BusinessMirror July 05, 2021 by BusinessMirror

Exports pile up amid container shortage By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

W Light bottles that form the words “Climate Action Now” are spread at the Bonifacio High Street at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. A Liter of Light and the Embassy of Italy in Manila, with the Philippine Italian Association, organized the event called a Day of Climate Action featuring participative solar art, scheduled for lighting to coincide with the International Day of Cooperatives on July 4. NONIE REYES

ITH manufacturing output piling up, the majority of the Philippine exporters still find shipping their products across the sea—mostly to Western countries—an arduous task due to lack of vessel space. A recent survey by the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) showed that 81.6 percent of the exporters’ products are ready for outbound shipments but have remained pending amid container imbalances. Furthermore, the exporters identified the following as their top shipping challenges: lack of space on international shipping lines (90 percent), increased freight

rates (56.3 percent) and shortage of containers (45 percent). Over half of the exporters’ products are shipped weekly, 32.5 percent are delivered monthly and the remaining are quarterly shipments. Majority of these products go to the West, mainly in the United States and European countries. Nearly 100 companies participated in the Philexport survey, 84 percent of which are micro, small and medium enterprises. The respondents mostly belong to the food, housewares, furniture, holiday decor and giftware sectors. A previous survey with 65 respondents showed there were 30,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of pending cargo already, Philexport noted. These

include processed food, furniture, housewares and activated carbon. “As quarantine guidelines are eased globally and vaccination programs are successfully implemented, we project this volume will double or even triple, sizable enough for shipping lines to take notice,” Philexport President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. said in a recent statement. The survey, Philexport said, is its initiative in addressing the exporters’ logistics and supply chain woes. The poll was conducted in partnership with the Export Development Council (EDC) and logistics solutions provider Royal Cargo.

Exporters’ lament

The umbrella organization of exporters also detailed the amount

of cargo potentially pending amid vessel shortage for individual companies. Among the companies experiencing shipping woes is an exporter of banana chips, virgin coconut oil, coco flour and similar products. It regularly ships 500 TEUs of containers monthly to Asia and the Americas. A ceramics company exports about 30 forty-foot equivalent units (FEUs) of decorative earthenware monthly to the US and Europe. A forwarder of decorative items, furniture, handicrafts and dried foodstuff, meanwhile, delivers 100 TEUs monthly to Europe, the US, the United Kingdom, Australia, China and the United Arab Emirates. Continued on A2

5-MO NG BORROWINGS EXPAND 17% TO P1.77T

Monday, July 5, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 264

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PIVOT TO E-COMMERCE TO GROW ONLINE SALES OF FOOD, DRINKS BY 30% By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

ILIPINOS’ growing preference for e-commerce for their food supply needs will drive the sales of food and drink sold online this year to expand by 30 percent to reach a record-high of $280 million, according to a report. A Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report projected that food and drink ecommerce sales this year would increase by $64 million from last year’s $216 million. The Gain report pointed out that “major market share shifts” within the country’s food and beverage retail sector are continuing to “develop and solidify” as a consequence of the

A man watches a movie while on his hammock, unmindful of the smoke billowing from Taal Volcano, in Talisay, Batangas, on Sunday July 4, 2021. BERNARD TESTA

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE national government’s gross borrowings swelled by nearly 17 percent to P1.77 trillion in the first five months of the year as the government relied more on domestic sources for its financing. Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed this was higher than the combined gross external and domestic borrowings from January to May last year amounting to P1.51 trillion. Bulk of the gross borrowings

during the five-month period this year were sourced from domestic sources amounting to P1.51 trillion, higher by 31.23 percent from P1.15 trillion a year ago. Continued on A2

PESO exchange rates n US 49.0040

Covid-19 pandemic. The Gain report was prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila (USDAFAS Manila) One of the major shifts seen in the domestic industry is the rise of e-commerce as “companies are increasingly harnessing sales through online services offered from websites and mobile applications,” according to the report. “While consumers initially turned to E-commerce for continued access to products and as a safety measure against Covid-19, it is likely to remain an increasingly preferred option post-pandemic,” the report said. Continued on A2

NTF-Elcac to seek ₧47B for bgay devt, Phase 2 By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

HE government’s anti-insurgency task force will be requesting for P47 billion for the second round of its controversial barangay development program (BDP) next year. The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) is now eyeing to enroll an additional 2,368 barangays in its BDP. In an exclusive interview with the BusinessMirror, NTF-Elcac

BADOY: “The bigger problem is really poor governance. This terrorism of 52 years is a symptom of the absence of government in those areas.”

BDP Action Officer Monico Batle said of the said barangays, 962, were freed by the military from the control of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) from 2011 to 2015. The other 1,406 barangays were cleared from the communist rebels’ presence last year. “If this is approved by Congress and Senate, all of the cleared barangays from 2011 to the present will be covered [by the BDP],” Batle said. Under BDP, cleared former

strongholds of the CPP-NPA will each be given a P20 million subsidy to be used for the construction of any of the following: farmto-market roads; schools; health station; water, and sanitation system; and rural electrification and livelihood.

Funding release

Currently, owing to budget limitations, the program only has 822 enrolled barangays, which include those cleared from 2016 to 2019, Batle said. Continued on A4

n japan 0.4394 n UK 67.4589 n HK 6.3104 n CHINA 7.5741 n singapore 36.3343 n australia 36.5962 n EU 58.0746 n SAUDI arabia 13.0663

Source: BSP (July 2, 2021)

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A2 Monday, July 5, 2021

With ILO post, PHL eyes key role in global standard-setting

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

HE Philippines will now be taking the lead over the influential Government body of the International Labour Organization (ILO), giving it a key role in setting global standards.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) officially assumed the chairmanship of the ILO body last week, the DOLE an-

nounced on Sunday. Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III hailed the development, especially since

Philippines is the first non-regular member country of the ILO to assume such role. “We will also exercise pivotal role in helping the ILO achieve full, equal, and more democratic participation of its small, non-regular members in setting policies and programs,” Bello said. As chairman of the Government group of ILO, it will be responsible for convening and chairing the Group meetings during and outside ILO official meetings and facilitating negotiation for a common position, thus contributing to reaching consensus. DOLE’s International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) Director Alice Visperas said the country will turn

over the chairmanship of the government body on June 28, 2022. The ILO has three bodies in its tripartite governing board representing labor, employers and the government sector. It comprises 56 titular members (28 Governments, 14 Employers, and 14 Workers) and 66 deputy members (28 Governments, 19 Employers, and 19 Workers). The powers of the governing body includes deciding on ILO policy, setting the agenda of the International Labor Conference, adopting the draft Programme and Budget of the Organization for submission to the Conference, and electing the Director-General.

PIVOT TO E-COMMERCE TO GROW ONLINE SALES OF FOOD, DRINKS BY 30% Continued from A1

“While still only accounting for a miniscule portion of the market, E-commerce of food and beverages increased 210 percent last year, and Post [USDA-FAS Manila] estimates 30 percent growth in 2021,” the report added. Citing data from Euromonitor International, the USDA-FAS Manila said food and drink e-commerce in the Philippines more than tripled to $216 million last year

from $70 million in 2019. The report noted that some of the websites and mobile applications that Filipinos use for buying their food supply online are Lazada, Shopee, GrabMart, and Metromart as well as community groups in Viber, Facebook Messenger and Telegram. Another major market shift in the domestic food and beverage industry pointed out by the USDAFAS Manila is the Filipinos’s grow-

ing preference for hypermarkets, convenience stores, warehouse clubs and supermarkets over traditional retailers, which are mostly sari-sari stores, due to stable supply, safety and convenience. “Specifically, FAS Manila sees hypermarkets, convenience stores, warehouse clubs, and supermarkets all growing at a double-digit pace and more than offsetting further expected declines in traditional

retail,” it said. The Gain report explained that traditional retailers “have struggled mightily under Covid-19” due to supply chain problems and reduction in foot traffic. Worse, Filipino consumers have shifted habits. “Traditional retailers historically offered an advantage by covering both cities and remote areas, though consumer habits have shifted away from them in favor of options offering more dependable supply, safety, and convenience,” it added. The Gain report said Filipino consumers “continue to pantryload to avoid frequent visits to buy groceries while some concerns of supply shortages in particular products persist.” The Gain report added that food and beverage retailers are “increasingly offering premium selections to satisfy consumer demand” as Filipino consumers continue to avoid and/or be restricted from enjoying food services like dine-in. The Gain report also noted that home cooking and baking remain popular during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Gain report added that modern retailers continue to expand in new areas and cities and provinces while providing extended delivery services, personal shoppers as well as offering more payment channels, which are mostly online. “Meanwhile, some retailers, especially convenience stores located nearby offices and schools, have continued to experience a decline in sales from ongoing Covid-19 restrictions,” it said. Overall, the USDA-FAS Manila projected that total food and beverage retail sales this year would grow by 10 percent to $28.6 billion from $26 billion last year. “With the continued plight of the food service sector, retail sales are expected to remain strong,” it said.

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5-MO NG BORROWINGS EXPAND 17% TO P1.77T Continued from A1

Of all the local sources, the government secured the biggest amount through short-term-borrowings from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), at P540 billion. The government also borrowed P463.3 billion through Retail Treasury Bonds and Premyo Bonds, P389 billion through fixed-rate Treasury Bonds, and P120.3 billion through Treasury Bills. Meanwhile, gross external borrowings from January to May this year shrank by 29 percent to P253.04 billion from last year’s 356.64 billion. Almost half of the financing that the government secured from foreign sources came from its issuance of its first-ever triple-tranche euro-denominated global bonds which allowed it to raise P121.97 billion. Aside from this, the government also secured financing through program loans (P72.12 billion), project loans (P34.76 billion) and its first-ever zero-coupon yen-denominated Samurai bonds (P24.19 billion). For May alone, gross borrowings of the national government plunged by 61.29 percent to P112.19 billion from P289.82 billion in the same month in 2020. The government borrowed less from both domestic

Exports pile up amid container shortage Continued from A1

Weekly, a company sends 40 high-cube containers of holiday décor, tabletops, dolls, and giftware each week to the US, Europe and Oceania. A mattress manufacturer said it exports approximately 120 FEUs monthly to the US. Another company ships out 85 full container loads of tropical fruit preserves, frozen fruits and vegetables, bagoong, dried and smoked fish and consolidated fast-moving consumer goods on a weekly basis. The export destinations include North America, Middle East, European Union, the UK, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. “With our huge export market in these regions, it is reasonable to foresee that the export industry will incur huge losses if this issue goes unresolved,” Philexport warned. A food and beverage company, meanwhile, said its products are “ageing in the warehouse” as shipment delays take two or more months. Before, the firm said it could load stocks one to two days after production. In addition, the same manufacturer said that freight rates nearly tripled or quadrupled and securing vessel space for US, Middle East and Canada routes is challenging.

Alona Beach…

‘No swimming’

Separately, information received by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat from the Bohol provincial government and shared with the BusinessMirror said, “The closure came about as an offshoot of the meeting with DENR-EMB and LGU Panglao. EMB recommended closing the Alona beach area for swimming (day and night) when they collected samples [because] there were picnickers/night swimmers in tents, and [there was no] CR so probably, their waste [were] directly discharged [to the sea] which may have contributed to the high count of fecal coliform in the sampling sites. Mayor [Leonila] Montero acted on the recommendation of the EMB, and thus the Notice PA, though the

and external sources during the period. Gross domestic borrowings in May dropped by 38.78 percent to P104.4 billion this year from last year’s P170.51 billion. On the other hand, gross external borrowings in the same period plummeted by 93.47 percent to P7.79 billion from P119.3 billion in May 2020. For this year, the national government has set a P3.1-trillion borrowing program, of which around 75 percent is expected to be raised through domestic sources. The national government’s total outstanding debt continued to swell to a fresh record high of P10.991 trillion in April this year as the country resorts to more borrowings to finance its pandemic response. This was up by 2 percent from P10.77 trillion reported at the end of the year’s first quarter and it was also a 27.8-percent jump from P8.6 trillion of end-April last year. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has said the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio this year is expected to reach 58.7 percent. This is below the 60-percent international threshold but higher than the country’s 14-year-high debt-toGDP ratio last year at P54.6 percent.

Continued from A10

LGU [clarified that] only swimming is not allowed for two weeks. Restaurants and bars are open.” In his letter, Leonides prohibited “picnicking, swimming or engaging in any sea-related activities along the shoreline of Alona Beach” during the closure period. He said diving, snorkeling, fishing “beyond 200 meters from the shoreline” may continue, along with the continued operation of restaurants and bars as well as as accommodation facilities along the beach. “We strongly encourage you to offer and bring your guests to other areas of the municipality like in Libaong, Bolod, Doljo, Tangnan, Balicasag, and in Momo beach,” he added. From January to June 2021, visitor arrivals on Panglao Island reached

Cooperation

In a recent dialogue before the release of the survey, EDC Networking Committee on Transport and Logistics Enrico L. Basilio, Philexport Assistant Vice President Ma. Flordeliza Leong and Royal Cargo CEO Michael Kurt Raeubur highlighted the importance of public-private sector cooperation in resolving the shipping and logistics concerns. The mentioned parties said that “cargo volumes are expected to further expand as the peak season approaches, and are forecast to rebound once the pandemic subsides.” Philexport, along with the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and domestic ship owners, recently participated also in an online discussion held by the EDC to tackle the unavailability of vessel space. “Among the recommendations, to be presented to the appropriate agencies, is to encourage domestic ship owners to operate within the region to expand vessel capacity,” the exporters’ group noted previously. The BusinessMirror earlier broke the news about shipment delays—which started in the latter part of last year—due to shortage of vessels amid container imbalances. This situation is seen resulting in revenue losses on the part of the export industry. 11,980, a fall of some 76.6 percent from the same period in 2020. Of total guest arrivals in the first half of the year, 11,754 were domestic travelers, and 226 were foreigners, as per data from DOT-Region 7. This is not the first time high coliform levels were recorded in Alona Beach and the waters surrounding Panglao Island. A swimming ban was imposed in Panglao in November 2018 by the interagency task force composed of the heads of the DENR, Department of the Interior and Local Government and Department of Tourism, but was lifted just two days later. (See, Swimming ban slapped on 2 Panglao, El Nido sites,” November 30, 2018.) In an earlier press conference, Gov. Yap said the infrastructure activities to rehabilitate Panglao Island, including the construction of STPs, were put on hold due to Covid-19.

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, July 5, 2021 A3

Govt measures vs Covid may help PHL meet SDGs By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

OVERNMENT efforts to stem the Covid-19 pandemic may serve a double purpose as it can also help the Philippines meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua told the BusinessMirror over the weekend that the government’s efforts to address Covid-19 can also help attain the SDGs. The government earlier disclosed that its Covid-19 response included the social amelioration program funded by the Bayanihan 1 and Bayanihan 2 laws, as well as the passage of legislations such as the Create (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises, or Republic Act 11534) to reduce income tax payments of firms, among others. However, the ADB said more needs to be done to meet the SDGs. The Manila-based multilateral development bank is proposing the use of

a new kind of SDG bond. “The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the momentum for sustainable and equitable growth in most of developing Asia and many countries are at risk of not meeting their SDG targets in climate resilience, gender equality and human development,” ADB Vice President Ahmed M. Saeed said. “For countries looking to fund sustainable projects and programs on a large scale, capital markets represent an underused but viable mechanism to bring in SDG investments,” Saeed added. The ADB said the SDG Accelerator Bond could help countries reduce the perceived investment risk posed by an issuing entity, sector or project with no track record on bond issuance. The new bond, the ADB said, proposes to combine exit guarantees and other credit enhancement structures with incentives to help countries meet SDG targets.

Bonds

SOUTHEAST Asian countries have issued a record $12 billion in green,

social, and sustainability bonds in 2020. However, their financing needs have only grown amid the Covid-19 pandemic. These include Philippine institutions such as Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., which launched P8billion and $300-million worth of SDG bonds in June and September 2019, respectively. The BPI also issued the first peso-denominated social bond worth P2.1 billion in August 2020; the Development Bank of the Philippines, P18.125 billion in November 2019; and, the Manila Water Co. Inc., which issued 500 million euros worth of Sustainability Notes in July last year. The ADB said, however, that the SDG Accelerator Bond builds on global best practices in project finance and aims to standardize the risk-return structure to ensure investor appetite and help local governments and new state-owned entities access funds. The framework would allow variations in fund structure among countries and issuers of the accelerator bond or other SDG bonds.

Performance

ACCORDING to a report released by the ADB, the Philippines is on track to meet two of the 17 SDGs. The country ranked 99th out of 166 countries in terms of its efforts to meet its SDG commitments. It received a score of only 65.5 percent in the index. The report noted that the country is on track to meet only SDG 1 on eradicating poverty. Still, major challenges “still persist” in meeting SDG 1 and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Based on the report, the Philippines’s performance in meeting the goals is decreasing or regressing in SDG 4 (on quality education) where challenges remain and SDG 15 (“Life on Land”) where significant challenges remain. The country’s performance is stagnating in SDG 5 (on gender equality); SDG 7 (on affordable and clean energy); and, SDG 11 (on Sustainable Cities and Communities). The progress is also stagnating in SDG 14 (on Life Below Water) and SDG 17 (on partnerships); significant challenges also remain in meeting these goals.

Commitments

HOWEVER, ADB data showed the country’s progress is moderately increasing in SDG 2 (on zero hunger); SDG 3 (on good health and well-being); and, SDG 9 (on industry, innovation and infrastructure). The country’s progress is also moderately increasing in SDG 6 (on clean water and sanitation) and SDG 8 (on decent work and economic growth). ADB data also showed there is no data available to determine the country’s progress in SDG 10 (on reducing inequalities) and in SDG 12 (on responsible consumption and production). Around 193 United Nation-member countries committed to meet the SDGs by the year 2030. The SDGs were adopted in September 2015.

Requirements

IN an earlier presentation, ADB Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department Director General and Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada said the Asia and the Pacific region’s annual investment requirements to meet the SDGs between

C-130 crash claims lives of 17 military personnel

EVENTEEN military personnel were reported killed while 40 others were injured after a Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-130 plane and burst into flame after crashing at the airport in Jolo, Sulu, last Sunday. PAF Spokesman Lt. Col. Maynard Mariano released a brief but sketchy report about the mishap. However, the reportdidn’tprovideinformationabout the fate of each personnel onboard. The crash was PAF’s second in less than two weeks after a newlyacquired S70i Blackhawk helicopter went down while on a night-proficiency training in Tarlac late last month. That incident led to the loss of life of six air crew, which included three junior officers. Department of National Defense Spokesman Arsenio R. Andolong quoted Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana as saying that the C-130 plane “crashed while landing at the Jolo airport at noon” on July 4.

Runway missed

LORENZANA said that, based on the initial report, the aircraft was carrying 92 personnel, including three pilots and five crew. The rest were Army personnel who were “reporting for duty.” “So far, 40 wounded and injured were rescued and 17 bodies recovered; rescue and recovery is ongoing,” Lorenzana said. In a brief statement, the PAF said the plane, with tail number 5125, “figured in a mishap upon landing in Jolo.” The aircraft “took off from CJVAB (Villamor Air Base) [and flew] to Lumbia Airport (Cagayan de Oro) and subsequently ferried personnel to Jolo.” “Rescue efforts are ongoing, details will follow soonest,” the PAF said. General Cirilito E. Sobejana, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, hinted that the aircraft

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

Fine weather

Govt urged to use unspent Bayanihan fund to help poor HE Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has called on the government to use the unspent Bayanihan fund to help the poor ‘get back on their feet’. According to Pamalakaya, the P18 billion under Bayanihan 2 is crucial for poor Filipinos in the face of the continuing economic crisis brought about by the pandemic and what it calls “insufficient” government response. The group criticized not only government’s “snail-paced implementation of pandemic response program” but also that a huge chunk of its funds

Coast Guard ejects foreign vessels on Palawan waters

caught fire after it crashed at the airport at around 11:30 a.m. “Very unfortunate; not so happy Sunday,” Sobejana told reporters adding that at 11:30 a.m., “while transporting our troops from Cagayan de Oro,” the C-130 missed the runway trying to regain power and crashed at Barangay Bangkal, Patikul, Sulu. A REPORT from The Associated Press said that initial pictures showed that the weather was apparently fine in Sulu although other parts of the Philippines were experiencing rains due to an approaching tropical depression. The airport in Sulu’s main town of Jolo is located a few kilometers from a mountainous area where troops have battled the Abu Sayyaf. Some militants have aligned themselves with the Islamic State group. An air force official told The Associated Press that the Jolo runway is shorter than most others in the country, making it more difficult for pilots to adjust if an aircraft misses the landing spot. The official, who has flown military aircraft to and from Jolo several times, spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to speak publicly. The United States and the Philippines have separately blacklisted the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization for bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings. It has been considerably weakened by years of government offensives but remains a threat. “We are doing our best effort to rescue the passengers; our ground commander is already there, General (William) Gonzales, doing his best effort to have the fire stopped and safely rescue the passenger,” Sobejana said in a statement issued earlier than Lorenzana’s. Rene Acosta

was left unspent and lapsed to the expiry of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act last June 30. “The unspent funds of the Bayanihan 2 are a reflection not only of government’s incompetence but also its abandonment of responsibility to the Filipinos amid a crisis, which is tantamount to criminal negligence,” Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya National Chairperson was quoted in a statement as saying. “This is both infuriating and disheartening given the fact that assisting the poor Filipinos in these hard times is the primary responsibility of the government.” Jonathan L. Mayuga

2016 and 2030 could reach $1.5 billion annually or four percent of the region’s gross domestic product. This amount is staggering, especially if only governments and multilateral institutions will be working together to pool the funds. Sawada said private green and social financing for the SDGs would go a long way. Globally, Sawada said, green and social finance have grown rapidly driven by factors such as changing shareholder preferences; hedging and mitigating sustainability risks; and greater resilience under shocks. Green bonds are a part of “green financing” initiatives. Sawada said Asian green bond issuers improved their environmental scores after issuing green bonds by as much as 17 percent a year after issuance and 30 percent two years after issuance. In terms of social impact bonds, Sawada said, has also improved various sectors including the education of girls in India. These social impact bonds allow private investment to share the risk of green and social investments with the public sector.

QUOTE ON COURT

This July 4, 2021, photo shows an artwork on a basketball court at the Bagong Lipunan residential compound at Barangay Western Bicutan in Taguig City. The artwork bears the government’s slogan “We Heal as One” in its campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic. The local government of Taguig City said it commissioned visual artists to render the artwork to serve as a reminder for people to act in unison as the number of Filipinos infected with the virus that originated from Wuhan, China, continues to increase. ROY DOMINGO

SC imposes fine on Philja exec in poll-protest case By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

HE Supreme Court has imposed a fine against an officer of the Philippine Judicial Academy (Philja) for allowing the distribution of pamphlets to the offices of the magistrates that tend to influence the outcome of the election protest filed by losing vice presidential candidate and former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. In an 8-page decision penned by Associate Justice Marvic MVF Leonen, and made public on July 2, 2021, the Court en banc declared that Chief Judicial Staff Officer Luningning R. Marin of the Philja-Office of the Chancellor is found guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service. “This Court has repeatedly cautioned its employees to always act ‘with propriety and decorum but, above all else, must be above and beyond suspicion,” the SC said. “Marin failed to be circumspect in balancing her personal dealing with a friend and her commitment to protect this institution,” the High Tribunal added. “Her failure to prudently act may impair this Court’s image, cast doubt on the impartiality of the justices, and ultimately undermine the public’s trust in the judiciary.”

The administrative matter stemmed from the August 9, 2019, memorandum issued by the Office of Administrative Services (OAS), which recommended that Marin be penalized for allowing two individuals Arifa Macacua Jamil and Zeus Alonzo to enter the SC’s building in Padre Faura, Manila. Marin allegedly accompanied Jamil and Alonzo in distributing envelopes containing a 39-page pamphlet titled “The Election Protest of Bongbong Marcos, a Simplified Illustration as of May 2019” to the Justices’ offices on July 1, 2019. The pamphlet advocated for a ruling in favor of Marcos in his election protest then pending before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal against Vice President Leni Robredo. In explaining her side, Marin narrated that on the day of the incident, Edgar G. Rozon, son of her friend and former colleague Soledad G. Rozon, called asking to see her as he was “going to file or distribute something” in this Court. Having known him since he was a child, Marin said she trusted him. In Rozon’s stead, Jamil and Alonzo arrived, introducing themselves as his co-workers. Marin admitted knowing that Edgar and his mother worked for the former senator, but did not give it much attention.

She said she helped Jamil and Alonzo pass through the guards and accompanied them to the offices of the Justices. However, the OAS found her liable for conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and fined with P3,000. It held that having no knowledge of the envelope’s contents does not free her from charges, noting that meeting strangers instead of her friend should have put her on guard. Instead of inquiring what their business was, the OAS pointed out that Marin even spoke to the guards on their behalf in order to be able to get into the SC building. Under the 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service is a grave offense punishable by suspension of six months and one day to one year on the first offense and dismissal from service on the second. The 2017 Rules, however, grants the disciplining authority the discretion to consider mitigating circumstances in imposing the penalty. Thus, while the Court upheld the OAS finding, it extended some leniency on Marin and imposed the penalty of fine of P1,000 with a stern warning that a repetition of the same offense will be dealt with more severely.

PATROLLING ship from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) turned away seven Chinese and Vietnamese fishing vessels while they were inside the water of Palawan a week ago. A belated report from the PCG on Sunday said the Coast Guard’s BRP Cabra dispersed five Chinese and two Vietnamese fishing vessels from the waters of the Marie Louise Bank on June 30. According to a statement released by PCG Spokesman Commodore Armand Balilo, the Marie Louise Bank is located 147 nautical miles from El Nido, Palawan. Balilo said the seven ships were monitored and identified through the radar and automatic identification system (AIS). “Said PCG vessel utilized Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) to conduct radio challenge to said vessels in accordance with the PCG Manual on Rules on the Use of Force within the Philippines’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),” he added. The dispersal of the foreign ships was reported in the aftermath of the week-long antiterrorism and piracy training by the Coast Guard in the waters of Western Mindanao, the PCG said. The training followed the 10day maritime exercises also by the Coast Guard in the waters of Kalayaan Island Group and West Philippine Sea, including Scarborough Shoal in later April this year. The challenge and successful dispersal of the Chinese and Vietnamese fishing boats were the second incident for the PCG, which also drove away seven Chinese maritime militia vessels at the Escoda Shoal in April during a maritime training. Balilo said that after the successful challenge by BRP Cabra of the foreign vessels near El Nido, the PCG ship and its personnel went on to check the condition of 34 Filipino fishermen aboard F/B Xiroxira from San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. The fishing vessel was also monitored by the PCG in the waters of the Marie Louise Bank. “The Filipino fishermen said they were able to conduct normal fishing operations in the past two weeks without any untoward incidents at sea,” Balilo said.

