BusinessMirror June 26, 2020

BSP delivers another 50-bps rate cut

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A TV screen grab shows the oath-taking ceremony of the 2019 Bar examination passers on Thursday, June 25, 2020, via online video conference and linked to government television network PTV-4 for broadcast. A total of 2,103 candidates passed the 2019 Bar examinations held last November. Story on the unprecedented online oath-taking on page A8.

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OR the third time this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) delivered a 50-basis-point rate cut to help lift economic conditions in the country.

The BSP announced on Thursday that the Monetary Board decided to cut the interest rate on its overnight reverse repurchase (RRP) facility by 50 basis points (bps) to 2.25 percent, effective Friday, June 26, 2020. The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were reduced to 1.75 percent and 2.75 percent, respectively.

According to the statement, the cut was made in response to the Monetary Board’s observation that domestic economic activity has slowed with the enforcement of necessary protocols

to slow the spread of Covid-19 in the country. At the same time, they also weighed the deteriorating outlook for global growth as considerable uncertainty still surrounds the extent of the health crisis.

“The Monetary Board noted that even as economies begin to reopen, the global recovery would likely be protracted and uneven. Hence, there remains a critical need for continuing measures to bolster economic activity and support financial conditions, especially the effective implementation of interventions to protect human health, boost agricultural productivity and build infrastructure,” the BSP said in a statement.

“Given these considerations, the Monetary Board decided that a

further reduction in the policy rate amidst a benign inflation environment would help mitigate the downside risks to growth and boost market confidence,” it added.

Even as domestic liquidity dynamics and market function continue to improve owing to prior liquidity-enhancing measures, the BSP said keeping interest rates low will further ease the cost of borrowing and ensure ample credit and liquidity in the financial system as the economy transitions toward recovery in the coming months.

And the BSP has policy space to do so. In its statement, it reiterated that its latest baseline forecasts on inflation firmly anchored inflation expectations over the policy horizon.

Continued on A2

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MORE FUNDS INTO OWWA

LEFT, drivers get their jeepneys ready, as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) announced they would be allowed to ply their routes starting next week, months after being sidelined due to the coronavirus pandemic. At right, their modernized counterparts, fitted with air-conditioning and contactless farecollection system, are seen at the Pandacan Transport Cooperative terminal in Manila. NONOY LACZA/ROY DOMINGO

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By Samuel P. Medenilla

ALACAÑANG said on Thursday it is backing proposals to inject additional resources to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), funds of which are being drained significantly by the huge requirements of assisting and repatriating thousands of migrant workers displaced by the Covid-19 pandemic.

ROQUE: “In this time of the pandemic, we will not allow OWWA and PhilHealth to go bankrupt.”

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made the assurance in response to OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac’s pronouncement at a Senate Labor committee hearing on Wednesday that its remaining P18-billion trust fund could be exhausted by next year if

the mass repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) continues.

In all, at least 345,000 OFWs were displaced, Labor committee chairman Sen. Joel Villanueva said, citing reports given by agencies.

OWWA noted it already spent P1.1 billion to provide for the needs of 59,000 OFWs since March.

Besides the nearly 60,000 workers repatriated, an additional 62,000 more workers have expressed intention to come home.

When Cacdac raised the possibility of bankruptcy for OWWA, Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said lawmakers will not allow that to happen, and will pass whatever legislation is needed to shore up OWWA’s financial position.

See “OWWA,” A2

More BPO firms to hire repatriated OFWs M ORE business-process outsourcing (BPO) companies are now eyeing to hire repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFW) by the third quarter of the year.

The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap) held a virtual meeting with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday to discuss its plans to conduct screening and job matching of potential OFW applicants from August to November.

During the meeting, Labor As-

sistant Secretary Dominique Tutay committed to provide lists of potential applicants to Ibpap using its database of OFW returnees.

In a Viber message, Tutay told the BusinessMirror they already started the “supply demand profiling” to determine the possible vacancies, which can be offered for the repatriated OFWs. Ibpap Executive Director for Talent Development Frankie Antolin said they decided to target OFWs since they have the “skill sets that are useful in performing jobs in the BPO industry.”

Continued on A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.0720

IN this May 27, 2020, file photo, overseas Filipino workers arrive from Saudi Arabia at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. NONIE REYES

LAPSE OF ‘BAYANIHAN’ LAW WON’T HAMPER STRATEGY VS COVID-19

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OVERNMENT efforts against the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) remain on track despite the expiration on Thursday of Republic Act (RA) 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act. Even without that legislation, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque assured the public that the Social Amelioration Programs (SAP) for those affected by Covid-19 will continue.

“The SAP distribution already has an allocated [fund] for distribution. It is not covered by the Bayanihan Act. It’s a physical act of disbursing what has been allotted by Congress so there is no problem with that,” Roque said during an online press briefing on Thursday.

Moreover, he noted, the government has already procured the necessary testing kits, personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators, while the law was in effect in the last three months.

RA 11469’s termination, he noted, now has minimal impact on the government’s Covid-related response.

“We no longer need to make any emergency purchases because we already brought all our [medical] needs for the immediate near future,” Roque said.

Among the salient provisions of the law is allowing President Duterte to reallocate funds and make emergency purchases.

However, he did admit that the government may once again seek such powers provided by RA 11469 if there will be a spike in Covid-19 cases like in the case of Cebu City.

“If there will be a surge in the number of Covid [cases], we will need additional ventilators, PPEs, testing kits, nurses and medical personnel,” Roque said.

“That is why we are still seeking an extension [of RA 11469] because we are not sure what will happen in the following months,” he added.

Currently, the provision extending the effectivity of RA 11469 is included in the pending stimulus bills in Congress.

Roque said the President may call for a special session to fasttrack passage of the bills once lawmakers have formed a consensus on the stimulus packages. Samuel P. Medenilla

n JAPAN 0.4679 n UK 62.2345 n HK 6.4608 n CHINA 7.0949 n SINGAPORE 35.9790 n AUSTRALIA 34.3844 n EU 56.3711 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.3490

Source: BSP (June 25, 2020)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, June 26, 2020

More BPO firms to hire repatriated OFWs Continued from A1

Among the possible jobs to be offered by the Ibpap are in the fields of contact center; animation and game development; global shared services; financial, IT and HR shared services; software and IT outsourcing; and health information management systems.

Earlier this month, DOLE announced that BPO firm Optum Global Solutions has 4,000 vacancies, which it intended to be filled by displaced OFWs.

Ibpap is one of the key employment generators in the country, and its more than 300 members hired over 1.3 million workers.

To provide additional alternative job opportunities for OFWs, the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) also tied up with government agencies and private companies.

NRCO officer in charge director Roel Martin said their partners include Sitel; the Department of Public Works and Highways, and DMCI for “Build, Build, Build” projects; Mega Sardines; and Motolite.

“OFW returnees are referred to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for retooling and upgrading of their skills,” Martin said.

Nearly 60,000 OFWs have been repatriated by the DOLE and the Department of Foreign Affairs amid the ongoing novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

The DOLE noted the number could rise in the coming months since it registered over 300,000 OFWs abroad whose employment was affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

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Court junks case against teacher accused in ‘₧50-M bounty’ tweet

By Joel R. San Juan

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AYING the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had “unlawfully” arrested Ronnel Mas, accused of offering a “50-million” bounty to kill President Duterte, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Olongapo City has thrown out the case of sedition and cybercrime case against the teacher.

As a consequence of the arrest—which failed to meet the standards of a lawful warrantless arrest—Olongapo City RTC Branch 72 presiding Judge Richard Paradeza said the court “failed to acquire jurisdiction” over Mas, warranting the dismissal of the sedition charges in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 filed against him.

Mas was supposed to be arraigned on May 28 before the Olongapo RTC, but this was deferred after the teacher filed a motion to quash.

“Considering that the accused Mas had timely raised objection to the legality of his arrest before arraignment, and with the findings of this court that accused Mas was indeed unlawfully arrested, this court failed to acquire jurisdiction over his person,” Paradeza said in a 13-page order dated June 24, 2020.

“With the quashal of the crim-

inal information for violation of Article 142 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2020), this case is now considered dismissed,” the trial court added.

The court held that NBI operatives failed to comply with Section 5, Rule 113 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, listing the occasions when a law enforcer or a private person may lawfully arrest even in the absence of warrant.

The trial court noted that the subject tweet of Mas was posted on May 5 but his arrest took place only after six days, and was based solely on a sworn statement made by a certain Julius Hallado.

The judge noted that the NBI did not exert effort to gather evidence to determine real ownership of the account but merely relied on the statements of Hallado.

Section 5, Rule 113, the judge pointed out, requires that the ar-

resting officers have personal knowledge of the crime or offense allegedly committed.

At the time Mas was arrested, the NBI-Dagupan operatives had no personal knowledge of the facts and circumstances that the person to be arrested indeed committed a crime, the court noted.

The court observed that Hallado was not even sure that the owner of the account @RonPrince which posted the subject tweet was Mas. “Owing to the appreciable lapse of time between the arrest of the accused and the commission of the crime charged, it is safe to conclude that the arrest of the accused is unlawful,” the trial court said.

The RTC continued: “It is crystal clear that when the NBI operatives arrested accused who was not committing any criminal act that time, the operatives already violated the right of the accused against illegal arrest.”

The prosecution had asserted that the invalidity of the warrantless arrest is cured by Mas’s subsequent admission to the media that he owns the Twitter account, but the court gave no weight to this.

Extrajudicial confessions, to be acceptable, must conform to constitutional rights of the person under custodial investigation, such as the right to remain silent, to have independent and competent counsel of their own choice, to be provided with counsel if they are unable to secure one, and to have a counsel present when they

decide to waive these rights, Paradeza said.

In the case of Mas, even if he indeed made the extrajudicial admission, such was made without the presence of a counsel, the judge noted. “This admission cannot be used against the accused for he was not assisted by any counsel then,” said the court.

The RTC further noted that the supposed extrajudicial confession of Mas before the media was not made part of the record of the case.

Finally, the trial court said while it found the text posted in the Twitter account “despicable and provocative” which tends to undermine lawful authorities and disturb peace, the person allegedly responsible for such should still be afforded his constitutional rights.

“Even the worst criminals have constitutional rights, too,” the trial court declared.

Mas was detained at the NBI main headquarters in Manila for a week before the court ordered his release after he paid bail of P72,000.

The Department of Justice had earlier ruled that the NBI’s warrantless arrest of Mas was “invalid” but that the defect was cured by an interview he gave to the media, where he admitted posting the tweet.

That matter had given rise to concern among media experts that journalists must always be aware they do not become unwitting players in violating constitutional rights as they carry out their job.

Seafarers’ Day: Marina cites crew-change issue move

Samuel P. Medenilla

OWWA… Continued from A1

Villanueva earlier cited estimates that remittances from OFWs are expected to decline by 30 percent to 40 percent in 2020.

“This means a reduction in the OFW remittances by $10 billion to $13 billion.”

“In this time of the pandemic, we will not allow OWWA and PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation) to go bankrupt,” Presidential spokesman Roque said on Thursday.

He noted the Senate is now considering providing a P5-billion supplemental budget to OWWA to support its ongoing services for OFWs during the Covid-19 crisis.

“This is proof that we will not abandon our countrymen and OFWs in this time of the pandemic,” Roque said.

IN this May 7, 2020, file photo, the cruise ship MV Ruby Princess (second from left) stays anchored with other ships waiting for clearance from the Bureau of Quarantine before they dock in Manila. PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD VIA AP

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

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HE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) celebrated Seafarers’ Day on Thursday with its chief saying that his agency is now addressing crew-change issues, which the International Maritime Organization (IMO) stressed as a safety issue.

Marina Administrator Roberto A. Empedrad said to celebrate the international occasion,

the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has allowed international ships to do crew change in various Philippine ports.

“This will be beneficial to our seafarers who can do crew change in-country and come home earlier than expected,” he said.

To date, some 60,000 seafarers have already gone home to the Philippines, but Empedrad said, “hundreds of thousands of seafarers are still stranded on

cargo and cruise ships for over a year now and may not even be replaced very soon because of travel restrictions imposed by countries.”

Nonetheless, he encouraged seafarers to “exercise their legal rights to stop working, as their overextended stay at sea poses extremely unsafe and dangerous conditions not only for themselves, but more importantly for shipping operations.”

Empedrad added that his

group crafted “pragmatic measures…to alleviate the sad plight of our seafarers.”

These include the extension of the validity of Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for six months “to ensure continuity of service on board,” and the approval of the conduct of training and assessment of seafarers after the lifting of the enhanced community quarantine in most parts of the country.

BSP delivers another 50-bps rate cut Continued from A1

The BSP’s latest forecast is for average inflation to hit 2.2 percent for this year and 2.5 percent for next year. Inflation currently averages at 2.5 percent, based on data for the first half of the year. This means the BSP expects slower inflation numbers in the second half of 2020.

“Meanwhile, the balance of risks to the inflation outlook leans toward the downside from 2020 up to 2022 owing largely to the potential impact of a deeper and more disruptive pandemic on domestic and global demand conditions,” the BSP said.

That’s it for now

WHILE the BSP has been known to be aggressive in flushing the economy with ac-

commodative measures since the start of the government’s pandemic response, ING Bank Manila economist Nicholas Mapa believes the BSP will stop hiking rates and easing reserve requirement ratios (RRRs) after this latest move.

“After the flurry of rate cuts and infusion of liquidity, today’s move may be the last from the BSP in 2020 with [BSP Governor Benjamin] Diokno likely in favor of approximating positive real policy rates. Meanwhile, Governor Diokno will also likely hold back on reducing reserve requirements in the near term given that the financial system is swamped with liquidity with excess funds parked at BSP’s deposit facilities hitting roughly P1.3 trillion in June,” Mapa said.

MAPA: “The surprise rate cut by the BSP will likely sap some appreciation pressure for the peso in the near term, which has enjoyed relative strength in recent weeks buoyed by financial account inflows tied to the government’s foreign borrowings.”

“The surprise rate cut by the BSP will likely sap some appreciation pressure for the peso in the near term, which has enjoyed relative strength in re-

cent weeks buoyed by financial account inflows tied to the government’s foreign borrowings.

Meanwhile, the local bond market may benefit from the Central Bank easing, offsetting some concerns about additional bond supply in the near term after the government posted another substantial budget deficit for the month of May,” he added.

In its first monetary policy-setting meeting for the year in February, the BSP cut its rates by 25 basis points. In its March meeting, the BSP cut its rates anew, this time by 50 basis points. Due to the pandemic, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno called for an unscheduled monetary policy meeting in April to cut rates anew by 50 basis points.

NG to borrow ₧205B from PHL market

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

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HE government is set to borrow more from the local debt market in July, eyeing a figure of P205 billion, higher than the P170 billion it programmed to borrow in June.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon on Thursday said the borrowing program next month was higher since there are five weeks in July which allowed the Treasury to issue more 91-day, 182day and 364-day Treasury bills (T-bills) and 35-day T-bills.

“Higher only because there are five weeks plus 15 billion for 35-day [T-bills],” De Leon said in a message to the BusinessMirror.

The Treasury also decided to offer longer tenors of Treasury bonds (T-bonds) next month to provide supply in the market and for “yield pick-up with low rate regime.”

“Also, some investors need long tenors for ALM [asset liability management],” De Leon added.

Broken down, the Treasury is set to issue next month a combined volume of P100 billion in 91-day, 182-day and 364-day Tbills, P45 billion in 35-day T-bills, and P60 billion in T-bonds.

DE LEON: “Some investors need long tenors for ALM [asset liability management].”

On each of the five weeks of July, the Treasury is set to issue P20 billion in 91-day, 182-day and 364-day T-bills.

Meanwhile, P15 billion in 35day T-bills will be issued on July 1, 15 and 29.

For the T-bonds, P30 billion in seven-year tenor and another P30 billion in 10-year tenor is scheduled to be issued on July 9 and 23.

The 91-day, 182-day and 364day T-bills are set to be auctioned off on June 29 and all four Mondays of July.

On June 30, July 14 and July 28, the Treasury scheduled the auction for 35-day T-bills.

The auction for seven-year Tbonds will happen on July 7, while the auction for 10-year T-bonds is scheduled on July 21.

As of end-April, the national government’s outstanding debt ballooned by 10.4 percent to P8.6 trillion from P7.787 trillion in the same period in 2019.

Of the total outstanding debt stock, 67 percent represented domestic debt, while 33 percent was sourced externally.

Domestic debt as of endApril reached P5.864 trillion, a 12.6-percent jump from P5.2 trillion a year ago.

On the other hand, external debt from January to April this year rose by 6 percent to P2.737 trillion from P2.581 trillion in the same period in 2019.

Prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government had set a P1.4-trillion borrowing program for this year.

The national government’s budget deficit as of end-May ballooned to P562.2 billion, nearly 695 times as much as the previous year’s budget gap of only P809 million for the period.

The country’s budget deficit this year is also expected by the government’s economic team to widen to 8.4 percent of GDP or P1.613 trillion due to the drop in revenues and increase in disbursements.

This is significantly wider than the country’s budget deficit of 3.4 percent of GDP or P660.2 billion in 2019.

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, June 26, 2020 A3

Cimatu says 12 Cebu City barangays to be placed under ‘strict lockdown’ E

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

NVIRONMENT Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, who was tasked by President Duterte to implement the government’s Covid-19 response in Cebu City, is eyeing stricter lockdown measures to fight the further spread of the virus in population.

At a Zoom meeting with reporters on Thursday morning, Cimatu said more police and military troops will also be deployed to augment the local policemen assigned in Cebu City, a bustling metropolis with close to a million population, which recently experienced a big jump in Covid-19 cases.

The dreaded disease continues to grip the city, according to the Department of Health. As of June 24, there are a total of 32,295 confirmed cases, 8,656 recovered, and 1,204 deaths. On the same day, Cebu City recorded 4,479 cases, 89 deaths and 2,177 recoveries.

According to Cimatu at least 12 of the 80 barangays in Cebu City have been identified “hot spots” for Covid-19 cases. He issues the assessment following a meeting with members of the Covid-19 Task Force in Region 7 on Wednesday, including Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella.

“The entire city is now under ECQ [enhanced community quarantine], that means lockdown,” he said. Cimatu added he is eyeing stricter “lockdown” measures for the (12 barangays) to prevent further spread of the dreaded disease.

The 12 barangays are Sambang II, Kamputhaw, Sambag I, Basak San Nicolas, Mabolo, Guadalupe, Lahug, Buljo Fatima, Tinago, Tisa, Ermita and Tejero. These barangays have been identified as those with “high numbers of Covid-19 infected cases.”

However, Cimatu said, there’s a need to harmonize the data coming from the barangays, the city and the Department of Health.

“We need to harmonize the data because we are getting different numbers,” he said.

According to Cimatu, 160 Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) troopers and 200 more policemen from different units of the PNP from the Visayas will be deployed to ensure that the ECQ rules are observed.

On top of this, military personnel from Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor will be asked to join the reinforcement for the city.

The quarantine passes in Cebu City were revoked on Wednesday, hence, placing the entire city’s 80 barangays under total lockdown anew.

Cimatu and Labella said their first order in their next meeting will include the distribution of the new quarantine passes, as well as a schedule of days and the limited number of hours people will be allowed to go out and operating hours of grocery stores and markets.

Meanwhile, the DENR chief said the economic impact of the implementation of the “total lockdown” in the city will be addressed.

Cimatu said on Wednesday he held a multi-party stakeholders meeting in Cebu City, including the private sector, during which they were informed of the decision to implement stricter lockdown measures.

Labella, for his part, said that the private sector is willing and able

Group reports conflict over land, ethnicity, religion in Bangsamoro

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EACE-BUILDING nongovernment organization (NGO) International Alert Philippines (IAP) has expressed alarm over what it described as “raging conflicts” over land and natural resources in the Bangsamoro amid the Covid-19 pandemic in the last two months.

The group has been monitoring events in conflict areas, particularly Mindanao, through its critical events monitoring system (CEMS) bulletin.

