free trade, but the WTO has yet to approve the retaliatory measure due to a deadlock in

the Appellate Body. The Appellate Body, the supreme court of world trade, is operating with just one sitting judge of the seven available seats. The chamber can only hear cases with a quorum of three members, and the United States under outgoing President Donald J. Trump had blocked every attempt to appoint a new judge. Thailand, for its part, is using this impasse at the Appellate Body to its advantage by raising the legality only the chamber can come up with a decision on trade disputes. The Philippines is requesting for retaliation to hold Thailand responsible for its failure to comply with the WTO decision on their cigarette case. Manila won the dispute in 2011, but Bangkok has yet to enforce the provisions of the ruling.

MORE PINAYS BARELY OUT OF TEENS MARRIED IN 2019-PSA DATA By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

HE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has reported on Tuesday that the number of marriages involving young Filipino women barely out their teens slightly rose in 2019. Based on the marriage statistics released by the PSA, a total of 45 girls aged below 15 years old got married in 2019. This was higher than the 43 recorded in 2018. Most of the young women’s marriages were solemnized in Muslim tradition and tribal ceremonies. But at least one was in the Roman Catholic Church, the first time this happened between 2015 and 2019. “In 2019, the median age of marriage, or the age at which half of

the population were younger/older upon marriage, was 27 years old for women and 29 years old for men. Moreover, the median age of marriage for both sexes were the same since 2017,” PSA said. Based on the data, 23 marriages of women aged below 15 years old were done according to Muslim tradition and 19 were done through tribal ceremonies. Marriages done according to the Muslim tradition in 2019 was more than the 21 recorded in 2018 while marriages through tribal rites remained the same compared to 2018. The 2019 data which showed 45 young women getting married before their 15th birthday was the highest since 2017 when there were a total of 51 of them who got married in the same age group.

Among young men, PSA data showed two aged below 15 years old got married in 2019. One got married according to Muslim tradition and the other one through tribal rites. This was lower than the four recorded in 2018. The data showed, however, that they were also married according to Muslim and tribal rites, the same as 2019. Meanwhile, the number of registered marriages in 2019 reached 431,972, lower than the total registered marriages of 449,169 in 2018. In 2019, the Calabarzon region recorded the highest number of registered marriages, which accounted for 13.9 percent of the total. It was followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) at 12.4 percent and Central Luzon at 11.8 percent. These regions were consistently held

the same positions since 2016. Among all regions, the two which recorded an increase in registered marriages were Cagayan Valley at 1.3 percent and Ilocos Region at 1 percent. Meanwhile, declines in the registered marriages during the period were noted in 15 regions, where there was a contraction of 17 percent was observed in ARMM, followed by Soccsksargen at 13.7 percent and NCR at 7.6 percent. Almost half or 44.9 percent of the total number of marriages in 2019 occurred in December at 12 percent; February, 11.5 percent; May, 11.1 percent; and April, 10.3 percent. Other months contributed less than 10 percent each to the total registered marriages, with November having the least contribution of only 5 percent of the total.

Ipsos names new country manager

ABAD

EADING global research company Ipsos announced on Tuesday the appointment of Vicky Abad as country manager for Ipsos in the Philippines. Abad replaces Marie Lee who retired in December 2020 after leading the Philippines business for eight years. Abad brings with her more than 30 years of experience in the market research industry to lead Ipsos in transformational growth initiatives aimed at strengthening the company’s market position in the Philippines. Just before joining Ipsos, Abad was the chief client officer of Kantar Insights Philippines where she successfully led the growth of key client accounts and driving synergies across several business units. Her core strengths in client servicing excellence were honed over years of working with major clients in the

Philippines, taking on key leadership positions across several market research agency organizations like Millward Brown, WorldPanel, TNS, Added Value and Nielsen Retail (then Dealer Pulse) in the Philippines, as well as Nielsen China for International Research. Along with her agency work, Vicky has 12 years of client experience working with companies like San Miguel Food Group and Splash Manufacturing Corp. where she took on lead roles in the areas of Marketing Research & Information Services, Corporate Planning, and New Product Development (with a general management role for Splash’s Research Institute). Suresh Ramalingam, chief executive officer for Southeast Asia, said “I am delighted to welcome Vicky to lead an important market for Ipsos. She is an effective business and people leader and we look forward to continue the business momentum we’ve been experiencing in the Philippines over the past year. I am positive that our level of client engagement and partnership will grow further together with our new services and capabilities.” Abad, for her part, said, “I’m excited to join Ipsos in the Philippines and further its mission to elevate insights and provide service excellence to its client partners. I look forward to help usher in a new era of transformation and spark changes in the dynamic market research industry.”

LEASABLE LANDS

Former president and now Presidential Adviser on Clark Flagship Programs Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (third from left) and Pampanga Vice Gov. Lilia Pineda on Monday listen intently to a presentation led by retired Gen. Aaron Aquino (fourth from left), president of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC), and Corporate Planning Manager Issa Feliciano on the agency’s upcoming master plan to develop the remaining leasable government lands at the Clark Civil Aviation Complex managed by CIAC. Joining them during the briefing in Lubao, Pampanga are Vice President for Operations Irish Calaguas (fifth from left), former CIAC president Alexander Cauguiran (left), and other CIAC officials. CIAC’s master plan will shift from a mere real-estate developer to being the most competitive service and logistics center in the Southeast Asian region, as advised by Arroyo and concurred by CIAC Chairman and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade. The presidential adviser urged CIAC to start working on plans to further develop around 277 hectares of prime government-owned land surrounding the Clark International Airport as service centers of airlines, for logistics and warehouses, and transport hubs. PHOTO COURTESY OF CIAC-CCO

HE Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) aims to develop a database of all housing projects nationwide in a bid to address the country’s housing backlog. In a news statement, DHSUD Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said the database would also include an inventory of housing needs at the local government unit (LGU) level. The database, he added, would also include available lots for housing and land zoning classification and a listing of existing beneficiaries of the government’s housing programs. “The importance of data in decision-making, especially in this technology-driven era, cannot be overemphasized. In the absence of valid and relevant data, policymaking sometimes relies on intuition, experience, or expertise, all of which have serious drawbacks,” del Rosario said. Del Rosario said DHSUD seeks to boost its data gathering and analysis capabilities to buttress policy-making, or in lieu of subjective methods. In order to create the database, del Rosario said, the agency aims to organize the National Human Settlements and Urban Development Coordinating Committee (NHSUDCC) and Regional Human Settlements and Urban Development Coordi-

nating Committee (RHSUDCC) to better respond to the multitude of challenges within the housing sector. This means the DHSUD will create national and regional committees that would facilitate cooperation and coordination between the department and Key Shelter Agencies (KSAs). He said this would also ensure harmonization of housing and urban development policies and complementation of programs, projects and activities. “The NHSUDCC and RHSUDCC shall be a venue for discussion and collaboration between and among the department and the KSAs, and the development of programs, activities, and projects that are responsive to local housing and urban development issues and concerns,” del Rosario said. The housing czar also highlighted the challenges brought about by the eruption of the Taal Volcano and the spate of several typhoons that struck the country at the end part of 2020. He said there is a need to ensure the continuity of services in times of disasters, the DHSUD also plans to establish a responsive and updated Business Continuity Plan for the Department and all the KSAs. Cai U. Ordinario

Surigao del Sur farmers receive relief goods, crop production kits from DAR By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

TOTAL of 2,103 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Surigao del Sur received productivity assistance from the government as part of the effort to cushion the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) announced on Tuesday. “We are extending these support services to help lessen the difficulty of the ARBs in this time of crisis,” DAR Regional Director Leomides R. Villareal said in a statement on Tuesday. Of the 2,103 ARBs, 1,487 received a bag of relief goods containing canned goods, rice, noodles, instant coffee, bath soap, and rubbing alcohol. On the other hand, a total of 816 ARBs received crop production kits consisting of two packs of assorted vegetable seeds, 1-liter fertilizer, 1-liter pesticide, a flat spade, a shovel and two rolls of nylon. “This will help farmers generate income and, at the same time, meet the nutritional requirements of their household during this time of the pandemic,” Villareal said. Among the beneficiaries, Namoc Jesfano, a member of Bayan Free Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative is thankful for being chosen

among the recipients of the farm productivity assistance. “It is really a big help on our part especially so that livelihood opportunity is quite difficult to find in this time of crisis,” he said. San Roque Farmers Producers Cooperative (SRFPC) of San Miguel Chairman Eddie Minguito also thanked the DAR for the assistance and facilitation during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) period that they were able to continue their marketing activities and delivery of rice products to institutional buyers. Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Leoncio C. Bautista said the DAR also extended livelihood assistance to 15 women ARBs of the province. The livelihood packages given were starter kits on hog raising, root crop, and vegetable production. The starter kits for hog raising include piglets and sacks of animal feeds, while the crop and vegetable production has sacks of fertilizers, packs of seedlings and farm implements like spades, hoes and pickaxes. “These livelihood packages are easy to manage and will allow farmers to sustain their livelihood with a quick return on investment. Thus, [these] would greatly help augment their family income in these difficult times,” Bautista said.

Duterte appoints Gaerlan as new president, CEO of CDC By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

LARK FREEPORT—President Duterte has approved the nomination of Director Manuel R. Gaerlan as the new president and chief executive officer of Clark Development Corp. (CDC). Malacañang has announced the appointment in a letter signed by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea dated January 11,

2021. The letter was addressed to the members of the CDC Board of Directors (BOD). In a news statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, the CDC BOD, executives and staff regard the appointment as “a welcome development.” For her part, Engr. Mariza O. Mandocdoc, officer in charge, Office of the CDC President, said she is thankful that President Duterte appointed a new president and CEO from the

GAERLAN

members of the CDC BOD. “Director Gaerlan is very much aware of the opportunities and challenges that Clark faces. With his inspiring leadership, CDC will be able to accomplish much much more for Clark and its stakeholders,” Mandocdoc said. Gaerlan will take his oath of office as CDC president and CEO on Thursday, January 14, 2021 during a special organizational meeting of the CDC BOD.

Customs authorities warn cargo consignees not to fall victims to ‘love scam’ at Naia By Recto Mercene @rectomercene

IRPORT Customs authorities warned the public on Tuesday against a new scheme

called “parcel scam or love scam,” a fraudulent means by which criminal syndicates victimize consignees of cargoes and parcels, demanding sums of money in exchange for the immediate release of their shipment.

Customs collector Mimel Talusan said syndicates using social-media platforms send text, call, or e-mail to supposed consignees of cargoes and parcels, demanding sums of money as “clearance fees” for the release of

their alleged shipments from Bureau of Customs. Talusan said syndicates dropped the names of Customs officials through Facebook, Messenger and assistance hot lines, especially dur-

ing the pandemic, to lend legitimacy, telling would-be recipients of cargoes and packages being “held by Customs” supposedly sent to them by their “chatmates” or online friend.” Talusan said that the airport

Customs district does not require “clearance fees,” or demand payment of Customs duties and taxes via phone, or receive payments through money remittance centers or personal bank accounts.

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Tougher measures to fight hog disease pushed By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

HE number of sows that could be affected by African swine fever (ASF) in the country could reach up to 750,000 sows if biosecurity measures in farms would not be intensified to combat the virus, a United Kingdom-based company said.

Pig Improve Company (PIC) Philippines General Manager Vino Borromeo said this could be the likely scenario if ASF continues to spread across the country. This, he said, would cause the supply shortage to widen and prices to increase. Borromeo added that bringing back the country’s domestic supply back to the 2019 level “may take at least 10 years.” He said the dreaded virus that

causes the pig disease will remain and continue to spread in the country until an “effective ASF vaccine arrives.” PIC is the swine division of Genus plc., a British-based company that seeks to pioneer animal genetic improvement to help nourish the world, according to its web site. “The shortfall will fast track the transformation of the industry to

adopt a more modern system of farming, put technology into the process, and innovate solutions to be more efficient and more conscious of the biosecurity that we need to put in place to protect herds,” Borromeo said in a statement on Tuesday. In the same statement, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said Filipino hog raisers “need to improve their risk

management standards and sustainability consciousness” regarding ASF. The bank pointed out that local hog raisers must “push for a stricter biosecurity program” to be able to curb the impact and eventually eradicate ASF. “The key to surviving this hog epidemic is a well-studied and properly implemented biosecurity program that will help hog raisers set up practicable

measures to prevent or control the spread of infection within a pig farm,” said BPI Sustainable Development Finance (SDF) Head Jo Ann Eala. BPI Head of Agribusiness Jun Ruba said until a “proper biosecurity discipline is implemented” it would be “really tough” for the country to repopulate its pig herd and ensure that new stocks don’t get hit by ASF again.

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

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DOJ panel affirms raps vs 25 former, incumbent PhilHealth Region 1 execs By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

HE Department of JusticeTask Force PhilHealth has found sufficient basis to endorse the report submitted by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) to the Office of the Ombudsman recommending the filing of criminal and administrative charges against 25 incumbent and former officials of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) Regional Office 1. Justice Assistant Secretary Neal Bainto announced that the report referred to the Ombudsman contains PACC’s investigation on alleged fraudulent membership enrollment and fraudulent benefit claims done

More lawmakers ask NG to give LGUs freer hand in vaccine deals continued from a12

Citing “stumbling blocks” likely to derail government efforts to contain the deadly virus, Drilon said on Tuesday the target to secure 148 million doses of vaccines to inoculate 70 million Filipinos by end of 2021 is “simply difficult to achieve.” This even as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had assured its readiness to issue an Emergency Use Authorization “within the week” to facilitate the transaction to deliver 148 million doses of the anti-Covid vaccine. “Parang suntok sa buwan ang vaccination program lalo na ’yung sinasabi nila na 148 million doses within the year,” the opposition senator said, noting that “the arrival of the vaccines is not even definite.” Drilon added: “How can they say that they will be able to purchase 148 million doses by the end of 2021 when up to now, we haven’t given any Emergency Use Authorization [EUA] to any vaccine and we have not been able to raise, through loans, all the needed amount for the purchase of the vaccines?” He remained unconvinced as the FDA had affirmed its readiness to “issue an EUA within the week.” “I am not reassured in the slightest by what I heard,” said Drilon, referring to replies he got from officials who attended Monday’s Committee of the Whole hearing on the national vaccine road map. While acknowledging “the plan is good on paper,” Drilon lamented that “the plan is filled with uncertainties and it leaves too much to chance.” He pointed out that the Duterte administration’s target of securing 148 million doses within the year is “simply difficult to achieve,” given vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez’s remark that 80 percent of global supply has already been procured by rich countries. “If only the government was able to make advanced purchases last year, similar to other low- and -middle-income countries such as Indonesia and Brazil, maybe we would have a better chance of securing these 148 million doses of vaccines this year,” he added. At the same time, Drilon also noted that “the funding is not even guaranteed at this point as the government has not fully secured the necessary loans to fund the P70 billion in the unprogrammed fund for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.” The administration earlier allotted P82.5 billion to buy vaccines but only P12.5 billion was included in the programmed appropriation, of which P2.5 billion will come from the General Appropriations Act with another P10 billion under Bayanihan 2. Drilon likened the funding for Covid-19 vaccine to an unfunded check without a definite source of funds. He said that if the Duterte administration wants to achieve its target of inoculating 70 million Filipinos this year, it should “allow local governments and the private sector to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for the purchase of vaccines” having been given “emergency use authorization.”

at PhilHealth’s Regional Office 1 amounting to P1.1 million. The 25 respondents are now facing charges of (i) Falsification by Public Officer under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC); (ii) Malversation under Article 217 of the RPC, (iii) Usurpation of authority under Article 177 of the RPC; (iv) Violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act under Republic Act (RA) 3019; Violations of the National Health Insurance Act of 1995 under RA 7875, as amended by RA 9241 and 10606; and (vi) administrative liabilities for Grave Misconduct and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service. Based on the PACC’s investigation report, a fake account was created at PhilHealth Regional Office I under

the name “Pamela del Rosario” and contributions were retroactively applied and ante-dated. It was found out that 27 fraudulent claims were made under the fictitious account. In its report, the PACC also sought the indictment of PhilHealth officials and employees tasked to Investigate the alleged fraudulent scheme for their failure to take appropriate action against the individuals involved. “This alleged fake Pamela del Rosario account has been discussed and deliberated upon several times by Task Force PhilHealth in its meetings. PACC was the one who did the investigation. The PACC’s report was also validated by the DOJ and we found it sufficient to be filed before

the Ombudsman,” Bainto said. However, Bainto said the task force would not divulge the names of the employees in the meantime until they are officially informed through subpoenas. The Task Force PhilHealth had previously recommended the filing criminal and administrative charges against seven officials of the agency for violation of Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for their alleged involvement in the multibillion embezzlement of PhilHealth funds. The task force wrapped up its 30day investigation on the anomalies in PhilHealth but its composite teams are still continuing with the investigations to determine the liability of others involved in similar or other wrongful practices in the agency.

‘RTL helped PHL achieve record rice output’ By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

ICE production went up to its highest ever partly because of rice tariffication, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said. During the 72nd Inaugural Meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines on Tuesday, Dominguez said this proves that opening up economy challenges the local production and that they respond positively if there is “good” support. “We just got the figures on the effects of rice tariffication on rice production. You know rice production actually went up. It’s been the highest it’s been ever,” said Dominguez, who was a former agriculture secretary under former President Corazon C. Aquino. However, the finance chief did not give specific figures. “I don’t know how they calculate it but around half of it is because of good weather but the other half is because farmers have funds, which we gave them from the collection of tariffs to invest in better production methods and actually yields have gone up,” he said. “So last night during the Cabinet meeting, I said, you know, this is another proof that actually economic theory works.” Dominguez made the remark after he reiterated his position on Charter change that he is in favor of opening up the economy “in all areas possible” except land ownership. In December, Agriculture Secre-

HE Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Tuesday has called on the government anew for the approval of saliva test, which, it said, is a faster, easier, and more affordable mode of diagnosing Covid-19. “We are expanding our testing services with a more affordable testing which is faster and less invasive. Our proposal is based on sound studies conducted and approved in other countries,” said PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sen. Richard J. Gordon of their proposal of the saliva testing method in October 2020 to the Department of Health (DOH) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The test requires a saliva specimen which eliminates

the discomfort of swabbing. Saliva testing requires less protection and the need for universal transport medium and swabs. Gordon said that saliva specimen is stable at room temperature and does not require cold chain transport that translate to reduced costs. The PRC said that this efficient procedure aligns harmoniously with PRC’s goal to test more people and contain the spread of the coronavirus. For her part, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that they are still waiting for the response from the PRC last November. Vergeire said that the letter contain the recommendations provided by the laboratory experts panel.

OLICEMEN have shattered a distribution network that supplies regulated drugs in Central Visayas with the arrest of a key player and seizure of a large stockpile of opioid analgesics. Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Debold Sinas said 21,600 ampules of Nubain tablets were confiscated on Tuesday in a busy-bust operation by operatives of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) along Sangi Road, Barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. Citing reports from PNP-DEG Director, Police Brigadier General Ronald Lee, Sinas said the seized contraband is valued at P5.4 million. According to Lee, the drugs were imported from Pakistan and was forwarded to Cebu via a local forwarding company. The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), has included Nalbuphine hydrochloride (Nubain) among the

funding for Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to bankrolll programs that would provide farmers with high-quality seeds, machinery, easier credit access and relevant training to improve their productivity and become competitive. Should annual tariff revenues from rice importations exceed P10 billion, the RTL law states that these shall be earmarked by Congress— and included in the national budget of the following year—for financial assistance to palay farmers, titling of agricultural lands, an expanded crop insurance program on rice, and crop diversification. As earlier reported, rice tariffs collected by the Bureau of Customs in January to November last year reached P14.6 billion from 2.25 MMT of rice imports. In 2019, Customs collected P12.3 billion in rice tariffs from March to December following the passage of the RTL, which removed the quantitative restriction on the staple.

list of dangerous drugs because of the danger posed by those who may abuse its use. The DDB also noted that there has also been numerous reports of abuse of Nalbuphine hydrochloride in many major cities in the country, and has been found to be the fifth most commonly encountered drug of abuse by victims seeking treatment and rehabilitation in various rehabilitation centers. PNP-DEG agents arrested Discoro Salimbot, 33, cargo representative at FCS Cargo Services and a resident of Barangay Badian, Purok 2, Cebu for violation of Section 5 of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. PNP-DEG records showed that Salimbot was recruited in 2017 by a certain Madelyn Baldovino and is responsible for the remittance of the proceeds from the sale of the items to Baldovino. Rene Acosta

ADB to developing economies: Raise tie ups with private sector @caiordinario

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III

Red Cross presses govt anew to OK saliva testing for Covid-19 diagnosis

Police drug bust leads to seizure of ₧5.4 million worth of opioid in Cebu

By Cai U. Ordinario

We just got the figures on the effects of rice tariffication on rice production. You know rice production actually went up. It’s been the highest it’s been ever.

tary William Dar said the Philippines has recorded its highest production level at 19.44 million metric tons (MMT) in 2020. Based on the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, this is higher than the 18.81 MMT in 2019 and 19.07 million recorded in 2018. The previous record-high production was in 2017 at 19.276 MMT. Dar said the high rice production level was achieved despite the series of typhoons that battered several areas of the country and amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The typhoons that struck the Philippines in the last quarter of 2020 destroyed at least P12.3 billion worth of crops, including rice, according to government data. For this year, the Department of Agriculture will shoot for another record as it has set a palay production target of 20.48 MMT. Under the Rice Trade Liberalization (RTL) law, tariffs collected from rice imports are used to fund the six-year P10-billion annual

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E V EL OPI NG econom ies should ramp up their partnerships with the private sector to finance infrastructure programs, according to an expert from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In an Asian Development Blog, ADB Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department Advisor Yesim Elhan-Kayalar said this will help economies recover from the pandemic. Elhan-Kayalar said responding to the pandemic has placed a strain on public funds and induced countries to resort to external borrowing to augment their resources. “This approach will not be financially sustainable over an extended period. With many infrastructure projects at risk of suspension or deprioritization to create fiscal space for Covid-19 response programs, upper middle-income country governments will have to consider other options for a sustainable path to economic recovery,” Elhan-Kayalar said. She said charting a path toward economic recovery will mean financing large-scale public works that would generate sufficient jobs and foster private sector development for both upper and lower middle-income countries. Elhan-Kayalar said this includes financing infrastructure programs in emerging upper middle-income countries such as the P9-trillion “Build, Build, Build” program in the Philippines.

