BusinessMirror June 29, 2020

Special session? No clear Palace signal yet

By Butch Fernandez

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A UV Express driver installs plastic cover on his vehicle in Parañaque City to follow the protocol on the new normal. A total of 980 UV Express units—just a fraction of a total estimated 15,000—will be allowed back on the road starting Monday, June 29. NONIE REYES

@butchfBM

ENAT E leaders a re awa it ing Malacañang’s formal call for Congress—now adjourned for its scheduled June 6 to July 26 recess—to convene a special session to fast-track passage of a Palace-backed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act to boost the Duterte administration’s efforts to rebound from the Covid contagion.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III reported Sunday senators still have to be officially notified of Malacañang’s preferred date for the special session to tackle and frontload approval of an urgent measure billed to contain Covid, which has posted 34,803 infections as of Saturday (June 27), with 1,236 deaths.

“None yet,” Sotto told BusinessMirror when asked if they were already

informed of a fixed date for the special session of Congress as suggested by the Palace.

For his part, Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri expressed the Senate’s readiness to get back to work on the Palace proposal, acknowledging the urgency of government’s efforts to effectively address the contagion.

“I welcome a possible special session for the passage of the Bayanihan to Heal as one extension, as the first law has recently expired,” Zubiri said Sunday.

He was referring to the law passed by Congress at the start of the lockdowns, lasting 90 days, and giving the President spending authority to realign the 2020 budget to combat Covid-19.

The Bayanihan 2, as the Bayanihan to Recover As One bill is known, supposedly gives government more financial muscle to help sectors devastated by the

lockdowns to recover.

Zubiri said, “For the record, the Senate had passed the extension [Bayanihan 2] on second reading, with some amendments that we thought could help stimulate some needed sectors and the economy.”

However, the Majority Leader recalled that the Department of Finance team “did not recommend its certification at the time, so here we are today. Being legislators, we swore an oath to do our job with the best of our abilities, and so if there is a call for a special session to address the problems during these trying times, then so be it.”

At the same time, Zubiri said the Senate is not likely to encounter problems mustering a quorum to conduct business in mid-recess. “We will be there to heed the call. We would only like to requestSee “Special Session” A2

OWWA FUND DEPLETION ALARMS GOVT, EXPERTS

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n Monday, June 29, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 263

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 16 pages |

UNSOLICITED PPP PROJECTS EXEMPT FROM PCC REVIEW

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

U

RUBEN MOJICA, who used to work, pre-pandemic, as a laborer in any construction project that would accept him, has used his skills to build a makeshift "house." His "house" has a good view of the Pasig River and the posh condominiums along it. He and his son survive by picking up items for sale in junk shops. His wife just died last month. He says, "no matter how hard life is, as long as my child is still with me, I'm happy." NONIE REYES

I

By Cai U. Ordinario & Samuel P. Medenilla

@caiordinario

@sam_medenilla

F the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) fund dries up, migrant workers’ benefits will be cut short starting next year, according to experts.

However, economists believe the government will not allow OWWA funds to run dry. Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (Acerd) Director Alvin P. Ang said the government can finance the fund through a supplemental budget.

This, as migrant advocates issued a warning that thousands of Covid-displaced OFWs seeking repatriation or government aid may

be stuck in a bureaucratic limbo if the OWWA becomes bankrupt from coping with the fallout from the pandemic.

The advocates were alarmed by OWWA’s report last week to senators that its P18-billion trust fund could be completely exhausted if the mass repatriation of OFWs continues up to next year.

NSOLICITED publicpr ivate par t nership (PPP) projects may now be carried out even without the review of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) under the agency’s new protocols.

In Memorandum Circular 20-002, the PCC provided guidelines for exempting from mandatory merger notification unsolicited PPP projects implemented through the Build-Operate-Transfer law. The new procedure for such will take effect on July 11.

Under the rules, implementing agencies may apply in behalf of the original proponent and prospective bidders for a certificate of project exemption with the PCC. The application should be made any time from the commencement of negotiations with the original proponent but prior to the release of a certificate of successful negotiation.

As such, the PCC will be given time to come up with inputs to the project documents, such as tender papers, feasibility study, draft proposal, project proposal and eligibility documents. The agency is expected to study how the project may affect competition

in the relevant markets.

Upon adoption of the PCC’s inputs in the final project documents, the PCC shall issue a certificate of project exemption in favor of the prospective winning proponent.

However, if the implementing agency fails to consider the PCC’s inputs, or if the winning proponent does not execute the required undertakings, the PCC can conduct a full merger review of the transaction.

To e n su re compet it ion safeguards are followed, the antitrust agency will monitor the project and may initiate a motu proprio review if the winning project proponent violates any of its undertakings to the PCC. The memorandum on unsolicited PPP projects complements the PCC’s exemption rules for solicited PPP projects issued in July of last year.

Both rules are enabled by the memorandum of agreement between the PCC and the PPP Center.

Prior to the issuance of the circular, joint ventures of private entities formed for an unsolicited PPP project that meet the compulsory notification thresholds had to undergo full review by the PCC only after the implementing agency awards the project.

Continued on A2

Changes in hotel ownership, branding seen post-Covid

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

R

EAL-ESTATE activities will be brisk in the tourism sector, as hotel properties see possible changes in ownership and rebranding.

This was the conclusion of Rick Santos, chairman and CEO of Santos Knight Frank, which recently organized the webinar “Hotel

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

Industry: Through and Beyond Covid-19” with the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines.

“Covid-19 has created a ‘Double Black Swan’ global event with tremendous impact on the Philippine tourism and hospitality sector.

Agility is crucial for hotel companies during these volatile times.

We expect to see a lot of real-estate activities in the hotel sector, such as buying, selling, financing, valuation, and even rebranding.”

So far, Marco Polo Davao has announced its closure this June, while a few branches of the Victoria Court motel chain are being shuttered due to the Covid crisis. Also, there is talk that MarriottInternationalislookingtotake overSheridanBeachResortinPalawan.

Santos recommended that hotel owners “explore bank and nonbank real-estate financing that would help their businesses cope in this environment. This will certainly be a period of creativity and new

ideas.” Many hotels are in the midst of upgrading their facilities and investing in improving their health and safety protocols to fight against Covid-19 infections.

Commercial banks are expected to further cut their lending rates, taking their cue from the easing monetary policy of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, in a bid to spur the economy. Also, the Board of Investments has already made available tax incentives for tour-

ism stakeholders who are improving their facilities to this purpose.

(See, “BOI approves tax perks to help tourism enterprises in upgrade,” in the BusinessMirror, June 11, 2020.)

According to data from the real-estate company, prior to the Covid-19, there were 7,078 hotel rooms in the pipeline from 2020 to 2023. Post-lockdown, there are only 6,845 rooms in the pipeline from 2020 to 2024, indicating a

delay in construction and possible rethinking of investments. These are upcoming hotels, three-star and up, and within central business districts of Metro Manila.

During said webinar panelists from the hotel sector indicated revisions in their capital expenditures and hotel openings. (See, “Hotels revise capex due to Covid-19,”in the BusinessMirror, June 25, 2020.)

Continued on A2

US 50.0130 n JAPAN 0.4668 n UK 62.1462 n HK 6.4530 n CHINA 7.0865 n SINGAPORE 35.9418 n AUSTRALIA 34.4390 n EU 56.0996 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.3347

Source: BSP (26 June 2020)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, June 29, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Amid Covid-19 spike, DND stops ferrying LSIs to home provinces

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By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

HE government has decided to temporarily stop transporting people who were stranded in Metro Manila to their home provinces in the Visayas following reports that these individuals and returning overseas workers accounted for the spike of Covid-19 cases in their provinces.

The thousands of individuals, dubbed by the government “locally stranded individuals [LSI],” got trapped in Metro Manila when the government imposed a lockdown in March to contain the pandemic, giving notice of less than a day.

The stranded were being ferried to their provinces through Navy

and Coast Guard vessels and even by buses the past two weeks, following concern over their health status, as many were staying on the streets, under flyovers, and camping out in the vicinity of airports and seaports.

“Yes, I approved a suspension of LSI repatriation to Region 6 and 8

for two weeks starting today [Sunday],” said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who is also the chairman of the National Action Plan on Covid-19 (NAP-Covid-19).

“We have to go [for] this, because the LSIs are the ones bringing the virus to the provinces. The data from Bacolod and Iloilo City bear this out. The LGUs asked for the suspension. We will have to come up with a better procedure to prevent this from happening,” he explained, on Sunday.

Earlier, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, the vice chairman of the NTF-Covid-19, recommended for a halt in the return of the LSI to their home provinces in the Visayas after local officials claimed they were behind the increase of coronavirus cases.

Their claims were backed by regional health officials in the Visayas.

A mong the places cited as example is Ormoc City, where stringent measures by the LGU led by Mayor R ichard Gomez

resu lted i n Or moc’s post i ng zero Covid cases in nearly three months of lockdowns. However, once the LSIs were let in, the city has since recorded over 50 cases of infections.

Lorenzana said since the effort has been stopped, the LSI should stay in their areas until the problem is ironed out, “They have to wait where they are. They should not go to the airport or seaport. We have to get the LGUs to agree to receive them. Their problem is that their quarantine facilities are limited and they don’t want to be overwhelmed,” he said.

Meanwhile, the military has sent a medical team of nine doctors, 10 nurses and 13 medical aides in Cebu on Saturday to augment government efforts there following the recent increase of cases in the city.

The team, known as Task Group Central led by Major Maria Adesitas Sagario, underwent precautionary swab testing and flu vaccination

prior their flight via Philippine Air Force C-130 aircraft.

“We are proud of this team for stepping up in this dangerous but very important mission. This is what it means to be a soldier and we know more than anyone that no danger of disease will stop us from accomplishing our mission,” said Vice Admiral Gaudencio Collado Jr., the AFP Vice Chief of Staff during the sendoff ceremony at the Villamor Air Base.

Collado was joined by National Task Force-Covid-19 chief implementor Carlito Galvez Jr. and Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu during the ceremony. Cimatu is in charge of enforcing Covid-19 protocols in Cebu City.

“You are representing the AFP. Take care of yourself and perform your duties diligently, not only as members of the Armed Forces but also as an individual.

This way when all this is over you will have achieved personal fulfillment,” Cimatu told the frontliners.

DICT launching free WiFi sites in Basilan T

HE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will launch on Tuesday 20 free WiFi sites in Basilan to provide Internet access to the province’s residents.

DICT Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II said the free WiFi spots, to be deployed in Isabela

and Lamitan in Basilan, will also “promote the use of ICT to improve delivery of critical government services, and provide a lower entry barrier for new Internet users, among others.”

WiFi spots will be lighted in different public areas such as provincial offices, high schools, librar-

ies, military compounds, ports, post offices, maritime offices, city halls, health facilities, and digital hubs, among others. “ We cannot emphasize furt her t he impor tance of conn e c t i v it y a n d a c c e s s , e s p e cia l ly amid the hea lth cr isis we are in. It has become the

lifeblood of our society, providing a sense of nor ma lc y in our lives. A nd w ith that, it is your DICT ’s duty to ensure the whole countr y are afforded this right, i nc lud i ng t he remotest pa r t of the countr y. It is our dut y to ensure the countr y safely transition to the new nor ma l,”

Honasan said.

The DICT started deploying the WiFi spots in December 2019, when a backhaul link from Zamboanga City was installed to connect Isabela City in Basilan. The same was done in Lamitan City the following month.

Lorenz S. Marasigan

OWWA FUND DEPLETION ALARMS GOVT, EXPERTS Continued from A1

“It is sad and worrisome to see the steep and steady decline in OWWA funds that took more than 40 years to accumulate,” Blas F. Ople Policy Center Head Susan Ople told BusinessMirror in an SMS.

Repatriation impact

THE former labor undersecretary said this could be problematic to OFWs, who would want to return home especially during the Covid-19 crisis.

“With 80,000 OFWs awaiting repatriation from Saudi Arabia alone, we clearly face a humanitarian crisis involving the health and safety of our migrant workers,” Ople said.

Her late father Blas F. Ople, the former senator and secretary of labor—and later, of foreign affairs—had conceived of the labor export policy in the early 70s when the Philippines was struggling with foreign exchange requirements while its skilled workers became in demand in other countries, especially the Middle East.

Such labor export has since shored up the Philippine economy, with OFWs remitting on average $30 billion the past few years.

There had been repeated warnings in the past against relying too heavily on labor exports, but none of these contemplated the extent and suddenness by which Covid-19 upended the lives of

some 350,000 OFWs (to date) in more than 50 countries.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) earlier said that about a third of the over 300,000 OFWs whose employment was affected by Covid-19 are seeking to be repatriated this year.

Palace, senators support

PRESIDENTIAL Spokesman Harry Roque earlier assured the public that the Palace supports efforts to inject support in the OWWA trust fund.

“That [depletion of the OWWA fund] will not happen, the government will finance that [trust fund].

The government can include that in the budget or a supplement this year,” Ang said.

Last week, OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said in a Senate Labor committee hearing that its remaining P18-billion trust fund could be exhausted by next year if the mass repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) continues.

In turn, senators said Congress would do its part to help beef up OWWA’s resources for dealing with the unprecedentedly high repatriation, as thousands more of OFWs are begging to be brought home.

Acerd’s Ang said the increase in spending for OFWs this year is expected given the current pandemic.

He said the Philippines is not alone in this situation.

Increasing OWWA’s spending for OFW repatriation has been cited as a key factor for the possible depletion of the OWWA trust fund.

“If it [OWWA] runs out of resources, they will have to be bailed out by the GAA [General Approriations Act]. Of course, a depleted welfare fund will cut short OFWs benefits,” Institute for Migration and Development Issues (IMDI) Executive Director Jeremaiah M. Opiniano said.

Opiniano said a depleted OWWA fund will lead to programs being cut short, including those for reintegration. The OWWA handles the National Reintegration Center for OFWs. Through this program, Opiniano said, OFWs can seek assistance for business ventures as well as access other programs that are extended to returning OFWs. Without the OW WA fund, he said OFW returnees will have to seek assistance elsewhere such as through Government Financial Institutions (GFIs) like the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines.

The possible impact of injecting funds into the OWWA trust fund may add to the strain on the finances of the government. But, Ang said, the priority should be to save human lives first.

“These are all future problems

that can be solved at a later time.

We should spend now to save capacities and Human Resources,” Ang said.

Besides funding issues, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said other factors also hinder the government’s repatriation capabilities, including the travel restrictions of other countries as well as lack of clearances or existing cases of some OFWs.

Financial woes

RECRUITMENT expert Lito Soriano said while recruitment and manning agencies are mandated by government regulations to shoulder the repatriation of their deployed newly hired OFWs, many of them cannot do so because of their Covid-caused financial woes.

“We totally have no ability to send them home. Actually to survive for the next next three months is already a big challenge [for recruitment agencies] because we have no income since the employers, who availed of our services during the last six to eight months, have yet to pay us because of their financial difficulties,” said Soriano, who owns LBS Recruitment Solutions.

“So where will get funds to repatriate the OFWs?” he added.

When manning agencies, especially during emergencies, are unable to shoulder the return costs

for OFWs, OWWA usually steps in. However, the sheer scale of the current pandemic-induced repatriation is proving too big for OWWA to handle.