In the months of April and May, as R amadhan ended and the government eased its lockdown measures, the group monitored the expulsion of indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands, clashes between rebel groups and between factions of these rebel groups, murder of a local government executive in Cotabato City, continued attacks by violent extremists and the death of two children from a mortar explosion, forced displacement of thousands of families due to these conflicts and tensions among ethnic groups related to the government’s Covid-19 response, according to Diana Jean Moraleda, senior program manager—Youth, Women, and Communications of International Alert Philippines, said in an e-mail message to the BusinessMirror.

The CEMS bulletin, an SMS and high-frequency radio-based reporting system being ran by IAP, peace-building organization captures conflict incidents and tensions in communities.

It is used by Alert’s Early Response Network (ERN), a group of men and women who share real-time information and work with key stakeholders in coordinating quick and context-specific responses.

In a news statement, IAP said that ongoing violence first erupted on May 29 in South Upi, where portions of land are occupied by the indigenous Teduray but also claimed by the Maguindanaon Muslims.

The contested land is also being eyed by agribusiness and miners, the group said.

The group reported that a series of clashes also occurred in Maguindanao and North Cotabato between commanders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and between MILF groups, including their families and clans.

MILF combatants occupying land surrounding their base camps in Lanao del Sur compounds the conflict, the bulletin reported.

Nikki de la Rosa, International Alert country manager, explained that while these flashpoints are tied to land issues, the groups’ access to weapons and manpower and their links to state apparatus prolong violence.

“They have access to resources and have political connections, that is why they are able to engage in long-term violence,” she explained.

According to International Alert Philippines, clashes between MILF and MNLF commanders happened in Pikit over several days in April and in Matalam on April 29. There were also clashes in the towns of Sultan Kudarat and Guindulungan on April 12 and, May 14 and 15, respectively. A firefight erupted again in the boundary of Pikit and in Pagalungan from May 7 to 10. Meanwhile, a recurring conflict played out between two MILF commanders in Pikit from April to May. Jonathan L. Mayuga

to provide the much-needed assistance as experienced during the first time the city was placed under ECQ. Meanwhile, to discourage the people from violating ECQ measures, Cimatu and Labella agreed that stiffer penalty should be imposed.

Among the “stricter measures” being eyed is to limit the number ECQ pass holders to just one per family. The ECQ pass holder will also have a schedule during which he or she will be allowed to leave the house “only to buy essential goods.”

Operation of grocery stores and public markets will also have a strict schedule to be decided later on by the task force to limit interaction of grocery

or market-goers.

Meanwhile, Cimatu said members of the Task Force Covid-19 will meet on Thursday afternoon to finalize the plan to distribute new IDs, or ECQ passes.

“Unlike before that the issuance is relegated only to the barangays, the police will now be part of the ECQ pass distribution,” Labella added.

Labella said minimum health requirements will be imposed, such as the proper wearing of face masks and social distancing, to those who will be allowed to go outside their homes.

“There will be no touching of ears, eyes, and nose, as a minimum health protocol,” he added.

The city, the mayor said, is ready to distribute food packs anew to the city’s residents, recognizing its potential economic impact to those who will again be placed out of work with the implementation of the ECQ. Nevertheless, he said, the people, as well as the private sector, are aware of the implications.

“We have experienced this when the ECQ was first imposed in Metro Manila, and we are aware of the implications,” he said.

Labella said the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Visayas has already donated 1 million surgical face masks and an additional 1 million more from the local government will be ready for distribution to city residents.

A4

Economy BusinessMirror

Friday, June 26, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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Discard lockdowns, opt for ‘layered approach,’ IATA chief urges govts

By Recto Mercene

@rectomercene

T

HE International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on governments to “avoid quarantine measures when reopening their economies” and suggested “a layered approach of measures to reduce the risk of countries importing Covid-19 via air travel.”

In a news statement following a meeting in Geneva on Wednesday, IATA said it also wants to lessen the possibility of transmission in cases where people may travel while unknowingly being infected.

“Mandatory quarantine measures stop people from traveling,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and chief executive officer.

He said recent public opinion research revealed that 83 percent of travelers “would not even consider traveling if quarantine measures were imposed on travelers at their destination.”

An analysis of trends during the lockdown period also showed that countries imposing quarantine saw arrivals decrease by more

than 90 percent, similar to countries that banned foreign arrivals.

“A layered approach to safety has made flying the safest way to travel while still enabling the system to function efficiently. That should be an inspirational framework to guide governments in protecting their citizens from the terrible risks of both the virus and joblessness. Quarantine is a lopsided solution that protects one and absolutely fails at the other.

We need government leadership to deliver a balanced protection,” de Juniac said.

He added: “Imposing quarantine measures on arriving travelers keeps countries in isolation and the travel and tourism sector in lockdown.” ����������������������������������������� De Juniac said there are policy alternatives that can reduce the risk of importing Covid-19 infections while still allowing for the resumption of travel and tourism, vital to jump-starting national economies.

“We are proposing a framework with layers of protection to keep sick people from traveling and to mitigate the risk of transmission should a traveler discover they were infected,” he added.

DOTr hikes equity subsidy for PUVMP participants

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

T

HE Department of Transportation (DOTr) has doubled the equity subsidy that it is providing for operators joining the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) that would include those who have applied earlier.

Under a directive, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said his group is amending the provision in its earlier order to “address the affordability of modern PUV units and financial viability of the program for drivers and operators participating in the PUVMP.” With the amendment, equity subsidy for existing operators with valid franchises and operators applying for developmental routes now amount to P160,000 from P80,000 initially.

Tugade said this is his agency’s “way of helping stakeholders who are participating in the PUVMP as the country begins to gradually shift to the new normal amid the Covid-19 situation.”

“This is our way of saying that we at the

DOTr are your partners. Contrary to the statements of other critics, we are here to assist and hear the concerns of all stakeholders. Especially now that we are gearing to a future wherein modernization will greatly benefit everyone—we really need this,” he said.

Tugade added that operators who applied from July 31, 2018, will also receive the increased subsidy.

“This is retroactive. This means that even if you have already received the previous amount, you can still claim the balance of the subsidy,” he said.

For his part, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Martin B. Delgra said this would entice more drivers and operators to shift to modern vehicles.

“More PUV operators and drivers can now participate in the PUV Modernization Program as they are assured of access to loans especially from government-run banks. We are assuring our PUV drivers and operators that the DOTr and the LTFRB are always here to support their movement towards modernization,” he said.

Solon: ₧1-billion fund assistance for MSMEs may not be enough

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

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LAWMAKER on Thursday called on the government to increase its funding assistance for small businesses to help them recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deputy Majority Leader and Las Piñas Lone District Rep. Camille Villar, vice chairman of the House Committee on MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) Development, said the P1 billion allocated for MSMEs is simply just not enough.

“One of the things that we noticed is that P1 billion is really not enough to help a big chunk of MSMEs hurt by the pandemic since many of them are still clamoring for some form of relief,” she said.

The Small Business Corp. (SB Corp.), the financing arm of the Department of Trade and Industry, had announced it was opening a loan program for MSMEs to help them recover.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday issued a similar call to augment government assistance to MSMEs, saying the P1-billion budget for the program is not enough to help MSMEs jump-start their busi-

nesses amid the economic downturn that they suffered when most provinces were placed under strict quarantines in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease.

“Many small and medium companies are just starting to resume operations, with most if not all of them operating at 30 percent to 50 percent. They suffered huge income losses when their businesses were shut down for more than two months. It is the responsibility of the government to help them recover from their meltdown,” Sotto said.

Under the P1-billion facility, enterprises with asset size not exceeding P3 million may borrow between P10,000 and P200,000, while those with assets of not bigger than P10 million may borrow up to P500,000.

Initially, SB Corp. was to impose a 0.5 percent interest per month, but later scrapped the interest and would only charge 6 percent service fee. MSMEs that availed of the loan also have a six-month grace period before they can pay the loan for up to 30 months.

Villar, however, said that SB Corp. stopped accepting new loan applications last week as the fund was not enough to cover small businesses still reeling from the effects of lockdowns and movement restrictions.

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Friday, June 26, 2020 A5

Family of PMA hazing fatality slams DOJ’s handling of case

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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HE family of Cadet 4th Class Darwin Dormitorio on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction over the failure of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute all respondents in the murder and hazing complaint filed against them in connection with Dormitorio’s fatal hazing last year.

On Wednesday, the DOJ confirmed that a panel of prosecutors had recommended the indictment of three Philippine Military Academy (PMA) doctors and two

cadets for Dormitorio’s death.

In a 66-page resolution, the DOJ panel of prosecutors found probable cause to file murder charges against PMA officer-doctors Lt. Col. Caesar Almer Candelaria, Captain Flor Apple Apostol, and Maj. Maria Ofelia Beloy, and two PMA Cadet Third Class Shalimar Imperial Jr. and Felix Lumbag Jr. Imperial and Lumbag were also recommended to be prosecuted for hazing under Republic Act 11053, or the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018, and be given the penalty under Section 14 (a) of reclusion perpetua with a fine of P3 million.

On the other hand, Cadet Third

Class Julius Carlo Tadena was recommended for prosecution under RA 11053 and be penalized under Section 14 (b), or the prison sentence of reclusion perpetua with a fine of P2 million, and was also recommended for less serious physical injuries, while Cadet Second Class Christian Zacarias was recommended that he be prosecuted for slight physical injuries.

But, the panel junked for lack of probable cause the complaints of violation of RA 11053, RA 9745, or the “Anti-Torture Act of 2009, murder, and dereliction of duty filed against Cadet First Class Axl Rey Sanopao, Cadet Third Class Rey David John

Volante, Cadet Third Class John Vincent Manalo, Major Rex Bolo, and Captain Jeffrey Batistiana.

Likewise, the complaint for violation of RA 11053, RA 9745, and dereliction of duty filed against former PMA Superintendent Lieutenant General Ronnie Evangelista and former Cadet Corps commandant Brig.

Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro were also dismissed.

“We are relieved that after nine months, a resolution has finally been issued. We are grateful that the prosecutors concurred with our position regarding anti-hazing law being applicable in PMA,” Dexter Dormitorio said.

“However, our family is dissatisfied with the resolution because the Anti-Hazing law of 2018 was only selectively and partially applied despite overwhelming evidence supporting our cause against all respondents,” he added.

Dexter said their camp is still reviewing the resolutions and will likely consider all other legal options to get justice for his brother’s death.

“The doctors reportedly failed to properly diagnose Dormitorio’s correct illness due to their non-observance of the proper and acceptable standard of medical examinations; and that the medical examination was not com-

prehensive,” the prosecutors said.

The DOJ prosecutors also said that Lumbag and Imperial “intentionally and consistently beat Dormitorio,” causing internal injuries that may have caused the proximate death of Dormitorio.

“The death of Dormitorio was therefore the cumulative result of the intentional acts of two cadets and the gross negligence of the doctors....

Looking back at hindsight, the untimely demise of Dormitorio was the result of several missed opportunities and a series of mishandling of facts and decision-making,” the prosecutors said.

GMA: V-shaped recovery hinges on sharp focus on the economy

Arroyo sees President Duterte as someone willing to take strong and swift action to help the economy.

“President Duterte has demonstrated the willingness to take swift strong action when needed, such as being among the first to ban flights from China during the early days of the pandemic, and the lockdown last March which in some aspects still remains in place today.

Thus, if severe consequences result from tipping the balance in favor of the economy, we can be confident the President can take the necessary remedial measures,” she said.

Arroyo also said information, organization, communication, containment and contact tracing are still key to address the health crisis.

“I am here primarily to share some hopefully useful inputs arising from my experience with the SARS outbreak in 2003, the H5-N1 Bird Flu in 2006, the H1-N1 swine flu in 2009, and,

since it is now clear there will be an economic aftermath to the Covid-19 crisis, my experience with the global recession arising from the socalled Subprime Crisis in 2008,” she added.

Arroyo said the country’s main disadvantage during the SARS crisis in 2003 is that it was a new phenomenon in our lifetime.

“Pandemics then were the stuff of history books which talked of the Black Plague during the Middle Ages and the Spanish Flu during World War I. Thus, when Covid-19 entered our country’s consciousness early this year, I think the entire world was suffering from short-term memory, because the world was not as ready as it should have been given that it should have had the benefit of experience from SARS just 17 years ago,” she added.

Support for stimulus

MEANWHILE, Arroyo backed the proposed

economic stimulus of the House.

“On the part of Congress, I have great confidence in the work that the committees of Congressman Joey Salceda, Congresswoman Sharon Garin and Congresswoman Stella Quimbo undertook to help frame a program to address the recession that now faces us. I trust the Senate will also do its part,” she added.

In the same meeting, Salceda said a “V-shaped” recoverywassecuredduringtheArroyoadministration due to quick approval of the stimulus plan.

Salceda said the Philippines already had a stimulus plan presented and approved by the Arroyo Cabinet by January 29, 2008 before global markets collapsed in mid-2008 and bottomed in March 2009.

“PGMA’s economic recovery plan was just 1.95 percent of GDP. The Philippines faced a tougher environment due to agricultural woes and unstable political conditions, but the gov-

ernment acted quickly; hence we had better results than the rest of the world,” he said.

In the first quarter of 2010 or still during Arroyo’s term, the GDP growth had reached 8.1 percent.

“While the US and other OECD were debating over recession, the Philippines’s economic recovery plan was ahead of these debates by five months, and ahead of the first wave of big bankruptcies by eight months and ahead of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 [ARRA] by one year and two months,” Salceda said.

“The sooner we perk up the animal spirits of consumers, entrepreneurs, businesses and investors, the quicker and the more V-shaped the recovery can be,” he added.

The National Economic and Development Authority earlier explained that a V-shaped economy recovery is characterized by a sharp decline in growth, followed by a sharp recovery.

Rollout ready

ON Wednesday, Salceda said both houses of Congress and the economic managers are finally reaching a compromise to roll out the muchneeded additional stimulus package in three tranches with the last tranche to be inserted under the 2021 national budget.

Salceda said these moves will help the country to reach his projected 9.1-percent GDP target in 2021.

Salceda said a special session will be called for the finalization and approval of these economic stimulus packages within the next two weeks.

Salceda said the House adoption will adopt the Senate counterpart bill to the Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy of the Philippines (ARISE).

If ever, this version will be the second stimulus package as Congress considered the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act as the first stimulus package.

continued from a8

Salceda said the main provisions of the Senate plan, which currently amounts to a total of P157 billion, may further be capped to P140 billion. This second stimulus is expected to be implemented up to September of this year.

Also, Salceda said the House leadership is now considering the Executive department “openness” to a third tranche of economic stimulus by July.

He said this recovery measure can include roughly half or around P280 billion of the difference between the proposed ARISE and the emerging Senate version. The target implementation of this third stimulus is fourth quarter of this year.

Salceda said they also recommended the inclusion of the remaining half of the stimulus package or around P280 billion of the difference between the Senate version and ARISE, which will not be included in a third stimulus tranche, in the 2021 national budget.

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Friday, June 26, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Covid-19 economic response: Comparisons

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omparisons between countries regarding their response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and even the results, are completely ridiculous and a waste of time because of too many variables.

But maybe we could find some comparisons that are helpful.

For example, Belgium went on total lockdown after reporting about 1,000 cases in the middle of March. Yet it has the worst results in terms of cases per capita and deaths per capita of any country with more than 10 million population. Sweden, on the other hand, ignored the kind of quarantine found in Belgium, not closing schools or bars and restaurants but is also the fifth worst per capita in cases and deaths.

Maybe it has something to do with the form of government. Belgium’s Head of State is Philippe, or Filip is King of the Belgians. Sweden also has a king—Carl XVI Gustaf—as Head of State, and both nations function under a unitary parliamentary system.

Then again, Thailand also runs under a parliament and King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) is the Head of State and Head of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. Thailand has one of the lowest per capita cases and deaths on the planet. But maybe, overall, having a monarch might be detrimental to your health as Spain and the United Kingdom—both big Covid-19 “losers”—are Constitutional Monarchies.

However, we do know that both Europe and the United States are now the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic. Europe and the US each account for approximately 25 percent of global cases and 2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively, of the global deaths.

Again, comparisons are of little value except perhaps when it comes to the economic response to the pandemic.

The economic consequences of the quarantine on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean have been far different with, for example, the US unemployment rate being double that of Europe’s. Likewise, the drop in economic activity as measured by the gross domestic product is not the same. Part of the difference is attributable to the absence of a unified system of GDP measurement among the 40 countries of “Europe.”

But we know exactly what the response has been in Europe and the US—and other G-7 nations—to the economic downturn. It has been a massive government “bailout” and “stimulus” by their central banks.

The US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, and the Reserve Bank of Australia have collectively created $18 trillion of “new money” equal to 21 percent of the global gross domestic product. And 2020 is only half over.

The “little guys” are not far behind. Chile and Finland have both pumped $60 billion through fiscal and monetary methods, equaling 20 percent of their GDP. Thailand has put up $40 billion in new money or 8 percent of its GDP. The money has come from loans and “lending” from their central banks.

While there is whining and complaining from certain quarters, here are the facts. The Philippines has paid for additional Covid-19 costs and stimulated the economy with $7 billion, equal to 2 percent of the nation’s GDP. That is the comparison that we should truly be looking at if we are actually interested in the health and wealth of the country. Unfortunately, too many people are only interested in comparisons to the Philippines that try to advance their political agenda.

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Sonny M. Angara

Better Days

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he Covid-19 pandemic has now become, whether we want it or not, a global instigator for change. In our country, the pandemic has brought to light the strengths and weaknesses of our current digital infrastructure, and how well (or not) we make use of the connectivity the Internet provides.

For example, according to Acting Socioeconomic Secretary Karl Chua’s presentation in a recent webinar, Internet users in the Philippines tripled to 73 million between 2010 and 2020. Filipinos, on average, spend nearly 10 hours a day online, with half of the time on a mobile connection, and four hours on social media.

And the value added of the digital economy has posted double-digit growth averaging over 13 percent from 2012 to 2018.

And yet, the Philippines still has one of the most expensive Internet rates in the world, where users have to pay up to P2,840 for 100MBps speeds. Our average Internet speed is still among the slowest, at 21Mbps, making us the 110th out of 174 countries in Speedtest’s Global Index. It’s the same for our mobile Internet, where we are 121st out of 139 coun-

tries at an average of 12.09Mbps. And we’re not even talking yet about how coverage is a problem where many areas of the country—even some parts of the NCR—have poor reception and connection.

It’s no wonder then that the implementation of digital solutions in the country has been problematic. For instance, while the Department of Education has prepared online learning platforms such as the DepEd Commons, only 48 percent of public schools have Internet connectivity.

And while blended learning (a combination of online and offline forms of instruction) will be the primary mode in the coming school year, only 20 percent of state universities and colleges are ready for online classes.

So what can we do to address all of this?

The first step would be to address

Stop ‘victim-blaming’

Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug

Senior Editors

Creative Director Chief Photographer

Building the digital foundations for our new normal

Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

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rothers and sisters, in the letters of Saint Paul to the Galatians 5:19-21 and to the Ephesians 5:3-5, it is clear that Christians should avoid any immoral, gross, and obscene act, including “senseless conversations and bad jokes.”

In the past week, a Facebook post of a police station in Lucban, Quezon became viral and garnered plenty of criticisms after the said station reminded women “not to wear revealing clothing” for them not to be disrespected. Many social-media users commented on this message, saying that women should not be blamed for the disrespect they experience, or when they become victims of rape. It is sad to note that this is not the first time a PNP station posted a message like this about rape. If we recall in 2018, the Angono PNP

released a few tips on how to avoid rape, including a tip not to wear any revealing clothing.

These are examples of what we call “victim-blaming,” which plays a large part in rape culture. This culture focuses on the victims being the reason why they are disrespected, violated, taken advantage of, or molested, instead of those who commit the crimes.

This mindset is wrong, and it is worrying that it is widely prevalent in institutions mandated to defend citizens, especially the victims of cruelty.

the physical infrastructure that connects people to the online world.