“Diverse economies will need customized solutions to sustain their public infrastructure pipelines, generate jobs and keep private sector investors engaged in infrastructure investments,” she said. This means ensuring that existing Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) should continue construction and operation through help from the government. This help could be in the form of extending the concession term, credit guarantees, purchase agreements, tax holidays/deferrals, and refinancing options. Governments should also reintroduce or issue contracts to private construction firms; support investments in the “new normal” such as urban mobility and digital infrastructure needs; and explore tax reforms and employ prudent borrowing strategies. “During the early stages of an economy’s development, the government tends to be the primary provider and operator of public infrastructure,” Elhan-Kayalar said. “In a more advanced economy, with open market and enabling regulatory frameworks, the private sector takes on a larger role in creating, operating, and maintaining infrastructure assets through PPPs with the government, starting with assets that have cost recovery and revenue generation potential such as toll roads and utilities. The source of infrastructure finance thus evolves in tandem with economic development,” she added.

Poor availment plagues tourism aid programs covered by Bayanihan 2 continued from a12 The DOT, along with several stakeholders’ groups fought for the massive financial aid to be extended to their sector, which has seen closures and an incredible loss of income due to international travel restrictions, instead of funds being allocated for infrastructure projects. (See, “Tourism sector loses P190 billion in March-July,” in the BusinessMirror, August 13, 2020.)

No idea

THE agency has estimated some 4.8 million tourism workers are either jobless or only partially working because of Covid-imposed travel restrictions. As such, it estimated that some P80 billion in financial assistance will be needed to jump-start the recovery of the tourism sector. As of December 15, 2020, the DOT has accredited 8,906 tourism enterprises, up by 11.98 percent from 2019. The DOT, however, appears clueless on the possible constraints for the poor availment of the financial aid. DOT Undersecretary and Spokesman Benito C. Bengzon Jr. told the BusinessMirror in a Viber message, “It’s best to ask the private sector if they think there are constraints [in the applications for the aid].” But he said, “On [loans] from SB Corp, I just updated the regional offices on the take-up of

working capital loans and appealed to them to reach out to their stakeholders and encourage them to use the facility.” With respect to the DOT-DOLE program, he said, “Assistant Secretary Rica [C. Bueno] is discussing with her counterparts to check if those previously granted assistance in the past programs can also be eligible under Bayanihan 2.” In a separate interview, Tourism Congress of the Philippines President Jose C. Clemente said because the DOT-DOLE program excluded past beneficiaries of Covid financial assistance programs under Bayanihan 1, “that’s already a good-sized number of possible beneficiaries [under Bayanihan 2].”

Confusing guidelines, borrowers’ fear

HE could not speak to how the regional offices disseminated the guidelines for the DOT-DOLE program. “What I see is that some are confused by the guidelines, do not know about it, or possibly just lazy to apply,” he noted. He added, “A possible detriment also is that the assistance has to be applied for by the company. How can a beneficiary tap the program if he is no longer employed by the company? Will the company even bother

filing for you? Some have asked if individuals could apply instead. I don’t see that option in the requirements.” For SB Corp’s CARES for Travel program, Clemente said among the reasons for the poor availment is that the intended beneficiaries “don’t want to borrow because they might not be able to repay the loan.” Also, he said, some stakeholders have mentioned that the loan amounts approved “were too small. But then the loanable amount is also dependent on a company’s asset size and feasibility study. To me that’s understandable; that’s the threshold of the regulations.” He added he was also unaware “how the regional offices presented it to their stakeholders, or if they were able to answer [the stakeholders’] questions correctly.” It’s clear, Clemente said, there were shortcomings from both the government and stakeholders’ sides. “Stakeholders are still wishing for a handout.” He also agreed that perhaps the financial assistance available under DOT-DOLE could also be increased from P5,000. “The last tranche of assistance was in May 2020, but the tourism sector wasn’t really operational yet. So if the financial aid is increased, it’s like a second round of ayuda.”

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HERMAN, THOMAS JEAN M. Belgian

HEAD OF ENGINEERING

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

FLYING DRAGON NETWORK PHILIPPINES INC. 4th-11th Floor Aseana 3 Building Aseana Avenue Corner Diosdado Macapagal Tambo Parañaque City 112.

LI, BINGCHEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

113.

LI, ZHENYANG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

114.

SHAO, GENGBIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

115.

WU, SHENGBIAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

116.

XIE, RUFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

117.

ZHANG, CHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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

CHINESE IT SUPPORT

119.

GUO, YIDE Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

120.

TAO, GUOHAO Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

121.

ZOU, JUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE MANDARIN SPEAKING

118.

146.

KRUKENBERG, BERND Deutsch

PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR/ GENERAL MANAGER

SYKES ASIA, INC. G/f, 3/f, 4/f Worldwide Corporate Call Center/bpo Center Edsa Cor. Shaw Blvd. Mandaluyong City 147.

NGUYEN VAN HUNG Vietnamese

CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENT

148.

WRIGHT, CRAIG RENE American

DIRECTOR, AREA OPERATIONS

SYSTRA PHILIPPINES, INCORPORATED 1601 West Tower Pse Center Exchange Rd. San Antonio Pasig City 149.

NEMMOUR, NAGIB French

METRO MANILA SUBWAY PROJECT (MMSP) MEP EXPERT

THE PENBROTHERS INTERNATIONAL INC. 6/f Opl Bldg. 100 C. Palanca Cor. Dela Rosa & Gil Sts. San Lorenzo Makati City 150.

SHIRLEY KEN TZU TING Malaysian

MALAYSIAN BUSINESS TECHNICAL ANALYST

TRIVES TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION Tower 4 Bayport West Naia Garden Residence, Naia Road Tambo Parañaque City

FANG, YUAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

154.

FANG, HUIHENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

155.

GAO, HANMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

156.

HU, KUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

157.

HUANG, ZHIYU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

158.

LAN, BINGGUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

MANDARIN INFORMATION SYSTEM SPECIALIST

159.

LI, WANGMING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

INQUICK SERVICES INC. Unit 606 6/f Itc Bldg. 337 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Bel-air Makati City

160.

YAN, JIAYAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

161.

YE, QIUPING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

162.

ZHAO, YAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

163.

ZHOU, MAOPEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

164.

PANG HANG VUN Malaysian

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CS SHIFT SUPERVISOR (MULTILINGUAL)

72.

LI, YAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SUPPORT (MULTILINGUAL)

GULLIVER INTEGRATED OUTSOURCING INC. 21/f Oledan Square Bldg. 6788 Ayala Ave. San Lorenzo Makati City

73.

SHRESTHA, REVOLUTION Nepalese

CUSTOMER SUPPORT (MULTILINGUAL)

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

74.

SATO, MASANORI Japanese

JAPANESE CUSTOMER SUPPORT ASSOCIATE

CHEN, JIANHAI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

75.

KHANTHARAJ, PIMPANITH, Thai

QUALITY ANALYST (MULTILINGUAL)

17.

CHEN, JUN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

76.

KRAISANG, RUNGRADA Thai

QUALITY ANALYST (MULTILINGUAL)

18.

CHEN, LEILEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

19.

CHEN, YANGTAO Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

20.

DENG, FEIJIAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

21.

GAO, HUAJIE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

22.

HA VAN CONG Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

23.

HAU PHONG MINH Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

24.

HU, YUQIONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

25.

HUANG, XUEMEI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

26.

LAI JIA HOU Malaysian

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

27.

LE THI KIM DUNG Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

28.

LEI, YOU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

29.

LEI, QINGLI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

30.

LI, DINGFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

31.

LI, LIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

32.

LI, LUQING Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

33.

LI, MENGNAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

34.

LI, YUCHEN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

35.

LIDYA Indonesian

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

36.

LIN, XINRONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

37.

LIN, SHIQIN, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

38.

LIU, YANTONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

39.

LIU, SHASHA, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

40.

LIU, CAN, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

41.

LU, WEIYE Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

42.

LUONG THIEN SANH Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

43.

MA, YONG, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

44.

NGUYEN THI DUNG Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

45.

PENG, HAORAN, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

46.

PHAM CAO HUNG Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

47.

PHONG QUANG SANH Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

48.

PHU PHI YEN Vietnamese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

49.

QU, ZUMING, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

50.

STELLA FEBRIANA Indonesian

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

51.

SU, WUXING, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

52.

SU, ZHICHAO, Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

53.

TRUONG CONG PHUONG, Vietnamese

54.

GUANGXI HYDRO ELECTRIC CONSTRUCTION BUREAU (GHCB PHILIPPINES CORPORATION) #58 Road 1 Project 6 1 Quezon City 122.

LUO, HONG Chinese

GENERAL MANAGER

123.

IKARASHI, SHOKO Japanese

JAPANESE MARKETING SPECIALIST

124.

SHIMOHARAI, KENTARO, Japanese

JAPANESE MARKETING SPECIALIST

HECTECHURE CORP. Units A&b 20/f Rufino Pacific Tower 6784 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St. San Lorenzo Makati City 125.

126.

ZHANG, YONGXIA Chinese

YAO, WENLIANG Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

INTERCOMP LINK SOLUTIONS INC. 14th Floor, Filinvest Three Bldg. Northgate Cyberzone Filinvest Alabang Muntinlupa City 127.

CHEN, YOU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

128.

GAO, JINGXIANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

129.

JIANG, ZELAI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

130.

ZHANG, ZHOUJIAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

JIU ZHOU TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC. 31/f Tower 6789 6789 Ayala Avenue San Lorenzo Makati City 131.

CHANG, YA-YUN Taiwanese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

JSLINK INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION 803-804 Ri-rance Building Aseana Enclave Aseana City Tambo Parañaque City 132.

ZHOU, ZIPING Chinese

ASSISTANT MANAGERMANDARIN SPEAKING

KMC MAG SOLUTIONS, INC. 20/f, Picadilly Star Building 4th Avenue Corner 27th Street Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 133.

CHOE, ERIC BERNARDO American

SALES MANAGER, SMB NA

MEGA-WEB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 6,7,8,9,10,11/f Met Live Bldg. Edsa Cor. Macapagal Blvd. Brgy. 076 Pasay City MANDARIN SPEAKING LI, DENGFENG CUSTOMER RELATIONS SERVICE 134. Chinese PROVIDER MANDARIN SPEAKING LI, MAOHUA CUSTOMER RELATIONS SERVICE 135. Chinese PROVIDER MANDARIN SPEAKING YI, FAN CUSTOMER RELATIONS SERVICE 136. Chinese PROVIDER MHI POWER TECHNICAL SERVICES CORPORATION 27/f Robinsons Cybergate Center Tower 3 Pioneer Highlands Mandaluyong City 137.

FUJIMURA, TAKAHIRO Japanese

ENGINEERING DIRECTOR

MOSHIMOSHI FASHION WEAR INC. Unit No. B-33 Flr. No.g Bagong Milenyo Plaza Bldg. F.b. Harrison St. Zone 10 Barangay 076, District 1 Pasay City

VAN GOGH BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING INC. 5th To 8th Flr. Sm Southmall Tower 2 Alabang Zapote Rd. Almanza Uno Las Piñas City 165.

WANG, XIANGBIN Chinese

I.T TECHNICAL MANDARIN

VPC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED 11/f 100 West, Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Cor. Washington St. Pio Del Pilar Makati City 166.

HOANG TUONG VI Vietnamese

VIETNAM - SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER

167.

TRINH DOAN THINH Vietnamese

VIETNAM - SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER

WANFANG TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT, INC. U-3501/02 35/f Pbcom Tower Cor. Ayala Ave. & V.a. Rufino St. Belair Makati City 168.

WU, CENSHOU Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

169.

ARIYAKAJORNNON, SIRIPONG Thai

MARKETING SPECIALIST

170.

BUNDASAK, WORAPICHA Thai

MARKETING SPECIALIST

171.

CHOEMUE, PORNTHIP Thai

MARKETING SPECIALIST

172.

YEAMBUPPHA, DNITA Thai

MARKETING SPECIALIST

WHOLESOME CONSULTING SERVICES CORP. Unit Ug-02, G/f Cityland 10 Tower 2 154 H.v. Dela Costa Cor. Valero Sts. Bel-air Makati City 173.

SUN, MAN, Chinese

MANDARIN ADMIN SUPPORT

WISHLAND SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY INC. 28/f Techzone Condo Corp. 213 Buendia Ave. San Antonio Makati City 174.

AYE THINZAR AUNG Myanmari

BURMESE LANGUAGE MARKETING STAFF

175.

SIN LU Myanmari

BURMESE LANGUAGE MARKETING STAFF

176.

SU DAR LI HNIN Myanmari

BURMESE LANGUAGE MARKETING STAFF

138.

SHEK, ROMAN Bangladeshi

PURCHASING MANAGER

177.

CHINESE LANGUAGE CUSTOMER SERVICE STAFF

139.

HOULADER, MD RIAD Bangladeshi

LIN, DAN Chinese

SALES MANAGER

178.

WANG, PENGFEI Chinese

CHINESE LANGUAGE MARKETING STAFF

179.

WANG, RUIQI Chinese

CHINESE LANGUAGE MARKETING STAFF

180.

NGUYEN THI THUY LINH , Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE MARKETING STAFF

181.

PHAM VAN HUY Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE MARKETING STAFF

182.

VU TUNG LAM Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE MARKETING STAFF

PINNACLE SOURCES GLOBAL CONSULTANCY INC. U-b 32/f Bpi Philam Life Center 6811 Ayala Ave. Bel-air Makati City 140.

HAN, JIANWEI Chinese

ACCOUNT MANAGER

103.

CHEN, PEIRUI Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

104.

HU, XINCI Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

105.

LI, MIAOXUAN Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

106.

LI, WENJIE Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

107.

SU, LONGBO Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

WAN, FENGFENG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

55.

WANG, FUPING Chinese

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

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

108.

FU, BIN Chinese

IT TECHNICAL MANDARIN

56.

WEI, MINGMIN Chinese

109.

LIU, PENGHUI Chinese

RUSTAN COMMERCIAL CORPORATION U304 3/f 4/f, 501, 502a, 502b & 504 5/f Oppen Bldg. 349 Sen. Gil J. Puyat Ave. Bel-air Makati City

IT TECHNICAL MANDARIN

144.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

SHELL ENERGY PHILIPPINES, INC. 41st/f The Finance Centre 26th St. Cor. 9th Ave., Bgc Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

153.

OU, TIEN-YIN Taiwanese

EASTERN GOLD CORPORATION 503 Nueva St Binondo Manila

SMART GRID SALE HEAD, APAC

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CS MANAGER (MULTI-LINGUAL)

MANDARIN PROJECT MANAGER

THOMACHOT, ANTOINE REMY French

CHEN, XIAONA Chinese

DU, PENG Chinese

102.

145.

152.

70.

LUO, YANG Chinese

SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC (PHILIPPINES), INC. Unit 801, 8th Floor The World Plaza 5th Avenue, Crescent Park West E-square Information Technology Park Bgc, Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CS ASSISTANT MANAGER (MULTI-LINGUAL)

CHINA CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION 3/f Builders Center Bldg. 170 Salcedo St. San Lorenzo Makati City

POSITION

CHEN, YIWEI Chinese

LU, PENG Chinese

BIG EMPEROR TECHNOLOGY CORP. 5f-13f, Jiaxing Tower Building Aseana Avenue, Aseana Business Park Tambo Parañaque City LIM CHIN TIEN COMPUTER SYSTEM ANALYST 77. Malaysian NENG, KUOK KEI MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE 78. Chinese JIAO, YULONG MANDARIN LANGUAGE 79. Chinese SPECIALIST LI, JIALIN MANDARIN LANGUAGE 80. Chinese SPECIALIST LI, YANG MANDARIN LANGUAGE 81. Chinese SPECIALIST LI, MINGXIAO MANDARIN LANGUAGE 82. Chinese SPECIALIST LIU, CHENG MANDARIN LANGUAGE 83. Chinese SPECIALIST LIU, LIXIONG MANDARIN LANGUAGE 84. Chinese SPECIALIST LIU, YAZHOU MANDARIN LANGUAGE 85. Chinese SPECIALIST MA, XI MANDARIN LANGUAGE 86. Chinese SPECIALIST MIAO, ZHONGZHONG MANDARIN LANGUAGE 87. Chinese SPECIALIST SONG, XIAOFANG MANDARIN LANGUAGE 88. Chinese SPECIALIST SUI, YISHUN MANDARIN LANGUAGE 89. Chinese SPECIALIST TAN YEN YING MANDARIN LANGUAGE 90. Malaysian SPECIALIST TANG, PUTAO MANDARIN LANGUAGE 91. Chinese SPECIALIST TIAN, LIYUAN MANDARIN LANGUAGE 92. Chinese SPECIALIST WANG, XING MANDARIN LANGUAGE 93. Chinese SPECIALIST WANG, YUNGUO MANDARIN LANGUAGE 94. Chinese SPECIALIST WEI, SHAN MANDARIN LANGUAGE 95. Chinese SPECIALIST YANG, ZIHAN MANDARIN LANGUAGE 96. Chinese SPECIALIST YAO, BINGBING MANDARIN LANGUAGE 97. Chinese SPECIALIST YE, ZHENDONG MANDARIN LANGUAGE 98. Chinese SPECIALIST ZHANG, YINGGE MANDARIN LANGUAGE 99. Chinese SPECIALIST ZHOU, YOU MANDARIN LANGUAGE 100. Chinese SPECIALIST ZHOU, CHENGWEI MANDARIN LANGUAGE 101. Chinese SPECIALIST

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

151.

69.

71.

NO.

PRIME GREAT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES INC. 3/f To 8/f, Nissan Sucat Zentrum Building 8390 Dr. A Santos Avenue Bf Homes Parañaque City 141.

PHAM THI THUONG Vietnamese

COMPUTER SYSTEM ANALYST

142.

LI, WENHUI Chinese

IT TECHNICAL MANDARIN

RIGHT CHOICE FINANCE CORP. 5e-1 Electra House Bldg. 115-117 Esteban Street San Lorenzo Makati City 143.

XU, YAOZONG Chinese

KIM, TAEHEE South Korean

MANDARIN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

CONSULTANT

*Date Generated: Jan 12, 2021 Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE-NCR Regional Office located at DOLE-NCR Building, 967 Maligaya St., Malate Manila, within 30 days after this publication. Please inform DOLE-NCR if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

A10 Wednesday, January 13, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

How govt can help lower food prices

he impact of the series of destructive typhoons that struck the Philippines in the fourth quarter of 2020 is still being felt by Filipino consumers, based on the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The damage caused by the typhoons and the quarantine restrictions was adversely felt in urban areas, including Metro Manila. And the subsequent increases in the prices of some basic foodstuff come at a time when demand is usually slow, when consumers that splurged during the holidays are tightening their belts. Based on the January 9 Metro Manila Price Bulletin released by the PSA, the most expensive food items in the survey conducted by the agency include meat products like pork and beef. The prevailing retail price of beef rump reached P420 per kilogram while pork liempo was at P400 per kg. Also notable were the prevailing prices of vegetables covered by the survey, the most expensive of which was amargoso or ampalaya (P180 per kg). For beef rump and beef brisket, the retail prices were higher by P100 per kg compared to the prices listed in the survey conducted last year. The price of pork nearly doubled as pork kasim was only at P200 per kg while liempo was sold at P240 per kg last year. Among the vegetables sold in the wet markets of Metro Manila in 2020, only the prevailing price of red onion was notable at P240 per kg. The impact of the Taal Volcano eruption and the quarantine restrictions imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19 adversely affected food production and the supply chain in general. The string of typhoons that visited the Philippines in the fourth quarter of 2020 made matters worse. The typhoons wreaked havoc on vegetable-producing areas, which explains the spikes in the prices of vegetables. Animal diseases, including African swine fever (ASF), also added undue pressure on food prices. While there is nothing that the government can do about the weather, it can consider putting in place measures that would ease the burden on consumers when typhoons strike our food-producing areas. We agree with Monetary Board Member Bruce V. Tolentino that seasonal factors that affect vegetable prices could have been moderated by infrastructure and improvements in logistics and transportation (See, “Rate cut not likely as inflation hits 3.5%,” in the BusinessMirror, January 6, 2020). More farm-to-market roads, better highways, and investments in cold chain facilities would ensure the delivery of food to urban areas, even after the country is hit by natural disasters. High meat prices would also continue to persist if government fails to keep animal diseases, such as ASF, at bay. The national government must continue to pump money into the livestock subsector if it is serious about fighting ASF, a highly contagious pig disease that brought China’s hog sector, the world’s top producer, to its knees. There must be no let up in the effort of government to ensure that hog raisers and poultry growers are following biosecurity protocols that would eliminate diseases in their farms. There’s a powerful lesson we can learn from the findings of the Food and Agriculture Organization, which said that “countries that have achieved greater national and household food security generally have a track record of strong political emphasis on agriculture, careful consideration of economic incentives for agricultural production, and human and economic investments in research, extension and training.” Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business ✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua

New SSS contribution rate: Ensuring social security protection to current and future SSS members Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

ince the start of the year, we have heard and seen in newscasts about the new SSS contribution rate, which brought mixed reactions from the public.

When I was interviewed a week ago in PTV-4’s “Laging Handa” Public Briefing with Secretary Martin Andanar and Undersecretary Rocky Ignacio, I mentioned that such increase is one of the significant provisions under Republic Act 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018, which was approved by President Duterte on March 6, 2019. Aside from this, such provision will enhance the fund life of the System to benefit its current and future contributors. On top of this, our main goal is to protect the fund life of the SSS, which has been a part of every working Filipino in the private sector for 63 years. In January 2021, the SSS implemented a contribution rate of 13 percent from the previous 12 percent. On the other hand, the minimum monthly salary credit has been set

to P3,000 from P2,000 (except for Kasambahay and OFW members whose minimum MSC will remain at P1,000 and P8,000, respectively), while the maximum MSC is now at P25,000 from P20,000. For employed members, landbased oversease Filipino workers members in countries with Bilateral Labor Agreements (BLAs) with the Philippines, and sea-based OFW members, the 1 percent will be divided between them and their employers, bringing the contribution rate breakdown to 4.5 percent for the employees and 8.5 percent for employers. Under the new contribution scheme, a member paying under the P10,000 MSC will now pay a monthly contribution of P1,300, which is P100 higher than the P1,200 in 2020. Now, let’s look at this angle in our daily setting. An ordinary individual

Shortchanging Filipino seafarers

Founder Publisher Editor in Chief Associate Editor News Editor

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Senior Editors

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may spend around P30 for cellphone load in a week. In a month, his expenses on such load will be P120. Under the average MSC with a P100 increase this year, this will be just a minimal but significant amount, as the member will reap his benefits in case he meets a contingency. Suppose the member is employed, in that case, the P100 contribution will be divided as follows: P50 from their employer for a total employer share of P850, and P50 from them for a total member share of P450. While the MSC to be considered for the computation of benefits under the regular social security program is capped at P20,000, contributions pertaining to the MSC in excess of P20,000 will go to the Workers’ Investment and Savings Program (WISP), a provident fund that was launched late last year as part of the provisions under the new SSS Law that will yield additional pension income for members contributing under it. Compared with the previous programs of SSS like the Flexi Fund for overseas Filipino workers (OFWS), which was launched in 2001, and the Personal Equity and Savings Option (PESO) Program in 2015 that are both voluntary provident programs, WISP is automatic for those contributing above P20,000 MSC up to the prevailing maximum

ilipino seafarers are being shortchanged in the conversion of their dollar remittances to pesos, which a blogger described as “thievery” in the maritime industry.

