BusinessMirror July 31, 2020

With income halved, Pagcor suffers H1 net loss

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

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OR the first time in at least six years, staterun Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) succumbed to a firsthalf net loss as it suffered an almost 50-percent drop in its income from gaming operations.

Based on its statement of comprehensive income, Pagcor swung to a net loss of P1.596 billion as of end-June this year from a net income of P3.079 billion in the same period last year. This was equivalent to a 151.84-percent plunge year-on-year.

It also missed its P2.835-billion target net income for the period by 156.31 percent or P4.43 billion.

This, as the gaming operations of Pagcor remain suspended except for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), which

A BARANGAY police officer stands guard over Leveriza Street, Barangay 14, one of the communities in Pasay City placed on “special lockdown” since July 22 due to the high incidence of coronavirus cases in the area.

The lockdown has since been extended to August 5. ROY DOMINGO

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were allowed by the government to partially resume in May in a bid to raise some revenues amid the pandemic.

The country’s gaming regulator posted a net loss for the six-month period as its P11.317-billion total expenses exceeded its total income net of gaming of taxes and contributions at P9.732 billion.

Pagcor’s total income net of gaming taxes and contributions as of end-June was also lower by 46.59 percent than its P18.22-billion target and also down by 50.38 percent from P19.61 billion it posted for the first semester last year.

On the other hand, Pagcor’s total expenses were 26.43 percent short of its P15.38-billion target and 31.53 percent below the P16.527 billion it recorded as of end-June last year.

In the last six years since 2014, Pagcor consistently posted net income for the first se-

mester. The oldest available record of Pagcor’s end-June statement of comprehensive income posted in its website was that of 2014.

Earlier, Pagcor said two POGOs—SC World Development Group Ltd., a unit of Macau’s gambling giant SunCity Group, and Don Tencess Asian Services Solutions Inc.—have signified their intention to exit the country, and officially asked for cancellation of their offshore gaming licenses.

Aside from them, 13 other service providers were also reported to have closed down their operations, and more will likely follow suit—supposedly due to stringent tax rules from the BIR and the impact of movement restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Domingo has also since appealed to the government to allow the gradual reopening of casinos.

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Friday, July 31, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 295

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 16 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

FITNESS coach Trish Novicio disinfects gym equipment at Anytime Fitness Gym on Tomas Morato in Quezon City in preparation for its reopening, months after gymnasiums were among those closed to stop transmission of Covid-19. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has approved the reopening of gyms, internet shops, tutorial and review centers and drive-in cinemas under general community quarantine starting August 1. NONOY LACZA

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By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

HE P200-billion decline in the banking industry’s loan portfolio may have an adverse impact not only on the sector but on the economy as well, an audit firm said.

Isla Lipana & Co. said that banks appear to be cautious when it comes to extending credit amid the pandemic, noting that a 2-percent drop—translating to around P200 billion—was recorded for the loan portfolio from December 2019 to May 2020.

This, as loans-to-deposit ratio slid from 80.2 percent to 75.8 percent for the same period.

“In the long run, this is not healthy for both the financial services sector and the economy,” Isla Lipana said.

The audit firm said that the banks should be able to provide loans and generate earnings to compensate for the potential losses from defaults and cost of carrying deposits.

See “Loans,” A2

Lawmakers, groups counsel caution on nuke study

A

GATCHALIAN: “[Nuclear power] is an energy source that is very complicated and demands high-level knowledge to fully maximize its utilization without sacrificing public safety.”

LAWMAKER has called on the energy department to “proceed with utmost transparency” in the conduct of a feasibility study on the inclusion of nuclear power to the country’s energy mix.

Senate Committee on Energy chairman Sherwin Gatchalian said Thursday that transparency should be the guiding post from day one on the conduct of the study.

“The conduct of this study should proceed with utmost transparency to the public in every step

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 49.2170

of the way. The public should be well-informed on the inherent risk and the potential of nuclear power.

Only an open and free discussion of this technology will deepen the comprehension of the public,” the senator said.

Nuclear energy, he commented, is a “complicated” energy source and a “very risky business.”

“The world is always in constant debate on the adoption of nuclear power because of its inherent risk to public welfare. Moreover,

it is an energy source that is very complicated and demands highlevel knowledge to fully maximize its utilization without sacrificing public safety,” said Gatchalian.

Malacañang signed last week Executive Order (EO) 116, which paves the way for the creation of the Nuclear Energy Program InterAgency Committee (NEP-IAC).

The DOE will lead the committee, while the Department of Science and Technology is the

AMID LOCKDOWNS, HUMAN TRAFFICKERS MOVE TO DIGITAL

By Samuel P. Medenilla

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OT even the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic could stop human traffickers, who merely moved their illegal operations from the physical to the digital landscape en masse.

This was the observation of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and other members of the InterAgency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat) in an online forum on Thursday for the celebration of the World Day Against Trafficking organized by the Blas F. Ople Policy Center.

In his presentation, POEA administrator Bernard P. Olalia said they noted a spike in the number of online scammers during the pandemic.

“There are so many [recruitment scams], which appeared on social media; that is why our AIR [Anti-illegal recruitment branch] continues to monitor [online] advertisements,” Olalia said.

He said AIR usually scrutinizes ads from travel agencies and language training centers, which are usually used by human traffickers to recruit their victims.

Justice Undersecretary Emmeline Villar said they anticipated Continued on A2

See “Nuke,” A2

n JAPAN 0.4690 n UK 64.0018 n HK 6.3507 n CHINA 7.0297 n SINGAPORE 35.8333 n AUSTRALIA 35.3821 n EU 58.0515 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.1252

Source: BSP (July 30, 2020)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, July 31, 2020

Continued from A1

committee vice chair. The interagency body is mandated to primarily conduct a study for the adoption of a National Position on a Nuclear Energy Program (NEP).

The NEP-IAC will also evaluate and formulate a national strategy to include a road map and timeline in the preparation of a NEP; review the existing legal framework, study the viability of nuclear energy, and recommend the necessary steps in the utilization of nuclear energy, as well as existing facilities such as but not limited to the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant; create subcommittees to facilitate decision-making on various issues that may arise in the course of study; promulgate guidelines and rules for the effective implementation of EO 116; and perform other functions as the President may direct.

Groups concerned

CONSUMER group Power for People Coalition (P4P), meanwhile, condemned the issuance of the EO.

“We are dismayed at the casual disregard for the risks of nuclear power to a country like the Philippines, vulnerable as it is to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the threat of climate change,” said P4P Convenor Gerry Arances.

“We have grave reservations about the ability of the DOE to manage nuclear power without causing a Chernobyl or Fukushima. If we need more power, the renewable energy potential of our country is already at 250 gigawatt hours, and that excludes solar energy.

“It is an untapped resource that is safe, reliable and perfect for scaling from small communities to big cities. We invite the DOE to review our Philippine Energy Plan and Power Development Plan toward increasing the share of renewable energy,” he added.

According to DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi, EO 116 was signed by President Duterte on July 24. Cusi called it a “major step toward the realization of a Philippine nuclear energy program.”

“The Department of Energy welcomes EO 116 as a major step toward the realization of a Philippine nuclear energy program—one which would benefit our people by enhancing our energy supply levels and help shield our consumers from traditional power price volatilities.”

Another consumer group, Laban Konsyumer Inc., expressed concern on the issuance of the EO. “LKI does not support at all a study of the nuclear energy. It is a waste of public funds,” said LKI president Victor Dimagiba in a text message. Instead, LKI urged the DOE to craft a “viable five- to 10-year Energy Plan.”

“The country needs more use of indigenous energy resources.

Then you add the vast gas resources underneath the EEZ of the country in the West Philippine Sea,” said Dimagiba. Lenie Lectura

DA-led task force reactivated to deal with new avian flu cases

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By Samuel P. Medenilla

HE Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Thursday reactivated the inter-agency task force led by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to monitor possible new cases of Avian Influenza A (H5N6) nationwide.

In its Resolution 60, series of 2020, the IATF approved the recommendation of DA for the National Avian Influenza Task Force (NAITF) to reconvene “to manage the outbreaks using multi-agency coordination and collaboration.”

“The DA is directed to strengthen coordination with the DOH [Department of Health], DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources], and DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government] with LGUs [local government units] concerned to do sustained monitoring and surveillance of the Avian Influenza A (H5N6) and its possible effects to humans,” the IATF said in its two-page issuance.

It came out with the decision after the DA detected a new bird flu

outbreak in a quail farm in Jaen, Nueva Ecija, in March.

The outbreak was promptly addressed by the DA, allowing it to declare last week that there is no longer any H5N6 cases in the area for the last 90 days.

The DA is still determining the cause of the latest incident of H5N6 in the country.

The last H5N6 outbreak in the country happened in 2017 in Central Luzon, which led to the culling of over 200,000 chicken layers and quails.

The strain of H5N6 which spread in the country in both times is considered “non-fatal” and not known to be transmissible to humans, according to government veterinarians.

With this in mind, the IATF

PRIVATE EMPLOYEES TO GET 200% IF THEY WORK ON JULY 31

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RIVATE-SECTOR employees who will report for work on Friday will get twice their regular pay after it was declared as a regular holiday by President Duterte.

In its Labor Advisory (LA) 25, series of 2020, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reminded employers that workers must be paid 200 percent of their wage for the first eight hours of their duty during the holiday.

The said employees will get an additional 30 percent of their hourly rate for the day if they work overtime and another 30 percent of their regular holiday pay if it falls during their day off.

Those who opt to spend the regular holiday on vacation from work will still get 100 percent of their pay for that day.

Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III noted that because of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis, employers may defer the payment of the said holiday pay “until such time that the present emergency has been abated and the normal operation of establishments is in place.”

Bello said in LA 25, “Establishments that have totally closed or ceased operations during the community quarantine period are exempted from the payment of the holiday pay under this advisory.”

Duterte issued Presidential Proclamation 985 declaring July 31, 2020, as a regular holiday for the celebration of Eid’l Adha, or the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice.

In the issuance, the President reminded those who will commemorate the event to comply with community quarantine and exercise social-distancing measures. Samuel P. Medenilla

Loans…

Continued from A1

According to the latest preliminary data of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), gross nonperforming loans (NPLs) amounted to P262.68 billion as of end-May, which is 20 percent more than P218.89 billion notched in the same period last year.

“They would also be missing the opportunity to build lasting relationships with borrowers if they would fail to give financing now when their clients needed it the most,” it added.

Crucial role

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Nuke…

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ordered the DA to intensify its information campaign to assure people that chicken meat and eggs are safe for human consumption.

It also mandated the agency to strictly enforce Good Animal Hus-

bandry Practices and enjoin the public to immediately report poultry mortalities in their respective LGUs and to the DA Regional Field Offices or the DA Bureau of Animal Industries.

Locsin, Malaysian counterpart spar on Twitter over Sabah case Continued from A8

The country’s top diplomat is not alone in his crusade. Former Congressman and administration critic Teddy Casiño tweeted, “It is an irresponsible tweet. But Teddyboy Locsin is correct. Sabah was, and still should be, part of the Philippines.”

Senator JV Ejercito waded in: “I support Sec. Locsin on his statement regarding Sabah. It may anger the Malaysians but Sabah historically belongs rightfully to the Philippines! They also are allegedly secretly supporting the terrorists in the South I suspect that a lot of funding and arms of these bandits coursed through Malaysia.”

A netizen, BM Espina, told Locsin, “I am with you on this. We should assert that Sabah is Philippines so is West Philippine Sea.”

Palace: Sabah ours

MEANWHILE, Malacañang on Thursday asserted the country’s ownership

of Sabah, which is currently under the control of Malaysia.

In an online press briefing on Thursday, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque cited the country’s historical claim on the disputed territory in northern Borneo to stress that it belongs to the country after it was gifted by the Sultan of Brunei to the Sultan of Sulu.

However, he immediately added that the territorial dispute, which existed since the term of former President Diosdado Macapagal, should not sour diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“We recognize that this matter should not affect our own ongoing bilateral ties with Malaysia. It has not affected it in the recent years, and we will continue to have healthy bilateral relations with Malaysia despite the issue of Sabah,” Roque said.

This after Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein called out Locsin for his tweet on July 27, 2020, that “Sabah is not in Malaysia.” With Samuel P. Medenilla

THE audit firm stressed that the banks are crucial for economic development.

“They spur economic activities by infusing capital to businesses that require funding and securing those funds from those who have no need of the same for the time being,” it explained. “Especially during crisis situations, banks had been vital in rescuing companies and economies from default as what happened during the Asian Currency Crisis.”

The BSP in May shared that the financial system is expected to book P556.6 billion worth of NPLs in 2020 amid the economic downturn. This is equivalent to 5 percent in NPL ratio—portion of NPL to total loans—which is more than double of what the sector has been dealing with in the recent years.

Isla Lipana said the banks have been extending bridge loans and restructuring existing borrowings to help entities with cash flow problems.

This is why the government and regulators ensure that the financial system is sound, robust and resilient, the audit firm said, noting that the BSP has employed several measures to keep the industry liquid and well-capitalized.

The BSP, Isla Lipana recalled, has cut reserve requirements, lowered the requirement minimum liquidity ratios for smaller banks and eased payment of obligations to rediscounting facility, among others.

These initiatives freed up more liquidity into the economy, the audit firm said. Cash-to-deposit ratio rose from 20.5 percent to 22.2 percent, while liquid assets-to-deposit ratio spiked from 47.9 percent to 49.9 percent in May 2020 from December 2019.

In addition, Isla Lipana said that a bill allowing banks to unload their nonperforming assets via special-purpose vehicles was being pushed into law.

“With all these support from both the government and regulators, banks are well-positioned to assist in the recovery of ailing businesses,” it said.

Amid lockdowns, human traffickers move to digital LTO extends registration deadlines once again Continued from A1

the trend after the Covid-19 crisis displaced many local and overseas workers. “[The] vulnerable population has now become even more exposed to exploitation and to abuse as they search for alternative means of livelihood which was taken away from them by the effects of the pandemic,” Villar said.

Online presence

IN response to this trend, Olalia said POEA, particularly AIR, strengthened its presence online.

He also said POEA released several advisories warning aspiring overseas Filipino workers

(OFWs) about bogus job orders, unlicensed recruiters and potential identity theft.

They also launched their online legal counseling via e-mail or Facebook Messenger, as well as phone patch to provide aid for Covid-affected OFWs. Olalia said they were able to assist 606 clients through these means and another 450 who opted to visit POEA’s website to also get the same service.

The common queries that clients have for POEA’s legal assistance department include what will happen to their employment contract during the pandemic; how to file charges against their employers; their rights if their employment is terminated; and their rights when being repatriated.

DOLE earlier estimated about 400,000 OFWs either lost their jobs or suffered shorter work hours because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Decrease in traditional cases

WHILE POEA got increasing on-

line clients, Olalia noted a decline in the number of illegal recruitment victims who sought their assistance by going to their offices this year. They counted only 12 from January to June.

This was significantly lower compared to the 103 in 2018, and 149 in 2019.

“The data is still not clear, why it [number of illegal recruitment victims] went down. Probably this is because of the lockdown caused by the pandemic, so [illegal] recruiters were forced to lie low and get their victims” through other means, Olalia said.

Olalia also pointed to the number of illegal recruitment violations which they filed for the first half of the year—only at 196, lower than the 885 cases in 2018 and the 770 cases in 2019.

Concerted effort

WITH the continued threat of human traffickers during the Covid-19 pandemic, Villar said the Iacat recently launched the Inte-

grated Case Management System (ICMS), which allows its members to keep track of active and inactive illegal recruitment and humantrafficking agencies.

The system also allows Iacat members to generate data and analyze emerging trends for OFW tip cases.

She hoped the new system will allow the country to keep its prestigious Tier 1 classification in the annual United States State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) index in the last five years.

“Ongoing consequences of the pandemic are likely to put more people at risk of being victims and subjected to specific vulnerabilities due to the circumstances surrounding them,” Villar said.

“This therefore calls for a concerted action to this challenging situation. And the Iacat and all of its member agencies together with the law-enforcement agencies have stepped up their efforts and responded strongly,” she added.

Continued from A8

Thus, no penalty shall be collected for renewal transactions from July 1 to 31, 2020, for these motor vehicles.

Meanwhile, LTO offices have given all motor vehicles’ plate numbers ending in 6 or those scheduled for renewal in June in NCR, Laguna, Cebu and Region III, an additional 30 days of extended validity period. This is on top of the 60 days’ extension given by the LTO beginning from the date of the agency’s work resumption on June 3. This means that these vehicles have an extended deadline until September 3.

Further, an extension of 30 days for renewal registration is given for motor vehicles with plate numbers ending in 7, 8, 9 and 0 in all LTO offices. The 30-day extension is effective from their supposed expiration as follows:

• Plates ending in 7: from July

31 now adjusted to August 31; • Plates ending in 8: from August now adjusted to September 30;

• Plates ending in 9: from September 30 now adjusted to October 31; and • Plates ending in 0: from October 31 to November 30 2020.

No penalty and surcharge shall also be collected for renewal transactions within the revised schedule given by the LTO. The schedule will be implemented in order to avoid congestion at LTO offices and ensure that transactions are processed in a way that follows strict health and safety protocols.

Galvante asked motorists to follow the revised schedule of renewal transactions, and to not wait for the deadline, to effectively carry out smooth transactions, as well as avoid aberrations, especially as the chance of Covid-19 transmission within the community remains high.

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Court orders transfer of three PMA hazing suspects to Baguio jail

By Joel R. San Juan

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@jrsanjuan1573

HE Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Baguio City has directed the transfer to the Baguio City Jail of three Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadets who are facing criminal charges for their alleged involvement in the fatal hazing of Cadet Fourth Class Darwin Dormitorio last year.

The order was issued despite the Supreme CourtOffice of the Court Administrator’s (SC-OC) circular issued last week temporarily enjoining trial court judges from issuing commitment orders to the facilities under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to prevent the further contamination of Covid-19 among persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in all jails nationwide.

The circular mandates that “all judges shall issue commitment orders for newly arrested PDLs…until 31 August 2020, to the local PNP units, unless the local BJMP jail units are already able to admit newly arrested PDLs during this period.”

Covered by the Baguio RTC’s commitment order were PMA 3rd Class Cadets Shalimar Imperial, Felix Lumbag and Julius Tadena.

Imperial and Lumbag have also been charged with murder along with PMA officer-doctors Lt. Col. Caesar Almer Candelaria, Capt. Flor Apple Apostol, and Maj. Maria Ofelia Beloy.

The trial court also directed the arrest of Candelaria, Apostol and Beloy but allowed them to post bail in the amount of P200,000 each.

The justice department earlier held that Dormitorio’s death “was the cumulative result of the intentional acts” of the accused-cadets and the “gross negligence of the doctors.”

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, July 31, 2020 A3

Ex-solon, cult leader Ecleo arrested in Pampanga over wife’s slay, graft

By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

F

ORMER Dinagat Islands congressional representative and the country’s “most wanted” criminal, Ruben Ecleo Jr., was arrested by policemen on Thursday in San Fernando City, Pampanga, eight years after he was convicted on at least two cases, including the killing of his wife.

Ecleo, alias Manuel Riberal, 60, resident of Lot 6, Block 8, Diamond Subdivision, Barangay Orosa, Balibago, Angeles, Pampanga, and a native of Dinagat Islands, was nabbed by crack teams from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

Also arrested was Ecleo’s driver Benjie Relacion Fernan, alias Smile, 35, and a native of San Jose, Dinagat Islands, who was taken in for violation of Section 1 (c) of PD 1829, or “Penalizing Obstruction of Apprehension and Prosecution of Criminal Offenders.”

Ecleo’s arrest was carried out by members of the NCRPO’s Regional Special Operations Group and Regional Mobile Force Battalion at around 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, according to a report sent by the NCRPO to National Police chief Gen. Archie Gamboa.

The operating team served a warrant of arrest against Ecleo for violation of Section 3 (e) of RA 3019 or “Anti-Graft

and Corrupt Practices Act” issued by Sandiganbayan’s First Division Chairman Efren N. de la Cruz.

Ecleo is the “supreme master” of the cult group Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), and at the time of his arrest, was listed as the country’s most wanted person with P2million bounty for his arrest.

The operating team seized Ecleo’s Toyota Grandia, more than P170,000 in cash, fake identification cards and assorted jewelry.

A local court in Cebu City convicted Ecleo in 2012 for killing his wife Alona Bacolod Ecleo by strangulation inside their home in Cebu City in 2002. His

wife’s body was dumped and recovered from a ravine three days later.

In 2006, the Sandiganbayan ordered him arrested after it convicted him of graft over the questionable construction of a public market and a municipal building, and the repair and rehabilitation of a building owned by the PBMA. The graft cases were committed while he was the mayor of San Jose, Dinagat Island in Surigao del Norte from 1991 to 1994.

Ecleo had also served as a member of the House of Representatives, which dropped him from its rolls following his conviction by the anti-graft court.

DENR chief lauds Duterte’s endorsement of BIDA bill

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EPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy A. Cimatu hailed President Duterte’s endorsement to Congress of a bill creating the Boracay Island Development Authority (BIDA).

Cimatu, also the designated chairman of the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF), said BIDA which will be headed by the DENR, will help sustain the gains from the rehabilitation of Boracay Island and that the endorsement of the bill would help ensure the timely and full passage of the measure.

“We express our sincerest gratitude to the President for his endorsement of the BIDA bill,” Cimatu said in a news statement.

“This is the opportune time to pass a law creating a permanent agency to sustain the gains achieved by the BIATF, which term has been extended for only one year, or until April 2021,” the DENR chief said.

PresidentDuterterecentlyissuedExecutive Order (EO) 115 extending the term of the BIATF by one year. The task force was originally set to end on May 8, 2020, or two years after it was created in 2018 under EO 53.

“It is the tacit duty of the task force to

ensure that Boracay does not backslide and slip to a state of environmental degradation especially with all the hard work, cooperation and concern shown by all stakeholders,” Cimatu said.

In his 5th State of the Nation Address last Monday, President Duterte called on Congress to pass the BIDA measure in his desire to sustain what he called “remarkable emergence of the island back to its former glory.”

“For the rest of my term, I hope to see concerted efforts in protecting the environment. The rehabilitation of Boracay Island

showcased our reserve to safeguard the environment,” Duterte was quoted as saying.

The BIDA bill is being pushed by the BIATF. Last June 11, the BIATF issued a resolution approving the draft of BIDA bill and endorsing it to Congress.

The BIATF, in its resolution, said the creation of BIDA aims to promote and accelerate the sustainable development and balanced growth of Boracay Island, “consistent with the necessity of maintaining a sound ecological balance on protecting and enhancing the quality of the environment.”

Jonathan L. Mayuga

A4 Friday, July 31, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

Nat gas output, demand decline amid ECQ, Malampaya maintenance shutdown in Oct

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By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

ATURAL gas production and demand for the year is seen to drop by close to 5 percent compared to the previous year, Department of Energy (DOE) data showed.

Domestic production for 2020 is seen to decline by 4.49 percent, or 148,502 million standard cubic feet, compared to last year’s 155,495 mmscf.

The projected decline is mainly due to the scheduled maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya gas platform for five days in October and the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.

Further, there will be an expect-

ed gas restriction as gas nomination is expected to surge for more demand of electricity.

Also, the operation of the Gas Export Pipeline (GEP) from the platform to the onshore gas processing plant will meet some challenges in view of its capacity limitation and distance.