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A4 Monday, July 5, 2021

Labor separation rate hits highest level in a decade By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

OCKDOWN measures imposed to contain the pandemic have caused the labor separation rate in Metro Manila to hit its highest level in at least a decade, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed. Based on the PSA’s labor turnover statistics (LTS), the separation rate surged 12 percent in the second quarter of 2020. The last time the separation rate was in double digit was in the first quarter of 2010 at 11.11 percent. Separation from companies includes both terminations and resignations. Majority (84.9 percent) of separations were resignations or employee-initiated. Some of the reasons cited by employees were: being hired by another company; personal issues; family considerations; and, the pandemic. For those who were terminated, the PSA said the majority (65.8 percent) of these workers were temporarily let go or placed on floating status due to the pandemic. “The main reasons cited by employers for ending the services of their workers were due to their current business conditions,” the PSA said. “Other reasons for termination were project completion and/or

end of contract and retrenchment and/or downsizing with 12.4 percent and 10.2 percent of the separated workers, respectively,” PSA documents read. The PSA said employers laid-off about 3.1 percent of workers as a management prerogative towards disciplinary action. The employers, PSA said, also cited the following for employee termination last year: health reasons; failure to meet the standards of the agency and/or establishment; and, failure rating on performance. “The following were the behavior of workers that led to termination: absence without leave, or AWOL; serious misconduct or willful disobedience; gross and habitual neglect of duties; fraud or willful breach of trust; and, commission of crime or offense,” PSA said. Further, more than half of all establishments adopted alternative work arrangements to cope with the effects of the pandemic. The reason for adopting these work arrangements included a decline in sales and/or revenue, which accounted for 16.9 percent of the total responses. The data also revealed other reasons were: temporary closures and cease of operation; financial and/or income loss; lack of manpower due to restrictions; and, the decrease in client and/or customer.

“Other consequences suffered by establishments included limited transactions, difficulty in collection, lack of production, and lack of business opportunity,” PSA said.

Accessions, vacancies

AS a result of the record increase in separations, the LTS contracted 7.6 percent in the second quarter of 2020. This after the labor force already posted a contraction of 1.4 percent in the first quarter last year. Accession rates, which refer to permanent or temporary additions to employment in businesses, were still positive and posted a growth of 4.4 percent in the second quarter last year. However, this was less than half the growth posted in the first quarter pegged at 9.3 percent and in the second quarter of 2019 at 9.5 percent. “As the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic surged in the second quarter of 2020, employment in establishments with 20 or more workers located in NCR [National Capital Region] continued to decline by 7.6 percent,” PSA said. “This rate can be translated to a reduction of 76 workers for every 1,000 persons employed in establishments during the period,” it added. Meanwhile, the LTS data also showed that in the second quarter last year, there were 63,888 exist-

ing job openings for various occupational groups across industries. These vacancies were mostly found in the services sector which accounted for 91.3 percent of the total during the reference period. The PSA said the rest of the vacancies were in the industry sector, 8.6 percent, and in the agriculture sector, 0.1 percent. Across occupational groups, data showed about two-thirds of the total job vacancies were available for clerical support workers and professional workers. The other job openings include technicians and associate professionals; managers; crafts and related trades; Plant and machine operators and assemblers; sales and service workers; and a few elementary occupations and skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers. The LTS was conducted semiannually covering two-quarter information from the establishments based in the National Capital Region (NCR). A total of 1,206 establishments served as respondents in the conduct of the 2020 LTS. For the first-quarter and second-quarter rounds, information on the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the day-to-day operation of the establishments and the coping mechanisms they employed to address the identified effects were gathered.

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Consultant: Pinoys soon deployed to Saudi Arabia By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

ROUND 5,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may soon be deployed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), according to recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani. Geslani said this was the estimated number of OFWs whose documents were left pending after the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) ordered the suspension of the verification process and accreditation of new principals in KSA. “The action of the [Labor] Secretary [Silvestre H.] Bello [III] will allow more than 5,000 workers to be processed by the POEA upon receipt of the documents verified from the labor attaches and to be accredited by the POEA,” Geslani was quoted in a statement he issued last Sunday. Among those to benefit from the new issuance are professionals, maintenance workers like plumbers carpenters, electricians and similar skilled OFWs and household service workers, according to Geslani. Last Tuesday, Bello issued a memorandum expanding the exemption for the suspension in the accreditation of new principals to include new principals. Bello, however, said the suspension will still apply

for the following: renewal of accreditation for erring principals; processing of new and additional job orders for construction; and, “mega” recruitment companies. In a phone interview, International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) Director Alice Q. Visperas told the BusinessMirror the restriction were implemented amid reports of the increasing welfare cases of OFWs in KSA, which were not being addressed by the concerned recruitment agency and principal. Visperas also noted the measure aims to limit the number of OFWS in the “mega” recruitment agencies and construction companies in KSA, where they may have a higher chance of being infected with the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) from being confined with other workers. “The restriction was eased based on the recommendations of our labor attaches in the Middle East,” the labor official told the BusinessMirror. To recall, the POEA, which is chaired by Bello, imposed the partial lifting of the suspension of verification of employment documents of OFWs in the KSA last October 2020 allowing the deployment of 50 percent of the usual volume of OFWs bound for the Arab country. At the time, the accreditation of new principals remained suspended.

DFA: Policies working vs trafficking in persons Free annual medical checkup nears fruition By Recto Mercene @rectomercene

HE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) lauded the recognition of Philippine efforts towards the elimination of human trafficking, as the country maintained its Tier-1 status in the 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report released by the US Department of State last July 2. “Maintaining our Tier 1 status validates the whole-of-government efforts of the DFA and other IACAT [Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking] member-agencies as well as affirms the procedures in place in support of interagency coordination towards the provision of

appropriate and timely services to our kababayan [compatriots] who are victims of trafficking,” Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola said. The report states that the Philippine government “fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking” and that it demonstrates “serious and sustained efforts” during the reporting period. The report also noted the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the government’s anti-trafficking capacity but that it still managed to sustain its efforts and remain on Tier 1. It recognized the prosecution of more traffickers than the previous reporting period, the increase in

the number of prosecutors assigned to anti-trafficking task forces and the number of staff to its antitrafficking coordination body, the opening of a specialized shelter and one-stop service center in Manila and providing assistance to more than a thousand victims. Moreover, the report also captured the DFA’s allocation of P1 billion ($20.76 million) for its Assistance to Nationals Fund (ATN). The fund was used to cover airfare, meal allowance, shelter, medical care and other needs of distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). It also noted the DFA’s Legal Assistance Fund (LAF) with an annual allocation of P200 million ($4.15 million).

The US State Department also took note of the DFA providing assistance to some 2,575 potential victims of human trafficking in 2020, “a significant decrease” compared to previous cases totaling 3,581 victims of trafficking and 4,479 victims of illegal recruitment. The DFA was also reported assisting in the repatriation of 327,511 Filipino workers who had lost their jobs or had not been paid wages as a result of the pandemic. “Proof of our commitment to combat TIP is our action in Syria,” Arriola added. “Maintaining our Tier 1 status in this report somehow tells us that we are on the right track and we are in the right.”

NTF-Elcac to seek ₧47B for bgay devt, Phase 2 continued from a1

As of last Friday, he said 812 of these barangays already have their proposed BDP project approved and were already given the necessary funding for it. Of the P16.44-billion BDP budget this year, P16.24 billion were already disbursed to the concerned beneficiary. The bulk or P11.6 billion of the released budget were allocated for farmto-market roads. NTF-Elcac spokesperson and Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Lorraine Marie Badoy said farm-to-market roads are the most requested BDP project since these allow isolated barangays to access government services as well as potential markets for their goods. “So it is going to make their lives so much easier. Terrorists know this so it will explain why they usually burn equipment for building of roads and bridges,” Badoy explained.

Pending projects

BATLE said 95 percent of the approved projects are still undergoing bidding since the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) only started releasing the BDP funding last April. “We expect the said projects to jumpstart by the third quarter of the year,” Batle said. The NTF-Elcac official said they are

closely monitoring the progress of the projects since this could “make or break” their budget proposal for the 2022 National Expenditure Program. The BDP is currently under scrutiny after some lawmakers alleged it is being used as pork barrel of some military generals. Badoy belied the allegation, stressing the BDP fund is held by DBM and directly released to the concerned local government unit (LGU). “They could follow the money trail if they want to. We could also provide them the necessary supporting documents,” Badoy added. She said they have a dedicated website where the public can monitor the progress of BDP implementation in real time.

Institutionalized program

BADOY said they want the BDP to be institutionalized through a new legislation, asserting that it could help end the over half a century of communist insurgency in the country. “The bigger problem is really poor governance. This terrorism of 52 years is a symptom of the absence of government in those areas,” Badoy said. “I think that if we will not be able to sustain [the BDP], the insurgency and terrorists will return in those areas,” she added.

Every Filipino should be entitled to this medical service to ensure that the goal of the Universal Health Care (UHC) law of equitable access to quality health care is fulfilled.

BM Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

LL Filipinos may soon be able to receive an annual medical checkup for free under a bill recently approved on third and final reading by the House of Representatives. This was expressed by Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte, one of the principal authors of House Bill (HB) 9072, or the proposed Free Annual Medical Check-up Act. Villafuerte said the measure provides that the annual medical checkup be given free of charge in any government hospital and institution. “Every Filipino should be entitled to this medical service to ensure that the goal of the Universal Health Care (UHC) law of equitable access to quality health care is fulfilled,” the lawmaker added. HB 9072, a substitute bill, was passed by the House before Congress’s sine die adjournment. The bill has already been transmitted to the Senate. Under the bill, all Filipino citizens, by virtue of their membership in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), shall be entitled to the applicable benefits under a Philippine Health Insurance Program. PhilHealth membership is automatic under the UHC law. The free checkup shall include blood sugar and cholesterol tests and can be expanded to include other laboratory tests subject to the availability of PhilHealth funds, accord-

ing to the bill. “To promote health, identify risks, and ensure early diagnosis, PhilHealth shall establish a system that allows access to a free annual medical check-up and ensure that Filipinos shall be accorded the quality health care services that they deserve,” the bill states. The amount necessary for the implementation of the free medical checkup program shall be charged against the PhilHealth funds. The Department of Health (DOH) shall, in coordination with PhilHealth, promulgate the necessary rules and regulations of this bill, also known as the “Free Annual Medical Check-up Act,” the bill states. Villafuerte earlier welcomed the House’s final approval of a legislative proposal on the establishment of a Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), which has become even more urgent with the increasing Covid-19 cases. The House recently approved on third and final reading HB 8999, or the proposed “Medical Reserve Corps Act.” Villafuerte was also one of the primary authors of the consolidated measure. Under the bill, the MRC, which would be under the supervision of the DOH, shall be composed of the following: licensed physicians, including those who are no longer practicing in the hospital setting; licensed allied professionals; and, medical students who have completed four years of medical course, graduates of medicine as well as registered nurses.

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

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Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Monday, July 5, 2021 A5

Distribution of farm equipment delayed anew

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

OME rice farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs), particularly those in coastal areas, may have to wait a few more months for their free farm equipment from the government, as distribution has been delayed anew.

For the second time in a row, the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) missed its target date for completing the distribution of the farm equipment. The attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) failed to complete by April the delivery of all farm equipment financed by the

2019 and 2020 rice competitiveness enhancement fund (RCEF). PhilMech had assured beneficiaries of the mechanization program that the machines pending under the 2019 RCEF would be distributed before the end of 2020 and that the delivery of equipment funded by the 2020 RCEF would be completed by the first quarter of this year.

Under the six-year RCEF, which started in 2019, PhilMech shall receive half of the P10-billion total fund annually for the distribution of free equipment to rice farmers’ cooperatives and associations. As of June 28, PhilMech has distributed 6,253 units or 79 percent of its 7,912 procured equipment under the 2019 program while it has delivered 69 percent or 5,445 units of the 7,926 units procured using the 2020 funds, based on data disclosed by the agency. PhilMech said the inability of local manufacturers to deliver local technologies as well as Covid-19-pandemic related mobility restrictions caused the delays in the distribution of the free equipment. The agency said the remaining units that have not been distributed are those bound for beneficiaries in coastal municipalities and provinces. It said suppliers are having difficulties delivering the equipment to

target beneficiaries due to the lack of ferries and domestic port congestion as well as the stringent Covid-19 quarantine rules of some provinces. Given these concerns, PhilMech said it extended the deadline of affected suppliers by 30 to 45 days. However, the agency said the suppliers will be liable for liquidated damages if they fail to deliver the equipment before the end of July. Section 68 of the implementing rules and regulations of the Government Procurement Reform Act states that the amount of liquidated damages shall be at least equal to one-tenth of one percent (0.001) of the cost of the unperformed portion for every day of delay. “Once the cumulative amount of liquidated damages reaches ten percent (10%) of the amount of the contract, the Procuring Entity may rescind or terminate the contract, without prejudice to other courses of

action and remedies available under the circumstances,” it read. PhilMech said it will complete the delivery of all the pending units for the 2019 and 2020 RCEF mechanization component by the third quarter. Based on documents provided by PhilMech, 1,694 FCAs and local government units (LGUs) were included in the final list of beneficiaries for the 2019 fund while 2,081 FCAs and LGU beneficiaries were covered by the 2020 fund. The FCAs and LGUs are from 947 municipalities in 57 rice-producing provinces. The BusinessMirror broke the story that PhilMech, as of March 21, was only able to deliver 50 percent of its machine distribution target using its 2019 and 2020 RCEF funds. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/03/29/ philmech-farm-machine-distribution-hits-50-of-goal/) As for equipment that will be procured using the 2021 allocation,

PhilMech said it has completed the validation and shortlisting of the 1,694 FCA-beneficiaries and has started the bidding for the procurement of 4,921 farm technologies. PhilMech said it is “hopeful” that the delivery of the machines bankrolled by the 2021 fund would start within the next 120 days. The mechanization component of the RCEF program seeks to reduce the average production of rice by P2 to P3 per kilogram and slash farmers’ postharvest losses by 3 percent to 5 percent by the end of the six-year program. Industry players and experts said the machinery distribution tack is perhaps one of the most aggressive and comprehensive rice mechanization programs the government is pursuing. (Read this Broader Look piece:https://businessmirror.com. ph/2021/01/07/mechanizationmoves-agriculture-sector-slowbut-sure-to-modern-farming/).

DLI bolsters farm-to-community efforts Tesda, Nestlé start training program for Bukidnon coffee planters to aid in recovery of Davao’s workforce By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

HE Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) has started training a total of 50 coffee farmers on Coffee Production Level II in Bukidnon Integrated Coffee Center (BICC) in Dalwangan, Malaybalay City. Tesda Secretar y Isidro Lapeña said the free training is part of the agency’s partnership with Nestlé Philippines under a memorandum of agreement they signed last May 9. “This is why Tesda and Nestlé Philippines are joining hands to

DAMOSA Land strives to support small-scale farmers by providing them an avenue to directly sell their farm-fresh produce to the community. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

N an effort to help Davao and its people recover from the effects of the pandemic, Damosa Land Inc. (DLI), through its corporate social responsibility arm Damosa Land Cares, has launched agriculture-centric community programs designed to uplift and sustain the livelihood of the region’s workforce. Striving to aid the recovery of Davao’s economy through its agricultural expertise, DLI developed farm-to-community projects centered on championing countryside development and supporting local SMEs and farmers. These initiatives, such as DLI’s small-scale farmer partnerships and green market, provide opportunities for the region’s farmers to bounce back from the effects of the pandemic and for the communities to be encouraged to consume fresh produce. “The Covid-19 pandemic has posed various challenges to our region’s workforce. As we continue to recover, Damosa Land endeavors to become an avenue for people to regain their livelihoods and to help build healthier communities by fully utilizing the key to the region’s growth, agriculture,” Ricardo Lagdameo, president of DLI, said. DLI said it has always been proud of its heritage rooted in agriculture. As the company continues to honor this industry, its social responsibility arm also seeks to support the farmers who are responsible for cultivating the lands of Davao and who play a very important role in the recovery of the region’s economy. In order to give Davao farmers an avenue to reach a wider market, DLI has established a farm-to-community program that taps small-scale farmers as a source of vegetables and other farm-fresh produce. The program allows Damosa Land to buy crops from farmers in Davao del Norte and sells them at Agriya’s Happy Harvest and other DLI communities and commercial spaces.

Apart from helping the farmers, this project also aims to give the communities in Davao convenient and affordable options to consume fresh products without sacrificing their safety. This effort, which was started in April of 2020, will be sustained as long as the farms continue to be productive and there are farmers who need a place to sell their produce. “With this project, DLI will serve as a bridge to provide assistance to our local farmers to get back on their feet in terms of business. This will give them legs in rebuilding their livelihood that was put to a pause by the pandemic, and also propel the industry’s recovery that can lead to the opening up of the region’s economy,” Lagdameo said. To further firm up its farm-tocommunity project, DLI has also partnered with the Association of Davao Organic Advocates (ADOA), and Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita, a group dedicated to selling agricultural goods at reasonable prices, for the Damosa Green Market. Damosa Green Market is where partner farmers of DLI can sell their produce. The market features a wide array of organic products such as farm-fresh vegetables, seedlings, and potted plants for sale to the community in Lanang. Apart from boosting partner farmers’ income generation, the green market is also set to provide neighboring communities in Davao a safe and convenient centralized space where they can get healthy fresh food options and plants that they can grow in their home garden. The Damosa Green Market is open from Monday to Saturday at 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visiting customers are required to wear their safety paraphernalia, such as face masks and face shield, and follow the safety protocols implemented by DLI to ensure the safety of everyone in the market.

Costly tortilla leads Mexico to consider corn imports

EXICO is considering boosting corn imports and capping cooking gas prices as an inflationary spike hits tortilla prices, a staple for the country’s families. Inflation in Latin America’s second-largest economy quickened to around 6 percent in the second quarter, driven by fuel and food prices. The spike led the central bank to increase the key interest rate by a quarter-point last week, surprising economists, who see inflation slowing to only 5.58 percent by the end of the year. “There are different ways of keeping it under control. In the case of gas, if it’s necessary, we’ll set a maximum price, though the technocrats won’t like it,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday, referring to measures to combat inflation. “For tortillas, there are other mechanisms, such as opening corn imports to have more competition.” The president known as AMLO had vowed earlier in his term not to allow gas and electricity prices for consumers to increase beyond the average inflation rate. But the liquefied petroleum gas used by Mexican households to cook has consistently been among the biggest contributors to inflation this year. And tortilla prices rose 2.6 percent in May compared to the previous month. “Foreign investment is increasing, the economy is recovering, we’re getting more jobs. The one thing I’m concerned about is inflation. We have to make sure we keep it under control despite external pressures, since there is so much money being spent in the United States,” AMLO said at his daily press briefing. Bloomberg News

carry out the coffee production project. By upskilling the workers and trainers in coffee production, we will enable the farmers and indigenous people to produce quality coffee beans that are at par with the standards of Nestlé.” Tesda-Bukidnon announced that out of 50 scholars, 25 individuals belonging to the first batch are coffee growers and coffee farm workers from Maramag town, while the other 25 individuals are from Lantapan town. They are the first two batches for this training program. The first batch of scholars started their training through a virtual

Training Induction Program held last June 24 followed by the second batch held on July 1, 2021. One of the program beneficiaries is Leo Zambrano, a coffee farmer from Barangay Kaatuan in the town of Lantapan who is known as the Nescafé Plan Coffee Ambassador and whose face can be seen on Nescafé packs. Their training in Coffee Production Level II, which lasts for 176 hours or 25 days, is being done through a combination of face-to-face and distance learning where they can learn about modern coffee growing and entrepreneurship. The training program has allotted

200 scholarship slots in Bukidnon for this year and will accommodate six more batches to be identified by Nestlé Philippines. Based on the agreement, Tesda will train the identified beneficiaries of Nestlé Philippines initially in Bukidnon and the Province of Sultan Kudarat where 80 percent of the country’s coffee is grown. Lapeña is also looking forward that this scholarship program will reach more coffee farmers in the country. Meanwhile, Tesda-XII is now preparing to implement the Coffee Production Level II in the Province of Sultan Kudarat.

The World BusinessMirror

Monday, July 5, 2021

Africa faces crisis from Delta as developed world moves on

hile the attention in much of the developed world is turning to post-pandemic issues of easing restrictions, vacations and a return to normal, Africa is in the grip of a crippling third wave of infections and bracing for a fourth—and maybe even a fifth.

As the more contagious Delta variant starts to spread across the least-vaccinated continent, cases are rising, hospitals are being overrun and deaths are mounting. With little prospect of a significant proportion of Africans being vaccinated in coming months as rich nations continue to hoard shots, epidemiologists ex pect another wave of disease will follow before the end of the year. That carries the risk of more vaccine-resistant variants developing, endangering not just Africans but also the rest of the world. “This third wave is going to be devastating because in Africa and South Africa we couldn’t get access to vaccines when we needed them most,” said Tulio de Oliveira, director of Krisp, a South African geneticsequencing institute. “If we don’t get vaccines in the next couple of months we risk another devastating wave, not only in numbers but in lives.” Africa remains woefully under-vaccinated, with only 1.1% of the continent’s 1.2 billion people having gotten a jab compared with about 50% of the populations of the US and the U.K. that are fully inoculated. Only 50 million of the more than 3 billion doses of vaccines that have been administered globally have been in Africa, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the effects of that are becoming apparent. Cases are doubling every three weeks, and the continent is on the verge of exceeding its worst week of the pandemic. On Friday, the number of South African daily coronavirus infections surged to a record. Cities from Johannesburg to Kampala have been forced to lock down and intensive care units are overflowing. In the continent’s poorer countries, patients are dying because of a lack of oxygen and health-care workers are overwhelmed, with nurses looking after as many as 40 patients each.

Unprecedented scale

In Gauteng, South Africa’s economic hub and the richest area on the continent, excess deaths rose to a pandemic-era record in the week to June 20 and private hospitals are airlifting patients to other provinces. With 4,795 cases per million people, Namibia had the worst epidemic globally over the last seven days. Meanwhile, medical facilities and mortuaries in many countries are struggling to cope. Coffin makers and f lorists in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, say they are struggling to keep pace with demand. Laura Miti, a social activist in the country, told Bloomberg a colleague died of Covid-19 after spending time in a hospital, where patients perished as power outages interrupted oxygen supply. The shortage of front-line workers is also taking a toll, she said. “The nurses are overwhelmed, frustrated,” Miti said. “There’s just not enough of them.” According to the Africa CDC, the continent has had just under 5.4 million confirmed Cov id-19 infections and about 141,000 deaths since the pandemic began. But the numbers are seen to be grossly under-reported, with excess deaths in South Africa alone standing at 176,000. “The speed and scale of Africa’s third wave is like nothing we’ve seen before,” said Matshidiso Moeti, Africa director for the World Health Organization, on a conference call on Thursday. The latest wave has taken the pandemic to a whole new level, and with poor access to vaccines there’s little hope that the same situation won’t play out again.

Soccer vs curfews

Rich nations are sitting on shots, having purchased way more than they need, and Covax, the WHO-backed vaccine-sharing initiative, has shipped just 91 million doses out of its target of sending 1.8 billion doses to 90 poor nations by early 2022. India,

where much of Covax’s supply was coming from, halted exports to deal with its own devastating outbreak. Africa is not looking for charity, Richard Mihigo, program area manager for immunization and vaccine development at the WHO’s Africa office, said in an interview. “It is to give the chance to the international community not to see a more transmissible variant emerge that would put all the efforts of even high-income countries to zero.” Stung by criticism, wealthy countries including the US and UK have pledged to donate millions of doses. Shipments of Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson vaccines donated by the US are set to arrive next week, said Strive Masiyiwa, the telecommunications billionaire tasked with helping the African Union secure shots. Meanwhile, as the Delta variant rapidly spreads around the globe, the fates of vaccinated and unvaccinated nations are beginning to diverge. On July 1, the UK recorded almost 28,000 cases but just 22 deaths. In contrast, South Africa reported 21,500 cases and 382 deaths. In Europe a continent-wide soccer tournament is taking place complete with spectators cheering on national teams in stadiums. In South Africa a curfew means people have to be home by 9 p.m., and in Uganda parliament has been closed to slow the spread of the virus. “If we do not vaccinate at speed, our economy will continue to be damaged,” John Nkengasong, director of the Africa CDC, said on Thursday. “You will see a fourth, fifth and sixth wave and it will be extremely difficult for us to survive as a people. Let us be very clear that is what is at stake.”

Key developments: Indian vaccination count hits 350 million

India’s vaccination drive has covered 350 million people so far, including those who have received only one shot. The nation of 1.3 billion has administered the first dose to 99 million in the 18-to-44 age group, while 2.71 million have received both jabs, the government said. The country reported 955 deaths in the last 24 hours, with the total number of fatalities climbing to 402,005.

Sydney residents urged to abide by curbs

Sydney residents are being urged to comply with lockdown rules for another week amid encouraging signs Australia’s largest city is getting on top of its Delta-variant outbreak. There were just 16 new cases of Covid-19 overnight, down from 35 the previous day, New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said. However, there were concerns about rules being flouted as warm weather saw people flock to parks and beaches this weekend, she said.

Delta variant surges in Bangkok, study finds

The delta coronavirus variant is surging rapidly across Bangkok and now accounts for 70% of new infections in the Thai capital, according to a study by Chulalongkorn University’s Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology. The variant is highly contagious and will likely lead to more infections, Yong Poovorawan, the center’s director, said in a Facebook post. On Sunday, Thailand reported 5,916 new infections and a further 44 deaths, with the third wave of the outbreak showing no sign yet of easing after three months.