Common towers, access points, cell sites—these and other physical network systems should be prioritized.

Fast-tracking the implementation of the Free Wi-fi Internet in Public Spaces Act could also be a component of the “Build, Build, Build” program. South Korea, one of the most digitally-connected countries in the world, has allocated up to $62 billion for its economic stimulus, which includes an infrastructure package that will focus in part on rolling out 5G networks and using artificial intelligence to create new jobs and accelerate the development of digital processes and solutions in “old” or traditional industries.

Next, we should start emphasizing digital literacy and skills to enable our people to maximize the opportunities provided by Internet connectivity. That’s why we filed SBN 1470, the National Digital Transformation Act. Its end goal is to create a national framework that will encourage digital competency, concentrating on information, data literacy, communication, collaboration, and digital content creation, among other things. We should also be helping not only individuals, but also MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) go online, by promoting the digitization of businesses, through four core digital activities: maintaining a Web presence, selling online,

According to PNP data, from 2019 to February 2020, recorded cases of rape almost reached 2,000, much higher than the 1,656 cases in 2018.

Surely, there are still many cases not being reported.

Aside from the lack of women’s desks in some police precincts, victims of sexual abuse tend not to file a report because of fear that they would just be blamed for what happened to them, especially when people make judgments based on what the victims are wearing.

The truth is that women’s clothing has nothing to do with incidents pertaining to rape. Rape exists because there are rapists and there are people who look down on women. An exhibit was held in the past that featured rape victims and the clothes they were wearing, including the youngest one—aged 18 months old—that was surely not wearing any attractive clothing.

The repetitive reminders for women not to wear shorts or revealing clothing so as not to be abused is tantamount to social consent that women deserve to be disrespected because of their clothes. Because

using cloud computing technologies, and digitizing back-office functions.

We also have to implement the Philippine Identification System, or PhilSys. The creation of a digital identity serves many purposes, which have been realized successfully in other countries. In India, financial inclusion went from 35 percent in 2011 to 80 percent in 2017 after their national ID system was introduced.

In the early 2000s, Thailand was able to reach 98 percent health coverage, by using their national ID system to find out who was not covered yet.

Pakistan managed to save $248 million in funds following floods in 2010 by cross-referencing databases using their national ID’s unique identification number.

Our digital readiness needs improvement on so many fronts. It requires no less than a multi-departmental approach that should streamline processes, expand the scope of influence, and shape digital solutions to the needs of our people.

Integrating digital resources into our work skills, industries, and economy is an important step, if we are to thrive in the new normal.

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 recently won another term in the Senate.

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

of this, judgment and blame fall on women, the victims.

We must be clear about the fact that clothes must not be used as the reason why women fall victims to cruelty and abuse. Let us remember that as long as there is a rapist among the people with crooked minds, there will be victims, no matter what clothes women wear.

On the issue of rape and taking advantage of women, we must blame the people who commit the abuse, not the poor victims. It is about time that we challenge and straighten this crooked way of thinking about rape and other forms of sexual abuse. Let us join the women in their fight to achieve their rights—rights rooted in human dignity and, in the perspective of faith, as creations in the likeness of God. Having a just society begins with us respecting the innate dignity of man.

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.

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Friday, June 26, 2020

Big tech isn’t the only loser Questioning this nation’s independence in Trump’s visa freeze

By Tae Kim | Bloomberg Opinion

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he Silicon Valley innovation machine is the envy of the world. It’s where the most ambitious entrepreneurs go to start their world-changing companies. But President Donald Trump’s latest action to restrict immigration may needlessly risk the future of this key strategic asset. Perhaps, instead, we shouldn’t mess with something that is working.

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order that freezes access to a number of work visas through year-end, including the H-1B visa for highly skilled foreigners, which is primarily given to workers in the technology industry. The issuance of new green cards will also stay halted until the end of the year. The administration said the order would free up jobs for unemployed Americans, adding it would block about 500,000 people from entering the country this year. The move sparked an avalanche of criticism from technology companies. They said the measures will hurt their ability to recruit talent and have deeper negative ramifications for the economy. An Amazon.com Inc. spokesperson called the order “short-sighted,” adding it prevents “high skilled professionals from entering the country and contributing to America’s economic recovery, [putting] American’s global competitiveness at risk.” A Facebook Inc. representative said Trump is using the pandemic as justification for “limiting” immigration, which will make “our country’s recovery even more difficult.” And Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith said on social media, “Now is not the time to cut our nation off from the world’s talent or create uncertainty and anxiety.”

Big Tech is right. One of America’s biggest advantages is its thriving ecosystem of innovation and technical leadership surrounding its large technology companies and startups.

It is fueled by pioneering immigrant engineers coming in from around the world. According to Bond Capital’s latest “Internet Trends” presentation, about 60% of the US’s most highly valued technology companies were founded by first- or secondgeneration Americans. For example, Google parent Alphabet Inc., with its trillion-dollar market valuation, was started by Sergey Brin, a firstgeneration Russian immigrant. And

Nvidia Corp. founder Jensen Huang immigrated from Taiwan. The government should consider the fact that employment isn’t a zero-sum game. If they block the entry of the next great immigrant founder, we could miss out on a potentially large amount of job creation as well.

Already, companies outside the US know this reality and are jockeying to take advantage. Shopify Inc. CEO Tobias Lutke, whose company is based in Canada, tweeted: “If this affects your plans, consider coming to Canada instead. Shopify is hiring all over the world and we have lots of experience helping with relocation.” A partner at a UK-based venture capital firm extolled the virtues of his country’s “global talent visa” program. So, suffice it to say, others are more than willing to scoop up the world’s talented immigrants.

Sadly, Trump’s immigration policy changes may already have inflicted lasting damage on America’s technology industry future. Potential immigrants may now decide to go elsewhere amid the uncertainty brought on by the visa suspensions.

Why risk uprooting your family and career if the rules can change on an executive order whim? Cloud software startup Databricks co-founder Reynold Xin says his company, which now employs 1,400 people, has four immigrant founders who moved to the US to “work with the best minds in the world.” But the success story wouldn’t have happened in the US if they started the company in 2020, he added.

That’s a problem. If our country doesn’t attract the founders for the next Google or Databricks as the preeminent land of opportunity, it will only embolden the US’s biggest rivals such as China and Europe. Barring the best and brightest from our shores for any time period is simply self-destructive behavior and will harm our competitiveness. It’s a silly risk to take.

Online mental-health care shouldn’t end with the pandemic

I

t’s been a grim few months for the US, with some 120,000 Americans dead from Covid-19 and tens of millions out of work. So it’s no surprise that many are feeling on edge. As of early June, more than 1 in 3 Americans reported experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety— a dramatic increase from roughly one in 10 last year.

This doesn’t mean one-third of Americans have a diagnosable mental disorder, but many would surely benefit from professional help. Even before the pandemic struck, more than half of those with mental-health disorders went untreated or undertreated. The Covid-19 pandemic has no doubt made this problem worse. But it has also, fortuitously, made it easier than ever for people to see therapists and psychiatrists from home. Policymakers and insurers should build on this recent expansion of telehealth, and make it permanent feature of US mental-health care.

In late March, amid concerns that social distancing would keep Americans from seeing their doctors, the federal government moved to broaden telehealth access—for instance, by making Medicare cover an array of services offered online or over the phone. State Medicaid programs and private insurers quickly followed suit.

Psychiatrists and therapists, paid more than before to offer socially distanced consultations, counseling and addiction treatment, went online. For the first time, telehealth services for

mental disorders became available to many millions of Americans.

Telemedicine, which research shows is just as effective as in-person mental-health care, has long been proposed as a way improve access to treatment in rural areas. But until recently, strict rules governed where patients could get treatment, and psychologists and psychiatrists risked losing money by providing it. In a post-Covid world, that’s no longer the case. The demand from patients is clear. One Massachusetts insurer reported processing nearly half a million claims for socially distanced mental-health care in just over two months, and added hundreds of providers to meet the need.

Unfortunately, as things stand now, the federal government and many private insurers will reverse this shift once the coronavirus threat fades. This would be a mistake. Telemedicine is no cure-all—uneven access to technology means it’s unavailable in some areas, and online mental-health treatment poses unique security and privacy challenges. Still, it can make a big difference. By removing common barriers to treatment, such as transportation costs and scheduling issues, it greatly improves access to care.

Telehealth should be seen not as a stopgap measure but as a standard and crucial part of our mental-health system. Providers that offer quality care online should be reimbursed appropriately, and patients should have access to their services.

Bloomberg Opinion

Tito Genova Valiente

annotations

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hat is wrong with June 12? Better still, what is wrong with our Independence?

It is good to ask stupid and dumb questions when the days do not make sense, when people who are supposed to be with you in the celebration are nowhere to be found, and you are an inch away from despair.

We hanged a flag on that day.

That will be the memory I expect the younger members of my family to remember. The fact that we keep a Philippine flag speaks about our own valuations of Independence Day. I know that there are emotions involved in that act of seeing the tricolors and the stars and sun flapping during that dry morning. By midafternoon of that day, the wind had come courtesy of a low-pressure that was less than 100 kilometers from our home. The flag became a cliché, a stubborn if not an old-fashioned symbol of what it is to be part of a nation.

I kept looking at it and I knew if we lose this nation, that flag will be the most significant artefact of my citizenship. Shamelessly even without that day at hand, I knew I would weep when this flag had all but disappeared.

Out in Manila, in selected sites of historical importance, flag ceremonies were taking place. A regular ritual—the raising of flag—once more was turned into a ceremonial that was seen as enabling histories to come alive. In that very brief action of important personalities walking to the flagpoles are supposedly the stories of heroes. History, monolithic and monumental, urges the current of narrative. One Nation; One Spirit, a Dictator in years of violence dictated his own version of the story of our nation. Anything that did not conform to his edition and delusion was declared a sub-version. The subversions were meant to be hidden, and anyone who told that story was jailed or killed, or became part of the “disappeared.”

Out in Manila, in the University of the Philippines ground, a huge dem-

onstration was taking place. Socially distanced or, more appropriately, physically distanced from each other, the individuals appeared from afar as if they had taken hold of the wide areas surrounding that seat of learning. It is a good idea, I told myself, if we, indeed be six feet apart not under, or two arms detached from one another, form lines along the longest streets in the big city, extend the lines to the next province, stretch it across regions, until we covered the entire Luzon.

This would be the antithesis to a lockdown—for the fear that had closed the islands would now be the terror that would open something more terrible than the plague, which is the death of freedom while one was still breathing.

There were questions about that gathering and the smaller crowd protesting in the other places of the country. Isn’t the Independence Day being celebrated about a specific point in history—that day when our nation became a sovereign state? Why were the protestors dressed in bright costumes, with many bearing roses and other flowers?

Can one observe a handing over of freedom from a foreign country, call it independence and assume that no other oppression will ever take place? Or, that oppression is any force imposed from outside by a foreign country while any sign of persecution from within, or from one’s government, is politics?

The fact is our own day of Independence does not matter anymore.

The story of heroes are merely that, tales that will inspire us to be brave in our own ways. Their lives are distant and detached from us. Where poverty remains and inequality is part of the social structure, we have the right to wonder what the Revolutions of the 1800, the deaths of our own soldiers during World War II, and our participation in two wars—the Korean and Vietnam War contributed to the country. We must question why the nation and its leaders allowed martial rule to last for many years.

We should be bothered by the concept “People Power” and be amused by the sincerity of that tribute. We should be interested to find out why after what seemed like an upheaval in those three or four days in February, nothing had changed, and that the elite that disappeared during the long martial law years came back, with the elite linked to the conjugal

dictator going through self-imposed perfumed exiles in their own homes only to come back again and join their fellow-elites.

The fact is there is no Independence Day to celebrate unless you are thinking in terms of epic plots and pageantry. The main narratives of heroes dying for us are molded into hagiographies. The millenarian movements are disparate and divi-

‘Present in the room where it happened’ Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

J

ohn Bolton is the ultimate insider man. For 18 months, he was present in The Room Where It Happened (the title of his controversial book) as the National Security Adviser of the most powerful man in the world, President Donald J. Trump. Even before he got appointed to his post, Bolton had been regularly consulted and summoned by the White House.

Bolton had served in the last three Republican administrations prior to Trump. He was President Ronald Reagan’s Assistant Attorney General and was tapped by both Presidents George H.W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush, as Assistant Secretary of State during their respective terms. He also served as interim Ambassador to the UN but had problems getting confirmed by the Senate. His rich experience at the State Department easily made him a likely nominee for the State Department post under the next Republican presidency. Bolton had spoken to Trump’s transition team about the possibility of offering his services as Secretary of State. He wanted to join the Trump government because he personally believed that after eight years of Barack Obama there was much to repair. He thought of the threats and opportunities in a “tempestuous world” with rogue players like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. His credentials compared favorably against the other possible nominees, which included Rudy

Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Bolton believed that loyalty was the key factor in the Trump selection process, pretty much like LBJ who once said: “I want real loyalty. I want him to kiss my ass in Macy’s window at high noon and tell me it smells like roses.”

On November 17 after winning the presidency, Trump called Bolton and said to him, “We’ll have you up here in the next couple of days and we are looking at you for a number of situations.” Important appointments were announced that week led by the new Attorney General. More appointees followed but no Secretary of State was yet in sight. On Thanksgiving Day, Jared Kushner, Trump’s 39-year-old son-in-law, called and told Bolton that he was “still very much in the mix for Secretary of State… Donald is a big fan of yours, as we all are.” Then on December 13, Rex Tillerson was nominated for the position. He was offered to be Tillerson’s deputy, but Bolton declined.

The Trump transition ended without Bolton on board.

In another meeting, Trump proclaimed “how much he wanted to fire Tillerson” and added, “I’d love to have you there,” but he worried Bolton would not get confirmed. “What else would you be interested in?” Bolton had a ready answer: “National Security Advisor.” He shared former NSA Condoleezza Rice’s advice that “the best job in government is State and the hardest job is the National Security Adviser.”

The post doesn’t require a Senate confirmation. Trump remarked, “So I don’t have to worry about the clowns up there,” referring to the US Senate where the Republicans held the slimmest majority, 50-49, with the absence of Senator John McCain who was already very sick.

On April 9, 2018, Trump named Bolton to the position, replacing General H. R. McMaster. A noted hawk, Bolton disagreed with Trump on many policy issues, particularly those concerning Iran and North Korea. He was a hardliner while Trump favored negotiations. Bolton was galled when Trump accepted Kim Jong Un’s invitation to hold a summit with North Korea without even getting any trade off for it. He was livid “for such foolish mistake.” He denounced “that for a US President to grant Kim a summit with no sign whatsoever of a strategic decision to renounce nuclear weapons—in fact giving it away for nothing—was a propaganda gift beyond measure.”

Another unfortunate event was the Trump-Putin press conference following the two leaders’ critical meeting in Helsinki where the issue of election meddling was taken up. Putin, as expected, said “the Russian state has never interfered and is not going

A7

sive. What happened to democracy that was achieved at the end of these battles and conflicts?

Gayatri Spivak, in her lecture entitled “The Trajectory of the Subaltern” speaks of the “habits of democratic behavior, which makes it possible to create the condition of possibility for “metonymizing oneself.” Metonymy, in any dictionary, means allowing an attribute or trait to stand for that thing being referred to. In this process of being a metonymy, we make our self a part of a whole. In Spivak’s words, the self “can claim the idea of the State belonging to one.” This further means that the State is the service of the citizen or that the State will serve the people. The literary critic (she says she is not a historian and not an anthropologist) calls this status “hopelessly idealistic” especially in “repressive states” and “in this current era of globalization where the state is more and more reconfigured as not an agent of redistribution but the agent of repression.”

Quoting another intellectual, Spivak explains that in those two current conditions “the will of the citizen has been separated from the State.” She says, “There is subalternity [here] because the part is no longer part of the whole.” With the “withdrawal of civil liberties, the citizen was no longer part of the whole.”

Following this, our health system is not inefficient; it merely does not work for people. The press is free, its freedom not trampled upon, but that freedom is not given to everyone but only to select few, the part that remains linked to the whole.

Thus independence is displayed as an artefact for a nationalism spoken in one breath with fascism. The Nation banishes the plurality that is the seat of liberty, the flag a signifier for freedom is folded over the coffins of those who dared to fight, or raised high above to subjugate citizens and convince them to die for a country that has long been gone. We are, after all, not part of the State anymore.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

to interfere into internal American affairs, including the election process.”

To the great dismay of his fellow Americans who were with him in that event, Trump virtually took Putin’s explanation over the findings of the American intelligence community that Russia did meddle in the 2016 elections. Bolton reported that “shock waves are rolling across Washington” because of Trump’s self-inflicted injury.

On September 10, 2019, Bolton submitted his resignation but Trump insisted that he asked Bolton to resign. In his own words, Trump is not qualified for the presidency. “There really isn’t any guiding principle…other than what’s good for Donald Trump’s reelection. There’s no coherent basis, no strategy, no philosophy. And decisions were made in a scattered-shot fashion…. This is a danger for the republic.” Now, Bolton hopes that Trump is a one-term president. “He is not fit for the job. He does not deserve to be reelected.” His assessment is that ”Trump did not understand much of what the Federal behemoth did before he won. And he did not acquire much, if any, greater awareness during the transition which did not bode well for his performance in office.”

On his first meeting with Trump after his appointment, Trump said, “Some of them think you’re the bad cop” to which Bolton replied, “When we play the good cop/bad cop routine, the President is always the good cop.” And Trump responded, “The trouble is, we’ve got two bad cops.” But as events had borne out later, there’s no room for another “bad cop” in the US government. Trump is enough and he couldn’t share the dishonor of having another one.

A8 Friday, June 26, 2020

In a first, new lawyers take their oath online T HE 2019 Bar exam passers on Thursday became the first batch of lawyers who took their oath via online videoconference as the country continues to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic which has infected more than 30,000 people in the country and killed more than 1,000 others.

Of the 7,685 Bar takers, only 2,103 passed the exams and were allowed to participate in the virtual oath taking.

The Court earlier said the current health crisis and pandemic prevented it from holding the oath-taking ceremony the traditional way, as it had to take into consideration the existing government policies on public health, particularly on mass gatherings.

However, the Supreme Court made it clear in its resolution that the unorthodox oath taking was to be “pro hac vice.”

This means that due to the current pandemic, the resolution was to be exclusive and limited only on the occasion of the oath taking of the 2019 Bar passers.

Senior Associate Justice Estela PerlasBernabe, the 2019 Bar chairman, acknowledged that the 2019 Bar passers will be known in the history not only as the first batch of lawyers to have been sworn in online, but also “the first batch to have commenced your legal practice during a debilitating global pandemic.”

Justice Bernabe challenged the 2019 lawyers to lead the new generation of lawyers in carrying the responsibility of utilizing the law “to help society cope and move forward.”

She added: “Being the first lawyers

ushered in the era of a new normal, you are in a unique position of innovating ways to ensure that justice becomes accessible to all and that our law remains a staunch bulwark of our people’s rights and freedoms.”

Justice Bernabe continued:“Now more than ever the legal profession needs you youthful exuberance, your proficiency in new technologies and most of all your interconnected sense of community.”

On the other hand, 2020 Bar Chairman Justice Marvic Leonen gave assurances that the next Bar exams would meet the standards of the Court en banc.

He disclosed that the Court has also given him the go-ahead to check various digital platforms for the pilot testing of computerized Bar exams.

“This will be a relief to those who come after you with handwriting as bad as many of the justices of the Supreme Court,” Leonen said in his speech.

Leonen also expressed belief that the Bar should be regarded as merely a qualifying exams, “not a determinant of how good you will be as a lawyer.”

Thus he said, as 2020 Bar chairman, he would look into various rituals that add unnecessary pressure on aspiring lawyers applicants, which include midnight and last-minute tips from well-meaning supporters.

He added that he would also review the way answers to Bar exams are evaluated and how results are being presented.

“Soon enough we will make the proper proposals fro the consideration of the Court en banc,” Leonen said.