“These events are perceived to impact in the nomination on the volume of natural gas from the Malampaya gas field by the identified customers

DTI launches first online trade fair for MSMEs owned by PWDs

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

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HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Thursday launched the first online trade fair for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) owned by persons with disability (PWD).

As the country celebrates the 42nd National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week, the DTI launched the expo dubbed Biz-Ability Online Trade Fair. It aims to provide PWD business owners the initial exposure and experience to sell their products online on large platforms amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Initially, six MSMEs are expected to participate in Biz-Ability, and more will be accommodated as they complete the on boarding process.

The MSMEs, assisted by regional offices of the DTI, are either owned by a PWD, or are employing PWDs, in their business. Various products, ranging from fashion items to food to gifts and houseware will be featured initially on Facebook.

Trade Undersecretary Abdulgani M. Macatoman said in a news statement the DTI is doing everything to help MSMEs, especially those most disadvantaged by the pandemic, generate revenue at a time all physical trade fairs are suspended.

“With the indefinite postponement of national trade events such as the National Food Fair and National Trade Fair due to the pandemic, the department has transitioned to online events such as this Online Trade Fair for MSMEs with persons with disability to promote our Filipino entrepreneurs and their products,” Macatoman said.

On the other hand, Trade Assistant Secretary Ameenah A. Fajardo said she hopes the online trade fair will provide a start for PWD entrepreneurs as they venture in promoting their goods and services to the buying public.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez vowed the DTI will continue to build a business environment that is inclusive, especially under the new normal where commerce will likely be preferred virtual than physical. He encouraged MSMEs to maximize the digital platforms and display their creativity and resiliency through trade shows.

“With the persons with disability community by our side as we continue to promote and train MSMEs to go into the e-commerce industry, we will be able to not only adjust to the new normal but thrive in a better normal,” Lopez said.

Biz-Ability will run from July 30 until August 12.

and/or users,” the DOE said.

Projected demand, meanwhile, will reach at 142,808 mmscf against the 2019 level of 149,007 mmscf, or a plunge of 4.16 percent.

The decline is likewise attributed to the impact of the Malampaya shutdown this year, the ECQ and the expected implementation of the maintenance activities of natural gas consumers.

Natural gas production in the country is mainly consumed by the power, industrial and transport sectors.

Natural gas for the power sector for this year is projected to reach 140,304 mmscf or 4.14 percent lower than last year’s level of 146,365 mmscf.

The DOE attributed the expected decline to the implementation of major maintenance program of the Ilijan, Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo gas plants within the year.

Also, the ECQ has enhanced the

impact in the consumption level of natural gas resulting to the low demand for electricity as most industrial and commercial sectors ceased operations.

The industrial sector’s forecasted demand this year totaled to 2.505 mmscf, reflecting a 5.18-percent dip from the previous year’s actual utilization of 2,642 mmscf.

The decrease is the result of the refinery’s economic shutdown in May as an effect of the implementation of the ECQ. There is no projected consumption in the transport industry.

At present, the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power project is producing 3,400 megawatts (MW) to fuel the gas plants in the country.

Prior to the Malampaya gas facility, the country had the San Antonio gas field from 1994 to 2008.

However, Malampaya gas field is projected to be depleted by early 2022, or by 2027 at the latest.

25 Mimaropa MRFs ready for turnover to LGUs by year-end, DENR exec says

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

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HE Department of Environment and Natural ResourcesEnvironmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) in the Region 4B (Mimaropa region) is stepping up construction activities to finish within the year 25 Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF) in four provinces in the region.

In a news statement, EMB Mimaropa Regional Director Atty.

Michael Drake Matias said he has ordered the completion of the construction phase of MRFs in Victoria and Bulalacao in Oriental Mindoro; Abra de Ilog, Calintaan, Mamburao, Paluan, Rizal, Sablayan, and San Jose in Occidental Mindoro; Corcuera, Sta. Fe, and San Jose in Romblon; and Araceli, Balabac, Bataraza, Brooke’s Point, Coron, Cuyo, Dumaran, Magsaysay, Narra, Quezon, Roxas, and Taytay in Palawan.

Mimaropa stands for Mindoro (Occidental and Oriental), Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan.

Meanwhile, the official said 14 newly constructed MRFs in the region are set for turnover to recipient municipalities. These local government units (LGUs) include Bansud, Gloria, Pinamalayan, Puerto Galera, Roxas, and San Teodoro in Oriental Mindoro; Buenavista, Gasan, Mogpog, and Sta. Cruz in

Marinduque; and Odiongan (with 2 MRFs constructed), San Agustin, and Sta. Maria in Romblon.

Upon finishing the construction, these MRFs will be turned over to the respective LGUs for their use.

This was done to assist LGUs in expediting the construction of such, as former recipient LGUs of funding assistance for MRF construction faced difficulties in looking for successful bidders for their projects, thus delaying the establishment of MRF in their area, Matias said.

In the past two years, EMB Mimaropa reported a total of 19 closed dumpsites in the region, along with four operational sanitary landfills built, and two more sets for construction.

“We highlight the importance of our successful collaboration with the LGUs in the construction of MRFs as a solution to address the improper waste management in the region and divert other wastes into something that we may still be able to utilize,” Matias said.

Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu mentioned in his report during the Pre-State of the Nation Address forum held last July 22 underscored the importance of MRF construction in the effective implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DA indemnifies ASF-affected backyard hog raisers in Isabela

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday said it has released P5.78 million in indemnification to backyard hog raisers affected by African swine fever (ASF) in Isabela.

In a news statement, the DA said around 190 beneficiaries in Isabela have been indemnified after their farms were affected by ASF, a fatal hog disease that has been disrupting millions of livelihoods worldwide.

The DA paid the affected hog raisers P5,000 per culled pig, which it noted was used by the beneficiaries to shift to raising poultry and planting corn as a way to recover their losses.

However, the DA added that 56 percent of the 430 ASF-affected farmers, or about 240 hog raisers, are still yet to be compensated by the government.

DA Regional Field Office 2 Director Narciso Edillo said they would still need an additional P8 million in indemnification fund to cover all the affected hog raisers, including those that surrendered their hogs for depopulation.

The ASF has been present in the country for almost a year now and has resulted in the culling of 300,000 pigs to address and contain the spread of the hog disease.

The total depopulated hogs account for about 2.5 percent of the country’s total swine herd of about 12 million pigs.

The DA said it has intensified its

partnership with regional, provincial and municipal veterinarians and animal health workers to continuously “undertake regular monitoring activities to ensure that biosecurity measures are in place and that reporting of hog diseases is a must.”

“We have established a strong partnership with the LGUs and the private sector in executing these efforts. Based on the latest reports, about 300,000 hogs have already been culled, which is barely two and a half percent of the country’s hog population,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.

“While our joint efforts to manage, control, and contain ASF are paying off, we will do our utmost to revive the country’s swine industry by implementing a restocking program, initially allotting P400 million for the purpose,” Dar added.

Dar said the DA will continue to work closely with the Bureau of Customs to prevent smuggling of pork products from China and other ASF-affected countries.

Dar added that the country’s first border inspection and multicommodity quarantine facility, called the Agriculture Commodity Examination Area (ACEA) and crematorium, in Manila is set to be established next year.

“Even with our standing prohibition for China pork and processed products to enter our country, we remain proactive and so we have tightened our monitoring efforts even more—at all airports and seaports,” he said.

Speaker-in-waiting vows House support to Duterte’s ‘Plant, Plant, Plant’ program

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OUSE Speaker-in-waiting Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco on Thursday said the lower chamber will study possible legislation to give flesh to President Duterte’s “Plant, Plant, Plant” program to boost the productivity of the country’s agriculture sector amid the pandemic.

He issued the statement as the chamber adopted House Resolution 925 expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives to enact the proposed P66-billion supplemental budget of the Department of Agriculture to support its programs in addressing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The P66-billion budget for agriculture sector will include P31 billion for Alpas Kontra sa Covid, P20 billion for food logistic/food markets and other interventions and P15 billion

for the cash for work program in the agriculture sector.

Velasco, who is expected to seat as Speaker of the House in October, also backed the utilization of the coconut-levy fund to assist farmers and the industry, as well as the improvement in domestic tourism sector.

The House Committee on Agriculture earlier said the committee is about to approve the substitute bill on Coconut Levy Trust Fund, outlining the management and utilization of the levy assets as a trust fund for the benefit of the coco farmers and industry.

“President Duterte made it very clear, his policies and what his administration intends to do in the coming months as we battle the virus. We in the House of Representatives are ready to support his priority legislation so the country can move forward,” Velasco said.

DHSUD copes to meet housing backlog amid pandemic setbacks–del Rosario

By Cai U. Ordinario

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@caiordinario

O plug the country’s housing backlog, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has expressed its support to the National Housing Development (NHD) bills filed in Congress.

The bills are seeking a 20-year budget of P2.667 trillion for various housing construction projects, as well as land banking and surveying efforts. This translates to an annual budget allocation of P135.114 billion a year.

The NHD bills were included by the President in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) last Monday, as well as the Rental

Housing Subsidy bill, which the DHSUD also supported.

“If [a budget of] P2.6 trillion for housing development for one year, definitely…is not supportable [spreading the total outlay] say 20 years, it may be doable,” DHSUD Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario told the BusinessMirror in a text message on Wednesday. “If ever, it [the budget] should be included in the GAA [General Appropriations Act].”

Further, in a briefing on Wednesday, del Rosario said in general, the agency supports a rental housing program that would help even more Filipinos get access to affordable housing.

The DHSUD, he said, has already started to fast-track the implementation of the Balai rental housing program and has even allocated P10 billion through the Pag-IBIG Fund.

Del Rosario said t hrough t he Ba la i rental housing program, they intend to connect with local government units and

state universities and communities.

These institutions can be the proponent for the program while DHSUD will undertake the land development and financing for the rental housing program.

“We are supportive and we are now in the process of crafting the framework, rules and regulations for its eventual implementation. And we envision that this will be implemented by the third quarter of this year,” del Rosario said.

There are three NHD, Production and Financing bills filed at the House of Representatives. HB 02450 filed by Bulacan First District Rep. Jose Antonio R. Sy-Alvarado; HB 04759 by Manila Third District Rep. John Marvin C. Nieto; and HB 07079 by Camarines Sur Second District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. All three bills used the same computation for the budget allocation that also included amendments to the Socialized Housing Tax. The bills proposed that all LGUs are authorized to impose an additional one-half percent, or 0.5-percent tax, on the assessed value of all lands in urban areas.

The proceeds will be used by LGUs for socialized housing projects and estate management of rental housing in local governments.

The bills, particularly HB 02450 and HB 04759, also pushed for an increase in the authorized capital stock of the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. to P50 billion from P5.5 billion.

While the DHSUD expressed support for these bills, del Rosario said the agency is also in the process of reviewing all the housing laws and regulations, especially those created for the former Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).

“What we can do is to make some amendments and make some new policies, rules and regulations to the new situation and to the new normal,” del Rosario said.

“They are with us in this technical working group so that when we make some amendments or craft new polices, rules and regulations, the mindset of the private sector will be incorporated in that way we will be able to achieve synergy in that process,” he explained.

Covid-19 and housing del Rosario admitted that the pandemic has significantly affected its housing targets for the year.

DHSUD earlier said that as of June 30, around 234 developers with 661 condominium and subdivision projects equivalent to 417,396 housing and condominium units have resumed construction.

He said the operation of Key Shelter Agencies have also been adversely affected

by Covid-19.

“We have downgraded perhaps 20 to 30 percent of our original targets so it will affect the overall yearly target of the housing sector,” del Rosario said.

In a presentation at the House of Representatives Committee on Housing and Urban Development hearing, delays caused by the unavailability of construction materials and restricted mobility of workers has prompted the National Housing Authority (NHA) to cut its mass housing production targets by 32 percent this year.

NHA Group Manager-Management Services Group Marissa B. Maniquis said the NHA now targets to complete 68,095 from the initial target of 99,510 houses.

The number of mass housing projects that will be started this year will also be 9.48 percent lower at 51,543 units from the initial target of 56,942 this year.

For delays in project starts, Maniquis said those affected are under the Armed Forces of the Philippines/Philippine National Police Housing Program and permanent housing projects from the Yolanda Housing projects.

Editor: Angel R. Calso

The World BusinessMirror

Australia posts record infections as Melbourne lockdown struggles

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ustr alia has suffered its worst day of coronavirus infections with Victoria state recording 723 new cases, dashing hopes that a lockdown in the city of Melbourne was bringing the outbreak under control.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters that 13 more people had died, bringing the state’s death toll to 105.

Infections had gradually decreased earlier this week, with the state recording 295 new cases on Wednesday, raising hopes the six-week lockdown of the city of 5 million people was working.

“Most of today’s cases are in metro areas,” Andrews said in a statement. “But we have seen a significant jump in regional communities. It’s vital we stop this virus further seeping into regional Victoria.”

He said mask-wearing would be mandatory across the state, extending the order from just Melbourne. Residents in several regional centers, including Geelong, would not be allowed to have visitors in their homes from midnight.

There are mounting concerns that the stay-at-home order in Melbourne, begun three weeks ago, will need to be

extended, inflicting fur ther damage on the economy. Health authorities are also concerned the virus is spreading to other states and territories, most of which have gone weeks without recording community transmissions.

The Australian dollar fell 0.2 percent to 71.72 US cents as investors sold the currency on the spike in cases.

New South Wales state on Thursday reported 18 new cases in the past 24 hours.

Queensland, which has closed its border to Victoria and the Greater Sydney area, is ramping up testing after two women who visited Melbourne didn’t self-isolate on their return and instead went to schools, restaurants and shopping centers for eight days unchecked before returning a positive result.

The resurgence in Vic toria is taking a heav y toll on residents of age - care homes and is placing the health- care system under stress. The state said on Tuesday it will suspend all but the most urgent elec tive surgeries in Melbourne as it seeks to free up hospital beds and nurses to fight a spike of cases in such facilities. Bloomberg News

U.N. urges Southeast Asia to build back better from Covid-19 crisis

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A N G K O K —T h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s advised Southeast Asian nations to tackle inequality and green their economies to build a more resilient and inclusive future as they strive to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The policy report released on Thursday said other critical missions for the region’s governments should be bridging the digital divide and upholding human rights and good governance practices.

“One pathway could lead to a prolonged, deep recession, exacerbated by closed b o rd e r s a n d c h a r a c t e r i ze d b y r i s i n g social tensions, vulnerabilities and a return to environmentally unsustainable development,” the report said. “The second pathway involves adopting globally and regionally coordinated policies that recognize the imperative of an inclusive, resilient and sustainable approach to development.”

It said the pandemic has highlighted problems in Southeast Asia despite the region’s strong economic per formance before the pandemic hit. It cited high inequality, low social protections, a large

informal working sector, regressions in justice and governance, and environmental concerns like biodiversity loss and air quality. “ Th e c u r re n t s i t u a t i o n i s l e a d i n g to recession and social tensions,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a video accompanying the report.

Th e re p o r t u rg e d g o ve r n m e nt s i n their immediate response to Covid-19 to strengthen their health care systems and be attentive to vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities and refugees.

Th e e co n o m i c d e v a s t at i o n c a u s e d by the pandemic needs to be addressed with policies aimed at sustaining peoples’ livelihoods, restoring sustainable and resilient supply chains and implementing sound fiscal measures to support healthy financial sectors.

As it recovers, the region can start to build back better, “safeguarding the planet’s natural systems, social fabric and people’s prosperity,” the report said.

“The region has much work to do—but has formidable capacities at its disposal,” Guterres said. AP

Saudis seen cutting oil price on weak demand

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audi Arabia may have little choice but to reduce the price of its oil as Opec and allied producers start to ease output curbs amid weakening demand that’s crashed the value of physical supplies.

Aramco is expected to cut the official selling price for its flagship Arab Light grade by 48 cents a barrel for September sales to Asia, the median estimate in a survey of eight traders and refiners across the region shows. It would be the first drop in four months after a series of hikes that came as Opec+ cut output and consumption recovered as Asian economies emerged from lockdowns.

A reduction in Saudi OSPs could signal a pause or even a reversal in the rapid recovery across oil markets from the coronavirus. While Asia led the world in the demand rebound, crude and product stockpiles remain stubbornly high and the pandemic is still surging or staging a comeback in many countries. Floods and logistical bottlenecks in China in recent weeks have also contributed to a slump in imports, while Indian fuel sales are dropping again.

September-loading cargoes of Arab Light for Asia could be priced at a 72 cents a barrel premium to the average of benchmark Oman and Dubai crude prices, according to the survey.

That’s down from a $1.20 premium for August.

Saudi Aramco typically releases its official prices in the first five days of the month.

The state - owned producer didn’t immediately respond to an e -mail seeking comment. Aramco is typically the first among Middle Eastern producers to announce monthly official prices, setting the tone for sellers in Iraq, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi.

Th e p ri ce o f s p o t c ru d e ca rg o e s f ro m Russia to Angola to Brazil has plummeted this month after a pull-back in purchases from top impor ters including China. Refining margins are still well below five -year lows on a seasonally adjusted basis in the Asian oil hub of Singapore, weighing on the abilit y of processors in the region to turn a profit and pay more for crude. Bloomberg News

Friday, July 31, 2020

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US deaths top 150,000, the world’s highest toll T

he number of Americans killed by the coronavirus topped 150,000 on Wednesday as death tolls surged to records in some of the hardest-hit and most populous states.

California and Florida, two of the places most affected by the pandemic’s current surge, reported daily fatalities that easily broke previous records, even as new infections appear to have reached a plateau. Texas, which already raised its death tally by 13 percent this week after changing how it reports cases, also set a new high in daily fatalities on Wednesday.

Deaths continue to r ise even though the wave of new infections that began in June, sweeping across the South and West, appears to have leveled off. New cases reported each day are holding even or falling in half of US states, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics, as public officials impose mask orders and freeze efforts to restart their economies. But fatalities still increase, as people stricken by the virus weeks earlier succumb.

“What we’re now reaping is what we sowed,” said Jason Salemi, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of South Florida, commenting on his state’s outbreak. “Even if we were able to plateau in cases, we’re plateauing at a pretty high level.”

Around the US, the pandemic continued to bend life to its will on Wednesday.

In Washington, House Speaker

Nancy Pelosi required all lawmakers to wear masks in the chamber after Texas Republican Representative Louis Gohmert, who is frequently seen walking the Capitol’s halls barefaced, said that he tested positive for Covid-19.

His home state is establishing a field hospital at the McAllen Convention Center along the US-Mexico border to ease the strain on medical facilities, Governor Greg Abbott said in a tweet. Illinois stopped recreational sports, and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan advised against traveling to a swath of Southern states with spiking Covid-19 cases, Florida among them.

Grim toll Florida on Wednesday reported 216 new deaths among residents, easily topping the previous record of 186 set just a day earlier. The state’s daily case count peaked at 15,300 on July 12 and has since fallen to 9,446.

“As you have fewer Covid positive patients in the hospital, we think—and I’m pretty sure with the good work they’re doing—you’ll see mortality decrease as well,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said this week, appearing with AdventHealth doctors in Orlando. “And obviously, we want to get there.”

But the situation may become opaque: The state announced Wednesday that it would temporarily close testing sites on Thursday for a tropical storm, reopening them no later than August 5.

Virus-related deaths in California hit 197, well above the previous

high of 159 reached last week. At the same time, the state’s rolling 14-day average for new cases, after soaring throughout June and early July, has held steady for the last week, with roughly 9,250 new infections per day.

Texas reported a record 313 deaths, pushing the cumulative total to 6,190, according to state health department figures. The total caseload rose by 9,042, or 2.3 percent, to top 400,000.

Deaths have also spiked in Georgia. The seven-day moving average has more than doubled since July 20, hitting a record of 48 on Tuesday.

The state reported 79 more deaths on Wednesday. The moving average of new cases, meanwhile, remained relatively stable, above 3,600 per day for the last week.

Ali Mokdad, professor of health metrics sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, said Americans must not get complacent when case numbers stop spiking, lest they repeat the cycle all over again.

“What happens automatically in states where you see a large increase and it gets in the news, automatically people start putting up their guards,” he said.

At the very least, America will see the effects of past cases for weeks, Mokdad said.

“If all of us in the US stay at home for two weeks, mortality will still go up a little bit because of what we have done before,” he said. “Then it will start coming down.”

Gathering storm

The wave of Covid-19 deaths is projected to crest at around 7,506 in the week ending Aug. 15, driven by outbreaks in places including Florida, Texas and California, according to an average of models tracked by the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Reich Lab. That would bring total US fatalities to 166,748 by mid-August.

Deaths are projected to cross the 200,000 threshold on September 29, according to the University of Washington Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation model.

Even as some states reach a plateau in cases, others are still climbing. Illinois reported 1,393 new infections on Wednesday, up from 1,076 a day earlier, and its seven-day rolling test positivity rate has climbed in recent weeks to 3.8 percent. The state’s Metro East area near St. Louis, Missouri, has a rate of 7.8 percent.

The state is setting limits on youth and adult recreational sports amid fears that a recent uptick in cases may lead to an all-out surge, and further restrictions on public activity. The plan, which goes into effect in mid-August, temporarily halts competitive play for most high- to medium-risk sports such as football and soccer.

“Right now, things are not heading in the right direction,” Governor J.B. Pritzker said during a press conference. “If things don’t change, a reversal is where we are headed.”

Bloomberg News

Fed sees dim economic outlook as pandemic squeezes economy

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ASHINGTON—Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned on Wednesday that the viral epidemic is endangering the modest economic recovery that followed a collapse in hiring and spending this spring. As a result, he said, the Fed plans to keep interest rates pinned near zero well into the future.

That faltering economy, pressured by a resurgence of the virus, has heightened the need for Congress to continue providing significant financial aid, Powell said. Members of the House and Senate are negotiating a new package but are nowhere near agreement. Senate Republicans and the White House are proposing a plan that would provide less help for unemployed Americans than they are now receiving.

Speaking at a virtual news conference after a two-day Fed meeting ended, Powell said the economy had rebounded after nearly all states lifted their broad business

shutdown measures in May. But since then, he noted, as new confirmed cases have soared, measures of spending and hiring have slipped or plateaued at low levels.

“Now that the cases have spiked again, the early data...suggest that there is a slower pace of growth at least for now,” he said.

“We don’t know how deep or for how long

it will be.”

The economic stumble, amid the worsened viral outbreak, underscores the connection between the virus and the economy’s ability to sustain any recovery, the chairman said. This point was also highlighted in the Fed’s statement, which added a new sentence: “The path of the

economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus.”

That observation was an acknowledgement that uncertainty about when the health crisis might be solved has complicated the Fed’s ability to set interest rate policy. AP

A6

Friday, July 31, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Know what debt to worry about

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he Internet has unfortunately created a monster of misinformation and misperception. We like to think that it is the fault of “false news” and “fake news.” But it goes much deeper than that.

We view the world through our own life experiences and our own knowledge. Think back of the things you thought were true as a child that you know now to be wrong. A watermelon will not grow in your stomach if you eat a seed.

However, the world is much more complex than our own wisdom— knowledge plus experience. But too many people think that because of the huge increase of information flow that comes from the Internet, everyone is suddenly an expert.

As a result, everyone who has a credit card, a home mortgage, or a car loan is a genius about debt.