It is a known practice of some unscrupulous manning agents to shave off at least one or two pesos from the foreign exchange rate, misleadingly calling the cut as “service charges.” The Philippines is considered as one of the major supplier of maritime labor globally as it is estimated that there is one Filipino seafarer for every four to five crewmembers on board a vessel at any time. The sea-based sector’s remittances comprise at least 22 percent of the total dollar remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Unlike land-based OFWs, the POEA Standard Employment Contract (SEC) mandates that the Filipino seafarer is required to make an allotment, which shall be at least 80 percent of the seafarer’s monthly

basic salary, payable once a month to his designated allottee in the Philippines. The estimated 519,031 deployed Filipino seafarers in 2019 per POEA data remitted $6.539 billion or around P326.95 billion. Lawyer Peter Payoyo pointed out in an article the practices of some manning agencies of pinching valuable pesos from seafarers’ monthly remittances. Payoyo cited the survey made by Philippine Seafarers Assistance Program (PSAP), which revealed that manning agencies have been using a variety of odd techniques to make a quick buck from the remittances flow: “Delayed forward of allotment,” using a “house rate” for the currency exchange, “allotment slip available

upon request,” “allotment slip mailed to seaman onboard,” or “allotment after all deductions made,” which are often not explained to the seafarer or the family. He said these practices are clearly contrary to the letter and spirit of the POEA contract, which says that facilitation by the manning agency of allotments shall be “at no expense to the seafarer,” and that “allotments shall be paid to the designated allottee in Philippine currency at the rate of exchange indicated in the credit advice of the local authorized Philippine Bank.” The 2019 Seafarers Happiness Index survey report released by the Mission to Seafarers (MTS) noted that seafarers repeatedly lamented that their wages seemed to be falling in real terms due to several factors. Seafarers cited the dubious fees charged by some manning agents, as well as the confusing exchange rates, which impacts the money they are able to provide to their families. Blogger Fred Uno of MarineCafe. com pointed out in an article that it is not uncommon for unscrupulous manning agents to keep part of the remittances when converting the money to pesos by using an exchange rate that is usually one or two pesos lower than the official rate of the

MSC. As the latter is geared towards retirement, it doesn’t allow any refund or withdrawal during the member’s contributing years, unlike the Flexi Fund or PESO Fund Programs that I have discussed in this column last week. For example, a member will be paying at the P25,000 MSC. Based on the 13 percent contribution rate, his/her monthly contribution will be P3,250, of which P2,600 will go to the regular Social Security fund, while the remaining P650 will go to the WISP. The SSS emphasized that the said reforms will allow members to save more for their retirement. Compared with our Asian counterparts, the SSS remains the lowest but most accessible pension scheme in the country that offers seven kinds of benefit programs and various loan privileges. So, let’s not think of this as a burden but an investment that members and their beneficiaries can avail of in the future. As what I’ve always told my colleagues, it pays to be prepared for anything and everything. Have a safe and lovely day! Aurora C. Ignacio is SSS president and chief executive officer. We welcome your questions and insights on the topics that we discuss. E-mail mediaaffairs@sss. gov.ph for topics that you might want us to discuss.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Such tampering with the dollarto-peso rate, he added, results to the shortchanging of Filipino seafarers since their families receive less than they should in allotments. Uno cited as an example an officer with a basic monthly salary of $2,000 will remit to his allottee’s account 80 percent of the amount or $1,600. The allotment in pesos should be P76,800 based on the current rate, more or less, of P48 to the dollar (the BSP’s reference rate on January 11, 2021 is P48.0790 for every dollar). If the manning agency knocks off P2 from the conversion rate, the allotment would amount to only P73,600, or a difference of P3,200. Under a 10-month contract, his family would have been deprived of P32,000 or $666. One peso may not seem much but the total amount forfeited by seafarers’ families as a result of the forex manipulation could be mindboggling. As the monthly remittances are not paid directly to the allottees but to the dollar account of the crewing company, Uno stressed that the company has the freedom to use any rate as the foreign exchange conversion in contravention of the POEA rules. See “Gorecho,” A11

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, January 13, 2021 A11

Competition policy in 2020: Understanding the science of incompetence Steadfast amid the crisis Dr. Carl E. Balita

Entrepreneurs’ Footprints

Arsenio M. Balisacan

Competition Matters

ndeed, the pandemic has upended the world’s economies in ways unprecedented. Before the crisis, the World Bank projected the Philippine economy to grow by 6.6 percent in 2020. Now, the latest estimates show the country’s GDP falling by 8.1 percent. Despite the immense challenges we faced in 2020, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has remained steadfast in its commitment to protect fair market competition and consumer welfare. At the start of 2020, the PCC sought to roll out a more robust competition regime, particularly on the enforcement side. Then the pandemic came, and amid the ensuing crisis we find this thrust as being even more crucial in safeguarding competition. Mindful of those who might take advantage of the pandemic-induced crisis, we set up a dedicated channel for receiving Covid-19 related complaints. We intensified our conduct of investigations on possible anti-competitive agreements and behavior, especially in relation to the trade of essentials. In 2020, we received 162 queries and complaints, resulting in the commencement of 8 preliminary and 5 full administrative investigations. These particularly concerned water utilities, Internet services, retail associations, and poultry. Further, the PCC’s Enforcement Office (CEO) issued a Statement of Objections on its first cartel case last February. After initiating an investigation when the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. sought a review of its policies, our CEO charged a pool of insurance companies and NHMFC for entering into anti-competitive agreements for the exclusive provision of mortgage redemption insurance (MRI) to its account holders for almost four decades. The exclusive arrangement effectively deprives NHMFC and loan borrowers from getting MRI coverage from other providers that may offer better terms at lower rates. This case is still under adjudication by the PCC, and we will ensure its proper and careful examination, given its implication on the provision of better financial services to thousands of NHMFC account holders, which include lowcost and socialized housing loan borrowers. Cognizant of the need for urgent and effective stimulus measures, we also staunchly advocated pro-competitive solutions to the daunting tasks for recovery. We firmly presented our positions on the various stimulus bills pending in Congress, including the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (Bayanihan II) passed last September. Unfortunately, Bayanihan II effectively suspends compulsory notification for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) for two years and our conduct of motu proprio review on non-notifiable transactions for one year. Although we prefer to exercise a more in-depth review due to increased appetite for M&As given the recession, we do recognize the need for regulatory relief during these times. Despite the constrainst, we have continued exercising due diligence in our reviews, monitoring and encouraging the private sector

Gorecho. . .

continued from A10

Uno described said practice as “a form of thievery that has gone on for decades.” He stressed that “it’s all a reflection of a damaged culture — a skewed mindset which considers it all right to cheat seafarers on their remittances because they earn in dollars.” Payoyo said that the government can force manning agencies to be

to work with the Commission before the consummation of any M&As. This is to avoid the difficulties associated with their possible unwinding once the PCC regains its full merger review powers. To complement recent moves by Congress, we signed a Joint Memorandum Circular with the National Economic and Development Authority last July for the immediate adoption of the National Competition Policy. The NCP aims to steer the policies of all national government agencies, government-owned or -controlled corporations, and local government units toward the promotion of fair market competition—a huge step for mainstreaming competition principles in the whole-of-government. The PCC also played an instrumental role in the Supreme Court’s landmark decision last August that found the nationality-based restrictions required for construction firms unconstitutional. The SC extensively cited PCC’s amicus curiae brief in its ruling that the licensing rules effectively bar the entry of foreign contractors and were anti-competitive. This December, on the SC’s instruction, we submitted another brief to respond to a Motion for Reconsideration. Our stand remains the same—foreign participation in the sector will make it grow, lead to lower costs, and generate positive spillover effects across sectors. Fully aware of the benefits of collaboration, the PCC entered into formal agreements with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Hong Kong Competition Commission. Through these partnerships, we expect to further cultivate a culture of robust competition among key stakeholders and continuously improve our technical capacities. Finally, the PCC, through its Economics Office, completed studies on six sectors: sugar, corn, cargo services, retail petroleum, pharmaceuticals, and agro-chemicals. A better understanding of these essential markets enables us to be more equipped to enforce competition laws and craft pro-competitive policy suggestions that address the Filipinos’ most urgent needs. In sum, it is paramount for competition policy to be at the forefront as we steer our economy back to its high-growth trajectory. As we dive deep into the tasks for recovery in 2021, the PCC assures the Filipino people that it will stand vigilant against anti-competitive behavior and relentlessly advocate the use of competition lens in government. Dr. Arsenio M. Balisacan is the chairman of the Philippine Competition Commission. Prior to his appointment to the Commission, he served as socioeconomic planning secretary and, concurrently, director general of the National Economic and Development Authority. He also served as dean of the School of Economics in UP Diliman and directorchief executive of SEARCA.

fully transparent in the facilitation of allotments, as the POEA standard contract requires. He also suggested that foreign employers and principals remit seafarers’ wages directly to individual family bank accounts in the Philippines, rather than through the bank accounts of manning agencies. Atty. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0917-5025808 or 0908-8665786.

(Warning: If you are too stupid to know that you are stupid, please don’t read on. You might get hurt before you reach the point of this writer’s intellectual humility.)

N the open space of social media, we become witness to how freely anyone can appear like an expert armed with full conviction of such expertise and armored by a solid confidence in expressing what is mere, plain and baseless opinion. The year 2020 has given birth to pseudo-volcanologists, pseudo-virologists, false-epidemiologists, self-professed political analysts, among many others. Social media was like an ocean of opinionated exchanges, which led to senseless arguments short of sound logical resolution. The freedom of expression has crossed the border of responsible content and the boundaries of logical context to trigger the battle of nonsense conduct. Some are simply ignorant, yet proud. Others are aggressively fierce, poised to kill or die, yet stand on empty ground. Worst, some are even making a living through digital monetization by simply propagating baseless statements. Others have become successful in making a flock blindly applauding their statement and following their lead. Some members of the competent and thinking class who cannot tolerate the prevalence of unintelligent discourse in social media have deleted their social-media accounts. Others remain patiently engaged in the futile battle for content, context and conduct and had become the faint voice in the wilderness. How can you shun a fool who knows not and know not that he knows not, as an Arabian quote asks?

The inventor of the science of stupid

Incompetent people often display inappropriate confidence, which in their perspective feels like knowledge. Charles Darwin said ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge. This is scientifically explained by the DunningKruger Effect, a type of cognitive bias named after sociologists-researchers David Dunning and Justin Kruger who were given the satiric 2000 Ig Nobel Prize in Psychology. Their work is entitled “Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments.” It was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 1999. Dunning and Kruger established data showing that most people believe that they are smarter and

more capable than they really are. The Dunning-Kruger Effect asserts that most people are overconfident about their abilities, and the least competent people are the most overconfident.

Incompetent but overconfident

The incompetent people have low ability to recognize such incompetence. Their low cognitive ability makes them overestimate their own capabilities, which is aggravated by their poor self-awareness. In a harsher but more direct-to-the-point statement, they are too stupid to know about their stupidity. The researchers found that incompetent people are not only poor performers but are also unable to accurately assess and recognize the quality of their own work. They overestimate their own skill levels. This leads to their failure to recognize their own mistakes, and even the lack of skills. Consequently, they also fail to recognize the genuine skills and expertise of other people. Dunning said that the very knowledge and skills necessary to be good at a task are the exact same qualities that a person needs to recognize that they are not good at that task. So, if a person lacks those abilities, they remain not only bad at that task but ignorant to their own inability.

On the “Mount of Stupid”

The incompetent people have the tendency to use mental shortcuts that allow them to make decisions quickly. They engage Heuristics, which solves problems faster than they would if they did all the computing. They may also find patterns that do not exist.

They lack metacognition, the ability to think about thinking that makes one introspects into his own thinking. This leads to a faulty confidence level which to themselves is anchored on a false perspective of having known enough what needs to be known and on having thought about thinking sufficiently enough. They end up with an illusory superiority and they are on what is referred to as “Mount Stupid.” This Dunning-Kruger Effect has an impact on what people believe, and consequently affect the decisions they make and the actions they take.

The competent lacks self-belief in the Valley of Despair

At the high end of the competence spectrum, the competent people hold more realistic views of their own knowledge and capabilities. Dunning and Kruger found that the competent experts actually tend to underestimate their own abilities relative to how others did, in what is referred to as the Valley of Despair. The competent individuals may know that they are better than the average, but they are not convinced of just how superior their performance is compared to others. The problem, in this case, is not that experts don’t know how well-informed they are; it’s that they tend to believe that everyone else is knowledgeable as well. The highly skilled assume that things they find easy are also easy for others. This starts in a journey through experience where Dunning and Kruger suggest that as experience with a subject increases, confidence typically declines to more realistic levels. As people learn more about the topic of interest, they begin to recognize their own lack of knowledge and ability. Then as people gain more information and actually become experts on a topic, their confidence levels begin to improve once again.

The Universality of Incompetence towards slope of enlightenment

We all have areas of incompetence in our lives. Here is where the Dunning-Kruger Effect may actually apply to all of us. If unchecked, even the experts who are competent and endowed with wisdom may exhibit the Dunning-Kruger Effect in some areas of their lives. As adults, we need to understand that we follow through the four stages of learning: 1) Unconscious Incompetence, where we do not know what we don’t know and we don’t care. We are uncomfortable in this stage. This is where everything starts.

2) Conscious Incompetence is where we realize what we do not know. This is the stage that will give us discomfort. It will drive us into learning to relieve the anxiety of the conscious incompetence. 3) Conscious Competence is experienced when we learn anything for the first time and where we may be competent but too conscious of such competence. The consciousness of the competence makes us uncomfortable. Example is when we learned driving for the first time. We may know all the rules and procedure but surely were not comfortable to be on the road. 4) Unconscious Competence is when we reach the level of expertise where everything becomes like the force of habit and is just automatic. In this level, we are most comfortable. Just like an expert driver whose driving becomes comfortably automatic. Of the four stages, the first and the last are the most dangerous stages because, when we are unconscious about our competence, we are probably unconscious of our incompetence as well. They become one and the same, and in both, we are comfortable.

Overcoming the Dunning-Krugger Effect in the Plateau of Sustainability

Awareness of the Dunning-Krugger Effect is the beginning of our strategy to overcome it. We pass the Mount Stupid to cross the Valley of Despair and the Slope of Enlightenment towards the Plateau of Sustainability. Our awareness will help us break assumptions so we can practice critical thinking to dig deeper. Gaining more valid knowledge and reliable information would lead us into personal recognition that there is so much more to learn. Gaining objective feedback from others enable constructive criticism that provides for valuable insights into how others perceive our abilities. Such objective feedback will increase consciousness of one’s ability. It is also advised to confirm what we think we already know. It will help if we can challenge our beliefs and expectations by seeking new ideas and opening up to new perspectives. We break through the comfort zones and discover broader views of our old paradigm and limited mindset. The Dunning-Kruger Effect is just one of the many biases that we need to understand so we can journey through life better. As we cross from the Mount Stupid, through the Valley of Despair and Slope of Enlightenment, we leave our footprints toward the Plateau of Sustainability.

UK shows US the need for urgent Covid-19 action Mohamed A. El-Erian

BLOOMBERG VIEW

he emergence in the UK of a new and more infectious variant of the Covid-19 virus sharpens an important “contrast and compare” health analysis between that country and the US. It sheds important new light on the immediate challenge the administration of President-elect Joe Biden will need to overcome if it is to have any realistic prospect of quelling the public health crisis by the middle of the year and of restoring inclusive and sustainable economic dynamism to the US economy. It will also inform the continuing debate about what the deplorable mob attack on Congress on Wednesday means for the future of the US. The UK imposed its third national lockdown this week. It is stricter and expected to last longer than the one last November. The decision, driven by the mutation of the virus, comes amid an extremely concerning surge in daily infections (topping 60,000); hospitalizations (higher than at any time during this health crisis); and deaths (topping 1,000 a day). And while this new variant, unlike the one in South Africa, is not believed to undermine existing therapeutics and vaccines, it does significantly increase the pressure on an already

stretched National Health Service. With a few cases already detected in some US states, many health experts agree that it is just a matter of time until this variant aggravates the country’s daunting situation. Viewed through the prism of the critical health-related race that the US and other countries are engaged in—between the spread of the virus and effective vaccination—it worsens an imbalance already hindered by initial problems in the deployment of vaccines. Once he assumes office, Biden is expected to move quickly to try

The lessons from the U.K. are crystal clear. The new virus variant heightens the urgency of quick and decisive action by the Biden administration. Failure to deliver would significantly worsen the outlook for the critical Covid race while seriously undermining both short- and longer-term prospects for the high, inclusive and sustainable growth that the country needs and would be able to deliver under a more coherent policy framework.

to deal with this health emergency. Without early progress, economic activity will remain well below acceptable levels, the inequality trifecta (income, wealth and opportunity) will worsen, debt levels will increase, fiscal policy will be stretched and the Federal Reserve will have no realistic chance of gradually exiting its highly unbalanced policy stance. Because of the US federal structure, the Biden administration will not have the range of centralized policy options that the Boris Johnson government has in the UK to contain the spread of the virus and the related risk of overwhelming the health-care system. But it

can—and must—provide greater federal leadership to what has been an inadequate response so far. Such leadership would provide the important cover that many states, though not all, desire and need to pursue more active policies. This early policy test for the incoming administration will also help answer a question that has been placed front and center by the mob attack on Congress on Wednesday. Has this historic moment provided the catalyst for the US to overcome deepening divisions and come together to deal with the generational challenge of Covid; or is it indicative of even deeper divisions that will test the institutional integrity and robustness that are so central to America’s long-term economic, political and social well-being? The lessons from the UK are crystal clear. The new virus variant heightens the urgency of quick and decisive action by the Biden administration. Failure to deliver would significantly worsen the outlook for the critical Covid race while seriously undermining both short- and longer-term prospects for the high, inclusive and sustainable growth that the country needs and would be able to deliver under a more coherent policy framework.

A12 Wednesday, January 13, 2021

DOF: ₧62.5B in loans ‘lined up’ for purchase of vaccine

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) said the government has “lined up” P62.5 billion in loans from three multilateral development banks for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III on Tuesday gave the assurance that the DOF has secured the funding needed to inoculate the majority of Filipinos. “The funds for the vaccine are P12.5 billion from the budget… “At the moment, we have already lined up P62 and a half billion from ADB [Asian Development Bank],

AIIB [Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank] and World Bank, that’s $1.3 billion,” Dominguez said during the 72nd Inaugural Meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). In total, this would amount to P75 billion, which Dominguez said is “already in place.”

Sought to clarify whether the government has already secured the P62.5 billion in funding for vaccine procurement, Finance Undersecretary Mark Dennis Y.C. Joven told the BusinessMirror: “We are processing the loans which we have secured preliminary commitments from banks.” Joven also clarified that P10 billion of the P12.5 billion is under Bayanihan 2 while the remaining P2.5 billion is appropriated under the 2021 national budget. Nonetheless, Dominguez explained that P75 billion would cover the vaccination of around 57 million people if the vaccination would cost P1,300 per individual. As for the remaining 13 million people, Dominguez said they expect them to be covered by local government units and the private sector, noting that there may also be those who don’t believe in vaccination.

The finance chief also pointed out that around 40 million out of 110 million people Filipinos are below the age of 18, adding that it is not recommended for them to get the vaccine, which leaves only 70 million Filipinos left to vaccinate. “So basically we are going to be covered. And I think we will be able to easily now with the resources we have raised, to vaccinate 60 million Filipinos,” he said. As reported earlier, several local government units (LGUs) in the country are racing to secure and distribute Covid-19 vaccines to their constituents, amid policy questions raised on the national government’s move to restrict their initiatives, and equity issues arising from concern that LGUs with meager funds might not be able to protect a critical mass of their population.