Soriano said OWWA usually pays for the repatriation of rehired OFWs. He noted about 60 percent to 70 percent of the deployed OFWs annually are rehires.

Additional funding

OWWA has requested a P5-billion additional funding from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to help with its ongoing repatriation and OFW aid expenses.

The proposal was supported by senators and Malacañang. However, as of Saturday, OWWA chief Cacdac and Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III—also OWWA Board of Trustees chairman—told BusinessMirror they are still waiting for DBM to act on the budget request.

Ople called for the immediate release of funding to OWWA in the Covid-19 crisis.

“Without the safety net of extra funds, we fear that many of our stranded OFWs will not be reached in time because our embassies and labor posts won’t have the resources to mobilize on the ground,” Ople stressed.

For his part, Soriano said the DBM should consider releasing an additional P20-billion additional funding for OWWA instead.

Last week, at the Labor committee hearing led by chairman Sen. Joel Vil lanueva, OW WA reported 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.

Changes in hotel ownership, branding seen post-Covid Continued from A1

Pinoys heading to the beach

MEANWHILE, Filipinos will be heading to the beach and will likely be traveling in smaller groups, according to results of a Department of Tourism (DOT)-commissioned survey, which were revealed by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat in the same webinar.

“Based on the preliminary results of a survey we launched with Guide to the Philippines and the Asian Institute of Management, the number one activity that people are looking forward to is ‘Sun and Beach.’ Following this is road trips, which is in line with how we foresee the gradual reopening of tourism. Traveling by land, to nearby destinations, will be the primary mode of transportation in these early phases.”

She added, “Travel distances will initially be short and most likely intra-municipality or intra-province.

Eventually, domestic travelers will go farther distances and start taking flights once made available.”

The survey also noted, in the short and medium term, a tourist’s behavior and expectations will hinge on the following: ■ Health and safety will continue to be the primary consideration in travel decisions. Travelers will ask detailed questions on the situation in a destination or establishment, and availability and proximity of medical facilities and services.

■ There will be increased utilization of digital platforms in securing information on travel options, booking flights and accommodations, and transacting in general.

This is part of the shift to cashless and contactless transactions.

■ More consumers will prefer small group but high-value, experiential travel. As physical distancing protocols must continue to be observed, there will be less of the mass groups that we saw prior to the pandemic. The rest of the survey results will be unveiled in a special presentation by the DOT and AIM on Monday.

Special session…

Continued from A1

that the Executive department, particularly the Finance team, know what they want and coordinate with both houses to come up with a doable compromise so they won’t waste the President’s time and effort in calling for a special session,” he added.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson expressed similar concern over a vague agenda. He suggested that before special session is called, “It is best for the Executive Department and Congress to first agree on a mutually acceptable legislative measure to address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the social and economic problems that beset our country.

That way, we won’t be wasting our time.”

Lacson lamented, however, that “as long as the Department of Health is incompetently led and the health issue cannot be addressed appropriately, we will be in a Sisyphus-like situation. Worse, we will just be throwing away our country’s very limited resources that could bring us neck-deep in debt with no solution in sight.”

The senator added: “It is bad enough that we will be forced to scrounge and even borrow just to augment our already limited funds.

It’s infuriating if we lose it all—and more—to incompetence.” Lacson is one of the most vocal critics of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

PHL SECURES P18.5-B LOAN FROM WB TO PROCESS INDIVIDUAL FARM TITLING

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HE Philippines secured the World Bank’s approval for a $370-million (around P18.5 billion) loan for a project that would award individual titles to farmers covered by the collective land ownership awards (CLOAs) previously issued to agrarian reform beneficiaries under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp).

In a statement, the World Bank said around 750,000 people are expected to gain improved land tenure security and stable property rights through the project it calls “Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling” or Split.

According to the lender of last resort, Split will facilitate land titles for over 1.3 million hectares of land that was granted as part of Carp.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the lead implementing agency of Carp, was designated project head.

“Many farmers who were granted lands under the country’s agrarian reform program have been waiting for individual titles, sometimes for decades,” Achim Fock, World Bank acting country director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, was quoted in the statement as saying.

“This project will provide them the opportunity, on a voluntary basis, to get legal proof and the security of individual land rights,” Fock added. “We expect that this will encourage them to invest in their property and adopt better technologies for greater productivity and higher incomes.”

He explained that improved land tenure security would contribute to poverty reduction and rural economic growth and strengthen farmers’ resilience against impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Due to the economic slowdown, subsistence farmers are at significant risk of falling deeper into poverty,” Fock said. “Many of them lack social security, savings, and access to formal financing. With individual land titles, beneficiaries will have greater access to credit and financing, as well as government assistance.”

In the past three decades, the Philippine government through Carp distributed 4.8 million hectares “16 percent of the nation’s land” to almost 3 million beneficiaries.

Approximately 53 percent of the land distributed was in the form of individual titles. Especially in the 1990s, the government issued mostly CLOAs to speed up land distribution, with the intention of subdividing and titling them individually at a future time.

Recently, the Philippine government has embarked on a renewed push for individual titling to hasten transformation in rural areas.

The Split Project will support the government’s ongoing efforts for parcelization and individual titling through the adoption of improved technologies and digital platforms, improvements in regulations, streamlining of procedures in the titling process and enhanced consultations with beneficiaries, the World Bank said. Jonathan L. Mayuga

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, June 29, 2020 A3

Anti-plastic pollution group welcomes adoption of reusable packaging system

A

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

GROUP advocating against pollution from disposable plastic lauded the position of 115 health experts from 18 countries vouching for the safety of the reusable packaging system by employing basic hygiene.

Hea lth and env ironmenta l groups under the Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) movement welcomed the statement, which addresses the safe use of reusable bags, containers and refill systems amid the ongoing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis.

BFFP Philippines’s Riedo Panaligan said it was a “very timely statement made by the global scientific community.”

“Plastic pollution should not be a part of our efforts towards a ‘Better Normal ’ future. Unless we turn off the tap and regulate the production, plastic will continue to contaminate our food supply and impact our ecosystems,” Panaligan said.

He said they are urging the public

not to “allow chemical and plastic industries to capitalize on the Covid-19 crisis and continue their business-asusual operations.”

“It is time for nations to hold them accountable for the plastic pollution crisis,” Panaligan added.

According to the BFFP, the experts’ joint statement also builds on the movement’s “Just Recovery” principles as it highlights the need to take a holistic approach to shifting to reusables, such as employing contactless systems and ensuring employee and worker safety and health.

In their statement, the health experts said reusable and refill systems can still be used safely by employing basic and stringent hygiene practices.

“Reusables offer more sustainable packaging solutions and are easier to clean with soap and water or even with commonly approved household disinfectants. Singleuse plastics are not inherently safer than reusables; and not only do they contribute to environmental pollution, they have also been found to cause additional public health concerns once they are discarded,” according to Geminn Louis C. Apostol, one of the signatories to the statement.

Nevertheless, Apostol said observing physical distancing and limiting outdoor activities remain to be the most cost-effective measure to avoid transmission of Covid-19. He added these also minimize the need to use disposable personal protective equipment (PPE).

“Moreover, we must advocate for evidence-based, and well-enforced waste management policies and practices,” said Apostol, who is lead environmental health specialist at the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health.

He also emphasized the need for a concerted effort in addressing the problem.

While there are safe disposal solutions to Covid-related waste such as medical waste autoclaves, the best way to ensure personal and en-

vironmental health is the rational use of PPEs and a shift to reusable, the BFFP said.

The health experts’ statement stressed that available evidence indicates that the virus spreads primarily from inhaling aerosolized droplets, rather than through contact with surfaces and that disposable products present similar issues as reusable ones.

T he health experts argued that reusable products are easily cleaned.

The health experts offer the “Best Practices for Reusable Products in the Retail Space,” which include compliance with food safety, use of additional hygienic practices against the spread of Covid-19, employing contact-free systems for customers’ personal bags and cups and ensuring that workers are protected.

In addition to investing in safe and accessible reusable systems, other steps retailers can take to protect workers include providing PPE, paid sick leave, reduced occupancy in stores and requiring customers to wear masks and practice social distancing, the health experts said.

Cu s tome r s s hou ld h a nd le their own reusable items when going to shops and stores, they added.

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

A4 Monday, June 29, 2020 • Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Manila scraps bid to buy rice via G2G scheme

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

M

@jearcalas

ORE than two weeks after conducting a tender for 300,000 metric tons (MT) of rice under a government-togovernment (G2G) scheme, Manila said it will no longer import the staple as officials deem the nationwide stockpile sufficient for the lean season.

State-owned Philippine Inter� national Trading Corp. (PITC) has cancelled the transaction following the recommendation of the Depart� ment of Agriculture (DA) that G2G importation is no longer needed as there is no impending rice shortage.

Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and India participated in the June 8 bid� ding for rice supply worth P7.45 bil� lion. Since then, the participants were left hanging as the the lack of legal cover made it difficult for the PITC to proceed with the rice purchase.

Under the rice trade liberaliza� tion (RTL) law, which deregulated the Philippine rice industry, the President would authorize G2G importation via the declaration of a rice shortage.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in April that the G2G im�

portation was the brainchild of the DA. During that period, the private sector’s supply of imported rice was tight due to a short-lived export ban imposed by Vietnam and the impact of Covid-19 on logistics. ”Under the rice tariffication law, the PITC is the agency tasked to merely implement any directive from the DA to import rice under a G2G ar� rangement,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a June 26 statement. ”It will be recalled that the initial decision for the G2G importation plan was a result of the potential threat to maintaining a good buffer supply rice of the country. Earlier computations from DA showed a threat to the targeted level of buffer stock following the imposed ban of rice exportation of Vietnam in April,” Lopez added.

DOTr orders shipping lines to allot ‘exclusive space’ for farm goods

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

T

HE Department of Transporta� tion (DOTr) has ordered domes� tic shipping lines to provide no less than 12 percent of their vessel’s cargo capacity per voyage for the ex� clusive accommodation of agricultural and food products, and to extend pref� erential shipping rates on agricultural and food products.

This, according to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, is his agen� cy’s support to the government’s drive to provide food security for Filipinos amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“At this period when the danger of the pandemic is still very real, the people must be assured that the pro� duction and delivery of food and ag� ricultural items will not be hampered or delayed. This is important as many parts of the country remain under quarantine measures where movement is restricted,” he said.

Apart from allocating exclusive space for food and agricultural prod� ucts, the department order also enjoins domestic shipping lines to extend a discount of “no less than 40 percent” of their published rates for agricultural and food shipments.

“With this department order, our people will be assured of food supply, as each vessel being operated by a do� mestic shipping line will be carrying needed food and agricultural products to various destinations in the country,” Tugade added.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the order is “crucial and complemen� tary” to his group’s move to lift the purchase limits on basic goods.

“From the very beginning, the stable supply and unhampered movement of all food and nonfood cargoes has always been our priority. This is to prevent the unreasonable increase in the prices of goods, especially at this time of the pandemic when sources of income are limited,” he said.

A STALL at the San Andres public market sells assorted varieties of rice in this file photo. BUSINESSMIRROR FILE PHOTO

The PITC still pushed through with the bidding despite Vietnam lifting the export ban in April, two months prior to the G2G tender, which it conducted online.

Letter to DTI

THE DA said the PITC should have pushed through with the bidding since the department’s latest sup�

ply projections, which contains 10 scenarios for the year, were drawn up on June 19, more than a week after the tender.

The DA said Dar made the recom� mendation that the G2G is no longer needed on June 24 through a letter to Lopez where the agriculture chief explained his department’s new rice supply projections for the year.

PHL sugar output in current crop year beats forecasts

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FTER a two-year slump, the country’s sugar production in the current crop year is poised for recovery, latest data from the Sugar Regulatory Administra� tion showed.

Preliminary SRA data as of June 7 has reached 2.123 MMT, 2.69 per� cent over the 2.067 MMT recorded in the same period of last year.

The volume was equivalent to 42.466 million 50-kilogram bags of raw sugar (LKg), compared to the 41.355 million LKg produced last year, SRA data showed.

The current crop year began on September 1, 2019, and will end on August 31.

The latest production data has al� ready exceeded earlier full crop year forecasts made by the SRA and the United States Department of Agri� culture Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila (USDA-FAS Manila).

Preliminary SRA projections and the USDA-FAS Manila’s Global Agri� cultural Information Network (Gain) report estimated that sugar output

in the current crop year would fall to a 10-year low of 2.025 MMT due to erratic weather conditions and shrinking sugarcane area.

The current crop year sugar pro� duction is now the highest since the 2.083 MMT in crop year 20172018, a year after the Philippines posted a record-high sugar output of 2.5 MMT. Philippine Sugar Millers Asso� ciation Executive Director Cocoy Barrera said raw sugar production was able to exceed forecasts, as higher sugarcane tonnage was able to offset the decline in sugar con� tent per cane.

“We exceeded the production last year. I think this due to good weather during harvest, which resulted in higher tonnage although sugar re� covery rate is down,” Barrera told the BusinessMirror.

“And although initially SRA said there is a decline in the sugarcane area this year, their latest figures show that there’s a slight increase in hectarage.”

Embassy shares virgin coconut oil with American frontliners

T

O join the celebration of Na� tional Coconut Day in the United States, the Philippine Embassy, through the Office of the Agriculture Attach�������������������������������� ������������������������������ , is raising awareness particu� larly of the uses of virgin coconut oil (VCO), including where it can readily be available.

Dr. Josyline C. Javelosa, the Phil� ippine Agriculture Attaché to the United States and the Americas said that this occasion is also a good op� portunity to show appreciation for the service of frontliners amid this Covid-19 pandemic.

Javelosa said VCU Health, located in Richmond, Virginia welcomed the Em� bassy’s modest gesture to provide Trader Joe’s VCO sourced from the Philippines to its personnel.

Personnel of VCU hospital may use the VCO as skin moisturizer to help pro� tect their skin from viruses and bacte� ria or add this to their coffee for added energy, among other uses. VCO is also suitable for cooking and heats well to high temperatures.

Javelosa also dropped off Philippine VCO gifts for frontline employees at the USPS Fairfax branch and firefight� ers of the Burke Volunteer Fire and

Underabasecasescenario,thecoun� try would end the year with a 100-day carry over stocks while a worst-case scenario points to a 78-day stockpile by year-end, according to the DA. “The situation, however, has been properly addressed with the lifting of the rice export ban by Vietnam and the rice import arrivals of around 1.3 million MT as of the third week of

June,” Dar said in his letter to Lopez.

The DA said the private sector rice import arrivals ”are already suf� ficient to tide the country through the lean months” from July to Au� gust, when domestic palay harvest is minimal.

Three days after the bidding, the PITC issued an advisory saying that the issuance of notice of award to prospective rice suppliers will be held in abeyance pending the avail� ability of funds from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

However, the BusinessMirror reported that the DBM could not give any funds to the PITC since it did not have the legal authority to undertake such a transaction.

On June 18, Presidential Spokes� man Harry Roque disclosed that Dar and Lopez have submitted their re� quest to the Office of the President to authorize PITC’s G2G importation.

On the same day, a DA official an� nounced in a virtual briefing that the decision to push through with the importation depends on DTI alone since the transaction did not have the requisite legal cover.

The DA has reiterated that the G2G importation was approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infec� tious Diseases.