There are three broad types of debt: government or sovereign debt, corporate debt, and consumer or household debt. Within each of those categories are various different kinds of debt. For example, a home loan is “collateralized debt,” meaning the bank can seize your property for non-payment. Credit cards are “unsecured,” meaning that the bank lends to you on the “faith” that you will pay your debt.

These are the loans the people are familiar with, but they have absolutely no substantial similarity to government or sovereign debt that you hear all the whining and complaining about.

The banks expect consumers will pay the debt. No one ever expects a government to “pay off” their loan. You are a company—financial or non-financial—that has $100 million that you do not need for your core business. It is an asset. You loan that money to the government and it is still carried as an asset. All you want the government to do is to pay the interest. At the end of the loan period, the government will pay back the principal to you by borrowing new money from someone else. The loan is really never paid off unlike what you do for your car or refrigerator.

This idea that “every person owes their portion of the government debt” is wrong and silly. It is true that too high government debt service—as what happened until President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cleaned up the government finances—can damage an economy. But the government borrowing a few million or more at 0.01 percent annual interest does not mean that in 10 years you are going to get a bill for the “debt.”

However, corporate debt which may need to be paid off or might not be able to be “rolled-over” into new borrowing can be very serious to the economy if a large company fails.

German automaker Volkswagen has a corporate debt of $200 billion. The total foreign debt of the Philippines is only $84 billion, and South Africa, Thailand, and Taiwan owe a total of about $150 billion.

Of course, VW is good for the loan. But as an economy, we should be as concerned if not more about corporate debt than government debt as long as the government credit rating is sound and the outlook stable.

Philippine total corporate debt has decreased from nearly $120 billion in 2014 to the current $88 billion. As a percentage of total GDP, Philippine household debt is 9.7 percent, one of the lowest in the world.

Philippine corporate debt is 26 percent of GDP, one of the lowest in the world. Philippine government foreign debt as a percentage of GDP is less the 50 percent, while the global average is 53 percent.

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Encouraging digital careers Sonny M. Angara

Better Days

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he Covid-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of our society, especially our employment and economic realities.

The April 2020 Labor Force Survey from the Philippine Statistics Authority said the unemployment rate rose to 17.7 percent, which translates to around 7.3 million Filipinos being out of work. To compare, in January 2020, the unemployment rate stood only at 5.3 percent. Sadly, these numbers paint a mere glimpse of the horrible damage that the pandemic—and the ensuing lockdowns—has done to our economy.

But while our employment situation is grim, it is also one of opportunity. In the digital age, the unemployed have a chance to go into digital careers, to possibly become freelancers who work online, and usually from home.

In fact, many Filipinos have already been doing just that. In 2018, Paypal’s Global Freelance Insights Report showed that 2 percent of our population, or about 1.5 million Filipinos have already done online

freelance work. In 2019, we were in sixth place in a Forbes list of top freelance markets, with 35 percent growth from the year before. Now, according to the recently published 2020 Global Skill Index from Coursera, the Philippines is an emerging market for both trending skills in both business and technology, ranking at 37th and 38th respectively, and with a higher rank in data sciences, at 31st out of 60 nations.

Even before the pandemic, many

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in accordance with global standards and demands. Hence, this was included in the measure.

The measure also mandates that service facilities, training programs, and even financial assistance to upgrade equipment be set up for digital workers. One way of achieving this is by transforming libraries under the National Library of the Philippines into digital access, training, and support centers for digital and freelance workers.

When it comes to education programs for digital careers, the NDCA directs the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to create, design, and develop programs that will train, market, and support innovative strategies for digital careers. Other government agencies, like the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Department of Interior and Local Government will work to create prescribed minimum wage rates, simple See “Angara,” A7

West Philippine Sea victory merely dismissed

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

skilled Filipino workers have been jumpstarting the growth of a socalled gig economy in the country— one that is based on hiring independent workers for short-term projects who mostly work online. However, in this transition, there are several issues that need to be addressed.

According to a recent #Qlitan with QBO webinar, the common problems that many freelancers face are mainly about issues of being paid on time, being paid commensurate to the work put in, having a more stable income, and having support and work benefits that they could expect from the government.

Fortunately, we have been working on a solution—one that we have recently filed, the National Digital Careers Act (SBN 1469). We initially worked on the NDCA in recognition of the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the nature of jobs and employment, particularly the development of digital careers in all sectors of society. We thought that one approach to growing such digital careers was for the government to be actively involved in equipping the workforce with the requisite digital skills, and providing the means for continuous up skilling and retooling,

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rothers and sisters, this month marks the fourth anniversary of the Philippines’s winning argument in the Permanent Court of Arbitration against China regarding our territories in the West Philippine Sea. It was clear in provisions of the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea that coastal countries (like the Philippines) have the right to recognize their surrounding ocean covering 200 nautical miles as their exclusive economic zone. This means that the Philippines has the sovereign right to “explore, benefit from, preserve, and manage” the natural resources found hereof. This jurisdiction is strengthened by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Netherlands on June 12, 2016.

Recently, the United States said that China’s “nine-dash line” had no legal basis. The country repeated the international tribunal’s decision on China’s illegal ownership of several parts of the West Philippine Sea like the Mischief Reef and the Second Thomas Shoal. However, China got stubborn, and said that it neither accepts nor acknowledges the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s decision.

Although other countries, such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Taiwan, claim some parts

of the South China Sea, China is the only country that aggressively seizes the mentioned body of water. China continues to create infrastructure that destroys the marine ecosystem of the West Philippine Sea. According to one maritime analyst, a large portion of coral reefs in the West Philippine Sea has been destroyed

by Chinese fishermen’s extensive acquisition of giant clams, and China’s reclamations.

China has also in numerous instances violated our fishermen’s rights to benefit from the natural

resources in the West Philippine Sea. Our fishermen are prevented by the Chinese coast guard to fish in the Panatag Shoal. There are other incidents, like the sinking by the Chinese of the fishing vessel F/B Gem-Ver in Recto Bank. But what is more alarming is the Duterte administration’s act of repeatedly ignoring China’s abuse of our fishermen. We remember that in March of the previous year, when asked about the Chinese Coast Guard restricting the Filipino fishermen, a former speaker of the President admitted that “China has control as of now.”

It is our hope for peace to be maintained, and we are against the use of violence in order to solve an issue. But this does not mean that we should just shrug our shoulder after what China has unjustly done to us. Like what is emphasized in the Catholic social teaching, peace does not happen without justice, without equality, and without accountability of those who lust for power. It is also said that “peace is the fruit of justice,” and justice can only be attained if we recognize the rights of everyone, and the environment.

Our government has been able to stand up using the law—and not cruelty—in the four years that have passed, and we came out victorious.

It is saddening that it looks like this

was all for naught.

Brothers and sisters, let the people in government be reminded by the words from the book of Isaiah 1:17, “Learn to do right; seek justice.

Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”

It is reasonable to assert our sovereign rights to our natural resources in areas that are known to be part of our territory. It is reasonable to hold accountable those who abuse the weakness of a country like the Philippines. Helping the oppressed and standing with the fishermen that were denied livelihoods, the government should go after those who wreck the natural resources of our country. It is not enough for the Philippines to celebrate its victory in the 2016 arbitral ruling. We must uphold our rights over our territories in the West Philippine Sea. But the “courage” of the administration is seen nowhere when our leader merely dismissed the arbitral ruling saying the Philippines has exclusive sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea.

Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 Ang Radyo ng Simbahan in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph, and follow its Twitter and Instagram accounts @veritasph, and YouTube at veritas846.ph. For your comments, e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

Forced into the future

Telling lies to the young is wrong (After Yevtushenko)

BusinessMirror

Alvin Ang

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At the barangay/community level, the survey showed that 92.1 percent of barangays have access to cellular phone signals, and 60.6 percent of the signals are using 4G technology.

However, only 36.3 percent of the barangays have towers suggesting that while signal is available, it may be intermittent or unstable. While the survey did not include whether the community is in an island or not, it is possible that this can still be improved by adding more towers. Last July 23, the Anti-Red Tape Authority has announced that it has led in the signing of the Joint Memorandum Circular involving the Departments of Information and Communications Technology, the Interior and Local Government, Public Works and Highways, Transportation, Health, Human Settlements and Urban Development, Civil Aviation Authority and the Food and Drug Administration. These agencies have agreed to streamline the process of permits, licenses and certificates for shared telecommunication towers. This will effectively lessen the time for the processing of getting the clearance to build towers from nine months to 16 days. This is really a welcome development because many things that will bring us to the future are being prevented by our own existing systems that operate back in time.

Hopefully, the facilitation of this process can move up the operations of the third telco and increase the availability of the free community Wi-Fi from the existing 12.2 percent of the communities.

The survey also pointed out that among households, 79.7 percent have no computers and their access to this equipment is mainly through computer shops and in schools/ work. 84.3 percent of households also do not have access to the Internet (even if there is available cellular signal) primarily due to the high cost of the service and their lack of equipment to access. For individuals, they access the Internet primarily for communication (40 percent) and entertainment (30 percent). For those who have access to the Internet, about 20 percent use it for government web site services such as to contribute, to get certification and for educational purpose.

Interestingly, the survey also found that more than 40 percent of the individuals are aware of online trans-

Angara. . .

continued from A6

registration and tax filing processes and certification requirements.

Subsidies, grants, and scholarships should also be created that will help aid in the development of the digital workforce. Once digital workers and freelancers register, the government can readily recognize them, and offer them aid, particularly now that the pandemic limits job opportunities and project development even in the freelance and digital sectors.

The Coursera report talks about how the new industrial revolution and Covid-19 have required that all nations take a hard look at the new set of critical skills that the brave new world needs: project management, digital marketing, cloud comput-

actions. However, 85 percent of all respondents have not performed any online transactions. About 2 percent are online retailers and 9 percent are online buyers, and all of them prefer to use cash on delivery as payment method.

These results both show opportunities and threats as the ways of studying, working and doing business have drastically been changed.

The survey has shown a great gap that in reality will require a significant amount of time and money investment to be realized. Since most of our economic activities have been pushed online and work is at home, many of these numbers particularly at the household and individual levels would have changed abruptly in the last four months. In particular, the shift to online work and learning is pushing households and firms to invest in computer equipment for home use. Consequently, Internet services are now being upgraded leading to a significant increase in sales of Wi-Fi and antenna boosters to increase bandwidth, speed and stability of signals. The telcos also have started to update their services, increasing data access allowances at no or minimal cost. Businesses have also shifted online, which possibly overwhelmed the established online platform sellers. People have started to open online bank accounts as transactions move to less cash contacts. Considering the abrupt migration and learning curve of people, it can be said that our existing digital backbone system is holding and is meeting demand, albeit not as we want it to be.

The threat is mostly on how to translate this abrupt change into learning in basic education and in provision of government services.

Providing permits and clearances to build towers in the fastest time is the first step. Government, however, must work to integrate databases and truly migrate basic services such as tax, realty tax, land/transportation registration, licenses and passports (except new ones), benefits—anything that causes queues, to move online. And for those who are already online, to make the system work efficiently. The future has overtaken us, government should take the lead to keep us with the pace and that starts by fixing its own processes that keep us back in time. ing, user experience design, business analytics, web development, cloud computing, and knowledge in Microsoft Excel, Python programming, and Deep Learning.

For the Philippines, this means taking a serious look into up skilling, and retooling our people to take on digital careers. With a thriving digital careers ecosystem, many Filipinos will be able to face the challenges of the new normal. That is why we need to act soon—to maximize the employment gain, and minimize the economic pain.

Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 15 years—nine years as Representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and six as Senator. He has authored and sponsored more than 200 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.

E-mail: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @sonnyangara.

A7

Tito Genova Valiente

annotations

EAGLE WATCH

uch had already been said about the State of the Nation Address of the President. An important point there that needs elaboration has to do with the digital economy we are forced to embrace because of the pandemic. The President ranted about the services of the telcos, and in other parts of the speech about the need for government services to be digitalized and implemented online to avoid lines. To my mind, they are one and the same—you need an effective, efficient, affordable and available backbone—to which you can launch the online economy.

The landscape of which we are forced into is clearly manifested in the results of the 2019 National ICT Household Survey, which was released in June 2020. The survey covered communities/barangays, households and individuals.

Friday, July 31, 2020

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hat name shall we give this generation?

I ask the question after seeing my grandniece, Leona, staring into the screen of her laptop. She was attending the orientation for Grade 1 student online. Her school calls the session “Grade School OrWeb [Orientation Webinar].”

Leona’s father was beside her but she was alone dealing with the screen and with teachers whose images would appear and disappear because of the glitches in the Internet connection.

What are the expectations of this little girl? Did she think of asking questions and did that session allow a conversation among the children and the teachers? Was she comfortable at all?

What shall I tell Leona?

Shall I tell her she may never have real friends in class as the online class will not allow them to play with each other? I may be wrong; perhaps, these forward-looking teachers have devised means by which the pupils can have games online. I may also be assuming that our Leona will not be happy with online recreation. Perhaps, she will be.

Leona belongs now to this generation that does not have a name yet.

If there is a label that stays close to what they can be, it is the name of this virus that has turned the world upside down. A severely contaminating disease is the badge of courage for this generation. While the previous ages had to contend with wars and conflicts, the present population has to deal with internecine crisis and more. There lies the big difference. For all the complexity of global disturbances caused by differences in ideologies and interpretations of geographies that has impacted humanity, there were always human and cultural solutions to everything then. Now, human groups are facing the inconsolable and the incurable.

The world does not wait for humans to create peace but for science to generate a cure.

In the meantime, the world awaits in hopelessness. Fortunately, in the DNA of human groups can be found this gorgeous ability to hide the lack of a sense of the future. Intellectuals know this when they write treatises that go around and around syntax and smart diction to disguise surrender. Philosophers keenly are in touch with this when they generate tons of words just to define the most basic element of understanding, which is forgiveness. Artists are natural in contending with the bleakness of tomorrow when they are able to distort faces to nurture a bravado to be used to confront days of forever sunsets. Even gardeners ultimately are the most knowledgeable of sorrow when they rearrange nature into an allure that dares challenge any god’s ideation of perfection.

Do young children like Leona understand what it is to lose hope? Or to have a tiny sliver of hope?

Leona and the rest of the young children about to start formal education are lucky: they have teachers who belong to this domain of educators. These are beings that can easily embrace any unusual event by coining concepts that brush away the reality of the issues. So, now they call the current conditions as the “new normal.” While to us critiquing mortals, there is an obnoxious fatality in that term, educators will rush to the end of the world brandishing that concept like the mighty sword of a wayward prophet.

True enough, the nation’s Secretary of Education running out of constructs about learning in the age of Tablets and Computers is said to have blurted “we will all die anyway.”

Unlike teachers and other pedagogues, I would rather mistrust this impending age of online transaction.

I could allow some ideas to slide off my back for lack of better things to do while the pandemic rages on. But I will not rest with the lie that normalcy can be called “new” or “neo” and think the world will birth a humane norm.

I take comfort with the poem of Yevgeny Yevtushenko who wrote with such simplicity Leona and her cohorts will understand his poem.

In “Lies,” the Russian poet writes: Telling lies to the young is wrong/Proving to them that lies are true is wrong.

Yevtushenko continues: Tell them the difficulties/can’t be counted,/and let them see/not only/what will be/but see/ with clarity these present times./Say obstacles exist they must encounter,/ sorrow comes/hardship happens.

The bareness and barrenness of

the verse belie the urgent entreaties it contains. I doubt teachers or parents will have the strength and vision to share these sad thoughts with the youth. Every generation tries to protect the generation that follows it. It is as if each generation carries this guilt that it has not done its duty to preserve a world in its pristine state. The result is a series of periods affirming what the old big books wanted to preserve—the fallen nature of man.

I do not know how much attention young pupils could give to the lessons given the cold detachment of online education. It is also possible that the generation of Leona is built to counter the insolent technology of the coming days. It is also possible that this new world is not anymore for us.

Still the words of Yevgeny Yevtushenko, the Angry Poet, persists as he closes his poem: Forgive no error/you recognize,/it will repeat itself,/a hundredfold/and afterward/our pupils/ will not forgive in us/what we forgave.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

We need the shelter of the law to shield our freedom Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

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headline reads: “President calls protesters who disagree with him terrorists. That puts him in the company of the world’s autocrats’.” No, that news item does not refer to President Duterte nor does it concern the implementation of the dreaded “Anti-Terror Act” that President Duterte signed into law not too long ago. That news story dealt with the recent handling by heavily-armed paramilitary officers belonging to the US Department of Homeland Security wearing camouflage uniform arresting protesters in Portland, Oregon and hauling them off in unmarked cars acting under the orders of President Donald J. Trump who had repeatedly accused anti-racism demonstrators across the US as “terrorists.” The violent crackdown and employment of ruthless tactics against peaceful protesters by the US Homeland security officers, established after 9/11 to deal with terrorism, have no place in a country that flaunts its adherence to democratic principles. It is reminiscent of the repressive regimes when despots and tyrants ruled.

News like this has a chilling effect on peaceful and freedom-loving Filipinos. The passage of the “AntiTerror Law” only exacerbates the people’s fear about possible abuses by the overzealous authorities in prosecuting counterterrorism activities.

They say that only terrorists should be concerned, but who makes the call whether a person is a terrorist or not? Is the definition clear to the enforcer so that the law will not be prone to abuse or misinterpretation?

How can an ordinary police officer distinguish civil protest, legitimate advocacy or dissent from terrorism and serious security threat? Does carrying of placards and other propaganda materials against the government and its leaders constitute terrorism or inciting to terrorism?

We have read many instances where our law enforcers have been intolerant of people who were critical of the President and the government and the victims took legal efforts and time to get them freed. And obtaining their release will only happen if we have an impartial prosecutory arm and a truly independent judiciary that will not just act as functionaries obeisant to the wishes of the political leadership. We hold our prosecutors and courts of law in the highest esteem and we trust that they will not betray our people’s trust. Otherwise, the rule of law is just a mirage.

There are now over a dozen petitions lodged before the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the “Anti-Terrorism Act of

The primordial question posed by the various rights groups is: “Should a government with a poor human rights record be granted with additional power which will be prone to abuse?”

Doing so may only expand unwarranted use of police power to commit further infringement on people’s liberties to exercise their freedom of expression and right to assembly. Taking a tough line on terrorism is a policy that is encouraged by the national government. There’s no problem with that provided the rights of the people are respected and the rule of law is observed.

2020”. From the news reports, the issue stems from the lack of a clear and concise definition of what constitutes “terrorism”. In other words, there is allegedly a lack of certainty on the part of the citizens who are covered by the law what they may legally do or may not do under the law. Thus, there seems to be a breach of the general principle that any law, government policy or activity must be predictable, measurable, and most of all easily implementable for the people to follow. Thus, as required in law-making and statutory construction, every law must be clear and unambiguous. The other concern of those opposing the “Anti-Terrorism Law” as presently worded pertains to the exclusive authority of the judge to issue a warrant of arrest upon probable cause personally determined by him after examination under oath or affirmation by the complainant and the witnesses he may produce as provided under Sec. 2 of the Bill

of Rights under our Constitution.

The judiciary has the monopoly to order the arrest of anyone subject to the requirements stated earlier.

The executive department cannot arrogate upon itself the exercise of such judicial function.

The primordial question posed by the various rights groups is: “Should a government with a poor human rights record be granted with additional power which will be prone to abuse?” Doing so may only expand unwarranted use of police power to commit further infringement on people’s liberties to exercise their freedom of expression and right to assembly. Taking a tough line on terrorism is a policy that is encouraged by the national government. There’s no problem with that provided the rights of the people are respected and the rule of law is observed. The rule of law is anathema to arbitrary power and police rule. As defined by the legal authorities, the ‘rule of law’ means all those principles and processes that safeguard the freedom of the individual and guarantee participation in political life.” It is the core ingredient of a democratic government. We can fight terrorism and the evil it brings without giving up the rule of law. Otherwise, the very government becomes an instrument of terrorism, which it seeks to eliminate. When the citizens live under the constant threat of arrest by the State’s minions if they displease the authorities, disgruntlement shall spread and the government shall become unpopular. No amount of counterterrorism shall succeed if the people will not lend it their support. The people need the shelter of the law to shield their freedoms, not to weaponize a statute to erode them.

A8 Friday, July 31, 2020

All-senators’ probe set next week into PhilHealth ‘corruption’ issues

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By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

HE Senate, in a rare move convening as a Committee of the Whole, will open on August 4 an urgent investigation into alleged continuing corruption at PhilHealth, with focus on at least three major issues.

Senators have joined Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who earlier filed Resolution 475 for the Committee of the Whole to do the inquiry.

The office of Senator Lacson, who has consistently hammered on corruption at the agency, said the list of resource persons has not been finalized at press time.

However, the probe is expected to focus on issues involving: the interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM); the information technology (IT) purchases; and the alleged manipulation of financial statements.

Lacson, in triggering the in-

quiry, had said: “Corruption in PhilHealth seems to have become the rule rather than the exception.

And the threat posed by Covid-19 seems to have emboldened rather than deterred it.”

Just to cite an example, Lacson cited: The newly instituted IRM, purportedly to support the national government’s response to the Covid-19 threat, gives PhilHealth the authority to provide special privilege in the form of substantial aid to “eligible” Health Care Institutions (HCIs).

He said this new scheme led to the release of hundreds of millions of pesos in record time—in one or

two weeks—to a few unaccredited hospitals, including those that registered only one Covid-19 patient.

That, and other mind-blowing controversies will be the focus of the Senate inquiry in the coming days when Congress starts its Second Regular Session.

“The resolution that we are filing on Monday and the ensuing Committee of the Whole inquiry will show you how even the Covid-19 crisis has created more opportunities for systemic corruption in PhilHealth to flourish,” Lacson had earlier said, adding: “As long as the responsible officials are not made accountable for their misdeeds, PhilHealth will continue to bleed dry, thus running the risk of becoming bankrupt sooner than we think.”

Troubling aspects

IN filing Resolution No. 475, Senators Sotto and Lacson—subsequently joined by other senators— noted at least three major troubling aspects of PhilHealth operations that required scrutiny.

The resolution noted that an internal audit report had flagged that P734 million worth of ICT resources was included in the agenc y ’s 2020 budget st ate -

ment. Alleged overprice in the IT transactions had reportedly triggered the shouting match between top agency executives at a recent virtual meeting, sparking the departure of the anti-fraud officer.

Besides the ICT issues, a major question that senators want probed is the PhilHealth’s IRM, by which it advanced hundreds of millions to hospitals, saying it was part of a prepositioning strategy to help these respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, three Bicol hospitals received P247.46 million within two weeks from filing claims, even though they had just one Cov id case. Two hospita ls in Eastern Visayas received P196.5 million within a week of filing applications.

The PhilHealth circular on the IRM had justified the practice by saying it was meant “to ensure continued access to PhilHealth benefits and be able to provide substantial

aid to HCIs in rebuilding their critically damaged health-care system... to provide health-care services to all Filipinos affected by fortuitous events.”

On the third issue of alleged financial manipulation, Resolution 475 said the PhilHealth Financial Management Sector (FMS) had prepared statements “which reportedly revealed discrepancies in the presentation and disclosure of accounts.” The agency’s 2018 net income was also restated from P11.6 billion to P21.02 billion on the basis of purported “prior year adjustments.”