Olympics eyeing no spectators at big venues

Tokyo Olympics organizers are leaning toward barring spectators from events held in large venues such as soccer and track and field, Nikkei reported. The organizing committee is considering the move if the Japanese government extends a set of quasi-emergency measures in place to combat Covid-19, Nikkei report-

ed Sunday, without saying where it got the information. The government is planning to extend the quasi-emergency beyond its current expiry date of July 11 in the Greater Tokyo area, the Yomiuri newspaper said separately on Sunday, and could keep it in place for up to one month more. The decision will be made on July 8, while the Games start on July 23. Spectators may be barred from the opening and closing ceremonies and events in venues with a capacity of 20,000 or more in the Greater Tokyo area, Nikkei said. Organizers could extend the move to include events taking place at night.

UK set to remove mask rule

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signed off on a series of measures on how the country will live with coronavirus, including the removal of compulsory wearing of masks, the Sunday Telegraph reported. The government is getting ready to replace legal restrictions from July 19, with a call for “common sense,” the newspaper said. Part of the plan will involve scrapping rules for the over one-meter distancing rule in pubs and restaurants as well dropping the legal requirement for customers to sign in to venues using QR codes or sharing contact details. Johnson is due to announce the changes this week and will make the point that the rollout of vaccinations breaks the link between virus cases and hospitalizations, the Telegraph said.

Biden takes ‘Independence’ message to Michigan

President Joe Biden traveled to Michigan to celebrate US progress in fighting Covid and promote infrastructure spending, part of a slate of Fourth of July weekend events by the administration to signal a return to pre-pandemic life. Slightly less than 67% of the US adult population has at least one dose of a vaccine, short of the president’s goal of getting that number to 70% by Independence Day.

British doctors say restrictions should remain

Leading doctors in the U.K. urged the government to keep some pandemic restrictions in place in England, pushing back against Downing Street’s plans to relax measures from July 19. “The idea that on the 19th of July we can return to a pre-Covid world of having no restrictions, we think is not sensible in light of what are spiraling infection rates,” Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Association Council, told the BBC. While the link between cases and hospitalizations has weakened, it hasn’t been broken, he added.

US airports at busiest since pandemic began

The Transportation Security Administration screened almost 2.2 million travelers at US airports on Friday, the highest number since the start of the pandemic, according to a tweet Saturday from a spokesperson. On Thursday, the TSA said many US airports were already at or exceeding the pre-pandemic numbers of passengers going through security checkpoints, especially near popular summer beach spots. Domestic airline passenger volumes this week were down just 17% from 2019, according to Airlines for America, and an average 89.2% of available aircraft seats were filled, just one percentage point below the same week two years ago.

Delta variant clouds US revival hopes

The fast-spreading Delta variant is clouding Americans’ hopes for a carefree summer —and casting a shadow of doubt over plans to get back to business as usual in the fall. The shift in sentiment marks a reversal from the spring, when it looked like the US immunization campaign would turn the tide definitively against the coronavirus. As hospitalizations rise in some states, the Biden administration is sending response teams to less-vaccinated areas to try to combat its spread. Separately, Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious-disease official, said he doesn’t expect another nationwide spike of cases over the variant, given that a “substantial proportion” of the US population has been vaccinated. His full comments are set to air in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Bloomberg News

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Europe in vaccination race against Covid Delta variant

In this June 5, 2021 file photo, people wearing face masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus, walk along a commercial street in downtown Madrid, Spain. Countries across Europe are scrambling to accelerate coronavirus vaccinations to outpace the spread of the Delta variant in a high-stakes race to prevent hospital wards from filling up again with patients fighting for their lives. AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

ISBON, Portugal—Countries across Europe are scrambling to accelerate coronavirus vaccinations and outpace the spread of the more infectious Delta variant, in a high-stakes race to prevent hospital wards from filling up again with patients fighting for their lives. The urgency coincides with Europe’s summer holidays, with fair weather bringing more social gatherings and governments reluctant to clamp down on them. Social distancing is being neglected, especially among the young, and some countries are scrapping the requirement to wear masks outdoors. Incentives for people to get shots include free groceries, travel and entertainment vouchers, and prize drawings. The president of Cyprus even appealed to a sense of patriotism. The risk of infection from the delta variant is “high to very high” for partially or unvaccinated communities, according to the European Centre for Disease Control, which monitors 30 countries on the continent. It estimates that by the end of August, the variant will account for 90% of cases in the European Union’s 27 nations. “It is very important to progress with the vaccine rollout at a very high pace,” the ECDC warned. The World Health Organization is also concerned. The variant makes transmission growth “exponential,” according to Maria Van Kerkhove, its technical lead on Covid-19. Daily new case numbers are already climbing sharply in countries like the United Kingdom, Portugal and Russia. In the UK, cases of the Delta variant have increased fourfold in less than a month, with confirmed cases Friday up 46% on the previous week. Portuguese health authorities this

week reported a “vertiginous” rise in the Delta variant, which accounted for only 4% of cases in May but almost 56% in June. The country is reporting its highest number of daily cases since February, and the number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals has surpassed 500 for the first time since early April. Reports of new infections in Russia more than doubled in June, topping 20,000 per day this week, and new deaths hit 697 on Saturday, the fifth day in a row that the daily death toll set a record. Still, “no one wants any lockdowns,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a briefing, although he admitted that the virus situation in a number of Russian regions is “tense.” In some countries, the virus is spreading much faster among younger people. In Spain, the national 14-day case notification rate per 100,000 people rose to 152 on Friday. But for the 20-29 age group, it shot up to 449. Those numbers have triggered alarm across the continent. The Dutch government is extending its vaccination program to those aged 12-17 to help head off a feared new surge. Greece is offering young adults 150 euros ($177) in credit after their first jab. Rome authorities are mulling the use of vans to vaccinate people at the beach. And Poland last week launched a lottery open only to adults who are fully vaccinated, with new cars among the prizes. Portuguese authorities have extended the hours of vaccination centers, created new walk-in clinics, called up the armed forces to help run vaccination operations, and reduced the period between taking the two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from 12 weeks to eight weeks. AP

Las Vegas is bouncing back, but Covid is on the rise too

AS VEGAS—Fifteen months after the pandemic transformed Las Vegas from flamboyant spectacle to ghost town, Sin City is back. Tourists are streaming in again, gambling revenue has hit an all-time high, the Las Vegas Strip has its first new casino in a decade, and big concerts are starting at a gleaming new stadium. Plexiglass panels installed to separate gamblers at the poker and blackjack tables have largely been removed, the world-famous buffets are reopening, and nightclub dance floors are packed. Vice President Kamala Harris was set to visit Saturday for what the White House is calling the “America’s Back Together” tour celebrating progress against the virus. But that progress is threatened: Nevada this week saw the highest rate of new Covid-19 cases in the country, hospitalizations are on the rise again, and the highly contagious delta variant has become the most prevalent form of the virus in the state, adding urgency to the campaign to get more people vaccinated. Still, in a place where the economy runs on crowds and uninhibited behavior, a return to pandemic-related restrictions and mask requirements seems to be off the table. Inside the casinos, guests are not required to wear masks if they are fully vaccinated, but employees do not appear to be asking anyone for proof.

“It seems like everything is opening back up, getting back to normal,” Teresa Lee, a 47-year-old tourist from Nashville, Tennessee, said Thursday as she stood on the Strip, looking out over the fountains in front of the Bellagio casino. Lee said she is vaccinated and felt safe in Las Vegas because she read about the casinos’ efforts to get their workers and their families vaccinated. Tyler Williams, a 22-year-old from Eugene, Oregon, said it didn’t feel as if there was a pandemic anymore because “people are everywhere.” He said he had seen hardly anyone with a mask apart from a few foreign tourists and felt no need to wear one himself, because he is vaccinated. Las Vegas fully reopened and lifted restrictions on most businesses June 1, though many casino-resorts had already returned to 100% capacity before that with approval from state regulators. Visitor numbers, while not at their pre-pandemic highs, have grown by double digits four months in a row. Shows and fireworks are scheduled for the July 4 weekend, and the new 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium where the NFL’s relocated Raiders will kick off their season this fall was set to host its first major concert Saturday, by electronic dance music star Illenium. It will be followed by a full-capacity show from Garth Brooks next weekend. AP

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Massive ransomware attack seen paralyzing victims in 17 countries

ust weeks after President Joe Biden implored Vladimir Putin to curb cyber crime, a notorious, Russialinked ransomware gang has been accused of pulling off an audacious attack on the global software supply chain. REvil, the group blamed for the May 30 ransomware attack of meatpacking giant JBS SA, is believed to be behind hacks on at least 20 managed-service prov iders, wh ic h prov ide I T services to small- and mediumsi zed businesses. More t ha n 1,000 businesses have already been impacted, a figure that’s expected to grow, according to the cybersecurity firm Huntress Labs Inc. “Based on a combination of the service providers reaching out to us for assistance along with the comments we’re seeing in the thread we are tracking on our Reddit, it’s reasonable to think this could potentially be impacting thousands of small businesses,” according to John Hammond, a cybersecurity researcher at Huntress Labs. Biden said he had ordered a “deep dive” by US intelligence officials on what happened in the attacks. At this point, he said “we’re not sure” that Russia is behind them. “I directed the intelligence community to give me a deep dive on what’s happened and I’ll know better tomorrow,” Biden said, recalling that he told Putin during their meeting in June that the US would respond to cyber transgressions. He added that he hasn’t called the Russian president about the latest case.

Biden says ‘not sure’ If Russia is behind latest cyberattack

“We’re not sure it’s the Russians,” he said. “The initial thinking was, it was not Russian government, but we’re not sure yet.” Attacking MSPs is a particularly devious method of hacking, since it may allow the attackers to then infiltrate their customers as well. Hammond said more than 20 MSPs have been affected so far. In Sweden, most of grocery chain Coop’s more than 800 stores couldn’t open on Saturday after the attack led to a malfunction of their cash registers, spokesperson T herese K napp told Bloomberg News. There are victims in 17 countries so far, including the U.K., South Africa, Canada, Argentina, Mexico and Spain, according to Aryeh Goretsky, a distinguished researcher at cybersecurity firm ESET. The ransomware attack is the latest in a string of devastating hacks in recent months, making cybersecurity an increasingly pressing national security issue for the Biden administration. At a summit on June 16, Biden warned Russian President Putin that 16 types of critical infrastructure—including food and agriculture, emergency services and health care—were off limits to future attacks. It’s not yet known if the US victims of the latest ransomware attack fell

within those sectors. A software supply chain attack revealed in December included nine US agencies and about 100 businesses as victims. Russianstate sponsored hackers were accused of the attack, where hackers implanted malicious code in updates for popular software for SolarWinds Corp. Customers who downloaded the updates inadvertently created a backdoor that the hackers could then exploit. It was particularly sophisticated and highlighted the terrifying potential of supply-chain hacks. More recently, ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline Co., the operator of the nation’s largest fuel pipeline, and JBS have revealed gaping security vulnerabilities in crucial US businesses. Both Colonial and JBS paid the hackers millions of dollars. The hackers behind the Colonial attack, a group called DarkSide, have also been tied to Russia. Friday’s attack appears to combine a supply-chain attack with ransomware, vastly increasing the number of potential victims and presumably, the payout. Ransomware is a type of attack in which hackers encrypt computer files and then demand payment to unlock them. A mong the companies targeted was Kaseya Ltd., a Miamibased developer of software for managed service providers, as a way to attack its customers, according to cybersecurity experts. “What makes this attack stand out is the trickle-down effect, from the managed service provider to the small business,” Hammond said. “Kaseya handles large enterprise all the way to small businesses globally, so ultimately, it has the potential to spread to any size or scale business.” In a statement, Kaseya said it has notified the FBI. The com-

pany said it had so far identified less than 40 customers that were impacted by the attack. Allan Liska, a senior threat analyst at cybersecurity firm Recorded Future Inc., said REvil was behind the attacks. Eric Goldstein, the executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the group is closely monitoring this situation. “We are working with Kaseya and coordinating with the FBI to conduct outreach to possibly impacted victims,” he said in a statement. “We encourage all who might be affected to employ the recommended mitigations and for users to follow Kaseya’s guidance to shut down VSA servers immediately. As always, we stand ready to assist any impacted entities.” Two of the affected MSPs include Synnex Corp. and Avtex LLC, according to two people familiar with the breaches. Avtex President George Demou told Bloomberg News in a text message on Friday night, “Hundreds of MSPs have been impacted by what appears to be a Global Supply Chain hack.” “We are working with those customers who have been impacted to help them to recover,” he added. A Synnex spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The Republican National Committee said it was alerted that its vendor Synnex may have been affected. “Today, Microsoft informed us that one of our vendors, Synnex, systems may have been exposed,” said Mike Reed, a spokesman for the RNC. “There is no indication the RNC was hacked or any RNC information was stolen. We are investigating the matter and have informed DHS and the FBI.” Bloomberg News

Court approves criminal probe of Bolsonaro, who faces protests

IO DE JA NEIRO —Pro tests against President Ja i r B ol son a ro s pre ad across Brazil on Saturday, a day after a Supreme Court justice authorized a criminal investigation into his response to allegations of potential corruption involving a vaccine deal. Demonstrators gathered by the thousands in more than 40 cities to demand Bolsonaro’s impeachment or greater access to vaccines against Covid-19. “If we have a minute of silence for each Covid death, we would be quiet until June 2022,” read a poster held aloft by a man in Belem, the capital of Para state. More than half a million Brazilians have died, by official count. In Friday’s decision, Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber said the investigation is supported by recent testimony in a Senate committee investigating the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Prosecutors will investigate whether Bolsonaro committed the cr ime of “prevar ication,” which entails delaying or refraining from action required as part of a public official’s duty for reasons of personal interest. Weber didn’t rule out the possibility other potential wrongdoing could be investigated. The inquiry comes after Luis Ricardo Miranda, the chief of the Health Ministry’s import division, said he faced undue pressure to sign off on the import of 20 million vaccines from Indian pharmaceutical Bharat Biotech. He said there were irregularities

Demonstrators march on Paulista Avenue to demand that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro resign, in Sao Paulo, Brazil on July 3, 2021. Activists called for nationwide demonstrations against Bolsonaro, gathering protestors to demand his impeachment amid allegations of potential corruption in the Health Ministry’s purchase of Covid-19 vaccines. AP Photo/Nelson Antoine

in the invoices—particularly a $45 million upfront payment to a Singapore-based company. Miranda testified before the Senate committee June 25 along with his brother, Luis Miranda, a lawmaker who until recently was allied with Bolsonaro. The Mirandas said they brought their concerns directly to Bolsonaro, who assured them he would report the irregularities to the Federal Police. However, the Federal Police never received any request to investigate, a Federal Police source with knowledge of investigations told The Associated Press. He spoke anonymously for lack of autorization to speak publicly.

The secretary-general of the presidenc y, Ony x L orenzoni, confirmed Bolsonaro met with the Mirandas, but claimed they presented fraudulent documents. Bolsonaro ordered the brothers investigated, he said. Bharat has denied any wrongdoing with respect to vaccine supply. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of corruption, and told reporters on June 28 he can’t know w h at t r a n s p i r e s w it h i n h i s ministries. The Supreme Court decision greenlighting an investigation came in response to a request filed by three senators. A majority of senators on the investigat-

ing committee previously told the AP that, once their inquest concludes, they would vote to recommend Bolsonaro be indicted for prevarication. The crime carries with it a prison term of between three months and a year, plus payment of a fine. In Rio de Janeiro’s protest, 63-year-old retiree Terezinha Zanata said the government had mismanaged violence, the environment and Indigenous rights. “This in addition to the disregard for the pandemic issue,” she said, complaining of slugging vaccine campaign and a president who long minimized the seriousness of the disease. AP

Monday, July 5, 2021

Jimmy, Rosalynn Carter mark 75 years of ‘full partnership’

In this Aug. 27, 2018 file photo, former President Jimmy Carter holds hands with his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, as they work with other volunteers on site during the first day of the weeklong Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, their 35th work project with Habitat for Humanity in Mishawaka, Ind. Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn celebrate their 75th anniversary on Thursday, July 7, 2021. Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune via AP

T L A N TA —T h e y o u n g midshipman needed a date one evening while he was home from the US Naval Academy, so his younger sister paired him with a family friend who already had a crush. Nearly eight decades later, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are still together in the same tiny town where they were born, grew up and had that first outing. In between, they’ve traveled the world as Naval officer and military spouse, American president and first lady, and finally as human rights and public health ambassadors. “It’s a full partnership,” the 39th president told The Associated Press during a joint interview ahead of the couple’s 75th wedding anniversary on July 7. It will be another milestone for the longest-married presidential couple in American history. At 96, Carter also is the longestlived of the 45 men who’ve served as chief executive. Yet even having reached that pinnacle, Carter has said often since leaving the Oval Office in 1981 that the most important decision he ever made wasn’t as head of state, commander in chief or even executive officer of a nuclear submarine in the early years of the Cold War. Rather, it was falling for Eleanor Rosalynn Smith in 1945 and marrying her the following summer. “My biggest secret is to marry the right person if you want to have a long-lasting marriage,” Carter said. T he non agen a r i a ns — she’s now 93—offered a few other tips for an enduring bond. “Every day there needs to be reconciliation and communication between the two spouses,” the former president said, explaining that he and Rosalynn, both devout Christians, read the Bible together aloud each night—something they’ve done for years, even when separated by their travels. “We don’t go to sleep with some remaining differences between us,” he said. Rosalynn Carter noted the importance of finding common interests. Even now, she said, “Jimmy and I are always looking for things to do together.” Still, she emphasized a caveat: “Each (person) should have some space. That’s really important.” As first lady, Rosalynn Carter carved her own identity even as she supported her husband. Building on her predecessors’ efforts to highlight special causes, she went to work in her own East Wing office, setting a standard for first ladies by working alongside her husband’s West Wing aides on key legislation, especially dealing with health care and mental health. She continued that focus as the couple built the Carter Center in Atlanta after

their White House years. Certainly, a 75-year marriage hasn’t been seamless, the couple acknowledges. Jimmy was initially on course to be an admiral, not commander in chief, and Rosalynn appreciated their life beyond Plains, home to fewer than a thousand people, then and now. But when James Earl Carter Sr. became sick and died in 1953, his son cut short his Navy career and decided the family would return to rural Georgia. The former president has written that in retrospect he finds it inconceivable not to discuss such a life-changing decision with his wife, who was unhappy with the move. Now, they see the blossoming of their partnership in that challenging juncture. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP. “I knew more on paper about the business than he did. He would take my advice about things,” she added, drawing a laugh and affirmation from her husband. Jimmy Carter also didn’t seek Rosalynn’s permission to make his first bid for office a few years later. In that instance, she was on board anyway. “My wife is much more political,” he said. She interjected: “I love it. I love campaigning. I had the best time. I was in all the states in the United States. I campaigned solid every day the last time we ran.” That didn’t help avoid a rout by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980. But it further cemented Rosalynn—who’d originally given up her own opportunity to go to college when she married at age 18— as equal partner to the leader of the free world. And it marked Jimmy Carter’s evolution as a spouse. He’s since been an outspoken voice for women’s rights, including within Christianity. Carter left the Southern Baptist Convention in 2006, denouncing what he called “rigid” views that “subjugated” women in the church and in their own marriages. The former president ratified those views again, as well as his support for the church recognizing same-sex marriage. “It will continue to be divisive,” he said. “But the church is evolving.” The Carters plan to celebrate their own marriage milestone a few days after their anniversary with a party in Plains. Decades removed from inaugural balls and state dinners, the most famous residents of Sumter County said they have mixed feelings about the spotlight. “We have too many people invited,” Rosalynn Carter said with a laugh. “I’m actually praying for some turndowns and regrets.” AP

Monday, July 5, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

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editorial

Will help ever come?

he Philippines is prone to tropical storms due to its geographical location. The country hosts an average of 10 typhoons a year. Destructive typhoons are usually seen from August to October, although storms now appear as late as January. In light of climate change, strong typhoons can now occur any time of the year.

As the country gears up for the typhoon season, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) released a report saying storms may have already cost the economy nearly a trillion pesos in the last three decades. Dubbed Disaster Resilience in Asia, the ADB report said storms cost the country some $20 billion between 1990 and 2020. (See, “Typhoons may have cost PHL economy $20B in last three decades—ADB study,” in the BusinessMirror, July 1, 2021). “A storm in the Philippines can reduce local economic activity in the year that it occurs by 1.7 percent on average. In the most severe cases, losses can be as high as 23 percent,” ADB said. “Those burdened most from these impacts are the poor, the marginalized, and the isolated. Without preventive action, the havoc wreaked from the most severe disasters remain not just life-threatening, but also poverty-inducing,” it added. A study on floods in the Philippines showed the economic impact of these disasters lasted up to a year or less, the ADB said, adding that massive floods in urban areas can reduce gross domestic product by 2 percent up to as much as 8 percent annually. This means, ADB said, the response to these disasters should be reformed in order to speed up the recovery of these areas. The report said the rapid restoration of livelihoods and other economic activities should not be viewed as disaster resilience. “This is needed, especially in light of climate change, which is expected to worsen the impact of disasters, especially in vulnerable locations.” “If nothing further is done except the restoration of activity, returning to these affected areas simply means placing the same populations and assets back in the path of disasters,” ADB said. After Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses ravaged eight regions and displaced over 2.3 million Filipinos last year, President Duterte signed Executive Order 120 creating the “Build Back Better Task Force” to ensure post disaster rehabilitation and recovery efforts of typhoon-hit areas. It is a high-level institutional body that will streamline and expedite post-disaster efforts in a sustained and integrated manner, with a clear unity of command. Members of the task force include the Chairman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and Secretary of Defense; Secretaries of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, National Economic and Development Authority, Transportation, Interior and Local Government, Energy, Trade and Industry, Agriculture, Budget and Management, Finance, Education, Health, Social Welfare and Development, Labor and Employment, and Science and Technology. Other members include the General Manager of the National Housing Authority; Administrators of the Land Registration Authority; Local Water Utilities Administration; National Electrification Administration; National Irrigation Administration; Philippine Coconut Authority; and the Chairman of the Cooperative Development Authority. The task force is mandated to ensure the availability and adequacy of basic needs, medical services, electricity, water, telecommunication, and transportation immediately after a typhoon. It will also rebuild or repair houses to be more resilient to hazards, and build safer sites for housing under the township approach, as well as ensure disaster and client-resilient infrastructures. It’s been almost a year since the powerful task force was formed. Leaders in devastated areas are still waiting for the national government to help them build back better. Although thousands of the victims of Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses have no choice but live in unrepaired shanties, they are hoping that help will arrive ahead of the next deadly typhoon. Since 2005

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Living in a world with Covid-19 Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

hey say that because of climate change, population growth, and advan ces in technology and mobility, the Covid-19 pandemic will not be the last. In fact, this is pretty much going to be our new normal—fighting against deadly outbreaks on a regular basis. The meaningful question to ask at this point is: What is the sustainable way to prepare for future pandemics so that they don’t kill the economy when they happen? Economic historian Niall Ferguson had said—before the pandemic started—that it will be very difficult to go back to our 2019 situation. The air travel, tourism, and entertainment industries will be greatly affected, he said, and may not be able to go back to normal service in the absence of an effective therapy or vaccine. More than a year later, we

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ing to the fact that it is a “highly integrated global network.” Besides that, huge countries with multiple borders are not able to shut down their gates easily to keep the virus out. It is obvious that we have to be proactive in dealing with these outbreaks. Public health experts offer this insight: successful management of viral pandemics requires “a dedicated, mission-focused health organization whose leaders have experience in this field.” They liken it to having something like the US Federal Reserve, a politically independent body that is led and man-

Pasig River: A gauge of who we are

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

know that the world cannot afford a scenario like this again, if and when the next pandemic happens. While Niall admitted that the pandemic has been a real blow for globalization, he also said that globalization has already been declining after 2007. The pandemic set it back even further because the economic system is particularly vulnerable ow-

Learning from what transpired in 2020 up to now, 2021, is the first step the world must take. And then probably the next step would be to take the experts’ view and set up that independent body that can prepare governments around the world for the next big one.

he DENR last week disputed a report by Oxford University’s Our World Data, which estimated that the Philippines accounts for an appalling 26 percent of all ocean plastic refuse coming from rivers worldwide, with 6 percent purportedly being contributed by the Pasig River. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, of course, acknowledges that plastic pollution is still a serious problem insofar as the Pasig River is concerned, but such condition had gotten better in recent years, with the national government, local government units and civic organizations pitching in to help. Whether the report is accurate or not, we still have a long way to go in reviving the beauty and life of our dear Pasig River. The good news is, it can be done and it will be done. All that is needed is the consciousness, cooperation and the will of everyone to see this through. I happened to witness sometime last week a tributary clean up of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, with Chairman Abalos personally leading the efforts. Discussing with him his program, he said he will embark on an all out war on river waste, engaging not just in the river clean up but attacking the source as well—the residences of the more than 12 million Metro Manilans. In his plan, he will push for recycling at the source, something that we see as a norm in other countries but still an alien practice

for us Filipinos. Yet, if we can do this, as Chair Abalos said, then we have already solved half of the problem of river garbage. Also, part of his strategy will be to engage the many barangays to strictly monitor and enforce such regulations and penalize violators if need be. Also encouraging are the many private individuals and groups doing river cleanups, as well as promoting river consciousness. You have the local Greenpeace community and other river warriors who quietly do sustained physical clean ups. We also

Manila, at one point in our history, was the Venice of the East. We still can reclaim that reputation that made Manila a famous tourist attraction. We just need the genuine consciousness, cooperation and will of everyone to make it happen.

have the local artist who does murals and events on the Pasig River, promoting its historical, cultural and environmental importance. All of these will help in one way or the other. To push the envelope even further, companies can embark on such clean ups as a form of their CSRs, especially those companies that traverse the river as part of their business processes. But really the heart and soul that could give life to the river are the citizens themselves. The only way for this to work is to make recycling and taking care of our environment a part of our lives. Just like all other long-term macro solutions, this starts with the simple things—the small efforts and low hanging fruits that matter. Besides, the bulk of the plastic trashes, unbelievably, are candy plastic wrappers, plastic bags and single-use plastic materials. Throwing refuse out your car is just the same as throwing garbage into the river. Simple acts can make a big difference to a plastic pollution-free

aged by experts. Its mandate is to collect and analyze data, and to act on this information. The envisioned public health body will prepare for pandemics before they happen, and provide rapid response when they do. Building it will require plenty of capital investments and resources, but the money will be worth it. After all, the glaring truth is that there is no economy if there is no public health. It will also help, said Niall, if rather than envisioning a world after Covid-19, we try to accept and figure out how to live in a world with it. Just like influenza, TB, and AIDS, we cannot completely eradicate it and so we must learn how to manage it in a way that it won’t ruin our economy. Learning from what transpired in 2020 up to now, 2021, is the first step the world must take. And then probably the next step would be to take the experts’ view and set up that independent body that can prepare governments around the world for the next big one.

world. For example, there’s no need to get plastic utensils for home deliveries of food. Bringing your own bag (BYOB) when you shop makes more sense than inconvenience. The good thing is that such a mindset is a given insofar as the youth today is concerned. For our kids, taking care of the environment is a mantra already embedded in their persona. Tell me one instance that your son or daughter did not castigate you for being wasteful and doing harm to the environment. And rightly so, as it was our generation, and the generation before us, that did the most damage to our environment; then we want to leave it to our children at the point of no return. It is not so much pronounced, but the maturity of development of cities can be seen by the state of the rivers and other bodies of water that run through them. Cities like Tokyo, Boston, London, Savannah, Shanghai, Seoul and many more take pride in their rivers and bodies of water, making them a landmark of their culture and their development. Manila, at one point in our history, was the Venice of the East. We still can reclaim that reputation that made Manila a famous tourist attraction. We just need the genuine consciousness, cooperation and will of everyone to make it happen.