Joel R. San Juan

EASTERLIES AFFECTING THE EASTERN SECTIONS OF VISAYAS AND MINDANAO as of 4:00 am - June 25, 2020

China ADIZ plan worries US, PHL defense leaders T

By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

HE top commander of the US Air Force in the Indo-Pacific has voiced his concern over China’s unrelenting coercive activities and its reported plan to declare an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea in support of its expansive maritime claims.

“I’m concerned by increasing opportunistic activity by the PRC to coerce its neighbors and press its unlawful maritime claims while the region and the world is focused on addressing the Covid pandemic,” US Pacific Air Forces (Pacaf) Commander General Charles Q. Brown Jr. said during a telephonic briefing on Wednesday. Brown said that the ADIZ, which is against the rules-based order and restricts movement, will not only affect the activities of the US Air Force but all other states in the region.

“And this kind of impinges upon some of the international airspace, and it impacts not just the Pacaf, but all of the nations in the region.

And so, it’s important for us to pay attention to something like this,” he said.

“This is probably—it really goes against the rules-based international order, and that’s concerning not only for Pacaf and the United States, but I would say many of the nations in the region,” he added.

Commenting on Brown’s warning on the ADIZ, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the putting up of the air security zone by Beijing would violate international law and would exacerbate tensions in the South China Sea. “Yes, I agree. First, an ADIZ by China over the entire South China Sea would arrogate unto itself a vast sea considered to be a global commons that has been opened for millennia to all for navigation and fishing,” he said in a statement.

“Second, it violates the exclusive economic rights of littoral states over their EEZs under the Unclos of which China was a signatory,” Lorenzana said, adding he was hoping China would not pursue the plan.

The defense chief said “a lot of countries will treat” the ADIZ as “illegal and violative of international laws,” and as such, “they would continue to use these waters and airspace, and thus would further raise an already heightening tension and could result in mishaps or miscalculations at sea and in the air. “ With Beijing’s activities threatening security and stability in the region, the US Air Force is building up its capability in order to be more lethal as it conducts joint training with forces in the region and pushing cooperation with its allies while maintaining the highest degree of alert.

“From confronting invisible threats from a global pandemic,

to addressing military aggression and coercive activities, we remain... lethal, innovative and interoperable,” Brown assured.

The US Air Force is working to fully integrate the military’s agile fighting while it has increased the presence and sorties of strategic bombers in the Indo-Pacific, activities that region has not seen in years.

“We’ve taken steps to operate bombers in different ways, from a broader array of locations with greater operational resilience. An example: We returned the B-1s to the region, the first time since 2018. And then we’ve flown from the Continental United States as well as Guam. And we just hosted B-52s in Alaska—the first time since 2017,” Brown said.

“We’ve also made progress on Agile Combat Employment. Agile Combat Employment continues to be part of everything we do. Our latest major exercise in this series is our exercise in January run out of Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, and the name of that exercise is Rumrunner. That was really designed to distribute joint forces that came together to disperse across different areas and recover rapidly and conduct ops, and that included not just Air Force, but Navy, Army, and United States Marine Corps personnel. I think we made tremendous progress at the Air Force level to formalize this agile warfighting,” Brown said.

The US display of both capabilities and firepower were also meant to accord some sort of security to regional states as China matches its expansive claims with a display of its military might, including showing its bombers.

“It’s not only just the technology as we look at the number of— whether it be bombers that we see or fighters, small growth in advance fighters like their J-20—but it’s how they do their activity. Very rarely did we see the PLAAF H-6 bombers fly over water, and now it’s an everyday occurrence,” Brown said.

“It’s not only the capability, but it’s the intent and how they use it, and so that’s the areas that we’re focused on as well, and how we have a better understanding of what’s going on in the region, and then how we influence in a sense of deterrence, but also a sense of assurance with our allies and partners,” he added.

Poe wants P1,500 Internet allowance for teachers

A

SSERTING that 857,000 public school teachers deserve an Internet allowance to spare them from extra expense in shifting to online learning when classes resume on August 24, Sen. Grace Poe backed a proposal for the Department of Education to grant an additional P1,500 monthly Internet allowance estimated to cost DepEd P1.2 billion per month.

The P12.855 billion total for 10 months is justified, Poe said, because teachers need the money to “unburden them of the extra expense with the shift to online learning in the coming academic year.” She was referring to the “blended learning” approach that the DepEd and education stakeholders have set for the 2020-2021 school year, as forced by the circumstances created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pursuing the proposal by filing Senate Resolution No. 456, Poe prodded Malacañang to grant the additional Internet allowance to public elementary and secondary school teachers for the duration of the online classes, seen to be the new learning mode to curb the spread of Covid-19.

President Duterte had earlier declared he would not sanction face-to-face classes until a vaccine against Covid-19 is found.

Meanwhile, Poe suggested that the Duterte administration also “encourage and assist” private schools to provide a similar Internet allowance to their teachers.

This, as Poe computed that the P3,500 one-time cash assistance proposed by the Department of Education (DepEd), converted from the teachers’ existing chalk allowance, was not enough to sustain their connectivity needs throughout the period of online classes.

In a statement, Poe prodded DepEd officials to come up with an arrangement allowing teachers to “avail of discounts for their Internet load to get them through their obligations for the online education.”

Poe asserted it is ‘high time” that the government provide additional allowance to teachers to upgrade their digital access and technological capacity, as well as “ensure they are well-equipped to continually assure quality education to their students in this time of pandemic.”

The senator said a pending proposal from a teachers’ group pitching for a P1,500 a month Internet allowance, computing the total cost at P12.855 billion for 10 months, is “only 4 percent the total of $6.4 billion loans incurred by the government to support the Covid-19 response efforts.”

She said scenes of teachers climbing mountains, crossing rivers or sitting along the highways just to get a signal should not be part of our online education system under the new normal, stressing that “their dedication and hard work to mold our youth should be matched by crucial infrastructure to make learning effective.”

At the same time, Senator Poe confirmed that the Senate Committee on Public Services is poised to hold hearings on Internet connectivity to look at enabling poor students across the country to “have a stable Internet access.”

Butch Fernandez

GMA: V-shaped recovery hinges on sharp focus on the economy

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

F

@joveemarie

ORMER president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and several lawmakers said the country could secure “V-shaped” recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic if the government will put more focus on economic concerns.

Arroyo, an economist, said at an online meeting with the House Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday that the government can now focus on the economic impact of the pandemic as the Philippines’s fatality rate is lower compared to the global percentage.

“The Philippines’s fatality rate

of 3.7 percent is lower than the global percentage of 5 percent,” she noted. “My own personal sense is that in the dilemma between health concerns and economic concerns, after having imposed what some refer to as the longest lockdown in the world, the balance should now be tipped towards economic concerns.”

Arroyo said the most proximate comparison to the 2008 global recession is the current global impact of the pandemic. She was president during that period. “ T hat recession originated from the global financial sector.

The upcoming recession will have a broader cause, i.e, the abrupt

reduction in business activity across almost all sectors because large portions of the work force and consumer base were degraded due to quarantine conditions. In this sense, the starting point for recovery might be broader and deeper,” she said.

“In the economic front, the macro policies and programs to recover from recession do not have to be reinvented, e.g., monetary policy and fiscal pump priming have long been classical tools at our disposal, and I am fully confident in the ability of our economic team to design a solution to suit today’s situation,” she added.

Continued on A5

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Kia PHL defies pandemic with dealership expansion

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

G

oing against the trend of stalling expansion plans this year, Kia Philippines is pushing through with its opening of new dealerships across Luzon in a bid to improve the brand’s presence in the country.

In a statement on Wednesday, Kia Philippines announced it is launching four new dealerships— three in Metro Manila, one in Cagayan Valley—within the year. The decision to expand was made in

spite of the difficulties surrounding the economic landscape due to the coronavirus pandemic.

First on the list is Kia Marikina that will be the first Kia dealership of Advan Motor Inc. Situated in the shoe capital of the Philippines, this dealership is set to be the brand’s gateway to the east of Metro Manila.

The Philippine arm of the South Korean automobile is also slated to open a dealership in Fairview, Quezon City. It will be helmed by the ANC+ Group of Companies and shall serve the transportation needs of households in the north.

To be operated by AC Motors’

Iconic Dealership Inc., Kia Bonifacio Global City will serve the vehicle needs of those living in the upscale district.

Also, Kia Isabela will be the first of its kind in the Cagayan Valley and will be the fifth Kia dealership of the Laus Group of Companies.

It will be operated by the Trader’s Autocenter and will offer primarily commercial vehicles, such as K2500 utility and cargo vans.

The Kia brand in the Philippines was relaunched last year under the Ayala-owned AC Motors Group. During the same year, Kia sales increased by more than double and this was attributed to

the introduction of new models, including the Soluto, Seltos and the Stinger.

Kia Philippines President Manny Aligada said the firm is hoping to make gains this year in spite of what’s happening globally. He added the vehicle distributor is confident it can strengthen its presence by showing to clients the quality of the units the brand is offering.

“We, together with our business partners, are confident that this move will help strengthen the brand’s presence and show the Filipino people that we are here for them, despite the challenges we are facing today,” Aligada said.

Car dealers vow to hang tough amid health crisis

L

ocal car dealers belonging to the Philippine Automotive Dealers Association (PADA) remain upbeat about their prospects for the rest of the year despite the havoc wreaked by the Covid-19 pandemic on the global automotive industry.

PADA noted that car dealers suffered the brunt of the hit in the local automotive industry more than manufacturers as the ensuing lockdown brought about

by Covid-19 saw their sales volumes and market share

going on a downright spiral. As a result, they were plunged into debts, loans, rents, and employees to pay amid zero income.

Still, PADA President Willy Tee Ten said the group is resilient and remains hopeful of better days ahead. The first order of business is survival, he said in a written message sent to all members of PADA. “As we all rush to the new normal in the automotive industry, I could only pray and hope that we will all get through this year with better hearts. We are

in very tough times but we all need to survive. Let’s just focus on surviving this year and then work from there,” Tee Ten said.

He said that now is the best time for PADA to support fellow dealers and be there for each other.

“Let us share our new normal best practices with another, ideas in going digital, survival strategies, as we all stand up together in one voice through the PADA mouthpiece.

“We are now left with no other choice but to stay

focused and remain positive in order for us to serve our clients the best way we can, the way we are mandated to do.”

Tee Ten told current and future PADA members to “just buckle up and hit the road” even as the country continues to grapple with Covid-19.

“Just like most of you, I have no clue when will this crisis end. Let’s just all buckle up and hit the road.

Bumpy as it is now, but we will get through this. With God’s grace, this too shall pass.”

Friday, June 26, 2020

B1

AirAsia sees rebound in air travel demand as seat sale breaks record

By Recto Mercene @rectomercene

A

sia’s largest budget carrier AirAsia said it registered its highest post-hibernation sale day on June 23, with a recordbreaking 41,000 seats sold in a single day across AirAsia Group, signifying a strong rebound in demand for air travel.

“AirAsia’s web site is experiencing traffic growth of 170 percent. Some of the most popular routes booked include Kota Kinabalu and Kuching to Kuala Lumpur for Malaysia, Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Hat Yai for Thailand, Manila to Puerto Princesa and Davao for the Philippines, Delhi to Srinagar and Bengaluru to Hyderabad for India and Jakarta to Denpasar and Medan for Indonesia,” said AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

“We are aiming to increase our flight frequencies to around 50 percent of our pre-Covid operations and we look forward to resuming all domestic routes in the coming weeks and months to cater to the increasing demand."

The Group’s load factor averaged around 50 percent with AirAsia Malaysia hitting 70 percent, its highest load factor post-hibernation.

“We are encouraged by this positive trend and we foresee this will continue in the coming weeks. Our recent innovative product in Malaysia, AirAsia Unlimited Pass, which is a product specifically designed to promote the Malaysian Government’s effort to stimulate and encourage domestic travel, sold out quickly,” Fernandes said.

“We will be rolling this out in other markets soon. We continue to play our part to revive

the domestic tourism industry by partnering directly with local hotels to offer hassle-free, best price guaranteed deals with bigger savings on SNAP, our flight and hotel combo booking platform.”

Currently, Air Asia is operating 152 daily flights across the region and Fernandes said the company “[looks] forward to the reopening of international borders in recognition of the fact that air transport provides the connectivity that is essential for the resumption of economic activities and the global recovery efforts.”

Air travel remains one of the safest modes of travel. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), evidence suggests that the risk of transmission on board is “extremely low.”

Aircraft are equipped with features that will reduce the already-low risk of transmission onboard. Passengers are seated facing forward with the seatback serving as a solid barrier, while the cabin air is fully filtered and renewed every two to three minutes through the hospital-grade HEPA filters, ensuring clean cabin air.

Coupled with a layered approach of biosafety measures covering the entire passenger journey, the risk of transmission onboard is further minimized, AirAsia said it works actively with all relevant regulators, local governments, civil aviation and health authorities, and adheres to guidance from the World Health Organization and International Civil Aviation Organization to ensure the highest standards of compliance and conformance are in place for every single flight it operates in its network.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, June 26, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

June 25, 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 EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

46 97.1 70.55 21.25 7.36 36.8 8.77 20.2 48.8 97.05 17.1 104.5 54.25 0.68 17.3 2.45 1 0.29 610 0.55 167 1650 0.97

46.9 97.4 70.7 21.3 7.38 36.85 9 20.25 49.25 109 17.34 105 55.9 0.72 17.6 2.58 1.03 0.3 710 0.57 168 1701 1.07

46 99.4 71.75 21.6 7.68 37.7 9.89 21.05 49.25 96.5 17.42 107.8 54.2 0.72 17.7 2.58 0.97 0.29 698 0.56 168.9 1701 0.98

46.9 99.4 71.8 21.6 7.68 37.75 9.89 21.05 49.25 96.5 17.42 107.8 54.3 0.72 17.7 2.58 1.03 0.3 710 0.57 168.9 1701 0.98

46 97 70.2 21.25 7.38 36.85 9 20.25 49.25 96.5 17.1 102.8 54.15 0.71 17.1 2.58 0.97 0.29 610 0.55 164.2 1701 0.98

46.9 97.1 70.55 21.25 7.38 36.85 9 20.25 49.25 96.5 17.1 105 54.25 0.72 17.46 2.58 1.03 0.3 610 0.57 168 1701 0.98

14300 3475220 1075580 101600 3326500 6529300 2700 991600 300 300 600 884600 9590 21000 4300 12000 8000 290000 80 135000 260 5 40000

660200 199700 340242090.5 -199230034 76,167,665( 16,509,011.5001) 2168955 24836336 -6279194 241971900 -2058685 26255 20308055 -15530335 14775 28950 10292 1742 92602326 -27450804 519669.5 15060 75426 30960 8060 86300 54660 75570 43209 8505 8505 39200 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 2.18 2.19 2.23 2.25 2.17 2.19 6107000 13412620 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.2 1.22 891000 1087190 ALSONS CONS 26.95 27 27 27 26.55 26.95 686800 18387760 ABOITIZ POWER 0.153 0.16 0.158 0.16 0.151 0.16 500000 77900 BASIC ENERGY 22.35 22.4 21.5 22.5 21.5 22.4 1107300 24525390 FIRST GEN 57.5 57.65 58.5 58.5 57.2 57.5 68740 3946169.5 FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO 269.8 270 266 272.8 266 270 446560 120256088 MANILA WATER 12.06 12.08 12.32 12.32 11.8 12.06 4680000 56367898 PETRON 3.04 3.07 3.17 3.17 3.02 3.04 2734000 8340260 PETROENERGY 2.85 2.89 2.86 2.88 2.85 2.85 31000 88580 11.22 11.44 11.06 11.46 11.06 11.46 13300 151094 PHX PETROLEUM 18.04 18.1 18.2 18.48 18.02 18.04 209000 3782534 PILIPINAS SHELL 8.06 8.07 8 8.07 7.99 8.05 47300 379568 SPC POWER 14 14.68 14.5 14.5 14 14 1200 17100 VIVANT 7.74 7.78 7.71 7.8 7.51 7.78 388800 2980319 AGRINURTURE 2.59 2.6 2.6 2.64 2.59 2.59 750000 1950060 AXELUM CNTRL AZUCARERA 12.1 12.2 12.14 12.2 12.1 12.2 4000 48516 14.3 14.44 14.38 14.68 14.12 14.3 301300 4300182 CENTURY FOOD DNL INDUS 5 5.02 5.08 5.08 4.98 5 962200 4812542 EMPERADOR 7.98 8 8.02 8.13 8 8 43150800 346050872 SMC FOODANDBEV 67.05 68.5 68.5 68.5 67.05 68.5 54210 3666983 0.56 0.58 0.59 0.59 0.55 0.56 428000 243110 ALLIANCE SELECT 1.31 1.32 1.26 1.34 1.26 1.31 13362000 17417550 FRUITAS HLDG 31.5 31.8 32.8 32.8 31.5 31.6 56200 1792465 GINEBRA 141 141.2 142.9 142.9 139.5 141.2 933760 131598873 JOLLIBEE 28.5 43 43 43 41 41 200 8400 LIBERTY FLOUR 6.41 6.69 6.4 6.69 6.4 6.69 12000 77609 MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP 5.71 5.72 5.88 5.88 5.71 5.71 1096300 6349848 MG HLDG 0.133 0.135 0.133 0.135 0.133 0.135 70000 9370 5.95 5.98 6.15 6.15 5.91 5.98 364900 2185679 SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO 1.55 1.57 1.63 1.63 1.54 1.57 1777000 2811840 UNIV ROBINA 126.2 126.7 127.8 127.9 125 126.2 935520 118185738 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.87 0.83 0.86 14310000 12298010 VITARICH 56.15 62 56.15 56.15 56.15 56.15 70 3930.5 CONCRETE B 1.07 1.08 1.11 1.11 1.06 1.07 12285000 13278470 CEMEX HLDG 9.99 10 9.96 10.08 9.5 10 413100 4059860 EAGLE CEMENT 5.03 5.06 5.05 5.09 5 5.06 539800 2712128 EEI CORP HOLCIM 6.58 6.66 7.2 7.2 6.5 6.58 5132600 34751176 MEGAWIDE 7.24 7.3 7.59 7.6 7.2 7.3 8605700 63116441 TKC METALS 0.72 0.73 0.76 0.76 0.73 0.73 9000 6660 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.87 0.84 0.85 1490000 1267960 VULCAN INDL CROWN ASIA 1.93 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.95 1.97 14000 27450 2.2 2.22 2.2 2.27 2.17 2.23 505000 1120040 EUROMED 20.5 21 21 21 20.55 20.55 900 18545 CONCEPCION 1.8 1.81 1.8 1.82 1.67 1.81 10369000 18254920 GREENERGY 5.6 5.63 5.7 5.7 5.59 5.6 184200 1033562 INTEGRATED MICR 1.08 1.09 1.07 1.09 1.05 1.08 321000 344140 IONICS SFA SEMICON 1.32 1.33 1.31 1.36 1.29 1.33 5036000 6650470 8.08 8.13 8 8.31 7.72 8.13 9696400 78102781 CIRTEK HLDG

-1560660 -8698120 10553130 -3486579.5 -29052900 5614302 -2367010 -1937474 38400 90982 18260 -576714 -645064 -345252434 -542114.5 -519010 1170260.0003 39188411 1283514 -60532 -58609.9997 -13589870 25100 -3153990 70696 -2314606 -1350276 -54400 -2100 134710 600203 383517