POOR AVAILMENT PLAGUES TOURISM AID PROGRAMS COVERED BY BAYANIHAN 2 By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

NLY A handful of stakeholders have tapped the financial aid programs made available to them under the Bayanihan 2 Law. In a press briefing Tuesday, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said the joint Department of Tourism (DOT) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) assistance program has been tapped by 77,724 recipients, who received P388.62 million as of January 7, 2021. Under Bayanihan 2, some P3 billion in funds were allotted for this purpose, with beneficiaries receiving P5,000 each. Current disbursements are just 13 percent of total funds allocated. She also reported the Small Business Guarantee Corp. (SB

Corp.) has processed 415 loan applications amounting to some P247.52 million as of December 29, 2020. She didn’t say how many loan applications were actually approved, though. Bayanihan 2 set aside a P6-billion budget for working capital loans of the tourism sector; the loans are collateral-free and carry a zerointerest rate. About 10,000 tourism enterprises have been eyed as beneficiaries in this program. “The DOT is really thankful to Congress for the funds extended [to] the tourism sector. These facilities will mean a lot for affected tourism workforce who have been out of work or given alternative work schemes. We hope to see businesses resuscitated, especially the MSMEs [micro, small, and mediumscale enterprises],” said Romulo Puyat. Continued on A8

More lawmakers ask NG to give LGUs freer hand in vaccine deals By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

& Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

AWMAKERS on Tuesday urged the national government to allow local government units (LGUs) to directly procure their Covid-19 vaccine from manufacturers. Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez said more than 30 provinces and cities have already allocated funds for buying jabs approved by the Food and Drug Administration, with the cities of Makati, Quezon and Taguig setting aside P1 billion each. He added that even small provinces like Biliran and Eastern Samar are raring to procure vaccine with allocations of P100 million and P500 million, respectively. His appeal is contained in House Resolution 1460, which followed a similar measure calling for permitting private companies to buy their own vaccine to fight the infectious new coronavirus. Rodriguez’s call came a day after a marathon Committee of the Whole hearing at the Senate dwelt at length on a policy issue: why is the national government seemingly controlling initiatives by local government units and private firms to acquire vaccines for their respective constituencies? Senators said this could hasten the vaccine rollout and thus save more lives. At the same time, the national government with its scarce resources gets a fiscal boost, as LGUs and private business shoulder a big part of the vaccination costs. In filing his resolution, Rodriguez invoked the constitutional right to health of every Filipinos in making the twin pleas. According to him, LGUs throughout the country should be allowed to import vaccine for their constituents because the national government would take care of the vaccination of only 30 to 50 percent of the country’s population. Rodriguez noted that these LGUs and private companies intend to give the vaccine free to their constituents and employees. “The government’s priority right now should be having as many Filipinos as possible vaccinated in order to defeat the Covid-19

pandemic, get the economy on the road to recovery and return the nation to pre-2020 normality,” he stressed. Allowing LGUs and private companies to buy their own vaccine will greatly help the national government attain its goal of herd immunity, which calls for inoculating at least 80 percent of the population, he added. Though the FDA has yet to give its go-ahead to the use of any vaccine, many LGUs have already negotiated with vaccine producers for their supply. They have been admonished by the national government, however, to follow a tripartite agreement template involving the NG, the LGUs and the vaccine makers. To achieve herd immunity faster, BHW Rep. Angelica Natasha Co also said the national government must approve parallel Covid-19 vaccine purchases and immunization by the business, church, and local government sectors. “If IATF keeps on insisting all vaccine purchases will be done by the national government alone, there will be congestion in the purchasing pipeline and there will be long unnecessary delays up ahead,” she said. “Parallel Covid-19 purchases and vaccination means more vaccines available sooner and more people getting inoculated faster,” she added. If the IATF insists on limiting vaccine access to government-to-government purchases by the national government only, the congresswoman said herd immunity for the 70 percent to 90 percent of the 110 million Filipinos will not be achieved. “It is simple math. The current IATF way means only 20 percent of Filipinos get vaccinated in 5 years. But if we have parallel purchases and vaccination, we can achieve herd immunity in 2 years,” she said. “The right target for achieving herd immunity is April 2022 at the latest, a month before the May 2022 national and location elections,” she added.

‘Shot in the dark’

Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon described as a shot in the dark the administration’s antiCoronavirus vaccine plan targetting to inoculate 70 million Filipinos. Continued on A8

Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon undergoes a saliva test during the Saliva RT-PCR Pilot Testing at the PRC headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Tuesday. The agency says the test is a faster and easier mode of determining the presence of coronavirus disease because it eliminates the discomfort of swabbing, and more affordable because it does not require cold chain transport. NONOY LACZA

House panel resumes hearings on Cha-cha proposals

HE House Committee on Constitutiona l A mendments w i l l resu me on Wednesday (today) its hearing on the proposal amending the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution. Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. of Ako Bicol, the panel chairman, said invited to the virtual hearing starting at 10 a.m. are two former National Economic and Development Authority chiefs—Gerardo Sicat and Ernesto Pernia—as well as Dr. Raul Fabella of UP School of Economics, Jose Enrique Africa of Ibon Foundation, and Calixto Chikiamco and Gary Olivar of Foundation for Economic Freedom. Garbin said that Resolution of Both Houses No. 2 is the only item in their agenda. “Proof of that is the fact that there is only one item on the agenda: Speaker Lord Allan Velasco’s Resolution of Both Houses No. 2, which seeks to add the phrase ‘unless otherwise provided by law’ in the Charter’s restrictive economic provisions,” he said. “That will give Congress the power to alter the restrictions to attract foreign investments when the country’s economic situation

requires it,” he said. Velasco said his resolution “seeks to liberalize the restrictive economic provisions in the Constitution that prevent us from becoming fully competitive with our Asian neighbors.” “We are proposing to amend Sections 2, 3, 7, 10 and 11 of Article XII (National Patrimony and Economy), Section 4 of Article XIV (Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and Sports) and Section 11 of Article XVI (General Provisions) to add the phrase ‘unless otherwise provided by law.’ The addition of this phrase will allow Congress to enact laws to free up the economy to foreign investors, or maintain the status quo,” Velasco said.

‘Pseudo proposal’

For his part, Albay Rep. Edcel C. Lagman said the Resolution of Both Houses No. 2 proposing amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution provides for a mongrelized process because it effectively authorizes Congress to make amendments by legislation in violation of the limited amendatory procedure prescribed in Article XVII of the 1987 Constitution. “The omnibus and boundless phrase ‘unless otherwise provided

by law’ is an infirm or pseudo proposal because the real power to amend is fully vested in the Congress as a lawmaking body instead of being exercised by a Constituent Assembly, Constitutional Convention or People’s Initiative,” said Lagman. “Any proposed alienation of the nationality provisions in the Constitution on restricted foreign capital investment in sensitive industries as well as in land acquisition and ban on media ownership, among others, must be specific and complete for the consideration of a Constituent Assembly or Constitutional Convention, and the eventual ratification by the people who must be clearly informed of the parameters of the proposed amendments,” he added. According to Lagman, it should not be left to Congress as a legislature to exercise blanket authority to subsequently fill in the blanks or provide the details of the amendments to the economic provisions. “It is different when Congress is authorized by the Constitution itself at the time of its ratification to enact implementing legislation which are not in the nature of constitutional amendments,” he said. In addition to the flawed pro-

cess, Lagman added that lifting the nationalistic provisions is not needed because no less than the prospective foreign investors do not clamor for the removal of the so-called “restrictive” provisions which are salutary safeguards of Filipino posterity. “Various studies, including those of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank, show that the following factors principally determine the entry of foreign direct investments (FDIs): ease of doing business, adequacy and quality of infrastructure, predictability of government policies, government stability, cost of power, internet speed, incidence of corruption, transparency in public procurement, and labor skills and wages,” Lagman added. He said removal or liberalization of the citizenship requirements in the Constitution is not one of the principal determinants for encouraging foreign investments. “Verily, Resolution of Both Houses No. 2 is defective in procedure and deficient in merit,” the lawmaker said. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

AboitizPower unit secures financing from BDO, BPI

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

boitiz Power Corp. on Tuesday said its unit, SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet Inc., has obtained P18 billion in financing from two of the country’s largest banks. In its disclosure, the company said it secured the amount through the issuance of unsecured notes facility from BDO Unibank Inc. and Bank of the Philippine Islands. “SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet Inc. used the proceeds to prepay in full its US dollar- and peso-denominated senior project loans to International

Finance Corp., Nordic Investment Bank, BDO and BPI,” the company said. The remaining proceeds after prepayment will be used to fund the general corporate requirements of SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet Inc. The said company, a joint venture between Aboitiz Power and

SN Power AS of Norway, acquired the then 175 megawatt AmbuklaoBinga Hydroelectric Power Plant (HEPP) for $325 million through a competitive bidding conducted by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. in November 2007. In September 2015, the company refinanced the peso loan component of its 2008 credit facility in the amount of $375 million obtained from a consortium of domestic and international lenders. The proceeds of the 2015 refinancing was used to partially fund the rehabilitation of the 105 MW Ambuklao HEPP and the refurbishment of the 140 MW Binga HEPP, repay existing loans or advances, and for other general corporate purposes.

Last month, AboitizPower said it will issue within the first quarter the first tranche of its P30-billion securities under the shelf registration program of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The amount will be issued in tranches, starting with P4 billion. The company intends to list the first tranche with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation. “The Board of Directors of the Company approved the issuance of the first tranche of the Retail Bonds under the shelf registration statement, consisting of up to P4 billion, with oversubscription option of up to P4 billion. This first tranche is expected to be offered to the general public, subject to market conditions, during the first quarter of 2021,” it said.

Cirtek debt paper gets high rating L

a g u n a- b a s e d C i r t e k Holdings Philippines Corp. (CHPC) has secured a high rating from a local credit ratings agency for its three-year, shelf registration of its commercial papers worth P2 billion. The company secured a PRS A with a stable outlook from the Philippine Rating Services Corp. A company rated PRS A (corp.) has an above average capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to that of other Philippine corporates. The company, however, is some-

CDC has new chief executive

what more susceptible to adverse changes in circumstances and economic conditions than higherrated corporates, according to the local ratings firm. A stable outlook is an indication as to the possible direction of any rating change within one year and serves as a further refinement to the assigned credit rating for the guidance of investors, regulators and the general public. The said ratings were based on manageable liquidity and capitalization levels, the Cirtek group’s established track record in the in-

dustry, its strong customer base of well-established and global companies, diversified in terms of region and industries; and improved profit margins despite lower revenues. The ratings, however, included “highly competitive and cyclical industry that is susceptible to adverse changes in various economies and characterized by the presence of larger international players.” “PhilRatings’ ratings are based on available information and projections at the time that the rating review was performed,” it said. Cirtek, a company led by the

Tiu group, started out as a semiconductor firm based in Laguna, but transformed itself into a fully integrated global technology company that expanded its market on wireless communication. “Members of CHPC’s senior management team have been around for over 35 years and have weathered economic ups and downs and political crises in the Philippines. Through this time, it was able to grow its operations amidst a highly competitive and cyclical industry with larger international players,” the ratings firm said. VG Cabuag

Dito CME, CloudSwyft to launch upskilling platform

lark Freeport—President Duterte has approved the nomination of Director Manuel R. Gaerlan as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of Clark Development Corp. (CDC). Malacañang has announced the appointment in a letter signed by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea dated January 11, 2021. The letter was addressed to the members of the CDC Board of Directors (BOD). In a statement on Tuesday, the CDC BOD, executives and staff regard the appointment as “a welcome development.” For her part, Engr. Mariza O. Mandocdoc, Officer-In-Charge, Office of the CDC President, said she is thankful that President Duterte appointed a new President and CEO from the members of the CDC BOD. “Director Gaerlan is very much aware of the opportunities and challenges that Clark faces. With his inspiring leadership, CDC will be able to accomplish much much more for Clark and its stakeholders,” Mandocdoc said. Gaerlan will take his Oath of Office as CDC President and CEO on January 14 during a special organizational meeting of the CDC BOD. In April 1993, the CDC was organized as a subsidiary of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority which is tasked to manage the Clark Freeport Zone and Clark Special Economic Zone. The zones are two contiguous areas in Pampanga and Tarlac that are considered as one of the fastest growing investment destinations in the Philippines today. Ashley Manabat

Photo shows Dito CME Chairman Dennis A. Uy (1st row, center), Dito CME President and CEO Eric Alberto (1st row, right), Dito CME Chief Operating Officer Donald Lim (1st row, left), together with CloudSwyft Founder and CEO Dann Angelo De Guzman (2nd row, center), CloudSwyft VP for Business Development Prince Datu, and CloudSwyft Board Director Evan Griffiths, during the Luna Academy contract signing. Contributed Photo

ito CME, the communications, media and entertainment arm of the Udenna Group, recently signed a joint venture agreement with CloudSwyft, the first Philippine-based education technology business to go global, to develop and launch Luna Academy. The agreement was signed by Dennis A. Uy, chairman of Dito CME, Eric Alberto, President and CEO of Dito CME, and CloudSwyft Founder and CEO Dann Angelo De Guzman. Dito said Luna Academy is a Philippines-focused online education platform, initially anchored on jobready digital skills, that facilitates the timely upskilling of a generation of Filipinos by providing them worldclass certifications, preparing them for exciting career opportunities that the new economy will provide in the years and decades ahead. “We want all Filipinos to be ready to embrace the rapid changes especially in the realm of technology and digital transformation,” Uy said during the joint venture agreement signing. “With Luna Academy, we have found the perfect initiative to do just that. Through this platform, we aim to provide an avenue for affordable and convenient learning, skills

training and online certifications that are tailor fit for Filipinos who seek more opportunities to move further forward.” Through the venture, Alberto said Dito expects to provide “costeffective” access to world-class certifications and diplomas from the world’s leading industry partners, such as such as Microsoft, AWS and Alibaba alongside the most prestigious universities in the Philippines. “This is a time of great transition,” said Alberto. “We endeavor to launch a range of job-ready courses and certificates to the whole population in the coming months. However, we will not stop there—we are working tirelessly to establish an extensive program that will link all successful learners, should they be interested, to exciting employment and internship opportunities with the leading global and local corporations in the Philippines.” De Guzman noted that the events of 2020 have displaced many Filipinos from full-time employment or have led some to feel uncertain about the long-term prospects for their current careers. “We at CloudSwyft are thrilled to introduce Filipinos from all backgrounds access to exciting new career

opportunities, promotions and pay rises with world-class future-ready skills and certifications delivered by Luna Academy.” He added that the rapid acceleration of future trends—including digitization and the forced adoption of a range of new and emerging technologies have provided Filipinos with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fast-track their potential career upgrades in the months and years ahead. “We believe an online platform like Luna Academy, delivered via world-class technology that provides fair and equal access not just to those in big cities or to those with the financial capacity to take a career break and study full time, and made available and affordable to most Filipinos, is the best way for us to help deliver a more positive future for all.” Donald Lim, Chief Operating Officer of Dito CME underscored the importance and value of digital upskilling, and up-schooling. “In the new and emerging economy, there is a strong need for us Filipinos to finally embrace the challenges and see these challenges as opportunities to expand on our competencies as a productive and forward-thinking workforce.”

Globe: More areas in PHL to enjoy 5G

Photo from www.globe.com.ph

lobe said the “relentless modernization” has made it possible for its 5G technology to be available to more customers in more areas in the Philippines. The company said recent upgrades made in the last two months of 2020 have made the latest technology available in at least 848 sites in Metro Manila and Rizal and 183 locations in Visayas and Mindanao. Several parts of Cavite, Laguna and Bulacan are also 5G-enabled. Overall, 5G is now available in 1,045 areas in the country. “We are rolling out more 5G areas this year to make this new technology more inclusive. We want more Globe customers to experience the difference of 5G technology in terms of better and faster connectivity. This technology has vast potentials and soon we will start rolling out cases that are best experienced with 5G,” Coco Domingo, Globe VP for Postpaid and International, said in a statement. “5G is the latest wireless Internet connectivity that promises faster speeds, higher bandwidth, and more stable internet connections compared to 4G.” The company noted that in Visayas, 5G is now available in 4 provinces: 7 locations in Negros Occi-

dental; 64 in Cebu; 12 in Iloilo; and 3 in Aklan. Continued ramping of Globe facilities has also made the technology available in 25 sites in Misamis Oriental and 72 places in Davao del Sur in Mindanao. In Cavite, 5G is present in 3 areas; five in Laguna and six in Bulacan. “Along with expansion, the growing availability of 5G-enabled devices, especially those offered on Globe postpaid plans plus the compatibility of the LTE SIM to the 5G network, makes accessing the 5G technology much more seamless,” added Domingo. Globe said it has laid out a 3-pronged strategy for its network upgrades and expansion, which includes aggressive cell site builds; upgrading its cell sites to 4G/LTE using many different frequencies; and fast tracking the fiberization of Filipino homes nationwide. “The company likewise champions the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically UNSDG No. 9 which recognizes the importance of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. Globe has vowed to uphold the 10 United Nations Global Compact principles and 10 UN SDGs.”

Credit registry to keep inquiry fee at ₧10 in H1

HE country’s central credit registry is keeping the fee to access credit reports at an affordable price to boost lending amid the still ongoing pandemic. Credit Information Corp. (CIC) said in a statement last Tuesday that the introductory price of P10 per credit report is made available until June this year. The CIC issued the statement after securing the approval for the move by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The CIC said it expects keeping the fee at a minimum would benefit registered financial institutions, including universal and commercial banks, rural banks, lending and financing firms, microfinance institutions, cooperatives banks and government lending entities. The CIC said these financial entities can continue using the agency’s credit reports, which can help in deciding on credit-related activities at a cost-effective manner. “We recognize the challenges encountered by both borrowers and lenders due to the pandemic so this is our way of helping the financial sector get back on its feet,” Aileen L. Amor-Bautista, the credit registry’s senior vice president for business development and communications, was quoted in the statement as saying. At the same time, the credit registry said the move to keep the fees

at that price aims to encourage other financial institutions to register as accessing entities. “We want them to experience first-hand the benefits of accessing the Credit Information System [CIS] and the value of a sharedcredit database,” she said. “With the P10 inquiry fee, we hope to reach non-bank and smaller [financial institutions].” The CIC’s latest data shows the agency has 87 financial institutions paying for and investing in credit reports. The credit information repository is attributing the increasing number of accessing entities to improvements in the CIS. These include the Primary ID Number Tagging system, which allows onboarding of borrowers who neither have a tax identification number nor primary IDs. With this in place, the number of unique individuals captured by the CIC database rose to 23 million by end-2020 from 11 million in the first quarter last year. “We believe this makes our product even more worthy of investment, especially at its current rate of P10 inclusive of [value added tax],” Amor-Bautista said. “The credit landscape will face even more challenges in the coming months so now is the time to register as an accessing entity.” Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

January 12, 2021

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

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

43.6 110.1 83.75 25.75 7.42 10.52 47.5 11.38 20.35 27.9 55 97.3 18.1 130 70 0.98 4.77 0.6 4.55 1.75 0.415 820 0.79 152.6 2,090

44.9 111 84 25.8 8.48 10.54 48 12.1 22.45 28 55.1 114.9 18.44 130.5 71 0.99 4.83 0.63 4.56 1.77 0.42 900 0.81 154 2,168

43.55 110.9 85.5 25.5 7.25 10.88 49.8 11.38 22.5 28.6 55.15 97.05 18.5 135 71.25 0.98 4.7 0.65 4.39 1.98 0.4 820 0.83 154.9 2,090

44.9 111 85.6 25.8 8.48 10.9 49.8 11.38 22.5 28.65 55.15 97.05 18.5 135 71.25 0.99 5.1 0.65 4.6 2.05 0.455 820 0.83 154.9 2,100

43.5 108 84 25.5 7.25 10.5 47.5 11.38 22.5 28 54.6 97.05 18 129 70 0.97 4.7 0.6 4.02 1.61 0.385 815 0.75 154 2,090

44.9 111 84 25.75 8.48 10.52 47.5 11.38 22.5 28 55.1 97.05 18 130 71 0.99 4.77 0.61 4.55 1.77 0.42 815 0.82 154 2,100

800 35,210 2,971,630 325,604,924 2,261,210 190,652,880.50 174,900 4,485,725 5,300 43,924 1,134,800 12,109,028 2,425,150 117,339,309 1,300 14,794 5,000 112,500 668,400 18,879,615 400 21,995.50 60 5,823 66,500 1,219,866 498,560 65,615,479 8,800 617,287.50 179,000 175,230 1,630,000 7,906,180 109,000 67,430 1,128,000 4,982,330 5,459,000 10,363,440 16,700,000 7,158,600 150 122,950 1,318,000 1,029,380 760 117,181 25 52,400

INDUSTRIAL

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

6.49 1.29 26.5 32.35 79.55 295 16.62 3.95 3.58 11.46 21.4 9.93 7.88 3.29 70.9 14.02 18.58 7.65 7.74 10 68.45 0.65 1.64 51.05 199 38.65 7.8 7.2 0.435 7.83 1.25 4.57 1.67 0.121 157.5 0.95 2.3 54.85 1.5 5.73 13.9 7.46 7.11 8.62 9.88 1.94 1.24 1.79 2.76 4.16 4.43 5.16 22.35 2.99 8.98 1.28 5.14 1.53 8.05

6.5 1.3 26.8 32.4 79.7 295.4 16.68 3.97 3.64 11.98 21.5 9.94 7.93 3.39 73 14.88 18.6 7.75 7.76 10.04 68.75 0.66 1.67 51.5 199.5 38.7 8.44 7.23 - 7.95 1.26 4.77 1.7 0.125 158.2 0.96 2.32 56.1 1.51 5.75 14.28 7.49 7.12 8.64 9.89 1.95 1.25 1.83 2.77 4.29 4.67 5.28 22.6 3 8.99 1.29 5.4 1.55 8.07

6.92 1.31 26.9 33.6 81.15 298 16.86 4.01 3.65 11.6 21.5 10.14 7.76 3.3 73.75 13.88 18.34 7.8 7.9 10.06 68.95 0.67 1.7 52 200 38.25 8.5 7.16 0.31 8.09 1.23 4.6 1.66 0.126 159.6 0.97 2.34 54.85 1.56 5.8 14.26 7.61 7.37 8.76 9.47 2.11 1.26 1.78 2.35 4.32 4.67 5.16 22 2.8 9 1.39 5.14 1.56 8.42

6.92 1.31 27 33.6 82 299.6 16.96 4.05 3.65 12 21.7 10.14 8.11 3.39 73.75 14.98 18.8 7.8 7.93 10.06 68.95 0.67 1.72 53 202 38.65 8.5 7.21 0.435 8.09 1.26 4.6 1.67 0.134 160.5 0.98 2.34 54.85 1.56 5.86 14.28 7.63 7.37 8.9 9.88 2.4 1.26 1.83 2.8 4.32 4.67 5.16 22.5 3.06 9 1.39 5.41 1.59 8.77

6.36 1.28 26.5 32 79.05 295 16.6 3.9 3.58 11.5 21.4 9.94 7.7 3.21 73.75 13.88 18.3 7.65 7.65 9.9 68.05 0.63 1.63 50.8 198.4 37.8 8.45 7.1 0.31 7.7 1.2 4.6 1.66 0.121 156.7 0.93 2.32 54.85 1.49 5.7 13.88 7.45 7.11 8.55 9.47 1.83 1.18 1.78 2.34 4.16 4.67 5.14 22 2.77 8.78 1.24 5.14 1.52 8.02

6.5 1.3 26.5 32.4 79.7 295 16.62 3.97 3.58 12 21.5 9.94 7.93 3.39 73.75 14.02 18.58 7.65 7.76 10 68.75 0.66 1.67 51.5 199 38.65 8.45 7.2 0.435 7.83 1.25 4.6 1.67 0.126 158.2 0.96 2.32 54.85 1.5 5.72 14.28 7.46 7.12 8.64 9.88 1.95 1.24 1.83 2.76 4.16 4.67 5.16 22.35 3 8.99 1.28 5.41 1.55 8.05

109,264,900 1,150,000 2,277,800 1,944,700 128,980 157,520 3,522,400 4,603,000 22,000 163,000 222,500 300,100 1,251,400 1,077,000 70 5,600 1,721,800 105,600 1,183,500 1,324,700 266,720 609,000 19,177,000 50,170 844,340 7,000 6,000 363,600 207,920,000 270,300 9,443,000 60,000 58,000 11,870,000 660,860 4,549,000 36,000 930 11,232,000 158,100 119,200 172,800 1,635,200 5,560,800 38,400 63,149,000 3,266,000 106,000 6,471,000 123,000 3,000 151,300 56,600 36,412,000 735,300 2,121,000 800 1,907,000 18,978,000