The resolution noted glaring gaps in the agency’s presentation of its financial health—from the claim of “solid financial footing” as the pandemic peaked in March, to a warning, aired before the joint oversight committee in June, that the agency’s finances were precarious and collection was just 10 percent of the level within the same period in 2019.

‘AGENCIES READY FOR AUDIT OF BAYANIHAN 1 SPENDING’

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A L AC A ÑA NG on Thursday said concerned government agencies are ready to face audit in their spending of public funds for their novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic response.

“The President and Malacañang have nothing to hide.

All the expenses and money spent for Covid-19 were used in the government’s Covid-19 response,” Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said during an online briefing on Thursday.

The Palace official made the remark after some senators asked the Commission on Audit (COA) to scrutinize the government’s spending for its Covid-19 measures.

He said Malacañang is already used to disclosing the breakdown of government expenses

in its Covid response, which it used to include in its weekly report to Congress on the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. It only stopped submitting the said report to lawmakers after RA 11469 expired last month.

Roque said he will be presenting on Monday an update and breakdown of the government’s expenses for Covid-19.

As of July 15, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the government already spend P374.89 billion for its measures for Covid-19.

The biggest chunk or P200.98 billion of the expenses was allocated to the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

Samuel P. Medenilla

LTO extends registration deadlines once again

I

N consideration of the restrictions posed by the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has moved to further extend the validity of registration for motor vehicles.

The agency had earlier issued an order to implement non-collection of penalties for late registration of motor vehicles and renewal of driver’s licenses which expired during the duration of community quarantine. The non-collection of fees has been effective as early as March this year, when an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was declared in Metro Manila.

On May 9, the Agency issued another Memorandum Circular (MC), this time automatically extending the validity of registration of motor vehicles which expired on March 1, and until the date of work resumption. The extension was for 60 calendar days from work resumption, and included motor vehicles with plate numbers ending in 3, 4, and 5 or March, April and May, as well as those with no plates yet.

On June 24, LTO issued still another MC to further extend the validity of registration for motor vehicles with registration renewal schedules in the months from June to October, or those with plate numbers ending in 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0.

“We are continuously extending the validity and the period for renewal of registration of motor vehicles since March. This is in adherence to the directive of Secretary Tugade, at the start of the community quarantine, to consider the health and economic crisis we are facing. We understand that the jobs and livelihood of many of our people were impacted by the pandemic; hence, we are extending the validity of registration,” LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar C. Galvante said.

For motor vehicles with plate numbers ending in 6 or those scheduled for registration renewal in June in all areas other than the National Capital Region (NCR), Laguna, Cebu, and Region 3, renewal registration validity is extended for 30 days from June 30, 2020.

Continued on A2

Locsin, Malaysian counterpart spar on Twitter over Sabah case

By Recto Mercene

F

@rectomercene

OREIGN Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., on Thursday engaged in an impromptu diplomatic exchange on Twitter with his Malaysian counterpart, following the latter’s threat to summon the Philippine ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, apparently stung by Locsin’s claim that Sabah belongs to the Philippines.

“This is an irresponsible statement that affects bilateral ties,” tweeted Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, in reaction to Locsin’s earlier tweet calling out the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for casually mentioning that part of their Covid-19 donations were to benefit people returning from “Sabah, Malaysia.”

Locsin advised USAID to correct itself.

Hussein said he will summon the Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia, Charles Jose, “to explain,” asserting, “Sabah is, and will always be, part of Malaysia.”

Locsin was quick to reply, “You

summoned our ambassador for a historically factual statement I made: that Malaysia tried to derail the Arbitral Award. This was reported to us by our diplomats on the scene and our German lawyer.

None may share our Hague victory who worked against it.”

“I am summoning the Malaysian ambassador,” he added.

The former Presidential speech writer and publisher said “no country can tell another what it can and cannot say about what the latter regards as rightfully its own.”

“I don’t insist China say only what we want to hear about the Arbitral Award. It is free to say what it wants while we say and do what needs doing. That holds for Sabah.”

In reply to one critic who said he was grandstanding, Locsin said, “We continue to assert our rights in the Spratlys/West Philippine Sea [WPS]. I am doing that with regard to Sabah. There have been repeated attempts to sell that claim but no Philippine president has succumbed. You’re really stupid.”

Aside from the Philippines, the other claimants to the South China

Sea are China, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The diplomatic harangue started on Tuesday, when Locsin corrected a statement by the USAID, saying, it has donated 500 hygiene kits for Region IX “for use by returning Filipino repatriates from Sabah, Malaysia, who arrived in Zamboanga City and Bongao, Tawi Tawi.”

Locsin stuck to his guns that Sabah belongs to the Philippines, thus gaining support from unlikely allies, opening old wounds of betrayal and signalling that the country was not to be trifled with on issues of independence and sovereignty.

The DFA chief pointed out the erroneous USAID statement by saying “Sabah is not in Malaysia if you want to have anything to do with the Philippines.” He said despite his earlier warning, USAID did not delete its tweet.

He recalled the attempt of thenPresident Ferdinand Marcos to advance the country’s claim on Sabah, historically owned by the Sultanate of Sulu, the heirs of which still receive yearly “rentals” for the territory.

Continued on A2

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, July 31, 2020

B1

Lockdowns slash Holcim PHL H1 income

By VG Cabuag

C

@villygc

ement manufacturer Holcim Philippines Inc. said its income in the first half fell 71 percent to P413.83 million, from last year’s P1.42 billion, as the lockdowns in many areas dampened demand for cement.

Revenues during the period also declined 26 percent to P11.41 billion, from P15.38 billion last year, despite a recovery in June, mainly due to slow construction activity.

“At Holcim Philippines, we took quick and decisive actions focused on safeguarding the health of our people, controlling costs, and preserving cash. This has helped us to mitigate the Covid-19 impact on our company,” John Stull, the company's president and CEO, said.

“We remain optimistic about

the future and our ability to deliver great value to our shareholders, customers, and communities while maintaining a healthy and safe workplace.”

For the April-to-June period alone, the company suffered a net loss of P87.71 million, a reversal of last year’s profit of P716.61 million.

Net sales, meanwhile, fell 43 percent to P4.14 billion, from last year's P7.27 billion.

The company said it is ready to support the government after the

EDC to expand overseas footprint

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

L

opez-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC) said it is pursuing geothermal projects overseas and expanding its presence in Taiwan, Indonesia, Peru and Chile.

“We are also continuing with our pre-development work in Indonesia, Peru, Chile for potentially larger capacity addition,” said EDC President Richard Tantoco during the annual meeting of the company’s parent firm, First Gen Corp.

Civil works and drilling activities in Graho Nyabu, Indonesia are expected to commence in the next two to three years. Taiwan is one of the countries that EDC is keen on for potential expansion due to a favorable feed-in-tariff for geothermal energy.

EDC said Peru and Chile are also priority markets. "Generally, we see governments starting to see the value of true baseload RE [renewable ener-

gy] in the markets we are present in, and this is being reflected in better price signals to support geothermal development."

For its Taiwan geothermal investment, EDC is exploring partnerships with local concession holders there for a possible joint venture development of a geothermal site.

EDC is the Philippines’ renewable energy leader and largest producer of geothermal energy.

In the country, Tantoco said the company is looking at several binary geothermal projects to boost its power-generation capacity.

EDC currently operates geothermal plants in Kananga and Ormoc Leyte; Valencia in Negros Oriental; Bacon in Sorsogon and Manito in Albay; and Kidapawan in North Cotabato.

Binary plants allow the company to enhance its power-generation capacity without building new power plants outside existing geothermal concessions.

Tantoco said the binary plants will expand EDC’s existing capacity particularly in Bacon-Manito in Leyte and in Mt. Apo. “We expect about up to 80megawatts of additional capacity in the next couple of years.”

EDC is the world’s largest vertically integrated geothermal energy company, with technical expertise in wet steam field technology since 1976. It is also currently the country’s largest RE maker, providing 42 percent of the Philippines’ total generated RE output and around 11 percent of overall electricity demand with its total installed capacity of 1,473.3 MW. Bulk of its portfolio is geothermal energy at 1,179 MW, accounting for 61 percent of the country’s total installed capacity for the energy source.

EDC’s clean energy portfolio includes 150 MW of wind, 132.5 MW of hydroelectric and 11.97 MW of solar energy.

The company also welcomed

the recent pronouncements of the Department of Energy (DOE) to intensify the development of geothermal energy to achieve the targeted 35-percent mix in the country’s energy portfolio.

“Secretary Cusi also said that he has instructed his team to start preparing a formal directive to get things going, and we look forward to working with the DOE in helping craft the framework and guidelines that will be needed to accelerate geothermal development and its increased utilization, together with all other industry stakeholders."

Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi earlier stressed the need to maximize geothermal and hydro energy utilization, as these are reliable baseload power sources.

“A few days ago, I have asked my team to prepare a formal DOE order on initiatives and guidelines that would promote geothermal energy.

And as soon as it is on my desk, I will sign the order right away,” said Cusi.

FamilyMart MWSS extends grace period for water bills beefs up onigiri line

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

D

ue to popular demand, FamilyMart said it is adding five new variants to its best-selling onigiri line.

Starting July 30, FamilyMart stores will sell Grilled Salmon, Beef Yakiniku, Umami Spicy Pork, Pork Sisig, and Bagoong variants of their favorite onigiri.

These new additions are on top of the original and well-loved Salmon, Tuna Mayo, Tori Mix, Spam, and Tinapa delectable variations introduced late last year during the launch of FamilyMart’s flagship and biggest store in the Philippines—FamilyMart Udenna Tower in Bonifacio Global City.

“Since we launched our freshly made onigiri in our stores, it has quickly become a crowd favorite, with customers lining up just to get one. It even consistently contributed considerably to the total sales of each store,” FamilyMart Philippines General Manager Bernard Suiza said in a statement.

“These new onigiris are specially created for the taste and preference of the local market, as we endeavor to offer more delight and convenience to Filipinos during such limiting times.”

For P55, these nori-wrapped rice triangles, perfect as a convenient snack or as a complete meal, can now be availed of across all FamilyMart stores either via in-store purchase or through its online delivery service, which can be accessed through Facebook Messenger or its online store, among other channels.

To celebrate these new variants, FamilyMart is offering a Buy 5, Get 1 promo for its onigiri from July 31 to August 2. Customers just need to choose a minimum of five onigiris in any variant to get one FamilyMart-recommended onigiri variant for free.

Aside from its famous onigiri, FamilyMart also introduced ramen and Coffee Creations in 2019 as part of its campaign to position itself as a convenience food retailer in a quick-service restaurant setting.

T

he Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) has directed Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. to extend the grace period for bills payment.

MWSS said all residential customers of Manila Water and Maynilad will have until the end of September to settle their unpaid water bills.

The directive came in light of the Covid-19 situation and a day after the MWSS Regulatory Office (RO) ordered the two private water concessionaires to explain their customers’ billing complaints.

The private water concessionaires were also ordered to suspend water service disconnection activities, resolve billing inquiries and

complaints, and provide customers ample time to update payments for accumulated water bills.

“The directive was initiated on the basis of humanitarian and public health considerations; and with the intention of providing further economic relief to customers, in addition to the staggered and installment payment schemes currently in effect for ECQ [enhanced community quarantine] and MECQ [modified ECQ] water bills,” MWSS Chief Regulator Patrick Ty said.

“The agency maintains that ensuring the availability of water for all is of utmost importance, especially during this time when such resource is most essential for hand washing and hygiene, to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Meanwhile, Ty said that the MWSS-RO will continue to proac-

tively operationalize measures to aid customers and protect consumer welfare especially in this time of adversity.

On Wednesday, Ty announced that Manila Water and Maynilad have been issued a show-cause order to explain the numerous complaints the agency received on their billing statements.

Since June, the MWSS-RO said it has received over 400 complaints because of the spike in their monthly bills during the community quarantines.

Maynilad and Manila Water have earlier granted an extended grace period for the payment of bills that were accumulated during the ECQ. Lifeline customers were given until August 31 to pay their bills while non-lifeline customers were given until the end of July 31 to settle their dues.

Cebu Pacific mounts more intl flights starting Aug. 1

C

ebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’s leading carrier, gradually rebuilds its international flight network with the restart of flights between Manila and key Asian destinations in August. This is on top of its once-a-week flights between Manila and Dubai which re-started in mid-July.

Beginning August 1, CEB will be flying twice weekly from Tokyo (Narita) to Manila (Wednesday and Saturday). On August 6, CEB will be flying two times weekly (Thursday and Saturday) between Manila and Singapore; and every Thursday from Seoul (Incheon) to Manila.

Twice weekly flights (Wednesday and Friday) between Taipei and Manila are scheduled to begin on August 7. One-way flights to Manila from Osaka (Kansai) are also scheduled to begin on August 7.

“We are taking a conservative and agile approach to rebuilding our international network. While demand remains soft, there is latent demand for travel, particularly from stranded individuals and those who are eager to come home to visit their families,” said Candice Iyog, Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience of Cebu Pacific.

Travel regulations issued by the governments of the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan will be implemented as necessary. These include a requirement to secure a negative RT-PCR test prior to departure, mandatory Covid screening or

BusinessMirror file photo

tests and mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

“We have taken extra precautions and assure travelers that preventive measures are in place so we can start rebuilding the trust and confidence in air travel,” Iyog added.

CEB has intensified preventive measures across its operations, in accordance with global safety standards. Aligned with the rest of the aviation industry, travelers can expect layers of biosecurity measures that begin at the point of checking-in for a flight online. Contactless flight procedures are implemented using scanners and physical distancing, to minimize physical contact of passengers among each other and with personnel.

From ground facilities to aircraft, CEB has a cleaning and disinfection protocol in place. All CEB aircraft

undergo extensive daily disinfection before, during and after flights. Jet aircraft are equipped with High Efficiency Particular Arrestor (HEPA) filters similar to those in hospital operating rooms. These trap all contaminants in the air, including the novel coronavirus, with 99.99 percent efficiency.

CEB has also adjusted its policies—allowing for increased flexibility and added peace of mind given the developing situation for air travel. These options include unlimited rebooking and extension of the Travel Fund validity to two years. For passengers with cancelled flights, or those who want to voluntarily alter travel plans, they may manage their bookings through the “Manage Booking” portal in the Cebu Pacific web site (http://bit.ly/ CEBmanageflight).

Department of Public Works and Highways earlier said major infrastructure projects are on track and the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program will play a key role in rebooting the economy amid the pandemic.

The company said it reopened all its manufacturing facilities and ramped up operations in Luzon and Davao after the local and national governments eased quarantine restrictions in May. “Cost and efficiency initiatives

across the business are also continuing, highlighted by the recent completion of maintenance activities in a number of its facilities with minimal support from third-party contractors,” it said.

The company’s online platform, meanwhile, has allowed customers to place orders, check deliveries, settle transactions and review credit history with Holcim. Utilization rate has increased to 91 percent as more customers use its platform given its advantages, it said.

Solon to govt: Waive business registration fees for online sellers

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

A

s more jobless Filipinos tur n to on line sel ling amid shrinking employment opportunities due to the health crisis, a party-list lawmaker is appealing to local government units (LGUs) and national agencies to exempt online sellers from paying business registration fees.

A ng Probinsya no Rep. A lf red De los Sa ntos m ade t he pronouncement after President Duterte said the government will intensify its efforts to help businesses, especially the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Business registration with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) ranges from P200 to P2,000, while registration with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is P500 plus printing cost of about P1,500 for official receipts of 10 booklets.

Business reg istration w ith the LGU varies depending on the rules of cities or municipalities.

Delos Santos said small businesses should enjoy a waiver in registration fees from the LGUs all the way up to national agencies such as the BIR and DTI. “This way, more MSMEs will be encouraged to register with their LGUs and even with the DTI and the BIR and which will also enable these agencies to exercise reasonable regulation over them in the future. What should be

the priority at this point in time is to assist these new MSMEs, strengthen them so they will be encouraged to register,” he said.

According to Delos Santos, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported last month that 7.3 million adult Filipinos lost their jobs in April alone because of the Covid-19 pandemic, while the Department of Labor and Employment has projected that joblessness will reach as high as 10 million by end-December.

“These economic uncertainties have forced many of the unemployed to turn to micro and small businesses to make ends meet, selling food and all sorts of products mostly on digital platform,” he said.

“The adverse impact of the pandemic has created a new breed of Filipino businesspeople with strong entrepreneurial spirit.

Once again, many of our kababayans have proven their resiliency and ability to rise above and to rise again despite adversity.”

Before the pandemic shattered Philippine economy, Delos Santos said MSMEs account for 99 percent of the businesses in the country, according to official data, which are responsible for creating 63 percent of employment in 2018.

At the same time, Delos Santos urged the government to step up their campaign in educating new small businesses of the advantages of being registered with the DTI and the BIR, as many move to digitized selling and marketing.

Davao Light unveils digital substation

D

avao Light and Power Co., Inc., a subsidiary of AboitizPower Corp., has put up its first digital substation to cater to the growing demand for power.

A substation is an integral part of the power distribution system that ensures the safe delivery of electricity to homes and businesses.

AboitizPower said digitizing a substation is “a big step” in improving accuracy, efficiency, reliability, and availability of power supply.

The power firm has launched its new Calinan substation, the city’s first digital substation located within the district.

The said substation has an improved higher capacity that can cater to more customers in surrounding areas. It is equipped with a communications system that allows for online monitoring and assessment, leading to early detection of possible

technical problems, where immediate action can then be taken.

The power firm explained that the new facility will significantly reduce, shorten, and even prevent power outages and their impact to the community. It will also minimize the physical checking of the substation’s status and manual labor in restoring power, which is vital during the quarantine period.

“The threat of the pandemic did not lessen the dedication and commitment of Davao Light in providing reliable power and quality service to its customers,” said Rodger S. Velasco, president and COO of Davao Light.

“We continued to push forward with this project despite the trying times because the Calinan substation will help us make sure to keep the lights on for our customers during this community quarantine period.” Lenie Lectura

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, July 31, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

July 30, 2020

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

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

46.1 88 68.1 19.94 6.62 7.23 34.25 8 19.78 48 15.94 92 52.95 0.67 20.5 0.5 7.14 0.96 0.27 0.59 154.2

46.3 89 68.2 19.98 8.49 7.24 34.4 8.2 19.8 49 15.96 92.8 53 0.77 20.85 0.56 8.75 0.99 0.275 0.61 156.5

46.2 90.3 68.5 19.9 6.62 7.25 34.5 8.2 19.8 48 15.96 92 52.7 0.77 20.75 0.52 8.76 1.08 0.275 0.6 157

46.2 90.3 68.6 20.05 8.49 7.25 34.6 8.2 19.8 48.95 15.96 95.55 53.1 0.77 20.8 0.75 8.76 1.08 0.275 0.61 157

46.2 88 68 19.9 6.62 7.2 34.2 8.2 19.76 48 15.94 91.9 52.7 0.77 20.5 0.5 8.76 1 0.27 0.6 154.2

46.2 88 68.2 19.98 8.49 7.24 34.25 8.2 19.8 48.05 15.94 92 52.95 0.77 20.8 0.56 8.76 1 0.275 0.61 154.2

1000 2598920 3608190 1119400 1100 88400 2654200 900 58900 2400 13600 513320 106830 5000 40400 639000 100 14000 80000 26000 2470

46200 231772596.5 246440494.5 22301659 9152 638567 91319930 7380 1165442 116290 217036 47413273.5 5656768 3850 838755 361690 876 14080 21950 15610 384032

46200 -118675583 -19095046.5 -41493370 -827158 39025 -6173762.5 -2027633.5 1540 -29600 5000 -37136

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 2.54 2.55 2.3 2.55 2.29 2.55 51415000 126366560 ALSONS CONS 1.18 1.21 1.2 1.22 1.18 1.18 319000 378620 ABOITIZ POWER 25.65 26 25.8 26 25.55 25.65 1662300 42837985 BASIC ENERGY 0.151 0.163 0.16 0.163 0.16 0.163 150000 24030 FIRST GEN 26.85 26.95 26 26.95 25.5 26.95 1292600 34379265 FIRST PHIL HLDG 59.7 59.8 60 60 59.5 59.8 76070 4552622 MERALCO 265 267 268 268 262.2 265 202470 53535512 MANILA WATER 12.78 12.8 12.56 12.9 12.42 12.8 2840000 35870700 PETRON 3.11 3.12 3.12 3.12 3.11 3.11 1533000 4768150 PETROENERGY 3.3 3.33 3.38 3.38 3.3 3.33 100000 330160 PHX PETROLEUM 11.16 11.4 11.1 11.4 11.1 11.4 17200 193714 PILIPINAS SHELL 17.4 17.42 17.2 17.4 17.08 17.4 284000 4897158 SPC POWER 7.92 8 8.05 8.05 7.95 8 14500 116025 AGRINURTURE 7.34 7.36 7.3 7.49 7.19 7.36 164200 1189788 AXELUM 2.01 2.07 2.1 2.1 1.99 2.07 3437000 6,989,020( CENTURY FOOD 14.44 14.48 14.52 14.52 14.46 14.48 705900 10231526 DEL MONTE 5.55 5.56 5.38 5.56 5.3 5.55 306200 1670369 DNL INDUS 4.61 4.68 4.59 4.7 4.59 4.61 425000 1974780 9.1 9.11 9.1 9.14 9.07 9.1 31455300 285941330 EMPERADOR 64.3 64.5 65 65 64.25 64.5 18950 1222301 SMC FOODANDBEV 0.61 0.62 0.63 0.64 0.61 0.61 223000 137670 ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG 1.16 1.17 1.16 1.19 1.15 1.17 7400000 8634810 33 33.35 31.95 33.9 31.9 33 134200 4415330 GINEBRA 134.5 135 133 135 132 135 1402350 187482550 JOLLIBEE 6.84 7.1 6.82 7.1 6.82 7.1 7000 48150 MACAY HLDG 4.63 4.65 4.71 4.71 4.65 4.65 506000 2368950 MAXS GROUP 5.9 5.96 5.95 5.96 5.9 5.9 1167400 6902353 SHAKEYS PIZZA 1.16 1.18 1.15 1.19 1.15 1.18 498000 582070 ROXAS AND CO 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.45 4.3 4.4 33000 143540 RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG 1.4 1.49 1.41 1.41 1.41 1.41 5000 7050 SWIFT FOODS 0.104 0.107 0.102 0.109 0.102 0.104 70000 7230 122.4 122.9 123.5 123.5 121.5 122.4 948190 116019953 UNIV ROBINA 0.78 0.79 0.77 0.78 0.77 0.78 2149000 1665660 VITARICH 55.25 56.95 56.9 57 55 56.95 2910 162089.5 CONCRETE A CONCRETE B 58.3 60 58 62 58 58.3 6310 371559 CEMEX HLDG 0.88 0.89 0.89 0.91 0.88 0.89 2922000 2596450 DAVINCI CAPITAL 3.9 4.19 3.55 3.9 3.55 3.9 3000 11350 EAGLE CEMENT 9.8 9.83 9.8 9.85 9.8 9.8 380800 3731860 EEI CORP 4.92 5 4.9 5 4.89 5 90000 443020 HOLCIM 4.84 4.85 4.68 4.92 4.68 4.84 720000 3479980 MEGAWIDE 6.83 6.84 6.71 6.83 6.6 6.83 1099300 7440339 PHINMA 8.39 9 9 9 9 9 500 4500 TKC METALS 0.66 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69 12000 8280 VULCAN INDL 0.75 0.76 0.77 0.77 0.75 0.75 323000 243810 CHEMPHIL 120.1 140 118 140 118 140 20 2580 CROWN ASIA 1.84 1.91 1.88 1.88 1.84 1.84 18000 33450 EUROMED 1.91 1.92 1.94 2.01 1.9 1.91 893000 1750980 LMG CHEMICALS 4.45 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 1000 4500 GREENERGY 1.73 1.74 1.78 1.78 1.73 1.73 6346000 11164470 INTEGRATED MICR 4.63 4.72 4.75 4.75 4.61 4.63 168000 786050 IONICS 0.96 0.99 0.95 0.99 0.95 0.99 143000 138080 SFA SEMICON 1.32 1.33 1.27 1.36 1.27 1.33 2877000 3832290 CIRTEK HLDG 5.8 5.81 5.4 5.81 5.4 5.8 2583400 14648485