The author can be reached via thomas_orbos@ sloan.mit.edu

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Musings on the amendments of the accountancy law Joel L. Tan-Torres

DEBIT CREDIT Eighth part of a series

ith the landmark issuance of the four Ched Memorandum Orders (CMO) 27 to 30 in 2017 by the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), the accountancy education sector welcomed the formal recognition of three new accounting baccalaureate programs—Bachelor of Science in Internal Audit (BSIA), BS in Management Accounting (BSMA), and BS in Accounting Information System (BSAIS), and the updating of the traditional course of BS in Accountancy. Though these program courses, specially the BSMA, have long been offered by quite a number of accredited accounting schools and colleges prior to the issuance of the CMOs, it is only after the release of the CMOS in May 2017 when standardized accounting programs evaluated jointly by the Ched and the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy were first prescribed. I was the Chairman of the BOA when we evaluated and worked with Ched in formulating these four accounting offerings, which we perceived would address the various requirements of the profession and industry. It’s clear that the accounting schools should be able to produce accountants who have the necessary competence and learning to address the varied requirements of industry, business and other users. With the new and updated courses, the academic training can proceed for the future accountants who will be specializing in the practice of external auditing and attestation, internal auditing, management accounting and technology-based accounting. When I was pursuing the changes, I realized that the uses and applications of accounting are so broad that the BSA is inadequate in fulfilling the expectations and requirements of the various stakeholders. There is a good demand and need for these varied competencies from the business and government sectors. This provides opportunities to schools who make the move to offer these accounting programs. For the first responders among the schools, their first batch of graduates of these courses covered by the CMOs are expected to graduate in 2022. I am interested to know how many of the over 500 colleges and schools in the Philippines have decided to include the three new accounting programs, in addition or replacement of the traditional course offering of the BSA. School

On the last point, the burning issue that needs to be addressed is: Will graduates of these three programs qualify or be allowed to take the licensure examinations of the Professional Regulation Commission and BOA and have the opportunity to become professional accountants? I have my personal take on this that I will discuss in next week’s continuation of this series. administrators making decisions about new program offerings or replacements will be guided by several factors, including marketability or demand of the offering/s from both the potential enrollees and the employers of the future graduates, adequacy of existing or new resources needed, and the directions of the BOA or government on certain issues on the new programs on BSIA, BSMA and BSAIS. On the last point, the burning issue that needs to be addressed is: Will graduates of these three programs qualify or be allowed to take the licensure examinations of the Professional Regulation Commission and BOA and have the opportunity to become professional accountants? I have my personal take on this that I will discuss in next week’s continuation of this series. To be continued. Joel L. Tan-Torres is the Dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business. Previously, he was the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy and partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co. and the SyCip Gorres and Velayo & Co. He is a Certified Public Accountant who garnered No. 1 in the CPA Board Examination of May 1979. This column accepts articles for publication from the business and academic community. Articles not exceeding 600 words can be e-mailed to jltantorres@up.edu.ph.

Wanted: Political love Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

‘P

erhaps love should be a part of politics.” Writer Max Harris ushers this line to support that love “can be a radical force in politics.” Long has it been in the minds of a select populace that politics is equated with so many negative elements—abuse of power, revenge, and fattening of pockets. These attributes are so far detached from love. Ideals like truth, justice, freedom, peace, and love are arguably emotional. Freedom, for instance, as interpreted by singer Nina Simone is a feeling of “no fear.” Justice, while generally considered a state of affairs, can also be taken as a “state of relief, elation, jubilation.” Politics, at its best, is held as a “passionate expression of strongly felt sentiments and experiences.” Jesuit priest Albert Alejo, who officiated one of the many Holy Eucharistic ceremonies for former President PNoy, called for good people to run for public office out of political love. Alluding to a sermon by Pope Francis, Father Alejo called for a better kind of politics and appealed “for a renewed appreciation of politics as a lofty vocation and one of the highest forms of charity as it seeks the common good.” At its roots, political love is a “field of charity at its most vast.” Essentially, political love goes beyond being just another emotion as it entails collective action out of consideration for others. This emerging kind of love is best typified in the story of the Good Samaritan. As many of us can recall, the Good Samaritan did not think twice about helping a hapless person left injured by robbers. As Father Alejo quotes Pope Francis further, there is more than one good Samaritan in the Biblical story, as told in Luke 10: 30-37. Aside from the Samaritan individual who gave first aid to an injured man, there was also the Samaritan innkeeper, who willingly accepted the wounded victim in his inn, and the

Samaritan institution, which service far exceeded the price of two denarii given as payment for the care of the injured guest. Together, the individual, the innkeeper and the inn worked for the healing and wellness of a stranger—an ostensible representation of the common good. On a collective scale, political love entails “working for a social and political order whose soul is social charity,” according to Pope Francis. This bespeaks greatly and gravely about performing acts for the furtherance of another and less about oneself. Among his noble attributes, PNoy exemplified political love as he refused to be an “Epal” throughout his term. Some defined Epal as “a person who does things to attract attention or gain unwarranted publicity in the guise of public service. For instance, PNoy commanded his Cabinet members not to rush to calamity-stricken areas for public image accentuation. He would rather see concerned local authorities attend to their typhoonaffected constituents instead of spending worthless time attending to the visiting “dignitaries,” some of which were doing Epal work. PNoy

Monday, July 5, 2021

and his team consciously made the decision to “visit,” only after things are already stable and definitely after the hype of media coverage has subsided. Political love becomes a genuine form of charity when the giving is done purposely away from any limelight, unless the objective is to influence others to perform similar acts of generosity. Atty. Jane Catherine Rojo-Tiu, a former law student, and Thea Ifurung, a former colleague at the Bureau, are some examples of persons who post their good deeds during the pandemic in social media, not for personal glory, but for others to be encouraged to follow suit. Taken communally, political love affects a wide range of individuals in both the social and political sphere. For this reason, there is an urgent need to put people in public office who personify love in these upcoming national elections, more than ever. Our country deserves leaders who aspire to serve out of love for others and not on account of loving themselves. Public service requires more than observing the law; it definitively entails love. A genuine concern for the good of others is what writer Max Harris refers to as love being a virtue in and an endgoal of politics. We may have leaders who are upright, staunch followers of the law. But they must also be imbued with moral and ethical standards anchored on love. Jesus Christ set the perfect paradigm of political love. Though a royalty, He “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Such selfless devotion to a life for others was culminated by death on the Cross. This model of servant leadership teaches us not only to forgive others, but not to commit any wrong against another; not only to be tolerant about other people’s vile speeches but to speak in respectful language; not to just listen to the troubles of friends or family members but to sit, reflect, and lis-

The risks and benefits of technology

By Reynaldo A. de Dios

omputers, laptops and cell phones have become, in this age of the pandemic, indispensable tools of management and entrepreneurs, as without these modern devices, they would not be able to cope with their workload or transact business. The Digital Revolution, including the rapid deployment of Artificial Intelligence, is disrupting economic life and has fundamentally altered the development of developing countries. From the 1960s onward, Southeast Asian countries, including China and South Korea, began to industrialize rapidly via labor-intensive export sectors such as apparel and electronics assembly operations. This has resulted in workers gaining skills and incomes. Export earnings also financed the importation of physical capital,

including infrastructure and machinery. As skills and infrastructure improved, manufacturing shifted from labor-intensive to skill-intensive sectors, and overall employment also shifted increasingly from manufacturing to services. The long-term shift from agriculture to industry to services resulted in the shift of population from rural areas to urban cities. The digital revolution required a new development thrust in technologies that are not dependent on

the exports of labor-intensive manufacturers. The basic economics of automation involves technologically advanced machines replacing workers in the production process. Thus, the demand for labor is lessened and while productivity increases, the workers’ income is reduced. A possible solution is for the workers to acquire new skills to obtain new higher-paying jobs. Now what are the overall effects of “digital technologies”? These are as follows: In agriculture, a rapid increase in mechanization results in a rise in output and causing a decline in demand for low-skilled agriculture labor. This principle also applies to the mining, manufacturing, business services, trade, healthcare, education, finance, tourism, transportation, and governance sectors. In other words, digital technologies

Slovenia’s term raises specter of EU’s threat from within By Lorne Cook Associated Press

RANJ, Slovenia—Tiny Slovenia took charge of the world’s largest trading bloc this week, and immediately shone a harsh spotlight on one of the European Union’s most vexing problems: How to accommodate increasingly vocal member countries with very different visions of Europe’s future. Already, nationalist governments in Hungary and Poland are worrying their more politically mainstream partners in the 27-nation EU. Some fear that new legislation introduced by the two countries could undermine democratic standards and the independence of the judiciary. Then on Thursday, Slovenia’s return to the European stage— it took over the EU’s rotating presidency for six months—was marked by concerns about the right-wing government’s record

on media freedoms and its failure to nominate legal experts to the fraud-busting European Public Prosecutor’s Office. For Prime Minister Janez Jansa—who leads the Alpine nation of just 2 million people nestled between Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Italy—Slovenia is a misunderstood victim of “double standards,” sometimes at the hands of the EU’s increasingly powerful executive branch, the European Commission. “We are not a colony. We are not a second-class member of the European Union,” Jansa told foreign reporters on Friday. His remarks highlighted the growing tensions between newer EU members from central and eastern Europe and the founding states from the continent’s west. “The EU brings together countries with different traditions, with different cultures. There are differences that need to be taken into account and respected,” he

said, during an exchange that lasted well over an hour. Pressure mounted on Jansa’s government recently as it prepared for its EU presidency, which is largely about acting as an “honest broker” to find consensus among the 27 nations and ensure the smooth adoption of policies ranging from the environment to migration. Protests in the capital, Ljubljana, have become routine. In late May, around 20,000 people gathered in a central square to demand that the government step down. Jansa is accused of becoming increasingly authoritarian in ways similar to those of his ally, hardline Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Critics say Jansa’s government has pressured Slovenian media, spurred hate speech and mismanaged the coronavirus pandemic. Asked about his attitude toward “illiberal democracies” like those in Hungary and Poland, the 62-year-old former journal-

ist replied: “For me, all of these mainstream political orientations are equal, and equally legitimate.” “I cannot agree to the division between liberal and illiberal democracy. Democracy is democracy,” Jansa said, before going on to give a favorable account of Orban and what he has done for Hungary. “If I fight for the affection of my voters, in a free world, everyone is equal.” The Slovenian premier has come under particular scrutiny for keeping a stranglehold on funds for Slovenia’s only news agency, the STA. He says he expects the issue to be resolved this fall, but exactly how is unclear. On Friday, he showed reporters a video that he said depicted the media pressure applied by more left-leaning politicians. It listed a number of journalists, including well-known TV news personalities, who have switched to jobs in government or parliament. “You are accusing this govern-

ment that we are suppressing media freedom,” Jansa said in English. “When we defend ourselves, and we are under attack all the time, this is not suppressing media freedom.” “It’s not good if you’re criticized in whatever you’re doing. If you’re making restrictions regarding Covid, you’re criticized. If not making the restrictions, you’re criticized. At the end, people are dying because of the pandemic. It’s not so simple,” he said. Jansa’s use of images to make a point didn’t go down well with the commission at Thursday’s meeting to mark the start of Slovenia’s presidency. During a complaint about “leftist” politicians, he displayed a photograph of two Slovenian judges alongside opposition members. That prompted a walkout by European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans. He refused to take part in the

ten to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Once politicians are elected and serve the country, they might be reminded of some transactional obligations by some of their financiers and supporters. Out of “utang na loob,” some will have the tendency to pay back by giving juicy government contracts or positions to those undeserving. After all, some politicians, soon after warming their seat in public office, will have to pay what they owe to those who helped them during the campaign. Should any person be elected with political love, he knows no indebtedness except one, which is what the Bible tells us in Romans 13:8, “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.” These days, we witness the emergence of politics as being inescapably emotional. Around the world, liberal politicians and political theorists have promoted the notion of political love. For instance, former president Jimmy Carter called for government to be “filled with love”; Czech writer and politician Václav Havel visualized a leadership that would “radiate love”; US philosopher Martha Nussbaum has carved in writing history the notion of “civic love”; and Hillary Clinton, in her 2016 presidential campaign, pleaded for more “love and kindness” in America. “Perhaps, love should be part of politics.” Especially in the Philippines. A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission. For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

will result in a massive increase in productivity for a wide range of goods and services. Another major effect will be the rapid shift of employment from provincial to the urban areas. While automation could lead to increasing poverty in underdeveloped countries, the risks of technology can in the long-term be beneficial to the poor sector of society provided that institutions such as the IMF, the development banks, the UN development agencies, and key private sector leaders undertake concerted efforts to transfer digital skills and technologies to the low income nations to enable them to build the digital-based industries, skills and jobs of the future. The author is a risk management consultant and Editor of Insurance Philippines magazine.

“family photo” between Slovenia’s Cabinet and the commissioners. “I simply could not be on the same podium with PM Jansa after his unacceptable attack,” Timmermans said later. The following day, Interior Minister Ales Hojs, talking about anti-government protesters, said: “I personally do not want to call anyone a swine. But perhaps once in the future, after everything I heard yesterday, I will be able to call a certain individual a swine.” “They were not on the square [among the protesters], but they sit high in the European bureaucracy,” Hojs told reporters. He later denied via Twitter that he was referring to Timmermans. Ultimately, the tensions suit both parties. Small Slovenia appears to be punching above its political weight, while the EU’s executive branch comes across as a righteous defender of Europe’s values.

A10 Monday, July 5, 2021

Taal spews sulfur dioxide, energy task force on alert

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga & Lenie Lectura @llectura

AAL volcano emitted high levels of sulfur dioxide gas on Sunday afternoon as it continued to show magmatic unrest, the Philippine Institute of Volcanogy and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.

Phivolcs issued a notice of “anomalously high volcanic SO2 gas emission” from Taal Volcano at 4:15 p.m. Taal Volcano has been under Alert Level 3 or Magmatic Unrest since Thursday after a short-lived phreatic explosion. According to Phivolcs, an average of 22,628 tonnes/day was recorded Sunday, the highest ever recorded in Taal. Phivolcs also recorded a total of 26 strong and very shallow lowfrequency volcanic earthquakes associated with magmatic dressing beneath the eastern sector of Volcano Island. “Some of these earthquakes were reportedly accompanied by rumbling and weakly felt by fish cage caretakers off the northeastern shorelines of Volcano Island. These observation parameters may indicate that an eruption similar to

the 1 July 2021 event may occur anytime soon,” the agency added. Phivolcs reminded the public to take precautions and to be on alert as the volcano’s main crater may continue to spit out sulfur dioxide which is hazardous to human health. Such activity, Phivolcs warned, may further drive succeeding explosions. Phivolcs has recommended that Taal Volcano Island and high-risk barangays of Bilibinwang and Banyaga, Agoncillo and Boso-boso, Gulod and eastern Bugaan East, Laurel, Batangas Province remain evacuated due to the possible hazards of pyroclastic density currents and volcanic tsunami should stronger eruptions subsequently occur. Taal Volcano is a Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) and entry into the island as well as high-risk barangays of Agoncillo and Laurel in Batangas is prohibited.

All activities on Taal Lake are barred at this time. M e a nw h i l e , c o m mu n it i e s around the Taal Lake shore were advised to remain vigilant and be prepared for emergency or immediate evacuation in case the magmatic unrest intensifies. Phivolcs advised local government units (LGUs) to implement measures such as doing health checks on communities affected by vog to assess the severity of sulfur dioxide impacts on people and to consider temporary evacuation of severely exposed residents. Due to the volcano’s unrest, civil aviation authorities were advised that flying over Taal Volcano Island must be avoided as airborne ash and ballistic fragments from sudden explosions and pyroclastic density currents such as base surges may pose hazards to aircraft.

Full alert for task force

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy (DOE)-led Task Force on Energy Resiliency is on full alert. “I instructed the DOE-led Task Force on Energy Resiliency to be on full alert, activate action and business continuity plans, prepare for the worst-case scenario with the current Covid-19 pandemic, and maintain round-the-clock communications, especially with NDRRMC

and DOST-Phivolcs,” said DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi. The task force, led by DOE Undersecretary Alexander S. Lopez, convened energy stakeholders in the oil and power industries in an emergency meeting to present possible worst-case scenarios for both power and oil supply with the corresponding action plans. Lopez cited the measures to be implemented alongside the current Covid-19 pandemic, particularly the health protocols and the ongoing vaccination rollout. The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP)–South Luzon activated its preparedness plan for substations and transmission lines. These included securing equipment and machineries, equipping their response teams for the cleaning of insulators, and having their teams from other regions on standby for possible deployment. The National Transmission Corporation (Transco) is closely coordinating with the NGCP on the status of the grid. The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has advised electric cooperatives to activate the emergency response organization handling emergency response protocol implementation, and ensure enough manpower for power restoration activities.

QUARANTINE, MOVEMENT LIMITS RELAXED FOR FULLY VACCINATED PERSONS–IATF By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

ULLY vaccinated indiv idua ls w il l now enjoy a more relaxed quarantine and movement restrictions. In an online briefing on Sunday, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) decided, through its resolution 124B, to allow fully vaccinated senior citizens for interzonal movement in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ (MGCQ). Fully vaccinated individuals are those who already had 2 weeks after having received the second dose in a 2-dose vaccine; or more than or equal to 2 weeks after having received a single-dose vaccine. “This, however, is subject to the presentation of a Covid-19 domestic vaccination card duly issued by a legitimate vaccinating establishment, or certificate of quarantine completion showing

Senate energy panel to DOE: Be transparent in Malampaya review By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

HE Senate Committee on Energy pressed the Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure full transparency in its review of the $380-million sale of Shell Philippines’s stake to Udenna subsidiary Malampaya Energy XP. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, committee chairman, on Friday renewed his earlier call for the DOE to “be transparent in its review” of the sale of Shell Philippines Exploration BV’s (SPEX) entire stake in the Malampaya gas field project to Malampaya Energy XP Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of Udenna Corporation owned by businessman Dennis Uy. The senator recalled that just recently, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi himself confirmed the DOE was “still in the process of evaluating the transaction and no decision has been reached.” Gatchalian recalled that Cusi had claimed the parties concerned still have to comply with government requirements “before it gives its stamp of approval on the sale” reported in May. Stressing that the deal involved is “no ordinary” State-owned asset, Gatchalian said he expects his fellow lawmakers would also be keen to know the criteria to be used in evaluating this transaction. “It has to be very clear to the public,” Gatchalian reminded energy officials involved in the deal. The senator said last April 15, he also sought justification from the DOE on its decision to give the green light to the transfer of Chevron’s 45-percent interest in the Malampaya project to UC Malampaya Philippines, another subsidiary of Udenna Corporation. Gatchalian likewise stressed the significance in acquiring Shell’s stake as the company not only holds a 45-percent share but also the operatorship of Service Contract No.

38, a deep water license that comprises the Malampaya gas field. The senator noted that “whoever steps in to take the place of Shell will supply gas to our homes. Malampaya gas project powers about one in every five homes in Luzon. It’s important that we keep our lights on, that we have a constant supply of gas and in order to do that, we need to have very competent and financially strong operators.” He asserted that “the government, through the DOE, needs to evaluate the transaction and ensure that it is legal and that the new operator is financially and technically competent and has the capability of running Malampaya and supplying electricity to our homes.” Citing conditions laid down in the joint operating agreement signed by the members of the consortium operating Malampaya —including Shell, Chevron, and PNOC—Gatchalian underscored the need for a provision that “for the sale of shares to be finalized, the party or the transferer has to ensure that it gets all prior permitsapprovals from the government.” In late May, 2021, Cusi had been quoted in news reports as saying, “Once the transaction has been completed at the consortium level, it will still be submitted to the DOE for its review and approval in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 87 otherwise known as the Oil Exploration and Development Act of 1972 (PD87). “For its part, the DOE will, accordingly and judiciously, evaluate the legal, financial, and technical aspects of the transaction, and its impact [on] the obligations of (the) consortium to the Philippine government according to the terms of SC38 and PD87,” Cusi was quoted saying then. PNOC Exploration Corp., a subsidiary of state-owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), has a 10-percent interest in the Malampaya gas field.

the holder’s vaccination status as may be issued by the Bureau of Quarantine,” Roque said. Likewise, he said the IATF also allowed fully vaccinated individuals who had close contract with probable confirmed Covid-19 cases to undergo a shortened sevenday quarantine instead of the usual 10-day period. This will only be applicable if the individual remains asymptomatic for the duration of the seven-day period with the first day being the date immediately after the last exposure. If the Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Test needs to be performed, it may be done not earlier than the fifth day after the date of the last exposure. In case the individual will be traced beyond the seventh day following exposure and remains asymptomatic, he or she will no longer undergo testing and quarantine. The IATF issued its resolution 124-B after implementing the shortened quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated inbound travellers.

DENR closes Alona Beach on coliform contamination By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

LONA Beach on Panglao Island in Bohol has been closed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) from July 1 to 15 due to high coliform levels. Named after a sexy actress popular in the 1970s, Alona Beach is the bread and butter of many resorts on Panglao Island, which is currently among the few destinations in the country open for leisure travel. This underscores the urgent need for the Bohol provincial and municipal governments to resume their infrastructure projects including the construction of sewerage treatment plants, said a highly-placed government source. The closure of Alona Beach was announced by Panglao Municipal Tourism Officer Leonides E. Senica in a letter to stakeholders on June 30, 2021. However, he only attributed the beach closure “to the scheduled conduct of scientific study or personnel from the [DENR] and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).” Government and private sector sources, however, cited information from the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources of Bohol that analysis of water samples taken from the beach showed “high fecal coliform levels . . . at 700-800 most probable number/100 milliliters.” This far exceeds the fecal coliform standard of 100 mpn/100 ml. Coliform or e.coli bacteria are found in human feces. Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap has been promoting Panglao Island for tourism, and undertaking steps to ensure guests will feel safe by pushing for the vaccination of its tourism workers. (See, “Island destinations gear up for entry of foreign tourists,” in the BusinessMirror, June 21, 2021.)

Continued on A2

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Monday, July 5, 2021

‘Manufacturing resurgence to boost Meralco profits’ By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

he Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) expects “better” profits for 2021 compared to last year due to improving electricity sales. “I think our volumes will be higher this year and I think profits will be better than 2020,” Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said over the weekend. In 2020, Meralco’s reported net income fell by 30 percent to P16.32 billion while core profit was down by 9 percent to P21.71 billion. Revenues and volume also dropped last year due to reduced purchased power costs. Pangilinan is confident that the

2021 figures would be “surely better than 2020.” He said Meralco continues to record an “uptick in the volume,” particularly in the manufacturing sector as most businesses have resumed operations. “I was actually happy to read the news that 400,000 people got re-employed. At Meralco, we see an uptick in the volume that we are selling. Of course residential continues to increase while manufacturing is starting to get back on its feet. We are

seeing that in the volume of manufacturing,” he said. Meralco’s residential segment continues to post strong numbers as the lockdown restrictions brought about the rise of work-from-home arrangements, online distance learning and limited movement. The commercial sector, which used to account for 40 percent of Meralco’s sales, has yet to recover. Before the pandemic, commercial volume accounted for the biggest share at 40 percent. “That is why we need to continue opening up the economy. Anywhere we can help the government, helps the business sector,” he added. Over the weekend, the MVP Group of Companies commenced the vaccination program for its 60,000 employees. Also, election spending is expected to boost Meralco’s revenue. “Yes, because you will put more money

into the income stream of people. So, better than before.” At end-March, Meralco registered 7.2 million customers. The company posted P4.3 billion in net income for the first quarter, up by 66 percent from the same period a year ago, mainly due to foreign exchange gain, re-evaluation of Meralco’s investment in Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC) and non-core expense adjustment. Meralco’s power generation arm, Meralco PowerGen Corp., completed last March 31 the acquisition of the 86 percent combined equity in GBPC from Metro Pacific Investments Corporation and JG Summit Holdings, Inc. Core profit, however, fell 11 percent to P5.1 billion due to lower revenues as energy sales volume shrunk by 4 percent to 10,473 gigawatt hours (GWh) because demand was affected by the pandemic.