125,847,733 38,810,886.50 68,170 -1,567,040 -28,985,476 -879,815 4,914 34,200 -5,390,101 7,805 -2,193,850 -82,760 -91,730 -239,000 39,500 4,678 -

723,017,137 1,489,030 60,962,145 63,646,550 10,285,498 46,731,072 59,171,446 18,290,770 79,530 1,903,764 4,789,770 3,004,671 9,889,462 3,549,050 5,162.50 80,680 32,010,162 812,939 9,225,456 13,240,801 18,204,584 398,700 31,939,280 2,621,901 168,527,491 265,915 50,817 2,600,077 81,426,900 2,110,544 11,580,360 276,000 96,380 1,507,970 105,272,530 4,330,810 83,920 51,010.50 16,970,220 908,680 1,694,042 1,297,811 11,811,140 48,512,529 365,468 132,951,030 3,973,830 190,290 17,102,480 529,380 14,010 780,405 1,262,520 107,134,500 6,531,113 2,750,440 4,139 2,965,110 158,887,993

-6,406,135 47,530 -3,691,075 5,540,265.00 -9,343,095 4,785,350 -27,280,720 -1,054,220.00 -519,000 183,290 -11,154 -2,230,577 104,310 -5,990,758 3,165,914 -32,367 -12,688,843.50 -363,170.00 1,221,640 -35,605,168 185,379 -4,386,300 -182,919 1,822,360 -26,660 -637,067 -62,380 -111,330 9,966 -81,850 -65,895 -1,054,341 72,650 -12,400 -136,240 4,160 267,272 90,455 -1,137,440 -1,016,576 78,600 -45,070 -1,194,685

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.71 0.72 0.76 0.76 0.71 0.71 36,626,000 26,709,470 8.81 8.96 8.77 8.98 8.77 8.81 32,200 283,871 ASIABEST GROUP 832.5 840 838 845 830.5 840 107,220 89,930,845 AYALA CORP 47 47.5 47.5 47.5 47 47 263,300 12,389,915 ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL 10.08 10.1 10.42 10.42 10.1 10.1 2,712,100 27,534,096 AYALA LAND LOG 3.15 3.17 3.24 3.25 3.11 3.17 4,921,000 15,613,460 ANSCOR 6.55 6.77 6.77 6.77 6.52 6.77 4,900 33,148 0.84 0.85 0.82 0.94 0.78 0.85 18,140,000 15,430,780 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.9 0.91 0.96 0.96 0.89 0.91 8,252,000 7,536,280 ATN HLDG A 0.89 0.93 0.9 0.93 0.9 0.93 257,000 231,510 ATN HLDG B 5.54 5.55 5.62 5.62 5.48 5.55 1,815,900 10,031,010 COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG 5.43 5.44 5.57 5.58 5.41 5.43 5,283,800 28,913,556 FILINVEST DEV 9 9.2 8.9 9.3 8.9 9.2 13,500 124,670 3.09 3.29 3.13 3.13 3.03 3.09 34,000 103,960 FJ PRINCE A 0.215 0.229 0.206 0.229 0.206 0.228 1,260,000 278,200 FORUM PACIFIC 566 575 577 578.5 560 566 118,050 67,253,595 GT CAPITAL 3.95 3.98 4.13 4.13 3.98 3.98 113,000 451,690 HOUSE OF INV 72.3 72.8 74 74 72.05 72.3 1,127,730 81,838,263.50 JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG 4.8 5.19 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 600 2,640 5.28 5.3 5.2 5.3 4.81 5.3 6,400 33,758 KEPPEL HLDG A 1.08 1.09 1.19 1.28 1.05 1.09 44,100,000 50,968,480 LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG 3.73 3.74 3.72 3.73 3.72 3.73 12,086,000 45,066,060 13.4 13.48 13.62 13.68 13.4 13.4 1,731,800 23,402,762 LT GROUP 0.66 0.68 0.53 0.79 0.53 0.66 27,018,000 18,231,010 MABUHAY HLDG 4.35 4.37 4.45 4.47 4.32 4.35 18,119,000 79,232,730 METRO PAC INV PACIFICA HLDG 3.55 3.65 3.7 3.7 3.55 3.55 127,000 460,220 0.85 0.87 0.88 0.88 0.85 0.85 113,000 97,650 PRIME MEDIA 1.17 1.2 1.2 1.23 1.16 1.17 414,000 495,220 SOLID GROUP 336 340 369 370 331 336 2,830 967,300 SYNERGY GRID 1,068 1,080 1,060 1,088 1,052 1,068 263,010 280,988,850 SM INVESTMENTS 128.7 128.8 131 131 128.8 128.8 209,140 27,077,482 SAN MIGUEL CORP 0.84 0.86 0.84 0.92 0.81 0.88 2,108,000 1,813,710 SOC RESOURCES 135.6 140 140 140 134 140 520 72,102 TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS 0.247 0.249 0.239 0.247 0.218 0.247 3,520,000 846,590 ZEUS HLDG 0.204 0.205 0.207 0.209 0.204 0.205 4,420,000 910,880

807,690 4,107,435 3,573,735 -1,767,552 553,760 199,500 -225,000 -1,754,186 -4,446,627 24,039,915 -143,280 -5,826,531 -237,200 -36,315,280 -4,992,812 -39,230.00 12,690,150 82,905,445 -249,879 -71,710 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.73 0.74 0.67 0.79 0.65 0.73 19,463,000 14,365,120 7.6 7.8 7.63 7.8 7.6 7.6 7,700 59,114 ANCHOR LAND 40.9 41.45 41.45 41.7 40.8 41.45 6,519,600 268,840,305 AYALA LAND 1.24 1.25 1.23 1.25 1.23 1.24 624,000 773,800 ARANETA PROP AREIT RT 29.9 29.95 30 30 29.9 29.95 319,300 9,568,465 BELLE CORP 1.7 1.72 1.69 1.72 1.68 1.7 2,000,000 3,396,290 0.94 0.95 0.98 0.98 0.94 0.95 4,505,000 4,315,760 A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT 0.79 0.81 0.79 0.82 0.79 0.81 103,000 82,700 0.157 0.16 0.146 0.164 0.144 0.16 33,730,000 5,098,840 CROWN EQUITIES 5.13 5.14 5.05 5.17 5.04 5.14 2,937,700 14,991,463 CEB LANDMASTERS 0.44 0.445 0.44 0.445 0.435 0.445 7,960,000 3,523,750 CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY 0.39 0.395 0.37 0.405 0.365 0.39 20,890,000 8,116,850 DOUBLEDRAGON 14.8 14.84 15.08 15.08 14.74 14.84 2,590,500 38,487,904 DM WENCESLAO 7 7.01 7.01 7.01 6.88 7 105,700 734,538 0.315 0.32 0.315 0.32 0.31 0.315 1,290,000 406,150 EMPIRE EAST 0.09 0.091 0.089 0.093 0.088 0.091 3,760,000 341,970 EVER GOTESCO 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.16 1.14 1.14 8,161,000 9,341,740 FILINVEST LAND 0.91 0.94 0.95 0.95 0.91 0.93 403,000 367,620 GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG 7.8 7.81 8 8 7.81 7.81 25,800 203,928 1.42 1.43 1.42 1.43 1.39 1.42 2,755,000 3,888,310 PHIL INFRADEV KEPPEL PROP 3.1 3.35 3.35 3.36 3.35 3.36 16,000 53,680 0.74 0.77 0.73 0.77 0.73 0.77 120,000 89,180 CITY AND LAND 4.14 4.15 4.23 4.23 4.09 4.14 27,000,000 111,986,740 MEGAWORLD 0.72 0.73 0.78 0.83 0.71 0.72 693,455,000 536,231,670 MRC ALLIED 1.49 1.53 1.55 1.55 1.49 1.49 576,000 864,820 PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND 22 22.2 21.9 22.25 21.05 22 4,002,500 87,548,780 PHIL REALTY 0.315 0.325 0.31 0.33 0.305 0.325 450,000 143,750 1.6 1.61 1.59 1.6 1.59 1.6 594,000 949,110 ROCKWELL 2.66 2.69 2.65 2.69 2.65 2.69 16,000 43,000 SHANG PROP 1.96 2.05 2.07 2.07 1.96 1.96 347,000 695,260 STA LUCIA LAND 39.5 39.7 40.3 41 39.2 39.7 9,966,300 397,098,980 SM PRIME HLDG 4.17 4.31 4.29 4.34 4.15 4.17 120,000 508,180 VISTAMALLS 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.28 1.96 2.01 30,535,000 64,071,270 SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND 4.6 4.68 4.86 4.87 4.6 4.6 3,688,000 17,261,260

-282,620 19,500 12,067,660 -99,200 -1,222,645 7,580 7,900 631,110 2,016 -89,000 -39,000 -1,268,304 160,650 -733,630.00 -25,780 6,315,730 -29,641,570 8,347,065 2,650 -35,057,375 -1,726,100.00 -3,646,000

SERVICES ABS CBN 12.94 12.98 13.3 13.3 12.72 12.98 521,100 6,730,524 5.98 6 5.98 6 5.9 5.98 978,400 5,826,069 GMA NETWORK 0.455 0.46 0.44 0.455 0.44 0.455 840,000 376,700 MANILA BULLETIN 10.92 11.98 12 12 12 12 2,000 24,000 MLA BRDCASTING GLOBE TELECOM 2,020 2,040 2,046 2,064 2,020 2,020 77,145 157,218,880 PLDT 1,423 1,438 1,460 1,460 1,422 1,423 78,605 112,364,485 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.248 0.249 0.28 0.285 0.246 0.249 3,940,900,000 1,026,681,010 CONVERGE 15.74 15.78 15.96 15.96 15.58 15.74 3,198,800 50,484,408 4.94 5 5.13 5.13 4.94 4.94 385,500 1,924,642 DFNN INC 11.94 11.96 12.2 12.38 11.7 11.96 53,666,100 645,350,698 DITO CME HLDG 1.67 1.74 1.65 1.75 1.62 1.75 46,000 77,080 IMPERIAL ISLAND INFO 0.179 0.18 0.208 0.212 0.17 0.18 112,040,000 20,923,360 JACKSTONES 1.94 2.11 1.91 2.16 1.91 2.11 43,000 86,920 3.98 3.99 4.15 4.15 3.9 3.98 13,132,000 52,356,520 NOW CORP TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.375 0.38 0.385 0.395 0.37 0.38 70,740,000 27,062,550 2.9 2.92 2.94 2.94 2.88 2.92 913,000 2,646,190 PHILWEB 9 9.17 9.2 9.29 9 9 192,400 1,752,255 2GO GROUP 14.6 15 14.9 14.9 14.6 14.8 17,400 257,730 ASIAN TERMINALS CHELSEA 5.05 5.06 5.2 5.2 5.03 5.06 4,010,900 20,424,351 CEBU AIR 49.3 49.5 50.35 50.35 48.2 49.5 318,000 15,744,772.50 INTL CONTAINER 125.7 126.5 126.5 126.5 123.1 126.5 771,840 96,908,715 LBC EXPRESS 15.48 15.5 15.4 15.98 15.4 15.5 3,200 49,932 0.99 1.02 1.01 1.02 0.96 1.02 360,000 356,780 LORENZO SHIPPNG 6.5 6.51 6.85 6.88 6.41 6.51 4,189,200 27,506,833 MACROASIA 2.91 - 1.95 2.91 1.92 2.91 18,740,000 49,074,940 METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B 2.72 - 1.95 2.72 1.95 2.72 384,000 981,980 PAL HLDG 6.95 6.96 7 7.05 6.9 6.96 30,600 213,522 1.62 1.64 1.68 1.69 1.62 1.63 3,807,000 6,288,320 HARBOR STAR ACESITE HOTEL 1.52 1.56 1.41 1.57 1.41 1.52 79,000 119,300 0.052 0.053 0.045 0.053 0.044 0.052 1,024,300,000 51,150,300 BOULEVARD HLDG 2.23 2.5 2.21 2.49 2.2 2.49 158,000 390,270 DISCOVERY WORLD 0.65 0.66 0.59 0.66 0.58 0.66 40,344,000 25,078,930 WATERFRONT 6.52 7.5 7.49 7.5 7.49 7.5 3,000 22,478 CENTRO ESCOLAR FAR EASTERN U 565 585.5 585.5 585.5 585.5 585.5 50 29,275 8.16 9.34 8.16 8.16 8.16 8.16 1,600 13,056 IPEOPLE 0.435 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.435 0.435 7,930,000 3,453,500 STI HLDG 5.53 5.75 5.84 6 5.51 5.8 192,300 1,119,020 BERJAYA 8.09 8.18 8.15 8.29 8.09 8.09 1,871,400 15,239,283 BLOOMBERRY 2.15 2.18 2.14 2.21 2.14 2.18 127,000 274,950 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.96 1.97 1.91 1.96 1.88 1.96 577,000 1,097,640 LEISURE AND RES MANILA JOCKEY 2.28 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.28 2.28 8,000 18,260 3.13 3.14 3.32 3.32 3.1 3.13 34,032,000 109,006,510 PH RESORTS GRP PREMIUM LEISURE 0.51 0.52 0.55 0.56 0.5 0.51 37,887,000 19,687,400 6.7 6.8 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 95,000 636,500 PHIL RACING 9.09 9.1 9.5 9.5 8.9 9.1 4,661,400 42,532,831 ALLHOME 1.5 1.51 1.55 1.55 1.48 1.5 3,100,000 4,649,230 METRO RETAIL 38.55 38.9 40.55 40.55 38.55 38.55 6,121,300 241,001,675 PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL 63.9 63.95 65 65 63.6 63.95 279,280 17,863,905.50 PHIL SEVEN CORP 120 122 120 121 120 120 61,190 7,344,646 SSI GROUP 1.48 1.5 1.5 1.51 1.46 1.5 3,027,000 4,466,270 WILCON DEPOT 18 18.2 17.82 18.52 17.82 18 3,442,900 62,720,104 0.42 0.425 0.465 0.465 0.41 0.42 18,150,000 8,028,300 APC GROUP 7 7.1 7.12 7.16 6.91 7 75,700 530,299 EASYCALL 434 449 432.4 449 432.4 449 720 318,782 GOLDEN BRIA IPM HLDG 6.15 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 2,500 15,500 2.11 2.12 2.17 2.2 1.98 2.11 199,860,000 418,308,050 PRMIERE HORIZON SBS PHIL CORP 5.3 5.45 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.31 530,000 2,815,600

-52,091,300 -16,811,805 -8,824,070.00 7,930,902 1,288,667 11,892,400 -2,739,670 -880,260 -242,000 40,500 -232,430 2,447,219 1,247,893.50 19,004,480 -13,950 18,180 -464,096 -9,520 -120,370 788,200.00 11,250 -4,306,720 56,600 1,254,000 -2,079,610 37,225,326 110,760 12,086,245.00 -336,855.50 1,322,408 -115,530 913,996 345,000 -65,100 1,815,950 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 7.7 7.72 7.5 7.8 7 7.7 2,135,400 16,036,680 -207,261 1.75 1.76 1.75 1.76 1.72 1.75 5,630,000 9,814,610 104,200 APEX MINING 0.0033 0.0034 0.0035 0.0035 0.0032 0.0033 33,119,000,000 112,006,400 4,538,700 ABRA MINING ATLAS MINING 6.72 6.8 7 7 6.71 6.8 1,173,800 8,011,270 346,260 BENGUET A 3.3 3.34 3.42 3.42 3.3 3.35 153,000 517,380 3.3 3.47 3.3 3.49 3.1 3.18 153,000 501,270 BENGUET B 0.295 0.3 0.305 0.305 0.29 0.305 1,420,000 424,600 COAL ASIA HLDG 2.89 2.93 2.94 2.94 2.94 2.94 21,000 61,740 CENTURY PEAK 8.68 8.7 8.87 8.88 8.4 8.7 95,400 828,778 DIZON MINES 2.86 2.9 2.9 2.97 2.8 2.86 23,288,000 67,122,800 -412,890 FERRONICKEL GEOGRACE 0.36 0.365 0.34 0.405 0.33 0.36 31,010,000 11,428,300 -10,500 LEPANTO A 0.165 0.166 0.169 0.172 0.165 0.165 50,950,000 8,503,300 0.17 0.173 0.171 0.171 0.171 0.171 640,000 109,440 17,100 LEPANTO B MANILA MINING A 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.011 129,700,000 1,379,900 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.011 5,900,000 69,700 MANILA MINING B 1.66 1.67 1.74 1.74 1.67 1.67 6,017,000 10,212,870 -156,760 MARCVENTURES 3.29 3.37 3.41 3.43 3.29 3.37 175,000 585,590 -39,850 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 5.58 5.6 5.6 5.64 5.44 5.6 6,855,900 37,820,684 1,277,397 OMICO CORP 0.4 0.405 0.39 0.42 0.39 0.4 2,340,000 945,150 -77,900 ORNTL PENINSULA 1.18 1.19 1.24 1.26 1.16 1.19 12,401,000 14,896,120 -51,600 PX MINING 5.1 5.11 5.08 5.2 5.07 5.1 1,115,900 5,720,657 670,605.00 13.8 13.84 14 14 13.64 13.8 1,331,400 18,386,398 1,166,980 SEMIRARA MINING 0.0068 0.0069 0.0069 0.0069 0.0066 0.0068 35,000,000 236,800 UNITED PARAGON 13.3 13.4 13.04 13.5 13.02 13.3 213,400 2,821,706 249,148 ACE ENEXOR ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 165,600,000 1,825,600 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 56,200,000 674,800 ORNTL PETROL B 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.012 0.01 0.01 529,400,000 5,562,200 1,250,000 PHILODRILL PXP ENERGY 12.4 12.48 12.46 12.9 11.9 12.48 2,885,000 36,071,556 -192,270 PREFFERED AC PREF B1 525 530 525 525 525 525 1,000 525,000 510 513.5 510 510 510 510 300 153,000 AC PREF B2R 12.6 27 18.02 18.02 18 18 500 9,002 BC PREF A 102 104.4 104.4 104.4 104.4 104.4 500 52,200 CPG PREF A DD PREF 101.1 102.9 101 101 101 101 200 20,200 515 518.5 513 518.5 513 518.5 310 160,130 GLO PREF P 1,018 1,039 1,019 1,019 1,019 1,019 10 10,190 GTCAP PREF A 1,021 1,034 1,020 1,020 1,020 1,020 580 591,600 GTCAP PREF B 101 101.9 101.8 101.9 100.8 101.9 2,170 220,959 1,018 MWIDE PREF 100.2 101.2 100.7 100.7 100.3 100.3 2,130 214,181 MWIDE PREF 2B 105 105.5 105.4 105.5 105.4 105.5 6,010 633,455 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 1,006 1,010 1,010 1,010 1,006 1,006 5,500 5,538,420 1,010 1,024 1,005 1,023 1,005 1,023 20 20,280 PCOR PREF 2B 1,080 1,090 1,070 1,080 1,070 1,080 9,275 9,986,920 PCOR PREF 3A 1,085 1,095 1,080 1,095 1,080 1,095 60 64,950 PCOR PREF 3B 1.68 1.78 1.43 1.68 1.43 1.68 21,000 34,170 SFI PREF 78.5 78.85 78 78.85 77.8 78.85 55,340 4,331,157.50 SMC PREF 2C 77.25 79 77.4 77.4 77.25 77.25 788,400 61,020,331.50 23,220 SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G 75.6 75.8 75.8 75.8 75.8 75.8 1,000 75,800 76.9 77 76.75 77 76.75 77 79,410 6,111,220 SMC PREF 2I 76 76.2 76 76.1 76 76 24,550 1,865,810 SMC PREF 2J 76 76.1 75.6 76.1 75.6 76 98,660 7,501,290 SMC PREF 2K PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 13 13.6 13.6 13.6 13.5 13.6 196,800 2,676,260 622,660 6 6.05 6.04 6.04 6 6 114,100 687,996 -180,032 GMA HLDG PDR WARRANTS LR WARRANT 1.01 1.04 1 1.02 0.99 1.01 211,000 211,560 SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 12.68 12.7 13.12 13.12 12.68 12.68 396,100 5,075,332 -8,876 3.27 3.28 3.3 3.32 3.22 3.28 3,755,000 12,278,670 -14,200 ITALPINAS 6.18 6.2 6.22 6.22 6.16 6.2 113,200 702,471 KEPWEALTH 2.72 3.46 2.98 3.1 2.98 3 163,000 488,610 MAKATI FINANCE MERRYMART 7.26 7.27 7.7 7.7 7.2 7.27 34,064,500 249,929,528 -65,110,078 EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF 109.5 110 110 111 109.5 109.5 15,030 1,651,640 6,570

www.businessmirror.com.ph

CLI reservation sales hit record despite health crisis

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

ebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI), a regional real estate developer, on Tuesday said it achieved record reservation sales of P14.25 billion last year, some 12 percent higher than the P12.67 billion posted in 2019. The company said the amount is equivalent to about 5,300 housing units sold across key cities, mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao. “Despite the many challenges posed by the pandemic in 2020, our sales figures indicate strong revenue streams ahead and an upward

growth trajectory. We found many opportunities amidst the crisis that contributed to our performance,” CLI Executive Vice President and COO Franco Soberano said. The company said 69 percent of its reservation sales came from its economic brand Casa Mira; 19 percent

from its mid-market product Garden Series and 10 percent from its highend Premier Masters. During the year, CLI launched 9 new projects worth P11.4 billion accounting for 4,300 units in fresh inventory. As the pandemic roils in the country, demand for housing heightened and wiped out its existing inventory. The company then pursued to rollout of new projects in Bohol, Iloilo, Dumaguete and Davao. By year-end, 70 percent of the company’s new inventory had been sold, it said. In terms of geographic reach, CLI strengthened its presence outside of its home base, Cebu. As of the end of December, more than half of its sales came from other regional capitals such as Iloilo, 17

percent; Davao, 13 percent; Cagayan de Oro and Bacolod at 10 percent, respectively; and Dumaguete and Bohol, 6 percent. Cebu took the remaining portion. In 2021, CLI said it intends to push its growth momentum with a supply pipeline of 8,000 units in 15 residential projects valued at P17 billion. These units will be located in Cebu, Ormoc, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Davao. Soberano said they foresee greater opportunities this year as the global and local economies recover and consumer confidence is further bolstered by a low-interest rate environment favoring Filipino home buyers. “Covid-19 realigned spending priorities and stressed the importance of homeownership as a means of securing the future.”