6408170 -6000 22235345 8094315 -3372196 -18244850 3326 -1256550 1477032 214359 1,412,099.9998) -1388588 -674445 -763690 -283846612 -607029.5 -348900 4270655 5014121 -34100 -680950 776956 23400 -1090 -62023283 -50920 -607030 -90160 -68770 811100 139718 438020 295360 -178530 -16660 -225350 267452

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.465 0.47 0.465 0.475 0.46 0.465 3180000 1481900 -213700 ASIABEST GROUP 7.5 7.87 7.93 7.93 7.35 7.88 5400 40286 AYALA CORP 724.5 726.5 723 734.5 718 726.5 179660 130389570 -48354325 ABOITIZ EQUITY 48.05 48.5 48.65 49.3 48.05 48.05 1981300 95800480 7157520 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 5.69 5.7 5.77 5.77 5.68 5.7 19285700 109,995,598( 67,805,473.9999) AYALA LAND LOG 1.65 1.68 1.68 1.68 1.64 1.65 370000 611150 263400 ANSCOR 6.2 6.25 6.25 6.25 6.25 6.25 1500 9375 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.475 0.5 0.47 0.47 0.465 0.47 50000 23400 ATN HLDG A 0.59 0.6 0.62 0.62 0.59 0.61 969000 585450 ATN HLDG B 0.61 0.62 0.66 0.66 0.61 0.62 391000 240960 238480 COSCO CAPITAL 4.92 4.94 5 5 4.9 4.92 2634000 12974900 -970180 DMCI HLDG 3.55 3.57 3.52 3.58 3.49 3.55 14539000 51699810 -6733660 FILINVEST DEV 8.22 8.59 8.69 8.69 8.69 8.69 200 1738 FJ PRINCE A 3.2 3.4 3.21 3.21 3.2 3.2 6000 19210 GT CAPITAL 433 439 425.4 439 424 439 93720 40706656 3448282 JG SUMMIT 62.45 62.65 63.7 63.7 62.4 62.45 2162650 135183400 -22445957.5 LODESTAR 0.56 0.59 0.59 0.6 0.56 0.58 280000 157910 LOPEZ HLDG 2.35 2.45 2.38 2.45 2.35 2.35 381000 901260 -90380 7.49 7.5 7.42 7.5 7.42 7.5 2695000 20169362 -2843195 LT GROUP 3.11 3.12 3.15 3.18 3.08 3.12 23606000 73914120 -34989840 METRO PAC INV 2.9 2.99 2.9 2.99 2.88 2.99 52000 150410 PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA 0.73 0.77 0.73 0.78 0.73 0.78 11000 8080 SOLID GROUP 0.99 1.01 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99 10000 9900 SYNERGY GRID 150 160 150 150 146 150 230 34420 SM INVESTMENTS 890 894 900 900 885 890 400020 357029795 158691710 99 99.4 98.5 99 98.4 99 128330 12665663 1521150 SAN MIGUEL CORP 0.65 0.67 0.65 0.67 0.65 0.65 49000 32310 SOC RESOURCES TOP FRONTIER 121.9 123 119 124 119 123 11440 1402345 -653365 0.178 0.195 0.18 0.18 0.178 0.178 210000 37480 WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG 0.148 0.149 0.15 0.151 0.149 0.149 920000 138030

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.5 0.52 0.5 0.52 0.5 0.52 479000 241270 ANCHOR LAND 8.15 8.75 8.15 8.16 8.15 8.15 15630700 127390225 AYALA LAND 33.2 33.3 33.1 33.3 32.65 33.3 5052400 167528845 ARANETA PROP 1 1.04 1.01 1.05 1 1.04 115000 115910 BELLE CORP 1.35 1.37 1.34 1.37 1.34 1.37 22000 29990 A BROWN 0.73 0.75 0.77 0.77 0.74 0.75 647000 485320 CROWN EQUITIES 0.12 0.121 0.121 0.121 0.12 0.12 3360000 404130 CEBU HLDG 5.86 6.09 5.83 6.09 5.83 6.09 200 1192 CEB LANDMASTERS 5.02 5.05 5.05 5.05 5.01 5.05 1542100 7774028 CENTURY PROP 0.355 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.35 0.36 2880000 1028200 DOUBLEDRAGON 16 16.28 16.1 16.4 16 16 1376400 22409868 DM WENCESLAO 5.98 6 6.08 6.09 6 6 333500 2003652 EMPIRE EAST 0.245 0.248 0.248 0.248 0.244 0.248 80000 19800 EVER GOTESCO 0.095 0.1 0.09 0.1 0.086 0.095 800000 74640 FILINVEST LAND 0.87 0.88 0.86 0.88 0.85 0.87 21983000 18991140 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.79 0.82 0.79 0.79 0.79 0.79 80000 63200 8990 HLDG 8.53 8.8 8.64 8.98 8.64 8.84 75100 657212 PHIL INFRADEV 0.85 0.87 0.83 0.87 0.83 0.87 2283000 1939290 3 3.01 3 3.04 2.98 3 5432000 16336050 MEGAWORLD 0.219 0.22 0.214 0.222 0.211 0.22 40270000 8727450 MRC ALLIED 0.29 0.3 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 430000 124700 PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP 1.32 1.39 1.33 1.39 1.33 1.33 33000 43980 ROBINSONS LAND 15.38 15.46 15.98 15.98 15.02 15.38 3922900 60575888 0.228 0.234 0.231 0.239 0.228 0.234 660000 151580 PHIL REALTY SHANG PROP 2.6 2.65 2.65 2.65 2.65 2.65 130000 344500 1.84 1.85 1.86 1.86 1.85 1.85 15000 27790 STA LUCIA LAND 30 30.4 30.5 30.9 30 30 6437600 195490545 SM PRIME HLDG 3.84 3.99 4.09 4.09 3.84 3.99 69000 267270 VISTAMALLS 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.19 1.16 1.17 780000 911310 SUNTRUST HOME PTFC REDEV CORP 37.05 44.95 40 40 40 40 1200 48000 VISTA LAND 3.12 3.14 3.13 3.19 3.07 3.12 3863000 12056120

13000 127184010 57622940 32760 3600 -862662 8436 1800 -1249460 -419048 -5791680 -22000 -24273716 -344500 -7440 -41589270 -19350 -1276760

SERVICES ABS CBN 7.6 7.69 7.56 7.85 7.56 7.6 460300 3496996 GMA NETWORK 5.23 5.25 5.3 5.31 5.2 5.23 793100 4147950 MANILA BULLETIN 0.38 0.385 0.39 0.39 0.38 0.38 920000 350150 MLA BRDCASTING 11.1 11.94 11 11.1 11 11.1 600 6614 GLOBE TELECOM 2062 2064 2020 2078 2008 2064 126200 259924730 PLDT 1339 1340 1320 1344 1316 1340 176975 236862585 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.048 0.049 0.049 0.049 0.047 0.049 12800000 609700 DFNN INC 2.85 2.9 2.8 2.9 2.8 2.85 104000 296790 DITO CME HLDG 2.68 2.69 2.67 2.75 2.67 2.68 13024000 35181150 ISLAND INFO 0.07 0.071 0.07 0.07 0.068 0.07 430000 29920 JACKSTONES 1.61 1.71 1.65 1.72 1.61 1.72 81000 137820 NOW CORP 1.98 2 2.02 2.02 1.98 2 1632000 3251500 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.169 0.17 0.17 0.174 0.17 0.17 2350000 399640 PHILWEB 1.9 1.92 1.8 1.92 1.8 1.9 444000 827620 2GO GROUP 8.12 8.45 8.38 8.51 8.12 8.49 36500 301050 ASIAN TERMINALS 15.38 16.76 16.76 16.76 15.34 15.34 600 9914 CHELSEA 3.33 3.38 3.24 3.38 3.24 3.33 314000 1045520 CEBU AIR 37.25 37.6 37.15 37.6 37 37.6 121300 4534265 96.5 96.6 97.25 97.25 96.2 96.5 832430 80367567.5 INTL CONTAINER 14 14.2 13.9 14.2 13.9 14 10200 142364 LBC EXPRESS MACROASIA 5.3 5.31 5.03 5.39 4.98 5.31 4951500 25865481 1.75 1.77 1.72 1.82 1.71 1.75 1605000 2824880 METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B 1.76 2 1.71 1.71 1.71 1.71 1000 1710 PAL HLDG 6 6.34 6.25 6.4 6 6.36 8700 52494 0.76 0.77 0.76 0.79 0.75 0.76 218000 167680 HARBOR STAR BOULEVARD HLDG 0.031 0.032 0.031 0.034 0.031 0.032 307700000 9890500 1.55 1.83 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 40000 62800 DISCOVERY WORLD WATERFRONT 0.37 0.375 0.36 0.375 0.36 0.375 910000 339450 STI HLDG 0.29 0.3 0.295 0.295 0.29 0.29 1380000 405050 BERJAYA 2.11 2.17 2.11 2.18 2.11 2.17 13000 27790 BLOOMBERRY 6.3 6.35 6.45 6.59 6.3 6.3 9805800 63098083 2.04 2.05 2.1 2.1 2.04 2.05 78000 160370 PACIFIC ONLINE LEISURE AND RES 1.17 1.2 1.16 1.17 1.14 1.17 223000 258490 PH RESORTS GRP 2.2 2.29 2.19 2.29 2.18 2.28 35000 77610 0.295 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.295 0.3 2220000 660950 PREMIUM LEISURE PHIL RACING 7.89 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.9 100 790 ALLHOME 6.7 6.73 6.8 6.82 6.53 6.7 714300 4798009 METRO RETAIL 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.46 1.42 1.45 93000 133430 PUREGOLD 48 48.35 48.5 48.95 48 48 2910500 140290760 ROBINSONS RTL 61.5 61.75 61.3 62.5 60.25 61.75 146840 9044824.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 125 129 123 125 123 125 29810 3726230 SSI GROUP 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.08 1.06 1.06 703000 747780 WILCON DEPOT 15 15.08 15.7 15.7 14.7 15 2750700 41056254 APC GROUP 0.305 0.315 0.305 0.315 0.305 0.315 740000 226100 EASYCALL 6.23 6.41 6.18 6.43 6.18 6.41 11800 75268 GOLDEN BRIA 285 304 304 304 304 304 50 15200 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.216 0.217 0.219 0.22 0.217 0.217 1500000 326910 SBS PHIL CORP 4.45 4.49 4.5 4.5 4.49 4.49 8000 35980

126519300 -70103210 370 623400 -1474590 -49684837.5 94374 6000 2500 -18661758 -28480 -623104 -1450 -63878575 -7491466.5 8730 -543870 -16680534 -

MINING & OIL

ATOK 7.66 8.14 8.24 8.24 7.66 8.16 6100 47226 APEX MINING 1.45 1.46 1.44 1.49 1.44 1.46 3180000 4660020 14600 ABRA MINING 0.0008 0.0009 0.0008 0.0009 0.0008 0.0008 236000000 191800 ATLAS MINING 2.66 2.68 2.65 2.74 2.65 2.68 483000 1296010 19060 BENGUET A 1.98 1.99 1.95 2 1.85 1.99 109000 213310 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.195 0.204 0.214 0.214 0.195 0.204 220000 44090 -2140 CENTURY PEAK 2.6 2.69 2.69 2.7 2.69 2.7 206000 555140 -51300 DIZON MINES 7.44 7.45 7.5 7.5 7.39 7.45 4400 32662 FERRONICKEL 1.1 1.11 1.08 1.12 1.05 1.11 9270000 10056680 -245890 GEOGRACE 0.23 0.234 0.237 0.237 0.23 0.233 230000 53220 LEPANTO A 0.144 0.145 0.15 0.153 0.142 0.144 54250000 7944800 LEPANTO B 0.144 0.147 0.147 0.149 0.142 0.144 3980000 571730 MANILA MINING A 0.0095 0.0096 0.0095 0.0098 0.0092 0.0096 94000000 899300 MARCVENTURES 0.8 0.82 0.82 0.82 0.8 0.82 161000 129580 NIHAO 1.4 1.41 1.4 1.42 1.36 1.4 378000 524810 NICKEL ASIA 2.58 2.59 2.51 2.61 2.44 2.59 17001000 43006830 1966520 OMICO CORP 0.37 0.415 0.37 0.38 0.37 0.37 300000 111950 0.56 0.58 0.56 0.58 0.55 0.58 729000 411470 ORNTL PENINSULA PX MINING 3.19 3.2 3.16 3.28 3.16 3.19 1919000 6183560 -1349050 9.95 9.96 10 10.18 9.95 9.95 5845000 58620089 -11992947 SEMIRARA MINING 0.0053 0.0054 0.0054 0.0057 0.0053 0.0054 79000000 432000 UNITED PARAGON ACE ENEXOR 6 6.2 5.85 6.39 5.85 6.2 217800 1372368 -2968 0.0081 0.0084 0.0083 0.0083 0.0083 0.0083 3000000 24900 ORNTL PETROL A ORNTL PETROL B 0.0081 0.0084 0.0084 0.0084 0.0084 0.0084 1000000 8400 PHILODRILL 0.0079 0.008 0.008 0.008 0.0079 0.008 21000000 166800 PXP ENERGY 5.7 5.75 5.58 5.78 5.56 5.75 441900 2498379 289453

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100.5 102.5 100.7 100.7 100.5 100.5 3480 349750 AC PREF B1 509.5 519 509.5 510 509.5 510 2020 1029200 ALCO PREF C 104.9 106.9 104.9 104.9 104.9 104.9 2920 306308 AC PREF B2R 504 518 508 508 503.5 503.5 3300 1662900 -101600 CPG PREF A 100.6 101 101 101 101 101 75800 7655800 DD PREF 101.2 101.3 101.2 101.5 101.2 101.2 39510 4004412 FGEN PREF G 105 106 106.3 106.3 105 105 22540 2382560 GLO PREF P 512 517 517.5 517.5 517.5 517.5 30 15525 GTCAP PREF B 1010 1020 1012 1012 1010 1010 500 505020 MWIDE PREF 101.2 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 5070 514605 PNX PREF 3A 100.5 101.4 101.4 101.4 101.4 101.4 20 2028 PNX PREF 4 1025 1034 1033 1034 1033 1034 1500 1550000 PCOR PREF 2B 1039 1050 1039 1039 1039 1039 15 15585 PCOR PREF 3A 1045 1059 1059 1059 1050 1050 13150 13843730 SMC PREF 2C 78.2 78.5 78.5 78.6 78.5 78.5 12800 1004930 SMC PREF 2D 75.15 75.5 75.4 75.55 75.15 75.55 11320 853247 SMC PREF 2F 77.95 78.5 77.3 78 77.3 78 12010 936673 -780000 SMC PREF 2G 76 76.9 76 76.9 76 76.9 480100 36487690 76.95 77.1 76.95 76.95 76.95 76.95 825500 63522225 SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I 78.5 79 78.3 78.9 78.3 78.3 28350 2227605

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 7.06 7.1 7.48 7.48 7.05 7.1 129600 920447 -849910 GMA HLDG PDR 4.98 5 5.08 5.08 4.94 5 140400 698796 -430323

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.63 0.67 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.64 20000 12800

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 14.3 14.34 13.6 14.3 13.28 14.3 993000 13692236 -2377262 ITALPINAS 1.87 1.88 1.77 1.89 1.75 1.87 7371000 13620310 183050 KEPWEALTH 5.15 5.3 5.3 5.35 5.1 5.15 42300 217155 MAKATI FINANCE 1.9 2.15 1.95 1.95 1.9 1.9 115000 221090 MERRYMART 2.68 2.69 2.59 2.77 2.54 2.68 78476000 208501850 535730 XURPAS 0.55 0.56 0.57 0.57 0.55 0.56 1156000 640200

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 90.5 91.25 91 91.5 90.5 90.5 11780 1067978.5 -

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Store closures during ECQ hit Robinsons Retail income

R

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

obinsons Retail Holdings Inc., the retail arm of the Gokongwei Group, on Thursday said its attributable net income in the first half fell 4 percent to P1.64 billion, from last year’s P1.71 billion.

The company said store closures due to the lockdowns implemented by the government to contain the spread of Covid-19 affected its operations, especially those in the nonessential category.

Net sales fell 3 percent to P74.96 billion, from last year’s P77.21 billion.

The full impact of the lockdowns was felt by the company in the second quarter, when its net income plunged 33 percent to P719 million, from last

year’s P1.07 billion. Sales also fell 12 percent to P34.9 billion from P39.86 billion last year.

Sales were affected by the temporary closure of the stores considered nonessential during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed by the government starting March 17.

“Majority of the company’s stores across all formats resumed operations only in May 16, following relaxed quarantine restrictions. How-

ever, operating hours have been shortened and foot traffic is down,” the company said.

Blended same-store sales contracted by 3.8 percent in the first half and by 13.9 percent in the second quarter alone.

The same-store sales growth (SSSG) of the supermarket and drug store segments eased in the second quarter, from a high double-digit rate in the first quarter but still high relative to historical levels. First half SSSG was at 16.4 percent for supermarket and at 6.9 percent for the drug stores.

The SSSG of the rest of the formats was negative in the first half, as the stores were closed for six weeks in the second quarter, and two weeks in the first quarter.

“While convenience stores are considered essential, approximately 30 percent of the stores were temporarily closed during ECQ due to lack of manpower, absence of public transportation and closure

of offices in buildings where the stores are located,” the company said. The said segment was also affected by the imposition of curfew and liquor bans.

Operating expenses declined by 10 percent to P13.9 billion in the first half and by 21.4 percent to P6.2 billion in the second quarter alone.

The decline in operating expenses, however, was not able to fully offset the impact of gross margin compression and the shortfall in net sales, the company said.

The balance sheet of Robinsons Retail remains strong with a net cash position of over P29.4 billion as of end-June. The company’s capital expenditures reached P635.5 million.

Excluding the franchised stores of The Generics Pharmacy, Robinsons Retail ended June with a total of 1,890 stores comprising 262 supermarkets, 49 department stores, 222 do-it-yourself stores, 512 convenience stores, 520 drugstores and 325 specialty stores.

FPH sets capital spending for this year L opez-led First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) said its capital expenditure (capex) this year could reach P29 billion, half of which will go to its energy generation business.

The capex of FPH this year is 16 percent higher than last year’s actual spending. Francis Giles B. Puno, the company’s president and CEO, said some P14 billion will be allocated to First Gen Corp., P9.4 billion for its property development arm Rockwell Land Corp., and P2.4 billion for First Philippine Industrial Corp.

“The balance is allocated for the construction sector and for FPH’s new businesses in healthcare and education. Despite the pandemic, we remain open to new opportunities and continue to review and evaluate potential new projects,” Puno said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting that it conducted online.

He said its power generation group will continue to pursue the development of an offshore LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal within the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Batangas.

“This will allow LNG to be brought in using a floating storage and regasification unit or FSRU, thereby ensuring the energy security of the country, as indigenous

gas supply from Malampaya is expected to become less reliable,” he said.

Its property group is focused on completing Rockwell’s ongoing residential projects, and expanding First Philippine Industrial Park’s footprint and service offerings to park locators and the roughly 66,000 employed there.

“Meanwhile, our manufacturing group’s expansion business beyond transformers has started to gain traction, particularly the Distribution Line Component,” he said.

The company, meanwhile, has raised some P10 billion in debt financing, out of the P14 billion earlier approved by its board.

“We believe this is sufficient for our current requirements. FPH, the parent, is not tapping the bond market anytime soon. Our subsidiaries may consider the bond market,” Puno said.

The company said it expects its net income to fall this year as the pandemic affected its operations.

“The power sector is experiencing lower demand for electricity combined with a drop in WESM [wholesale electricity spot market] prices,” the company said.

“With the exception of commercial office and industrial leasing which have remained relatively stable, our property sector’s revenues

California Pizza Kitchen is latest chain to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

C

alifornia Pizza Kitchen Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Houston on Wednesday, becoming the latest restaurant chain to try to cut debt as it grapples with the pandemic.

The company, which operates more than 200 restaurants in the United States and abroad, has reached an agreement with a majority of its senior creditors on a restructuring plan. It’s looking to reduce its debt by $230 million, more than half of the total, and raise additional funding from existing lenders to buttress its balance sheet, according to court filings.

Casual dining chains have been struggling to stay afloat as lockdown measures force them to close restaurants. Pizza Hut franchisee’s NPC International Inc., the holding company of Chuck E. Cheese CEC Entertaiment Inc. and the US arm of Le Pain Quotidien have sought

bankruptcy protection since the pandemic started.

Founded in 1985 in Beverly Hills, California Pizza Kitchen was acquired by private equity firm Golden Gate Capital in 2011. The restaurant chain has been struggling in the past two years amid changing consumer behavior. The company appointed advisers in 2019 for a sale or a restructuring.

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the chain’s business, which generated 78 percent of revenues from on-site dining before the crisis. The firm closed 46 of its restaurants and obtained $30 million of emergency financing from lenders already in April, but revenues were still 40 percent lower than 2019 levels as of the last week of June, according to the filings.

The case is re California Pizza Kitchen Inc., 20-33752, US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston). Bloomberg News

from residential, retail and hospitality segments have contracted versus the same period last year. The construction group is experiencing deferrals and delays in a number of construction projects slated for this year.”

Federico R. Lopez, the company’s chairman, said the company’s businesses will be geared “toward a decarbonized and regenerative future.”

“In energy, we shall lead the tran-

mutual funds

sition to a decarbonized energy future. In property, we shall nurture inclusive, well-tempered, and creative spaces that elevate surrounding communities and the environment,” he said.

“In construction, we shall build infrastructure that creates resilience and enhances the quality of life in a complex, climate changed world.

Our mission and purpose will guide everything we do.” VG Cabuag July 30, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 196.05 -27.79% -11.02% -5.77% -22.15% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.0024 -39.49% -14.48% -6.59% -27.47% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.6337 -37.47% -15.63% -8.3% -28.4% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.6743 -31.24% n.a. n.a.

-24.91% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6548 -27.47% n.a. n.a.

-22.9% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.2123 -25.05% -9.57% -5.52% -20.94% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.662 -26.78% -11.94% n.a.

-22.45% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

76.88 -36.34% n.a. n.a.

-25.52% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 39.3556 -27.06% -9.6% -4.8% -23.26% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 422.85 -24.78% -8.85% -4.95% -20.63% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.8604 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-16.47% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 0.997 -27.04% -9.2% -4.68% -22.53% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 29.3383 -26.77% -8.73% -4.36% -22.58% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.778 -27.72% n.a. n.a.