In April, Dar himself disclosed that the P7.45 billion budget for the ”contingency” rice procurement has been approved and has been given to the PITC.

Rescue Department.

National Coconut Day is celebrated on June 26 in the United States. The Coco� nut Coalition of the Americas founded National Coconut Day to celebrate the mighty coconut and increase awareness of its benefits.

For thousands of years, coconut has been an essential part of the diet of people living in the tropics. Coconut meat contains about 20 percent coco� nut oil. In the Philippines, coconut oil is even being tested for its efficacy to help treat or prevent Covid-19, given the considerable scientific evidence for the antiviral activity of coconut oil, lauric acid (of which coconut oil has a high proportion of) and its derivatives; its general safety.

Dr. Fabian Dayrit and Dr. Mary Newport explained in a paper pub� lished at the Ateneo de Manila Uni� versity’s web site titled “The Potential of Coconut Oil and its Derivatives as Effective and Safe Antiviral Agents Against the novel coronavirus (nCov2019), that when coconut oil is in� gested into the body, the body’s lipase enzymes release metabolites, which are the active compounds—mainly monolaurin and lauric acid.

Monolaurin is used by the food in� dustry as an emulsifier and natural preservative against bacteria and is also the active ingredient in many der� matological preparations, Dayrit said.

Together, monolaurin and lauric acid have the physicochemical property of being able to destroy the membrane of lipid-coated viruses.

The antiviral activities of lauric acid and monolaurin were first noted in a 1979 study and later in 1981. Be� cause the virus that causes Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) is a lipid-coated virus, coconut oil seems promising, and thus the paper urges that clinical studies be conducted among patients who have been infected with nCoV-2019.

Dayrit and Newport also recommend that VCO be considered as a general prophylactic against viral and micro� bial infection.

Dayrit is the president of Integrated Chemists of the Philippines and chem� istry professor emeritus at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.

Newport is an American medical doc� tor who became an integral researcher and advocate for using coconut oil, MCT oil, and exogenous ketones to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

SRA data showed that as of June 7 total sugarcane milled rose 6.21 percent to 23.046 MMT, from 21.7 MMT recorded in the same period last year.

Sugar milling recovery rate, how� ever, fell 3.14 percent to 1.85 LKg per MT of sugarcane (LKg/TC) to 1.85 from last year’s 1.91 LKg/TC, SRA data showed.

Industry sources attributed the decline in sugar content to rainfall during the maturing stage of the crop and this was worsened by the delay in the milling season.

Barrera said the country might ship at least 100,000 MT of raw sugar to the United States in the current fiscal year 2019-2020.

“As of June 14, we have shipped at least 66,700 MT in two vessels to the US. There’s a third vessel that is due to arrive in the Philippines around the second or third week of July.”

“It will ship another 30,000 MT of raw sugar. So we might ship a total of around 100,000 MT.” Barrera noted that the volume of

exports to the United States is be� low the country’s quota of 136,201 MT quota. He said, however, that traders are now looking for a way to find a vessel that will ship at least 20,000 MT. “Traders are looking for a vessel that can carry 20,000 MT since we cannot fill a 30,000 MT capacity vessel.”

Barrera said the country is cur� rently “swimming” in sugar stocks as demand plunged following the shutdown of the food service indus� try due to movement restrictions im� posed by the government to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Domestic raw sugar demand as of June 7 fell by 1.43 percent to 1.539 MMT, from last year’s 1.561 MMT, SRA data showed. Demand for refined sugar also fell by 2.49 percent to 547,483.9 MT from 561,486.4 MT. Refined sugar output as of June 7 fell slightly to 782,744.25 MT, from 784,606.80 MT recorded last year, SRA data showed. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

DOH, senators weigh in on WHO report on PHL Covid cases continued from a8 The DOH gave assurances that as the national government strives to manage Covid-19 in the ab� sence of a cure or vaccine, all agencies are tasked to closely monitor the rise in cases and strengthen response through localized actions, especially in emerging hot spots.

These localized responses, the DOH reiterated, entail early detection of cases and tracing of con� tacts, their immediate isolation or quarantine, and appropriate testing and treatment.

Go eases concern

ON Sunday, administration senator Go eased con� cerns aired over the WHO report that the Philip� pines has the fastest surge in Covid-19 infections in the Western Pacific.

Go, chairman of the Senate Health Committee, acknowledged “there is still no vaccine nor medi� cine for this disease.... That is why strict enforce� ment of existing measures and proper compliance of everyone are very crucial.”

Asked about the WHO assessment of the gov� ernment’s response to the pandemic, Go said in a mix of English and Filipino that, “if we strictly follow rules and cooperate to stop the spread of the disease, and if health facilities and capabilities are improved, that is the only thing that would spell when we can overcome Covid-19.”

As Health Committee chairman, Go had pressed the need to improve existing health fa�

cilities and capabilities. He vowed to pursue his appeal for the Duterte government to “improve its Test, Trace and Treat strategy,” noting that as Covid-19 cases continue to rise, parallel efforts should be stepped up in “quarantine, contact tracing and necessary treatment capabilities.”

Critical care utilization

THE DOH claimed the government has ad� dressed the rising critical care utilization through augmentation of equipment and work force, and thus ensure that a possible surge of cases can be managed.

“Lastly, we continue to emphasize the implemen� tation of minimum health standards, i.e., wearing of masks and physical distancing, as the most effective preventive measure in the absence of a vaccine.”

Covid cases

AS of 4 p.m. of June 28, the DOH the reported that the total number of Covid-19 rose to 35,455.

A total of 653 additional cases were reported, of which 485 were logged as fresh cases and 168 were detected as late cases.

The DOH announced that there were 258 re� coveries. This brings the total number of recov� eries to 9,686. Eight deaths were reported. The death toll stood at 1,244. Of the eight reported deaths, five (62 percent) occurred in June (June 13-22, 2020). Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco, Butch Fernandez

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Brazil signs deal to produce experimental virus vaccine

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RASILIA, Brazil—The Brazilian government announced on Saturday an agreement with Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to produce a promising coronavirus vaccine that is undergoing tests.

Brazilian Health Ministry authorities said at a news conference that the country will pay $127 million and receive material to produce 30.4 million doses in two batches in December and January, which would allow it to quickly start inoculation efforts if the vaccine is certified to be safe and effective.

They said the total deal is for 100 million vaccines for a country of about 210 million residents. It will be produced by local vaccine maker Fiocruz.

Vijay Rangarajan, the British ambassador, said on Twitter that “the 30 million doses will be available in Brazil” and Fiocruz will “prepare for local production,” without making reference to the promised additional 70 million doses. The British Embassy said in a statement that “the 70 million will come in a second moment,” without giving more details.

Fiocruz said in statement that it still had to reach a deal with AstraZeneca for the transfer of technology of the vaccine if it works. “After the production [of the shots], it will still be necessary [to follow] phases of registry and validation before a possible distribution,” it said.

Fiocruz added it will be possibly responsible for producing the vaccine for the rest of Latin America.

The Brazilian government said the first to get the Oxford shot would be high-risk groups such as the elderly, people with comorbidities and health and security professionals.

Arnaldo Correia de Medeiros, secretary of health surveillance, said distribution will be fast because of Brazil’s public health care system. “This country has extensive experience in extremely fast vaccination,” he said.

British researchers started testing the experimental shot in May aiming to immunize more than 10,000 people, including older people and children. The vaccine is one of about a dozen in the early stages of human testing.

B r a z il , w h e re co ro n av ir us infections are still on the rise, counts more than 1 million conf irmed cases and more than 55,900 fatalities.

The British ambassador told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the vaccine maker has the capacity to produce 2 billion doses in its first batch, which is expected by the end of the year, but said that much of the global production was already purchased.

On May 21, the United States announced a deal for at least 300 million doses of the Oxford shot and committed up to $1.2 billion to the effort. On June 13, AstraZeneca agreed to supply up to 400 million doses of the experimental vaccine to European Union nations. Other negotiations are ongoing with Russia and Japan, among other countries, the company” CEO said this month.

Another experimental vaccine in development by Chinese company Sinovac Biotech will be tested in Brazil in July, according to the Sao Paulo state government.

Sinovac has a deal with the state's Instituto Butantan to produce it.

Some 9,000 Brazilians are expected to participate.

The World Health Organization’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, said on Friday that AstraZeneca’s experimental vaccine is probably the world’s leading candidate and most advanced in terms of development. AP

The World BusinessMirror

Monday, June 29, 2020

A5

India passes half a million virus cases, 15,685 deaths N

EW DELHI—India’s confirmed coronavirus cases crossed half a million on Saturday with another record 24-hour jump of 18,552 infections.

Beijing is required to have a negative result from a nucleic acid test within the previous seven days. Many Chinese are traveling during a four-day holiday weekend that ends on Sunday. China has reported 83,483 confirmed cases and 4,634 deaths in the pandemic.

People who test positive but show no symptoms are not included in its official case count.

The Health Ministry also reported 384 new deaths, raising the total to 15,685.

The surge prompted authorities in the northeastern state of Assam to impose a two-week lockdown in the state capital of Gauhati. About 700 new cases were reported there in just four days.

Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the rest of Assam will be placed under a night curfew and weekend lockdowns.

He urged people to store essential goods and signaled a tighter lockdown where even grocery stores would be closed.

In other developments in the AsiaPacific region:

n South Korea has reported 51 newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus as fresh clusters continue to emerge in the densely populated Seoul area. They bring the national caseload to 12,653, including 282 deaths. Thirty-five of the new cases came from Seoul and nearby cities and towns, which have been at the center of a Covid-19 resurgence since late May. Twelve others were linked to international arrivals. Health authorities are struggling to trace contacts and predict infection routes with new clusters popping up from just about everywhere. Hundreds of infections have been linked to nightspots, church gatherings, restaurants and

n China has reported an uptick in new coronavirus cases, a day after the nation’s CDC said it expects an outbreak in Beijing to be brought under control soon. The National Health Commission said on Saturday that 21 cases had been confirmed nationwide in the latest 24hour period, including 17 in the nation's capital. City officials have temporarily shut a huge wholesale food market where the virus spread widely, re-closed schools and locked down some neighborhoods. According to China’s CDC, testing has found only a few infected people without a link to the market and that the steps taken mean the risk of further spread is low, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Anyone leaving

low-income workers such as door-todoor salespeople and warehouse employees. Officials have so far resisted calls to reimpose stronger social distancing guidelines after easing them in mid-April, citing concerns about a fragile economy.

n Australian health officials are expecting more cases of Covid-19 as hundreds of nationals return from overseas to begin mandatory quarantine. About 300 people are due to arrive in Adelaide this weekend from Mumbai, India, while hundreds are expected to follow from South America and Indonesia. People in hotel quarantine will be tested for the coronavirus at the start and end of their 14-day isolation. South Australia state Health Minister Stephen Wade says he’s preparing for about 5 percent to 10 percent returnees to have the virus, as was the case when people returned from Indonesia in other states. Melbourne recorded 30 new cases on Friday, continuing a run of double-digit increases that has more than tripled Victoria state's ac-

tive cases to 183 in just over a week.

In an attempt to reduce the chance of new flareups during a two-week school holiday break, almost 5,000 infrared thermometers are being shipped to popular vacation spots in the state. The thermometers will be used at testing clinics set up on the Great Ocean Road tourist drive and in the Victorian Alps ski area. Australia has had 104 Covid-19 deaths and nearly 7,600 confirmed cases. n Sri Lanka reopened cinemas on Saturday as part of the island nation's efforts to return to normalcy following more than two months of lockdown to contain the coronavirus. Patrons are required to follow health guidelines such as hand washing and wearing facemasks. A seat must be kept vacant between patrons in a bid to maintain social distancing, and cinemas are only allowed to reach half capacity.

Previously, Sri Lanka reopened places of worships, wildlife parks and zoos.

The country has confirmed 2,014 cases of the coronavirus, including 11 deaths. AP

Facebook to label all rule-breaking posts, including President Trump’s

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AKLAND, California — Facebook said on Friday that it will flag all “newsworthy” posts from politicians that break its rules, including those from President Donald Trump.

Separately, Facebook’s stock dropped more than 8 percent, erasing roughly $50 billion from its market valuation, after the European company behind brands such as Ben & Jerry's and Dove announced it would boycott Facebook ads through the end of the year over the amount of hate speech and divisive rhetoric on its platform. Later in the day, Coca-Cola also announced it joined the boycott for at least 30 days.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously refused to take action against Trump posts suggesting that mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud, saying that people deserved to hear unfiltered statements from political leaders.

Twitter, by contrast, slapped a “get the facts” label on them.

Until Friday, Trump’s posts with identical wording to those labeled on Twitter remained untouched on Facebook, sparking criticism

from Trump’s opponents as well as current and former Facebook employees. Now, Facebook is all but certain to face off with the president the next time he posts something the company deems to be violating its rules.

“The policies we’re implementing today are designed to address the reality of the challenges our country is facing and how they’re showing up across our community,” Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page announcing the changes.

Zuckerberg said the social network is taking additional steps to counter electionrelated misinformation. In particular, the social network will begin adding new labels to all posts about voting that will direct users to authoritative information from state and local election officials.

Facebook is also banning false claims intended to discourage voting, such as stories about federal agents checking legal status at polling places. The company also said it is increasing its enforcement capacity to remove false claims about local polling conditions in the 72 hours before the US election.

Ethan Zuckerman, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Civic Media, said the changes are a “reminder of how powerful Facebook may be in terms of spreading disinformation during the upcoming election.”

He said the voting labels will depend on how good Facebook's artificial intelligence is at identifying posts to label.

“If every post that mentions voting links, people will start ignoring those links. If they’re targeted to posts that say things like ‘Police will be checking warrants and unpaid traffic tickets at polls‘—a classic voter suppression disinfo tactic—and clearly mark posts as disinfo, they might be useful,” he said.

But Zuckerman noted that Facebook "has a history of trying hard not to alienate rightleaning users, and given how tightly President Trump has aligned himself with voter-suppressing misinfo, it seems likely that Facebook will err on the side of non-intrusive and ignorable labels, which would minimize impact of the campaign.”

Earlier in the day, shares of Facebook and

Twitter dropped sharply after consumerproduct maker Unilever announced a new ad boycott on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram through at least the end of the year.

The European company said it took the move to protest the amount of hate speech online. Unilever said the polarized atmosphere in the United States ahead of November's presidential election placed responsibility on brands to act.

In addition to the decline in Facebook shares, Twitter ended the day more than 7 percent lower.

Unilever, which is based in the Netherlands and Britain, joins a raft of other advertisers pulling back from online platforms. Facebook in particular has been the target of an escalating movement to withhold advertising dollars to pressure it to do more to prevent racist and violent content from being shared on its platform.

“We have decided that starting now through at least the end of the year, we will not run brand advertising in social media newsfeed platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the US,” Unilever said. “Continuing to advertise

on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society.”

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Thursday, Verizon joined others in the Facebook boycott.

Unilever “has enough influence to persuade other brand advertisers to follow its lead,” said eMarketer analyst Nicole Perrin. She noted that Unilever pulled back spending “for longer, on more platforms [including Twitter] and for more expansive reasons”—in particular, by citing problems with “divisiveness” as well as hate speech.

Sarah Personette, vice president of global client solutions at Twitter, said the company's “mission is to serve the public conversation and ensure Twitter is a place where people can make human connections, seek and receive authentic and credible information, and express themselves freely and safely.”