AUB to redeem early its ₧5B outstanding notes

sia United Bank (AUB) Corp. announced it is set to redeem all its outstanding notes amounting to P5 billion next month or earlier than its original redemption date. “Notice is hereby given by [AUB] to its noteholders exercising the Early Redemption Option and, hereby, redeems all of the outstanding notes amounting to P5 billion on the redemption date,” the listed bank said in a disclosure last Tuesday. In the same day, shares in AUB rose by 2.05 percent, or 90 centavos, to close at P44.90 each amid the 0.64-percent dip for the main index. The 5.625-percent unsecured subordinated Tier-2 notes due 2025 were issued on November 25, 2015. Redemption date is on February 25 while book closure is set on February 23. The payment for the redemption includes the face value of the notes, along with the accrued and unpaid interest as of book closure data. “There shall be no secondary trad-

ing of the notes or modifications in the accounts after the book closure date,” AUB said. In addition, the listed bank said that the principal and accrued interest will be paid through the paying agent to all noteholders on record. The transaction, approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), was pursuant to BSP Monetary Board Resolution 1263 and early redemption option of the notes’ terms and conditions. Last month, the Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) gave the bank a credit rating of PRS Aa plus with stable outlook. The given rating means AUB has “strong capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to that of other Philippine corporates,” PhilRatings explained. A stable outlook, meanwhile, means that the rating is likely to be maintained in the next 12 months. In January to September 2020, AUB’s earnings were flat at P3.8 billion year-on-year. Operating income

Group submits Naia rehab petition to govt

n advocacy group said it has submitted on Monday to the Office of the President and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) a petition calling for the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) before President Duterte steps down from office. The Passenger Forum (TPF) said in a statement on Tuesday that the petition included more than 1 million participants. A copy of the petition, which was also submitted to the Senate Committee on Public Services and the House Committee on Transportation, was based on the online survey conducted from January 1-10 that has a total of 1,077,382 respondents (as of January 10, 6:00 p.m.). TPF Convenor Primo Morillo said his group is hopeful that the President will listen to the Filipino people and will undertake the rehabilitation of the Naia as part of his “Build, Build, Build” legacy. “We know that the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Board will be reconvening soon, and we hope that they and the Department of Transportation will see that this is what the Filipino people need and would want to see through before our President finishes his term,” Morillo said. “For now, there was still no consultation made by the MIAA

Board or the DOTr with stakeholders like us. The last time we were consulted about it by the government, as stakeholders, was in the Senate hearing last December. We will gladly sit down with them and work with them to make this happen. This is for the country, and that should be the most important consideration of all.” With its most popular hashtag reaching 11 million views on Tiktok, the NAIA rehabilitation project drew widespread support online as a cloud of uncertainty hovers over the initiative to improve the country’s primary international gateway. The Tiktok trend also came with the announcement of the TPF that their online survey found out that 96.7 percent agreed that the project must proceed without delay. According to Morillo, “This poll further strengthened our resolve to campaign for the immediate rehabilitation of NAIA. There should be no further delay, the project has to start the soonest possible time.” TPF members and their supporters actively advocated for the online survey through various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok. Several hashtags were used by netizens in support of the campaign including #BetterNAIAnow, #FixNAIAnow, and #TransformNAIA.

for the period rose by 25 percent to P11.5 billion, thanks to its core businesses. The bank earmarked credit loss provisions of P3 billion as of endSeptember 2020, which is four times more than it booked in 2019 for the

mutual funds

same period. Its nonperforming loans (NPL) ratio stood at 2.2 percent while NPL coverage reached 96.3 percent. AUB’s total assets amounted to P290.1 billion as of end-September last year. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad January 12, 2021

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 232.28 -7.66% -8.2% 0.5% 2.41% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.3449 -0.3% -6.16% 5.2% 2.74% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1998 -10.35% -12.07% -0.67% 2.29% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.8168 -7.66% -7.03% n.a. 1.99% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.755 -10.77% n.a. n.a. 1.82% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 5.0585 -4.52% -6.08% 1.18% 2.56% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.7731 -9.13% -8.63% -4.57% 1.84% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 103.4 0.78% -4.32% n.a. 2.66% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 47.9019 -6.34% -6.1% 2.38% 2.49% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 499.67 -5.94% -6.1% 1.38% 2.37% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 1.1187 8.55% n.a. n.a. 3.44% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.1969 -6.83% -5.75% 2.07% 2.97% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 35.6443 -5.63% -5.37% 2.9% 3.02% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9363 -7.85% n.a. n.a. 2.91% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.9002 -5.94% -5.67% 3.19% 2.5% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 819.92 -5.73% -5.56% 3.18% 2.53% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.7342 -11.11% -9.5% -1.42% 2.17% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.7083 -11.3% -7.65% 1.4% 2.43% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9387 -5.97% -5.84% 2.96% 2.52% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.3869 -7.26% -4.87% 3.57% 2.13% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 110.0123 -5.68% -5.31% 3.94% 2.53% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.2986 25.85% 4.29% 9.44% 9.52% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.7166 24.08% 9.81% n.a. 2.83% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.6971 9.72% -3.63% 0.63% 1.87% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.323 7.73% -2.32% 2.82% 1.91% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6648 1.92% -1.52% 1.39% 1.57% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.2014 -12.05% n.a. n.a. 1.56% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.988 1.5% -0.55% 3.04% 1.22% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.8348 1.64% -1.27% 2.4% 1.36% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 17.1517 1.62% -1.3% 2.33% 1.41% 1.49% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.124 -0.27% -2.32% 2.15% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.6248 -5.63% -3.81% 1.23% 1.72% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 1.0332 2.63% n.a. n.a. 1.15% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9654 -2.79% n.a. n.a. 1.9% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9505 -4% n.a. n.a. 2.07% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.9066 -6.31% -4.37% 0.72% 2.18% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03882 1.46% 2.4% 1.87% -0.82% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.2021 16.48% 3.62% 7.29% 5.21% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.6028 17.34% 7.42% 8.98% 2.24% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.2115 9.1% 4.06% n.a. 0.99% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 370.99 3.58% 3.24% 2.82% -0.01% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9015 -0.08% 0.12% 0.01% 0.07% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2158 3.11% 4.44% 4.8% 0.07% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2947 3.29% 2.9% 2.31% -0.07% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4502 4.33% 3.37% 2.09% -0.1% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.6264 6.51% 4.56% 2.98% -0.11% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3202 5.66% 4.46% 2.7% -0.06% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9823 5.42% 4.5% 2.89% -0.45% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0391 8.36% 4.07% 2.52% -0.23% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.198 4.77% 4.79% 3.4% -0.07% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7475 3.81% 4.05% 2.75% -0.37% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $483.43 3.13% 2.7% 2.85% -0.07% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.44 -0.14% 0.85% 1.25% 0.13% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2624 4.4% 3.69% 2.88% -1.41% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0263 1.94% 1.7% 1.59% -1.13% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0871 -0.89% 0.55% 0.54% -0.53% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5168 4.57% 3.8% 3.45% -0.68% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0622525 3.13% 2.88% 2.32% -0.25% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2066 0.91% 2.07% 2.35% -0.49% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.88 3.16% 3.35% 2.59% 0.06% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0481 1.86% n.a. n.a. 0.01% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2973 2.5% 2.97% 2.61% 0.06% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0528 1.46% 1.77% n.a. 0.04% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.1606 n.a. n.a. n.a. 4.18% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.99 -1% n.a. n.a. 1.02% 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."

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Advantages of the one-person corporation

NDER the Revised Corporation Code enacted in 2019, organizing a one-person corporation (OPC) is now allowed. Officially known as Republic Act 11232, it amended the nearly 40-year-old Corporation Code of the Philippines that dates back to the martial law era. In its present form, the RCC is envisioned to encourage entrepreneurship and improve the ease of doing business in the country. One chapter of RA 11232 is about the OPC, defined as a corporation with a single stockholder taking the roles of sole director and president who can also be its self-appointed treasurer. Unlike a sole proprietorship, OPCs have limited liability. Moreover, there is no requirement for a board of directors unlike in ordinary stock corporations. This means that entrepreneurs no longer need to comply with the requirement of getting at least four other individuals to form a domestic corporation in the Philippines–a provision in the old Corporation Code that was considered an unnecessary hassle by many businessmen. Take the case of Filipino-Chinese stockbroker Derwin Wong, who asked four of his family members to sit in the board of directors when he incorporated DW Capital Inc. (DWCI) and bought a seat at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in the early 2000s. Aside from Derwin, the other incorporators were his father David and his siblings Davidson, Derick, and Dianne. Although it looked like a family corporation on paper, the stockbrokerage’s day-to-day operations were handled solely by Derwin with the assistance of his corporate staff. None of the other directors held office at DWCI since they had to manage their own businesses, which were not related to the stock market. When Derwin got married to Eda Gaisano of

Finex free enterprise Joseph Araneta Gamboa Cebu in 2007, several members of Eda’s family opened trading accounts with DWCI. While the Gaisanos also had their own stockbrokerage, they coursed some of their transactions through DWCI. For almost a decade, they traded with Derwin as their stockbroker and enjoyed the fruits of their investments with DWCI with nary a complaint. They communicated directly with Derwin and his employees for each buying or selling transaction. However, the couple’s relationship turned sour and Derwin turned over the management of his in-laws’ investments in DWCI to Eda some time in 2016. When Eda’s relatives tried to unload their shares in mid-2017, they experienced difficulty in having the transactions executed. So they went to the DWCI office and demanded that all their stock holdings be delivered to them. Shortly after, they filed an estafa case against Derwin while one of them filed cases of syndicated estafa against the five Wongs who were registered as DWCI’s incorporators. To appease his in-laws, Derwin offered to pay for whatever discrepancies they could find as a sign of good faith. But apparently it was too late, since the PSE suspended DWCI in August 2017 and took over its operations a few months later following a

resolution issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2018, most customer accounts of DWCI were transferred to a new stockbrokerage, which was the PSE’s designated successor trading participant. In his counter-affidavits filed with prosecutors in Cebu City and Makati City, Derwin admitted that he was the only member of the Wong family handling the stockbrokerage firm. Upon his arrest in 2019, he attested that the four other incorporators were never involved in DWCI’s operations. Yet his father and three siblings were charged in numerous cases filed by Derwin’s in-laws. In fact, one of his brothers was arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Interpol in Spain in 2020 on the bases of those charges. Had there been a law allowing the operation of OPCs at the time DWCI was being incorporated around two decades ago, Derwin’s father and siblings would not have been dragged into the cases they are currently facing. It seems their only fault was to affix their signatures on DWCI’s incorporation papers, which has caused them untold misery years later. Establishing an OPC is thus more advantageous for a business where only one person dominates the operations. The Wongs’ travails should also serve as a cautionary tale for those who join corporate boards as non-executive directors. To paraphrase an English playwright’s line, hell indeed hath no fury like a powerful family scorned.

Joseph Gamboa is the co-chairman of the Finex Annual Conference organizing committee for 2020-2021, chairman of the Finex Business Columns Subcommittee, and director of Noble Asia Industrial Corp. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of these institutions and the BusinessMirror.

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Court papers land at RCBC

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

@Tyronepiad

uchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) confirmed last Tuesday the receipt of notice containing the summons and complaint filed by the Bangladesh Bank relating to the $81-million cyber-heist back in 2016. “RCBC received today a Notice from the Regional Trial Court of Makati containing the Summons and the Complaint filed by Bangladesh Bank against the bank and other persons,” the listed bank said in a disclosure to the local bourse. “The complaint in the State Court is for: conversion, theft, misappropriation; aiding and abetting the same; conspiracy to commit the same; fraud (against RCBC); aiding and abetting and conspiracy to commit fraud; conspiracy to commit trespass against chattels; and, unjust enrichment,” RCBC said. The complaint also seeks the “return of money received.” In addition, the Bangladesh Bank is seeking compensation for damages brought about by one of the world’s biggest cyber-heists. RCBC is among the defendants of the case. Apart from RCBC and its former branch

manager Maia Santos-Deguito, the other defendants include Lorenzo V. Tan, who was RCBC president at the time of the cyber theft, and then-Treasurer Raul Victor B. Tan. The other defendants named are: Romualdo S. Agarrado; spouses Michael S. Bautista and Salud R. Bautista; Brigitte R. Capiña; Nestor O. Pineda; Ismael S. Reyes; Gao Shuhua; Kam Sin Wong; William So Go; Angela Ruth S. Torres; Weikang Xu; and, Ding Zhize. John Does 1-25 were also named as defendants. Other defendants named were the Bautista’s remittance company Philrem Service Corp.; brokerage firm Centurytex Trading; Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc.; and, Eastern Hawaii Leisure Company, Ltd. RCBC shares fell by 2.70 percent, or 50 centavos, to close at P18 apiece amid the 0.64-percent drop for the main index on Tuesday.

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

The World BusinessMirror

House to impeach Trump for Capitol ‘insurrection’

ASHINGTON—Poised to impeach, the House sped ahead on Monday with plans to oust President Donald Trump from office, warning he is a threat to democracy and pushing the vice president and Cabinet to act even more quickly in an extraordinary effort to remove Trump in the final days of his presidency. Trump faces a single charge— “incitement of insurrection”—after the deadly Capitol riot in an impeachment resolution that the House will begin debating on Wednesday. At the same time, the FBI warned ominously Monday of potential armed protests in Washington and many states by Trump loyalists ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, Jan. 20. In a dark foreshadowing, the Washington Monument was closed to the public amid the threats of disruption. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf abruptly resigned. It all added up to stunning final moments for Trump’s presidency as Democrats and a growing number of Republicans declare he is unfit for office and could do more damage after inciting a mob that violently ransacked the US Capitol last Wednesday. “President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government,” reads the four-page impeachment bill. “He will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office,” it reads. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is summoning lawmakers back to Washington for votes, and Democrats aren’t the only ones who say Trump needs to go. Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania joined GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska over the weekend in calling for Trump to “go away as soon as possible.” Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., encouraged House GOP colleagues late Monday to “vote your conscience,” according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the private call. She has spoken critically of Trump’s actions, but has not said publicly how she will vote. Pending impeachment, Democrats called on Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to invoke their constitutional authority under the 25th

Amendment to remove Trump from office before Inauguration Day. Their Democrats’ House resolution was blocked by Republicans. However, the full House is to hold a roll call vote on it Tuesday, and it is expected to pass. After that, Pelosi said, Pence will have 24 hours to respond. Next would be the impeachment proceedings. Pence has given no indication he is ready to proceed on a course involving the 25th Amendment. He and Trump met late Monday for the first time since the Capitol attack, a senior administration official said. Trump and Pence had a “good conversation” in the Oval Office discussing the week ahead, and they pledged to continue working for the remainder of their terms, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting. No member of the Cabinet has publicly called for Trump to be removed from office though the 25th Amendment. As security tightened, Biden said Monday he was “not afraid” of taking the oath of office outside—as is traditionally done at the Capitol’s west steps, one of the areas where people stormed the building. As for the rioters, Biden said, “It is critically important that there’ll be a real serious focus on holding those folks who engaged in sedition and threatening the lives, defacing public property, caused great damage—that they be held accountable.” Biden said he’s had conversations with senators ahead of a possible impeachment trial, which some have worried would cloud the opening days of his administration. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer was exploring ways to immediately convene the Senate for the trial as soon as the House acts, though Republican leader Mitch McConnell would need to agree. The presidentelect suggested splitting the Senate’s time, perhaps “go a half day on deal-

Xi says time on China’s side as turmoil grips US

resident Xi Jinping issued an unusually upbeat assessment about China’s future, noting that “time and the situation” were on the country’s side in a new year marked by domestic turmoil in the US. The Chinese leader told a gathering of provincial and ministerial-level officials on Monday that he saw “opportunities in general outweighing challenges,” a marked shift from his sometimes dire-sounding warnings of recent months. While he repeated an oft-used allusion to the challenges posed by President Donald Trump’s “America First” policies, he expressed new confidence that China would gain in the long run. “The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, but time and the situation are in our favor,” Xi told the study session at Communist Party School, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. “This is where our determination and confidence are coming from.” Xi’s optimistic remarks come amid an economic rebound at home and historic upheaval in Washington. Besides the Capitol Hill chaos last week and the worsening coronavirus outbreak

in America, a forecast released by the Centre for Economics and Business Research last month projected that China would overtake the US as the world’s largest economy in dollar terms in 2028, five years earlier than a year ago. In similar remarks in 2020, Xi emphasized “unprecedented risks and challenges” as the coronavirus hit China and bilateral ties with the US dipped to historical lows, with disputes on everything from the pandemic and trade to Taiwan and Hong Kong. On Monday, Xi urged provincial officials, who are preparing to approve a new round of five-year plans at their annual legislative sessions, to remain “humble and cautious,”according to Xinhua. He said efforts were needed to improve awareness of potential dangers, consider worst-case scenarios and learn to cope with more complex and difficult situations. The legislative sessions are part of a long series of events as Xi prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ruling party’s founding in July. Xi also reiterated his call for the country to be more self-reliant on technological innovation while building a “super-sized domestic market” to boost consumption. Bloomberg News

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., talks to reporters outside the House chamber after a resolution calling for the removal of President Donald Trump from office was blocked by Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington on Monday, January 11. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is urging congressional action to rein in President Donald Trump for inciting last week’s deadly assault on the US Capitol. AP/J. Scott Applewhite ing with impeachment, a half day on getting my people nominated and confirmed in the Senate, as well as moving on the package” for more Covid relief. As Congress briefly resumed Monday, uneasiness swept government. More lawmakers tested positive for Covid-19 after sheltering during the siege. And new security officials were quickly installed after the Capitol police chief and others were ousted in fallout from the attack on the iconic dome of democracy. Some GOP lawmakers, including Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, faced public blowback for their efforts on the day of the riot trying to overturn Biden’s election. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., offered the 25th Amendment resolution during Monday’s brief session. It was blocked by Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., as other GOP lawmakers stood by him. Pelosi said the Republicans were enabling Trump’s “unhinged, unstable and deranged acts of sedition to continue. Their complicity endangers America, erodes our Democracy, and it must end.” However, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, a Trump ally, said in a letter to colleagues that “impeachment at this time would have the opposite effect of bringing our country together.” He said he would review possible censure of the president. But House Republicans are split and a few may vote to impeach. The impeachment bill from Reps. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Ted Lieu of California, Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Jerrold Nadler of New York draws from Trump’s own false statements about his election defeat to Biden. Judges across the country, including some nominated by Trump, have repeatedly dismissed cases challeng-

ing the election results, and Attorney General William Barr, a Trump ally, has said there was no sign of widespread fraud. The impeachment legislation also details Trump’s pressure on state officials in Georgia to “find” him more votes, as well as his White House rally ahead of the Capitol siege, in which he encouraged thousands of supporters last Wednesday to “fight like hell” and march to the building. The mob overpowered police, broke through security lines and windows and rampaged through the Capitol, forcing lawmakers to scatter as they were finalizing Biden’s victory over Trump in the Electoral College. While some have questioned impeaching the president so close to the end of his term, Democrats and others argue he must be held accountable and prevented from holding future public office. He would be the only president twice impeached. House Democrats have been considering a strategy to delay for 100 days sending articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial, to allow Biden to focus on other priorities. There is precedent for pursuing impeachment after an official leaves office. In 1876, during the Ulysses Grant administration, War Secretary William Belknap was impeached by the House the day he resigned, and the Senate convened a trial months later. He was acquitted. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said he would take a look at any articles that the House sent over. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a frequent Trump critic, said he would “vote the right way” if the matter were put in front of him. C i c i l l i n e , l e a d e r o f t h e Ho u s e e f for t , t we e te d Mond ay t h at “we no w h av e t h e v o t e s t o i mp e a c h ,” inc lud ing 213 cosponsors and p r i v at e c o m m it m e nt s . AP

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

Malaysia’s emergency suspends parliament until end of pandemic

alaysia’s king declared a state of emergency in the Southeast Asian nation, suspending parliament in a move that allows embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to avoid facing an election until the pandemic is over. The emergency decree gives Muhyiddin’s administration more power to tackle a surge in Covid-19 cases, including over the operations of private hospitals, and may allow the police and military to assist in public health measures. The ringgit and the country’s main stocks index declined after the announcement, which came a day after Muhyiddin imposed a two-week targeted lockdown in most of the country starting Wednesday. In a briefing on Tuesday, the prime minister said he may introduce measures like price controls to prevent economic sabotage. An independent committee would be established to advise the king on the duration of the emergency, which was set to expire on August 1 unless the outbreak abates sooner. Elections would be held as soon as an independent committee declares that the pandemic has subsided and it’s safe to hold a vote, Muhyiddin said. “The emergency proclaimed by the Yang diPertuan Agong is not a military coup and curfew will not be enforced,” he said in a national address, referring to the monarch. “I emphasize that Malaysia is open for business. In facing these challenging times, this period of emergency will give us much needed calm and stability, as well as enable us to focus on economic recovery and regeneration.” Covid-19 cases have exploded in Malaysia after a local election in September, with new infections hitting a record-high last week. The government has forecast daily cases to reach 8,000 by late March or

late May, based on a predictive modeling analysis. The tally stood at little over 2,000 on Monday. The ringgit fell as much as 0.6 percent to 4.0760 per dollar, the weakest since December 7, while government bonds extended losses. Malaysia’s main stock index fell as much as 1.6 percent, led by banks including CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. The emergency puts off any risk of an election for Muhyiddin, who has held a slim majority in parliament since taking power last year following the collapse of a previous coalition government. In October, the king rebufffed Muhiyddin’s attempt to place the entire country under emergency ahead of a major budget vote—a test of confidence that he ended up passing. Still, calls had risen in recent weeks for a fresh election. Some key members of the largest party in his ruling coalition, the United Malays National Organization, had called for a snap poll by March. An emergency “may serve as a ‘circuit breaker’ on the domestic political noises, but on the other hand, it could increase the perceived risk of foreign investors on Malaysia,” said Winson Phoon, head of fixed-income research at Maybank Kim Eng Securities. The palace statement called the emergency “a proactive measure to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.” Muhyiddin said flooding in a number of states also contributed to the need for increased powers in addition to the virus. “The virus cases continue to rise and show no signs of coming down in the near term,” Muhyiddin said. “Hence, the government needs certain powers to ensure that the virus can be efficiently curbed and to ensure that the health services do not get crippled.”