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.475 0.48 0.485 0.485 0.48 0.48 4070000 1955850 9.56 9.57 9.79 9.79 9.22 9.56 3000 28379 ASIABEST GROUP 774.5 775 785 794 775 775 290100 225725870 AYALA CORP 45.2 45.55 46.2 46.5 45.1 45.2 906700 41208980 ABOITIZ EQUITY 6.86 6.87 7.01 7.01 6.85 6.86 45407800 313618853 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 1.68 1.69 1.7 1.7 1.65 1.68 1207000 2025770 AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR 6.13 6.21 6.22 6.22 6.13 6.21 3300 20393 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.5 0.51 0.5 0.52 0.5 0.51 446000 225390 ATN HLDG A 0.55 0.56 0.56 0.56 0.55 0.56 861000 479930 0.57 0.58 0.56 0.58 0.55 0.58 120000 69310 ATN HLDG B 5.19 5.29 5.2 5.29 5.03 5.29 369700 1882920 COSCO CAPITAL 4.14 4.19 4.27 4.29 4.11 4.19 11089000 46388380 DMCI HLDG 8 8.04 8.05 8.12 7.95 8 71700 576598 FILINVEST DEV 0.195 0.199 0.195 0.195 0.195 0.195 180000 35100 FORUM PACIFIC 455.4 456 466 466 455 456 323120 148528574 GT CAPITAL 3.37 3.39 3.36 3.36 3.36 3.36 1000 3360 HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT 60.6 60.65 60.4 61 60.2 60.6 1155930 69960541 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 4.51 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 400 2160 0.62 0.63 0.63 0.64 0.61 0.64 786000 484470 LODESTAR 2.67 2.7 2.68 2.68 2.66 2.67 251000 670280 LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP 8.03 8.09 8.4 8.4 8.01 8.09 9993200 81268986 0.47 0.51 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 4000 2120 MABUHAY HLDG 3.67 3.69 3.83 3.84 3.65 3.67 82201000 307795370 METRO PAC INV 0.78 0.81 0.77 0.81 0.76 0.81 93000 71020 PRIME MEDIA 2.53 2.82 2.73 2.8 2.73 2.8 24000 66710 REPUBLIC GLASS 0.94 0.97 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.94 44000 41360 SOLID GROUP 150 159 159.5 159.5 159.5 159.5 50 7975 SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS 928 930 930 943 916 930 179100 166346055 SAN MIGUEL CORP 99.45 99.5 100 100 98.55 99.5 176500 17545893.5 SEAFRONT RES 1.8 1.99 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 20000 36000 129 130 135 135 128.1 129 290 37426 TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS 0.185 0.19 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 60000 10800 0.14 0.144 0.144 0.144 0.144 0.144 10000 1440 ZEUS HLDG

-629300 7648 -56270455 -16769115 -6521690 -16800 3070 51000 -445879 -8265060 -443844 -46684760 -25586526 -48100 -3774143 -64625500 -8971665 -598951 -8967 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.52 0.53 0.54 0.54 0.52 0.53 2651000 1393200 34.1 34.35 34.1 34.75 34.1 34.1 7155500 245713010 AYALA LAND 1 1.04 1 1 1 1 192000 192000 ARANETA PROP 1.45 1.46 1.42 1.45 1.41 1.45 1881000 2723420 BELLE CORP 0.71 0.72 0.7 0.72 0.68 0.71 3850000 2702270 A BROWN 0.12 0.124 0.123 0.123 0.123 0.123 10000 1230 CROWN EQUITIES CEBU HLDG 5.9 6 5.61 6 5.61 6 21900 131166 4.17 4.28 4.19 4.28 4.17 4.28 2274000 9606340 CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP 0.37 0.38 0.37 0.39 0.37 0.37 4840000 1812550 0.25 0.27 0.26 0.27 0.26 0.27 480000 125500 CYBER BAY 17.42 17.78 17.8 17.92 17.26 17.78 261200 4603282 DOUBLEDRAGON 6.27 6.5 6.65 6.65 6.3 6.5 68500 433780 DM WENCESLAO 0.255 0.26 0.275 0.275 0.255 0.26 2120000 546050 EMPIRE EAST 0.101 0.103 0.096 0.101 0.096 0.101 1100000 109430 EVER GOTESCO 0.99 1 1.01 1.01 0.99 1 22923000 22935600 FILINVEST LAND 0.83 0.9 0.84 0.85 0.83 0.83 180000 150300 GLOBAL ESTATE PHIL INFRADEV 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.86 0.82 0.86 1921000 1620440 KEPPEL PROP 3.31 3.43 2.39 3.43 2.39 3.43 7000 20860 0.7 0.75 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69 15000 10350 CITY AND LAND 3 3.01 3.06 3.07 2.96 3 35684000 107294630 MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED 0.157 0.158 0.155 0.158 0.153 0.157 7920000 1231590 16.92 17.14 16.98 17.76 16.92 17.14 1014700 17361690 ROBINSONS LAND 0.232 0.243 0.232 0.232 0.232 0.232 30000 6960 PHIL REALTY 1.51 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.55 1000 1550 ROCKWELL 2.7 2.71 2.72 2.72 2.7 2.7 21000 56800 SHANG PROP 1.82 1.89 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.9 522000 956440 STA LUCIA LAND 31.2 31.3 30.9 31.3 30.45 31.2 25833900 800750125 SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS 3.68 3.77 3.79 3.79 3.7 3.71 64000 238120 1.28 1.29 1.32 1.32 1.27 1.29 2602000 3350630 SUNTRUST HOME 3.89 3.9 3.9 3.95 3.83 3.9 637000 2473890 VISTA LAND

-30373155 -160000 -477700 -36198 -145600 -8858530 -11620 113220 -60195730 -10920 -1332248 13600 461075600 -195210

SERVICES ABS CBN 15.24 15.26 15.22 15.28 15.18 15.24 383200 5834182 4.82 4.85 4.88 4.88 4.81 4.82 323000 1560890 GMA NETWORK 0.36 0.365 0.365 0.365 0.36 0.36 1490000 539400 MANILA BULLETIN 2056 2058 2096 2096 2050 2058 74045 153095040 GLOBE TELECOM 1190 1197 1203 1206 1163 1190 109700 130869615 PLDT 0.049 0.05 0.054 0.054 0.05 0.05 2630000 133640 APOLLO GLOBAL DFNN INC 2.73 2.85 2.7 2.91 2.61 2.73 186000 514150 DITO CME HLDG 3.43 3.44 3.52 3.58 3.42 3.44 92281000 321971740 IMPERIAL 1.23 1.34 1.25 1.25 1.23 1.23 10000 12460 2.05 2.07 2.06 2.17 2.04 2.05 6383000 13293810 NOW CORP 0.172 0.179 0.174 0.179 0.171 0.179 1600000 276360 TRANSPACIFIC BR 2.26 2.29 2.3 2.3 2.26 2.29 1096000 2493240 PHILWEB 9.56 9.58 9.95 9.95 9.5 9.56 258700 2487004 2GO GROUP 3.65 3.7 3.76 3.76 3.64 3.65 1587000 5819530 CHELSEA 39.5 39.6 40.5 40.95 39.5 39.5 529900 21119700 CEBU AIR 100.4 101.5 99.5 101.5 98.1 101.5 716180 71792480 INTL CONTAINER LBC EXPRESS 12.8 13.18 12.68 13.18 12.68 13.18 4600 58678 6.4 6.41 7.08 7.09 6.4 6.4 23117200 154237930 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 2.42 2.48 2.45 2.5 2.35 2.42 1689000 4072310 2.24 2.49 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 5000 12000 METROALLIANCE B 6.68 6.7 6.6 6.8 6.6 6.7 15000 100120 PAL HLDG 0.82 0.83 0.82 0.84 0.8 0.84 172000 139120 HARBOR STAR 0.025 0.026 0.025 0.026 0.025 0.025 19500000 488000 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.385 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.385 0.385 280000 107900 WATERFRONT 6.3 6.45 6.45 6.45 6.45 6.45 200 1290 CENTRO ESCOLAR 777 846.5 775 775 770 770 30 23200 FAR EASTERN U 0.3 0.305 0.305 0.305 0.295 0.3 2620000 783300 STI HLDG BERJAYA 2.06 2.1 2.07 2.1 2.06 2.1 33000 68650 7.55 7.6 7.32 7.66 7.25 7.6 11852500 89103970 BLOOMBERRY PACIFIC ONLINE 1.88 2.04 2.08 2.09 1.8 2.04 272000 520400 1.55 1.59 1.53 1.55 1.51 1.55 84000 128040 LEISURE AND RES 2.7 2.75 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 23000 62100 MANILA JOCKEY 2.63 2.86 2.85 2.93 2.6 2.86 926000 2533640 PH RESORTS GRP 0.32 0.325 0.34 0.34 0.315 0.325 19110000 6143100 PREMIUM LEISURE 7.4 7.41 7.65 7.65 7.21 7.4 1348500 10017889 ALLHOME 1.61 1.62 1.67 1.67 1.6 1.62 3902000 6335260 METRO RETAIL 43.5 43.55 44.75 45 43.4 43.5 636800 27937740 PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL 61 61.05 62.7 62.95 60.9 61 883520 53930577.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 127 128 129 129 129 129 10 1290 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.18 1.16 1.16 2308000 2684180 SSI GROUP WILCON DEPOT 15 15.2 15.3 15.3 14.92 15 2457900 37332194 APC GROUP 0.315 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.31 0.315 1080000 341450 7.03 7.19 7.2 7.31 7 7.03 211500 1496390 EASYCALL 282 305 280 281.2 280 281.2 540 151336 GOLDEN BRIA 4.21 4.9 5 5 4.9 4.9 600 2950 IPM HLDG 2.09 2.28 2.09 2.09 2.09 2.09 1000 2090 PAXYS 0.207 0.21 0.21 0.214 0.207 0.21 1000000 210370 PRMIERE HORIZON SBS PHIL CORP 4.82 5.07 4.81 4.81 4.81 4.81 1000 4810

-63877320 -43484420 -49000 -288270 -1324350 45580 39441.9998 184000 -6866000 17088610.5 -5238294 6000 5182341 10530 15900 110446 -493130 -7648195 -13616254 -232430 -11633412 -113400 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 9.84 10.18 10.18 10.18 9.84 10.18 11700 115298 1.18 1.19 1.15 1.21 1.14 1.19 3177000 3740780 597030 APEX MINING 0.0009 0.001 0.0009 0.001 0.0009 0.0009 442000000 397900 ABRA MINING 1.95 1.99 1.94 1.95 1.94 1.95 136000 264600 ATLAS MINING 1.03 1.15 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 1000 1030 BENGUET A COAL ASIA HLDG 0.182 0.194 0.181 0.194 0.181 0.194 160000 29220 2.67 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 23000 62100 27000 CENTURY PEAK DIZON MINES 7.5 7.55 7.5 7.59 7.38 7.57 12000 89656 0.86 0.88 0.91 0.91 0.85 0.86 4942000 4306980 -458970 FERRONICKEL GEOGRACE 0.23 0.232 0.233 0.237 0.231 0.233 910000 211580 0.09 0.092 0.09 0.094 0.09 0.092 10520000 969760 LEPANTO A 0.091 0.093 0.094 0.095 0.093 0.093 550000 51700 LEPANTO B 0.0065 0.0069 0.0066 0.0066 0.0066 0.0066 3000000 19800 MANILA MINING A 0.0067 0.0085 0.0066 0.0067 0.0066 0.0067 2000000 13300 -6600 MANILA MINING B 0.56 0.57 0.57 0.57 0.57 0.57 30000 17100 MARCVENTURES NIHAO 1.32 1.33 1.32 1.35 1.3 1.32 362000 477770 1.82 1.83 1.91 1.91 1.8 1.82 15840000 29164630 414010 NICKEL ASIA ORNTL PENINSULA 0.485 0.51 0.49 0.5 0.475 0.5 58000 28350 2.38 2.39 2.4 2.41 2.37 2.38 288000 687880 -227040 PX MINING SEMIRARA MINING 12.48 12.5 12.9 12.92 12.5 12.5 1616500 20406708 -4363784 6.65 6.7 7.05 7.12 6.62 6.65 463500 3170327 ACE ENEXOR 0.0082 0.0083 0.0082 0.0083 0.0082 0.0082 25000000 207000 ORNTL PETROL A 0.0086 0.009 0.0087 0.0087 0.0087 0.0087 3000000 26100 ORNTL PETROL B 0.0075 0.0077 0.0075 0.0075 0.0075 0.0075 1000000 7500 PHILODRILL 6.9 6.94 6.8 7.19 6.2 6.9 7344600 49810083 18565 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 98 99 99 99 99 99 36020 3565980 502.5 515 515 518 512 518 890 457240 AC PREF B1 502.5 503 502.5 503 502.5 503 140 70370 AC PREF B2R 100.5 101.5 100.4 100.4 100.4 100.4 2580 259032 DD PREF 108 110 110 110 110 110 154150 16956500 FGEN PREF G GTCAP PREF A 1000 1010 1000 1000 1000 1000 200 200000 1024 1025 1024 1024 1024 1024 1900 1945600 -1029120 GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF 100.5 100.9 100.5 100.5 100.5 100.5 46970 4720485 1001 1010 1002 1002 1000 1000 750 750400 PNX PREF 4 1011 1035 1035 1035 1035 1035 490 507150 PCOR PREF 2B 1021 1065 1060 1065 1060 1065 1110 1181900 PCOR PREF 3A 1050 1072 1072 1072 1072 1072 150 160800 PCOR PREF 3B 76.95 78.3 76.9 76.95 76.7 76.95 8030 617427.5 SMC PREF 2C 75 75.85 75 75 74.95 74.95 26880 2015956 SMC PREF 2D 78.4 78.45 78.35 78.4 78.35 78.4 12940 1014446 SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G 75.4 76.45 76.45 76.5 76.4 76.45 41500 3172881 75.5 77 76.4 77 76.4 77 360100 27727100 SMC PREF 2H 78 78.4 78.4 78.5 78.4 78.45 910500 71429223 SMC PREF 2I

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 14.6 14.7 14.56 14.68 14.56 14.68 7100 104216 4.65 4.76 4.65 4.65 4.65 4.65 3000 13950 GMA HLDG PDR

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.7 0.74 0.72 0.72 0.7 0.7 27000 19010

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 2.26 2.27 2.09 2.42 2.03 2.27 37689000 85606070 -1118540 6.09 6.18 6.2 6.2 6.08 6.18 55700 342603 KEPWEALTH 3.48 3.49 3.45 3.72 3.42 3.48 113536000 405486080 -630340 MERRYMART 0.58 0.59 0.58 0.59 0.57 0.58 1154000 665390 XURPAS

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 93.1 93.95 93.5 94.25 93.1 93.1 12220 1145031 34534

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Alliance Global 2019 income up 15% on higher revenues

A

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

lliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), the holding firm of businessman Andrew Tan, on Thursday said its income for 2019 grew 15 percent to P27.1 billion, from the previous year’s P23.7 billion.

Revenues rose at the same pace to P180 billion, from the previous P156.8 billion.

“Our much-improved performance last year has placed the AGI Group on a strong and healthy financial footing that served us well during this time of the coronavirus pandemic,” Kevin L. Tan, the company’s CEO, said.

“This has also allowed the AGI Group to quickly respond to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic where we have released a total of P1.1

billion in donations and financial assistance to various institutions, local government units, hospitals, and other partner beneficiaries,” Tan added.

“Now that the economy has slowly opened up from the government-imposed restrictions, the AGI group has also been at the forefront in providing a safer, better and more secure environment for our employees, tenants, customers, home dwellers, communities and other stakeholders.”

Megaworld Corp., Tan’s property

developer, chalked-up attributable net income of P17.9 billion last year, an 18-percent increase from the previous P15.2 billion.

Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., the owner and operator of Resorts World Manila, posted an attributable net income of P945 million in 2019, down 35 percent from P1.44 billion during the previous year.

Consolidated net revenues grew 38 percent to P28.3 billion, from the previous P20.6 billion, but this was offset by higher costs and expenses related to its new gaming and non-gaming facilities in RWM, in addition to increased interest charges.

Gross gaming revenues went up by 38 percent to P27.6 billion, due mainly on the faster recovery in its VIP segment, overall improvement in volume and hold rates, and record level foot traffic to the complex.

Emperador Inc., the liquor maker popular for its cheap brandy of the same name, recorded core attributable profit of P7 billion in 2019, al-

most flat from P6.7 billion the year before. Consolidated revenues rose by 10 percent year-on-year to P51.6 billion, driven by its continued dominance in the brandy market, and increasing contribution from its whiskey business.

Golden Arches Development Corp., which AGI owns 49 percent and the rest by the George Yang Group, reported attributable net income growth of 15 percent year-onyear to P1.9 billion in 2019, already adjusted with the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS) 16.

Before such adjustment, GADC net income should have grown by 18 percent as consolidated revenues grew 13 percent to P32 billion.

Same-store sales growth stood at 5.8 percent, an improvement from 4 percent in 2018.

GADC, which holds the exclusive franchise to operate restaurants in the Philippines under the McDonald’s brand, closed the year with 669 stores, from 620 stores the previous year.

‘Australia solar farm construction starts soon’

A

C Energy on Thursday said the construction of the 720-megawatt (MW) solar farm in Australia would commence soon following the signing of the connection agreements with Australian power grid operator TransGrid.

UPC/AC Renewables Australia, a joint venture between AC Energy and UPC Renewables, recently signed the connection agreements with TransGrid.

The said agreements will enable the 720 MW New England Solar Farm to connect with TransGrid’s 330kV transmission line from Tamworth to Armidale in Northeast New South Wales, and the delivery of connection services over the life of the project.

“This is an exciting development to finalize the connection agreement for one of the largest solar farms in the national electricity market,” said UPC/AC Renewables CEO Anton Rohner. “This was one of the last pieces of the development puzzle, and we will now look to commence

construction activities shortly.”

The development approval from the NSW Independent Planning Commission was obtained earlier this year. This allowed the commencement of early works for construction. Construction will take around three years with generation being brought on line in stages.

The New England solar farm near Uralla in New South Wales, once fully constructed, will produce enough renewable energy to power around 250,000 homes each year.

“This is the culmination of three years of hard work by our team and excellent engagement with the local community. The end result will be a solar farm development that adds significant value to the local community over the long term through investment and jobs. I thank the Uralla community for supporting the project,” said Rohner.

UPC/AC Renewables is also planning to install a large scale lithiumion battery storage facility, which will

Execs: AllHome hurdled lockdown due to store format, social media

A

llHome Corp., the listed retail arm of the Villar group, on Thursday said it was able to capitalize on its store formats and its locations that are already in existing communities or in close proximity to residential developments.

Its location, in communities many of which were developed by its sister firm Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc., proved to be an advantage during the community quarantine period when customers minimized travel to and from their homes to buy essential products, the company said. “We were able to generate sales from our pop-up store This augmented the company’s financial capacity to brace the challenging circumstances,” Benjamarie Therese N. Serrano, the company’s president, said.

The presence of supermarkets of All Value retail, the Villar group's privately held company that operates coffee shops, convenience stores and grocery stores, has proved invaluable to AllHome during the lockdown, she said. The supermarket presence provided an advantage as AllHome put up complementary pop-up stores that provided essential home products to the customers.

AllHome also capitalized on the sudden acceleration of Filipinos’ adoption of e-commerce due to the lockdown as it relied on previously built-up social media assets to stay connected to its market. It used engaging content on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and even

Pinterest, to market to customers looking for various home improvement products, the company said. Despite the lockdown, the company’s income in the first quarter rose 30 percent to P270.2 million, from last year’s P207.1 million, mainly as a result of its aggressive expansion.

Revenues for the period rose 41 percent to P3.4 billion from P2.4 billion in the same period in 2019, the company said.

“Over the course of the ECQ [enhanced community quarantine], AllHome launched two Viber communities for two different consumer sets. One, shop online at All Home for end users; and two, All Home Builders Shopping that targeted contractors and other related-industry professionals,” said Camille A. Villar, company vice chairman.

“Amassing a remarkable 7,438 and 1,413 members, respectively, over the ECQ period, these communities pushed product and promotional content, highlighted AllHome’s safety policies, and created awareness for AllHome’s presence on other e-commerce platforms.”

AllHome also tapped into the activity of all community-based Viber and Facebook groups that were natural customer fits for its 45 store locations across the country, thereby using these as additional alternative digital selling platforms nationwide.