License of online lender revoked By VG Cabuag @villygc

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revoked the Certificate of Authority of KingABC Lending Corp. to operate as a lending company due to its unfair debt collection practices. The company runs online lending platforms Pondo Loan, Start Loan, Green Loan and Loan Club. In an order dated June 7, the SEC’s Corporate Governance and Finance

CEB backs Cauayan’s ‘green lanes’

ebu Pacific (CEB) said it welcomes the decision of Cauayan City, Isabela to no longer require an RT-PCR test for fully-vaccinated travelers. Passengers are considered fullyvaccinated at least 14 days after having received the second dose in a twodose series, or at least 14 days after having received a single-dose vaccine. “We commend the local government of Cauayan for being the first city in the country to implement green lanes for domestic travel. We firmly believe this will pave the way for the safe reopening of domestic tourism and we look forward to other local governments following suit,” said Alex Reyes, Chief Strategy Officer at Cebu Pacific. Cauayan City Executive Order No. 53-2021 indicated that this is effective while the city is under general community quarantine. Upon arrival in Cauayan, a traveler will undergo mandatory triage for assessment of documentary requirements and screening of symptoms. “We are happy to announce that Cauayan City has now adopted ‘Green Lanes’ for fully vaccinated individuals for our inbound flights, the first to be done in the Philippines by a local government. This is a big relief and help especially for the returning OFWs and a way to encourage the people to get vaccinated,” said Mayor Bernard Dy. “However, this does not mean that we will be complacent. These travels are still subject to reasonable regulations to protect our constituents from the risks of contracting and transmitting Covid-19, for the safety of the people and the whole City of Cauayan.” Recto L. Mercene

Department found that KingABC committed 15 violations of the SEC’s memorandum circular on unfair debt collection practices of financing companies and lending companies. The SEC said KingABC threatened to shame borrowers on social media by publishing their names as scammers and contacting people in the borrowers’ contact list despite not being named as co-makers or guarantors. KingABC also used obscenities, insults and profane language in its debt collection, and threatened to sue

borrowers based on made-up legal bases, the SEC said. The agency has previously penalized KingABC for its first and second violations of its rule on collection practice. A third violation merits the imposition of a monetary fine, suspension or revocation of the company’s CA, depending on the facts, circumstances, and gravity of the case. “It is likewise clear that at this point, the revocation of respondent’s CA is not merely appropriate, but rather necessitated by the gravity and number of its offenses,” the

agency said in its order. Aside from KingABC’s 15 violations, at least 53 more complaints have been filed against the company for its debt collection practices. “Even more telling is the fact that subsequent to the issuance of the Formal Charge, the abusive collection practices of the respondent only became worse and more hostile based on the evidence submitted by the complainants. The Department noted messages filled with death threats, profanities and other obnoxious and reprehensible language.”

DOE revises accreditation rules for biofuels program

BusinessMirror file photo

he Department of Energy (DOE) has revised the accreditation guidelines for the biofuels program to ensure compliance with the Biofuels Act. The agency said last week that it conducted virtual public consultations with the country’s downstream oil industry (DOI) stakeholders prior to the issuance of the DOE Circular (DC) No. 2021-06-0014, or the “Revised Circular for the Accreditation and Submission of Notices and Reports of the Philippine Downstream Oil Industry Pursuant to the Biofuels Act”. “This is another testament to the DOE’s firm commitment in ensuring the full compliance of our downstream oil industry players with the Biofuels Act. Adhering to the prescribed blending requirements

ultimately redounds to the benefit of our consumers, as it would help secure part of our fuel supply through indigenous biofuel utilization while assisting our coconut and sugarcane farmers in tapping the domestic market created in the process,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said. The revised circular reinforces the agency’s mandate of strictly monitoring DOI compliance with existing rules and regulations. Currently, biofuel participants are required to be properly accredited, while the implementation of the mandated blending requirements for own-use or the sale of biofuel blends in the Philippines call for the exhaustion of locally-sourced biofuel. The significant improvements include updated accreditation qual-

ifications and review procedures; updated templates for the notices of importation and local purchases; enhanced reportorial requirements to aid in the reconciliation of critical information relative to the mandatory blending requirements of ethanol and coco methyl ester, and the consolidation of said qualifications, procedures, and reports to facilitate an easier and more efficient tracking process. This DOE circular will take effect 15 days following its complete publication in two newspapers of general circulation. After Republic Act 9367 or the “Biofuels act of 2006” was signed into law, the blending of 1 percent coco methyl ester (CME) in diesel started. It was then increased to 2 percent in 2007. Lenie Lectura

PFOCN: Internet rates to go down by end-2021 By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

HARED telco infrastructure provider Philippines Fiber Optic Cable Network (PFOCN), a subsidiary of Singaporean company HyalRoute Group, believes that Filipinos will enjoy “cheaper rates and better access to the Internet” by the end of 2021. This, as the company completes the deployment of 16,000 kilometers of additional fiber optic cables nationwide, PFOCN Executive Deputy Managing Director Hendrick Huang said. “As of today, we have completed over 9,000 kilometers of backbone fiber network nationwide. With 5,000 kilometers that are ongoing plus the accelerated rollout of an additional 2,000 kilometers, our total fiber network would reach around 16,000 kilometers by the end of 2021,” he said. PFOCN is an entity allowed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to engage in the installation and maintenance of optical fiber networks as well as other activities that will help spur the government’s National Broadband Program and free public WiFi project to reach unserved and underserved areas. “For sure, people will have cheaper, better and more stable internet access in more rural places, as well as more choice in terms of operators with the entry of a third [telco] operator,” Huang said. He did not provide a forecast for cost savings. Huang noted that the backbone being built will strengthen the government’s digital initiatives, including the expansion of 5G services, cloud, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, among others.

The company plans to invest over $3 billion for its whole 60,000-kilometer fiber cable network in the country until 2028. So far, it has invested $500 million in the Philippines since 2019. By the next two years, the shared infrastructure provider aims to complete the first half of its target “despite the pandemic and the lockdowns that have placed limitations on mobility.” “ T he first phase wou ld be 20,000 kilometers, and I’m very confident that by the first half of next year, we would have finished the construction. That’s only three years, and it’s actually faster than we have planned,” Huang said. He added that by deploying more digital solutions and infrastructure, PFOCN is helping uplift the quality of life of Filipinos, especially in underserved areas. “With our rollout in the near future, I would say, in the next one to two years—the entire industry will be revolutionized, and disrupted in a positive way. People in Mindanao, in Palawan, in Baguio, Tuguegarao, other middle level cities like Tarlac—all those cities will have internet access that is on par or close to what we have in Manila right now,” Huang said.

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, July 5, 2021

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

July 2, 2021

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

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

46 114.9 89.55 25.75 10.34 48.8 11 19.66 22.5 55.95 22.1 122.2 77 1.46 4.3 3.1 1.3 0.7 205 2,500

46.1 115.4 89.65 25.8 10.36 48.85 11.1 20 22.55 56 22.2 122.3 77.45 1.47 4.38 3.19 1.43 0.72 212 2,510

45.5 115 89 25.5 10.38 49 11.1 19.98 22.9 56 22.5 119.8 77.45 1.44 4.4 3.05 1.32 0.73 209 2,524

46.1 115.4 89.85 25.8 10.4 49.1 11.1 19.98 22.9 56 22.9 123 77.45 1.6 4.4 3.21 1.32 0.73 212 2,524

45.5 114.1 89 25.45 10.2 48.75 11 19.98 22.2 55.5 22.05 119.2 77 1.44 4.3 3.01 1.29 0.72 204.6 2,510

46.1 115.4 89.65 25.75 10.36 48.8 11 19.98 22.5 56 22.2 122.3 77 1.47 4.38 3.19 1.29 0.72 212 2,510

6,300 1,158,460 904,650 147,200 478,800 1,060,400 72,200 1,900 740,000 1,530 289,000 650,060 3,540 2,128,000 74,000 161,000 167,000 61,000 7,220 50

289,770 133,247,705 81,101,578.50 3,780,900 4,917,528 51,881,420 800,560 37,962 16,664,600 85,515 6,470,645 79,233,673 273,665 3,220,280 324,090 507,560 216,990 43,930 1,517,288 125,920

92,200 2,460,704 50,291,680.50 872,370 -589,936 -6,220,565 689,560 356,320 -345,185 9,708,413 6,930 1,278,168 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 8.45 8.46 8.43 8.55 8.34 8.45 25,616,200 216,634,911 ALSONS CONS 1.33 1.36 1.33 1.36 1.33 1.33 488,000 651,210 ABOITIZ POWER 24.8 24.85 25.15 25.15 24.75 24.8 1,985,300 49,324,990 BASIC ENERGY 0.79 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.79 0.8 9,286,000 7,368,400 FIRST GEN 30.15 30.2 30.1 30.2 30.05 30.15 327,800 9,872,930 FIRST PHIL HLDG 78.75 78.8 79.1 79.2 78.75 78.75 39,970 3,153,639 MERALCO 280 281.6 280.8 281.6 278.4 281.6 176,800 49,582,608 MANILA WATER 18.62 18.68 18.48 18.74 18.26 18.68 701,100 12,997,978 PETRON 3.32 3.34 3.33 3.34 3.31 3.34 891,000 2,964,620 PETROENERGY 4.03 4.13 4.11 4.13 4.11 4.13 10,000 41,230 PHX PETROLEUM 12.64 12.98 13 13.02 12.98 12.98 9,500 123,474 PILIPINAS SHELL 19.98 20 20 20.25 19.98 19.98 303,300 6,064,334 12.3 12.4 12.4 12.5 12.22 12.4 144,500 1,783,858 SPC POWER 17.52 18.46 18.88 18.88 17.5 17.5 5,100 90,148 VIVANT AGRINURTURE 6.19 6.2 6.35 6.38 6.2 6.2 2,530,800 15,892,274 2.94 2.96 2.92 2.96 2.9 2.96 139,000 406,590 AXELUM CNTRL AZUCARERA 14.2 14.5 14.4 14.5 14.2 14.2 10,800 156,200 CENTURY FOOD 23.4 23.7 23.95 23.95 23.4 23.4 1,568,200 36,823,075 14.8 14.9 14.76 15 14.52 14.9 801,700 11,751,486 DEL MONTE 8.59 8.61 8.35 8.61 8.35 8.61 9,361,700 79,669,966 DNL INDUS 12.18 12.2 12.1 12.22 11.74 12.2 3,286,500 39,499,646 EMPERADOR 82.8 82.9 81.2 84 80.6 82.9 352,680 29,137,682 SMC FOODANDBEV 0.66 0.67 0.63 0.66 0.63 0.66 677,000 443,190 ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG 1.38 1.39 1.39 1.4 1.38 1.39 2,239,000 3,103,030 GINEBRA 99.05 99.4 99.7 99.7 93.35 99.4 18,680 1,857,614.50 JOLLIBEE 213 213.4 214.6 215.4 211.6 213 447,130 95,340,206 LIBERTY FLOUR 30.55 31.45 31.45 31.45 31 31.3 900 28,185 MAXS GROUP 6.85 6.87 6.9 6.9 6.8 6.87 53,200 364,364 MG HLDG 0.295 0.3 0.285 0.295 0.28 0.295 2,460,000 709,200 MONDE NISSIN 17 17.02 16.86 17.16 16.84 17 11,106,800 188,686,396 SHAKEYS PIZZA 8.4 8.45 8.35 8.4 8.3 8.4 57,600 481,314 ROXAS AND CO 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.05 1.04 1.04 166,000 173,630 RFM CORP 4.65 4.66 4.7 4.7 4.65 4.65 643,000 2,999,820 SWIFT FOODS 0.149 0.15 0.157 0.157 0.148 0.149 48,280,000 7,343,770 145.9 146 145.1 146.4 145.1 146 486,970 71,079,731 UNIV ROBINA 0.87 0.88 0.87 0.88 0.86 0.87 4,892,000 4,255,650 VITARICH CONCRETE B 59.9 62.8 59.9 59.9 59.85 59.85 2,530 151,513.50 CEMEX HLDG 1.29 1.3 1.33 1.33 1.29 1.29 3,213,000 4,172,450 3.05 3.06 3.02 3.09 2.98 3.06 1,402,000 4,258,960 DAVINCI CAPITAL 15.34 15.4 15.32 15.34 15.2 15.34 559,500 8,564,654 EAGLE CEMENT 7.8 7.85 7.71 7.8 7.69 7.8 1,141,900 8,822,935 EEI CORP 7.26 7.27 7.2 7.33 7.06 7.26 5,656,700 40,736,888 HOLCIM 6.96 7 6.83 7.06 6.83 6.96 6,123,600 42,716,980 MEGAWIDE 13.7 13.8 13.6 13.8 13 13.8 164,200 2,197,322 PHINMA 1.07 1.08 1.07 1.07 1.06 1.07 40,000 42,790 TKC METALS CROWN ASIA 1.73 1.74 1.76 1.76 1.72 1.74 1,489,000 2,573,980 EUROMED 2 2.07 2 2.09 1.98 2.07 312,000 636,720 MABUHAY VINYL 5.26 5.27 5.26 5.27 5.26 5.27 4,000 21,044 PRYCE CORP 5.38 5.4 5.38 5.38 5.38 5.38 13,300 71,554 CONCEPCION 21.5 21.9 21.9 21.95 21.5 21.5 11,300 244,680 GREENERGY 4.44 4.45 4.46 4.48 4.4 4.45 7,294,000 32,493,760 INTEGRATED MICR 9.95 10 10 10.1 9.9 10 406,900 4,048,885 IONICS 1.08 1.1 1.11 1.11 1.07 1.1 1,202,000 1,311,020 PANASONIC 5.77 5.8 5.89 5.89 5.77 5.77 29,600 171,575 SFA SEMICON 1.31 1.33 1.34 1.34 1.3 1.31 333,000 438,150 CIRTEK HLDG 5.75 5.76 5.72 5.85 5.65 5.76 8,707,200 50,199,383

-36,655,902 -81,000 -23,791,120 -71,200 -2,266,725 165,880 12,131,952 -25,898 -809,180 -2,545,820 9,776 1,839,326 -2,109,005 -808,460 -23,868,698 -1,763,044 -2,458,141.50 -36,050 82,800 -17,929 866,826 10,215 20,228,006 98,840 239,710 8,732,562 -2,012,230 18,400 -1,530,000 -2,219,740 -2,170,074 3,002,368 411,920 17,250 78,155 4,386,120 340,745 108,500 -4,512,857

HOLDING & FRIMS

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

1.11 7.12 806.5 42.55 10.28 4.15 7 1.07 0.71 0.72 5.37 6.69 8.1 2.91 0.295 617.5 4.17 62.65 5.63 5.55 0.91 3.34 12.82 0.53 3.93 3.58 3.01 2.88 1.26 1,015 115.9 0.77 138 0.295 0.244

1.12 7.3 813 42.65 10.36 4.16 7.1 1.08 0.72 0.73 5.38 6.7 8.15 3.08 0.31 619.5 4.29 63 5.83 5.58 0.92 3.43 12.94 0.55 3.94 3.65 3.04 2.89 1.28 1,018 116 0.78 140 0.3 0.245

1.12 7.32 807 42.8 10.3 4.17 7.1 1.05 0.72 0.71 5.42 6.55 8.15 3.08 0.31 614 4.16 62.75 5.64 5.58 0.93 3.34 12.98 0.53 3.94 3.67 3 2.88 1.26 1,017 116 0.77 139 0.3 0.245

1.13 7.32 816 42.8 10.4 4.18 7.1 1.2 0.73 0.74 5.42 6.72 8.15 3.08 0.31 620 4.3 63 5.64 5.59 0.94 3.34 13 0.55 3.96 3.67 3.1 2.88 1.26 1,021 117.1 0.8 140 0.305 0.247

1.1 7.3 806 42.35 10.2 4.1 7.1 1.02 0.7 0.71 5.36 6.48 8.1 3.08 0.3 610 4.16 61.7 5.62 5.58 0.91 3.34 12.82 0.53 3.92 3.6 2.99 2.88 1.25 1,006 115.9 0.77 139 0.29 0.238

1.11 7.3 813 42.55 10.28 4.15 7.1 1.07 0.71 0.73 5.37 6.7 8.1 3.08 0.31 619.5 4.17 63 5.64 5.59 0.92 3.34 12.82 0.55 3.94 3.61 3.01 2.88 1.26 1,018 116 0.77 140 0.295 0.244

6,703,000 3,200 177,000 360,700 3,472,100 3,928,000 8,100 71,010,000 336,000 53,000 1,121,700 18,485,900 107,700 1,000 380,000 32,310 22,000 906,550 27,200 3,000 907,000 4,000 966,700 637,000 5,513,000 6,000 1,085,000 103,000 590,000 111,995 88,610 214,000 2,160 2,880,000 4,170,000

7,452,820 23,422 143,431,705 15,309,070 35,778,026 16,274,460 57,510 78,997,700 237,960 39,150 6,047,779 123,241,975 872,575 3,080 116,800 19,873,745 92,820 56,946,166.50 153,246 16,760 836,630 13,360 12,427,834 339,730 21,711,390 21,710 3,283,670 296,640 739,400 113,924,555 10,282,219 166,150 302,250 846,000 1,014,490

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.67 0.68 0.68 0.69 0.66 0.67 594,000 400,250 ANCHOR LAND 7.49 7.91 7.46 7.46 7.45 7.45 1,400 10,441 AYALA LAND 36.7 36.9 36.7 36.95 36.35 36.9 2,887,800 105,931,315 AREIT RT 36.75 36.8 36.65 36.85 36.4 36.8 621,200 22,842,660 BELLE CORP 1.43 1.44 1.47 1.47 1.43 1.44 1,808,000 2,610,640 A BROWN 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.95 0.93 0.94 1,882,000 1,768,540 CITYLAND DEVT 1.04 1.05 1.02 1.05 1.01 1.04 2,793,000 2,857,190 CROWN EQUITIES 0.135 0.137 0.139 0.139 0.135 0.137 2,200,000 298,880 CEBU HLDG 6.52 6.97 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 10,000 65,000 CEB LANDMASTERS 3.7 3.73 3.87 3.88 3.68 3.7 3,296,000 12,287,900 CENTURY PROP 0.51 0.53 0.53 0.54 0.5 0.53 53,783,000 27,645,310 DOUBLEDRAGON 11.94 12.2 12.1 12.2 11.9 12.2 1,060,600 12,778,958 1.99 2.01 2.01 2.02 1.99 1.99 9,746,000 19,538,430 DDMP RT 7.12 7.15 7.19 7.19 7.06 7.15 101,500 722,970 DM WENCESLAO 0.31 0.315 0.315 0.32 0.31 0.315 700,000 220,250 EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO 0.54 0.55 0.57 0.58 0.52 0.54 181,082,000 99,337,720 1.12 1.13 1.13 1.13 1.11 1.12 4,910,000 5,517,780 FILINVEST LAND 0.88 0.89 0.9 0.91 0.89 0.89 448,000 400,050 GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG 7.18 7.27 7.35 7.35 7.11 7.18 69,400 497,308 1.41 1.44 1.41 1.44 1.4 1.44 513,000 723,940 PHIL INFRADEV CITY AND LAND 1.85 1.86 1.86 1.89 1.82 1.85 1,282,000 2,371,960 3.19 3.2 3.25 3.29 3.19 3.2 68,395,000 220,048,800 MEGAWORLD 0.415 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.41 0.415 14,590,000 6,036,850 MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES 0.68 0.69 0.73 0.74 0.68 0.68 54,880,000 38,497,490 PRIMEX CORP 3.11 3.12 3.18 3.18 3.08 3.11 1,017,000 3,161,730 ROBINSONS LAND 17.7 17.8 17.7 17.7 17.64 17.7 871,900 15,414,908 PHIL REALTY 0.405 0.41 0.42 0.42 0.405 0.405 11,280,000 4,635,500 ROCKWELL 1.56 1.57 1.56 1.58 1.54 1.58 222,000 343,840 SHANG PROP 2.66 2.7 2.65 2.7 2.65 2.7 15,000 39,930 STA LUCIA LAND 2.89 2.9 2.93 2.97 2.86 2.9 391,000 1,134,560 SM PRIME HLDG 36.8 37 36.9 37 36.5 37 24,510,800 899,094,400 VISTAMALLS 3.9 3.93 3.91 3.94 3.85 3.9 121,000 472,640 SUNTRUST HOME 1.65 1.66 1.68 1.68 1.65 1.66 268,000 445,630 VISTA LAND 3.78 3.79 3.81 3.81 3.76 3.78 1,263,000 4,775,990 SERVICES ABS CBN 12.7 12.9 13.2 13.2 12.7 12.7 617,900 7,945,038 GMA NETWORK 14.48 14.5 14.5 14.8 14.48 14.48 1,523,400 22,196,254 MANILA BULLETIN 0.435 0.46 0.445 0.445 0.435 0.435 240,000 105,750 MLA BRDCASTING 9.9 10.4 10.42 10.42 10.42 10.42 6,900 71,898 GLOBE TELECOM 1,880 1,885 1,870 1,890 1,870 1,885 59,650 112,235,760 PLDT 1,319 1,327 1,326 1,329 1,301 1,327 41,430 54,820,975 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.18 0.181 0.18 0.181 0.179 0.18 87,410,000 15,724,990 CONVERGE 22.35 22.4 22.3 22.5 22.3 22.35 2,617,100 58,606,135 DFNN INC 4.39 4.4 4.22 4.48 4.22 4.39 1,251,000 5,432,490 DITO CME HLDG 8.99 9 9.07 9.16 8.96 8.99 6,143,000 55,721,177 JACKSTONES 2.36 2.46 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41 12,000 28,920 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.48 0.485 0.5 0.5 0.475 0.485 19,873,000 9,666,670 2.42 2.45 2.45 2.45 2.45 2.45 78,000 191,100 PHILWEB 2GO GROUP 8.36 8.51 8.35 8.54 8.35 8.52 7,000 58,962 14.8 14.88 14.9 14.9 14.88 14.88 2,100 31,276 ASIAN TERMINALS CHELSEA 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.06 3.07 994,000 3,048,900 CEBU AIR 52.75 52.8 53.6 53.6 52 52.75 745,080 39,369,714.50 165.3 165.5 161 166.4 161 165.3 2,042,430 336,715,056 INTL CONTAINER 18 18.36 18.36 18.36 18 18 1,300 23,436 LBC EXPRESS MACROASIA 5.34 5.35 5.43 5.43 5.31 5.35 1,885,900 10,096,709 2.15 2.18 2.12 2.24 2.09 2.18 520,000 1,125,120 METROALLIANCE A HARBOR STAR 1.21 1.22 1.22 1.23 1.21 1.22 253,000 307,520 1.95 1.98 1.88 1.99 1.88 1.95 134,000 261,000 ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG 0.137 0.138 0.133 0.142 0.13 0.138 656,860,000 89,705,370 DISCOVERY WORLD 3.11 3.15 3.11 3.18 3.11 3.15 44,000 138,200 WATERFRONT 0.59 0.6 0.6 0.61 0.59 0.59 820,000 489,130 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.55 6.95 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.6 1,500 9,900 STI HLDG 0.385 0.395 0.395 0.395 0.39 0.395 10,750,000 4,194,500 BERJAYA 5.25 5.47 5.4 5.5 5.23 5.47 27,300 147,063 BLOOMBERRY 6.41 6.46 6.59 6.61 6.41 6.41 9,964,800 64,337,958 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.06 2.1 2.06 2.06 2.06 2.06 5,000 10,300 LEISURE AND RES 1.6 1.61 1.61 1.62 1.58 1.61 437,000 694,360 PH RESORTS GRP 1.91 1.92 1.96 1.98 1.88 1.92 5,862,000 11,261,720 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.42 0.425 0.42 0.43 0.42 0.425 4,350,000 1,848,700 7.92 7.98 7.9 7.99 7.89 7.92 10,373,300 81,956,467 ALLHOME 1.43 1.44 1.43 1.45 1.43 1.43 912,000 1,308,510 METRO RETAIL 41.45 41.5 40.7 41.5 40.4 41.5 4,894,900 200,721,515 PUREGOLD 55.6 55.65 55.6 56.2 55.2 55.65 1,997,860 111,369,958 ROBINSONS RTL 96 97 98 98 96 96 6,930 671,525.50 PHIL SEVEN CORP 1.22 1.24 1.22 1.23 1.21 1.22 4,137,000 5,031,590 SSI GROUP 20.9 21 20 21.15 20 21 4,968,900 104,071,675 WILCON DEPOT 0.38 0.39 0.38 0.39 0.38 0.39 1,970,000 749,850 APC GROUP EASYCALL 6.01 6.12 6.13 6.13 6.01 6.01 6,200 37,356 425.4 441 441 441 441 441 1,200 529,200 GOLDEN MV PRMIERE HORIZON 1.65 1.66 1.66 1.68 1.64 1.65 6,778,000 11,191,040 SBS PHIL CORP 4.21 4.4 4.25 4.25 4.2 4.21 34,000 143,130 MINING & OIL

48,940 -50,251,070 -1,485,450 -21,536,840 7,768,170.00 -267,080 -397,089 4,584,074 -827,834 9,207,500 -4,300 15,449,334.50 8,460 9,100 -5,326,622 516,720 -18,780 -5,292,555 -129,670 81,400 -281,400 47,100 15,035,240 453,880 4,390 -2,076,950 392,090 284,190 -3,989,884 7,160,390.00 -2,148 -2,643,680.00 -1,255,710 13,221 -18,200 -59,734,070.00 -58,200 -77,980 986,800 2,378,892 98,600 -145,160 714,453,540 -40,320 -2,163,060 54,209,820 11,708,780 467,900 -12,464,815 1,072,380 158,083 456,485 18,392 -13,482,968 4,794,612 309,505 6,030 -21,830.00 18,000 -4,028,850 -19,385,102 88,480 371,170 4,200 -2,343,736 -406,630 23,667,525 -42,959,021 -356,685.50 -2,958,340 29,905,450 4,291 131,150 -42,100