She added that Twitter is “respectful of our partners’ decisions and will continue to work and communicate closely with them during this time.” AP

Satellite images show buildup on disputed India-China border Hundreds of Israelis

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EIJING—Construction activity appeared underway on both the Indian and Chinese sides of a contested border high in the Karakoram mountains a week after a deadly clash in the area left 20 Indian soldiers dead, satellite images showed.

The images released this week by Maxar, a Colorado-based satellite imagery company, show new construction activity along the Galwan River Valley, even as Chinese and Indian diplomats said military commanders had agreed to disengage from a standoff there.

The images appeared to show that the Indians had built a wall on their side and the Chinese had expanded an outpost camp at the end of a long road connected to Chinese military bases farther from the poorly defined border, according to experts.

The contradictions in words and deeds showed the fragility of an agreement following the worst violence since the Asian giants went to war in 1962 over their competing claims to the arid border region, experts said.

China has said that India first changed the status quo last August when it split the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two federal territories—the territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the territory of Ladakh, parts of which are contested by China.

The new maps released by India following the move drew criticism from Beijing because they showed Aksai Chin—an area administered by China but contested by India—as part of Ladakh.

Indian officials said the standoff that culminated in this month's deadly clash in the Galwan Valley, part of a remote stretch of the 3,380-kilometer (2,100-mile) Line of Actual

This combination of May 22, 2020 (left) and June 23 satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows construction in the Galwan River Valley near the disputed border known as the Line of Actual Control between India and China. On June 22, military commanders of both nations agreed to disengage their forces in the disputed area of the Himalayas following a June 15 clash that left at least 20 soldiers dead.

(Maxar Technologies via AP) Satellite image copyright 2020 Maxar Technologies

Control, or LAC, established following the 1962 war, began in early May when large contingents of Chinese soldiers entered deep inside Indiancontrolled territory at three places in Ladakh, erecting tents.

After a few skirmishes in May, Indian and Chinese commanders met June 6 to hash out an agreement that would reduce tensions.

The two sides agreed to build observation posts on either side of the mouth of the Galwan River, China's ambassador to India, Sun Weidong, told the Press Trust of India news agency on Tuesday.

Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that during the June 6 meeting “both sides had agreed to respect and abide by the LAC and not undertake any activity to alter the status quo,” but did not address whether they had agreed to observation posts.

Around midnight on June 15, soldiers attacked each other with rocks, clubs and their fists in the Galwan Valley, the deadliest violence between the two countries in 45 years.

Indian security officials said the fatalities were caused by severe injuries and exposure to subfreezing temperatures. China has not said

whether it suffered any casualties in the clash.

India and China have blamed each other for the melee and staked fresh claims on the area where it occurred.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Wednesday that the confrontation occurred on China's side of the Line of Actual Control, and that Indian forces had illegally entered Chinese territory.

“The responsibility [for the incident] is entirely not on the Chinese side,” Zhao said.

But Srivastava said on Thursday that China had provoked the fight when its soldiers “sought to erect structures just across the LAC” on the Indian side. He said Indian soldiers foiled the attempts.

However, a sequence of Maxar images of the river bend where the clash occurred in the weeks before and after the clash showed that construction had expanded up the Galwan Valley toward the Line of Actual Control from Chinese bases, Maxar Vice President Steve Wood said.

Wood said that since May 22, satellite images showed “convoy after convoy of heavy trucks, diggers, bulldozers and some military armored equipment” rolling down the Galwan Valley toward the disputed border.

Before and after the fatal clash, China was moving construction equipment, soldiers and military hardware toward the LAC, said Chris Biggers, senior analyst at the geospatial intelligence company HawkEye 360.

“The Chinese were obviously pushing toward the junction and what they perceive as their claim line. They have now built a post and a track reinforcing their claim, thus changing the status quo in the area,” he said. AP

protest in Jerusalem against Netanyahu

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ERUSALEM—Hundreds of Israelis protested on Saturday evening against Benjamin Netanyahu outside his Jerusalem residence as the Israeli prime minister faces corruption charges.

The demonstration was fueled by the detention of seven protesters on Friday who held a smaller rally against Netanyahu’s continuation as premier despite being under indictment.

The demonstrators held banners describing Netanyahu as “crime minister.”

Among the seven detainees was a former top Israeli air force general. On Saturday, Israeli police said the protest a day earlier was “illegal” because demonstrators blocked the roads.

Three of the protesters, including retired Brig. Gen. Amir Haskel, remained in detention for refusing the police’s release terms and insisting on participating in Saturday’s protest, Israeli media reported.

Last month, Netanyahu’s trial on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes opened in a Jerusalem court. It is scheduled to resume next month.

Netanyahu's new government took office last month, ending more than a year of political stalemate.

Under a power sharing deal, Netanyahu was permitted to remain as prime minister, while his rival, Benny Gantz, was named defense minister and alternate prime minister.

The two men have agreed to switch posts after 18 months, though many analysts do not expect the government to last that long. AP

A6

Monday, June 29, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Why the US is losing the coronavirus war

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N times of extreme and immediate crisis—and the Covid-19 pandemic qualifies—a nation needs extreme measures. And do not be afraid to use the term “martial law.”

The moment we say that, we form an image of helmeted soldiers with guns herding people into camps and shooting those who refuse to cooperate. In fact, that may be what the world thinks is happening here based on the comments of one local journalist to a member of the international media.

Legally, though, it is the imposition of unified rule by the highest level of government that supersedes local laws, regulations, and local authority, including constitutional and “normal” civil liberties. While “martial law” is usually declared during times of invasion or civil unrest, 19th century English jurist Sir Frederick Pollock wrote that socalled martial law, as distinct from military law, is an unlucky name for the justification by the common law of acts done by necessity for the defense of the nation.

Martial law may be declared in cases of natural disasters; however, most countries use a different legal construct, such as a state of emergency. However, the actions of the government can be the same in both cases, and the suspension of civil rights during both is inevitable.

The net result in terms of cases and fatalities from the Covid-19 in China, Europe and the United States shows how different government structures played a major role in those results.

China is, regardless of the term used, an authoritarian centralized state with complete and absolute power and control in the hands of Beijing. The European Union is a political and economic union of 27 member-states with a population of about 447 million. However, each member-state has its own independent government and borders.

The US is a federal republic of 50 states (population is 328 million), each with its own independent government but does not have control over the legal borders. While an individual state may set up “quarantine stations” for plants and animals, only the national government has the legal right to suspend inter-state travel.

When the coronavirus outbreak in China reached extreme levels, Beijing locked down and isolated the city of Wuhan. This was eventually extended to the province of Hubei with a massive 58 million population.

And both the police and military enforced the quarantine.

By March 14th, almost a dozen of the 26 countries in Europe’s borderfree Schengen zone shut their borders. Many nations around the world did the same, either fully or partially. Further, and more importantly, domestic travel and movement were stopped or severely limited at the least in most countries.

However, in the US, lockdowns and travel restrictions were not possible at the national level. Washington D.C. cannot tell the 50 states what to do, cannot restrict movement between states, and cannot enforce “rules” like wearing masks or quarantine without a declaration of martial law.

In addition, while the US Constitution allows for martial law, the courts have held that the military cannot seize authority over an area inside US borders, except in extreme instances, such as a rebellion or a situation in which local or state civilian rule breaks down and courts stop functioning.

We are constantly told by journalists in the press and media that the sun shines or the storms rage because of who is the President or Prime Minister. Maybe the real world operates a little bit differently.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

Giving, earning and sustaining: The 3 principles of omnipreneurship Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

I

F you have a business, your immediate concern during the time of Covid-19 is, of course, to survive and continue operations.

You are probably investing in setting up safety precautions for employees who must report to work physically, and installing policies for work-from-home workers.

I came upon an interesting idea from WE Forum about Al-Dabbagh Group’s business ecosystem called omnipreneurship, which rests on three principles: Giving, earning and sustaining. It is ADG’s response to the crisis and their way of contributing toward building a better world as everyone tries to bounce back from the effects of this disaster.

Because of the pandemic, businesses are being encouraged to not only look after themselves but to consider the impact of their operations on the communities in which

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positive messages like helpful videos, positive or feel-good campaigns to inspire the public, and even special offers for frontliners.

As a more active intervention, efforts that support the local communities where businesses are located are also being encouraged.

ADG’s retail stores, for example, assembled food baskets for thousands of vulnerable families. A store chain offered unlimited free beverage for frontliners. Some real estate businesses are offering spaces to be used as quarantine sites or testing areas.

In the Philippines, many of us are still into discriminating frontliners.

I hope such incidents disappear to-

When the pandemic is gone

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

they operate. Part of the long-term planning that many companies are doing now is crisis-proofing their operations so that when something like this happens again—which a lot of experts say is a possibility—the economic and social effects will not be as devastating.

Following ADG’s example of offering free courses to NGOs and social sector workers, businesses may also offer free content that will help organizations and individuals overcome Covid-related challenges. Aligned with this, business can also share

Part of the long-term planning that many companies are doing now is crisis-proofing their operations so that when something like this happens again—which a lot of experts say is a possibility—the economic and social effects will not be as devastating.

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T has been more than a hundred days since the Luzon-wide lockdown was first implemented. Still, from all indications, this global tragedy is far from over. From the looks of it, life in Metro Manila as we live it right now will cross over to next year at the very least. It will do well then for us to get used to it and accept that our Metro Manila of tomorrow will be very much different from what we once knew.

And what kind of city life will we have here in the future? Will it be the urban planner’s dream of green parks, bike lanes and wide avenues?

Or will it be what is evolving now— empty parking spaces, unfinished buildings, and boarded up spaces of what were once barbershops, spas or restaurants? It’s difficult to tell because as much as we want to believe in a resurrected urban landscape, much of the changes will require government spending that we cannot afford right now. In the same manner, the feeling of despair resulting from the sight of business closures will not last. We are a resilient lot. Human activity will survive, evolve and prosper though in a different way.

Our homes definitely will be reconfigured as much as all kinds of

human activity—work, school, recreation—will be done here. Internet connectivity demand will spike as well, as with the other public utility services, such as electricity, water and waste management. Public attention to them will be at its highest.

Residential usage will go up. Quality of service will be demanded, yet price increases will be heavily regulated.

New home activities such as home exercise, home gardening and renewed interest in home cooking will emerge, which will also fuel new commercial attention.

Sad to say but this pandemic will lead to the discouragement of any physical activity requiring physical mass interaction. Hence, malls, churches, stadiums and even central business districts will have to pivot

in a big way to remain relevant. Aside from going online, spreading their activities 24/7 might be a solution to spread daytime concentration. This will not be hard to do in our country where we are used to such activities because of our BPOs. But there will be a resurgence of the community. Communal commercial activity will flourish, as people will feel safer closer to their homes.

The corner store and bakery will have a shot in the arm. The village barbershops, parlors and spas will survive but as home services. People will be more comfortable with services done at their homes and with people they are more or less familiar with. The nearby restaurants will do home deliveries. The village market will go back to the pre-mall days, although social distancing will still be enforced. Weekend open air markets will be a staple in most cities in Metro Manila, with a lot of new entrants made up of entrepreneurs pivoting from their old but maybe now irrelevant occupations.

On the road, public transportation will unfortunately be adversely affected. Although most of the buses, jeepneys, and taxis will be allowed to run, these will be in far less numbers because of the public’s apprehension of the infection as well as the economic viability to operate public transport on a 50 percent capacity.

Even rail commuting will be affected because of this very same reason.

tally and that more people realize we should be supporting and celebrating them, instead of fearing and marginalizing the people we call heroes.

Certain businesses can take up the cause and lead the way towards the eradication of this mentality.

People, the private sector, are starting to realize that government’s help is limited and that hope really lies in working amongst themselves and partnering with the public sector to address this huge crisis. The pandemic highlights the importance of cooperation and every entity—individuals, businesses, organizations, etc.—has an important role to play.

Everyone must contribute, no matter how small.

On another note, UpLink has launched a global search for innovative solutions to the challenges arising from the global pandemic. Ideas from innovators, entrepreneurs and changemakers will be accepted until July 12, 2020. At least 15 solutions will be chosen and presented at the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit in September. Visit www.uplink.weforum.org for more details.

Globally, rail commuting has gone down. In fact, our government would do well to rethink about proceeding with the unfinished rail projects.

Maybe it’s better to just use part of the budget to help the transport industry to pivot, such as the ones in the jeepney and UV sectors. On the other hand, traffic will remain, though not as bad as the pre-Covid gridlocks. This will be because of the commuters’ shift to other modes of individual transport such as bicycles, motorcycles and even private vehicles, mostly entry-level bantam cars driven by social distancing people who fear virus infection.

Cities will survive, as history tells us, but they will evolve and adjust to the call of the times. Metro Manila will be no different. We, then, as Metro Manilans, need to embrace this situation, demand the services that will enhance our survivability, and in the process, also actively participate in the evolution of the metropolis.

We shape the Metro Manila that we want for our future.

Next week’s continuation of this article: Post-Covid private and public infrastructure changes in Metro Manila.

Thomas “Tim” Orbos was formerly with the DOTr and the MMDA. He has completed his graduate studies at the McCourt School of Public Policy of Georgetown University and is an alumnus of the MIT Sloan School of Management. He can be reached via e-mail at thomas_orbos@sloan.mit.edu

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

How homeowners’ associations can thrive during the pandemic Crystian Diamond G. Sing

DEBIT CREDIT

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he new challenge that homeowners’ associations now face is navigating through the pandemic. While the main goal is to keep the communities safe and healthy, association leaders also need to recognize the impact of the Covid-19 on other aspects of their organization. In this regard, I’d like to provide some strategies that homeowners’ associations could use to thrive in the midst of the pandemic.

1. Partner with payment gateways—One of the biggest struggles of the homeowners’ associations even before the pandemic is collections. By partnering with payment gateways, you can provide more payment options to the homeowners online through credit, debit and prepaid cards. Consequently, it will be easier for them to pay anytime, anywhere and it will naturally encourage dues payments.

2. Apply for tax exemption from the BIR—During these times, it is important to manage the finances well and preserve cash. One of the ways associations can do that is by availing themselves of the tax exemption. Association dues and income from rentals of a homeowners’ association can be exempt from income and business tax. You can make this possible by complying with the following requirements under Republic Act 9904—Magna Carta For Homeowners And Homeowners’ Association: a. Registration with the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board. b. Financial statements that show the delivery of basic community services (e.g., cleanliness, safety, security). c. Certification from the Local Government Unit that the association funds the basic community services for its homeowners and that the LGU cannot cater to such services for lack of resources.

On a related topic, it is noted that the Supreme Court recently affirmed the tax exemption of condominium corporations formed for the residents of such dwellings. The SC has ruled that the Bureau of Internal Revenue cannot impose a 12-percent value-added tax and 32-percent income tax on association dues, membership fees, and other charges collected by condominium operators from members and tenants. The SC case involved the First E-Bank Tower Condominium Corp.

3. Improve the safety and

The Supreme Court recently affirmed the tax exemption of condominium corporations formed for the residents of such dwellings. The SC has ruled that the Bureau of Internal Revenue cannot impose a 12-percent value-added tax and 32-percent income tax on association dues, membership fees, and other charges collected by condominium operators from members and tenants. health measures—Welfare of the homeowners is always the priority.