“All these further proved AllHome’s ability to quickly move and rise to the challenge,” she said. VG Cabuag

assist with electricity grid stability and provide firm capability to deliver energy at peak periods, lowering prices for consumers.

Patrice Clausse, COO of AC Energy International, said “Building this new solar farm will be a remarkable achievement, one that will put UPC/AC Renewables at the forefront of harnessing Australia’s strong potential in renewable energy and its world class solar resources.”

mutual funds

The project will bring significant value to the local community with up to 500 direct construction jobs during the construction period with opportunities to employ locals from Uralla and the region.

A community fund was also created that will start with $100,000 dollars in the first year of construction, and ramp up to $180,000 per annum when the project is fully commissioned. Lenie Lectura June 25, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 202.82 -24.34% -9.5% -5.69% -19.48% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.0372 -36.98% -13.53% -6.1% -24.95% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.7559 -33.84% -13.87% -8.03% -25.07% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7106 -25.72% n.a. n.a.

-20.79% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6751 -24.33% n.a. n.a.

-20.51% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.342 -21.81% -7.81% -5.22% -18.51% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6872 -23.03% -10.3% n.a.

-19.49% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

80.03 -34.14% n.a. n.a.

-22.55% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 40.7882 -23.27% -7.8% -4.48% -20.46% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 434.97 -21.39% -7.16% -4.9% -18.36% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.9041 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-12.23% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.031 -23.48% -7.49% -4.31% -19.88% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 30.3848 -23.11% -6.98% -4.01% -19.82% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8023 -24.88% n.a. n.a.

-21.2% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.1576 -22.9% -7.28% -3.82% -20.41% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 695.44 -22.77% -7.26% -4.04% -20.25% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6396 -32.28% -10.79% -7.86% -24.88% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.211 -27.16% -8.59% -5.26% -23.71% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7985 -22.82% -7.41% -3.96% -20.21% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.9327 -22.79% -5.92% -3.29% -19.72% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 93.3719 -22.55% -6.76% -3.2% -20.16% ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $0.9778 -1.66% -0.12% -1.51% -4.92% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.3916 6.53% 6.27% n.a.

0.94% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5625 -11.06% -4.26% -3.76% -0.02% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0754 -11.5% -4.28% -2.04% -4.85% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4218 -9.78% -2.69% -3.38% -7.97% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1879 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-17.77% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8427 -5.51% -1.09% -0.67% -6.13% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.4753 -7.97% -2.32% -1.93% -8.28% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.5178 -8.71% -2.54% -2.06% -8.51% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.935 -10.76% -3.37% -1.65% -8.98% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.303 -15.76% -4.38% -2.94% -14.51% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9402 -8.48% n.a. n.a.

-7.43% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8505 -17.15% n.a. n.a.

-14.64% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.83 -18.91% n.a. n.a.

-16.43% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8098 -19.51% -5.56% -4.32% -16.93% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03847 2.75% 2.33% 1.65% 0.63% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $0.9881 -0.13% 0.72% -0.27% -4.8% 4.36% 3.28% -0.55% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.8894 3.25% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1153 0.82% 2.16% n.a.

-1.2% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 365.19 4.34% 3.09% 2.5% 2.07% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9391 2.47% 0.88% -0.05% 1.95% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.1856 4.55% 5.09% 5.05% 2.22% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2786 4.39% 2.63% 2.18% 2.41% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4292 5.19% 3.11% 1.79% 2.97% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.5395 9.11% 3.63% 2.21% 3.81% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.2883 6.22% 3.87% 2.11% 2.51% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9126 6.41% 3.94% 1.99% 3.28% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0225 8.75% 3.27% 1.59% 6.04% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1571 6.88% 4.54% 2.83% 2.64% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7327 5.55% 3.86% 2.28% 1.86% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $473.62 3.4% 2.45% 2.71% 1.15% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є215.47 -0.83% 0.57% 0.98% -1.94% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2177 2.86% 2.81% 2.5% 0.87% 1.32% 1.2% 0.39% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0259 1.17% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0688 -1.74% -0.35% 0.12% -2.41% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4395 3.86% 3.02% 3.04% 1.49% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0605245 2.34% 1.91% 1.81% 0.35% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1704 2.9% 1.75% 2.36% -0.15% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 128.03 3.74% 3.18% 2.41% 1.79% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0407 2.58% n.a. n.a.

1.4% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2829 3.04% 2.58% 1.45% 3.17% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0447 1.64% n.a. n.a.

0.72% Feeder Fund Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.93 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-6.06%

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).

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Friday, June 26, 2020 B3

Bond yields decline steepest in PHL–ADB

T

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

he decline in bond yields in the Philippines was the steepest recorded in emerging East Asian economies, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Based on the June 2020 Asia Bond Monitor, bond yields for the 2-year and 10-year government bonds fell 133 basis points (bps) and 116 bps, respectively between February and May 2020.

The ADB noted that securities with 6-month tenors or less shed an average of 77 bps from their yield while longerterm debt paper (20- and 25-year tenors) dropped 52 bps on average.

“LCY bond yield declines were also driven by the dovish stance of the United States (US) Federal Reserve and other major central banks,” ADB said.

“The Federal Reserve cut its policy rate to almost zero in March to shield the domestic economy from the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. This resulted in US Treasury yields tumbling, which Philippine bond yields often track to a degree,” it added.

In the first quarter, the ADB said the country’s total issuance reached P718.2 billion more than doubled issuance volume in the fourth quarter of 2019 at P272.2 billion.

Data showed this is composed of 3-year RTBs amounting to P310.8 billion, the highest volume recorded for a Retail Treasury Bond (RTB) offering.

In the first quarter of 2020, the government’s issuance of Treasury bonds amounted to P414.6 billion and Treasury bill issuance amounted to P303.6 billion. “ T he i nc rea sed bor row i ng w a s programmed to take advantage of liquid-

ity in the local market as a result of the reserve requirement ratio cuts in Q4 [fourth quarter] 2019 by the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas], as well as of lower interest rates,” ADB said. “(The) amounts represented a significant increase from their respective issue volumes in the previous quarter.

Proceeds from the government’s aggressive first quarter 2020 debt sales will be used for general budgetary purposes and for planned increased spending in 2020,” the report added.

The central bank cut the policy rate by 50 bps on 17 April during an off-cycle meeting, bringing the overnight reverse repurchase rate to 2.75 percent, less than 1 month after the BSP cut the policy rate by 50 bps on 19 March.

The BSP has also aggressively cut the key rate by 125 bps in 2020 in an effort to keep the economy afloat during the pandemic. However, ADB said already hinted at a pause in monetary policy easing to assess the impact of its actions.

The Manila-based multilateral development bank said the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic is to blame for the drag on local currency bond markets in emerging East Asia. Investment sentiment also continues to wane and containment measures limit economic activity.

Data showed LCY bonds outstanding in emerging East Asia totaled $16.3 trillion at the end of March, up 4.2 percent

A trust-building framework for associations

W

ith the gracious support of the Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE), members of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE) gained access to AuSAE’s “Strengthening Association Webinar Series.”

One of the webinars I attended was on building trust in dispersed teams (in the context of working from home), which was presented by Marie-Claire Ross, CEO and founder of Trustologie, a Melbourne-based consulting agency that specializes in providing the right trust leadership behaviours for leaders, teams and organizations.

In the association world, building trust is a key component of an association’s long-term relationship with its members. Relations are built on trust and it is good to always remember that associations are in the “relationship business.” Trust begins within the organization first.

The main takeaway I got from the presentation was the “SUCCEeD Together Trust Framework” consisting of six essential building blocks (below) which I have adapted in the context of associations: S—Support. Leaders who care get the most from people. The question to ask yourself is: “How does your association and its Board support your secretariat/management officers and staff in doing their work the best they can?”

U—United to solve member problems. People relate to each other through purpose. Is your association’s “reason for being” clear to everyone else in the organization— your Board, staff, members and volunteers? How are you aligning your staff to understand the meaning behind their work and their impact to the association?

C—Clarity. Clear communication equals speed. Does your communication flow clearly and accurately within the organization? Are your communication channels to members and other stakeholders relevant and timely? Are

Association World Octavio Peralta your staff members certain of what is expected of them and what is going on in the organization?

C—Candor. Transparency is the hallmark of high performance.

Are essential information—plans, policies, financial condition, etc.— known within the association? Are your officers and staff openly discussing performance issues, concerns and challenges?

E—Empowered to grow. Growing an organization means growing people. The same is true for associations. Membership growth depends on the capacity of Board and management to grow themselves into a working team. One question to ask is: are staff members being challenged to make themselves and the organization better?

D—Dependable. Fundamental in an effective and inspiring team is that each one can count on each other to do the right thing. Teamwork is a prerequisite to building trust.

There are two things that association executives should not break: promises and trust. Credibility and trust are your “passport visas” to go places in the association world.

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. PCAAE is holding the Associations Summit 8 on November 25 and 26, 2020 at the Philippine International Convention Center which is expected to draw over 200 association professionals here and abroad. The two-day event is supported by Adfiap, the Tourism Promotions Board, and the PICC. E-mail inquiries@adfiap.org for more details on AS8.

from December 2019 and 14 percent higher than in March 2019.

Bond issuance in the region reached $1.7 trillion in the first quarter of 2020, up 19.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2019.

Emerging East Asia’s local currency bonds outstanding as a share of gross domestic product rose to 87.8 percent at the end of March.

“Governments and central banks in the

region have taken significant measures to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 through fiscal stimulus packages and eased monetary policies. But more needs to be done to strengthen the region’s economies and financial markets,” ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada said. “While overall investment sentiment is still down, there are signs of recovery in some economies as quarantine measures are strategically relaxed.”

The Asian Bond Monitor reports on LCY bond markets in emerging East Asia which is comprised of the People’s Republic of China (PRC); Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; the Republic of Korea; Malaysia; the Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; and Vietnam.

ADB said the PRC remains the largest bond market in emerging East Asia, accounting for 76.6 percent of the total bond stock at the end of the first quarter of 2020.

B4

Friday, June 26, 2020

Relationships BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Today’s Horoscope

❶ Under GCQ,

restaurants have adopted new safety protocols for their dine-in guests.

By Eugenia Last

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Ariana Grande, 27; Ryan Tedder, 41; Derek Jeter, 46; Chris O’Donnell, 50.

PHOTOS: STELLA ARNALDO

❷ Salon staff

have to wear PPE, disinfect gowns, tools and seats, and only cut/style the hair of their clients under GCQ.

Happy Birthday: You’ll be in your comfort zone this year, spending more time and money at and on your residence. Make your surroundings compatible with changing times, and restructure the way you work and take care of your everyday responsibilities. An innovative approach will ensure that you gain ground, no matter what you decide to tackle. Your numbers are 8, 15, 22, 28, 30, 36, 44.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Listen carefully.

Facts matter, and relaying information to the best of your ability will affect your reputation and the way others receive you. Charm alone won’t win the prize. Knowledge, integrity and truth will be required.

HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Uncertainty will lead to a change of heart. Look at situations practically, and you’ll find a way to get what you want without the risk. Use your intelligence to motivate others to pitch in and help. Make unique plans with someone you love. HHHHH

c ❶

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Do something constructive that will challenge and encourage you to take better care of your health. Restrict indulgent behavior or letting others use blackmail to entice you into something that isn’t good for you. HH

❷

Liberation...somewhat A

FTER having been confined in our respective “interment camps” for over 100 days because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was such a joy to be finally out and about having a haircut and dining in a restaurant in the past weeks. Of course, there are still health and safety protocols to be strictly followed, like wearing a face mask or shield all the time, and washing one’s hands regularly with soap and water, or disinfecting with a hand sanitizer/alcohol. However, to me, these were minimal discomforts in exchange for a little bit of liberation.

For months, my friends and I have been looking forward to the day when we could finally dine together face to face, and had a list of restaurants where we could accomplish the eating mission. But sorry, gals, I could no longer wait for you. As I was going on a supermarket run at SM early this week, I decided to have a real dine-in experience for the first time since…oh, wow, March 13! That was Big Sister’s birthday and that was the last time I had a meal at a restaurant (and had seen the family).

My first dine-in experience under GCQ was nothing fancy. I first passed a row of eat-all-you-can Korean barbecue restaurants, which had queues of guests waiting to get inside; for a weekday and with only 30 percent of each restaurant allowed to operate, these were quite impressive queues.

I came upon an old favorite, Aristocrat, and it was totally empty. There were no waiting guests that I even had to ask if they were open that day. I was told by the waitstaff that they were indeed open and offered me a paper menu from which to order—he

thought I was ordering for take-out. But, no, I said. I wanted to dine in.

Before I entered, the waitstaff took my temperature with an infrared thermometer and sprayed my hands with alcohol. All the tables now had acrylic dividers, which would allow face-to-face dining with one’s companion. But there were spaces also clearly marked for physical distancing, and you could not dine beside anyone even if there was clear barrier between the both of you.

Now seated, the waitstaff handed me a health declaration form basically just to check if I had been exposed to anyone with the dreaded disease, which I diligently filled out with a pudpod na pencil. He also handed me a short paper menu, but this being Aristocrat, I already knew what to order: boneless chicken barbecue with java rice and java sauce—the all-time comfort food favorite. Yay! The restaurant also provided sanitized dining utensils and a paper napkin, all wrapped in plastic.

The java sauce also came in tiny plastic condiment containers. (Single-use plastics were used, so good luck to the environment!)

My chicken barbecue finally arrived, and I relished every morsel of meat which I smothered in the java sauce, and every bit of java rice and that teeny clump of atchara. I was done in less than 30 minutes and after paying for my meal (all of P195!), I proceeded to the supermarket on a happy tummy.

Meanwhile, last June 8, I had my first haircut since February. As I mentioned in a previous column, I had been dying for my wayward locks to be shorn as the summer humidity just made them stick to my sweaty nape. My head also felt heavy with my long hair, and it just annoyed me to no end.

I had to make an appointment beforehand, so the salon could manage the number of customers at that specific time and date, in keeping with physical distancing rules. Even before I entered Toni & Guy’s doors, Ate Helen, who usually does the mani-pedis and back messages, took my temperature, then proceeded to place my bag inside a clean plastic bag. The reception desk, meanwhile, had a clear barrier between customers and the receptionists, and everyone had their PPEs on, which consisted of a

gown, face mask or shield, and a head kerchief to keep hair away from their faces.

As I was escorted to my seat, I noticed only one other customer at the time of my appointment, and we were seated two seats apart. I also received my own gown wrapped in a clear plastic which was then sprayed with disinfectant before it was put on me.

Then at the shampoo area, before I sat to get my hair washed, the staff sprayed the seat with disinfectant.

It was a pleasant experience to see again my usual hairstylist Benj. We were in the habit of exchanging notes and opinions on the latest movies playing in theaters or on Netflix. Before setting about to cut my hair, this time, however, he first disinfected the tools of his trade—the combs and different types of scissors—with a UVC wand.

All throughout his snipping, shearing and texturizing my hair, we kept our masks on. The additional burden was on Benj, though, because he also had to use goggles to protect his eyes and latex gloves on his hands. To help ease the difficulty of hairstyling under GCQ, at one point I had to remove my mask’s ear loop, when Benj had to cut the hair around my ear area.

Eventually, we were done. My hair now shorter and blow-dried, it was like a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders. I felt like my old joyful self again, and thankful for a few hours of pampering.

The skip was back in my step as I left the salon, and merrily went out into the mall to pick up a few things from stores I had missed while on lockdown (mostly food and snacks).

With my rather successful restaurant dine-in, the gals are ready to meet up for lunch and gossip. Gab sessions via Zoom just don’t give as much satisfaction.

I also want to test how our chosen restaurant would handle more than one guest with the strict rules on hygiene and physical distancing in place.

I am also hoping authorities will consider allowing more salon services such as mani-pedis, hair coloring and massages. Sacrificing our liberties, while necessary, can take a lot out of anyone. So some amount of leeway in personal pampering can help lift our mood, and make us feel like we’re winning for once. n

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Look for an outlet that you find gratifying. Consider how best to market a service you can offer. Change your life to reflect what’s going on around you. Embrace love and what brings you peace of mind. HHHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Do what’s best for you. Put your health and safety first. Distance yourself from anyone trying to talk you into something excessive. It’s best to settle down and enjoy what you have, not take a chance on something that lacks a safety net. HHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Sensitive issues dealt with a heart-to-heart talk will improve.

Facing facts, being open to suggestions and making a few yourself will encourage a positive turn of events that will bring you happiness and confidence.

Aim high and enjoy the ride. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Initiate what you want to happen. Don’t let anyone bully you into doing something you don’t want to do.

Make your intentions clear, and pour your energy into pursuing the goals that will bring you the highest returns personally and financially. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Spend time improving your skills, attributes and knowledge. The information and techniques you gather will give you the fuel you need to make a substantial change to the way you work, take care of yourself and live. HHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Question anything that concerns you. Don’t act on an assumption; get the facts straight from the source. Make a decision based on truth. A positive financial adjustment will put your mind at ease and encourage you to start something new. HH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take the plunge; do the things you keep talking about but never follow through on. It will open a doorway to all sorts of exciting options. Embrace change, and it will lead you on an adventurous path. HHHHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take more time to nurture yourself. Being at your best requires you to do things that build you up, prepare you for success and make you feel confident enough to pursue your dreams. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Stick to basics, avoid emotional situations that can lead to a stalemate and focus on personal progress.

Consider what you want, and find the best way to make it happen. Control the outcome instead of waiting for someone to take over. HHH Birthday Baby: You are analytical, disciplined and possessive.

You are helpful and persuasive.

‘let’s start the campfire’ by evan kalish The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Sacred bird in ancient Egypt 5 Reject 10 Bacardi products 14 Is incapable of 15 Like many touchy topics 16 Sign from above 17 Snow queen voiced by Idina Menzel 18 Unalaska native 19 Range of Anita Baker or Tina Turner 20 Upwardly mobile?

23 Feeding America, e.g., briefly 24 Not just my 25 Believe without confirming 26 Give to a GoFundMe, say 28 For-profit counterpart of a credit union 30 Danson of The Good Place 31 Completely wear out 32 Electrical outlet 34 Battle in a brain game 39 Shallow-water boating hazards 40 Bound 42 Austrian mountain

45 Atoms that have lost electrons, for instance 46 What a will distributes 48 16 : Abraham :: 44 : ___ 50 Vote for?

51 Black, Red or Coral 52 Remains united 56 No longer emotionally invested in 57 Islamic analogue for kosher 58 Country between Turkey and Turkmenistan 60 Ascend 61 Extend an ___ branch 62 Crazes that lack staying power 63 Only freely flying mammals 64 Basic belief 65 Cure for writer’s block?

DOWN 1 Winter sculpture material 2 Place for a gala 3 Emblem on a military uniform 4 Deer dad 5 Many a park monument 6 Less tanned

7 ___ Eats (food ordering service) 8 Apt rhyme for “blowout” 9 “I’ll pass” 10 Some chestnut-and-white horses 11 Accent missing from “Haagen-Dazs” 12 Introvert’s opportunity to recharge 13 Slept noisily 21 Popular 22 Not quite on the level?

23 Unexpected 27 Six-legged nuisances 28 Heats, as water for rice 29 Performs in a play 32 The Ugly Duckling, eventually 33 Lean 35 Avian hatchling 36 Graceful, one-handed basketball move 37 Buzz generator?

38 Mean critic’s “drink” 41 Green legume 42 Sop up 43 Country on the Gulf of Riga 44 Confessional figure

6 Hole for a shoelace 4 47 Prepared 49 Real estate units 50 Tequila plant 53 Piece of lore 54 Hunters actress Lena 55 Old record player 59 Highly secretive org.

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, June 26, 2020

B5

Feasting online Akiko Ooku, a TIFF Audience Award-winning director, offers Tremble All You Want in the Udine Far East Film Festival.