Bloomberg News

‘Most dangerous time’: U.K. sees toughest virus threat

ONDON—The UK opened seven mass vaccination centers on Monday as it moved into the most perilous moment of the Covid-19 pandemic, with exhausted medical staff reeling under the pressure of packed hospitals and increasing admissions. England’s chief medical officer, Dr. Chris Whitty, warned people to strictly follow measures to prevent the spread of the virus while they wait their turn for a vaccine shot. The government is trying to vaccinate some 15 million people by February 15—but Britain’s National Health Service is struggling to treat those who are ill now. “I think everybody accepts that this is the most dangerous time we’ve really had in terms of numbers into the NHS,’’ Whitty told the BBC. People in the UK already face severe coronavirus restrictions but political leaders are considering tightening the rules further as a new, more transmissible variant of Covid-19 aggravates the health care crisis. Leaders want to vaccinate the country out of the crisis, but with hospitals under siege, they must persuade the public to take prevention methods more seriously. “We don’t rule out taking further action if it’s needed, but it’s your actions now that can make a difference: Stay at home!” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said during a press conference on Monday. Britain, with over 81,000 dead, has the deadliest virus toll in Europe and the number of hospital beds filled by Covid-19 patients has risen steadily for more than a month. English hospitals are now treating 55 percent more Covid-19 cases than during the first peak of the pandemic in April. “Everybody knows what they need to do. And I think that’s the key thing—minimize the number of contacts,” Whitty said. England last week entered a third national lockdown that closed all nonessential shops, schools, colleges and universities for at least six weeks. The lockdown is slightly looser than the one in the spring with many more workplaces and

businesses open, but police across the country have issued fines for breaking rules that require people to stay home except for essential reasons such as exercise or grocery shopping. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government hopes the restrictions will reduce the strain on the NHS while it ramps up a nationwide mass vaccination program using vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and a second from OxfordAstraZeneca. A third vaccine that has been approved for use, by Moderna, won’t arrive until the spring. Seven large-scale vaccination centers are opening, joining around 1,000 other sites across the country, including ones at hospitals, general practitioners’ clinics and drugstores. At one vaccination center in Stevenage, north of London, medical workers administering shots described the mood as marked by relief and joy. “They’ve been quite emotional actually, really pleased that there is some hope at the end of this tunnel, this very long tunnel for everybody,” said Caroline Shepherd, clinical exper t for immunizations at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust. “A few people [were] quite teary, saying ‘I’m really pleased to be here, thank you so much, we’re really grateful for the NHS.’” Nearly 2.3 million people in the UK have received a Covid-19 vaccine so far. The government’s goal is to vaccinate the most vulnerable by mid-February, targeting people over 70, front line health-care workers, nursing home residents and staff and others who are especially vulnerable. That will protect the people who account for almost 90 percent of coronavirus-related deaths and may allow restrictions to be eased, the government says. “[But] we cannot be complacent,’’ Johnson said during a visit to a vaccination center in Bristol. “The worst thing now would be for us to allow the success in rolling out a vaccine program to breed any kind of complacency about the state of the pandemic.” AP

WHO: Coronavirus herd immunity unlikely in 2021 despite vaccines

ENEVA—The World Health Organization’s chief scientist warned that even as numerous countries start rolling out vaccination programs to stop Covid-19, herd immunity is highly unlikely this year. At a media briefing on Monday, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said it was critical countries and their populations maintain strict social distancing and other outbreak control measures for the foreseeable future. In recent weeks, Britain, the US, France, Canada, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands and others have begun vaccinating millions of their citizens against the coronavirus. “Even as vaccines start protecting the most vulnerable, we’re not going to achieve any levels of population immunity or herd immunity in 2021,” Swaminathan said. “Even if it happens in a couple of pockets, in a few countries, it’s not going to protect people across the world.” Scientists typically estimate that a vaccination rate of about 70 percent is needed for herd immunity, where entire populations are protected against a disease. But some fear that the extremely infectious nature of Covid-19 could require a significantly higher threshold. Dr. Bruce Aylward, an adviser to WHO’s directorgeneral, said the UN health agency was hoping

A health-care worker administers a Covid-19 vaccination at the new Alamodome Covid-19 vaccine site on January 11, in San Antonio, Texas. Officials say the site is providing 1,500 vaccinations per day. AP/Eric Gay coronavirus vaccinations might begin later this month or in February in some of the world’s poorer countries, calling on the global community to do more to ensure all countries have access to vaccines. “We cannot do that on our own,” Aylward said, saying WHO needed the cooperation of vaccine manufacturers in par ticular to star t immunizing vulnerable populations. Aylward said WHO was aiming to have “a rollout plan” detailing which developing countries might

start receiving vaccines next month. Still, the majority of the world’s Covid-19 vaccine supply has already been bought by rich countries. The UN-backed initiative known as COVAX, which is aiming to deliver shots to developing countries is short of vaccines, money and logistical help as donor countries scramble to protect their own citizens, particularly in the wake of newly detected Covid-19 variants in Britain and South Africa, which many officials are blaming for

increased spread. WHO, however, said that most of the recent spikes in transmission were due to “the increased mixing of people” rather than the new variants. WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, said that the spike in cases in numerous countries was detected before the new variants were identified. Van Kerkhove noted that during the summer, Covid-19 cases were down to single digits in most countries across Europe. “We lost the battle because we changed our mixing patterns over the summer, into the fall and especially around Christmas and the New Year,”she said, explaining that many people had multiple contacts with family and friends over the holidays. “That has had a direct impact on the exponential growth that you have seen in many countries,” she said, describing the case count increase in some places as “vertical.” Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO’s emergencies chief, said while there is some evidence variants may be speeding the spread of Covid-19, “there is no evidence that variants are driving any element of severity.” He said the variants shouldn’t alter countries’ strategies for controlling outbreaks. “It doesn’t change what you do, but it gives the virus some new energy,” Ryan said. AP

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www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Wednesday, January 13, 2021

A healthier you this new year SEARCH for the “most popular New Year’s resolution” and it’s no surprise that the answer has something to do with our health: “to lose weight,” “get fit,” “exercise more,” “eat better.” Before spending a small fortune incorporating fruits and vegetables into your meals, taking a multivitamin daily, or exercising for 30 minutes three times a week, why not first establish a baseline of where you are, health-wise? For that, you need to go through a proper health screening process. “Health screening is a simple and effective way to determine if you have a specific condition or disease, even if you show no symptoms or signs of it,” says Minerva Laconico, MD, Head of the MMC HealthHub of top health institution Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed, www. makatimed.net.ph). “Early detection helps you address the condition with the right treatment so you can better manage your health. It also increases your chances of overcoming disease and reduces any risk of complications.” At MakatiMed, health screenings depend not only on your family’s health history but also depend on other factors such as your age, gender and lifestyle, as health concerns naturally change with every passing decade. IN YOUR 20s: This is the decade when you feel most carefree and at the peak of your health. But take note that this does not exempt you from a health screening. “We need to change that mindset,” Laconico points out. “Just because you don’t feel anything doesn’t mean you shouldn’t see your health practitioner.” Tests and exams for this decade include determining your height, weight and body mass index in order to ascertain any health risk one may face if it is outside the healthy range. This also includes establishing your baseline blood pressure (to check if you are hypertensive), cholesterol levels (especially if you have a family history of heart disease), blood sugar (to rule out diabetes), eyesight and hearing. “For women, a yearly pelvic exam and pap smear every three years are recommended to check for signs of cancer and sexually transmitted diseases,” says Laconico. “A clinical breast exam every one to three years is also advisable for women with average risk for breast cancer.” For men, she recommends a testicular exam as part of a general checkup, and tests for sexually transmitted diseases, if one is sexually active. IN YOUR 30s: At this decade, you are probably still feeling like you’re on the top of the world. All the more, men and women are suggested to undergo health screening. Results of their weight and BMI, cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar will be evaluated, and this will reveal if they’ve been vigilant with their healthy habits or fallen off the wagon and need to get back up. “Women in their 30s don’t necessarily need a mammogram, but if you have a history of breast cancer in the family, a doctor will most likely recommend it,” Laconico explains. Ask your doctor also about a thyroid test, especially when you plan to get pregnant. Thyroid hormones are crucial to the development of a baby’s brain and nervous system. IN YOUR 40s: You still have your best years ahead of you. Besides the usual screenings, your family physician will make specific requests depending on your gender. “By this age, men can expect to undergo a prostate exam through a urologist, especially if there is a history of prostate cancer in the family,” says Laconico. “For women in their 40s, the HealthHub recommends the Health Investment Female Rider which includes either a mammogram or breast ultrasound to check for signs of breast cancer, a transvaginal or transrectal ultrasound to rule out ovarian cancer, and a bone density test every three years to monitor signs of osteoporosis.” IN YOUR 50s AND 60s: The golden years can feel great if you continue to practice healthy habits and make appointment for regular screenings. “People in this decade should consider getting a colonoscopy, which tests for precancerous polyps and signs of colorectal cancer. Combined with Fecal Occult Blood Test, these diagnostics can detect early signs of colon cancer,” according to Laconico. With the arrival of each new year, there’s nothing more empowering than knowing you are healthy enough to face whatever challenges and blessings that come your way.

Classrooms in the air A

T the turn of the 21st century, educational technology expert Elliott Masie coined the term eLearning which basically refers to the use of online materials or any form of multimedia where learners can access content and complete learning activities outside the classroom. This enabled academic institutions and organizations to provide an alternative means for learners to upgrade their skills. The pandemic further highlighted the need for new ways of learning, and the necessity for employees to upgrade their skills even if they were working from home. The increasing demand for eLearning materials forced organizations to develop online training materials that employees can access on demand to help them with on-the-job issues without having to wait for the next classroom training, or the availability of their supervisor. This makes eLearning one of the flexible ways of delivering training materials. eLearning enables employees to study on their own and access materials which are relevant to their work at their own convenience. The widespread availability of mobile devices takes this further by allowing employees to learn wherever they can—be it in traffic, waiting in line at the grocery, or during their break. This puts the burden on content developers to focus on making learning materials more engaging and interactive. Gamified learning will remain a staple in eLearning materials. The convenience in having access to all these materials also allows for a greater number of people to make use of online content, providing learners the means to interact with a diverse group of people across the organization. This makes it possible for employees to expand their own network and break down existing silos. The same accessibility also allows employees to carve out their own personalized learning path on subject areas they need help in, and at the same time look for any additional topics they might be interested in. This in turn also means organizations need

eLearning enables employees to study on their own and access materials which are relevant to their work at their own convenience. The widespread availability of mobile devices takes this further by allowing employees to learn wherever they can—be it in traffic, waiting in line at the grocery, or during their break. to invest in a dependable Learning Management System (LMS) which provides a library of courses an employee can take within their job families. You empower employees to take control of their own professional development and help them design their own learning. This will also help them manage their own time and be responsible in upskilling themselves to meet the required skills for their roles. A good LMS can also help pinpoint critical work-related knowledge and skills gaps which can be remedied by subsequent enhancements of the courses, or even the creation of a new course altogether. The LMS should also be able to provide a variety of courses for different roles in your organization, track the courses employees have taken, and generate reports on course completions, among other functions. There are even LMS that can track an employee’s movement throughout the course, and even provide leaderboards for gamified content. The asynchronous nature of eLearning also relieves one of the pressures of completing learning tasks with a group of people. Since it is self-paced, employees can schedule learning according to their own learning curve, repeat a lesson as often as needed for them to understand it, and even take evaluation tests whenever they are ready. A well-designed eLearning material will help employees take courses in segments—a concept called microlearning, building on foundational skills first before delving into complicated tasks, a learning theory called scaffolding. Evaluation measures also help employees get immediate feedback for their answers. You can design a course like a choose-your-own-adventure book where you do not get to the end of the course unless you answer questions correctly. There are also other materials where you can role-play as an interviewee and your interviewer has a mood meter. Choosing the right answers increases your chances of being hired and vice versa. These gamified courses help

employees contextualize learning into something practical for them. While the capital investment for developing eLearning materials and procuring an LMS can be costly, it can be cost-beneficial as an investment especially when eLearning materials are targeted to specific work-related issues that affect the organization’s business objective. Several organizations have jumped on the eLearning bandwagon merely for the sake of saying they have eLearning materials when, in fact, these are just converted slideshow presentations. The learning experience in a classroom varies greatly with that of eLearning. However, because of the dismal state of Internet connectivity in our country, even the best eLearning material cannot meet its learning objectives when it is constantly disrupted by lags and glitches. Platforms for accessing eLearning materials can also be too complicated for employees such that you have to create a guidebook on how to access it when, ideally, it should be intuitive for the employees to use. Others have also warned against eLearning materials being too impersonal, or, worse, the course itself is not relevant to their actual work—this is a failure in course design and development. The challenge for eLearning content developers is to understand their audience’s needs and reconcile it with the business objectives of the organization and provide an eLearning material which addresses both. This year will see an increase in the number of employees looking for eLearning content to meet their training needs. And while some organizations have their own established eLearning content development team and a team that handles their LMS, a lot of organizations have yet to start. When done correctly, eLearning can become a powerful tool in increasing your employee’s productivity and enhancing their efficiency. n

Because you can never go without your morning brew IT has been said that happiness is a cup of coffee. And whether one spends the day at home or head out for a busy day at work, it’s hard to imagine a day without a good cup of brewed coffee. And the good news for coffee lovers is that you can now enjoy your favorite brew wherever you go as Japanese drinkware brand Rivers is now available at Outdoors by SM. Rivers is the first outdoor drinkware company in the world. It was developed in Tokyo, Japan, in 2000 to bring intimacy in the coffee-making experience of people on-the-go, and those who love outdoor adventures. The drinkware brand prides itself on sleek, straightforward but still delicious coffee made simple. No need for fancy gadgets. Their coffee is, as they call it, “unplugged” with their no-frills, minimalist aesthetic and design, and uncomplicated function. More than that, Rivers products—from specialty coffee items to everyday staples like mugs and cups—are sustainable. Among its unique products is the Micro Coffee Dripper, which is said to be the smallest

coffee dripper in the world—one you can use to brew anywhere, even in the mountains. No need for paper filters; it has a built-in filter made of polypropylene with stainless steel mesh for prolonged use without discoloration; a funnel structure that provides a stable drip; and a detachable silicone rubber holder that can be folded easily and stored in a cup. The Rivers Coffee Dripper Cave Reversible, on the other hand, can control coffee’s taste and bring the acidity and bitterness closer to one’s preference. Rivers has wide selections of designconscious sustainable cups, travel-friendly mugs, sophisticated jugs, and heavy-duty tumblers. Enjoy authentic brewed coffee anytime, anywhere, made possible and more accessible. With over 30 brands showcasing top-quality materials and revolutionary technology, Outdoors by SM is a concept store that is both a one-stop shop for every adventure and a go-to store for the urban dweller. Outdoors by SM is at the second level of the SM Store Makati, with call-to-deliver service via bit.ly/3dk7SH2 or 0917-8436176.

❶

❸

❶ THE Rivers

Coffee Dripper Cave Reversible used on the Rivers Vacuum Flask Stout (Black) for a sustainable and easy way to delight in tasty brewed coffee

❷ THE Thermo

Jug Keat’s vacuum insulated design keeps warm and cold liquids

❷

❸ ENJOY

authentic brewed coffee anytime, anywhere with the Rivers Micro Coffee Dripper

B6 Wednesday, January 13, 2021

PMPC elected new officers under the new normal

MPIC commits to UNGC, becomes first conglomerate SASB Alliance member

PIC has confirmed participation in both the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the largest corporate sustainability initiative aimed to align strategies and operations with universal principles on good governance and ethical business practices; and the Sustainable Accounting Board Alliance (SASB), a program for organizations and individuals that support the need for more decision-useful, costeffective sustainability disclosure. In a letter signed by its President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Ma. K. Lim, MPIC affirms its responsibility to the UNGC’s ten principles to meet fundamental responsibilities in the four areas: human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption; and to take strategic actions to advance broader societal goals, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with an emphasis on collaboration and innovation. “MPIC’s commitment to the UNGC further reinforces the responsibilities we have already undertaken in terms of championing a sustainable future and a supportive working environment within our corporation,” says Lim. “We have been operating our businesses, guided by these principles, as they are key elements in ensuring we create the most value for us and our stakeholders.”

Through MPIC’s commitment to participate in the UNGC, the corporation obliges to disclose any relevant policies, procedures, activities that the company has taken or plans to undertake to implement these principles in each of the four issue areas, as well as provide a measurement of the initiatives’ outcomes. Primarily, MPIC’s businesses contribute significantly in achieving the Philippines 2030 development targets, being an integral player in the improvement and expansion of the delivery of essential services in power, transport, water, and healthcare. MPIC’s investments and their corresponding programs directly address twelve SDGs, particularly: No Poverty (One Meralco Foundation’s rural electrification program, MPIF’s calamity and other social development programs); Good Health and Well-Being (MPHHI’s provision of best-in-class in-patient and out-patient services and senior wellness program, GBP’s health, scholarships, and social development programs in adopted communities); Quality Education (MPIF’s Mano Amiga Annual Excellence Fund, OMF’s school electrification programs); Clean Water and Sanitation (Light Rail Manila Corp.’s Ginhawash Program, Pagasa sa Patubig Partnership); Affordable and Clean Energy (MERALCO’s electrification programs for outlying islands, MPTC’s

solar panels in major toll plazas, CCTV’s callboxes, and roadway lighting); Decent Work and Economic Growth (Employment, occupational health and safety, compliance with the Labor Code across all businesses; Maynilad’s Kapwa and Sining Ipo, providing livelihood support to the women of STM-Tondo and indigenous craftsmen in Ipo watershed respectively); Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (MPTC’s expansion of national road network, LRT-1’s expansion project), Sustainable Cities and Communities (Power sector’s disaster recovery and business continuity plans, Tollroads sector’s disaster relief operations), Responsible Consumption and Production (responsible waste management across all businesses, progressive ban on single use plastics); Climate Action (Meralco’s e-jeepneys, LRMC’s plans to install regenerative technology in its tracks that stores power generated by the LRVs; Life Below Water (MPIF’s Shore It Up! program); and Life on Land (GBP Malubog, Lambunao, and mangrove reforestation projects). With MPIC’s recent commitment as the first conglomerate in the world and the second global SASB alliance member in the Philippines, the corporation strengthens its goal to build capacity among their staff, identify best practices and explore the use of material sustainability information. “Metro Pacific’s businesses aim to create shared value between us and our stakeholders, with ESG involvement chiefly becoming a priority,” says MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan. “Our commitment to SASB not only reaffirms our intent, but also attributes more credibility to the corporation in the interest of new and existing investors.” “Through its participation in SASB, MPIC joins the ranks of global companies that support the need for standardized sustainability disclosures that meets the needs of its investors,” says MPIC Chief Finance Officer & Chief Sustainability Officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla.

MR. D.I.Y. cares for the environment, donates to Bantay Kalikasan project

2021 PMPC OFFICERS. Once the list of officers has been filled up after the election, the group changed to green uniform, removed their masks and faceshields, and seated together for a quick photo shoot.

BANTE Tonite Editor Roldan Castro was named 2021 PMPC (Philippine Movie Press Club, Inc.) President after the ‘new normal’ election procedure held on January 8 at the PMPC headquarters in Quezon City. Adhering to the current health protocol, PMPC had its election casting votes in small batches to accommodate all members. Virtual counting of votes was held immediately after. Upon selection and deliberation by top 15 winners, Castro was named new PMPC President. He brings with him years of experience as dedicated club member and as entertainment journalist. This is also his third time to serve the club as president. He was president in 2009 and in 2012 prior to serving the club in various capacities in between. PMPC is a group of professional and active entertainment press in the country. PMPC functions as an independent award-giving body through the PMPC Star Awards for Movies, PMPC Star Awards for Television, and PMPC Star Awards for Music. PMPC is wellknown for honoring Filipino artists for nearly 40 years and its annual Star Awards ceremonies are highly anticipated in showbiz industry. “The pandemic is a great challenge in

itself. That's why leading an organization at this time of the crisis doubles the challenge. Therefore, let us all work together in unity to serve our club’s purpose,” Castro said as he acknowledged victory and encouraged all newly-elected officers to perform their duty amid the pandemic. Aside from Castro elected were Fernan de Guzman of Radyo Inquirer as Vice President, Mell Navarro as Secretary and Mildred Bacud as Assistant Secretary. Boy Romero was unanimously voted to remain as Treasurer while Lourdes Fabian was chosen as Assistant Treasurer. Comebacking officer John Fontanilla clinched the position for Auditor while Rodel Fernando and Leony Garcia retained their posts as PROs. The 2021 Board of Directors are composed of immediate past President Sandy Mariano, Past President Joe Barrameda, Eric Borromeo, Timmy Basil, Rommel Placente and Francis Simeon. Aside from the usual projects, the club is expected to venture on worthy undertakings for the welfare and camaderie of its members at this time of pandemic. The newly-elected officers are expected to be inducted within the month of January.