-23.58% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.006 -26.84% -9.11% -4.13% -23.31% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

671.22 -26.59% -9.05% -4.3% -23.02% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6058 -36.8% -13.05% -8.4% -28.85% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1063 -30.63% -10.46% -5.46% -26.2% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7696 -26.73% -9.23% -4.29% -23.1% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.8216 -26.65% -7.93% -3.78% -22.76% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 90.1122 -26.39% -8.58% -3.48% -22.95% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$1.028 3.52% -0.2% 1.38% -0.04% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.4496 9.07% 6.8% n.a.

5.14% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5599 -12.65% -4.57% -3.55% -0.19% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0441 -13.64% -5.09% -2.07% -6.28% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.3969 -11.73% -3.65% -3.11% -8.92% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1839 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-19.52% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8357 -6.99% -1.58% -0.38% -6.42% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.4705 -9.57% -2.87% -1.6% -8.41% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.4552 -10.5% -3.19% -1.78% -8.88% 1.9063 -12.92% -4.22% -1.64% -10.17% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.2547 -18.23% -5.39% -2.95% -15.76% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9355 -10.29% n.a. n.a.

-7.9% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8345 -19.94% n.a. n.a.

-16.25% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8088 -22.17% n.a. n.a.

-18.57% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.7998 -21.53% -6.43% -4.13% -17.95% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03929 4.86% 3.13% 2.04% 2.85% $1.0293 2.65% 0.84% 1.88% 1.71% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.0267 5.61% 4.9% 4.3% 2.97% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1479 3.11% 2.76% n.a.

1.7% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 367.33 4.4% 3.2% 2.59% 2.62% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9461 2.17% 0.97% -0.02% 2.32% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.1972 4.32% 5.05% 5.05% 2.54% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.303 4.64% 3.05% 2.38% 3.58% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4543 5.39% 3.49% 2.01% 4.04% 4.6627 9.94% 4.58% 2.82% 6.63% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3036 6.45% 4.23% 2.34% 3.73% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9635 6.97% 4.47% 2.38% 4.63% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0388 9.9% 3.81% 1.93% 7.73% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1805 6.16% 4.88% 2.95% 3.41% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7461 5.06% 4.24% 2.39% 2.65% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $477.18 3.65% 2.59% 2.8% 1.88% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є216.51 -1.09% 0.72% 1.06% -1.49% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.237 3.17% 2.75% 2.47% 4.19% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0264 2.72% 1.97% 1.59% 2.33% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.086 -0.06% 0.31% 0.45% -0.69% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4961 5.91% 3.82% 3.41% 3.85% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0609554 2.55% 2.1% 1.92% 1.09% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2387 4.73% 2.42% 2.74% 2% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 128.58 3.65% 3.28% 2.47% 2.19% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0431 2.53% n.a. n.a.

1.64% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2857 2.96% 3.04% 2.59% 1.64% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0464 1.61% n.a. n.a.

0.78% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.0091 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.95 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-4.04%

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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Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

China Bank logs ₧5.2B profits on lower costs

C

hina Banking Corp. (China Bank) saw its net income in the first half grow by 24 percent to P5.2 billion year-on-year.

In a disclosure on Thursday, the listed bank said this translated to return on equity of 10.64 percent and return on assets of 1.07 percent for the period.

In the first semester, China Bank hiked its reserves for potential credit loss to P4.8 billion, which is more than 14-times the amount it booked in the previous year for the same period. The increase in buffer, the bank said, is in anticipation of the adverse impact of coronavirus pandemic and lockdown measures on asset quality.

“Our first half results reflect China Bank’s continued strength and resilience, and demonstrate the soundness of our strategies to thrive in the new normal,” China Bank President William C. Whang said.

The “year 2020 will go down in China Bank’s history, not just for our centennial anniversary, but for our resolve to make the best out of a very difficult situation, keeping in mind the safety and welfare of our stakeholders,” Whang added.

Costs

According to the bank’s disclosure, its operating income in the first half surged by 40 percent to P21 billion.

Net interest income improved 39 percent to P16.2 billion because of better volume of earning assets and lower funding costs. Net interest margin ramped up to 3.8 percent

from 3.2 percent for the period.

China Bank saw its non-interest income climb by 41 percent to P4.7 billion on the back of robust trading and securities gain.

Operating expenses were up 5 percent to P10.4 billion on Covid-related expenses and higher volume costs.

As of end-June, the bank’s total assets stood at P982 billion, showing 8-percent growth due to expansion in loan portfolio.

Confident

China Bank’s loan portfolio rose by 11 percent to P593 billion in the first semester as it continued to provide loans across market segments. The bank said its asset quality has remained healthy with nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio at 1.6 percent and NPL coverage at 146 percent.

Meanwhile, total deposits inched up by 3 percent to P773 billion. Capitalization stood at P98 billion for the period.

Patrick D. Cheng, China Bank’s chief financial officer, is confident that the bank has the financial strength to withstand the pandemic and transition to the so-called “new normal.”

“We are closely monitoring developments and working with our customers who are under financial distress in these difficult times,” he added.

China Bank shares were down 0.10 percent, or 2 centavos, to end at P19.98 each amid the 0.63-percent drop for the benchmark index on Thursday. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Membership Engagement on the ‘Dot’

I

n the five-stage association membership life cycle (see my column on March 15, 2017 (https:// businessmirror.com.ph/2017/03/15/ association-membership-life-cycle/), membership engagement is in the middle of the cycle, with awareness and recruitment ahead and renewal and reinstatement after. As such, membership engagement is at the core of and is the most challenging work for association executives.

Engaging with members during this pandemic has even made this work pressing and demanding as members need their association’s presence and assistance more than ever. It is in this context that the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (Pcaae) organized a webinar on “Membership Engagement in the Virtual World.”

Our featured speaker was Dot Miller, a Colorado, USA-based certified association executive, book author, entrepreneur, and community leader, who is CEO of The Solution, an association management company, and co-founder of the National Credentialing Institute.

She was on the dot (pun intended) when it comes to these suggestions to webinar attendees: Bring solutions to your members, as well as energy and enthusiasm, in engaging with them. The pandemic may have made your members stressed, burned out, unsure of the future, or have no control over the situation. Understand your members’ pain points and their profession or industry needs. Write press releases to elevate your association and share your members’ successes with the media.

Categorize your members into green, yellow and red (the “traffic light” member clusters). Green symbolizes your most engaged members who attend events, work on committees and serve on the Board. Yellow is for those who have attended one or two events in a year and may need more knowledge sharing. Red is for those who have never attended anything, have not participated and you don’t know them at all.

As a strategy, you need not spend much time engaging with those in

Association World Octavio Peralta green as you can also find them as ambassadors able to engage with fellow members. You may need more time to reach out personally to those in yellow so they will renew their membership. For the red group, you may only engage if they have been with you for less than five years.

Hold stakeholders meetings, typically a networking event where you bring in the yellow and the red, clustering them by size or interest, to enable them to interact with each other. Conduct sprint (short, one hour and a half) visioning and strategy sessions before Board meetings to map out actions for the next six months or so.

Reach out (via phone calls, handwritten notes, cards) to five members per day and ask them how they are doing. Your ambassadors and Board members can ask them to engage with your association by, say submitting an article for your newsletter, a member spotlight, content for a blog, or for your website or social media channels.

Make short, regular, easy to answer, three-question surveys to your members on benchmarking and other relevant topics. Share survey results with your members and use these in strategy sessions.

There are more ideas that Dot mentioned which couldn’t fit this space but engaging members, pandemic or not, is at the heart of an association executive’s job.

The column contributor, Octavio “Bobby” Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific and the Founder & CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives. The Pcaae is holding the Associations Summit 8 on November 25 and 26, 2020 with the theme, “Leading with Agility.” The 2-day virtual event is supported by Adfiap, the Tourism Promotions Board, and the PICC. E-mail inquiries@adfiap. org for more details on AS8.

Friday, July 31, 2020 B3

AIIB open to invest in infra linking Asia via technology

B

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

eijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is keen on helping its member countries bridge the digital divide through 5G technology.

In a session on Regional Connectivity during the last day of the AIIB annual meeting, AIIB Vice President for Policy and Strategy Joachim von Amsberg said the multilateral development bank is interested in investing in digital infrastructure.

Von Amsberg, who was a former World Bank Philippine Country Director, said the AIIB is keen on working with partners and explore cooperation on technology, safety and privacy standards.

“We are open to make this a core pillar whether it’s a hardware or software [investment],” Von Amsberg said. “[This is an] area we would like to invest in.” Digital regional connectivity is one of the areas needed to be addressed, particularly in a post-coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) world, he added.

In the same session, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Unescap) Executive Secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana said bridging the digital divide is important even in efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In order to accelerate digitalization, Alisjahbana said greater cooperation is needed in order to make 5G networks accessible to all.

This should be accompanied by efforts to ensure access to electricity; make laptops and applications affordable; and making access to the internet available for all.

Alisjahbana said governments need to boost its efforts to set up their

own broadband networks to ensure that all their citizens will be able to tap into digital solutions.

“We need to have all these in place,” Alisjahbana said. “The pandemic [bared] the vulnerability [of countries such as high] inequality and poverty.”

Covid facility

The AIIB said the uncertainty and economic hardships created by the pandemic need to be reversed to ensure the current and future generations will not suffer.

In his speech at the virtual opening ceremonies of the 5th AIIB Annual Meeting last Tuesday, AIIB President Jin Liqun said such is the reason for the creation of the AIIB’s Covid-19 Crisis Recovery Facility.

Since the facility was created in April 2020, the AIIB has extended $6 billion in assistance to 12 member countries, according to Liqun. This brought up the AIIB’s total assistance to the region to $20 billion since it was founded in 2016.

“Incomes are down. Debts are up.

Uncertainty remains. Unless effective measures are taken to reverse this trend, we will suffer the loss of a generation,” Liqun said. “We will not allow such a disaster to befall our people and future generations.”

Absent funding

The facility can be tapped until October 16 2021 and will offer a total of between $5 billion and $10 billion in financing to public and private sector

entities in any AIIB member facing, or at risk of facing, serious adverse impacts as a result of Covid-19.

The facility can be tapped for immediate health financing needs; efforts to boost economic resilience; and support for liquidity constraints for infrastructure support that may be delayed or suspended in the absence of AIIB funding.

Liqun said the bank’s “timely creation” has opened the doors for greater international cooperation, particularly in terms of ensuring economic growth is sustainable in the region.

“The world is changing rapidly. We provide support to cushion against economic shocks. We ensure growth is inclusive and sustainable. This will require all of our efforts,” Liqun said.

“We do not have all the answers, but we are committed to doing our part.”

In his opening remarks, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China remains committed to support the AIIB and make it a successful multilateral development bank.

It can be noted that Xi was the one who proposed the creation of the AIIB in 2013. It took three years to establish the AIIB, which began operating in January 2016.

Inclusive, open

Xi recommended that AIIB develop into a “new type of multilateral development bank” and provide “highquality, low-cost and sustainable investment for both traditional and new types of infrastructure.”

He also recommended that AIIB should innovate and, as the newest multilateral development bank, the AIIB is in the best position to implement changes. Xi said the AIIB should help enhance connectivity, promote green development and further technological breakthroughs.

Xi said the AIIB must strive to always keep in mind the development needs of its members and commit to the creation of best practices in terms of international cooperation.

Last, Xi said, the AIIB should remain “open and inclusive” by providing public goods for the region, pushing for regional economic integration, and making economic globalization beneficial for all.

“China always supports and adheres to multilateralism, and pursues development with the rest of the world in the spirit of openness and mutually-beneficial cooperation,” Xi said.

“China will continue working with other members to support the AIIB and make it a success, and contribute more to the global response to risks and challenges and the pursuit of shared development,” he added.

Other projects

The AIIB has extended support for two Philippine projects: the Covid-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (Cares) program, which is being co-financed with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Metro Manila Flood Management project. The AIIB extended a $750 million loan for the project. The project is supported under the bank’s Covid-19 Crisis Recovery Facility. It aims to improve the country’s testing capacity; conditional cash transfers and emergency subsidy support; and, wage subsidies provided for at least 1 million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), among others.

For the Metro Manila Flood Management project, meanwhile, the AIIB extended a loan of $207.6 million. The project is being co-financed with the World Bank.

The project will focus on about 56 potentially critical drainage areas with an approximate land area of 11,100 hectares or over 17 percent of the total area of Metro Manila.

The total population of these drainage areas is estimated at 3.5 million while the direct project beneficiaries, i.e., those adversely affected by regular flooding, are estimated at 1.7 million.

SLAMCI offers investment MDRT expects 72,000 at virtual conference opportunity for ₧50,000

S

un Life Asset Management Co. Inc. (Slamci) unveiled its latest offering last Thursday for investors who want to take advantage of investing in the global stock market using local currency.

With an initial investment of only P50,000, Slamci said investors may see long-term growth in their investments through the firm’s “World Equity Index Feeder” (Weif) fund. Additional investments are only at P10,000.

Investments in the Weif are placed into a target fund that tracks the performance of the MSCI All-Country World Index (ACWI) fund—an index that represents more than 2,000 constitutions across developed and emerging markets.

“The Fund was designed specifically for experienced investors who can tolerate significant fluctuations in the value of investments and currency movements, and do not mind market volatility,” Slamci President Valerie N. Pama said. “They know that the potential challenges could lead to the capital appreciation for their investment portfolios and bring them closer to their longterm financial goals.”

It also gives investors a chance to diversify their investment portfolios with the MSCI ACWI representing equities across countries, including the United States, Japan, United Kingdom and France, covering leading corporations that resonate with a great majority.

Slamci Product Management and Development Manager Dino S. Macasaet said they decided to offer the Weif fund because more than 90 per-

cent of their existing assets under management are denominated in Philippine peso while the rest are US dollar denominated.

“Slamci decided to create the fund, which will be denominated in Philippine pesos while the fund will invest globally so the ordinary Filipino will be able to access global markets using their Philippine pesos,” Macasaet said in a news conference via Zoom.

In terms of style, he said the Weif fund is a passively managed index tracker fund, meaning there will be no active fund management or stock selection. This is different from their “World Voyager Fund,” which is an actively managed fund and suited for investors who want to make the most out of their US dollars and grow their investment portfolio.

Pama also urged the public to invest now given that the crisis can also be a time of opportunity.

“For those who can withstand the need to downsize for the time being, it would be interesting to recall what the great Winston Churchill one said, ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste’,” she said.

“The opportunities are there because there are people actively looking for new ways of doing things.”

Slamci manages 11 peso-denominated funds and five dollar-denominated funds, which are distributed by 2,500 licensed mutual fund advisors nationwide, 10 bank partners and six brokers.

It also remains to be the country’s largest non-bank affiliated asset management company, with over P94 billion in assets under management as of endJune this year. Bernadette D. Nicolas

T

he 93-yeard-old association of insurance brokers and financial advisors said it expects more than 72,000 members from 70 territories, including 1,000+ members in the Philippines, to its 5-day virtual event starting on August 3, 2020.

In a statement, the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) said registered attendees will learn how to guide their clients and businesses to success, even in the midst of social turbulence, with over 200 pieces of content during the live sessions and subsequent on-demand weeks throughout the rest of the month.

“The Covid-19 pandemic and its associated global recession makes it more important than ever for our members to utilize their networks and empower each other’s growth toward new personal and professional heights,” MDRT President Regina Bedoya was quoted in the statement as saying.

The main event, which will be broadcast in five global time zones, will feature all the standout components of MDRT’s in-person annual meeting and global conference, the MDRT statement said.

“From the comfort of their own homes, attendees will hear from top industry and societal figures on how to implement innovative practices and unlock success for the rest of 2020 and beyond,” it added.

To reach as many global members as possible, sessions at the virtual event will be broadcast or translated into 13 languages, including Cantonese, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese.

“As we continue adapting to a stressful environment for clients, this innovative online venue for member collaboration and advancement will do more than just help members make it through this tough time, it’ll help them thrive,” Bedoya said.

The event will be accessible to MDRT members no matter where they are, with sessions broadcast across global time zones so members can attend during normal work hours, the association said.

“Additionally, sessions will be split into morning, afternoon and evening blocks to give members time for their families and personal pursuits and help them embrace the MDRT ‘Whole Person’ concept,” the association said.

B4

Friday, July 31, 2020

Relationships BusinessMirror

The ridiculist*

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Rico Rodriguez, 22; B.J. Novak, 41; Zac Brown, 42; J.K. Rowling, 55.

Happy Birthday: Look at what you’ve accomplished, and you’ll realize that for the time being, you don’t need a change; you need to enjoy and perfect what you already have. Settle in, spend more time with the people you love, and focus on your health and well-being. Make personal growth, enlightenment and romance your priorities. Your numbers are 8, 13, 22, 26, 35, 37, 42.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Hold your ground, but don’t make enemies. Being consistent, delivering what you promised, and doing more and talking less will help you gain momentum and deter unwanted challengers and interference. HH

R

ESORT owners and other stakeholders on Boracay Island are now rejoicing over a recent ruling by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) that lifts the age restrictions of tourists coming from Western Visayas.

Barely recovered from the six-month closure in 2018, ostensibly to pave the way for government’s rehabilitation projects, Boracay establishments have had to face another round of losses since February, due to the Covid-19 outbreak that forced travel restrictions in major tourism markets like mainland China, South Korea and Japan. So resorts, restaurants, tour operators and the like on the island are thankful that they are now back in business.

However, not everyone is happy. Apparently, residents on the island are now complaining about a new policy by the municipal government that prohibits locals below 21 and above 60 years old from swimming in Boracay’s crystal-clear waters.

In his news piece, my Iloilo-based friend Nestor Burgos of Inquirer quotes one resident saying, “Our kids are impounded at home for close to five months now while tourist kids are allowed to swim? What a joke!” Another one said, “Nobody can beat this idiocy.”

But acting Malay Mayor Floribar Bautista remained firm on his policy, says Nestor. “It’s for the residents’ safety and protection. If they mingle with the tourists and get infected, it would be my responsibility,” said the mayor who has jurisdiction over the island as well.

This is just the latest among the local government’s absurd policies on the island. Even when the IATF rules already allowed swimming on May 16, the provincial government continued the closure of beaches to Boracay residents. According to the Aklan Gov. Joben Miraflores at the time, it was to prevent the possible transmission of Covid infections.

One must wonder what is the science behind these local government chiefs’ policy-making process and decisions? The only way one can spread the virus is through sneezing and coughing, which is why the wearing of facial masks and physical distancing are highly recommended. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “The places we visit to swim, play, and relax in water include beaches—swim areas in oceans, lakes, and other natural bodies of water— and pools, water playgrounds, and hot tubs. There is no evidence that

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Start your day by making changes that will cheer you up.

Getting along with the people you live or work with will lead to the help you need to reach your goal.

Don’t waste time on conditional offers; focus on what’s tangible. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Stick to what you know and do best. Joint ventures will not be in your best interest. Verify any information offered to avoid making a mistake. Curtail excessive behavior or overspending. HHH

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, can spread to people through water in these places.”

This reminds me of another provincial governor who pushed steam inhalation, a practice locally known as tuob, as a way to cure Covid. Not surprisingly, the medical community called out Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia who had even issued a memo to city hall employees to practice tuob twice a day at their work stations.

She later publicly shamed two doctors who took her to task on the practice, which raised the hackles of Cebu’s entire medical community. Garcia later changed her tune, saying tuob was found to relieve respiratory problems, just as the doctors underscored.

These government executives’ approach in dealing with Covid-19 can be summed up in this quote from former US President Barack Obama. In his virtual commencement address to the Class of 2020 in May, he said, “More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing. A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.” nnn MEANWHILE, there’s an ongoing trend on Facebook (and now Twitter because of boomers) of women posting their black-and-white selfies in support of women empowerment.

I’ve received three invites from women friends so far, and have not responded to the “challenge” because, frankly, I found it pointless. I saw no rhyme and reason how an act of vanity can empower or uplift other women. Perhaps, if the challenge was to post the photos of one’s female friends who fit the mold of the strong, powerful and intelligent, I could

get on board with it.

Many of the women in on this current trend are perhaps unaware that it has its roots in a campaign in Turkey due to the mounting cases of brutal acts against women, particularly femicide. It took off after a female student named Pinar Gültekin, only 27, was murdered by an ex-boyfriend. Based on CCTV footage, she was seen on July 16 with Cemal Metin Avcı, the ex, but he initially denied knowledge of her whereabouts.

“However when shown CCTV footage, he confessed to Pınar’s murder and directed police to the location of her partly burned body in an oil drum in a wooded area in the Menteşe area,” according to T-Vine, a UK publication for British Turks.

Everyday, Turkish women wake up to gruesome black-and-white photos of another woman attacked, brutalized and violated.

Last year, they recorded 500 cases of femicides in Turkey, but many cases have probably gone unreported, so it’s impossible to determine the magnitude of problem. @auturkishculturalclub explains in an Instagram post, “The black-and-white photo challenge started as a way for women to raise their voice. To stand in solidarity with the women we have lost. To show that one day, it could be their picture that is plastered across news outlets with a black-and-white filter on top.”

So, thank you to my women friends who invited me to their “challenge.” I am flattered you consider me like-minded and as strong-willed as you. But, no, we cannot empower each other by posting our beauty shots. As for the men who had also joined the blackand-white selfie challenge, ewan na. *With apologies to Anderson Cooper. n

Palacio de Memoria reopens for intimate weddings AS the country adapts to the new normal following the nationwide quarantine, Palacio de Memoria (www. palaciodememoria.com) is reopening its doors to couples who would like to tie the knot and spend the rest of lives together.

Palacio de Memoria is now accepting reservations for intimate civil wedding ceremonies, receptions and prenuptial photo shoots. The resplendent Lhuillier-managed estate features a luxuriously restored pre-war mansion which houses the family’s unrivaled curated collection of Euro-Filipino art pieces, making it the perfect place for couples looking to celebrate their love.

Couples can have a fun intimate affair at various locations on the Palacio de Memoria estate. After the

ceremony, the newlyweds and their loved ones can enjoy a private dinner at a special dining hall at the ground floor of the mansion. The couple may also opt to set up their dining area at the Los Tamaraos Ballroom, style it to their liking, and dine under an impressive Murano chandelier.

For the bride and groom who love the outdoors, they can also dance the night away at the Loggia by the garden.

The Palacio de Memoria will also soon open its chapel for traditional nuptial masses.

To help ensure the health of all couples and guests, Palacio de Memoria is implementing strict safety measures. With these and Palacio’s alluring wellappointed amenities, everyone can enjoy the precious moments full of love and happiness.

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Control your temper, and offer answers, solutions and positive alternatives. How you approach others will determine how much you get done. Know your boundaries, and you’ll reach your goal. Take care of unfinished business before you start something new.

HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Let your heart and conscience lead the way. Dig in and do something that makes a difference. Putting a smile on someone’s face will be rewarding and push you in a new direction. Romance is featured. HHHHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Change what you don’t like instead of letting things fester.

You’ll have some great ideas, and offers and suggestions that will help you reassemble the way you move forward will come your way. HHHHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Experience is the best way to learn. Expand your interests, and it will feed your mind. Procrastination will be your downfall. Deal with matters intelligently and without hesitation. Let go of the past, and embrace the future.