ATOK 8.47 8.5 8.55 8.64 8.5 8.5 436,800 3,739,718 -4,295 APEX MINING 1.61 1.64 1.64 1.64 1.6 1.61 1,678,000 2,703,380 -16,960 ATLAS MINING 6.31 6.32 6.3 6.35 6.28 6.31 579,600 3,659,831 -232,609 BENGUET A 5.6 5.65 5.77 5.79 5.55 5.6 117,100 664,990 BENGUET B 5.47 5.6 5.54 5.68 5.5 5.65 51,200 286,820 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.305 0.32 0.305 0.315 0.305 0.315 130,000 40,150 CENTURY PEAK 2.84 2.87 2.85 2.87 2.85 2.87 60,000 171,200 28,700 DIZON MINES 6.56 6.77 6.82 6.82 6.6 6.77 52,900 350,024 18,588 FERRONICKEL 2.47 2.48 2.53 2.53 2.45 2.47 5,163,000 12,806,000 -1,163,860 GEOGRACE 0.36 0.365 0.345 0.36 0.345 0.36 4,380,000 1,549,050 LEPANTO A 0.163 0.164 0.16 0.165 0.159 0.163 108,950,000 17,679,650 0.164 0.165 0.158 0.166 0.158 0.164 1,130,000 184,750 LEPANTO B MANILA MINING A 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 57,800,000 637,300 MANILA MINING B 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.013 0.011 0.012 142,400,000 1,705,300 MARCVENTURES 1.21 1.24 1.25 1.25 1.2 1.24 1,594,000 1,931,680 980 1.58 1.61 1.63 1.66 1.58 1.58 1,646,000 2,645,940 -20,940 NIHAO 5.53 5.59 5.65 5.67 5.49 5.59 6,375,700 35,355,530 12,388,523 NICKEL ASIA 0.415 0.44 0.41 0.44 0.41 0.44 70,000 29,000 OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA 1 1.01 1.01 1.02 1 1.02 1,237,000 1,242,920 -10,000 6.8 6.83 6.58 6.8 6.5 6.8 2,507,500 16,783,054 -176,825 PX MINING 15.98 16 15.56 16.06 15.56 15.98 6,186,100 98,395,670 402,818 SEMIRARA MINING 0.01 0.011 0.0098 0.011 0.0096 0.01 692,000,000 7,040,300 -140,000 UNITED PARAGON ACE ENEXOR 18 18.26 18.2 18.3 17.7 18.26 300,400 5,404,698 214,402 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.012 29,700,000 371,800 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 7,000,000 84,000 PHILODRILL 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 83,200,000 998,400 PXP ENERGY 8.06 8.14 8.08 8.32 8.05 8.06 938,400 7,690,918 -84,015.00 PREFFERED HOUSE PREF B 101.6 101.7 101.7 101.7 101.7 101.7 120 12,204 HOUSE PREF A 100.5 102 101 101 101 101 2,000 202,000 AC PREF B2R 523 530 523 530 523 523 6,980 3,650,750 CEB PREF 51.7 51.9 52.8 52.8 51.6 51.7 77,040 4,004,532.50 -799,955.50 DD PREF 100.9 102 102 102 101 101 650 65,750 FGEN PREF G 107 110.9 109 110.9 109 110.9 4,100 449,780 MWIDE PREF 100.8 101.1 101.5 101.5 100.8 100.9 10,510 1,062,107 MWIDE PREF 2B 100.7 101.8 100.7 100.7 100.7 100.7 250 25,175 PNX PREF 3B 105.1 106.8 106.8 106.8 104.7 106.8 220 23,299 PNX PREF 4 1,003 1,006 1,006 1,006 1,002 1,006 615 618,530 PCOR PREF 2B 1,030 1,052 1,054 1,054 1,053 1,053 95 100,045 PCOR PREF 3A 1,115 1,116 1,115 1,115 1,115 1,115 20,100 22,411,500 1,147 1,160 1,160 1,169 1,160 1,169 450 522,950 PCOR PREF 3B SMC PREF 2C 79 79.8 79.8 79.9 79.8 79.8 2,000 159,614 SMC PREF 2E 76.5 76.95 76.95 76.95 76.95 76.95 4,540 349,353 SMC PREF 2F 78.95 79.5 78.95 78.95 78.95 78.95 960 75,792 SMC PREF 2H 78 78.5 78 78 78 78 4,010 312,780 - PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 12.24 12.4 12.24 12.5 12.22 12.24 16,800 207,244 -165,648 GMA HLDG PDR 13 13.04 13 13.14 13 13 140,400 1,826,824 104,000 WARRANTS LR WARRANT 1.88 1.9 1.92 1.92 1.86 1.88 1,218,000 2,285,220 -112,800 SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 17.3 17.32 17.24 17.9 17.1 17.32 58,700 1,015,372 ITALPINAS 2.53 2.54 2.52 2.56 2.5 2.54 193,000 487,500 -10,200 KEPWEALTH 5.09 5.33 5.17 5.33 5.03 5.33 56,600 291,857 -63,690 MERRYMART 4.14 4.15 4.18 4.19 4.14 4.15 3,415,000 14,213,110 -54,230 EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF 105.8 106 105.6 106 105.6 106 13,640 1,445,099 -8,425

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE: Capital raising to hit record high due to REITs

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

he Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) said capital raising via its platform may hit a new record this year due to a series of real estate investment trust (REIT) listings. PSE President Ramon S. Monzon sa id he is bu l lish about the prospects of equaling the P228.33 billion raised in 2012, which included some secondary shares. In the first semester, the PSE had already raised P122.46 billion, higher

than the P103.76 billion raised in the entire 2020. “So far, we’ve hit P122 billion and with luck smiling on us, hopefully, we can approximate that high or we can exceed that high,” Monzon said, adding that the pandemic has made it more difficult for firms to borrow

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK

money as banks had to tighten their lending standards. “Because of the economic difficulties, a lot of the companies had to borrow, and, I guess, they were reaching their credit limits. But their need for capital continues so they have to go to the equities market.” The REIT listings, however, are the main contributors to the increase, and without it the PSE cannot raise as much through regular initial public offering (IPO) or share sale. Monzon said three REITs will list on the PSE while Jollibee Foods Corp. is planning to conduct a preferred share sale in the coming months. Megaworld Corp. is planning the biggest REIT IPO so far at P27.3 billion, followed by Robinsons Land Corp. with P26.67 billion, and Fil-

mutual funds

July 2, 2021

Last week

invest Land Inc. with P14.88 billion. Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. is also planning its VREIT IPO in the fourth quarter but the company has yet to disclose the target size while AllDay Markets Inc., the Villar supermarket arm, is planning a P5 billion to P6 billion IPO by October. Jollibee plans to raise P8 billion to P12 billion from its preferred share offering, which will bring the capitalraising target to at least P87 billion in the second semester. If these fund-raising activities push through, total capital raised, excluding VREIT, should reach at least P209.31 billion this year. A new record can be hit if the VREIT IPO reaches P19 billion or if there are other stock offerings that will be added to the pipeline.

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year

per share

Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds

Share prices rose last week, with the main index closing at the 7,000-point level, as investors gained more confidence in the country’s economic recovery despite the extension of the quarantine restrictions. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 51.75 points to close at 7,002.26. The main index started the week sluggish, but managed to post gains at the start of the new month. Daily average value of trade was still down at P5.54 billion as foreign investors, which made up 33 percent of the trade, were net sellers at P4.01 billion. Other subindices managed to post gains with the exception of the Property index that fell 40.47 points to 3,375.14. The broader All Shares index gained 65.39 to 4,294.97, the Financials index rose 18.12 to 1,518.49, the Industrial index added 159.08 to 9,701.48, the Holding Firms index climbed 95.29 to 7,026.58, the Services index increased 31.26 to 1,614.81 and the Mining and Oil index surged 516.17 to 9,838.56. Gainers and losers were almost even at 113 to 111 while 24 shares were unchanged. Top gainers were Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Anglo Philippine Holdings Corp., Ever-Gotesco Resources and Holdings Inc., Keppel Philippines Holdings Inc. A, Seafront Resources Corp. and Semirara Mining and Power Corp. Corp., Philippine Estates Corp., Philippine Realty and Holdings Corp., Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. and Cebu Landmasters Inc. and ACE Enexor Inc.

ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

223.41

9.74%

-3.33%

-3.74%

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.4198

36.11%

-0.69%

1.51%

8.13%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.0831

11.89%

-7.62%

-5.97%

-1.59%

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.78

11.11%

-3.48% n.a.

-2.97%

First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7601 11.45%

-2.02% n.a.

This week

Share prices may continue to rise this week on investors’ optimism over the country’s economic recovery in the second half of the year. “Optimism has outpaced cautiousness as vaccination progress outweighs the concerns of elevated Covid-19 cases at more than 5,000 per day,” said Christopher John Mangun, head of research at AAA Equities Inc. He said inflation data for June will be released in the coming week and will be a big factor for investors. “Most expect it to be slightly higher than the 4.5 percent that we have seen in the last three consecutive months. We expect it to come in closer to 5 percent due to higher global oil prices but anything above that will be a concern and will hamper the economy’s recovery as well as the general investor sentiment,” Mangun said. Meanwhile, Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, senior research analyst at Philstocks Financials Inc., said investors are expected to remain cautious while waiting for the latest financial reports. “Given all of these, we may see sideways movement for the local market with an upward bias next week. Risk seen for the market next week is the Delta variant of Covid-19. Detection of more cases in our country with the said strain may tilt the market’s bias to the downside.” The local market’s 10-day exponential moving average of 6,932.13 is seen as its initial support while initial resistance is seen at 7,300, he said.

Stock picks

Broker Regina Capital Development Corp. advised investors to take their positions on the stock of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) as its correction last week means that any subsequent rally will be more sustainable. “The buying pressure from its indicators may have waned a bit, but it is still far from the overbought region. This is what can be considered a cooldown before continuation. Before another run-up, ICTSI is likely to consolidate for a few days first. Do note, however, ICTSI’s share price volatility increases more and more each day. This means that the longer ICTSI continues its surprising uptrend, the larger will be the correction—should such a thing occur.” ICTSI shares closed Friday at P165.30 apiece. Meanwhile, it advised to sell on rallies on the stock of SM Investments Corp. as its stock price is trading well above its weekly high with indicators getting overrun by buying pressure. “There may be another attempt to breach the P1,020.00 resistance-which SMIC did break intra-day in the previous trading session. Whether or not SM will be able to stop being range-bound will depend on the stock’s share price volatility which, in the previous days, has been going down a lot. Nonetheless, should SMIC correct slightly, the psychological support at P1,000.00 is there to slow down the fall.” SMIC shares closed at P1,018 apiece last week. VG Cabuag

First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.9225

2.49%

-0.9%

-1.92%

-0.38%

First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.7218

4.67%

-4.5%

-6.43%

MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

-2.21% n.a.

-1.02%

13.05%

-1.68%

100.9

26.79%

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

45.83

11.89%

-1.3%

-2.57%

-2.17%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

480.51

9.82%

-1.53%

-2.96%

-1.73%

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

1.0914

21.35% n.a. n.a.

-0.54%

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.1587

12.15%

-1.39%

-2.07%

-0.81%

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

34.3

12.81%

-0.93%

-1.5%

-1.35%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.8932

10.53% n.a. n.a.

-2.17%

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.6959

12.57%

-0.64%

-1.99%

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

786.56

12.63%

-0.54%

-1.94%

-1.88%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.7158

12.49%

-4.8%

-4.94%

-0.43%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.5546

10.05%

-1.91%

-1.83%

-3.2%

-3.36%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8983 12.02%

-0.91%

-2.08%

-2.11%

United Fund, Inc. -a

-1.56%

-1.14%

-1.69%

-0.32%

-1.36%

3.2628

11.19%

-5%

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

105.586

12.63%

-1.83%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$1.2741

32.2%

7.78%

9.04%

5.92%

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.8082

31.75%

12.62%

12.89%

8.09%

0.86%

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

1.6829

7.95%

1.08%

-1.65%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.2534

8.73%

0.49%

-0.72%

-1.4%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6185

7.37%

1.59%

-0.47%

-0.32%

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1963

4.58% n.a. n.a.

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

2.69%

1.9674

7.13%

0.48%

0.17%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.7036

4.88%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

16.5997

5.6%

1.9%

-0.74%

-2.23%

1.97%

-0.72%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

2.0714

6.79%

-1.99%

0.66%

-0.49%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.534

6.47%

-1.08%

-0.3%

-1.68%

-1.1%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9903

3.63% n.a. n.a.

-3.16%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.9137

5.81% n.a. n.a.

-3.74%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9017

7.49% n.a. n.a.

-3.37%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

8.24%

0.29%

0.8903

-0.79%

-1.89%

-1.16%

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

$0.03812

-0.78%

3.11%

1.3%

-2.56%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.1385

15.81%

4.43%

5.22%

-1.02%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.7562 23.51%

9.63%

9.04%

5.39%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.2188 11.91%

5.54%

5.01%

1.39%

0.36%

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

372.4

1.74%

3.23%

2.44%

ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.9283

-0.73%

1.13%

0.15%

1.47%

Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.23

1.18%

3.79%

4.31%

0.48%

Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a

2.2635

-1.73%

2.25%

1.31%

-1.42%

First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4414 -0.43%

3.28%

1.67%

-0.48% -3.23%

Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a

4.4851

-3.41%

4.34%

1.32%

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6

1.3222

1.8%

4.2%

2.76%

0.08%

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.9806

0.36%

4.52%

2.21%

-0.51%

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.0366

0.81%

4.68%

1.68%

-0.52%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.2148

1.27%

5.51%

2.51%

0.27%

Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

0.32%

4.78%

1.84%

-0.3%

1.7497

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$486.15

2.61%

3.2%

2.24%

0.47%

ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a

Є220.14

2.22%

1.15%

1.11%

0.44%

ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.1906

-2.35%

2.35%

1.18%

-7.01%

First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.026 0.39%

1.72%

0.87%

-2.26%

PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b

$1.0483

-2.07%

0.43%

-0.89%

-4.06%

Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$2.5065

2.55%

5.41%

2.01%

-1.15%

$0.0629847

3.95%

3.56%

2.21%

1.07%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1742 -0.04%

3.29%

0.79%

-1.53%

Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. - a

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

2.53%

0.39%

First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0531 1.1% n.a. n.a.

130.32

1.67%

0.48%

Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.3054

0.68%

1.71%

3.05% 2.84%

2.56%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0577

1.21%

1.67% n.a.

0.5%

Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.2843 n.a. n.a. n.a.

13.7%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2

7.53% n.a. n.a.

2.04%

a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU). 1 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 2 - Launch date is November 15, 2019. 3 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019. 4 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 5 - Launch date is December 09, 2019. 6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund). 7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020.

"While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa.com.ph to see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

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Perspectives Nurturing a culture that’s fit for the cloud

ISTORICALLY, information technology has been responsible for infrastructure provisioning and, before the cloud, was primarily focused on the challenges on the ground. The security team is charged with scanning that infrastructure for vulnerabilities, but they often don’t know what to scan due to a disconnect with IT on an updated threat list. Managing infrastructure and related assets has always been demanding, but in the cloud, where everything is faster and more ephemeral, getting security involved early and hardcoded into the provisioning plan is a challenge and struggle for many governments. In terms of the cloud, government security teams are largely not prepared to enable the business, neither in terms of skills nor talent. In the cloud, the priority is information protection. More and more, we’re finding that the way data is being deployed in the cloud is often not necessarily resilient. We’re not simply talking about multiple availability zones, but the ability to recover critical assets if there’s a major breach. We also see two camps that seemingly operate at opposite ends of the security spectrum. On one side are the old-school practitioners who have been working in security architecture for 20 years or more but haven’t fully adapted to life in the cloud. On the other side, you’ve got cutting-edge security professionals who fully embrace today’s technology and are trying to promote and enable the cloud mindset so security can be embedded by design and at scale. As governments continue their migration to the cloud, getting these factions on the same page is a priority.

Guiding principles to help create a safe and secure life in the clouds

zations have already proved that they can move fast in reacting to the pandemic, so now is the time to translate any lessons learned into business as usual. Security can enable success through incremental steps. For example, go live with a new container protection strategy in small bites, and enable the business to move fast. Shift security to the left into the early stages of your software testing cycle. Doing so can help to enhance value to both customers and users. Apply security—again, in small bites—as far left in the process as possible, which can typically involve infrastructure as code. You can help make it happen by empowering developers to hard code the required security measures without the security team’s involvement, which the cloud can facilitate. Have an appreciation of the underlying code The ability to read and write code can earn the respect of DevOps engineers. Increasingly, we will likely need security professionals with an ability to code, as we continue to move away from that traditional security architecture role of measuring diagrams and handing it over to a solution designer or solution, which then goes to an engineer to stand up physical infrastructure. Work to understand—and communicate to the entire enterprise Help the enterprise understand the connection between business enablement, business resilience, and information protection. It’s not much of a departure from how you would do it on premises, but it can be a little bit different when you’ve got critical data in the cloud. Making this part of your DNA can help you weed out the “noise” from an operations perspective so you can focus on bigger security priorities.

Become a learning organization One of the things that attracts cloud talent, beyond money, is culture. Prospective employees should know they’re not joining a classic, hyper-risk-averse, slowmoving organization. Creating a culture that’s open to innovation and experimentation can help attract new talent. Know your environment Build an understanding of what data you hold, what can be appropriately stored off-premise versus on-premise, and then implement controls to help ensure this data is classified and stored correctly. More than most organizations, governments can hold the key to highly sensitive data. If this data gets into the wrong hands, it could harm national security. Think small—act fast Send the message that you can build things fast, break things faster, and then rebuild based on what you’ve learned. Most organi-

The excerpt was taken from the KPMG Thought Leadership entitled “Securing the cloud—the next chapter in public services.” © 2021 R.G. Manabat & Co., a Philippine partnership and a member-firm of the KPMG global organization of independent member-firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved. KPMG in the Philippines is hosting an Innovation Summit on 5 to 8 July 2021 where industry technology leaders and KPMG experts from audit and assurance, tax and advisory fields, will share their insights and demonstrate the latest technology trends to guide organizations and keep them ahead of the competition. Register here for free: https://bit.ly/3vgia3b. This event is spearheaded by KPMG in the Philippines’s Lighthouse Group. With over 12,500 professionals working across different regions, KPMG Lighthouse is a recognized Center for Excellence for data, analytics, cybersecurity, regulatorydriven transformation, intelligent automation and emerging technologies. Visit home.kpmg/ ph to know how KPMG can help organizations in successfully navigating through their transformation journeys.

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Monday, July 5, 2021

LandBank ‘more than capable’ to handle merger with UCPB

By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

HE slated merger between Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) and United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) will result in combined assets totaling close to P3 trillion by the end of the year, proving that the merger will be beneficial for both parties, LandBank said.

“The merged assets will significantly grow LandBank’s loan portfolio directed at servicing the whole agriculture sector, especially coconut farmers, alongside key development industries,” LandBank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo was quoted in a statement as saying. “The syn-

ergy created by the merger will provide a much better position for us to respond to the evolving needs of our diverse clientele, especially the underserved and unbanked.” In an earlier analysis, Fitch Ratings Inc. warned that the merger may have a negative impact on Land-

Bank’s credit profile. “UCPB has been under a longdrawn rehabilitation program because of its weak financial health but its size relative to LandBank could significantly weaken the larger bank’s financial profile, as it would make up about 14 percent of LBP’s assets, based on our preliminary understanding of the pro forma merged entity,” Fitch Ratings has said. However, in a statement issued over the weekend, Borromeo said the merger will “solidify” LandBank’s place as the second-largest bank in the country in terms of assets. “LandBank is more than capable of absorbing the financial impact of the merger with UCPB,” Borromeo said. “Our ratios will remain comfortably above the standards set by the BSP.” Based on LandBank’s initial projections, the combined Common Equity Tier 1 ratio by end-2021 of the merged banks will remain higher than the 11-percent regulatory re-

quirement of the BSP. The bank also said it is requesting for regulatory incentives being granted by the BSP to banks for mergers and consolidation. “These relief measures will provide the bank the flexibility to manage its capital, achieve operational efficiency and minimize the expected impact of absorbing UCPB,” Borromeo said. Just last week, President Rodrigo Duterte approved Executive Order 142, ordering LandBank and UCPB to enter into a merger. The detailed structure of the merger, however, is yet to be determined. State-run LandBank reported early June that despite the economic recession, its assets grew 16.14 percent to P2.405 trillion in the first quarter of the year, from P2.071 trillion in the same period last year. The bank attributed the increase in assets to the 16.21 percent growth in deposits to P2.123 trillion from P1.827 trillion in 2020.

Regulators sign agreement managing external auditors

OP officials of the financial sector’s regulatory bodies, under the auspices of the Financial Sector Forum (FSF) and the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy (BOA), signed a new Multilateral Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the accreditation/ selection of external auditors aimed at promoting ease of doing business and adherence to internationally recognized standards in auditing. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor and Chairman of the Financial Sector Forum, Benjamin E. Diokno said that “this initiative is in recognition of the critical role of external auditors in promoting the fairness and integrity of financial statements and in strengthening market discipline in the financial industry.” Diokno, likewise, thanked Chairman Emilio B. Aquino and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for accepting the role as the central agency for the accreditation/selection process. The “one-stop-shop” framework only requires external auditors to file their applications with the SEC, while the FSF member-agencies leverage on the existing information sharing platform to complete the evaluation and accreditation/selection process.

The said framework was adopted by the BSP under Circular 1040 dated May 20, 2019, the Insurance Commission (IC) under Circular Letter 39 dated August 8, 2019, and the SEC under Memorandum Circular 20 dated November 11, 2019. Aquino said that “all applications received under the new framework were processed and approved with-

This July 3, 2021, photo courtesy of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas shows a screenshot of top officials of the finance sector. (Clockwise from top left): BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Emilio B. Aquino, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. President and CEO Roberto B. Tan, Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy Chairman Noe G. Quiñanola and Insurance Commission Commissioner Dennis B. Funa are shown during a virtual event for a signing of a memorandum of agreement between the BSP and the SEC. Photo courtesy of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

in the 20-day processing time as required under the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government

Service Delivery Act of 2018. From November 2019 to May 31, 2021, the SEC has already processed and approved 251 applications for SEC accreditation, 194 for BSP and 117 for IC [Insurance Commission].” The MOA, likewise, provides the respective roles and responsibilities of the FSF member-agencies and the BOA under the “one-stop-shop” framework and the arrangements on the conduct of the Nationwide Regulator’s Forum to apprise external auditors of the developments in regulatory issuances and internationally recognized standards relevant to the accounting and auditing profession. It supersedes the MOA signed by the FSF member-agencies and the BOA in 2009. The MOA virtual signing ceremony was also attended by IC Commissioner Dennis B. Funa, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. President Roberto B. Tan and BOA Chairman Noe G. Quiñanola. Joining the ceremony as witnesses in the signing of the agreement were BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G Fonacier, SEC Commissioner Karlo S. Bello, IC Deputy Commissioner Ferdinand George Florendo, PDIC General Counsel Ma. Antonette B. Bolivar and BOA Vice Chairman Thelma S. Ciudadano.

China to keep dragging down Asian junk bonds

HE recent divergence between Asia’s investment-grade and riskier bonds is poised to continue, analysts say, as investors turn sour on Chinese developers. Yields for Asia’s high-yield dollar bonds rose 41 basis points in the second quarter, according to a Bloomberg Barclays index, versus a 5 basis-point decline for investment-grade debt. They’ve in-

creased for six straight weeks, the longest stretch since 2018, driven by a roughly 150 basis-point increase for Chinese high-yield dollar notes. Issuance of junk-rated dollar-denominated corporate debt in Asia is dominated by China, with property firms making up a large chunk. The government’s campaign to cut leverage and toughen up its corporate sector

has helped pressure Chinese high-yield dollar bonds, along with developments such as uncertainty surrounding big issuers China Evergrande Group and investment-grade firm China Huarong Asset Management Co. “Diverging borrowing costs have been mainly driven by waning investor sentiment in the high-yield primary markets, particularly relating to the China

real estate sector,” said Conan Tam, head of Asia Pacific debt capital markets at Bank of America. “This is expected to continue until we see a significant sentiment shift here.” That shift might come courtesy of the property industry, which has been leading this year’s record pace in China’s onshore bond defaults.

Bloomberg News

PDIC to sell farm lots via public e-bidding on July 22

JAB SITE This July 3, 2021, photo shows executives, employees and guests of the Philippine Na-

tional Bank and parent firm LT Group Inc. at the opening of the firms’ vaccination center at the PNB Financial Center in Pasay City. The bank said they expect the center to help increase the uptake and demand for Covid-19 shots in the country. The bank said the vaccination center is targeted to deliver up to 1,500 doses of vaccine per day, with 700 jabs scheduled from the first delivery of vaccines this weekend. The ceremonial vaccination served as an avenue for PNB employees to have themselves officially inoculated against Covid-19. Present during the ceremonial vaccination were LT Group President and COO Michael G. Tan; Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III and PNB President and CEO Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso. Photo courtesy Philippine National Bank

he Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) announced last week that it will sell a total of 47 agricultural lots owned by closed banks for an aggregate minimum disposal price of P92.4 million through electronic public bidding (e-bidding) on July 22. The PDIC said a one-time registration in its e-bidding portal is required for interested buyers to enable them to participate in the e-biddings. Interested buyers may visit the e-bidding portal for the registration procedures. “Online bids shall be accepted by the PDIC Real and Other Properties Acquired (ROPA) Disposal Committee only from registered direct buyers,” the 58-year-old insurer said. It added that online bids may be placed between 9:00 a.m. on July 21 and 1:00 p.m. on July 22, 2021. The e-bidding portal may also be accessed by

clicking the “Assets for Sale” icon in the PDIC website homepage. The PDIC said assets to be sold on an “as-is, where is” basis are 39 vacant agricultural lots and eight agricultural lots with improvements located in Batangas, Bulacan, Camarines Sur, Guimaras, Iloilo, Lanao del Norte, Marinduque, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Northern Samar, Nueva Ecija, Palawan, Pangasinan and Siquijor. The land areas of the agricultural lots range from 707 square meters to 200,173 square meters with selling price ranging from P65,545.00 to P14.3 million, according to the PDIC. The complete list and description of the properties, requirements, e-bidding process and “Conditions of Bid” are posted on the e-bidding portal. Bid documents such as the required format of the “Special Power of Attorney” and

“Secretary’s Certificate,” when needed, may be downloaded from the site. Bidders are also reminded of their responsibility to determine the actual condition, status, ownership, other circumstances of the properties they wish to acquire, including coverage or non-coverage of properties under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program by way of appropriate inquiries or verification with the applicable registries or government agencies and units, and other entities, such as but not limited to the Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer and Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer of the Department of Agrarian Reform. The PDIC, as liquidator of closed banks, disposes of various assets through public biddings and negotiated sale. Proceeds from the liquidation of closed banks’ properties are added to

the pool of liquid assets of these banks for distribution to uninsured depositors and other creditors in accordance with the rules on concurrence and preference of credits. The disposal of these assets increases the chances of recovery of uninsured depositors and creditors of their trapped funds. Established on June 22, 1963 by Republic Act 3591, the PDIC is mandated to provide depositor protection and help maintain stability in the financial system by providing deposit insurance. Effective June 1, 2009, the maximum deposit insurance coverage is P500,000 per depositor. All deposit accounts by a depositor in a closed bank maintained in the same right and capacity shall be added together. A joint account shall be insured separately from any individually-owned deposit account.