Make them feel you’re keeping them safe by maintaining cleanliness in the streets and common areas. Homeowners must see and feel the value of being a member because this also motivates them to pay.

4. Cooperate with the government—While the government is doing its best to protect the people from the virus, we should continue to help in flattening the curve. We need to ensure strict implementation of preventive measures to stop the spread of the virus within our respective communities. Coordinate and always communicate with the barangay and LGUs. The new normal is already here, and we need to adapt and make the necessary changes. Every community might be different from each other, but I encourage you to think about these strategies and how you can fit them into yours. The homeowners’ associations play a vital role in a community, especially when crises, like the current pandemic, occur. Thus, the association needs to be stable but flexible enough to effectively perform its duties to the homeowners.

Crystian Diamond Sing is a strategic advisor who works with business leaders in solving their pressing problems.

‘What’s so bad about that?’

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

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E all expect good things in return whenever we do good things. After all, we reap what we sow. What comes around, goes around. Whenever bad things happen to bad people, we can just claim it was poetic justice. For others, they say it’s just plain karma.

What seems beyond human comprehension, however, is when good things happen to bad people and, conversely, when bad things happen to good people. In my four and a half years in the Bureau of Immigration, I have witnessed quite a few ruthless scoundrels go unscathed in terms of legal retribution due to the inherent difficulties in successfully prosecuting cases against them. In my 12 years in the Army, I also saw a few senior officers promoted ahead of the deserving others, despite their corrupt ways. They even end up in “juicy” positions. Some rotten eggs in government, already separated for cause, still managed to be reinstated for reasons that defy logic. There has to be something very wrong with that!

Only with a biblical view can I belatedly understand that, while justice may not be had here on earth, justice can still be swift and divine. In the Bible, Psalms 73:1819 tells us about people who do bad things—“Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!” As the saying goes, “there will always be a day of reckoning!”

More exasperating to fathom is when a few good men in public service are put to shame and persecution. George was administratively charged in 2017 over alleged anomalous purchases in the Coast

Guard. Stung by a stigma of an Ombudsman finding of guilt, George struggled to progress in his career.

But knowing his strong relationship with our Creator, George could be reminding himself what the Bible tells us in Psalms 73:13-14, “Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.” Colleagues and some of his classmates may have abandoned or even ostracized him. In time, however, the appellate court cleared George of administrative charges in 2018. Today, George Ursabia, my classmate in the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1987, bested two other contenders to be the 29th commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard. What I admire about George is his very public and open sharing of his faith. On social media, he always shares inspirational and devotional reflections as if he dedicates each day to Him. George simply never wavered in his faith in God despite the many struggles that befell him during the early days of his career. I can only surmise that Admiral George Ursabia kept the verses in Psalms 73:23-24 close to his heart, which say, “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.” Glory indeed goes with being designated as the highest official of the Philip-

BLOOMBERG VIEW

I

S the global monetary order ready for another reboot?

In the 1960s, Japan and Europe exported their way to postWorld War II prosperity under the fixed exchange rates of the Bretton Woods agreement. The US went off the gold standard in 1971, but the established way of doing things didn’t collapse. Thirty years later, China essayed the role of being the world economy’s periphery and selling cheap widgets to a revamped core—the West and Japan—with the help of an undervalued exchange rate.

This, as economists Michael P. Dooley, David Folkerts-Landau and Peter M. Garber noted in an influential 2003 essay, was Bretton Woods revived. The “China phase,” they said, would play out over 10 to 20 years as the world economy absorbed 200 million surplus rural Chinese workers at the rate of 10 million to 20 million a year. To that end, Beijing would acquire vast quantities of foreign-

exchange reserves regardless of cost.

And when China was done, India would take its place. Will it?

One clue may lie in official reserves. By purchasing the public debt of a profligate center, a hardworking fringe signals its reliability; any threat to Western business investments, and the periphery’s holdings of US Treasuries and other safe assets could get cancelled. (Far-fetched

pine Coast Guard. Yet George never fails to give glory, every day, to the One who never left his side.

Perspective affects how we think and how we act, as well as those around us. As a child, Raissa saw the cross “as something to be worn —perhaps a piece of jewelry, an amulet, or a gesture to be made before facing something scary or to keep bad things away or to make pain go away.” In time, Raissa realized that the cross symbolizes something “so heavy and must be carried, like Jesus did.” Her parents Maloy and Ipe, lawyers by profession, have appreciated that the “greater, heavier, and more menacing the cross, the closer we (they) come to experiencing what Jesus did.” This kind of perspective is what we need to face the ongoing struggles amid this pandemic.

Quarantine restrictions have placed a burden to many, especially to rank and file employees who face the looming prospect of retrenchment and to small business owners who contemplate filing for bankruptcy.

Knowing how most Filipinos are believers, I can sense that most are slowly realizing the heaviness of this “cross,” brought about by the coronavirus, which can be lighter and easier to bear when we turn to Him. This is the kind of adversity that somehow solidified how a teenager like Raissa can have a perspective that made her and her parents embrace a severely debilitating disease.

Raissa was only 13 when she was diagnosed with cancer. Never naïve about the diagnosis, Raissa once told her distraught mother, “Mom, if I don’t win this battle, I will be with Jesus...what’s so bad about that?” Raissa’s mental and physical response to cancer is grounded to an eternal perspective. With that child-like faith, Maloy came to realize that her daughter Raissa was His in the first place. Maloy shared, “From the moment everything aligned and she (Raissa) started her journey, her cells formed in a way that He planned as His great hands molded her, formed her...

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and now, with the most devastating of diagnoses, guided her.” For some cancer survivors, the unfortunate chapter of having that illness eventually cured by science is just like a bump down the road. They resume their pre-cancer lifestyle as if nothing happened and trying to make the most out of this second chance in life.

Raissa, still a teenager, thinks and acts differently as she continually carries on this cross, brought about by cancer, as something win-win. If she survives, she will have more time with her siblings and her parents. If she does not, she will be reunited with Jesus. Either way, “what’s so bad about that?”

The outlook of George and Raissa can be summed up in Psalms 73:26: “My heart and my body may fail, but God will always make me strong. He is all that I will ever need.”

We will all struggle but we know it will be temporary. We will all fail at one point yet we shall endure. In the case of George and Raissa, their outlooks exemplify what Psalms 73:28 tells us, “But it is good for me to be near to God. I have made the Lord God the safe place where I hide. I will tell people about the good things that you do.” The struggles they live with are lessons they have learned and have shared, not to glorify themselves but to glorify our Almighty God. So, the next time we face a seemingly unfair treatment or a painfully agonizing situation, let’s remind ourselves what Raissa said, “what’s so bad about that?”

A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission.

For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

Microsoft stores never really made sense anyway

By Tae Kim

Bloomberg Opinion

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icrosoft Corp. was never going to rival Apple Inc. in retail, or gain much from it. The coronavirus pandemic provided a good opportunity to face that fact and throw in the towel.

On Friday, the software giant announced it will permanently close all of its Microsoft Store brick-andmortar locations. The company’s stores, which were primarily based inside malls, were temporarily shuttered in late March in response

to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, Microsoft says it won’t reopen them and will instead invest only in digital offerings to serve its customers—including one-on-one video conferencing customer support, online training and workshops.

Shutting down the stores will result in an approximate $450 million pretax charge for Microsoft’s current quarter, or five cents a share, the company said. The move marks the end of a chapter for a strategy that didn’t make much sense in the first place. In 2009, Microsoft started its retail store chain in an obvious quest to follow up on Apple’s retail magic.

It’s hard to be the next China, not impossible Andy Mukherjee

Monday, June 29, 2020

as it may sound, the idea did get discussed recently when President Donald Trump’s administration was contemplating punishing China for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.)

By the time Dooley et al got down to writing, “The Revived Bretton Woods System’s First Decade” in 2014, China’s reserves were peaking, at about $4 trillion, from under $300 billion at the time of their original study. Just recently, India’s foreign-exchange stockpile crossed the $500 billion mark. In 1990, the country only had enough dollars to pay foreign suppliers for half a month. Now the reserves cover two years of imports.

Yet the domestic political discourse is harking back to a protectionist past. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants self-reliance. Other officials are coaxing Indians to buy local even if it means paying more.

It doesn’t look like India sees itself as the world’s next factory, which requires openness. Emboldened by its recent free trade agreement with the European Union, Vietnam may

be more suited to playing that role, even though the Southeast Asian nation of fewer than 100 million people lacks India’s labor power.

Some of India’s retreat may be tactical and temporary. The US is still coping with China’s rise, and not in a mood to let another 200 million workers latch on to its customers.

Industrialization of the periphery requires a fundamental restructuring of the labor force in the core, as the authors of Bretton Woods 2.0 warned. “No country has found a workable way to compensate its own losers.”

The Western companies that chose China as a manufacturing location became vocal supporters of its developmental strategy and shielded it from politicians and labor unions in their home countries. This global businesses elite is no longer as powerful amid a rising anti-globalization tide almost everywhere. The threat of being branded a “currency manipulator” by the US Treasury also limits the extent to which the Reserve Bank of India can intervene in the foreignexchange market.

The company eventually built out some 83 stores in total, compared to Apple’s 510 locations today. But from the beginning it seemed like the Microsoft Store concept was an inferior copycat, using a similar design aesthetic with its long wood product display tables and all glass exteriors, that was never as good as the original. Whenever I visited local malls, the Microsoft Store was always nearly empty compared to the Apple Store, which was regularly packed with customers.

The thing is, Apple always had a wide array of popular hardware and devices to sell—from smartphones,

computers to tablets—along with a passionate customer base that thirsted for those products. Microsoft had neither of those things.

Perhaps the early failure of Microsoft’s Zune music player, compared with Apple’s iPod, is a great symbolic example of the divide between the two companies. Yes, Microsoft does have a moderately successful lineup of laptops and its Xbox consoles are a big player in the videogame industry, but there was never a true need to offer a retail destination for its products that were easily available for purchase elsewhere.

Then there’s Covid-19, and the worst global recession since the Great Depression. While a rapidly deteriorating relationship with Beijing impels Washington to draw the only other billion-plus-people country deeper into America’s embrace, massive unemployment in an election year makes it impossible to grant concessions. India understands the compulsions. When President Donald Trump recently ordered a freeze on H1-B visas used by technology workers through the end of this year, there was disappointment in the country’s outsourcing industry, but no sense of doom.

India has its own constraints. After its Himalayan border with China witnessed the deadliest conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors in 45 years, there’s little prospect for deeper economic engagement between the two. India’s trade with China is $50 billion in deficit, while that with the US is $22 billion in surplus. The talk of self-reliance in New Delhi may simply be code for weaning the economy off Chinese goods and capital. Hundreds of mil-

lions of pandemic-hit Indian workers need jobs, even if that means making things like solar panels that China can supply far more competitively.

The Western tech industry, which remains broadly excluded from China, will probably advocate for India.

Even here, though, India’s powerful local business lobby will seek to define the rules of engagement.

After investing billions of dollars in the country, Amazon.com Inc. still can’t maintain its own e-commerce inventory. Facebook Inc. has waited for two years for approval for its popular messaging service WhatsApp to send and receive payments.

Eventually, investment banks will enable joint ventures and compromises. Indian tycoons’ wealth is tied to stocks traded in Mumbai.

However, if they could float their businesses in New York—just as worried Chinese companies leave to seek listings closer to home—they would happily support an artificially low rupee. That would give them an export advantage while enabling them to be counted among the global rich. Bretton Woods could yet reload.

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DOH, senators weigh in on WHO report on PHL Covid cases

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ITING the population ratio, the Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday said the Philippines should not be compared to Singapore after data from World Health Organization (WHO) showed that the former posted the fastest rise in Covid-19 cases in Western Pacific.

This, as the number of Covid cases in the country breached the 35,000-mark on Sunday. Senators Christopher Lawrence Go and Francis Pangilinan gave contrasting reactions to news on the WHO’s report showing the Philippines posting the fastest spike in infections.

Go noted there is no cure nor vaccine for the disease, and different countries take different strokes for dealing with it; hence, comparisons may not provide a perfectly correct context. For his part, Minority senator Pangilinan decried the “waste” of the sacrifice of so many frontliners who died, as well as the extreme difficulties of millions trying to survive lockdowns without jobs or livelihood.

He said the Philippines could have done better if it had ramped up mass testing and contact tracing alongside the lockdowns.

Likening the correct response to farming, he said, “we cannot just dig up the soil. We must plant seedlings and water the plant. We

have to take care of them.”

According to WHO, the Philippines has the fastest jump in cases in the Western Pacific region, noting that it recorded 8,143 new cases since June 16. It is the highest among 22 countries in the region.

The deaths per million in Singapore is 4.4 deaths,while the Philippines has 11.34 deaths per million population. “Our socioeconomic context, particularly living conditions, as well as health system capacity, even prior to Covid, is different from Singapore,” the DOH said in a statement.

“Please take that into account when we do our analysis. Let us not cherry pick the countries we want to compare ourselves to, concluding that PH has the fastest rise in virus cases in the Western Pacific Region.”

The DOH stressed that the comparison made with Singapore and other countries “requires a deeper understanding of population ratio versus number of cases.”

“Singapore has a population of 5.9 million, with a case load of 43,246; the Philippines [has a population of] 109 million with 34,803 cases. Per 1 million people, Singapore has a higher case at 7,393 cases/1M population compared with PHL at 318 cases /1M population,” it added.

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SOUTHWEST MONSOON AFFECTING SOUTHERN LUZON AND VISAYAS as of 4:00 am - June 28, 2020

Besides the cheer, weddings can boost economy–expert

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

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EDDINGS are good events not only in the cultural sense but also in economics—possibly even in a pandemic, given the necessary health safeguards.

In his Statistically Speaking blog, former National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) Secretary-General Romulo A. Virola said Church wedding fees alone reach anywhere from P5,000 to P20,000, including decorations.

With an average of 36,215 ceremonies a month between 2014 and 2018 or 434,850 weddings per year, this could reach as much as an addition of P8.69 billion or 0.05 percent of GDP. “Considering the expected re-

cession in 2020 as a result of Covid-19 [coronavirus 2019], more marriages can surely help the economy, right, OIC Neda Director General Karl?” Virola wondered aloud, addressing National Economic and Development Authority chief Karl Kendrick T. Chua.

Virola said December and May recorded the highest number of marriages between 2014 and 2018.

Data showed 11.44 percent of ceremonies happened in December and 11.26 percent in May. Other popular months to tie the knot are February and April, when 10.82 percent and 10.54 percent of marriages occured.

In 2003, however, the favorite months were May, December, and January, while the least favorite were August and November.

“The top favorites are February [10.80 percent], May [11.26 percent], and December when most

couples marry, with a weighted average share of 11.44 percent of all the marriages. December 8 [Immaculate Conception] is a favorite date for couples for divine intervention,” he said.

Meanwhile, Virola also said the weighted average age at marriage is almost 30 years for men and almost 27 years for women.

He said the average age at marriage has been consistently increasing slowly in the past five years, breaching age 30 for men in 2018.

In 2003, Virola said the median age at first marriage for women was only about 22 years.

Virola said the average age at marriage for both groom and bride is highest in February, which may be due to the free mass weddings on February 14.