I

WOKE up one morning to this message: “We are honored to invite you to the 22nd Udine Far East Film Festival....” It was a bit of wild good news, but there was also a problem: How do I travel to Italy? As far as I know, Udine was in that area in Northern Italy that was among the first European places to post a huge number of Covid-19 cases. I knew the festival had been postponed to another month. I looked again at the e-mail and there it was the solution: the Udine Far East Film Festival Online Edition. I was being invited to an online version of the feast.

For all that, I need to thank the filmmaker, Elvert Bañares, who, when asked, tipped Max Tessier, film critic and the most wonderful Frenchman this side of the Riviera, who in turn asked me to write a biography, together with the filmography, of Eddie Garcia. The late actor was to be honored in the Udine Far East Film Festival, reputedly the biggest festival dedicated to Asian popular cinema.

The fate of this Udine filmfest is not unique.

All over the world, the main minds behind the various film festivals have decided that, given the pandemic, it is not wise to compel people to travel and gather in places. Airline travels have been technically canceled except for the so-called sweeper flights aimed at rescuing the stranded nationals of their respective countries.

Responding to the pandemic, which is both cultural and medical, an initiative was launched, called “We Are One: A Global Film Festival.” The project involved the first-ever programming lineup curated with 21 of the most prolific and most popular film festivals in the world. It was a 10-day digital film event made exclusively via YouTube.

In the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) section, four short films and two feature films have been selected.

Senior programmer Yoshi Yatabe, representing the TIFF, puts it succinctly when he commented on the four short films and two feature films curated for the event: “...We have tried to select films that will allow people to feel a sense of freedom through the joy of watching cinema, despite the restricted nature of our lives now.”

Featured in that unique event was director Masaaki Yuasa, who won the Crystal Award (Grand Prix) at the Annecy International Animation Film

Festival with his feature film Lu Over the Wall. Yuasa is represented by a short film that was featured in the Animation Focus of TIFF in 2018. It has no dialogues.

From director Koji Fukada, who won an award at the TIFF in 2011 with Hospitalité as well as a Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival with Harmonium in 2016, were his short films.

Akiko Ooku, a TIFF Audience Award-winning director, offers Tremble All You Want. The film’s synopsis says: A young woman finally finds real romance in a life full of secrets and unrequited love.

Another film is called Ice Cream and the Sound of Raindrops. It is a film directed by Daigo Matsui, and narrates the tale of a group of young actors struggling with all the problems of a theater production.

A Fukada work, The Yalta Conference Online is having its exclusive world premier. The title refers to the conference held by the leaders of the US, the UK and the USSR toward the end of World War II. A 30-minute parody of the meeting, which aimed at creating a scenario for the victors when the war finally ends, is made by the Seinendan theater company.

Continuing initiatives online, the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan has announced its hosting of a virtual version of the Japan Pavilion, which is operated by UNIJAPAN. This endeavor will form part of this year’s market component (Marché du

Film Online) of the Cannes Film Festival. With this film festival also canceled this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Marché du Film is being held completely online for the very first time.

The virtual Japan Pavilion is expected to serve as a hub to connect Japanese and international industry members while providing information about new Japanese films, film festivals to be held in Japan, and Japanese film commissions. It will also host special talk sessions with two filmmakers whose films were selected for the Cannes Film Festival Official Selection 2020: Naomi Kawase, director and writer of True Mothers (produced by Kino Films), and Koji Fukada, director of The Real Thing (produced by Nagoya Broadcasting Network). The sessions will be streamed live.

The Philippines is also participating in the virtual Marché du Film of the Cannes Film Festival.

According to the Film Development Council of the Philippines, this year four films from the Philippines will be part of the biggest business component of Cannes Film Festival. These films are documentaries made by Joseph Mangat, Miko Revereza, Cha Escala and John Torres.

Holy Craft by Mangat (producer is Alemberg Ang) is described as looking into the intersections of religion, labor and gender at a factory manufacturing Catholic figurines and statues.

Nowhere Near by Revereza (producer is Shireen Seno) tells a story of migration and exile. The director is quoted as saying the film is a “poetic memoir exploring stateless identity through the lens of an exile returning to an estranged homeland.”

Escala directs Remnants of a Revolution, which is produced by Leizyl Badion. The documentary is about Pepe Luneta, a founding member of the Communist Party of the Philippines who fled the country in the 1990s to seek asylum in Germany.

Pepe, who is very sick, longs to see the son he has not seen for more than 20 years.

Torres produces and directs The Remotes, a documentary formed using footage of film productions in the Philippines and neighboring countries “filmed from the periphery of other filmmakers’ film sets.” The documentary is in black and white. The documentaries will be presented through a pitch, with the filmmakers using a 10-minute sequence of the rough cut from their works. Each film screened will have the opportunity to win various prizes including the €10,000 Docsin-Progress Award, supported by International Emerging Film Talents Association.

As for me, I will be dreaming of Italy, and the film festival in Udine, the city and the boundaries it straddles with Austria and Slovenia, and waking up to curse, for the first time, this pandemic. n

The ‘return’ of ABS-CBN

Park Bo-gum, Park So-dam and Byeon Woo-seok

NO exaggeration but for a number of days, after the ABS-CBN shutdown, it was quiet in our house. The usual TV background noise I would hear during lunch or dinner, emanating either from the kitchen or the room of our house angel (and rightful landlady of our house, as she knows every nook and cranny of our small abode), was reduced to a dreadful silence.

Even our neighbor, who I suspect is hearing impaired because of the loud TV that I would hear when I’m at our garage, didn’t turn their TV on for a number of days...until the return of TV Patrol on DZMM Teleradyo, available in ABS-CBN’s DTT blackbox. For a few hours a day, our kasambahay and our neighbors would voraciously watch the news, happy that at least for a few hours a day, they think their favorite channel is back on air.

You can imagine how enthralled and excited they were when they learned about the launching of the Kapamilya Channel. When they talked to me about it, they felt reunited with their favorite Cardo Dalisay and other iconic Kapamilya teleserye characters.

Kapamilya Channel is available on SKY, Cablelink, G Sat, and most member-cable operators of the Philippine Cable Television Association nationwide.

While Kapamilya Channel will initially be seen by cable and satellite TV viewers only, ABS-CBN will find more ways to reach more Filipinos and bring news, public service, and entertainment to every Kapamilya around the world.

Viewers can watch Cardo’s adventures in FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano starting with a 10-episode recap of this

NETFLIX CONFIRMS PREMIERE OF NEW K-DRAMA FOR 2ND HALF OF 2020

Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo in the new Saturday show Paano Kita Mapasasalamatan.

season’s story before the new episodes are released.

The top-rating action packed show is also being mirrored on the Cinemo channel. Also on weeknights, the mission of brave soldiers in A Soldier’s Heart continues, while weekdays unveils the family drama in Love Thy Woman.

Magandang Buhay momshies Jolina Magdangal, Melai Cantiveros and Karla Estrada continue their heartwarming discussions on weekday mornings, while the new season of The Voice Teens features talented teen singers and superstar coaches Apl. de.ap, Sarah Geronimo, Bamboo and Lea Salonga on weekends.

Viewers will surely rejoice because their favorite show is back as It’s Showtime goes live every 12 noon, from Mondays to Saturdays. Since its launch, the noontime show is also being mirrored on Jeepney TV. Besides the many well-loved programs that will

be going back on air, some new shows have been launched.

Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo is now seen every Saturday in the new show Paano Kita Mapasasalamatan, while Angel Locsin hosts Iba ’Yan every Sunday. Both of these are public service programs.

The World of a Married Couple, the highest-rating cable Koreanovela, also made its debut on Kapamilya Channel.

Filipinos from all over the world, meanwhile, will not be left out because they will be able to watch all Filipino programs on Kapamilya Channel, including the new episodes, on TFC. Meanwhile, if you only have an ABS-CBN TV Plus box, starting this weekend Paano Kita Pasasalamatan, The Voice Teens, ASAP, Iba ’Yan, Love Thy Woman, The World of a Married Couple, A Solider’s Heart and FPJ’s Ang Probisnyano will also be mirrored on Jeepney TV.

NETFLIX has confirmed the premiere of Record of Youth, a new series starring Park Bo-gum, Park So-dam and Byeon Woo-seok, for the latter half of 2020.

Record of Youth is directed by An Gil-ho, who has a solid track record with Stranger, Memories of the Alhambra and Watcher. The series is written by Ha Myeong-hee, who has penned many heartwarming stories grounded in realistic settings, including Doctors and Temperature of Love.

Park Bo-gum (Encounter, Reply 1988, Love in the Moonlight) will play Sa Hye-jun, a pragmatic and ambitious young man who is an aspiring model/actor juggling idealism with the reality of everyday life. He has an optimistic and amiable personality that is well balanced by an objective and flexible sense of judgment.

Park So-dam (Parasite, Cinderella with Four Knights), with her commanding onscreen presence, will play An Jeong-ha, an aspiring makeup artist and a smart young woman with a strong sense of self. With inherent wit and hard work, she follows her own path and finds security in her own unwavering resolve under external pressures.

Byeon Woo-seok (Dear My Friends, Search: WWW) plays Sa Hye-jun’s best friend Won Hae-hyo who wants to prove himself through hard work. He is friendly and gentle, but competitive. Because he gives his utmost effort to the things he cares deeply about, he cannot stand being brushed off just because he was born into privilege.

Produced by Studio Dragon and Pan Entertainment (Winter Sonata, The Moon Embracing the Sun, Fight for My Way and When the Camellia Blooms), Record of Youth will premiere exclusively on Netflix outside Korea, while in Korea, tvN has the show’s first-window broadcast rights.

B6 Friday, June 26, 2020

Development of new MICE Complex in Seoul picks up speed

Dinagatnon carpenters build beds for quarantine facilities

One of the 21 Dinagatnon carpenters who helped build 150 beds in 5 days.

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INAGAT Islands Governor, Hon. Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao, together with the Dinagat Islands InterAgency Task Force for COVID-19, initiated a program called “Katre-Karpintero” to respond to the need for more beds to be used in quarantine facilities in the province.

Cagdianao Mining Corp. (CMC), provided the materials and the labor expenses amounting to about P500,000.00 that had 21 carpenters build 150 beds in 5 days. CMC is a subsidiary of Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC), with operations in barangay Valencia in the province.

“Thank you to CMC for immediately responding by supporting our “KatreKarpintero” program. Equipped with sufficient materials, 150 beds were completed in record time, of course this also provided extra income for our carpenters,” said Governor Bag-ao.

CMC, represented by its Resident Mine Manager, Engr. Arnilo C. Milaor and ComRel Manager Rudilyn Velasco, officially turned over the materials consisting of marine plywoods, wood glue, lumber, round bar, nails, and liquid tiles.

“The total amount of P577,024.67 used to purchase the materials came from

CMC’s Corporate Social Responsibility budget,” explains Milaor.

Primarily intended for the Municipal Care and Containment Center (MCCC) of Dinagat, the 150 beds are to be distributed to all seven municipalities in Dinagat Islands.

The materials were presented to the 21 carpenters from the different municipalities of Dinagat and were officially received by San Jose Mayor Yngwie Hero B. Ecleo; Josel E. Gonzales , Chief of Staff of the Governor; Aimee A. Gimeno, Provincial Administrator; Dr. Jillian Francise A. Lee, MD., Provincial Health Officer; Angela E. Elago, Provincial General Services Officer; and Engr. Reymond E. Gonzales.

Dr. Jillian Lee explains that the beds are intended for the care and containment centers in the Province’s seven municipalities, namely – Cagdianao, San Jose, Tubajon, Libjo, Loreto, Basilisa and Dinagat.

“This project aims to provide the much needed beds in every MCCC especially now that we have Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) and those coming in via the ‘Balik Probinsya’ program,” says Dr. Lee. Governor Bag-ao also says ‘thank you’ to Mayor Ecleo for letting the carpenters use the municipal gym during the Katre-Karpintero activitites.

The Province of Dinagat Islands remains COVID-free as the provincial government continues to closely monitor the health and safety of the communities. Likewise, CMC strictly abides by the stringent guidelines and protocols imposed by the government to maintain a safe and healthy workplace .

Strict safety measures welcome Mang Inasal diners

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S parts of the country steadily ease restrictions on community quarantines, the restaurant industry is also preparing to resume dine-in services which have been placed on hold because of the extended lockdown.

People have been longing to enjoy a meal at their favorite dining places, but many still feel apprehensive and cautious.

One well-loved Pinoy restaurant that has been preparing to welcome back its loyal customers is Mang Inasal, reputed for its bestselling nuot-sa-ihaw sarap Chicken Inasal. Knowing how much people have missed their favorite Mang Inasal meals and seeking to allay their fears, Mang Inasal has set in place strict protocols to ensure delicious food and safe dining experience for their customers.

Anyone who wants to enter the store must wear a face mask. The customer’s temperature will be checked and only those with temperature of 37.5-degree Centigrade and below will be allowed to enter. A footbath disinfection mat is also placed at the entrance. Only a limited number of customers are allowed inside the store at any given time. Sanitizers are provided for customers at the door entrance, counter table and wash area for their use.

In keeping with the Department of Trade and Industry guidelines, Mang Inasal is requesting customers to fill out a Customer Health Form before being allowed to enter the store.

For in-store safety, physical distancing is closely monitored as floor markers set one-meter distance for counter queues. Contact-less payment is enforced with the use of acrylic cash tray and acrylic barriers. Meanwhile, foot knobs are used as restroom doors, and regular disinfection of facilities and the sanitation of workers form part of Mang Inasal’s stringent safety protocols.

Dine-in customers are enjoined to be seated apart for physical distancing purposes. One-meter table-to-table distance segregates diners while in

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HE construction of a new exhibition convention facility is set to begin in Jamsil, Seoul, on the grounds surrounding the current Jamsil Sports Complex.

Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 5th of this month that the eligibility study for the ‘Jamsil Sports-MICE Private Investment Project’ commissioned by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) in January 2017 was completed. Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to select the preferred candidates for negotiation in 2021 and will begin construction the following year, with an expected completion date sometime in 2025.

Located on the east side of Seoul, Jamsil is home to several key attractions, including Lotte World Tower, Seokchon Lake Park and Jamsil Sports Complex. The neighborhood is situated right next to and directly accessible by subway from COEX Convention & Exhibition

Center, one of Seoul’s main exhibition convention facilities.

The new Jamsil MICE Complex will cover an area of 334,605 m2, containing exhibition convention facilities, luxury hotels and sports facilities. The new exhibition convention center will have a total floor area of 120,000 m2, nearly three times the size of COEX Convention & Exhibition Center, and will form a ‘MICE Cluster’ in connection with COEX (47,000 m2) and GBC (16,500 m2). A new luxury hotel with 900 rooms will provide accommodation space for visiting MICE delegates.

An official from the Korea Trade Association stated, ‘Seoul’s total exhibition area has been at a standstill at approx. 64,000 m2 for the past 10 years. It is key that we secure enough exhibition area to compete with other leading exhibition convention cities in Asia, such as Hong Kong (200,000 m2 total exhibition area) and Singapore (240,000 m2).’

No more written career service exams for 2020 – CSC

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N view of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) continuing pandemic, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) will not be conducting any written career service examinations for the rest of the year.

In an advisory, the CSC said the implementation of public health standards during the pandemic, such as physical distancing, reduced capacity of public transportation, and restriction on mass gatherings, has led it to cancel the following civil service examinations via the pen-andpaper test (PPT) mode: Fire Officer Examination, Penology Officer Examination, Basic Competency on Local Treasury Examination scheduled on 21 June 2020;

Career Service Examination (CSE) PPT (Professional and Subprofessional Levels) scheduled on 9 August 2020; Intermediate Competency on Local Treasury Examination, Pre-Employment Test, Promotional Test, Ethics-Oriented Personality Test scheduled on 11 October 2020.

Moreover, the conduct of the 15 March 2020 Professional and Subprofessional CSE-PPT shall be reset in 2021. A separate issuance pertaining to the said rescheduled exam will be released by the CSC. The 15 March 2020 CSE-PPT was supposed to be held in 66 testing locations nationwide with an estimated total of 293,845 individuals nationwide registered to take the test.

Continuing vaccination services play a crucial role in protecting the Filipino elderly

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A designated Mang Inasal Hygiene Ambassador reminds the store team to wash their hands every hour and sanitize every 30 minutes. He also conducts the cleaning and disinfection of the dining tables after every use.

selected Mang Inasal stores a table barrier is placed for face-to-face dining.

Store crew sanitize the door and door handles every 30 minutes even as they pursue intensified cleaning and sanitation of fixtures and facilities.

Similarly, heightened safety protocols for food preparation and handling—on top of existing procedures that are already thorough—are also being implemented.

These include the crew wearing face mask, face shield, and gloves; handwashing and sanitation every hour and when necessary; and the appointment of a Hygiene Ambassador – a crew member wearing an identifying button pin and personal protective equipment and who go around reminding crew and diners of the safety measures.

The Hygiene Ambassador himself cleans and disinfects the tables after every use.

Even the serving of unli-rice has been modified for safety purposes. Those who place unli-rice orders will be automatically served two cups of rice. Should they ask for more rice, the crew in charge will provide extra wrapped rice. Meanwhile pre-portioned condiments are served together with the ordered meal.

All these show that Mang Inasal not

only serves good food enjoyed by many, but it also has the safety and well-being of its stakeholders as a priority.

“We know how much everyone has missed dining at Mang Inasal,” says Business Unit Head Jojo P. Subido. “As we work towards the gradual return of in-store dining, we make sure to put our stakeholders at ease by placing their welfare as our top priority. In instituting all these precautions, we kept in mind our customers’ needs and concerns so that they can enjoy the Mang Inasal experience once again— safely and comfortably. We look forward to welcoming you back to our stores.”

As of this writing, over 80 per cent of Mang Inasal stores around the country are open for dine-in.

Meanwhile, customers from Metro Manila can continue enjoying Mang Inasal meals by placing their orders through #7-3333 or via GrabFood, Foodpanda, and LalaFood. They can also place their orders through Jose, the Mang Inasal Chatbot in Facebook Messenger.

They can likewise go to selected Mang Inasal stores for takeout or for Park, Pickup and Go arrangements.

S countries concentrate their efforts towardsfacingtheCOVID-19pandemic, health authorities are also emphasizing the need to continue immunization programs despite these circumstances. Maintaining high immunization rates across all age groups is essential to protect the population. Vaccination efforts are still needed in order to prevent and control the emergence or re-emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, polio, and pneumonia among others.

Senior citizens, 60 years old and above, in particular, are highly vulnerable due to their weakened immune systems and pre-existing health conditions. They have a greater likelihood of acquiring illnesses including pneumonia and influenza which have symptoms similar to COVID-19. Even the elderly who are considered healthy may still be susceptible to pneumonia and its consequences.

In 2016, 2018, pneumonia accounted for 28,952 deaths in the female population alone and the trend remains consistent in recent years. One of the ten leading causes of death in the Philippines, pneumonia is a disease which infects the lungs and is most commonly caused by bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Often, this type of bacteria can be found in the form of airborne droplets. Pneumonia inflames the air sacs of the lungs, filling them with fluid or pus, and thus causing fever, chills, cough with phlegm, and difficulty breathing.

There are also other types of infections which are caused by the pneumoccocus bacteria such as meningitis, an infection on the linings of the brain. Age groups most at risk of acquiring severe cases of pneumonia are infants, young children especially those under the age of 5, and the elderly.

Vaccination prevents and controls infectious diseases and, in some cases, may even eliminate diseases altogether. OoWhen at least 95 percent of a community is vaccinated,

complete elimination of diseases is possible. In fact, through vaccination, the Philippines has managed to eliminate polio in the year 2000, and neonatal tetanus in 2017. However in recent years, the Philippines has experienced a sharp decline in vaccination rate from 87 percent in 2016 to 68 percent in 2019. After this decline, an outbreak of measles and polio cases were reported in the country in 2019.

RA 9994 or the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010” sripulated that indigent senior citizens are entitled to free vaccinations for pneumonia and influenza.

In light of the COVID-19 situation, the World Health Organization (WHO) has provided guidelines for national immunization programs. According to the Department of Health (DOH) guidelines, immunization services should be continued as long as COVID-19 response measures allow, and if areas are at low risk. Vaccination services must also be administered in disinfected and wellventilated areas.