Romance is featured. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Learn as much as possible in preparation for the changes you want to make. Be innovative, and incorporate new technology into your plans. Don’t trust anyone to be as thorough as you. Keep your possessions, passwords and cash in a safe place. HH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Anger won’t solve anything, and being evasive will cause more problems. Honesty and integrity will help you bring what’s troubling you to the surface and help you make the necessary changes to improve your life and your relationships with others. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take control, and bring about the changes you want to happen. Address a matter head-on, and listen to what others have to contribute. Working in unison with others will bring about positive change and excellent opportunities. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Get involved in something you feel passionate about, and make a difference. Let your experience guide you, and you will find new ways to use tried-and-true methods to excel. Celebrate your achievements with someone you love. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Honesty is the best policy. Don’t pussyfoot around issues that need addressing. A professional change will turn out to be beneficial. Protect your home, family and health. Use intelligence, and rely on your memory to make the best decisions. HHHH Birthday Baby: You are original, loving and a high flyer.

You are helpful and unpredictable.

‘final exam’ by stella zawistowski The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Wonderland visitor 6 ___ curls (arm exercises) 11 Period often named for a president 14 Khartoum’s country 15 Former president who gave a virtual commencement speech in 2020 16 May honoree 17 Chocolate-coated ice cream treat 19 Trivia locale, often 20 Princess Jasmine’s dad 21 Getting-ready routine 23 CDs’ predecessors 25 Attorney 26 Toni Morrison’s first book 32 Assistant 33 Vacuum tube with three components 34 Plopped into a chair 37 Make a meal?

39 “OMG A MOUSE!” 40 Lego brand for young children 42 Completist’s goal 43 Stretches of mountains 46 Fat in some puddings

7 It’s not the main way in 4 49 Like some lab testing 52 Red, Yellow or Black 53 Abstract ideas 56 Seyfried who played Cosette in Les Miserables 61 Madison, e.g., in NYC 62 Actors’ foundation, e.g.?

64 Remote button that’s often red 65 Fighting fish 66 Fashion designer von Furstenburg 67 Big-antlered animal 68 Rise provider 69 Gets ready for a poker hand DOWN 1 Sets as a price 2 The Farewell director Wang 3 Person you worship 4 Is powerless to 5 Ultimate goal 6 ___ choy 7 Skeptical reply 8 Baja resort, for short 9 Sent with a click

0 Turned into a big win, as a small bet 1 11 E, on a fuel gauge 12 Direct along a path 13 Fossil resin 18 Two cents’ worth 22 Woolly female 24 Peaceful 26 Names on social media, in a way 27 Bring on 28 Prepare to publish 29 Stiller of Zoolander 30 Attack that takes a long time 31 Coins at an arcade 34 Went in circles?

35 Guinness who played Obi-Wan Kenobi 36 Plastic bag alternative 38 Cruises past 41 Can. neighbor 44 Shelter dog, hopefully 45 Old-school engine’s power source 47 (Not my mistake) 48 Holiday Inn competitor 49 Words of compassion

0 26-Across, for one 5 51 Letter-shaped shirt feature 54 “Ciao, old chap!”

55 Some NCOs 57 Similar (to) 58 With no ice 59 Beach mound 60 Our closest relatives at the zoo 63 Nosh on Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, July 31, 2020

Sanya Lopez banners new ‘Wish Ko Lang!’ episode

Olivia de Havilland

VERA LYNN

Gone...but we’ll meet again: Olivia de Havilland & Vera Lynn

O

livia de Havilland is gone. She celebrated her birthday on July 1, 2020 with the world sincerely incredulous about her age of 104. A few days after her birthday, she was shown on a bike in her elegant neighborhood and the world was happy: the legend was alright and, noted, eternally beautiful. On July 26, her publicist announced the sad news: Dame Olivia de Havilland had passed on in her Parisian maison, like all those beauties of lore, in her sleep.

With the demise of de Havilland was also the passing of an age—that period when actresses and actors were called “stars.” Unreachable, these denizens of Hollywood were full of mystery and allure. They were almost not mortals and the studios made sure they remained so in the perception of fans and moviegoers.

Born in Tokyo, Olivia de Havilland carried the name of her father. That name was not manufactured; it belonged to her as that magnificent face belonged to her alone. Biographies of the actress always point to her as a thin ingénue but our memories—for they are many but consistent—of de Havilland began with a classic, Gone with the Wind. This was the biggest film project of the era. It was 1939 and, as they say, there were more stars in Hollywood (or in Warner Bros. or in MGM) than in heaven. It was a hyperbole born of witticism but when big stars who, by our current standard would be divas, fought for the roles in Margaret Mitchell’s sprawling tale of the South, eyebrows raised and eyes squinted amounted to extra-terrestrial battle. Between Clark Gable’s Rhett

and Vivien Leigh’s Scarlet, there was Melanie played with such unforgettable gentility and loveliness

by Olivia de Havilland. Leigh would win the Oscar for Best Actress, with Hattie McDaniel setting the record of the first black woman to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. No mention of the film is worth any film historian’s book, however, without mentioning the name of de Havilland.

It would take seven years before Olivia de Havilland would win her first Oscar for the film To Each His Own. She would be receiving nominations after that and again win as Best Actress for The Snake Pit, this time from the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics. She would win the Oscar again in 1949 for The Heiress. This was an extraordinary feat for actresses. She appeared on Broadway, as well. In the 1950s, she moved to Paris where she would stay till the end came.

Olivia de Havilland remained active even after she gained French citizenship, her third after being British and American.

She became active in television. For her appearance in the 1986 miniseries Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna, she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Movie or series.

The thing I remember most about Olivia de Havilland is that recorded appearance she made for a TV show, called This is Your Life, featuring Bette Davis.

Unexpected, she flew in from Paris just to greet Bette, her good friend. From offstage, that famous contralto floated: “The first time I saw Bette Davis, she scared the daylight out of me.” Then out came de Havilland.

Davis stood with her trademark arms on the waist, her legs spread apart, dominant. They embraced, with Davis exclaiming in that flamboyant inflection, “Oh my god, you look marvelous!” De Havilland indeed looked marvelous and even as she held on to her mock complaint about how she was terrified of this other diva, it was clear, Olivia de Havilland was a star in her own right.

Last month, on June 18, 2020, another Dame passed away. She was Vera Lynn, the singer whose wartime heroism as singer-entertainer for

servicemen earned her the name “Forces’ Sweetheart.”

Vera Lynn was just barely starting with her career as a band singer in 1939 when Britain entered World War II. She was quoted as having sighed: “Oh, there goes my career.” Her worries were unfounded, for Vera Lynn became the most famous British entertainer during those days of bombing and destructions.

The year of the beginning of war would be the time she would record the song “We’ll Meet Again.”

The song would go on to become the anthem of the generation that faced the cruelty of loss and separation and eventual reunion for the fated ones.

On her death, BBC described Vera Lynn as the symbol of resilience and hope.

She would record many other songs during and after the war, like the “White Cliffs of Dover,” “You’ll Never Know” and “I’ll Be Seeing You.” Her voice a combination of the sweetness of a crooner, the brassiness of a vaudeville performer, and the lower notes hinting of a torch singer made those sentimental songs even more affecting.

Thanks to YouTube, we can now catch Vera Lynn’s performances at many points of her long, golden career. We see how she changes the rendition of her songs. We are also witness to how indeed she became a hero with what she described as her duty to sing to “servicemen and all those people who went through the war.” The VE (Victory of Europe) Day observed on May 8 each year was never complete without her.

In 2009, she was interviewed for another achievement: after 70 years, her record “The Very Best of Vera Lynn” made it to Top 20 immediately upon its release. After a few weeks, it made to No. 1 in the British chart. According to Britclip, it surpassed Arctic Monkey and the Beatles.

During her funeral, people lined up along the street going to the church for the final rites. Two World War II planes flew over in graceful arcs as the cortege passed by her village. And as the procession moved on with the representatives from the Royal British Legion, the crowd bidding goodbye Dame Vera Lynn erupted into the song “We’ll Meet Again,” poignant again but a powerful farewell to a woman who was once called “common.” n

TOGETHER with Sue Prado, Allan Paule and Ayeesha Cervantes, Sanya Lopez on GMA’s Wish Ko Lang! this Saturday brings to life the story of Kathleen and Khaycee (Ayeesha)—two sisters from Laurel in Batangas who were struck by lightning during a storm. Kathleen and Khaycee only wanted to provide for their family especially since their father was slowly losing his vision.

To make matters worse, he was retrenched after the lockdown. Their mother tried to make ends meet by making suman that Kathleen and Khyacee sold. But they got short on capital so their mother went to the mountains to get ingredients such as coconuts.

Their mother told them not to join her but Kathleen and Khaycee were worried for her safety and insisted on going with her. It was raining hard and the sisters decided to take shelter inside a hut while their mother continued sourcing for other fruits. Nobody expected what would happen next: lightning struck Kathleen and Khaycee.

Ever since the sisters’ death on July 12, their family has been trying to pick up the pieces and start life anew. Kathleen and Khaycee’s dream included getting their father treated, putting up a business for their mother, and sending their two siblings to school.

Now, the family wishes they would be able to make Kathleen and Khaycee’s dreams come true.

Sanya shared that she is honored to be part of this heart-warming episode. “I was so excited when I found out na I’ll be part of a new episode of Wish Ko Lang! Lalo na ’yung story ng dalawang magkapatid na nainvolve sa isang tragic event sa buhay nila. Ang ganda ng story nilang magkapatid.”

As TV production is still limited these days, Sanya says she is grateful how the Wish Ko Lang! team took care of her and her coactors. “Siyempre ang first challenge d’yan is how would you stick sa safety protocols. I was lucky that I was with professional actors and a professional production team kaya everything went smoothly.”

The reenactment portion of Wish Ko Lang! is directed by Rommel Penesa, second unit director of Descendants of the Sun (The Philippine Adaptation).

The compelling story of Kathleen and Khaycee unfolds this Saturday in Wish Ko Lang! with host Vicky Morales, after Tadhana on GMA.

SANYA LOPEZ

Artists sing of resistance AT the Tinig ng Bayan: SONAgkaisa concert, Jugs Jugueta and the rest of Itchyworms performed their latest song, titled “The Silence.”

Before I go on about the song, I just want to commend Noel Ferrer for this successful event. It was memorable and significant especially during this time. The concert used art to convey important messages on various political and societal issues.

The Tinig ng Bayan: SONAgkaisa concert was streamed live over Radyo Katipunan 87.9 while President Duterte delivered his Sona. It featured fantastic performances from Frankie Pangilinan, Ebe Dancel, Martin Nievera, Moonstar 88, Noel and Gab Cabangon, Joanna Ampil, PETA and many more.

It also featured a special performance of a Tagalog version of “Do You Hear the People Sing” featuring Angel Locsin, Iza Calzado and Enchong Dee, among others. The concert was for the benefit of Project: Paghilom, which aims to help families of drug war victims. Celebrities also gave heartfelt messages, among them Gerald Anderson, Julia Barretto, Maja Salvador, Cherry Pie Picache, Nikki Valdez, Cacai Bautista and many more. Sen. Kiko Pangilinan also

delivered a special message stressing the importance of gathering as a sign of resistance against the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Law, the shutdown of ABS-CBN, the prioritization of POGOs over Filipino jobs, and the illegal detention and killing of countless Filipinos.

Those who missed this event can go to the Facebook page of Radyo Katipunan.

Back to the Itchyworms and their song “The Silence.” Previous interviews of the band say the song is inspired by their response to the ongoing social, mental and emotional crises that people around the

globe are facing on account of the pandemic. It’s pretty obvious in their lyrics, written by Jugs Jugueta and Jazz Nicolas, using straightforward four-line verses that unfold like a sort of stream of consciousness.

The first time I heard it during the ECQ, I really felt the anguish and loneliness brought about by being cooped inside the house, knowing there’s a threat outside and you are just helpless.

But the lyrics offer a glimmer of hope. While most of the lyrics are harrowing, talking about a creature lurking or how one cannot go out, or a certain danger that can eat up your heart, the last two verses tell us to: Don’t let it get to you, don’t be left behind No matter what you think, it’s all in your mind But the major strength of “The Silence” lies in its music. It’s a far departure from the earlier works of the band, showing an aural presence that is mature and very effective in conveying the idea of the song.

My friend, Pia Magalona, said the song reminded her of the legendary rock band Queen. Another friend of mine said it’s like a Radiohead song. I replied to them

that it reminded me of, dare I say it, The Beatles and George Harrison.

The foundation of the song are the guitars. While it may only play a major part in the chorus and the end parts, you know that all the instrumentations are picking bits and pieces of the wild and ominous guitar riffs in the chorus. The synth drums effectively keep the backbeat together and don’t draw attention to itself but adds to the ominous feeling of the song. Next to the guitar, the synthesizer effects play the most critical parts of the song, giving you an eerie feeling and make for an ingenious dramatic contrast between the loudness of the guitar chorus and the verses.

When I first heard the song almost three months ago, I made a mental note to make this a subject of one of my columns. But I couldn’t seem to find the right timing to do so. Seeing them perform it at the Tinig ng Bayan event was the perfect trigger since the event encouraged social activism, to speak up on the oppressions and the abuses. Indeed, their one line in the chorus perfectly sums up the feeling of one who has bottled up rage against what has been happening: The silence is killing me.

B5

B6 Friday, July 31, 2020

Meaningful journeys in the 'New Reality'

Toyota supports mobility, health and safety of Santa Rosa community

TOYOTA VIOS DONATION TO SANTA ROSA. In photo are (from left) Santa Rosa city health officer Dr. Soledad Rosanna Cunanan, City of Santa Rosa mayor Arlene Arcillas, TMP president Atsuhiro Okamoto, and TMP vice chairman Dr. David Go

I

N its continuing support to the mobility needs of healthcare workers at the forefront of pandemic response, Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP) recently donated three Vios units to the city government of Santa Rosa, Laguna. This donation forms part of the 30 total units it committed to various Department of Health hospitals and local government units.

These three vehicles, which are assembled in TMP’s Santa Rosa manufacturing/assembly plant, will serve as service shuttles for Santa Rosa Community Hospital (SRCH) and two health offices of the city government.

Santa Rosa City mayor Arlene Arcillas

personally received the three Vios units during a simple turnover ceremony held at the Toyota Santa Rosa City, Laguna dealership.

On top of the donation of the Vios units, Toyota has been providing support to the City’s pandemic response through mobility and socio-civic activities. At the start of community quarantine in May, TMP lent Toyota vehicles to assist in the transportation needs of the city’s healthcare workers. The company’s official humanitarian arm, Toyota Motor Philippines Foundation (TMPF), also donated various personal protective equipment (PPE) primarily needed by the frontliners of SRCH.

TMPF also distributed sacks of rice to two barangays, as well as grocery packages to families in the Toyota–City of Santa Rosa–Gawad Kalinga Village.

With the resumption of its manufacturing operations, TMP assured its Team Members and the local community of its strict observance to health and safety protocols to help fight the spread of COVID-19. The Toyota Santa Rosa City, Laguna dealership also assured its customers and visitors with the full observance of standard protocols under the “new normal” in vehicle sales and after-sales, in compliance with the government regulations and making safety and health as its top priority.

KTM Philippines is live on Lazada

Clockwise: Carl Decloedt (VP, General Enterprise Head of KTM Philippines), Bimbo Isidro (Training Manager of KTM Philippines, Richard Fabian (KTM 200 Duke Winner of Lazada Slash It), Nani Juarez (Aftersales & Logistics Head of KTM Philippines, Dino Santos (President & COO of KTM Philippines), Carlos Barrera (COO of Lazada Philippines), Raphael Rapi (Head of Motors Category of Lazada Philippines), Ana Lumban (Marketing Head of KTM Philippines)

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S the first motorcycle brand to be on the eCommerce giant in the Philippines, KTM fans and enthusiasts can now conveniently reserve a KTM motorcycle anytime, anywhere. And upon the brand’s inception on the platform in October 2019, Lazada has visibly become one of the fastest-growing frontiers in selling motorcycles online.

As a celebration of this partnership, KTM sponsored a KTM 200 Duke motorcycle that was raffled off last 11.11 via Price Slash (which generated at least 100,000 slashes), promoting the brand inside and outside of

Lazada.

Aside from this, Filipino Lazada shoppers have also begun to understand the concept of Reservation Vouchers and placed pre-orders online of the upcoming and much-anticipated models such as the 390 Adventure. To date, KTM has successfully fulfilled motorcycle sales with the help of the platform. This convenient setup is also a timely business and customer solution to the pandemic.

“With the onset of the new normal, we at KTM Philippines have always strived to adapt. This is also aligned with our group’s mindset where we

aim to dictate rather than conform.

Thus, we’re extremely proud to be the first motorcycle brand to be on Lazada. Our KTM LazMall isn’t just an eCommerce platform - it’s the way of the future,” shared Dino Santos, President and COO of Adventure Cycle Philippines, Inc. “Lazada’s partnership with KTM demonstrates our commitment in serving the Filipino community, by providing access to a wide range of products that cater to the diverse lifestyle needs of our consumers,” said Carlos Barrera, Chief Operating Officer of Lazada Philippines.

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VEN in the face of adversity, Life’s milestones and memories remain cause for joy. The team at Marco Polo Ortigas Manila has been focused on ensuring guests’ safety and confidence, for when special gatherings are allowed again. In line with government regulations and the World Travel and Tourism Council’s bio-security protocols, the four-time Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Awardee has put in place stringent regulations to make every event and celebration more meaningful in the future.

Safe Access, Visitors are required to fill out either a print or digital health declaration form upon arrival at any of the Hotel’s entrances.

Body temperature scans and hand sanitation are mandatory as well. A maximum of four guests are allowed for every lift to access any of the available events spaces in line with physical distancing regulations. Sanitation stations are also available in the lavatory areas, as well as designated spaces outside the function areas for convenience.

Food is prepared in individual servings, and each dish is served in a covered plate to minimise unnecessary exposure. Physical distancing guidelines are also observed in managing event floor plans. Cleanliness has always been of utmost importance in all aspects of food handling, as associates from the Banquet and Culinary teams are provided the necessary personal protective equipment at all times. All dishes are sterilized thoroughly after guest use and prior to storage. Each function space is disinfected before it is occupied and when event setup is complete.

Safe Celebrations, Marco Polo Ortigas Manila has also developed event packages that take into account guest concerns about gathering with friends and loved ones safely.

The Hotel’s Intimate Celebrations packages include a selection of set menus developed

by Marco Polo Ortigas Manila’s lead chefs, a choice of entertainment (three-hour set by

a string trio) or light and sound equipment, as well as sanitation kits for every guest table. The main celebrant or the bride and groom will also receive a special token of Fino Leatherware “La Mascherina” face masks when holding their events with the Intimate Celebrations packages. These high-quality face masks are handmade by Filipino artisans from fine French or Italian calfskin and lined with sheepskin. Each “La Mascherina” mask comes with two washable filters, and is designed with both comfort and safety in mind.

For more information about how guests can hold their future events safely at the Marco Polo Ortigas Manila, please call (+632) 7720 7777 or email manila@ marcopolohotels.com.

Empire East’s crisis-resilient residences a big help in today’s trying times

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S the world faces a health crisis, people’s definition of an ideal home does not only limit to comfort and solace but more so, one that is safe and conducive to health. Due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic, people are forced to be confined within the comforts of their homes. This has affected the lifestyle of Filipinos and how they value and view a sturdy home during these trying times.

For 26 years, Empire East has been committed to constantly innovating, adapting ideas, and introducing breakthrough concepts that have been real game-changers in the real estate industry.

Particularly, Empire East was the first to introduce Transit-Oriented Developments or TODs which benefit the homeowners up to this day. This concept aims to bring everything closer to home so people’s travel time would be reduced.

Empire East developments are strategically located at the heart of Metro Manila’s thriving cities making it easier for the homeowners to run errands, go to and forth their workplace, and fetch daily essentials.

“In our premier TOD or TransitOriented Development at the Makati Central Business District, the four-tower San Lorenzo Place, which was awarded in 2019 by PropertyGuru Philippines as the Best Mid-End Condo in Metro Manila, residents benefited tremendously from having their own supermarket and food establishments which remained open at its own San Lorenzo Place Mall. Now that select public transportation resumed to operate under the General Community Quarantine, residents can easily ride the MRT Line 3 via Magallanes Station that is physically linked to the project, as well as the CityLink point-to-point buses with its own station within the development.

San Lorenzo Place is currently 100% sold out and has been completely turned over,” stresses Empire East President and CEO Atty. Anthony Charlemagne Yu. Additionally, in Empire East’s microcities like the 37-tower Cambridge Village in Pasig-Cainta, the 25-tower California Garden Square in Mandaluyong City, and Empire East’s flagship township development Laguna Bel-Air in Santa Rosa City, more than 14,000 households enjoy a self-sustaining neighborhood without the need for them to go out for their daily needs.

With the values of innovation, flexibility, community, and family welfare in mind, Empire East continuously aims to build crisis-resilient residential developments. Communities benefit from

the Transit-Oriented and Urban Resort designs in relying on a protected and helpaccessible community at a time they need it the most.

Moreover, Empire East offers widelycut and spacious units that could accommodate families that are stuck at home due to the crisis.

On the flipside, Empire East communities are equipped with safety kits and equipment, and implement precautionary measures at the entrance of every property. Empire East properties practice proactive management by conducting temperature checks on guests and homeowners, putting up signages and guidelines across the property, ensuring that CCTV cameras are working in common areas and are guarded by the security and maintenance staff daily.

Due to the tight implementation of security measures, the property administrations of Little Baguio Terraces in San Juan City, as well as The Rochester and Kasara Urban Resort Residences in Pasig City, partnered with the local government to set-up “mobile palengkes” in the communities. Through these efforts, homeowners need not to go outside the vicinity to get their basic necessities such as food and toiletries.

Empire East offers the best and quality home options to match every home-seekers lifestyle. Every Empire East home is equipped with safety and security features, spacious and masterfully designed, strategically located near vital hubs, has recreational amenities to match those who have an active lifestyle, and is generally infused with sustainable features that respond well to the health crisis’ requirements.

From Transit-Oriented Developments to Urban Resorts, Empire East now focuses on Virus-Proofing each community to serve the needs of its dwellers actively.

It isn’t too late to decide on your ideal home and think about your next investment.

Discover your home options and inquire about the home of your choice today!

Send your queries to inquiry@empireeast.com, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube for more updates.

Sports ‘TOKYO OLYMPICS WILL TAKE PLACE’ BusinessMirror

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

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OKYO 2020 Coordination Commission Chairman John Coates has said his “gut feeling” is the postponed Olympic Games will take place next year, saying holding events with fans was part of the planning for the rescheduled event.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach agreed to postpone the Games in March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. But doubts still remain about the rescheduled event with less than one year to go with the pandemic causing social and travel restrictions across the world.

Coates said his feeling was that the Games would take place next year.

The IOC vice president also said organizers were including crowds in their planning for the

Games, although leading officials from both the IOC and Tokyo 2020 acknowledged holding events without spectators is a possibility.

Several sporting events have resumed behind closed doors or with restrictions on fans in recent months.

“We owe it to the athletes to make sure this happens and a generation of athletes don’t miss the opportunity of the Games,” Coates said. “I’m putting a lot of work into it and my gut feeling is yes, we will [have an Olympics next year].”

“The crowd are an important part of it and it is very much in our planning to maintain that,” he added.