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You Need a Skills-Based Approach to Hiring and Developing Talent

Ryan Roslansky

ith the global economy experiencing massive change, companies are turning to improving or adding to their employees’ skills with a renewed sense of urgency. Success will require major shifts in thinking about how hiring and employee development are done. Here are three ways companies can add to or improve the skills of their existing workforce and take a skills-based approach to hiring new employees:

WWW.FREEPIK.COM

The economic toll of the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to leave more than 140 million people out of work and another 1.6 billion at risk of income loss. Unfortunately, many of the lost jobs simply won’t return. At the same time, certain companies and industries can’t hire fast enough. Shifting to a skills-focused approach is a viable solution to the challenges the business world faces. Workers often don’t realize that the skills they have developed for one job can be easily transferred to another—nor do employers. Take food servers who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. More than 70% of them have the skills needed to succeed in customer service, which is currently one of the fields with the most job postings on LinkedIn. Evaluating employees and new hires based on their skill sets instead of their work history can help companies realize that they might already have the talent they are looking for. It also makes talent pools more diverse and hiring more effective. This is the future of hiring and development. At a time when talent is the No. 1 commodity in business, companies can’t afford to remain stuck in old mindsets.

Support new career paths for your employees:

Many large enterprises around the world have viewed the need to add to the skills of their current talent as urgent for the last few years and have heavily invested in “future proofing” their employees. For example, JPMorgan Chase added $350 million to its $250 million plan to further educate its workforce. Amazon.com is investing more than $700 million to provide additional training to its employees. PwC is spending $3 billion to add to the skills of all of its 275,000 employees over the next few years. If your company is unable to support a structured learning program, encourage managers to find out what other areas of the company their employees are interested in learning about and help them participate in cross-functional meetings and projects. Allow them to spend 10% of their work time on that cross-functional work. Don’t wait for the next crisis to begin the process of reeducat-

ing employees for critical roles. Employees who see good opportunities to learn and grow are 2.9 times more likely to be engaged. Creating internal programs that identify and address skill gaps not only helps prepare for future disruptions but also helps your strongest and most dedicated employees feel secure.

Give employees learning time and reward

Accor ding to a June 2020 survey conducted by Glint, a human resources software company owned by LinkedIn, an overwhelming number of employees—97%—want to expand or at least maintain the amount of time they spend learning. Executives and managers should make it clear that ongoing education is integral to personal career growth and can be done on company time. To help foster a learning culture,

encourage employees to block out calendar time for learning each week or month—and do the same. It can be stressful to juggle learning with looming deadlines and client needs. Remind yourself and your team that the investment in learning will pay off in the long term, and give specific guidance in employee growth plans. For example, an employee can make it an end-of-quarter deliverable to spend four hours each month on learning courses. Some businesses also promote learning programs with contests and incentives. Rewards, whether monetary or symbolic, can boost employee participation considerably. Executive and manager participation is a must—it’s crucial for us to lead by example. Even putting the most recent course you watched below your email signature signals to employees that learning is a priority for you.

Shift to a skills-based approach when hiring

In the past year, LinkedIn has seen a 21% increase in job postings advertising skills and responsibilities instead of qualifications and requirements in the U.S., and the number of positions that don’t require a degree increased by nearly 40% in 2020 compared to 2019. Companies are starting to be more intentional about hiring for a candidate’s future potential rather than work history. But it’ll be a long road. Our traditional recruiting processes still place an emphasis on certain types of education and experience. Start by rethinking your job descriptions. Focus on the results you’d like to see, rather than the type of qualifications that you think could deliver them. Highlighting the desired skills gets to the same results without creating an unnecessary barrier to entry,

such as an academic requirement. You’ll also need a skills-based way to assess candidates and find your finalists. If you’re looking beyond education and experience, what should you evaluate? From hard-skill evaluations (such as coding tests) to innovative soft-skill assessments to “job auditions,” there are plenty of ways to gauge a candidate’s ability to perform without relying on education or experience as proxies. Even asking unexpected interview questions can let you see how a candidate processes information and solves problems in real time. The payoff? A wider, more diverse talent pool and perhaps stronger retention: Employees without a traditional four-year degree stay at companies 34% longer than those with such a degree, according to LinkedIn data. While this could be a sign that it’s more difficult for them to find their next job, it could also be a sign that they’re simply more engaged and feel like the company is betting on their success. As LinkedIn’s 2018 Workplace Learning Report showed, 94% of employees said they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career. By taking a skills-based approach to the hiring process, diplomas and titles can sit alongside assessments, certifications, endorsements and other alternate methods for determining the capability and fit of a candidate. What’s more, by focusing on skills employers can increase the size of their talent pools and pinpoint quality applicants for hard-to-fill roles. Once you’ve hired them, keep your employees engaged and your company ready to adapt to changing demands by creating a culture of learning. It’s how we’ll start hiring and developing talent for the future rather than the past. Ryan Roslansky is the CEO of LinkedIn.

How cultural differences can impact global teams By Vasyl Taras, Dan Baack, Dan Caprar, Alfredo Jiménez & Fabian Froese

r ecent sur vey of employees from 90 countries found that 89% of whitecollar workers at least occasionally complete projects in global virtual teams, where team members are dispersed around the planet and rely on online tools for communication. This is not surprising. In a globalized world, online collaboration is indispensable for bringing people together. Yet despite the many benefits of distributed teams, virtual collaboration is not without challenges. Differences across time zones, languages, cultures and skill levels, not to mention the different economic conditions and political systems of the countries team members are based in, can affect how teams work together and how they perform. In a recent study, our team identified some of the specific ways in which differences can shape how remote global teams function. Managers need to understand these dynamics to keep their team members happy and productive. There’s a large body of scholarship examining the challenges of cross-cultural communication and collaboration. A recent review of

more than 1,100 studies published over the course of 24 years in the Journal of International Business Studies revealed that 95% of those studies focused on the negative effects of team member differences. Similarly, much research has shown that age, gender or racial differences can complicate interactions among team members. However, team member differences can also be very beneficial to a team’s performance. Numerous studies have shown that less homogeneous teams exhibit more creativity. Such teams also consider more options, process facts more carefully, are less likely to fall into the groupthink trap and ultimately make better decisions. The question is: When do teams whose members live in different countries perform better, and when do they struggle? Our research explains how different types of geographic diversity play out across teams. In our study, we observed the behaviors and interactions of 5,728 individuals in 804 remote international teams as they worked for several months on business consulting projects. Each team was comprised of six to eight members from different countries, entirely relying on digital communication tools. We tracked two broad categories of difference: personal diversity

and contextual diversity. Personal diversity includes differences in easily observable personal characteristics such as age, gender, language, skills and values. In contrast, contextual diversity refers to differences in the environments the team members live in, such as different levels of economic development and different types of institutions and political systems of their countries. We also monitored the team’s task performance and climate. Task performance included indicators of the team’s performance, such as the economic viability and novelty of the business plans and product designs the teams developed for their clients. Team climate included psychological outcomes such as team cohesion, project participants’ satisfaction with their team members, their enjoyment of the work process and their interest in working on another project with the same team, as measured in weekly surveys. Our analyses showed that personal diversity can negatively affect team climate. When team members come from different cultures, are of different ages, are unequally fluent in the team’s working language or differ otherwise at the personal level, they tend to find it less enjoyable to spend time together. They also trust each other

less, make less favorable attributions about each other’s motives and generally communicate less. As a result, people on teams with high levels of personal diversity experience less cohesion and have more conflicts and misunderstandings. In stark contrast, contextual diversity can positively affect task performance. When the team members come from countries with different institutions, economic and political systems, they understand a wider range of contexts and have access to more diverse pools of knowledge and experience. Contextual diversity allows for more views and perspectives, which aids creativity, decision-making and problem-solving. Contextual diversity appears to be particularly beneficial when teams work on challenging tasks that require creative, unconventional approaches. The variety of perspectives and understandings aids idea generation, and more ideas on the table provide for better solutions to problems. What does this mean for managers? When designing a team, they should consider the nature of the tasks at hand. Projects that require creativity and unconventional thinking could benefit from contextual diversity. This includes not just ethnic or demographic diversity, but the diversity of contexts team members come from

and understand. For projects that require completion of more routine tasks where there is no need for innovation or complex problem solving, a team lower in personal diversity might complete the project in a quicker and more efficient fashion. For routine projects, there is no need to focus on differences when building the team. Instead, managers should proactively assist the team to ensure more effective communication and interpersonal dynamics and a more collegial team climate. Regardless of the task, the following two strategies are advisable in order to take advantage of the benefits of team diversity while addressing the associated challenges. First, to minimize the adverse effects of personal diversity, companies should employ cross-cultural communications and diversityawareness training to cultivate cultural intelligence and interest in working with people from other countries. Programs and policies that reduce prejudice and stereotyping and promote friendly interactions among diverse team members would benefit any diverse team. Additional training in online communication and collaboration tools would be particularly useful for global virtual teams. Second, the creativity boost that contextual diversity can provide

can only be fully realized when team members freely exchange ideas and knowledge. Accordingly, the work design must promote such exchanges and provide opportunities for brainstorming, friendly feedback and discussion, as well as spaces for constructive criticism and disagreement. People who affiliate with multiple cultures and can therefore serve as bridges between team members could be particularly valuable on such teams. It is still important to keep in mind that it is not always possible to separate the contextual and the personal. More nationalities on the team usually result in both higher contextual and greater personal diversity. The potential challenges should be anticipated and managed. Even so, the benefits of contextual diversity are likely to outweigh such challenges. Vasyl Taras is an associate professor in the international business program at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Dan Baack is an expert in international marketing. Dan Caprar is an associate professor at the University of Sydney Business School. Alfredo Jiménez is associate professor at KEDGE Business School in France. Fabian Froese is chair professor of human resource management and Asian business at the University of Göttingen, Germany.

Style

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• Monday, July 5, 2021

Binibining Pilipinas 2021 bets MODERN WAYS TO WEAR FILIPINIANA

A CROPPED terno top worn with slim silk pants...Art Decoinspired black embroidery on a white silk terno top and ruffled skirt...an exquisitely embroidered capelet over a red shantung silk gown...a playful inabel terno top with pineapple designs. These are some of Kultura Filipino’s Modern Filipiniana designs for the contemporary Filipina. You’ll be amazed how the traditional Filipiniana attire has been transformed into inventive and exciting new looks. The iconic butterflysleeved terno gets a fresh new look worn with pants and other modern pieces. Natural materials, like piña silk and jusi are woven by local artisans into stylish pieces with exquisite hand painting and embroidery. Inabel fabric from the Ilocos region is updated with innovative designs. With intimate events and special occasions with health protocols are now allowed, make that moment memorable and meaningful and dress up with fashionable Modern Filipiniana and Barong Tagalog from Kultura. The collection consists of both classic and modern silhouettes—tops, skirts and dresses that can be worn together or mix and match. Many of the pieces are embroidered or hand-painted by artisans in the brand’s partner communities of weavers, embroiderers, farmers and workers, making each unique and a true labor of love. Perfect for small intimate events and special occasions, the Modern Filipiniana and Barong Tagalog collection is available at Kultura stores. More information is available at www.kulturafilipino.com.

AN inabel terno top with pineapple designs worn with a mikado silk ballgown skirt for today’s modern Filipina.

BEAUTIFULLY embroidered silk cocoon capelet paired with a red shantung silk gown.

T’S at Miss International that our beauty queens excel the most. At the first edition in 1960, Edita Resurreccion Vital finished at the Top 15. Stella Márquez Zawadski, the winner from Colombia, later married an Araneta and founded the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI). In the first 10 editions of the pageant (none in 1966), we’ve scored two winners: Gemma Teresa Guerrero Cruz (later Araneta) in 1964 and Aurora McKenney Pijuan in 1970. So far we’ve had 33 placements (against 25 at Miss Universe) and four more winners: Mimilanie “Melanie” Laurel Marquez (1979), Precious Lara San Agustin Quigaman (2005), Bea Rose Monterde Santiago, and Kylie Fausto Verzosa (2017). In 1968, BPCI acquired the franchise to Miss International, with Nenita Tuazon Ramos (Top 15) as the first delegate. But through the years, the title has always played second fiddle to the Binibining Pilipinas Universe title. However, BPCI lost the franchise to Miss Universe (and Miss Supranational) in 2019. So in 2021, the 57th edition, the top plum up for contention is the Binibining Pilipinas International crown, along with the privilege of representing the Philippines at Miss Grand International, Miss Intercontinental, and Miss Globe. The finals will be on July 11, Sunday, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum with Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray and Miss Grand International 2016 First Runner-Up Nicole Cordoves as presenters. Among the 34 official candidates, Binibining Batangas Maureen Ann Montagne, Binibining Borongan, Eastern Samar Gabrielle Camille Basiano and Binibining Angeles City, Pampanga Maria Francesca Guina Taruc have international pageant experiences. The French/American-Filipina Maureen, 27, was Miss Arizona USA 2015 (and Miss USA 2015 Top 15), Miss World America 2017 1st runner-up and Miss Eco Philippines 2018 and Miss Eco-International 2019 1st runner-up. She was offered the top plum when her winner, Peru’s Suheyn Cipriani, was dethroned, but Maureen demurred: “I’ve always dreamt of becoming a Binibini and...I’m one step closer to joining this amazing legacy of strong Filipina women.” Francesca was Miss Freedom of the WorldPhilippines 2018 and the Miss Tourism World Intercontinental 2019. She is descended from Luis Taruc, the leader of the Hukbalahap guerrillas during World War II. She wears my favorite national costume, called La Luz de la Paz (Light of Peace). The designer, Rich Sabinian, shares: “My main inspiration is drawn from the Christmas symbol, which is distinctly from Angeles City—the Angeles traditional parul.” The gorgeous model Gabrielle, 23, was first runner-up at Miss Friendship International 2019: “I am a Binibini for mental health care. I believe that no one should ever face her problems alone and everyone deserves to be heard.” Binibining Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental Cinderella Faye Obeñita, 25, has an advocacy, called Crown CDO: Cervical Cancer Awareness and Prevention Circle, in partnership with the Misamis Oriental Physicians-Nurses Foundation Inc.: “I only thought of helping women, mostly mothers, become

CLOCKWISE: Samantha Alexandra Panlilio, photographed by Raymond Saldaña; Meiji Cruz by @themarknetodiaz; Maureen Montagne by @raymondsaldana_klickbox; Francesca Taruc, photographed by Benj Agoc; Honey Cartasano by @themarknetodiaz; Hannah Arnold by Equinox Manila; Gabrielle Basiano by Seven Barretto; Cinderella Faye Obeñita by @raymondsaldana_klickbox; center: Karen Laurrie Mendoza by @paulchiongson

more conscious of their health. With Covid-19, a different battle is fought and, surely, women are in the forefront of making families secure. We are calling on all generous hearts to donate so we could help families in the poorest of the poor.” Cavite’s Samantha Alexandra Panlilio, 25, descended from the first Binibining Pilipinas Universe, Myrna Panlilio: “I am an advocate for building sustainable communities in rural parts of the Philippines. The goal is to help people realize a community where everyone prospers while maintaining natural resources and preserving them for future generations.” Binibining Valenzuela City Meiji Cruz, 27, is a proud LGBT ally: “One of the significant lessons I’ve learned from this pandemic is that we are all equal. Regardless of social status, race, age, religion, sex... we are all susceptible to the virus. It’s a reminder that we belong to the same human race and therefore we should show compassion, respect, and kindness towards one another.” Rizal’s Honey Cartasano, 27, is a chameleon: “A year ago, everything was different. The uncertainty brought us many valuable lessons and realizations. As we slowly go back to normal, let’s not forget the importance of adapting to change, versatility and

The Tom Ford difference

FRAGRANCE is personal. What smells good on one person will not necessarily suit another, we already know this. So what sets some fragrances apart from others? Fine fragrances use expensive non-synthetic ingredients. For example, it takes about 10,000 pounds of rose petals to extract a pound of rose oil, so you know that an inexpensive bottle of scent claiming to contain rose oil is most probably using a synthetic version of that oil or it includes a very diluted version. They could also be using substitutes. And there is nothing wrong with that. If a scent works for you, that is what’s important. Other expensive ingredients are musk, jasmine, ambergris and orris. Tom Ford Beauty fragrances are some of the most coveted and also most expensive in the world. Tom Ford

is considered the gold standard as far as fragrances are concerned. Why is this so? Tom Ford fragrances stay on the skin even after a long sweaty day. Even when you sweat, you’ll still smell good. The scents linger in a good way and you’ll always be asked, “What are you wearing?” Most Tom Ford fragrances don’t smell like other perfumes. They even smell very different from each other. Tom Ford fragrances can be worn by all sexes. Tom Ford Oud Wood perfume, for instance, uses Oud from a wild tropical tree called agar, which needs to be infected with a mold to produce it. Oud is called “liquid gold” because it is so expensive (said to be $5,000 per pound). The key notes of Tom Ford Oud Wood are exotic rosewood, cardamom, oud wood, sandalwood, vetiver, tonka bean and amber. Like many Tom Ford fragrances, Oud Wood is a scent that unfolds throughout the day like it’s telling a story. Described as an “amber woody” and an “Oriental spicy,” it opens softly and dries down to a sandalwood and vetiver. Another popular Oriental-inspired Tom Ford scent is called F(*)cking Fabulous, which has spices and a warm and sweet mix of gourmands. Its key notes are fresh lavender, bitter almond, vanilla, orris root, irris flower, tonka bean, leather and blond woods. Noir de Noir is very much a Tom Ford fragrance in that

it’s a floral that has black truffle, vanilla, patchouli and Oud wood. It’s a “dark” fragrance because it evokes mystery and has floral notes but they’re not the usual flowery scents that people are used to. The vanilla and rose notes of Noir de Noir are quite strong but the patchouli and Oud wood give it a comforting feel. Neroli Portofino is probably Tom Ford’s most mainstream fragrance but it is still very unique. This contains notes of neroli, jasmine, amber, Italian bergamot, orange flower and lavender, and has often been described as an expensive baby cologne with longevity. It starts off as a breezy citrus but dries down to a powdery and slightly musky floral. Over the weekend came the big news that Tom Ford Beauty has appointed Korean actor Hyun Bin as its first regional Fragrance Attaché. Hyun Bin will make his debut in a campaign featuring the new Tom Ford Private Blend Soleil Brûlant fragrance. Soleil Brûlant is described as an amber floral summer fragrance that combines “high shine solar brilliance with the intense freshness of mandarin and bergamot.” Hyun Bin played the dashing North Korean officer in Crash Landing on You who captured the heart of Filipino audiences. He first gained international recognition for his role in the 2005 TV romantic comedy My Name is Kim Sam-soon. Soleil Brûlant will be available in August at Tom Ford counters in the Philippines.

appreciating every blessings to enjoy life to the fullest.” The comebacking Binibining Masbate Hannah Arnold, 24, said after the swimwear presentation on June 18: “I still cannot get over this empowering, fun and beautiful [pre-pageant event]. Thank you, Binibing Pilipinas, for bringing us Binibinis back together again for this special event after a year and a half of candidacy.” Iloilo’s Karen Laurrie Mendoza, 25, just might reign alongside her lovely sister-queen Miss Universe Philippines Rabiya Mateo: “One of my favorite quotes growing up is ‘Don’t teach your child to be careful, teach them how to be brave.’ My OFW mom may not be physically here to protect me from danger or pain that would come my way, but she taught me something that I didn’t know I already had in me—to be courageous.” The Binibining Pilipinas 2021 coronation night on July 11 will be telecast on A2Z Channel 11 at 9:30 pm. “I’m quite excited that it’s finally here,” says fashion impresario Raymond Villanueva, a BPCI executive committee member. Will Villanueva invite all of the country’s Miss International winners? “Hopefully.” That would be epic. ■

SOLEIL Brûlant is described as an amber floral summer fragrance

B6 Monday, July 5, 2021

Cleanfuel brings ‘Quality Fuel for Less’ to South Metro Manila

HE aggressive stance of leading independent oil company, Cleanfuel, to tap new market is being exercised anew with the recent opening of its premier station in Las Piñas City. The inauguration of Cleanfuel AlabangZapote station has provided easy access to affordable yet quality fuel products to private motorists, public utility, and commercial transport. The latest location of Cleanfuel serves as one of the gateways in the South Metro Manila, catering to the large volume of vehicles coming to and from Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, and Bacoor, Cavite. Located along the busy stretch of Alabang-Zapote Road in Barangay Pamplona Tres in Las Piñas City, this 2,400-square-meter retail station will be beneficial to all types of motorists as it offers topnotch fuel products including Clean91, Premium 95, and high-grade diesel as part of the company’s mission to offer outstanding yet affordable products.

Aside from the products at the new station, the company also prides itself with the first-class amenities offered to customers such as clean and spacious air-conditioned restrooms, commercial space leasing, air-and-water services, cashless payment options, and loyalty rewards program. The newly-opened station in AlabangZapote road, which stretches for nine kilometers and connects roads towards Alabang, Muntinlupa, and Las Piñas, will include added amenities from its leasing tenants such as a carwash bay area, food store outlets, and motorcycle stores. Providing more value to its patrons is one of Cleanfuel’s best offerings and the VIP Rewards card (which is being offered FREE in all branches) can make the most out of every top-up as customers earn points; redeem exciting items, and discounts from its establishment partners. “This is such an important occasion

for us as we open our first branch in one of the busiest commercial district in the South. We’re excited to provide motorists a new level of customer service, quality fuel, and world class facilities,” said Atty. Jesus “Bong” Suntay, president of Cleanfuel Group of Companies. Suntay explained, “With businesses slowly opening up and our economy recovers, we at Cleanfuel, through our continuously-growing station-network will be ready to provide the most competitive pricing in the market to help motorists. Our vision is to help our customers maximize their earnings by providing quality fuel at the lowest price possible.” While the threat of the pandemic is still within the horizon, Cleanfuel customers can expect the same safe and risk-free environment as its workforce continuously upholds safety health precautions like wearing face masks and face shields, thermal scanning of personnel, social distancing, disinfection of workstations, and hand washing. Cashless payments are also made available. “In the coming weeks, we are opening more stations in the North (Olongapo and San Ildefonso in Bulacan), East (Tanay), South (Los Baños), as well as in some key areas in the NCR. We will continue to expand and open more stations as part of our commitment to the growing demands of the motoring public, which is to provide top-notch and affordable fuel proucts,” Suntay concluded.

Cetaphil shares the skinthusiast’s guide to healthy, visibly brighter skin

HE best way to establish a skincare routine is by seeking the help of a trusted dermatologist. With the rise of DIY skin treatments, as well as different skincare trends online, skinthusiasts should always be #BrightAboutSkin by only trusting products and ingredients dermatologists constantly recommend, as these recommendations greatly impact their overall skincare journey. Cetaphil is the most prescribed skincare brand by dermatologists that has always been known for its gentle yet effective ingredients, suitable even for sensitive skin. This signature effect on the skin has been translated to Cetaphil Bright Healthy Radiance, a new line of products which gently brightens skin to bring out one’s inner radiance and even skin tone. Cetaphil Bright Healthy Radiance is formulated with GentleBright Technology—a combination of Sea Daffodil and Niacinamide that visibly corrects dark spots without irritation, boosts brightness, and evens skin tone in 4 weeks. Niacinamide and Sea Daffodil are known for its powerful brightening effect on the skin and having multibenefits when used consistently. Niacinamide minimizes redness and blotchiness, which may help ease from eczema and acne. It protects against sun damage, which also helps rebuild healthy skin cells caused by ultraviolet rays. Sea Daffodil inhibits melanin transferase, which causes dark spots. It gives hydration to the skin for an even skin tone.

Thecomplete #RadianceRoutine

TO help skinthusiasts with their skincare journey, Cetaphil Bright Healthy Radiance offers products that cleanse, tone, moisturize, and protect skin, which ultimately makes up a

complete #RadianceRoutine. Include the cleanser both in your A.M. and P.M. It’s always recommended to have this as your first step for both daytime and nighttime. The Brightness Reveal Creamy Cleanser helps remove dead skin cells released by your skin overnight, and leaves skin feeling soft and smooth, giving your skin a clean slate to repair itself naturally during sleep. Use lukewarm water when cleansing to help effectively remove dirt and balance your natural skin oils appropriately. Treat neck as an extension of the face. This should also be done when you’re doing your #RadianceRoutine. Show your neck the same care as the skin on your face, especially when using Brightening Day Protection Cream SPF15 and Brightening Night Comfort Cream to achieve brighter and even results.

Beest product pairings

THE Brightness Reveal Creamy Cleanser is a non-drying cleanser that gently washes away impurities to reveal a clear, radiant complexion without stripping away your skin’s natural moisture, while the Brightness Refresh Toner is a skinperfecting toner that gives you instant luminosity and hydration. Having these two in your daytime and nighttime #RadianceRoutine will leave your skin feeling refreshed and hydrated. The Brightening Day Protection Cream SPF15 is a moisturizing cream that

instantly hydrates skin while protecting it against the sun, while the Brightening Night Comfort Cream is a skin-cushioning cream that helps brighten and even skin tone without irritation. These daytime and nighttime #RadianceRoutine will leave your face with replenished moisture so that you wake up and face the day with visible, more radiant skin! The Brightness Reveal Bar is a gentle soap that washes away dirt, impurities, and dullness to reveal skin’s inner radiance, while the Brightening Lotion is a hydrating body lotion that magnifies your skin’s brightness without irritating or weakening the skin barrier. This body nighttime #RadianceRoutine will leave your skin feeling so smooth and soft as it regenerates at night to achieve an even skin tone. Cetaphil Bright Healthy Radiance is now available in Mercury Drug and Watsons stores and supermarkets nationwide and at the official Cetaphil Philippines stores in Lazada and Shopee. For skinthusiasts, get a free skin consultation by using the Cetaphil Skin Analysis app, available at the official Cetaphil Philippines Facebook page. Get to know more about your skin, including product recommendations for your specific skincare needs. Follow Cetaphil Philippines on Facebook and Cetaphil Bright Healthy Radiance on Instagram, or visit www. cetaphil.com.ph.