“This means fewer fertility years for the mother and should augur well for population planning. However, would wedding guests like to see many blushing brides aged 50 in June 2222?”

Virola said.

Virola explained that fertility rate refers to the level of fertility at which a cohort of women on the average are having only enough children to replace themselves and their partner in the population. In the country, a total fertility rate of 2.1 is considered to be replacement level.

He said the analysis was based on data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

DOJ ends lockdown after massive disinfection

By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

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HE Department of Justice’s (DOJ) main headquarters in Padre Faura is set to end tomorrow (Monday) the 11-day lockdown it imposed last June 18 after five of its employees and one outsourced personnel were confirmed positive for Covid-19.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the DOJ main office will be ready for business as these have been disinfected.

Guevarra ordered the lockdown from June 18 until June 28 to give way to the disinfection and sanitation of the offices. This, after six of the 72 found positive for Covid-19 antibodies during the initial rapid test were later confirmed with the virus.

Guevarra said he decided to lift the lockdown on receiving the report about the actions taken and upon the recommendation of DOJ Undersecretary Lean Sunga.

The report submitted by Sunga to the Secretary showed that only five of their employees and one outsourced personnel, a blue guard, were confirmed with Covid-19.

“We conducted daily sanitation/ disinfection from June 18-27 in all our buildings/rooms [main DOJ buildings, JDC and GSP annexes]; thus we can push through with the lifting of our lockdown tomorrow, June 29,” said Sunga.

Gue v a r r a e a rl ie r orde re d the skeleton staff of the DOJ to continue reporting to their offices to ensure the agency’s continued operations.

However, other DOJ employees continued to perform their duties from home during the lockdown.

Study: Pinoys claim knowledge of quarantine distinctions, impact

By Roderick L. Abad

P

Contributor

@rodrik_28

H I L H E A LT HC A R E I nc .

(Phi lCare), in its latest nationwide research, has found out that Fi lipinos are knowledgeable about the different types of community quarantine (CQ ) and their effects on their community.

The CQ Wellness Study showed that respondents graded themselves as “very knowledgeable” about the rules of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ ), extreme enhanced community quarantine (EECQ), and general community quarantine (GCQ) with a score of 1.45.

T he pr ivate f ir m PhilCare asked respondents nationwide to rate their understanding of the CQ guidelines using a five-point scale with the score of one as “very knowledgeable” to five for “not very knowledgeable.” It also determined educational attainment as a significant factor in the differences in their scoring.

For instance, those who finished high-school or some college and had some high school education or lower reported having the strongest level of knowledge about the CQ guidelines and their distinctions with scores of 1.46 and 1.51, respectively.

Holders of college and postgraduate diplomas have the weakest knowledge with scores of 1.53 and 1.89, respectively. Those with the latter degree particularly had the lowest score, rating themselves to be “knowledgeable” only.

Among those who finished secondary or some tertiary education, nine out of 10 said they know about the guidelines of GCQ (93 percent), EECQ (90 percent), and ECQ (88 percent). In terms of knowing their distinctions, 93 percent said they know the difference between ECQ and GCQ; and 87 percent between ECQ and EECQ. Majority of those who reached some high-school education or lower said they know about ECQ (94 percent), GCQ (90 percent), and EECQ (90 percent). Also, 94 percent reported being knowledgeable about the difference between ECQ and GCQ, while 85 percent know the difference between ECQ and EECQ. For college graduates, nearly all (96 percent) said they understand the guidelines during ECQ, while nine out of 10 know about GCQ (91 percent) and EECQ (89 percent). Meanwhile, 94 percent said they know the difference between ECQ and GCQ and 83 percent can distinguish ECQ and EECQ. Eighty-nine percent of postgraduates said they know the rules of EECQ (89 percent) and ECQ (86 percent), while 64 percent know about GCQ. In addition, 71 percent said they can tell apart ECQ from GCQ and EECQ. Meanwhile, the research discovered that almost all respondents from the P10,000 to P20,000 income group said they know the rules of the ECQ (97 percent), GCQ (92 percent), and EECQ (91 percent).

Those earning less than P10,000

monthly income reported having the weakest perceived level of knowledge with a score of 1.58.

Ninety-five percent said they are knowledgeable about the guidelines in effect during ECQ, 87 percent about GCQ, and 85 percent on EECQ. “With various community quarantine types in place across the country, we thought that this study could help us look into how well Filipinos believe they know the community quarantine guidelines,” said lead researcher Dr. Fernando Paragas of the College of Mass Communication at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

According to PhilCare President and Chief Executive Officer Jaeger L. Tanco, the research would also address the needs of the people when it comes to important news or information like community quarantine guidelines.

“The health and wellness of Filipinos have always been important to us, especially during the pandemic. The PhilCare CQ Wellness Study helped us see the bigger picture of Filipinos’ knowledge, attitude, and practices while on community quarantine. We believe this will help both the government and private sectors act on giving information to Filipinos especially if there’s a crisis,” he explained.

The study involved a phone survey using random digit dialing protocols which ran from May 11 to 14 and from May 16 to 20. A total of 800 respondents from 46 provinces and 156 cities were interviewed for the study.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, June 29, 2020

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Axelum blames pandemic for steep drop in income

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By VG Cabuag

@villygc

xelum Resources Corp., a manufacturer and exporter of coconut products, said its net income in the first quarter fell 47 percent to P120.9 million, from last year’s P226.4 million, due mainly to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“After posting the highest level of profitability in our history last year, our growth momentum was interrupted by the outbreak of the Covid-19 health pandemic, which caused significant economic disruptions in most parts of the world,” Henry J. Raperoga, the company's president and CEO, said.

From January to March, rev-

enues fell 6 percent to P1.2 billion, from P1.28 billion last year, as the imposition of lockdown measures abroad and at home in response to the growing threat of community transmissions weighed down both the export and domestic businesses.

Axelum said it was able to sustain its profitability with only a marginal

decline in sales despite prevailing market conditions.

“While costs were elevated, this was a result of extraordinary measures that were undertaken to address the current situation. Moving forward, the company expects input prices to stabilize as quarantine policies start to ease,” the company said.

“Our priority was to balance productivity along with the needs and welfare of our people. Given this mindset, we saw opportunities to focus on efficiency-oriented initiatives while securing the tenure of our employees,” Raperoga said.

In terms of capital expenditure, Axelum said it intends to proceed with ongoing targeted spending as the company’s performance has improved since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.

It said the ompany remains on track to produce and deliver at least 25 million liters of coconut water to anchor client Vita Coco this year.

“Though Covid-19 presented difficult challenges, we are proud that the company met these challenges and was profitable despite the headwinds. Our long-term view on the coconut industry opportunity remains intact and our business plan remains the same with enough flexibility to cushion the prolonged effects of Covid-19. We shall keep growing our business organically and selectively consider acquisitions,” Raperoga said.

As a result of the pandemic, the company's board is re-allocating the P1 billion proceeds of its initial public offering last year to pre-pay its loans to save on interest expense.

The company had previously said some P820 million of the proceeds was intended to fund strategic acquisitions from 2020-2022 while P180 million will be spent for the expansion of domestic and international distribution networks from 2020-2021.

Altus lists by way of introduction A

ltus Property Ventures Inc. (APVI), a unit of the Gokongwei's JG Summit Holdings Inc., which listed its shares by way of introduction at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Friday, saw its share price rise on its trading debut.

APVI had an initial listing price of P10.10. It closed at P18.50 per share on its market debut.

A listing by way of introduction is taking a company public without selling shares to the public.

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC), the property development arm of JG Summit, declared a property dividend of 100 million. Of the figure, the Gokongwei holding firm was

entitled to 60.97 million shares.

APVI, formerly Altus San Nicolas Corp., applied for the listing by way of introduction of 100 million common shares, which represents its total issued and outstanding common shares, on the SME Board of the PSE. The company owns and operates Robinsons Place Ilocos (North Wing), located at San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte. The company shall serve as a vehicle for possible future real estate ventures and opportunities.

Before the declaration of property dividends on December 20, 2019, APVI was a wholly owned subsidiary of RLC and an indirect

Govt wants to develop electronic components

‘Consider alternatives to China 5G’

T

he Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has urged semiconductor makers to identify which electronic parts have the largest innovation potential in order to develop them locally and mitigate dependence on imports.

In a speech last Friday, IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said his agency is beefing up efforts to encourage innovators to localize the development of semiconductor parts. He said there are incentives available for innovators who intend to make basic components of electronic products.

“Enabling innovators through IP, hence, can mitigate your dependence on other countries for parts; thus, lowering your vulnerability to global supply disruptions,” Barba said. The electronics industry, producer of the country’s largest export items, has been hit hard by the supply chain disruption caused by the global coronavirus pandemic. As such, exports of electronic parts as of April declined nearly 15 percent to $10.19 billion, from $11.92 billion during the same period last year.

Barba tasked local firms to identify which components they need most so that the government can explore the domestic landscape for possible innovators.

“To do this, we need to identify which components are most needed and through IPOPHL’s commercial patent search service, we can scour the local innovation landscape and then identify and tap the innovator with the biggest potential to serve the specific needs of a company,” Barba said. Further, the IPOPHL is expanding its innovation efforts to the academe through the Information and Technology Support Office (ITSO) project, in which the government links universities and research centers to private firms for possible tie ups.

“In fact, ITSOs are big drivers for IP filing activities at IPOPHL. They account for the bulk of residential filings for patents and utility models. At present, we have 100 partners and we intend to add more to our growing network,” the IPOPHL chief disclosed.

Data from the agency showed that filings for electronic patent last year grew 52 percent to 984, while for utility models rose 8 percent to 55. However, for industrial design, applications fell by 13 percent to 287.

In terms of trademark, filings related to electronic parts expanded by 24 percent to 5,213, from 4,205 last year, according to IPOPHL figures. Elijah Felice E. Rosales

subsidiary of JG Summit through the property firm.

The company became a direct subsidiary of JG Summit by virtue of the property dividend distribution

by RLC to its stockholders.

The shares of APVI were distributed as property dividend to common shareholders of RLC on record as of August 15, 2019 at one APVI share for every 51.9384 RLC shares held.

The company's primary purpose is to engage in the business of selling, acquiring, building, constructing, developing, leasing and disposing of real-estate properties and property development

of all kinds and nature.

“Altus Property is a welcome addition to our roster of listed firms and the Small, Medium, and Emerging [SME] Board. With back to back SME Board listings this month, we hope that companies in this category will consider listing in the PSE, particularly those that need funding to help support their growth plans after the slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said.

“We look forward to seeing the company grow its property portfolio and embark on real-estate ventures that will further enhance its shareholder value.” VG Cabuag

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

P

hilippine telcos should be worried about the potential implications of taking in Huawei, a Chinese manufacturer of tech hardware, as their partner for the deployment of 5G technologies in the country, an official from the United States said.

Keith Krach, US Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, said in a recent telephonic briefing that the Philippines should note that using Chinese technology, such as that of Huawei, has the potential of a data breach.

“It really boils down to: Who do you trust? And do you trust… companies that come from a country that has a National Intelligence Act that requires any company, state-owned or otherwise, or any citizen, to turn over any information—proprietar y technology, intellectual property, data—upon request to the Chinese Communist Party, the government, or the People’s Liberation Army? And if you don’t do that, you suffer the consequences,” he said.

Krach said there are other alternatives to Chinese technology, citing those from South Korea, Finland and Sweden.

“There’s Samsung from Korea, there’s Nokia from Finland, and then there’s Ericsson from Sweden.

And I think that’s the question the country of Philippines really has to ask,” he said. “And the United

BusinessMirror file photo

States, along with many of our allies, really believes in this.”

Krach noted that the United States may help the Philippines in funding its 5G initiatives.

“The Philippines has been a great partner with the United States. And that’s one of the reasons, as well, is that—many of us have expanded our financing capabilities to help countries like the Philippines and others, particularly when they are suffering from this horrific pandemic. So, we are here to help, and this is—I think this is an important thing,” he said.

Philippine telcos have been very keen on exploring 5G technologies.

Globe has so far introduced a commercial fixed wireless 5G service in select areas in the country. PLDT and Smart are likewise looking at launching their own 5G services soon. Dito Telecommunity is also

focusing on 5G, given its potential use cases not only for consumers, but also for enterprises.

All three telco groups are in talks with Huawei and other 5G technology vendors for the deployment of 5G technologies in the Philippines.

Huawei has long been a partner of the two incumbent telcos for their network development initiatives. Some of their 4G networks are powered by Huawei equipment.

Krach said the US is particularly wary about 5G because of its capabilities.

“It really expands the capabilities, and the speed, and the transmission, and all of that – and this is what was really laying the background or the backbone for the internet of things. Also, with 5G capabilities, that enables what we would say would be the surveillance state,” he said.

Solon: PHL needs eCommerce bureau

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

T

he chairman of the House Committee on Trade and Industry wants to hold both e-commerce platforms and seller accountable for damaged or lost goods purchased online by passing a bill establishing an eCommerce Bureau.

Valenzuela Rep. Wes Gatchalian issued the statement in the wake of public outcry over a viral video that showed workers of a courier service deliberately mishandling packages.

“The on-going practice is that consumers who buy from online platforms like Lazada, Shopee, and Zalora, are limited to the couriers services selected and offered by these e-commerce platforms,” he said.

“In order for the consumers to be able to purchase the items they want, they have no other option but to use the courier services utilized by these online platforms. And sometimes they literally have no choice because only one courier service is offered by the platform.”

The lawmaker said complaints of items being damaged or lost is not good for both buyers and sellers.

With this, Gatchalian asked the lower chamber to approve House Bill 6122, or the Internet Transactions Act, which specifies obligations and liabilities for e-commerce platforms and online merchants, including the delivery of goods to consumers

in the condition as required by the sales contract.

The bill said any agreement between buyer and seller is "valid only if, at the time of the conclusion of the contract, the consumer has knowledge of the specific condition of the goods and the consumer has expressly accepted this specific condition when concluding the contract."

The measure also establishes a code of conduct for online businesses, including allowing for the tracking of deliveries by online merchants and provide complete records of the goods purchased and have them delivered within the promised time and described condition.

Gatchalian said the Philippines still lacks policies and regulations that will facilitate online transactions and cross-border trade processes, which should address concerns including lack of trust, lack of governing entity at the regional level that can fight cybercrime and settle cross-border disputes, difficulty in the process of returning product, and online consumer complaints, among others.

The bill seeks to remedy this by establishing an eCommerce Bureau, under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which shall act as a virtual one stop shop for consumer complaints on internet transactions, and facilitate the speedy resolution of consumer complaints by the respective government agency which has jurisdiction over the complaint.

Eternal Plans takes extreme measures to cope with pandemic

P

re-need company Eternal Plans Inc. is taking drastic measures to ensure that the company survives the economic devastation wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Elmer Lorica, president and COO of Eternal Plans, the sustainability of the company is the paramount consideration in the face of a decline in revenues by 70 percent during the second quarter of this year, with minimal improvement expected up to the end of the year.

Among the drastic measures being implemented are bringing down operations costs to the barest minimum by reducing the number of branches and support staff. Eighteen branches are either to be merged or closed by the end of June, and 70 percent of employees either retrenched or sent on forced leave.

Lorica said “painful as these measures are, these have to be done to ensure that the company survives the Covid-19 crisis. The benefit that we offer is happening in the future. Eternal Plans has to be there to make this happen.”