Tokyo 2020 achieved one of its early tasks following the postponement, having secured all 42 venues required to host the Games. This followed agreements being reached for the Athletes’ Village and the Big Sight, the venue

for the International Broadcasting Centre and Main Press Centre.

The competition schedule for the Games in 2021 will remain the same—from July 23 to August 8 next year.

The IOC and Tokyo 2020 repeatedly said the Games will be simplified next year as part of efforts to reduce costs created by the postponement.

Tokyo 2020 has reportedly identified 200 potential ideas where savings could be made.

Coates suggested that the athletes and sports will not be impacted by the measures taken to reduce costs, but said cultural aspects could be cut back.

“It does mean we have to rethink the way we present the Olympic Games and continue to rethink it,” Coates told the Sydney Morning Herald. “I think we will further reduce the complexity of the Games and continue to

Friday, July 31, 2020 B7

NESTHY’S HOME, FINALLY

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reassess our role as an IOC.” “As far as the IOC is concerned, President Bach has said the sports and the field of play and what will remain available for the athletes will remain,” he said. “There’s no talk of changing or reducing the size of the Games in that area.”

“In Tokyo, if we are looking to reduce complexity—and we haven’t finalized these things yet—there might be less focus on the cultural aspects of an Opening Ceremony but retaining the traditional aspects,” he added.

Insidethegames

JAPANESE swimming sensation Ikee Rikako holds the lantern containing the Olympic flame during a photo session at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo recently. AP

Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 earns pro status from GAB

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GAMES and Amusement Board Chairman Baham Mitra (left) strikes a pose with Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 Commissioner Eric Altamirano (center) and player Alvin Pasaol.

HE Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 is now a professional league after securing the approval of the Games and Amusement Board (GAB).

The GAB announced its decision to league organizers in a special streamed meeting via Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas’s Facebook page.

“We’d like to announce that in the board meeting of the Games and Amusement Board [on Tuesday], we have accepted the interest of Chooks-to-Go 3x3 to turn professional,” GAB Chairman Baham Mitra said.

“I’d like to thank the GAB, headed by Chairman Baham Mitra, for allowing our sports organization, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3, to become a professional league,” League Commissioner Eric Altamirano said.

The first-of-its-kind league, founded by

Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. President Ronald Mascariñas, was established early last year with the goal of helping the country gain enough Fiba 3x3 points to realize its Olympic dream.

The effort did not go in vain and in a few months, the country made it to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which will be held next year in Vienna, Austria, following the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics.

“I really believe that we Filipinos have a very strong chance of excelling in this sport.

We all know what happened last year. For the first time, we were able to make the Olympic Qualifiers. Only 16 made [it in] the qualifiers and we’re one of them,” Altamirano said.

“It only shows that Filipinos can excel in this, considering that we are [small]. I don’t

US Open to be played without qualifying, fans Hoops league eyes ‘bubble’ in Pampanga

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HE National Basketball League (NBL) Pilipinas intends to hold an 11-day bubble for the completion of its Season 3 Black Arrow Express-President’s Cup. Under a 50-page comprehensive plan, the bubble will be the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga, where the eight playoff teams will be housed under strict health guidelines.

Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda, who also owns the province’s NBL-Pilipinas team Pampanga Delta, offered to host the bubble.

Under its stringent protocols, players and essential personnel of the eight teams will undergo Covid-19 tests and will be quarantined for 14 days. Only players aged 21 and above will be allowed to play in the bubble.

Before the teams enter the bubble, a slow but safe return to training and competition will be strictly enforced and monitored by the league.

NBL-Pilipinas Chairman Celso “Soy” Mercado said the league for homegrown talents is taking a proactive approach in the event that contact sports will be allowed to be played during the pandemic.

Mercado added that NBL-Pilipinas Commissioner John Edward Aquino and Executive Vice President Rhose Montreal reached out to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and other government agencies to present its bubble concept.

The defending champion Taguig Generals are one of the eight teams that are still in contention for the Season 3 title. The other teams in the proposed bubble are Pampanga Delta, La Union Paower, CamSur Express, inaugural season titlist Parañaque Aces, Nueva Ecija Bespren, Muntinlupa Emeralds and Pasig El Pirata.

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OW it comes down to the Masters to determine if any of golf’s majors will have fans this year.

A week before the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Championship begins without spectators, the US Open announced Wednesday it would not have fans from September 17 to 20 at Winged Foot in New York because of health and safety concerns from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We will miss the excitement of the fans and what their presence brings to the championship,” said Mike Davis, CEO of the US Golf Association (USGA). This already was shaping up to be a different US Open.

It has been scheduled to end on Father’s Day every year since 1975, and that was disrupted by the pandemic. The US Open moved from June 18 to 21 to the third week in September as the golf

schedule was entirely reconfigured to account for a three-month shutdown.

Then, the US Open had to ditch its identity as the most “open” major championship because it was neither safe nor practical to hold 18-hole and 36-hole qualifiers. Instead, the USGA crafted an all-exempt list that tried to reflect the field it normally gets.

And now the course will be missing the noise, just like the rest of golf.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said even a US Open without fans would be “a welcome sight for sports fans across the country and will help restore a sense of normalcy as we build back better than before.”

Fans will be watching on NBC, which assumed the TV rights from Fox in an agreement earlier this summer.

“This will not be a typical US Open in several respects,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s senior managing director of championships.

“Would it have been easier to simply cancel or even move the 2020 championship rather than play it in what has been the epicenter of the virus in our country? Possibly. But all of us at the USGA know how much the US Open matters, and we weren’t willing to give up on playing it at Winged Foot Golf Club so easily.”

The British Open was canceled in April.

The Masters moved to November 12 to 15, and Augusta National is still contemplating what it can accommodate at its private club.

With the event still more than three months away, no decisions have been reached as the club weighs various options.

Meanwhile, the PGA Championship starts

think height really matters when it comes to 3x3,” he added.

The pro league, Altamirano said, will not just help the 3x3 cause but will offer another platform for Filipino players.

“This will provide our local players the opportunity to explore possibilities of a professional career in the 3x3 league,” Altamirano said.

The Philippines joined the likes of Japan, Australia, New Zealand and majority of European countries that have 3x3 pro leagues.

Chooks 3x3 is home to the top 10 3x3 players in the country—Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Dylan Ababou, Karl Dehesa, Santi Santillan, Jaypee Belencion, Chris de Chavez, Ryan Monteclaro, Gab Banal and Leo de Vera.

August 9 at Harding Park in San Francisco, the first major without fans. The PGA Tour returned June 11 without fans and has played every week.

Commissioner Jay Monahan said there would not be fans the rest of the season. When asked when he expected them to return, he pointed to the US Open as the next possibility. Now that’s gone, meaning the next domestic tournament that could have spectators is October 1 to 4 in Mississippi for the Sanderson Farms Championship.

“We’re starting to get used to it,” former US Open champion Webb Simpson said. “But I think next week will feel unusual again, being a major, when there’s tens of thousands lining the fairways 10 rows deep. We’re used to that, every major being sold out long in advance.”

US Open tickets purchased directly through the USGA will be automatically refunded to the method of payment used to buy them. AP

JORDAN DONATION

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HARLOTTE, North Carolina—Hornets owner and six-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Michael Jordan has started sharing details of where some of his $100 million pledge to the Black community will be allocated.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational

Fund and the Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted Peoples and Families Movement will each receive $1 million, while Black Voters Matter, which works to increase voter registration and turnout, will get $500,000 it was announced Wednesday.

Jordan, who made the $100 million

pledge to the Black community back in June, said the money will support social justice, economic justice and education and awareness.

“I’m all in with Jordan Brand, the Jordan Family and our partners, who share a commitment to address the historical inequality that continues to plague Black Communities in the US,” Jordan said in a statement Wednesday. AP

NESTHY PETECIO gets a tight embrace from her mom.

Top-ranked Barty pulls out of US Open, cites travel concerns

B GARY WOODLAND celebrates in front of fans after winning the US Open in June last year. AP

OMEN’S world boxing champion Nesthy Petecio is finally in the comforts of her family in her home in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, on Thursday.

“The feeling is surreal,” Petecio said. “I was holding back my tears when I gave them a hug. Being away for nine months was very tough.”

Petecio was away from her home for nine months, having been forced to stay at the Philippine Sports Commission training facilities at the Teachers Camp in Baguio City and PhilSports in Pasig City because of travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 28-year-old’s toughness on the ring didn’t show the moment she was met by her father Teodoro, mother Prescilla and brother Norlan.

“I just couldn’t help but cry, I really missed them,” she said.

The last time Petecio was home was last October when she proudly showed her family the gold medal she won at the International Boxing Federation World Championships in Russia.

She rushed back to Manila to resume training for the 30th Southeast Asian Games where she again clinched gold. After that, it was the Tokyo Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Amman, Jordan, where she settled for a silver medal.

Petecio remain focused on joining Tokyo Olympics qualifiers Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish Magno, who both won gold and got their tickets to the Games in the same Jordan qualifiers.

“There’s still a chance for the qualifying tournament next year. I will give my best,” she said.

While at home, Petecio will be under the watch of his father, a former boxer, to stay in shape. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

RISBANE, Australia —No. 1-ranked Ash Barty has pulled out of the US Open because she doesn’t want to risk traveling during the coronavirus pandemic.

The 24-year-old Australian is the highestprofile player so far to opt out of the August 31 to September 13 Grand Slam tournament in New York because of the global health crisis.

“My team and I have decided that we won’t be traveling to the...Western & Southern Open and the US Open this year,” Barty said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press on Thursday. “I love both events so this was a difficult decision, but there are still significant risks involved due to Covid-19 and I don’t feel comfortable putting my team and I in that position.

“I wish the USTA [US Tennis Association] all the best for the tournaments and I look forward to being back in the US next year,” she said.

Barty is yet to decide if she’ll defend the French Open title she won last year for her breakthrough singles major. The clay-court Grand Slam event was postponed earlier in the year and rescheduled to start September 27, after the US Open.

Australia’s closed international borders would make it difficult for Barty to travel

during the pandemic. Technically, Barty would have to receive permission from the government to travel abroad, and flight options are limited. Upon returning to Australia, travelers face a mandatory two weeks in quarantine.

Other players have expressed concern about traveling to the US, where more than 150,000 people have died from Covid-19.

Barty had to make her decision because entries were open for the Western & Southern Open, which is scheduled for August 20 to 28 and was moved to the same hard courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that are slated to host the US Open.

Serena Williams, Coco Gauff, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were on Wednesday’s initial entry lists—but Barty, two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu were not—for the tournament moved from Cincinnati to Flushing Meadows.

Being on Wednesday’s lists doesn’t necessarily mean a player will compete at the tournament.

No sanctioned professional tennis events have been played since March because of the coronavirus. Both the women’s and men’s tours plan to return in August. The women’s tour still aims to return next week at Palermo, Italy. AP

Motoring BusinessMirror

B8 Friday, July 31, 2020

Editor: Tet Andolong

Recovery coming; New Vios, Nissan’s EV launched from the virus scourge, healthy signs of recovery had been recorded almost in an instant with the recent “soft opening” of the economy. Always, as the saying goes, behind the clouds, the sun shines so brightly.

New Vios launch

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E are past the halfway mark of the year and, without really meaning to state the obvious, the car industry was one of the hardest hit in the last four months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sales alone dropped by a crippling 51.2 percent from January to June this year, with only 85,041 units sold compared to 174,135 units purchased in that same span in 2019.

The leader board hasn’t changed, though, as Toyota still paced the field by a mile with 35,648 units sold, followed by Mitsubishi with 15,133 and Nissan third at 9,708.

From fourth to 10th spots were Hyundai, Suzuki, Ford, Honda, Isuzu, Foton and Adventure Cycle Philippines.

But even as our carmakers reel

THE following is the speech of Atsuhiro Okamoto, the president of Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), during the digital launch of the New Vios: “It was only last month that we had the digital launch of the new Wigo, and I thank you all for making it a success. Toyota moves forward with efforts to adjust to this new normal and your continued support shows that we move forward and adapt together.

“And so, here we are again. In our pursuit to always level-up in providing customers with constant improvement, we are now delivering on the Vios Legacy.

“Known for reliability, durability, efficiency, and affordability since 2003, the Vios has evolved to fit the Filipinos’ ever-changing needs and has since been the country’s Best-Selling Sedan.

“Now, Toyota is set to level-up once more with a car proudly made

by Filipino’s for Filipinos. A true Pinoy Pride of a sedan, it is a testament of our unwavering commit-

ment to drive the country forward.

“You can count on TMP to stay true to our promise of making the world’s best Vios, and in the process, helping the economy, and providing livelihood to thousands of Filipino families.

“With the New Vios, we have once again reinvented the Filipino’s most preferred car. With its upgraded design and new features, we can truly expect the new Vios to Level Up Your Drive!

“So get ready to level-up not only your drive, but also your life with the New Toyota Vios!

“Thank you and enjoy the show.”

Nissan new era in Ariya

MY e-mail inbox produced the following: “Nissan recently unveiled the Ariya, a new 100-percent electric crossover model that the boss of the struggling Japanese car manufacturer said would open a ‘new era’ in the firm’s fortunes.

“It was the first completely new model produced by Nissan since the Kicks in 2016 and the first electric model targeting the general market since the Nissan Leaf that first rolled off the factory floor 10 years ago.

“Presenting the new car at the firm’s Yokohama HQ in Japan, Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said

it would play a ‘key role as a brand driver and the face of Nissan for the new era.’

“Ariya is a blend of our two core strengths: EV [electric vehicles] and crossover expertise” said Uchida, who also unveiled a new corporate logo for Nissan.

“The Ariya has a range of 610 kilometers and should hit dealerships in Japan from the middle of next year with a price tag of around ¥5 million ($47,000).

“Nissan aims to roll out the new model in Europe, the United States and China towards the end of 2021,” the firm said in a statement.

“Still trying to recover from the devastating image damage caused by the sudden departure of now fugitive tycoon Carlos Ghosn, Nissan desperately needs a hit seller.

“In May, the firm revealed an annual net loss of $6.2 billion, announced it would shut its Barcelona plant and slash production, as it also wrestles with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“At the same time, Nissan unveiled a four-year plan that will involve cutting global production by 20 percent.

“The Japanese car giant has set itself the target of selling more than 1 million electric or hybrid cars a year by 2023/2024, compared to 200,000 units in

2019/2020.

“It’s a big number but Nissan could get close to it because China recently decided it would ‘more or less accept hybrid vehicles,’” said Bloomberg’s Tatsuo Yoshida.

“However, Yoshida also noted that ‘Nissan was an EV pioneer with the Leaf but the group has been now kind of overrun in that segment.’

“It was a pioneer 10 years ago but no longer. Nissan leadership in EV was in the past. The competition is very intense. They still have technology but it’s not Nissan only anymore,’ Yoshida told AFP. “After the Ariya, Nissan plans to launch seven other 100-percent electric vehicles between now and 2023, aiming mainly at the Chinese, European and domestic markets. Some 12 new models are being planned over the next 12 months.”

PEE STOP New Zealand-based Danny Isla, the former Lexus Manila president, has canceled his Manila visit, aborting his July birthday celebration here due to the virus plague. Wise move since Danny’s Warkworth community where the family-owned Let It Brew coffee shop thrives and throbs vibrantly is Covid-19 free and therefore allows hugging, beso-beso and socializing.

Better safe than sorry, bro!

The world is at your fingertips with the Lexus NX BMW brings in first-ever 2 Series Gran Coupé

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HE Lexus NX crossover was engineered and designed to please not only the most discerning driving enthusiasts but also those who are looking for a comfortable and practical vehicle that can do it all. It seems like a tall order, but Lexus has the know-how and experience when it comes to building capable crossovers that deliver an engaging on-road driving experience, and still have the capability to tackle more challenging terrain.

Knowing that you have a competent vehicle for when the need arises is an empowering feeling.

This sense of security builds driver confidence. If the weather turns for the worse without any warning, or if road conditions degrade to less than ideal, then having a vehicle that is more than up to the task of getting you to your destination without any drama is indeed an asset. Enter the Lexus NX. The Lexus NX is available in three variants: The NX 300h hybrid (P3,678,000); NX 300 F Sport (P3,708,000); and NX 300 (P3,208,000). Each puts the pilot in full control thanks to its advanced driver technologies, all while offering fantastic styling and the remarkable build quality that Lexus is famous for. The NX has been crafted to an extremely high level by its Takumi masters. One only has to look at the finer details to notice that the NX is constructed in a way that sets the benchmark in the luxury crossover segment.

Here’s the Lexus NX in more detail, and why with it, every driver will be at his best when carving his favorite roads or when braving the unknown.

Exhilarating performance

Under the hood of the NX 300 and NX 300 F Sport is a powerful and fuel-efficient turbocharged directinjection 2.0- liter inline-4. Power is rated at 235hp, with an impressive 350N-m of torque. Its twin-scroll turbocharger is a single turbo with two separate exhaust paths, ensuring air travels in a more direct feed to the turbo. Also fitted to this athletic motor is an air-to-liquid intercooler which maintains a low intake temperature and helps combat powerrobbing heat.

On the NX 300h hybrid is a 2.5-liter inline-4 combined with a pair of electric motors. The NX 300h offers

The first-ever BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé (218i Gran Coupe Sport variant). BMW Philippines Story by Randy S. Peregrino

S 194 bhp supplemented by electric motors that result in instant torque and acceleration.

Power delivery is one thing, but where the NX shines is in its exceptional road-holding manners.

The suspension has been tuned to enhance ride and handling. The springs, stabilizer bars and bushings have been tweaked for improved turn-in response and steady-state cornering. New shock absorbers also improve the quality of the NX’s already buttery-smooth ride.

Bold design

Those who feel that your choice of car is a reflection of who you are will be pleased by the NX’s sculpted body lines and eye-catching design. The NX now shares similar design cues with the LC, namely its triple-projector headlamps. The iconic L-shaped DRLs make it easily identifiable as a Lexus, too. Satin and smoked chrome trim pieces now adorn the grille. At the rear, the lower rear bumper cover has elements of the grille’s spindle motif, and has been broadened to enhance the vehicle’s wide stance and low-center-of-gravity look. The NX’s revised taillights have been elongated, and the black garnish has been revised to better emphasize the “L”-shaped lenses.

The F-Sport variant uses an Fmesh grille pattern, with the same jet-black finish seen in the Lexus RC F. The F-Sport package also gives you exclusive front and rear bumpers. The NX has a sporty and aggressive compact SUV silhouette.

You will also find 18-in aluminum

alloy wheels in a dark premium metallic finish mounted with 225/60 R18 tires.

Premium features

The interior of the NX has a sportier nature; a more luxurious feel; and enhanced control interfaces. The F-Sport and Hybrid variants feature a larger display on the center dashboard, which has grown from 7 inches to 10.3 inches. Nearly all the controls and switches inside the NX, including the drive mode selector, shift knob and door handles, now have a metallic satin finish, enhancing the premium look and feel of the cabin.

On the center console, the remote touch interface pad has been enlarged and redesigned for easier operation, and the palm rest has been reshaped for maximum wrist comfort. The wireless charger tray has also grown in size to accommodate larger smartphones. In addition, the USB ports have been more optimally positioned in the center console, and their amperage has been increased for faster charging.

Technology

On the safety front, collision impact is greatly reduced with eight sensorcontrolled SRS air bags lining the cabin, providing enhanced protection for all occupants. Wide-angle lights provide you with additional illumination when taking corners and in low-visibility areas as well.

The Drive Mode Select also allows you to choose up to five different modes, namely Normal, Eco, Sport,

Sport +, and Custom Mode, which lets you decide on the powertrain, Adaptive Variable Suspension, power steering, and air conditioning settings of the NX. Lastly, but not the least, a footoperated rear hatch that can be used when the user’s hands or arms are full, such as when carrying goods.

Placing or kicking up one of your feet toward a sensor beneath the rear-bumper cover opens or closes the electrically actuated rear hatch.

For the NX owner who leads an active lifestyle, convenience features like this are a must.

Craftsmanship

Look closely at the needlework of the NX 300’s leather surfaces. You will see that it is stitched perfectly straight. These intricate patterns can only be created with the help of handoperated machinery equipped with special needles that are resistant to overheating and thread breakage.

This is Takumi craftsmanship. Its acute attention to detail that elevates the entire construction of a Lexus.

This kind of artisanal execution can only draw from a deep desire to please the customer.

The NX will resonate with drivers who are not only looking for a powerful and engaging crossover to drive, but who also want to see that time, effort, and passion was put into the construction of their vehicle of choice. To have a customer who has a deep appreciation of the smallest details can be daunting, but at Lexus, it is seen as an opportunity to proudly showcase craftsmanship once more.

MC Asia Car Distributors Corp., the official importer, and distributor of BMW in the Philippines, brought in the firstever BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé. In a recently concluded online launch event, the only available variant 218i Gran Coupe Sport was ushered in representing an appealing addition to the model lineup, particularly in markets where the sedan body style enjoys strong popularity.

Confident and sporty exterior

Noticeable is the vehicle’s dynamically stretched silhouette is the four frameless side doors, which are lifted from the classical coupé blueprint. The new Gran Coupé model also features slightly angled headlights, which feature full-LED technology as standard. More so, its prominent BMW four-eyed face and familiar BMW kidney grille with contoured bars, indentation, and the all-new design of the rear lights extending to the rear end center.

There’s also a high-gloss black band, which runs up to and encircles the BMW badge. Measured 4,526 millimeters long,1,800 millimeters wide, and just1,420 millimeters tall, the dimension depicts a low-slung, sporty appearance. Wheelbase, meantime, is at 2,670-millimeter.

Fitted as standard are the 17-inch light alloy wheels in double-spoke style 549 wrapped in run flat tires.

Additionally, the Sport Line applications of high-gloss black for exterior trim pieces and BMW individual high-gloss shadow line for the window graphic surrounds.

Sporty interior with impressive space

Inside, there’s a combination of sport elements with high-quality materials and modern conveniences designed for both family life and long-distance journeys in mind.

Sensatec upholstery ensures comfort and durability, with the electronically adjustable Sport front seats with a memory function. Interior trim strips are finished in Illuminated Berlin design with a sport steering wheel embedded with access to the numerous functions.

Air conditioning and lighting controls are clustered together and laid out intuitively. Access to the infotainment system is via the familiar BMW iDrive wheel, or a touch-operated 8.8-inch Central Information Display—all part of the seamless BMW Live Cockpit. The Central Information Display, on the other hand, offers guidance when using BMW’s innovative Parking Assistant. Other standard driver-assist functions are Park Distance Control and front/rear parking sensors paired with a rear-view camera.

Space-wise, there’s an extra 33-millimeter knee room as well as a 12-millimeter higher seating position. As for the load capacity, it offers 430-liter space, which can be expanded further with the 40/20/40 split rear seat backrest collapsed.

Moreover, the tailgate opens automatically at the press of a button or via an optional Comfort Access specified—with the wave of a foot.

Dynamic yet efficient powertrain combination.

The first-ever BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé is powered by a 1.5-liter BMW TwinPower Turbo three-cylinder gasoline motor mated to a sevenspeed dual clutch Steptronic automatic transmission. Output is rated at 140 hp and 220 N-m of torque.

The BMW 218i Gran Coupé Sport is priced at Php 2,990,000 and is available in Alpine White, Black Sapphire, Melbourne Red, and Mineral Grey body colors. Moreover, it comes with a five-year or 200,000-kilometer manufacturer’s warranty—a new standard in the premium automotive segment in the Philippines.