PhilHealth COVID-19 response feted by ASSA

HE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation was recently cited by the ASEAN Social Security Association (ASSA) during its virtual 37th Board meeting held in December 2020. PhilHealth received the Continuous Improvement Recognition Award from the region’s leading social security association for its “efforts in Covid-19 as catalyst for evolving the payment mechanism towards UHC’s progressive realization”. Early last year, the state health insurer rolled-out benefit packages to provide members with financial protection against the prohibitive testing and treatment costs for the dreaded disease. Among these packages are the SARS-CoV-2 testing package, community isolation package, Benefit package for those with mild to no symptoms, and inpatient care depending on the severity of the patient’s pneumonia. PhilHeath President and Chief Executive Officer Atty. Dante A. Gierran received the award on behalf of the Agency. “We would like to sincerely thank the ASSA Board for recognizing our COVID-19 response in support of the Government’s thrust to curb the pandemic. This award is a testament to the Government’s genuine concern for

those who contracted the disease, as well as to the dedicated healthcare workers who have been with us all along this fight,” Gierran said of the award. The ASSA is composed of social security agencies from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, LAO PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

ACE hardware‘s Helpful Place rebuilds lives

HE largest home improvement retailer in Southeast Asia, MR. D.I.Y., planted its 100 seeds and turned over cash proceeds from The Good Bag, Reusable Bag campaign last January 8, 2021 to ABS CBN Foundation Inc. Bantay Kalikasan Mother Nurture campaign for the benefit of La Mesa Watershed. The ceremonial turnover kickstarted with a short program. MR. D.I.Y. Philippines Marketing Manager Mark Charles Salecina said, “The Good Bag campaign aims to do good not only to our valued customers, but gather funds to adopt 100 trees for La Mesa Watershed by selling reusable eco bags at the 100 MR. D.I.Y. stores nationwide. MR.D.I.Y. Philippines wants to give back something good to the community by

protecting the environment.” MR. D.I.Y. Philippines Chief Operating Officer (COO) Ms. Roselle Marisol Andaya expressed her gratitude as well. “Today, before MR. D.I.Y. Philippines turns over the cash proceeds from the successful campaign to the foundation, as well as plant 100 more trees, which coincide with the most recent 100th store opening at SM Hypermarket Novaliches, I would like to sincerely thank our valued customers who supported this campaign, our hardworking team of MR. DIYers across all departments in the smooth execution of The Good Bag campaign, and more importantly, to ABS CBN Foundation Inc. for initiating sustainability programs for our environment and

allowing us, retail establishments to somehow contribute to such a worthwhile endeavor," she said. The cash donation of Ph 375,074.00 was received by Ms. Sarah Agcaoili, Officer-in-Charge & Operations Head and Mr. Mar Zeri Ramirez, Officer-inCharge & Operations Manager of ABS CBN Foundation Inc. Bantay KalikasanSave the La Mesa Watershed. The day ended with planting seedlings which signifies our efforts to do good for the environment as these ensure we have enough trees, clean air and water now and for the next generations to come. For more CSR updates, visit the Facebook page at @mrdiyPH and corporate website at www.mrdiy.com/ph.

THE ACE Hardware team turns over the donations to the residents of Kasiglahan Village Rodriguez Rizal with SM Foundation and DSWD.

HILE the series typhoons late last year have gone, many of those severely affected are still trying to rebuild their lives. To help fast-track recovery, ACE Hardware staff recently donated needed items such as bed & mats, PPEs, and cleaning materials to affected residents of Kasiglahan Village

in Rodriguez, Rizal. This activity was done jointly with SM Foundation and the local DSWD chapter. To fulfill its “Helpful Place” promise, ACE Hardware serves communities through outreach initiatives like this, as well as provide customers nationwide with relevant and helpful products.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Wednesday, January13, 2021 B7

The year that was: Peaking toward the end

Club Ananda at Sandari Batulao

Club Ananda Infinity Pool

URING the last week of December, in a special part of Nasugbu, Batangas, Mount Batulao and Mount Talamitam cupped the rising sun.

The phenomenon of shafts of sunlight gradually emerging and illuminating the twin peaks was described as bato sa ilaw or ilaw sa dalawang bato (“illuminated rocks”), whence we derive the name “Batulao.” Batulao actually boasts of 12 peaks, the highest of which rises to a height of almost 700 meters or 2,274 feet. The mountain forms the southwestern end of the Tagaytay Ridge, mostly located in the town of Nasugbu. Several rivers—the Lian-Palico, Munting Tubig, Obispo and Siomtiam— have their source at Mount Batulao and drain into Balayan Bay. The elevation, headwaters and forest cover make for lush

flora and fauna. Such is the tranquility that several retreat centers and prayer houses have located in the area. At the foothills one finds Sandari Batulao, an artisanal residential and leisure development. Sandari derives from the Sanskrit words zaanta, meaning “peaceful,” and dhari, meaning “valley.” This premier exponent of mountain living nestles within verdant and undulating hillocks. Located at Km. 77, Batulao, Nasugbu, Batangas along the Nasugbu-Tagaytay Tourism National Highway, Sandari Batulao is a mere hourand-a-half drive from Makati, 10 minutes away from Metro Tagaytay, and 15 minutes

from the beaches of Nasugbu. Sandari Batulao is decidedly a respecter of the natural habitat that hosts its development. Nale, named after Idianale, the Tagalog goddess of good actions and cultivated lands, is the gateway to Sandari and 41 hectares of a scenic garden community with 841 lots ranging from 150 to 600 square meters. Bamboo, Fern and Palm enclaves gently punctuate this relaxation destination. This was followed by Dima, derived from the ancient Tagalog god of good harvest. Launched in 2018, its 180 to 300 square meter lots are supported by a wellness village and, when IATF guidelines re-allow, an inhouse nutritionist and yoga and pilates classes for a consummate open air and healthy lifestyle. Dima is dedicated to the proposition that the best way to take care of others is to take care of oneself. Ergo Eat, Move and Sleep! A communal clubhouse, natural river, organic garden, and infinity and kiddie pools beckon.

Club Ananda Waterpark

Indeed, the majority of Sandari Batulao buyers are locals, who either plan to settle here with their families or invest for their future. With the temperature dipping to 16 degrees Celsius in December and January, the Tagaytay-like clime is a welcome respite from the heat and humidity of the lowlands. And during the summer, avid hikers can take to the eco trails with aplomb even when the mercury rises to a still tolerable 23 degrees Celsius. The town of Nasugbu was providentially spared the heavy ashfall caused by Taal Volcano’s eruption in January 2020. Sandari Batulao ended the year just as it began…unscathed, and in equipoise with its natural surroundings and in gratitude for its growing, life-affirming communities. 2020 was indeed a trying year on so many fronts. But are we really living in dark times? In an essay, entitled Being with the Dark (Practice No.8, Emergence Magazine, April 17, 2020), professional

photographer Bear Guerra invokes the night sky studded with stars as best appreciated against “the ceaseless illumination of artificial light” of our cities. In the ebony canopy atop Sandari Batulao, one reengages with the firmament and plenitude of possibilities. “Without darkness, we are not just incomplete… we fail to dream,” said Guerra. And just as in late December the first rays of dawn gingerly peer out from between the twin peaks of Batulao, and then suffuse them with the glow of fresh starts and enlivened potential, so too can we face the New Year with the settled, serene spirit of Sandari Batulao. Live in it, live it out. Take the first step toward upscale country living at accessible price points by calling Citystate Properties and Management Corp. at (02) 8817-5876 or e-mail inquiries@cpmc.ph. Financing is available in-house or through Citystate Savings Bank and other banks.

Cebu infra to drive value appreciation in AboitizLand communities

OR over 25 years, AboitizLand (www.aboitizland. com), has stayed true to its promise of creating better ways to live through its thriving masterplanned communities. It now looks to further expand its reach by continuing to develop innovative and fully integrated communities in more locations across the Philippines. A subsidiary of the Aboitiz Group, it is built on a firm foundation with a hundred-year heritage of advancing business and communities. The outlook on residential developments in Cebu province remains promising despite setbacks due to the pandemic, with upcoming infrastructure megaprojects expected to boost the region’s economy and drive property value appreciation. According to a report by Colliers International Philippines, important expressways and public mass transportation in the area will be completed in the next year or two, and these include the Cebu Monorail, Cebu Bus Rapid Transit, Metro Cebu Expressway, and the Cebu-Cordova Bridge. The infrastructure investments are forecasted to improve connectivity, mobility, and employment within local areas and across the province, resulting in increased land and property values over time. Cebuano roots. AboitizLand takes pride in its Cebuano roots where it began developing simple subdivisions in the mid-1960s. It helped spur Cebu’s economic boom by developing two highly successful industrial parks: West Cebu Industrial Park in Balamban, now known as the shipbuilding capital in the Philippines, and Mactan

Economic Zone II, developed in partnership with Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority. AboitizLand started gaining significant market share in Cebu by developing residential communities synonymous with prestige and quality, including some of the most expensive (per sq m), hyper-exclusive communities in the city. It boasts of an impressive record in property value escalation with projects that include North Town Homes, North Town Woods, Mahogany Grove, Molave Highlands, and Kishanta Zen Residences. Today, AboitizLand is acclaimed for its masterplanned mid- to high-end residential projects in Cebu. All are well-located outside congested urban centers and yet near enough city conveniences and essential services. Nature is seamlessly incorporated in every property, with thoughtful Filipino-inspired aesthetic touches. Each property also fosters community-centeredness and safety. Residential projects. Apart from AboitizLand’s signature master-planning, some of the factors that influence the price appreciation of the company’s properties are location and future developments in the area. Lauded (http://bit.ly/AmoaVirtualTour2), as the “Best House in VisMin” at The Outlook 2019: Philippine Buyers’ Choice Property Awards is Amoa with its stunning mountain and sea sights. Situated in Brgys. Tamiao and Cabadiangan, Compostela, it is the most highly amenitized development in the north of Cebu. Since it is located along Segment 2 of the future Metro Cebu Expressway, property

Pristina North Residences in Talamban, Cebu City offers privacy and at the same time proximity to premium schools, hospitals, and commercial centers

owners there will benefit from reduced travel time between Naga and Danao cities. A fourth bridge will be constructed in Cebu that will make the airport more accessible from Amoa. Another one of the developer’s noteworthy projects in the Visayas is Ajoya Cebu, a community showcasing Modern Filipino architecture in Cordova, Mactan. The development is well-located near the planned CebuCordova Link Expressway. Meanwhile, AboitizLand’s first integrated vertical urban village in Mabolo, Cebu City is the urban lifestyle community Persimmon which houses the Persimmon Studios. Residents there can come home to refreshing, professionally furnished units after a long day’s work, and will likewise appreciate that the neighborhood center Persimmon Plus is located a few minutes’ walk away from the Cebu Business Park to serve dining, retail and leisure needs. The high-end projects by AboitizLand will set new standards in new urban living. Pristina North Residences (https://bit.ly/PristinaNorthResidencesVirtualTour), in Talamban, Cebu is a master-planned development that offers privacy and at the same time proximity to schools, hospitals, and commercial centers. Priveya Hills (http:// bit.ly/PriveyaHillsBrochure), also in Talamban is an ecoluxe neighborhood nestled on natural slopes and boasts spectacular views, and yet is only 20 minutes away from Cebu and Mandaue City. Foressa Mountain Town which offers elevated living—literally and figuratively—is a mountain residential estate that promises sanctuary for both the city-weary and adventurers. AboitizLand helps to fast-track the process of property ownership in these challenging times through special discounts and easy payment schemes to encourage home seekers to make their dream home a reality. Amoa currently offers an 18-month installment promo; Pristina North, Priveya Hills, and Foressa Mountain Town each currently offer up to P5 million off for aspiring high-end homebuyers; and The Persimmon currently offers its ready-for-occupancy units at easy move-in financing schemes. Simply go to (https://www.facebook.com/AboitizLand.Inc/) to find out more about the special promo available for the property of your choice. Over the years, the company has expanded in key growth centers in Luzon such as The Villages at Lipa and Seafront Residences in Batangas and the Ajoya communities in Central Luzon. And yet it continues to strengthen its foothold in Cebu where it nurtures deep roots. In the post-pandemic era, the visionary company carries on its role in nation-building and, perhaps more profoundly, in upgrading the ways Filipino families live. Reni Salvador

Agriya named Best Green Residential Development at PropertyGuru Awards

COLIVING at its finest—this is beautifully exemplified by Agriya, an 88-hectare agritourism development located in Panabo City, Davao del Norte, and winner of the Best Residential Green Development award at the 2020 PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards. An agropolis with residential, commercial, institutional and agritourism zones, Agriya is all about blending nature with modern life. A project of Davao-based Damosa Land Inc. (DLI), Agriya showcases the company’s efforts to promote sustainability in its projects. At the heart of DLI’s efforts to redefine ecoliving is its partnership with Connovate Philippines Inc., which has made it possible to cut Agriya’s carbon footprint. Through a licensing agreement with Connovate Denmark, the company uses a high-performance concrete building technology with a 100-year material lifespan, as well as fast construction and insulation abilities, all of which significantly cut down carbon emissions. At the same time, it reduces construction costs throughout the entire building process. The visionary company behind Agriya, Damosa Land, is a homegrown property developer that has redefined real-estate development in Mindan-

ao with its vision of an agropolis. It brings to life its deep connection to agriculture in all of its projects, while at the same time paying homage to the rich culture of Mindanao. It belongs to the Anflo Management and Investment Corp. (ANFLOCOR) established by Don Antonio Floirendo, with business interests across various sectors. In 2019, Damosa and Connovate sealed a partnership to set up Connovate’s factory in Anflo Industrial Estate in Panabo City and supply Damosa Land with Connovate building panels. This will enable Damosa Land to reduce its carbon footprint as it pursues the development of its various properties, which is the main reason why the company received Special Recognition for Sustainable Construction also by PropertyGuru. The Connovate factory has recently gone full blast in its operation in the ecozone. “We are proud that our efforts to build an eco-friendly project and to reduce our carbon footprint has been recognized. This award puts the spotlight on Damosa Land’s commitment to building an environmentally sustainable future not only for the company but for the whole of Mindanao,” concluded Cary Lagdameo, first vice president of Damosa Land.

B8 Wednesday, January 13, 2021 | mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

Sports BusinessMirror

Editor: Jun Lomibao

P.O.C. TO FIX PHILIPPINE VOLLEYBALL T

By Josef Ramos

HE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), upon the blanket authority given by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), will supervise the elections for the national sports association for volleyball before the month ends. POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said the FIVB requested the POC to hold the volleyball elections in time for the international federation’s online world congress from February 5 to 7 where a legitimate Philippine volleyball body will be recognized. “There was already a request from the FIVB some time ago to hold a volleyball election before the FIVB’s general assembly this February,” Tolentino said. “Without a legitimate NSA, we cannot send national teams to FIVBsanctioned tournaments abroad.” Tolentino said the POC will be hands on in

the electoral process that is set either in the third or fourth week of this month. The FIVB, through its Director General Fabio Azevedo, wrote Tolentino for the second time last December 7 to reiterate the international federation’s desire for Philippine volleyball to hold elections. The FIVB first wrote Tolentino in August last year. Ricky Palou, president of Sports Vision that organizes the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), said the elections ordered by the FIVB is a winwin solution for the volleyball community. “That’s really fine, to unify all the volleyball community once and for all,” said Palou, adding the PVL will actively participate in the elections. “It’s good that the POC will be able to get everybody together. I hope everybody agrees.” LVPI President Joey Romasanta said he will clarify his association’s status with the FIVB saying they were recognized by the

Fernandez

Fernandez named chef de mission to Vietnam SEAG

THIS is the shot in the shot in the arm that Philippine volleyball needs.

international body’s executive board. “We are seeking clarification on our status. We are not being [derecognized] by the FIVB, that needs to be cleared,” he said. The FIVB requests for elections meant neither the LVPI, Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) nor any other domestic volleyball organization is recognized by the FIVB. “We will ask all volleyball stakeholders to cooperate and participate in the elections,” said

Tolentino after the POC Executive Board held its first meeting for 2021 at the East Ocean Garden Restaurant in Pasay City. Officials from the Philippine Super Liga and the PVF did not answer BusinessMirror’s calls and texted questions. Azevedo stressed in his December letter that the FIVB wanted a Philippine volleyball body to be formed before the congress. “We would also like to take this opportunity

to kindly ask you to schedule a date as soon as possible for these democratic elections with the participation of all relevant stakeholders,” wrote Azevedo, who also congratulated Tolentino for his election as POC head. “The FIVB request is urgent,” stressed Tolentino, adding the elections could either be in the third or fourth week of the month.

All-woman team from Palawan vies in professional chess league

By Annie Abad

HE Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) will launch its inaugural tournament online on January 16 with 24 teams participating including an all-woman squad

called the Palawan Queen’s Gambit. Although Palawan Queen’s Gambit is an all-female club, team captain Woman International Master (WIM) Mikee Charlene Suede said they can contend with the men in all disciplines of the sport.

“We are trained in blitz and rapid events so I know that our team will show a lot in this tournament,” Suede said in a video-linked press conference on Tuesday. “We know we can give the men a good fight. Joining Suede are WIMs Mikee Charlene Suede

and Marie Antoinette San Diego, Woman National Masters Carmelita Abanes and Cecila Quizon, Catherine Perenia-Secopito, Shania Mae Mendoza, Yanika Eli Seratubias and homegrown Mariefe de la Torre and Jesibel Mabarit. They are coached by Susan Grace Neri. PCAP founder and commissioner Atty. Paul Elauria said teams represent local government units but are sponsored by private individuals or companies. “This is the first government licensed chess league in the country,” said Elauria, referring to the Games and Amusements Board professional license which the association secured. The league will have three tournaments with the All-Filipino Cup kicking off the season. The other tournaments are the Reinforcement Conference and the Open Conference. The Reinforcement Conference

WOMAN International Master Mikee Charlene Suede leads Palawan Queen’s Gambit’s campaign.

allows teams to play imports while in the Open Conference will have the teams parading International Masters and Grandmasters.

Hectic sked for PHL baseball in 2021

HE Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (Paba) faces a hectic schedule this 2021 highlighted by a string of international tournaments that were derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Paba vice president Rodolfo “Boy” Tingzon told the online Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday that they are gearing up for the Women’s Baseball World Cup set March 1 to 9 in Tijuana, Mexico. Barring any further delay, the Philippine under-23 team is hoping to figure well in the prestigious event and improve on its world ranking of No. 15. “This is the best time for us to move up in the standings in the world. We can even break into the top 10,” said Tingzon, who was joined in the forum by Paba secretary-general Pepe Muñoz.

Tingzon said Paba is waiting for the gosignal from the Philippine Sports Commission for the team to plunge into bubble training in Laguna—either in Los Baños or Calamba. He said the players are committed to do bubble training until they leave for Mexico where they will face powerhouse teams like Japan, Chinese-Taipei, Canada, Mexico, United States, France, Australia, Dominican Republic and The Netherlands. “This is a world event,” added Tingzon in the webcast presented by San Miguel Corp., Go For Gold, Milo, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Muñoz said Paba is also ready to field teams to the men’s Asian Baseball Championship in October and the men’s

Cream of the crop Al Mendoza | alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL THE road has been paved. With 29 players from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) tapped by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) as candidates for inclusion to Gilas Pilipinas, the country is more than half-done in its mission to advance to the Fiba Asia Cup proper. In that roster are practically the best of the best from the PBA, virtually ensuring a Gilas win in the Fiba third window set February 18 to 22 at the Clark bubble in Pampanga. “We had very good discussions with the PBA and we were able to get the commitment of several PBA players who will be part of the batch coming into the bubble training on January 22,” SBP president Al Panlilio said in a statement. So there. While we practically sent college boys

in the November edition in Indonesia—and whose success gallantly brought us to our Clark appointment next month—it is also worth remembering that we first plunged to Fiba Asia Cup action with a Gilas squad beefed up by PBA players in Kiefer Ravena, RR Pogoy, Troy Rosario, CJ Perez, Poy Erram, Abu Traffer and Justin Chua. Now that we are about to wrap up a muchcoveted slot again in the regional wars, it is imperative that we assemble the cream of the crop no less. While it’s a given that South Korea remains, almost perennially, as our so-called Waterloo in basketball, they must never be given even a millimeter of a chance to defeat us. And yes, isn’t it almost next to impossible that we would yield the ghost to the Indonesians? For, in the Clark competition next month, all

HE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) named Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Commissioner Ramon Fernandez as the country’s chef de mission (CDM) to the Vietnam 31st Southeast Asian Games set from November 21 to December 2 in Hanoi. The POC, its President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said, confirmed Fernandez’s appointment during the organizaton’s executive board meeting on Tuesday at the East Ocean Garden Restaurant in Pasay City. The POC also appointed karatedo federation head Ricky Lim as CDM to the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games that were rescheduled from the original schedule of May 21 to 30 in Bangkok to January 2022. Wrestling’s Alvin Aguilar will be Lim’s deputy. “Smooth and fruitful,” Tolentino said of the POC’s first executive board meeting for 2021. “We appointed the CDMs and the heads of the POC’s various committees.” Tolentino said Fernandez would provide continuity of the harmonious relationship between the POC and PSC, whose chairman, William Ramirez, was CDM of the 30th SEA Games the country successfully hosted in 2019. “We want to again involve the PSC. After the chairman [Ramirez], it’s the commissioner now,” Tolentino said. “I feel humbled and it’s an honor to be chosen CDM. I hope I will be able to duplicate what Chairman Ramirez did in 2019,” said Fernandez as he expects the national athletes’ preparation to be tasking because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Atty. Edwin Gastanes (football), meanwhile, was reappointed secretary-general along with his deputies for administration Carl Sambrano (skateboarding) and national sports association affairs, government and athletes affairs Karen Caballero (sepaktakraw). The other appointees were golf’s Bones Floro (deputy secretary-general for international affairs), cycling’s Atty. Billy Sumagui (membership and accreditation), obstacle course race’s Atty. Alberto Agra (arbitration), rowing’s John Patrick Gregorio (ethics), basketball’s Al Panlilio (ways and means), triathlon’s Tom Carrasco (technical), bowling’s Bong Coo (women in sports), fencing and modern heptathlon’s Mayor Richard Gomez (constitution and by-laws revision) and kickboxing’s Atty Wharton Chan (legal). Josef Ramos youth 12-under, 15-under and 18-under tournaments. The 12-under and 18-under events were originally scheduled in 2020 but were moved due to the pandemic. “Now, they [international federation] are slating everything this year. But it will still depend on the progress of the vaccine. Unfortunately, there is no baseball in this year’s Southeast Asian Games [in Vietnam]. But even without the SEA Games, we’re going to be quite busy,” Muñoz told the forum powered by Smart and has Upstream as webcast partner. “But our primary concern is the women’s team to the World Cup,” Muñoz said. Muñoz said several softball players are now on the baseball team. “They don’t have enough [baseball] experience but if they perform well, we can be a contender. We’re happy that we’re in the World Cup,” he said. “Korea, which is No. 7 [world] and Hong Kong, at No. 10, will not be playing.” we need is one win from our three matches against South Korea (twice) and Indonesia (once) to get to the Fiba Asia Cup Finals in Jakarta in August. This came about after we had scored a 3-0 sweep in the Second Window in Bahrain late last year. We face South Korea on February 18 and February 22. In the unlikely event that we lose both games to the Koreans, that would mean nothing if we beat Indonesia on February 20. And listen up. To even entertain thoughts of Gilas bowing to Indonesia is like saying Joe Biden will not be inaugurated as America’s 46th president on January 20. We are leaving nothing to chance. And the surest way to do that is to spray the Gilas squad with PBA players. This time, developmental basketball must take the backseat. THAT’S IT There is a new wave of calls from Japanese citizens themselves for the Tokyo Olympics in July to be postponed due to Covid-19 concerns. This came amid preparations to expand a state of emergency in Japan’s prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo. Earlier, Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures were declared in a state of emergency due to another virus outbreak. Haay naku!