Eternal Plans management hopes that by taking these radical moves, the company will better overcome the gnawing uncertainty surrounding the virus itself, the availability of the vaccine to fight the disease and the effects on the economy of efforts taken to control its spread.

Likewise, the investment of the Trust Fund, from which the benefits of planholders are drawn, is doing poorly. Trust Fund income and value, which has yet to recover fully from the pre-need crisis, have taken another hit with the

pandemic the whole world is currently experiencing.

At depressed value, Trust Fund assets cannot be liquidated without incurring losses. With this current situation, according to Lorica, the capacity of the company to release plan benefits on time will be gravely affected. Some releases of due benefits will be deferred. Notification of concerned planholders of this predicament is currently on-going.

However, Lorica emphasized that the memorial services benefit of the life plan will be expeditiously rendered as needed. The company has more than 300 accredited mortuaries nationwide that will provide the memorial services.

All companies worldwide, big and small, are feeling the devastating blow of the Covid-19 pandemic. Each one is doing drastic measures to hedge against the fall out. According to Lorica, everything that Eternal Plans does is to ensure the sustainability of the company for the sake of all its planholders.

He believes that the situation is evolving. Thus, Eternal Plans remains vigilant and continues to explore other remedies to facilitate early recovery.

Lorica, who also serves as the president of Philippine Federation of Pre-need Plan Companies, is confident that with the measures in place and the continuing vigilance of the company, Eternal Plans will weather the storm.

Eternal Plans is the pre-need arm of the ALC Group of Companies established by Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, June 29, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

June 26, 2020

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

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

46 98.5 70.7 21.75 7.42 37.1 20.55 48.6 17 105.2 54.25 0.69 17.5 2.45 0.29 0.55 162

47 98.55 70.85 21.95 7.43 37.2 20.6 48.8 17.12 106.5 54.5 0.72 17.68 2.65 0.3 0.57 168

46.9 98 71.9 21.3 7.38 37.5 21 49.25 17 105.1 54.25 0.72 17.7 2.58 0.3 0.55 168

47 99.5 71.9 22 7.5 37.7 21 49.25 17.12 106.8 54.5 0.72 17.7 2.58 0.3 0.55 168

46.5 97.5 70.5 21.25 7.38 36.9 20.3 48.6 17 104.2 54.25 0.72 17.5 2.58 0.3 0.54 161

47 98.5 70.85 21.95 7.43 37.2 20.6 48.8 17 106.5 54.5 0.72 17.5 2.58 0.3 0.55 168

8500 2813820 1702000 719200 890000 2961300 177200 2000 26900 421950 12900 4000 5300 10000 130000 137000 8160

398160 276618346 120501597 15411490 6621228 110025985 3637310 97605 458012 44439816 701485 2880 93304 25800 39000 75250 1314887

393460 -116718690.5 -51866899.5 -10867070 -1886233 -26025020 -3027420 -71400 -20653881 -641807.5 -9350 -145257

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 2.2 2.21 2.19 2.24 2.19 2.21 4036000 8915490 -664530 1.2 1.22 1.22 1.23 1.2 1.2 484000 584790 2400 ALSONS CONS 26.85 27.3 27.5 27.7 26.5 27.3 430300 11619220 -3432570 ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY 0.153 0.157 0.152 0.16 0.151 0.16 160000 24340 22.3 22.5 22.45 23.75 22.35 22.5 1839100 41931795 22868560 FIRST GEN 57 58.1 57.2 58.95 57 57 20070 1153481.5 -284204.5 FIRST PHIL HLDG 266.6 269.8 270 274.6 265.2 266.6 361390 96529116 -64223362 MERALCO 12.14 12.2 12 12.24 12 12.14 927800 11274408 -2165574 MANILA WATER PETRON 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.08 3.04 3.06 716000 2192360 -398230 PETROENERGY 2.75 2.96 2.7 2.97 2.7 2.96 20000 56410 11.3 11.48 11.06 11.5 11.06 11.3 99300 1128634 -181500 PHX PETROLEUM 18.4 18.58 18.02 19 18 18.4 289300 5337900 1822843.9997 PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.07 8.02 8.03 19700 158507 7.71 7.8 7.8 7.96 7.6 7.8 149100 1167073 188284 AGRINURTURE AXELUM 2.61 2.65 2.6 2.66 2.58 2.65 787000 2057990 -102190 12.02 12.18 12.04 12.04 12.02 12.02 300 3608 CNTRL AZUCARERA 14.36 14.4 14.3 14.64 14.3 14.4 1499300 21600778 -671374 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 4.2 4.45 4.2 4.2 4.19 4.2 11000 46180 -25200 DNL INDUS 5.09 5.1 5.06 5.09 5 5.09 896500 4533015 1871758 8.04 8.05 8.05 8.05 7.96 8.04 35112100 281327115 -280331938 EMPERADOR 67.85 68.5 67.2 68.5 67.2 68.5 374000 25336455 -571867 SMC FOODANDBEV 0.56 0.57 0.55 0.57 0.55 0.56 102000 56940 ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG 1.34 1.35 1.32 1.35 1.31 1.34 12401000 16464720 -218230 GINEBRA 31.6 32.35 32 32.4 31.5 31.6 225600 7129280 4971045 140.2 141.4 141.2 142.9 140 140.2 411960 58,305,361( 3,832,205.0004) JOLLIBEE 6.39 6.59 6.38 6.6 6.38 6.39 12600 80963 MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP 5.5 5.59 5.74 5.74 5.4 5.5 1723600 9605410 -3126745 MG HLDG 0.136 0.14 0.133 0.136 0.133 0.136 40000 5390 4060 SHAKEYS PIZZA 5.93 5.97 5.98 6 5.92 5.93 822100 4892924 1731640 1.53 1.54 1.56 1.59 1.54 1.54 1241000 1926590 ROXAS AND CO 1.59 1.62 1.6 1.6 1.59 1.59 33000 52620 ROXAS HLDG SWIFT FOODS 0.107 0.11 0.114 0.114 0.105 0.11 260000 28580 -26480 UNIV ROBINA 129.4 129.5 126.5 130.9 126.4 129.5 1120710 144926382 -77238350 VITARICH 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.89 0.85 0.85 14676000 12914220 -262660 56.25 62.45 56.1 56.15 56.1 56.1 150 8418.5 CONCRETE B 1.05 1.06 1.06 1.09 1.05 1.06 14774000 15699520 -7168650 CEMEX HLDG EAGLE CEMENT 9.82 10 10 10 9.5 10 13700 133940 5.02 5.04 5.06 5.09 4.98 5.02 663200 3328508 128311 EEI CORP 6.36 6.4 6.5 6.78 6.35 6.36 7510900 48819642 1521378 HOLCIM 7.17 7.19 7.16 7.58 7 7.17 5043000 36536511 -2572538 MEGAWIDE 8.35 9 9 9 9 9 100 900 900 PHINMA TKC METALS 0.72 0.74 0.76 0.76 0.72 0.73 168000 122190 0.86 0.87 0.85 0.87 0.85 0.87 1141000 984860 -30100 VULCAN INDL 122.1 134 120 120.1 120 120.1 20 2401 CHEMPHIL 1.93 1.99 1.98 1.98 1.98 1.98 6000 11880 CROWN ASIA EUROMED 2.23 2.25 2.23 2.23 2.19 2.23 430000 949260 4.5 4.59 4.5 4.59 4.35 4.59 12000 53880 LMG CHEMICALS 3.66 3.67 3.66 3.67 3.66 3.67 3000 11000 MABUHAY VINYL 3.92 4 4.19 4.19 4 4 10295000 41,183,950( 41,065,069.9997) PRYCE CORP 19 20.9 20.55 21 20 20 4800 98745 -14700 CONCEPCION GREENERGY 1.91 1.92 1.82 1.93 1.8 1.92 13061000 24702200 572520 INTEGRATED MICR 5.69 5.7 5.6 5.86 5.6 5.69 111100 635669 101466 1.04 1.05 1.1 1.12 1.05 1.05 337000 357290 IONICS 1.29 1.31 1.34 1.36 1.27 1.29 2998000 3918810 SFA SEMICON 7.71 7.74 8.13 8.2 7.65 7.71 9401600 74267991 372947.0003 CIRTEK HLDG

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.475 0.485 0.48 0.49 0.475 0.485 3570000 1717100 9.03 9.37 9.75 9.75 9.05 9.36 30800 287314 ASIABEST GROUP 779 785 775 786.5 766.5 785 241160 187838440 AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY 46.25 46.85 46 46.85 44.8 46.85 639800 29430040 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 6.72 6.76 6.99 7 6.71 6.72 35467600 241775029 1.68 1.7 1.68 1.71 1.65 1.68 711000 1189880 AYALA LAND LOG 0.495 0.51 0.5 0.5 0.49 0.49 242000 120520 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.54 0.56 0.56 0.57 0.55 0.56 389000 215350 ATN HLDG A COSCO CAPITAL 5.2 5.25 5.28 5.28 5.2 5.2 310600 1617231 DMCI HLDG 4.01 4.05 4.18 4.19 4.01 4.01 18040000 73185370 7.97 7.99 8 8.28 7.95 7.97 23100 184365 FILINVEST DEV 0.19 0.197 0.19 0.19 0.18 0.18 350000 65500 FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL 455 457 457 464 455 455 143810 65879132 HOUSE OF INV 3.34 3.36 3.36 3.36 3.35 3.35 32000 107250 JG SUMMIT 61.6 62 60.8 62.8 60.8 62 1104100 68467464 0.66 0.67 0.63 0.69 0.63 0.67 22851000 15487530 LODESTAR 2.72 2.74 2.67 2.73 2.66 2.72 122000 329420 LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP 8.06 8.08 8.1 8.34 8.05 8.08 2264000 18328319 MABUHAY HLDG 0.47 0.52 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 8000 4000 3.79 3.8 3.69 3.8 3.69 3.8 31630000 118707890 METRO PAC INV 2.88 3 2.9 2.9 2.88 2.88 91000 262280 PACIFICA HLDG 0.79 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.79 0.8 6000 4760 PRIME MEDIA SOLID GROUP 0.96 1.01 0.97 1.01 0.97 1.01 1341000 1319380 SYNERGY GRID 150 164 159.5 159.5 159.5 159.5 20 3190 930 938.5 921.5 939 916.5 938.5 351170 325754915 SM INVESTMENTS 99.5 100 99.5 100 97.5 100 194640 19259658 SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES 0.62 0.64 0.62 0.64 0.62 0.64 14000 8700 136 136.5 129 136 129 136 401120 51751540 TOP FRONTIER 0.185 0.19 0.185 0.19 0.185 0.19 510000 96850 WELLEX INDUS 0.135 0.144 0.138 0.144 0.135 0.144 720000 101630 ZEUS HLDG

-278800 43037885 -4333620 -4120427 224963 -46565060 -94105 -25139722 -73650 -47990877 -66000 -10 -7160896 54433040 970 -1595 32179000 -5874654.5 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.54 0.55 0.52 0.55 0.52 0.55 1458000 780520 8.01 8.97 8.98 8.98 8.98 8.98 200 1796 ANCHOR LAND 34 34.05 34.2 34.65 34 34 4830200 164900540 AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP 1 1.05 1.05 1.05 1 1 7000 7050 1.43 1.45 1.45 1.47 1.43 1.43 152000 219620 BELLE CORP 0.73 0.74 0.72 0.75 0.72 0.74 6708000 4937360 A BROWN 0.74 0.76 0.74 0.74 0.74 0.74 112000 82880 CITYLAND DEVT 0.121 0.126 0.127 0.127 0.121 0.121 290000 35390 CROWN EQUITIES CEBU HLDG 5.92 6.18 6.01 6.18 5.92 6.18 10000 60060 4.27 4.3 4.25 4.3 4.23 4.3 2639000 11,270,320( CEB LANDMASTERS 0.37 0.375 0.38 0.38 0.37 0.375 2820000 1048500 CENTURY PROP 0.25 0.255 0.255 0.27 0.25 0.255 610000 153500 CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON 17.12 17.18 17.4 17.78 17.1 17.12 524300 9104644 DM WENCESLAO 6.3 6.31 6.48 6.48 6.2 6.31 205400 1295288 EMPIRE EAST 0.255 0.26 0.26 0.26 0.25 0.255 410000 105850 0.1 0.105 0.103 0.103 0.097 0.097 4480000 447320 EVER GOTESCO 0.99 1 1.01 1.01 0.99 1 7149000 7150170 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.84 0.86 0.83 0.85 0.83 0.85 192000 159590 8990 HLDG 9.71 9.97 10 10 9.8 9.97 5900 58351 0.85 0.86 0.84 0.86 0.84 0.85 719000 608600 PHIL INFRADEV 0.71 0.74 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69 1000 690 CITY AND LAND 3.01 3.03 3.04 3.12 3.01 3.01 23777000 72479000 MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED 0.152 0.153 0.155 0.158 0.152 0.153 10090000 1554710 PHIL ESTATES 0.295 0.315 0.315 0.315 0.315 0.315 300000 94500 1.42 1.44 1.43 1.44 1.43 1.44 46000 66060 PRIMEX CORP 17.44 17.6 17.2 17.6 16.98 17.6 1270800 22062472 ROBINSONS LAND PHIL REALTY 0.232 0.248 0.232 0.232 0.232 0.232 70000 16240 1.52 1.58 1.51 1.59 1.51 1.58 6000 9210 ROCKWELL 2.7 2.71 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 20000 54000 SHANG PROP 1.82 1.86 1.81 1.85 1.81 1.81 33000 59950 STA LUCIA LAND 31.5 31.6 31.5 31.6 30.05 31.6 13688600 422089280 SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS 3.6 3.7 3.68 3.7 3.6 3.7 174000 630250 1.32 1.33 1.29 1.33 1.27 1.33 1879000 2441610 SUNTRUST HOME 3.8 3.81 3.88 3.88 3.8 3.8 1024000 3910680 VISTA LAND

-39117815 1450 82880 2,012,140.0003) -11150 -443618 -64252 -3977190 -30080 -26219450 -113340 -10437010 -27526155 -1239290