In the event that immunization services are not feasible and must be delayed, health care workers must have a list of patients who missed their vaccination. Catch-up vaccination activities will be put in place at once when the situation allows. More information on these guidelines may be found on the DOH website.

DOH - Centers for Health Development in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, together with their partners in the government, have already started adapting strategies such as house-tohouse visits for the vaccination of children, pregnant women, and the elderly while strictly observing community quarantine guidelines.

Overall, health authorities are encouraging everyone to give due attention to continuing national immunization services so that communities may continue to control the emergence or re-emergence of other deadly diseases while battling COVID-19.

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

Sports BusinessMirror

Friday, June 26, 2020 B7

NOVAK’S DAD: IT’S NOT MY SON’S FAULT! B

By Dusan Stojanovic The Associated Press

ELGRADE, Serbia—Novak Djokovic’s parents defended their son on Wednesday and blamed another tennis player for spreading the coronavirus at a series of exhibition matches hosted by the top-ranked player.

Djokovic and his wife tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. The 17-time Grand Slam champion then apologized online for organizing the Adria Tour events, which brought together professional players from various countries to play matches in Serbia and Croatia.

Thousands of spectators attended the matches and no social distancing was observed.

Djokovic’s outspoken father blamed the cancellation of the tour on Grigor Dimitrov, one of the three other players to test positive in the last few days. There is no evidence to suggest Dimitrov spread the virus to others.

“Why did it happen? Because that man probably came sick, who knows from where,” Srdjan Djokovic told RTL Croatia TV. “He didn’t test here, he tested somewhere else...I think that’s not fair.

“He inflicted damage to both Croatia and to us as a family in Serbia,” Srdjan Djokovic said. “Nobody is feeling well because of this situation.”

Dimitrov, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist from Bulgaria, was the first Adria Tour participant to test positive for the virus. He was followed by Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki.

The infections raised questions about the full-fledged return of competitive tennis, including the scheduled US Open in August.

“We were wrong and it was too soon,” wrote Djokovic, who has previously said he was against taking a vaccine for the virus even if it became mandatory to travel.

Dimitrov played in matches in both Belgrade and at the Croatian Adriatic resort of Zadar. He reportedly arrived in Serbia from the United States and his native Bulgaria. He did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment while recovering from the infection in Monaco.

National Basketball Association (NBA) player Nikola Jokic, a Serb who plays for the Denver Nuggets, has also tested positive for the coronavirus. He was pictured shaking hands with Djokovic at an exhibition basketball event in Belgrade this month.

Jokic is reportedly recovering in his hometown of Sombor.

Djokovic’s mother said both her son and his wife Jelena are feeling fine, but are suffering because of the widespread criticism.

“It is horrible what is being written, but we are used to it,” Dijana Djokovic told the Belgrade Blic daily newspaper.

The coronavirus outbreak led to the suspension of the Association of Tennis Professionals and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) professional tennis tours in March. Plans were announced last week for the sport’s sanctioned events to return in August. The US Open is scheduled to begin August 31 without spectators.

TENNIS READY TO RESUME DOWN UNDER

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LAYERS in Australia will have a chance to compete for prize money for the first time since March in a UTR pro series starting this weekend in Sydney and continuing in city hubs across the country from next week.

Top-ranked Ash Barty is unlikely to compete, concentrating instead on practice. Former US Open champion Sam Stosur is reportedly ready to join a series that will involve local competition for Australia-based men and women and likely run through August.

Elite competitive tennis has been shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic but exhibitions have started, including the Novak Djokovic-backed Adria Tour in Serbia and Croatia that had to be called off when the men’s No. 1 and three other players tested positive for Covid-19. Djokovic, who tested positive despite showing no symptoms, said he will remain in self-isolation for 14 days.

Players have returned to practice at Australia’s national tennis academy and community tennis has resumed in recent weeks, under guidelines for physical distancing.

Tennis Australia Chief Executive Craig Tiley said organizers had done a lot of planning for the new domestic series, which sets strict protocols that limit the number of people on the court and require players to undergo health checks and bring their own towels.

“With so much of the tennis season still uncertain, our aim through the UTR Pro Tennis Series is to give as many of our athletes the chance to compete and, importantly, also earn prize money, after months of not being able to make their living playing the sport they have devoted their lives to,” Tiley said in a statement. “Our team... worked closely with the authorities and tennis staff around the country to ensure they are run according to strict local biosecurity protocols.”

Restrictions are slowly being relaxed in most of Australia after the coronavirus lockdown, although the easing has been delayed in parts of Melbourne where so-called hot spots have emerged in the last week. AP

Novak Djokovic embraces Ana Konjuh—as Borna Coric hugs Olga Danilovic—and then plays basketball before posing with volunteers and players after the Adria Tour charity tournament in Belgrade. Obviously, these photos show all the ingredients of contamination with the virus. AP

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5 players withdraw, 1 turns out positive, nerves frayed on virus

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ROOKS KOEPKA and Webb Simpson were among five players who withdrew from the Travelers Championship, four of them out of a chain-reaction abundance of caution over the coronavirus that put the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour on notice.

“The snowball is getting a little bit bigger,” Graeme McDowell told The Associated Press after withdrawing Wednesday because his longtime caddie, Ken Comboy, tested positive for the virus.

The tour released results that showed three positive tests at the TPC River Highlands in Connecticut—Cameron Champ and the caddies for Koepka and McDowell. There were no positive tests on the Korn Ferry Tour event in Utah.

As it enters the third week in its return from the Covid-19 pandemic that shut down golf for

three months, the tour has administered 2,757 tests at PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour events in five states, with seven positive results.

On the PGA Tour alone, there have been 1,382 tests and four positive results.

“It’s a low number on a percentage basis, but every number hurts,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said. “I think we all need to remind ourselves that we’re all learning to live with this virus.

“It’s pretty clear that this virus isn’t going anywhere.”

Nick Watney was the first player to test positive last week at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, which was teeming with people on summer vacation.

Champ tested positive on Tuesday at the

Travelers and immediately withdrew.

Four more players withdrew even with negative test results.

Koepka said his caddie, Ricky Elliott, tested positive and then took another test that came back negative.

No matter. He chose to withdraw, and was especially gutted that his younger brother, Chase Koepka, withdrew after earning a rare chance to play through a Monday qualifier. AP

3 NBA players reveal they have coronavirus

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NDIANAPOLIS—The National Basketball Association (NBA) expected positive coronavirus results to happen once players began undergoing mandatory tests, and three players revealed Wednesday they are dealing with Covid-19.

Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon and Sacramento Kings players Jabari Parker and Alex Len all said they have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Brogdon and Parker made announcements in the form of statements released by their teams.

Len announced his status in an Instagram post.

All three said they expect to be with their teams when the NBA season resumes at the Disney complex near Orlando, Florida, next month.

“I recently tested positive for the Covid virus and am currently in quarantine,” Brogdon said in his statement. “I’m doing well, feeling well and progressing well. I plan to join my teammates in Orlando for the resumption of the NBA season and playoffs.”

All 22 NBA teams that will be part of the resumed season began mandated testing Tuesday. League officials have expected that positive tests would be inevitable, and believed

JAMES, LIKE PHIL, HANGS UP JERSEY

that starting a testing regimen now—roughly five weeks before games begin at Disney—will give players with positive results time to recover and get back with their teams before those contests start July 30.

“Several days ago I tested positive for Covid-19 and immediately self-isolated in Chicago which is where I remain,” Parker said in his statement. “I am progressing in my recovery and feeling well. I look forward to joining my teammates in Orlando as we return to the court for the resumption of the NBA season.”

Len said his positive result came after a test taken in Sacramento on Tuesday. He said he “immediately entered isolation” and thanked the NBA “for putting the protocols in place to allow me to catch this early.”

All teams will arrive at Disney between July 7 and July 9 to start a brief quarantine and training camp. The NBA is in the process of finalizing the game schedule for the resumed season.

Brogdon’s case is not the first that the Pacers

organization has dealt with during the pandemic.

Myles Turner’s father was hospitalized in Texas with Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus, but has

recovered.

Brogdon wasn’t healthy before the season was suspended on March 11, sitting out with a leg and hip muscle injury. But the stoppage gave him time to recover. He was averaging 16.3 points, 7.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 48 games in his first season with Indiana. AP THE Pacers announce that guard Malcolm Brogdon is infected with Covid-19. AP

AMES YOUNGHUSBAND, like his brother, is retiring from competitive football.

“Time to say goodbye. Thank you for the amazing memories. I have loved playing this game,” Younghusband wrote on his socialmedia account on Thursday.

The 33-year-old Filipino-British player followed younger brother, the country’s top goal-scorer Phil, who retired last November.

“Thank you to my family, bosses, managers, coaches, teammates, opponents, and all my supporters who have been part of my professional career,” Younghusband said.

“I feel lucky to have experienced wonderful memories and thankful for every moment of my time with my clubs and country,” he added.

Younghusband started his stint with the Under-23 team that participated in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games which the country hosted.

He played in 101 matches for the Azkals and totaled 12 goals.

Among his memorable appearances was in the Azkals’ run in the 2010 Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup and the team

capturing a historic berth to the Asian Football Confederation Cup 2019.

He played for Loyola Meralco, San Beda FC, Meralco Manila, Davao Aguilas and CeresNegros. Ramon Rafael Bonilla YOUNGHUSBAND

Panlilio says Ravena remains in Gilas Pilipinas program

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hirdy Ravena remains part of the Gilas Pilipinas program despite his decision to play as a

professional in a Japanese league, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) said on Thursday.

“Thirdy has always expressed his willingness to play for the Philippines and he reiterated his commitment in playing for Gilas Pilipinas in a short conversation we had earlier,” SBP President Al Panlilio

said in a statement.

“He assured us that playing for Gilas is a top priority for him and we’re hopeful that San-En NeoPhoenix will make

him available for the Fiba windows,” he added.

On Wednesday, Japan’s B.League announced that NeoPhoenix signed Ravena as its first Asian import under its new competition system for the 2020-2021 season.

In an interview with the CNN Philippines, Ravena felt gracious for the opportunity.

However, his departure from the country and his family makes him anxious.

“A lot of mixed emotions. Happy and sad at the same time,” Ravena said. “I can’t help but feel sad that I have to leave my family and friends.”

Ravena was at the forefront of the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ three consecutive title run in UAAP men’s basketball. He was also named the Finals Most Valuable Player in each of those occasions.

Panlilio believes the decision would boost the talent of Ravena, who abandoned a chance of possibility being picked high in the Philippine Basketball Association Rookie Draft this year.

“Playing in Japan is a great opportunity for Thirdy to expand his horizons and to learn more basketball at an international level,” the SBP chief said. “We are confident that he will represent the Philippines well with his talent and sportsmanship.”

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

B8 Friday, June 26, 2020

Editor: Tet Andolong

All 71 Toyota dealerships alive & kicking–Socco W

HEN Vince Socco speaks, people stop and listen. The industry bigwigs themselves drop everything to lend their ears to the man long considered as one of the few authorities on the goings-on in the car world, not only on local happenings but on global directions as well. The reason is simple: Vince, a distinguished vehicle animal for years globally, always has something up his sleeves to

unload when the situation arises, his stance quite often disturbingly distinct from the rest of his fellow pundits’ views. It’d be a delight mostly to listen to him because of his usually metaphorical analysis about the state of the motoring industry, whether current or otherwise.

He did it anew this week—in blazing fashion yet again.

As guest of the eminent and internationally hailed Rico Hizon

in his highly-popular The Final Word business television program at the much-respected CNN Philippines network, Vince delivered quite some eye-popping revelations on the auto world amid the pandemic, capping his dissertation by boldly predicting an irreversible rebound for the vehicle business from gloom to boom in no time.

Citing his turf ’s experience in the still-to-be-contained coronavirus, Vince said manufacturing had to practically be shut down mostly during the March-to-May murkiness as automobile sales absorbed the brunt of the Covid-19.

“While we were still reeling from the Taal Volcano eruption in January-February,” Vince said in Rico’s prime-time show, “we were suddenly hit by the coronavirus that brought instant doom to

the entire industry.” Or words to that effect.

W hen asked by Rico if vehicle sales were affected “across the board, or only the big-ticket brands,” Vince was straightforward as usual in his reply: “Yes, across-the-board.”

Meaning, all variants, or models if you will, reeled disastrously in sales amid the pandemic—from Toyota to practically all its rivals.

But was it a flickering of hope when Vince said “about 32 percent” was recorded as Toyota losses for June in year-to-year performance?

I’d say, yes, because industry data between March and May— the most miserable months of Covid-19’s swath of destruction—were so brutal it forced some of Toyota’s chief rivals to teeter between life and death. Honda alone closed four dealerships to avoid irrepa-

rable damage.

But credit it to its innate resilience that Toyota, being the perennial manufacturing frontrunner the last four decades or so, has stayed above water all this time, even priding itself at not having laid off even a single employee.

“At Toyota,” said Vince, who is chairman of TMP’s GT Capital Auto Dealership as well as executive vice president of GT Capital Holdings, “we don’t have any plans at all to shut down any of our dealerships.”

Indeed, Toyota’s 71 dealerships nationwide have withstood the crisis—in flying colors yet. And, judging from its track record, the undisputed industry leader is seen courageously to stay afloat, come hell or high water. The company’s triumphant return in 1989 is just too significant not to notice.

Thus, Toyota bouncing back from the virus-inflicted blows, sooner or later, seems achievable.

No big talk there.

PEE STOP My deepest condolences to the loved ones of Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., who bought San Miguel Corp. in 1983 and, together with R amon S. Ang, they made the beer brand a global conglomerate diversifying in food, fuel, energy, power and infrastructure platforms. Danding, who collected vintage cars and big bikes as his hobby, had a net worth of $1.1 billion as Forbes magazine listed him recently as the Philippines’s 16th richest person. He was my compadre as we stood together as godfathers in the wedding of two-time world boxing champion Luisito “Lindol” Espinosa in 1991.

Geely brings in the all-new Azkarra Story by Randy S. Peregrino

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OJITZ G Auto Philippines (SGAP), the exclusive distributor of Geely vehicles in the country, recently launched via digital presentation its all-new Azkarra. Poised to redefine its segment, this compact SUV has what it takes in terms of technology, design, and engineering.

The exterior look of the allnew Azkarra is a complete revamp from its predecessor inside and out. According to Geely Design China Vice President and General Manager Guy Burgoyne, they have worked miracles to bring luxury brand level technology into the Azkarra. “After listening to consumer feedback, we also wanted the user to have easier access to Azkarra’s technology and storage spaces by further refining our interior design,” he said. The Azkarra’s exterior masterful design provides that strong statement on the road. Even the interior design’s concept of ‘Humanized Space’ says it all when it comes to providing all occupants with more elevated driving experience.

Perhaps one of the model’s selling point is the integration of the mild-hybrid technology—a bold step for Geely as a new challenger in the country’s automotive industry. “Right now, we see that the auto industry is gearing towards hybrid and electric vehicle technology as it becomes increasingly popular,” said SGAP President and CEO Mikihisa Takayama.

Geely’s next-generation compact SUV is a 48V Electric Motor Synergy (EMS) model, powered by a 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine complemented by a 48V belt-starter generator (BSG), a 48V-12 DCDC converter, 48V lithium-ion battery module, and battery management system

Volvo offers FREE home Wallbox installation for all Volvo T8 Plug-in Hybrid car owners

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The all-new Geely Azkarra donning its refined look. Geely Philippines

‘Humanized Space’ interior design concept

(BMS). The internal combustion engine alone already generates 177 hp and 255 N-m of maximum torque. But the same motor integrated with 48V EMS, there’s more power at 190 hp and 300 N-m of torque. The two engine options

are mated to six-speed automatic and seven-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox, respectively.

As for safety and convenience, the all-new Azkarra is equipped with driver, passenger, front row and side curtain air bags, Anti-lock

Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control, Hill Start Assist, and Hill Descent Control, among others.

Interestingly, all Geely vehicles now are fitted with CN95 cabin filters.

The all-new Azkarra frontwheel-drive Premium variant is priced at P1.438 million while the all-wheel-drive 48V EMS Luxury edition is valued at P1.598 million.

Available color shades are simply coded as White, Blue, Silver, Red, and Black. Setting a competitive price range among compact SUVs, the all-new Azkarra is an affordable luxury SUV packed with technological power, refined interior, healthy space, and safety features that will bring a more enjoyable experience to a high-quality life.

To know more about the allnew Azkarra, you may visit Geely Philippines’s web site at https:// geelyph.com/.

Ncontinued service to its valued customers, Volvo Philippines offers free home installation of the Volvo Wallbox to all its T8 Twin Engine Plug-in Hybrid car owners. This is a complimentary service that will make it easier and more convenient for Volvo owners to charge their Plug-in Hybrid Volvos especially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Observing strict health and safety protocols, the local Volvo dealer will deploy its Volvo Wallbox Team to all Volvo plug-in hybrid car owners who who wants to have a Volvo Wallbox installed in their homes.

The service is applicable to residential houses with ample facilities for the proper installation of the T8 power socket. It will include standard installation components such as a circuit breaker, a ground fault circuit interrupter, and cables.

The Volvo Wallbox is an essential accompaniment to a plug-in hybrid vehicle as it makes it easier and faster to recharge. Much like a phone charger, the Wallbox may be mounted indoors or outdoors near the vehicle to be charged. It comes with a securely mounted charging cable to lower risk of theft. An LED

indicator light will blink as the car is charging and will switch to a constant light when the plug-in hybrid is fully charged.

This free home installation service is just part of Volvo Philippines’s efforts to respond to the car ownership needs of its customers while in the midst of the coronovirus crisis. Volvo PHL is also the first local automotive company to launch a customer-centric service through Volvo Concierge where clients can get online support for their car-related needs.

Volvo is the first local car dealer and distributor to launch plug-in models in the Philippines. The Volvo S90 sedan, XC60 SUV, and XC90 SUV all have plug-in variants available in the country. These turbocharged vehicles all deliver a combined power of electric and petrol capabilities designed to give a smooth, effortless ride, and drive. With zero tailpipe emissions, excellent fuel efficiency, and outstanding flexibility, it assures of top-notch performance.

For more information about the local Volvo Plug-in Hybrid range, please visit: https://www.volvocars. com/ph.

Lalamove and QC local government launch LalaJeep

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alamove, in partnership with the Quezon City local government, launches a one-of-a-kind vehicle to cater to the delivery needs of the QC residents, the LalaJeep. The project’s goal is to help jeepney drivers who were displaced from work due to the community quarantine. This will also provide more affordable options for business owners who are heavily reliant on the delivery app as they move essential goods and shift their business online and delivery-enabled to adapt to the new norm.

From June 15 until August 15, customers will see LalaJeep as a new delivery type on the Lalamove app. It falls just in between the motorcycle and the 300kg delivery services, ensuring that it will be affordable for anyone to avail.

During the project, LalaJeep will only be available in Quezon City.

C it y Mayor Joy Be l monte shared her excitement in announcing this new project with the residents of QC. “Since our jeepney drivers are directly affected by the continuing community quarantine, this LalaJeep program is

a welcome initiative which will provide alternative livelihood for them. We are grateful to Lalamove for piloting this program in Quezon City.”

Dannah Majarocon, the managing director of Lalamove Philippines said that “This project is aligned with Lalamove’s goal to empower communities and uplift the livelihood of those who are heavily affected by the pandemic.

This will allow our services better to suit every business owner and day-to-day user’s delivery needs.

This project is a testament that

with governmental support, we can deliver possibilities faster.”

The QC government facilitated the group training sessions for their jeepney driver constituents, helping them to easily onboard to the delivery app. During the preparation of the launch, around 200 jeepney drivers signed up to be part of the LalaJeep fleet. With an alternative source of income, both Lalamove and the Quezon City local government hope that the LalaJeep project will alleviate the adversity caused by the pandemic and the community quarantine.