‘Grab Vacc to Normal’ provides discounted rides to help spur Cebu’s vaccination efforts

O help accelerate the vaccination efforts in Cebu, Grab Philippines is offering its passengers in Cebu a 10% discount every time they use the code VACCTONORMAL on GrabCar services going to and from vaccination centers. This offer is available for GrabCar Cebu until 30 July 2021. This initiative is part of Grab Philippines’ broader GrabBayanihan Vaccination Support Program which aims to support easier access to the COVID-19 vaccine and to encourage its consumers to get vaccinated through the local government units. Apart from providing safe mobility solutions to support the vaccination efforts in Cebu, this initiative will also provide muchneeded livelihood opportunities for Grab driver-partners in the Queen City of the South. Grab Philippines Country Head Grace Vera Cruz said: “Cebu’s vaccination efforts are key to the gradual reopening of its economy. Through our mobility initiative dedicated to Cebu, we help ensure the safety and welfare of Cebuanos during these challenging times, while working closely with the local government in spurring

their COVID vaccination efforts. This initiative is an expression of our broader commitment to the socioeconomic recovery and development of Cebu, and we will continue to leverage our platform and technology to support Cebuanos in getting inoculated, and they continue to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities in the many days to come.” For more information, visit: https:// www.g ra b.com/ph/blo g/g ra b-vacctonormal-for-cebu/

Chicago-based musician highlights Filipino talent, shares his music amid the pandemic

NICK Vera Perez with her mom, Visitacion Tan

OR Chigaco-based Nick Vera Perez, who is event host, singer and medical frontliner roll into one, the pandemic will still be until later this year. He himself has felt the adverse effects of the pandemic by losing gigs and events to host. But his lost opportunities, he said, he turned into finding other avenues to be busy. For one, he is on his way to getting his masteral degree in nursing through online learning. “We got to be busy. Otherwise, pandemic stress and depression could get the better of us,” he said. Aside from his study, Nick is personally attending to the therapy sessions of her mom, in her late 70s, who suffered stroke recently due to old age. On top of this, the crooner finally found time for the completion of his planned 10 musical albums. Indeed, the young UST nursing graduate Alvin Tan has come a long way since he made the US his home and adopting Nick Vera Perez for his screen name for the past 28 years. Nick honed his singing prowess by joining various local singing competitions plus her dancing skills in ballroom, hip-hop, R&B and

becoming sought-after “eventologist” until his migration to the States. Then as a registered nurse in the US, he slowly carved a name of his own and eventually gets acknowledgement for his contributions in the realm of culture and entertainment, social development advocacy and nursing courtesy of his NVP1WORLD’s Foundation. Currently, NVP has set a goal of releasing 10 albums and has begun working on the second and third simultaneously. The second album titled, “NVP.10; Nick Vera Perez 1’s more!” has 12 original tracks. The album will see its release down the year shortly, in fall (Septemer 2021). His third album, “Our Christmas” inspired by the theme of Christmas, holidays, and family is set to release in December 2021. The 2nd album has 12 songs with music and lyrics by OPM composer Adonis Tabanda. “I contracted him for 10 albums so we are now in album 3. For album 4, we already have five songs,” he said. The upcoming album contains Filipino and English songs mainly about love “but including all genres to show NVP’s versatility: rock, ballad, easy listening, contemporary, R&B, jazz and pop and what have you.” Meanwhile, the artist continues to give more reasons to celebrate his name having a regular show at KUMU inviting his friends worldwide in a day of singing and catching up/exchanging stories. He has also been involved in charities and made significant donations helping Filipino families struck by the devastating typhoons and at this time of the pandemic aiding the nursing frontliners of his alma mater.

75 YEARS OF US-PHILIPPINE RELATIONS AT SM MOA. As part of the celebrations of the 75 th Anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between the United States and the Philippines, U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affaires John Law and Department of Foreign Affairs Acting Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro recently launched the event’s commemorative logo at the iconic SM Mall of Asia Globe. Since the establishment of relations on July 4, 1946, the two countries have expanded and deepened bilateral cooperation in many areas, most notably defense and security, trade and commerce, and culture and education. The 75 th anniversary logo will also be seen in four additional SM Supermalls digital billboards throughout Metro Manila, Pampanga, and Cebu.

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Monday, July 5, 2021 B7

When the leader stays the course W

PR Matters

By Ritzi Villarico-Ronquillo, APR, IABC Fellow

HEN a leader chooses courses of action steeped in integrity whether in good times or especially in bad, everyone toes the line. Everyone stays the course. Good governance, ethics, truth telling, integrity are aspirations and standards not only for individual professionals but most especially for organizations. So much has been said and written about it. Codes of conduct et al are documents that organizations and associations today have. In the public relations classes that I have taught, good governance, integrity, principles were part of the syllabus. Too idealistic, most would say. Aspirational but unrealistic, some wizened and seasoned professionals would say. It was good to know but one had to find ways to survive in the real world, they would say. I was privileged to see that it can live on and be an intrinsic part of daily corporate operations especially when the going got tough. It takes the grit and commitment of a leader to stay the course even in times when doing the easier thing may have been the natural and the street smartest choice.

A role model CEO

Our CEO in a Top Management (“ManCom”) team I was part of, is one person I will not forget for these reasons: n Never compromise your principles. In the interview to head country communications for a top manufacturing company with nationwide presence, the CEO who already struck me as smart, down-to-earth and approachable, asked me if I had any questions about the role and job. It was one of my irreverent moments and I asked him directly if in the course of my responsibilities, I would have to do anything I termed “untoward,” something I said I had never done and will never do in all my years in the profession. After posing the question, I braced myself for the “thank you very much for coming for the interview but you are not realistic” type of reply. Instead, I was impressed with his answer. Without literally and figuratively blinking nor looking away, he immediately replied, “That is not the way we do business.” And I knew right there and then, I would gladly serve in the company, one whose product and service was of national impact and progress, that will not ask me at all, even in times of duress, to compromise principles. n Lead by example and fol-

Brand & Business: PLDT and Smart laud Gilas Pilipinas’ stellar performance at the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) are lauding the stellar performance of the Philippine national men’s basketball team Gilas Pilipinas at the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers 2021. The Smart-backed Gilas Pilipinas secured a perfect 6-0 run in the most recent tournament, even beating South Korea twice during the bubble in Clark. “We are extremely proud of our Gilas Pilipinas athletes, coaching team, and staff. Their hard work, determination, and

talent have truly paid off resulting in an undefeated run during the qualifiers. We are seeing a great future for Philippine basketball, and are here to support our national team as they gear up for the FIBA Asia Cup,” said Alfredo S. Panlilio, president and CEO of PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications, and president of Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas. “This journey also goes beyond FIBA Asia Cup. Our success in this tournament is part of our longterm vision as we prepare to host the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023,” he added. Gilas point guard SJ Belangel, who showed great heart during the nail-biting first game versus South Korea, shared a message to Gilas fans. “Please keep on supporting Gilas Pilipinas, because we will give it our all, for our country’s glory. Laban Pilipinas, para sa bayan!” “I just want to thank all the

of honesty and integrity. PR is not just about building a good reputation but also about maintaining strong relationships and helping contribute to society. PR should involve communication that will benefit not only the organization but also the society and future generations [sustainability].” n Truth telling is an obligation. “I have an obligation to tell the truth with integrity while purposeful communication...allows the intention of such a message to become clearer so that it may be delivered well.” n Stronger after crisis. "Dealing with crises will make me stronger and more resilient as a PR practitioner...[with] my crisis plan and crisis team...”

Next-generation leaders: PR students speak up

n Firm values define me as a person. “When I get into the real world, I won't be expecting that everything will be aligned with my values...I understand that there would be instances wherein my values would be tested, and these are the times when I should hold on to them more tightly. I have learned that my personal values must stand firm and unwavering because they define me as a person.” That augurs well for us in the PR profession. I would tell students, jaded or disappointed with wayward ways, that it is one thing to know that these realities exist (and that they must know these realities and not be naive), and it is another to practice and add to them. And if they want a change, when it is their turn to lead, to make major decisions that spell a company’s viability and people’s jobs, approve budgets for corporate or institutional programs, make choices and build networks, they can, if they choose to be, be principled. I will always be proud of my students and what they will become. May the principled course be always with them. May they be leaders of the next generation, that stay the course.

n Benefit society & future generations. "PR practitioners should always carry with them the values

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of Ipra Philippines, the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association, the world’s premier association for senior communications professionals around the world. Ritzi VillaricoRonquillo, APR, IABC Fellow is a Consultant, Coach and Speaker on Business Communication and Strategic Public Relations with 41 years of experience in leading internal and external communication and PR in corporate, communities, academia and associations.

TO STAY THE COURSE toward the aspired and targeted goal is asked of leaders. RVR photo low the rules. In the days that followed, I continued to see how consistently ethical the CEO was and how he took his role seriously. During one ManCom meeting, he called the attention of one vice president, asking why he did not have his ID on. We all realized that without fail, our CEO came to the office and visited our different technical sites, sporting his official company ID. He didn’t have to, everybody knew him, but he said that since it was a safety and security rule, he, as the leader, had to be the first to follow, and that we, as ManCom members, had to lead by example, too. n Comply with requirements. Since integrity was taken seriously at the company, everyone in the whole organization had to undergo, each year, the required in-person and online training in anti-bribery, anti-corruption and fair competition, declare any conflict of interest, and abide by competition tenets. Noncompliance (or forgetting to comply even if it was due to workload) meant a memorandum with a corresponding suspension for a set number of days. I remember the CEO reminding us all to comply and asked his secretary to block off his schedule so he could go through the online training. He completed and actively participated in the annual in-person SEC-required session for the board directors and the management team, again blocking off his schedule for that.

fans out there for your love and support of our team. We really just want to make you proud, out there on the court. Para sa bayan, puso!” said Gilas guard Dwight Ramos.

Bringing Filipinos closer to international basketball stage

The overall success of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers 2021 in the Philippines comes after the launch of the historic global partnership between the Smart and FIBA last December. To boost the connectivity in the area during the games, PLDT and Smart have deployed Multi-Element on Wheels (MEOW) equipment and enhanced fiber, LTE and 5G at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena in Angeles City, where the games are held, and at the Quest Hotel, the official residence of participating players. Basketball fans were able to tune in live during the games of Gilas Pilipinas via television, social media, and gigafest.smart.

n Uphold the rule of law. In many meetings and circumstances, when it would have been easier to go the faster route by skirting some rules and acquiescing to external pressure to bring in quick results or gains, he would always say, “that is not the way we do business.” And if it would be mentioned that that meant a delay in some way, he would firmly say, if that is the rule, so be it. Principles first. He would encourage the leader to explore other ways such as a dialogue with the external parties concerned to explain diplomatically why we would not go by the easier way and to find other courses of action compliant with our parameters to operate.

Corporate financial impact

With a leader like that, how can one not comply? Did this commitment to principles and integrity hold the company back? Was it even able to reach its targets? Counter intuitively, with the CEO as its proponent, the publicly listed company, a market leader, was at its peak. It had positive results in all its financial indicators, share prices stable and even growing, and was ranked as a top performing company in the global list. It was also recognized in the industry for its governance and integrity policies that were intrinsic to its operations. Morale was high, as shown in annual employee surveys and the CEO’s credibility and trust was high. Employees knew that he would honestly tell them

“We are happy to provide the best connectivity, digital platforms, and affordable data packs to ensure that our customers can conveniently access the games and rally behind our national team online. We believe in the importance of providing fast and reliable connectivity in bringing global sports tournaments, including basketball, closer to Filipinos,” said Jane J. Basas, SVP and head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart. This has been made possible because of PLDT and Smart’s fastest data network, which has been time and again recognized by global third-party analytics firms like Ookla, Opensignal, and umlaut. Ookla, the global leader in Internet testing and analysis, named PLDT and Smart as the country’s fastest fixed and mobile data network in the second half of 2020 based on customerinitiated tests taken with Speed-

the real score. Quarterly, we in Top Management went around the different sites and had frank dialogues with employees, describing the environment the company was operating in, baring the quarterly ups and downs of performance and financials at each site, taking tough questions, and showing how the company was doing in terms of achieving corporate targets. Everyone was brought in as part of the solution. I recall a trying time when mid-year, we were nowhere near the targets. The CEO rallied the teams and by reckoning time, the targets had not only been met but surpassed. We had pulled through together by committed team effort and open communication within the parameters of principled operations.

I WOULD cite real moments like these to my public relations students to bring home the point that integrity matters, builds esprit de corps, and brings home the bacon. And that, while it may seem unrealistic, it can be done, and it works. And here are what my university students wrote in the final exams to the question on what five major insights/learning from the PR course will be helpful in their future practice of the profession:

test for Q3-Q4 2020. Ookla has also cited Smart as the country’s fastest mobile data network for three years in a row now. Just like the sweet sweep of Gilas in the tournament, Smart also recently scored a rare sweep in the April 2021 Philippines Mobile Network Experience Awards by independent analytics firm Opensignal, beating the competition across all metrics in three essential aspects of service: Coverage (4G Coverage Experience, 4G Availability), Speed (Download and Upload Speed) and Experience (Games, Video and Voice App). This is the first time an operator in the Philippines won decisively in all categories. Smart also received the top award from international Internet testing organization umlaut, the global benchmarking company formerly known as P3. Smart received the “Best in Test” award and was recognized for delivering the best-rated broadband cover-

age, user download experience and latency experience, despite challenges of the pandemic and more stringent benchmarking guidelines. These initiatives form a large part of PLDT’s capital expenditures, which totaled P460.8 billion in the last 10 years. To address the growing data needs of their fixed and wireless customers, PLDT and Smart are prepared to invest between P88 billion and P92 billion in capital expenditures in 2021. As for the next step in sports, Smart will continue to support Gilas Pilipinas as they prepare to compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualification Tournament from June 29 to July 4 in Belgrade, Serbia for a chance to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. “Through our platforms, we hope that the Filipino nation can support our national team, especially online, as they head on to a bigger stage para sa bayan,” Basas added.

Sports

NESFP hosts PHL qualifiers for collegiate ML tourney

BusinessMirror

| Monday, July 5, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

By Josef Ramos

HE National Electronic Sports Federation of the Philippines (NESFP) will stage on July 30 and August 1 the Official Philippine Qualifiers for the biggest esports title on the collegiate Level—The Cyberathlete Collegiate Mobile Legends (CCML) Tournament Series—that offers a grand prize pool of USD$ 250,000 (P12.3 million). Cyberathlete is the oldest Esports company which will celebrate its 25th year in 2022 and the tournament serves as the key culminating event for a spectacular celebration. KALARO, a single portal to a wide range of virtual features and services, will be the official tournament platform of the Philippine qualifiers. “This is one of the highlight events of the esports community—not only in the Philippines, but also globally,” said Ramon “Tats” Suzara, president of NESFP, one of Cyberathlete’s qualifying country partners that include Singapore’s Cybersports and Online Gaming Association, Singapore Esports Association, E-Stars Nation (Malaysia), National and Ligagame Esports (Indonesia). NESFP Secretary General Alvin Juban said the qualifiers feature teams composed of players aged 18 or older who are enrolled in tertiary education institutions or Insiitutes of higher learning.

Dela Noche, Iraya get baptism of fire on international arena

HE Philippines’s Jayrack Dela Noche and Alexander Iraya lost to Thailand-1’s Netitorn Muneekul and Wachirawit Muadpha, 18-21, 15-21 in their Third Asian U19 Beach Volleyball Championships debut on Sunday in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. The Filipino pair gave the topseeded Thais everything they had in the opening set and even led, 15-13, before the hosts recovered their bearing with solid plays. Dela Noche and Iraya kept the game close in the second set, before Netitorn and Wachirawit pulled away with a 17-12 advantage and never looked back. Thailand-1, which beat Iran2’s Amir Reza Zamani and Armin Kami, 21-12, 19-21, 16-14, in a thrilling Pool A opening match Saturday, secured a spot in the quarterfinals with its second straight win. Seeded eighth in the 13-team tournament, Dela Noche and Iraya needed to beat the No. 9 Iranian pair their final pool match at 9 a.m. (Manila time) on Monday to make it to the next round. The Philippine National Volleyball Federation duo from Victorias City whose participation in the tournament is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and Rebisco, vowed to do better as they got the feel of the international arena. “We gave our very best,” said Iraya, who alongside De la Noche will also represent the Philippines to the Fourth Asian U21 Beach Volleyball Championships, a qualifier for the FIVB U21 Beach Volleyball World Championships, set on July 12.

POGACAR TAKES CHARGE TADEJ POJACAR solidified his bid to retain his Tour title after proving once again to be a step above the rest on the most demanding ascents.

E GRAND-BORNAND, France—Tadej Pogacar wagged his head and grinned, his blond hair slick from sweat and rain, his cheeks ruddy from the mountain cold and a colossal effort from smashing his remaining rivals at the Tour de France. As he cooled down on the stationary bike, the defending champion seemed to have even surprised himself. “Ah, what a ride. What a day,” he said, unable to wipe the smile of satisfaction off his face. Pogacar dealt a demoralizing blow on the first day of the Tour in the Alps on Saturday, when cycling’s precocious star claimed the yellow jersey after what was a grueling eighth stage to everyone else. Pogacar started the day three minutes and 43 seconds off the

Superal can’t wait to get ball rolling

IKE the rest of the field, Princess Superal can’t wait to get going in the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) resumption, eager to hack it out again in pursuit of top honors with a form she kept in top condition through the long break due to the spike of Covid-19 infections. “We’re happy for the

resumption (of the tour),” said the multi-titled Superal, who topped one and placed second twice when the circuit held its restart last year and early this season following an eight-month hiatus due to the global health crisis. “It’s been a long time and we really miss (the action).” Despite the long layoff, action indeed

THE Philippines’ Alexander Iraya tries to elude Thailand-1’s Netitorn Muneekul. AVC PHOTO

Is football coming home? RICK OLIVARES | bleachersbrew@gmail.com

BLEACHERS’ BREW AFTER Harry Kane scored England’s third goal against Ukraine, four things popped into my mind. The first was, England had not yet conceded a goal in five of their matches thus far in the 2021 European Football Championships. The second was, “Hey, England could win it all.”

lead of Mathieu van der Poel. Five mountain passes and nearly four hours later, Van der Poel finished more than 20 minutes off the pace. The Dutchman relinquished the lead he had held for six days when he faded fast midway through the brutal stage. Wout van Aert remained in second place but fell from 30 seconds behind at the start of the stage to one minute and 48 seconds behind Pogacar. Richard Carapaz finished more than three minutes behind Pogacar, slipping to five minutes back overall in sixth. Pogacar solidified his bid to retain his Tour title after proving once again to be a step above the rest on the most demanding ascents. He set off on his own on the fourth climb, shedding Carapaz, the last man—and possible

The third was, “How unlucky can Andriy Shevchenko get?” Shevchenko was a player for AC Milan when they lost to Liverpool in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Finals after spotting the latter a 3-nil lead in the first half. Milan went to lose a penalty shootout. This time around, managing Ukraine which has done well in

this tournament, they lost 4-nil to England. I wonder if Shevchenko is tired of the color red (which is the color of both Liverpool and England). And fourth and last, I thought of the song “Three Lions (Football’s Coming Home)” by English rock band, the Lightning Seeds together with comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel. The song was released during the 1996 Euros in which England was the host. Unfortunately for England which was knocked out in the semi-finals by Germany (6-5 in penalty kicks and went on to win the tournament). The funny thing about that song is it has proven to be popular among opposing teams and

contender—to have kept on his wheel. Pogacar finished the 151-kilometer route from Oyonnax to Le Grand-Bornand in fourth place, seconds behind stage winner Dylan Teuns. Teuns, a Belgian rider for the Bahrain team, managed to conserve a slim lead over the hardpushing Pogacar over the final peak before negotiating the tricky descent to the finish line. While almost the entire field suffered from the climbs in the rain and low temperatures, Pogacar saw the opportunity to turn the race on its head. “In the end I felt great, so before the last two climbs I said to my teammates, ‘Let’s try and shake up the race,” Pogacar said. Shake it up? He crushed it. On Sunday, riders face a second day in the Alps with a 145-kilometer (90-mile) ride over four passes before a summit finish at Tignes. But given the gaps, even the top teams may be focusing on stage wins or the second and third spots on the podium. The peloton was in poor shape to hold up in the mountains after a crash-filled opening week and Friday’s marathon 249-kilometer haul. The longest stage in the Tour in 21 years had exhausted all but a handful of riders. And more pain was in store. In an omen for what was to come, several cyclists were already struggling right from the start. The short ascent under steady rainfall heading into the Alpine forest broke the pack into bits. AP

SEN. Manny Pacquiao holds a virtual press conference on Saturday afternoon.

Sick man on board forces PAL flight to US, Pacquiao to return to NAIA airport By Recto Mercene

EFORE eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao flew to Los Angeles on Saturday, he went online for a press conference to make amends with President Duterte and shoot down two government agencies he accused of being corrupt. Pacquiao fulfilled his task as a sitting senator for a little over an hour before the media and went directly to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, sat on the plane and was expecting to be at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym a day later to start training for his August 21 (August 22 in Manila) fight with unified world champion Errol Spence Jr. in Las Vegas. But Pacquiao found himself and 185 other passengers on board the Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight back in Manila. With him was bosom buddy and chief trainer Buboy Fernandez. The plane was already three hours in the air when it diverted to Haneda Airport in Japan to unload a sick passenger. PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said the Flight PR102 took off at NAIA around 9 p.m. Saturday when one of the cabin crew notified the pilots that one of the passengers is sick and badly needing medical attention.

is expected to be fierce right at the start of the International Container Terminal Serviceas Inc. (ICTSI) Sherwood Ladies Challenge on Wednesday at the tough Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Cavite with the likes of Daniella Uy, Chanelle Avaricio, Sarah Ababa, Apple Fudolin, Chihiro Ikeda, Marvi Monsalve, Gretchen Villacencia and Sheryl Villacencio likewise coming into the event keen and enthusiastic about their respective chances in the P750,000 event put up by ICTSI. The circuit went on a threemonth break due to surge of coronavirus cases in the NCR Plus last March with 2017 LPGT Order of Merit winner Pauline del Rosario, who topped on LPGT bubble tournament last year, opting to embark on a US tour as part of her buildup for the Ladies Professional Golf Association Q-School in October. Superal is likewise prepping up for the resumption of her campaign in the Step Up Tour in Japan and the LPGT’s four-tournament schedule in the next five weeks will surely help her reach competitive form, not to mention bolster her confidence. “I do workouts three times a week during the break while playing at least four rounds. Then

back to the range and short game for the rest of the week,” added Superal. After the Sherwood leg, action shifts to Eagle Ridge for the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Ladies Classic from July 14 to 16 at the Norman course then back to Riviera, also in Cavite, for the ICTSI Riviera

countries. In fact, Germany, on their way to Wembley Stadium in 1996 to face the home team, were singing it in their team bus. I am happy for England and English football fans. They are back in the semis after 25 years. En route to the final four, they won a knockout match; only the third time they have done so. They got the semis of the World Cup in Russia but they lost to Croatia, 2-1, after letting the lead slip away. Of course, England fans are getting ahead of themselves with the 4-nil win over Ukraine. They know they have to get past Denmark then if they do so, face the winner of the Italy-Spain match in the finals.

Two more wins. Both a tall order. England fans have been on the short end of ribbing for so long. For the country that invented the game of football, they have only won one major title and that is the 1966 World Cup. Since that year, France has won it twice. Spain once. And Germany and Italy have won thrice and twice respectively. Opposing fans taunt them of how the English invented the game but the Germans, Italians, and Brazilians’even the Dutch and Spanish’have perfected it. In fact, football’s nickname— “the Beautiful Game”—was bequeathed by none other than the acknowledged best player Pele who is Brazilian.

The pilot radioed Japan air traffic controllers alerting them of a medical emergency landing, and was given priority among others which lined up for at Haneda. The PAL plane safely landed at 3:36 a.m. Japan local time. Haneda airport personnel immediately provided medical relief to the ailing passenger. The PAL pilots, meanwhile, trying to catch the landing deadline, contacted the Los Angeles airport to announce their late arrival due to the emergency. Airport sources said that Los Angeles airport officials told the PAL pilots that immigration and customs services will be closed at midnight and will resume in the morning. PAL tried to explain the emergency situation, saying they cannot make the 12 midnight closure of immigration and customs services, to no avail. The PAL flight returned to the NAIA from Haneda with the sick passenger, including Pacquiao and his team. The flight departed anew at 2 p.m. for its original destination. “I’m fine. Just what I said before, I don’t mix politics with boxing, but I don’t set aside my job as a legislator,” Pacquiao said on Sunday. “I also trained well in General Santos City.”

With Josef Ramos

PRINCESS SUPERAL is eager to hack it out again in pursuit of top honors.

Ladies Challenge from July 28 to 30 at the Langer course. The Couples layout, also at Riviera, will host the next stop for the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Challenge from Augist 4 to 6 as the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. got the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Games and Amusements Board nods to resume operations under strict health and safety guidelines, Harmie Constantino turned back Superal to rule the last LPGT tournament before the lockdown at Eagle Ridge’s Aoki course last March but failed to make it twoin-row in her pro debut and the latter’s attempt to even things up got stalled following the temporary suspension of the ICTSIbacked circuit. I’ve heard that laterally about how the game of basketball was invented by the Americans but perfected by the Yugoslavians. It is a statement I do not totally agree with but let them have it. Imagine this… if England wins it all (yes, I know we are getting ahead of it all), they’ll be stealing back the game. Gareth Southgate, who played under Terry Venables in the 1996 Euros and every minute of all their matches, would get a measure of vindication because it was his botched penalty that allowed Germany to advance in that tournament. He’d be a national hero. And for England and Southgate, that is not a bad thing. Not a bad thing at all.