SERVICES ABS CBN 15.28 15.3 15.26 15.4 15.16 15.28 290800 4441824 4.82 4.87 4.87 4.89 4.8 4.87 226000 1092640 GMA NETWORK 13 13.48 13 13.2 13 13 2900 38124 MLA BRDCASTING GLOBE TELECOM 2116 2130 2058 2130 2050 2130 63010 131912890 PLDT 1234 1250 1194 1250 1193 1250 171405 210462805 0.049 0.05 0.049 0.05 0.048 0.05 4150000 203950 APOLLO GLOBAL 2.77 2.8 2.85 2.89 2.7 2.8 40000 111320 DFNN INC 3.65 3.66 3.5 3.71 3.48 3.65 70628000 256881820 DITO CME HLDG IMPERIAL 1.21 1.23 1.23 1.23 1.23 1.23 30000 36900 0.074 0.079 0.074 0.074 0.074 0.074 250000 18500 ISLAND INFO 1.45 1.74 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1000 1750 JACKSTONES 2.06 2.07 2.06 2.15 2.04 2.06 4019000 8327590 NOW CORP TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.172 0.175 0.175 0.175 0.171 0.175 2080000 357510 2.29 2.3 2.31 2.33 2.26 2.29 608000 1384820 PHILWEB 2GO GROUP 9.57 9.8 9.56 9.96 9.56 9.57 72900 706867 3.73 3.77 3.78 3.85 3.7 3.72 872000 3283300 CHELSEA 41.5 42 39.5 42 39.5 42 459900 19044270 CEBU AIR INTL CONTAINER 99.7 101.2 100.5 101.5 99.5 101.2 559370 56061219.5 LBC EXPRESS 12.6 13.16 12.68 13.16 12.5 13.16 64100 809384 0.77 0.82 0.76 0.78 0.76 0.77 71000 54570 LORENZO SHIPPNG 6.28 6.29 6.39 6.9 6.22 6.28 11045200 71267655 MACROASIA 2.4 2.44 2.48 2.48 2.37 2.4 754000 1813990 METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B 2.19 2.39 2.1 2.39 2.1 2.39 12000 26570 6.55 6.6 6.6 6.8 6.5 6.55 55500 363129 PAL HLDG 0.81 0.82 0.84 0.85 0.81 0.81 650000 532190 HARBOR STAR 1.23 1.33 1.25 1.25 1.24 1.24 13000 16200 ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG 0.024 0.026 0.025 0.026 0.024 0.025 18500000 462000 1.65 1.75 1.76 1.76 1.65 1.65 5000 8360 DISCOVERY WORLD GRAND PLAZA 12.02 13.68 13.76 13.76 13.72 13.72 200 2748 0.385 0.39 0.385 0.39 0.385 0.39 180000 69800 WATERFRONT 770 777 777 777 777 777 10 7770 FAR EASTERN U IPEOPLE 7.83 8.83 7.51 8.83 7.51 8.83 1100 8950 0.305 0.31 0.305 0.31 0.295 0.305 1420000 429100 STI HLDG BERJAYA 2.07 2.13 2.1 2.15 2.07 2.13 57000 120840 7.41 7.58 7.6 7.6 7.32 7.58 3202100 23742621 BLOOMBERRY 1.89 2.03 2.04 2.06 1.89 1.89 50000 96930 PACIFIC ONLINE LEISURE AND RES 1.48 1.51 1.6 1.6 1.49 1.51 1060000 1598730 MANILA JOCKEY 2.52 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 120000 324000 2.64 2.7 2.86 2.94 2.62 2.64 354000 957640 PH RESORTS GRP 0.32 0.325 0.325 0.335 0.32 0.325 8430000 2747650 PREMIUM LEISURE 7.27 7.28 7.4 7.61 7.24 7.27 1284500 9538432 ALLHOME METRO RETAIL 1.62 1.64 1.62 1.63 1.6 1.62 3993000 6463560 PUREGOLD 43.5 44 43.6 44 43.1 44 545300 23794845 61.85 62 61.1 64.25 61.1 62 239640 14884655.5 ROBINSONS RTL 125.8 125.9 126 126 125.8 125.8 550 69234 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.16 1.17 1.16 1.18 1.15 1.16 1411000 1641340 WILCON DEPOT 15 15.02 15 15.2 14.98 15 2754600 41380998 APC GROUP 0.315 0.325 0.315 0.315 0.315 0.315 240000 75600 6.88 7.03 7.05 7.25 6.85 7.03 74300 520450 EASYCALL 281.2 282 292 292 281.2 281.2 210 59876 GOLDEN BRIA PRMIERE HORIZON 0.205 0.209 0.212 0.212 0.204 0.21 2640000 546940

29441810 43549030 -7873050 20900 63279.9999 -14355 -30520 -2397240 -11332987 -7065749 2600 -12450 1760 3050 -6204067 19100 133720 5480 126975 4071070 -5914885 -1152771 -25204 168249.9999 -16341452 -5624 -6210

MINING & OIL ATOK 9.84 10.18 10.18 10.18 9.84 10.18 800 8004 1.21 1.22 1.2 1.25 1.19 1.22 7230000 8845010 973820 APEX MINING ABRA MINING 0.0009 0.001 0.0009 0.0009 0.0009 0.0009 211000000 189900 1.94 1.98 1.94 1.94 1.91 1.94 617000 1188280 ATLAS MINING 1.02 1.09 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 3000 3090 BENGUET A 1.14 1.15 1.14 1.14 1.14 1.14 40000 45600 45599.9999 BENGUET B 0.184 0.189 0.183 0.19 0.183 0.183 100000 18370 COAL ASIA HLDG CENTURY PEAK 2.69 2.71 2.68 2.71 2.68 2.71 302000 815870 -270500 DIZON MINES 7.5 7.58 7.58 7.58 7.38 7.58 6900 52051 0.85 0.87 0.86 0.88 0.85 0.87 1741000 1508430 -153790 FERRONICKEL 0.241 0.242 0.237 0.245 0.232 0.241 14100000 3365630 -357600 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.089 0.091 0.089 0.092 0.088 0.091 59240000 5220650 0.091 0.093 0.093 0.093 0.091 0.091 2340000 214540 1860 LEPANTO B MANILA MINING B 0.0067 0.0085 0.0077 0.0077 0.0067 0.0067 10000000 72000 0.6 0.61 0.58 0.61 0.56 0.6 1228000 736290 MARCVENTURES 1.37 1.39 1.31 1.48 1.31 1.37 3591000 5081530 -94320 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 1.81 1.82 1.82 1.87 1.78 1.81 7993000 14470590 -561620 OMICO CORP 0.35 0.375 0.35 0.375 0.35 0.375 120000 42300 0.49 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.49 0.49 112000 55660 ORNTL PENINSULA 2.38 2.4 2.39 2.44 2.37 2.38 256000 610720 -381330 PX MINING 12.66 12.68 12.4 12.68 12.4 12.68 992400 12429058 -3093272 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.0038 0.0039 0.0038 0.0038 0.0038 0.0038 10000000 38000 6.55 6.74 6.65 6.95 6.52 6.74 205400 1368489 10464 ACE ENEXOR 0.0084 0.0085 0.0085 0.0085 0.0085 0.0085 98000000 833000 ORNTL PETROL A 0.0075 0.0077 0.0075 0.0077 0.0075 0.0077 22000000 169000 PHILODRILL PXP ENERGY 7.09 7.1 6.95 7.44 6.95 7.1 6604700 47257601 -1848383

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 99 100 99 99 99 99 1170 115830 101.5 103.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 730 74095 ALCO PREF B AC PREF B2R 503.5 504.5 504 504.5 504 504.5 35390 17836605 100 102.7 100 101 100 101 1060 107000 CPG PREF A 100 100.4 100 100.4 100 100.4 550 55188 DD PREF 510 517.5 510 518 510 510 4310 2198180 GLO PREF P 1000 1010 1000 1000 1000 1000 500 500000 GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B 1019 1025 1019 1019 1019 1019 3680 3749920 100.3 101 100.5 101 100.5 101 97030 9779918 MWIDE PREF 106 106.7 106 106 106 106 1200 127200 PNX PREF 3B 1020 1035 1035 1035 1035 1035 5 5175 PCOR PREF 2B PCOR PREF 3A 1030 1065 1030 1035 1030 1030 1050 1081525 1050 1072 1071 1075 1071 1072 2810 3019730 PCOR PREF 3B 78.25 78.3 78.3 78.3 78.25 78.25 409150 32035995 SMC PREF 2C 75 75.7 75 75 75 75 10000 750000 SMC PREF 2D 78 78.45 78 78 78 78 27000 2106000 SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G 75.4 76.8 77 77 77 77 550000 42350000 75.55 77 75.6 75.6 75.5 75.5 10000 755100 SMC PREF 2H 78 78.4 78.4 78.4 78 78 10050 783920 SMC PREF 2I

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 14.56 14.6 14.7 14.7 14.6 14.6 249800 3649580 -3282080 4.65 4.78 4.65 4.65 4.65 4.65 16000 74400 GMA HLDG PDR

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.69 0.72 0.69 0.7 0.69 0.69 109000 75380

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 18.5 19 40 240 17 18.5 5356700 230856408 -9915329 2.11 2.12 2.2 2.27 2.08 2.12 13776000 29770600 913840 ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH 6.09 6.15 6.25 6.25 6.08 6.1 41200 251362 3.51 3.52 3.55 3.63 3.49 3.51 50561000 179762100 -3213780 MERRYMART 0.62 0.63 0.58 0.63 0.56 0.62 8903000 5374350 -128200 XURPAS

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 93.8 94 93.95 94.5 93.7 93.8 10210 960030 203058

www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘PHL to reclaim global standing in geothermal energy generation’

By Lenie Lectura

T

@llectura

he Department of Energy (DOE) wants the Philippines to overtake Indonesia and reclaim its pervious title as the world’s second-largest geothermal producer.

“Let’s go for it and regain our previous global standing as one of the top countries in geothermal development,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said over the weekend.

After many years of placing second in the world ranking, the Philippines now ranks third after Indonesia. The United States occupies the top post. Cusi wants to push the development of geothermal power among the country’s renewable resources to also help attain energy security and boost Republic Act 9513, also known as the Renewable Energy (RE) Act of 2008.

In a meeting with key officials of the Department of Energy (DOE) last June 24, Cusi directed his team to prepare a formal directive that would contain initiatives and guidelines on how to promote geothermal energy development and increase its utilization, as said resource is indigenous to the country.

“I would like to issue an order to really look deeply and comprehensively into how we can develop geothermal.

I have been really thinking about it, assessing how we are addressing RE,” Cusi told the officials.

In promoting RE, Cusi said it is best for the country to focus on the resources that are abundant available, and extend all the necessary support to encourage its development through innovative policies and strategies.

He cited Vietnam as an example, where the country focused on developing the strength of its hydro resources. “[Vietnam is] very strong

on hydro and that’s what they are developing. They are giving priority to their hydro.” Cusi said geothermal power plants may be expensive to develop and may take a longer time to build, but it would be able to generate the kind of power that will help sustain the energy security of the Philippines in the long term.

To date, the Philippines continues to have the highest RE generation mix within the Southeast Asian region. In 2018, RE accounted for about 33.2 percent of the country’s total primary energy supply. The figure is already 10 percent ahead of the regional target set forth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Plan of Action on Energy Cooperation, which seeks to increase the RE component in the Asean total primary energy mix to 23 percent by the year 2025.

The National Geothermal Association of the Philippines (NGAP), for its part, said Cusi’s directive is “defi-

nitely a step in the right direction that will help our country become more energy independent.”

The group recently wrote Cusi to seek support in promoting and pursuing geothermal exploration and development in the country, which currently provides 11 percent of the Philippines’ power production.

Numerous underdeveloped geothermal energy sources have been identified, but the high risk and capital-intensive nature of exploring and developing these areas along with the lack of a guaranteed rate under the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) system make it more challenging for private developers to pursue them, NGAP said.

Risk sharing between developers and the DOE, especially during the very costly exploration stage, is needed to encourage geothermal development. NGAP proposed to tap the Malampaya Funds to provide financial support in the form of a loan with lower interest rates or a grant.

Shakey’s Pizza enhances health, safety measures

S

hakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (PSE: PIZZA), the Philippines’s leading chained full-service restaurant, continues to enhance the health and hygiene safety measures in all its stores and facilities nationwide to protect its workforce amidst the pandemic.

As more of the workforce returns to the workplace with the shift to general community quarantine (GCQ), PIZZA continues to put the health and safety of its employees as the top priority. To ensure a safe and healthy return to work while preventing the transmission of Covid-19, PIZZA partnered with RelianceUnited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Laboratories, Inc, the leading pharmaceutical and healthcare provider in the Philippines.

Last week, PIZZA’s affiliate, Century Pacific Food Inc. (PSE: CNPF), announced that it has also partnered

with RelianceUnited in enhancing the health and safety measures in its workplace and manufacturing facilities.

RelianceUnited through ActiveOne, its corporate clinic services provider, will be providing PIZZA with a Covid Infection Control Program that focuses on the long-term adoption of occupational safety and health measures, including future preparedness to help limit the impact of the virus. David San Pedro, President of RelianceUnited, said, “Managing the risk of Covid-19 is more than just about testing. It is about delivering a comprehensive infection control program that triages and monitors symptomatic employees and assures those who go in that their work environment is kept safe. As SARS-CoV-2 remains virulent, we are helping clients develop a strong understanding of how the virus spreads and how to prevent infection and avoid disruption to their operations.” The integrated program

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK Last week

Local share prices fell last week, tracking losses in overseas markets, as investors were reminded that the pandemic is not yet over with the rising in infection cases in some areas.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 123.23 points to close at 6,191.84 points.

The main index started the week strong, but fell sharply for three straight days before recovering on Friday after the surprise reduction of 50 basis points in key interest rates implemented by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in its policy meeting which contributed to investor’s optimism.

There was also the listing by way of introduction of Gokongwei property firm Altus Property Ventures Inc., which somewhat perked up the market.

“Here at the PSE, the main index continues to pull back on more profit taking and as investors monitor the increase of new cases in several key cities. The PSEi’s losses were more substantial than its Asian peers,” Christopher Mangun, research head at AAA Securities Inc., said.

Foreign investors returned to their selling spree with net sell of P5.75 billion by the end of the week. Average trading value for the week reached P6.2 billion per day, slightly higher than the year-to-date of P5.97 billion.

All other subindices closed on the red with the exception of the Mining and Oil index that bucked the trend, gaining 186.70 points to close at 5,169.86 points.

The broader All Shares index fell 53.40 to 3,631.15, the Financials index declined 11.60 to 1,238.96, the Industrial index decreased 72.76 to 7,627.07, the Holding Firms index shed 155.30 to 6,444.47, the Property index plunged 90.81 to 3,048.32 and the Services index was down 0.61 to 1,394.50.

For the week, losers edged gainers 168 to 85 and 17 shares were unchanged.

Top gainers were PXP Energy Corp., Merrymart Consumer Corp., A Brown Co. Inc., Apex Mining Co. Inc., Italpinas Development Corp., Lepanto Consolidated Mining B and DITO CME Holdings Corp.

Top losers were MJC Investments Corp., F and J Prince Holdings Corp. A, Roxas and Co. Inc., Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp., Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. and Benguet Corp. A.

This week

Share prices may end the month on a positive note and allow the main index to post three consecutive months of growth, unless investors decide on sell on the two remaining trading days in June.

“The PSEi is currently up 6 percent for the month of June and with only two days of trading left, we could say that it will end on a positive note,” Mangun said.

For the rest of the week, the market may continue to trade sideways and may continue its fall as investors anticipate financials to worsen in the second quarter.

“We may see the market move lower at the beginning of next week as it tests support at 5,950 and then start to move higher towards the end of the week. Foreign investors continue to show a lack of confidence in our market despite the rally of more the 50 percent that we have seen since it bottomed out in the middle of March,” he said.

Stock picks

Hermenegildo Z. Narvaez, president and CEO of BPI Securities Inc., has recommended to buy shares of conglomerates SM Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp. (AC) as these are "proxies" for the Philippine economy and both give diversity in terms of overall portfolio.

“They are pretty much in all of the key growth drivers for the Philippine economy like in banking, property and a bit of consumption, as well,” he said.

For the rest of the year, Philippine economy will face formidable challenges, but in the medium term, he said the growth trajectory of the country continues to look strong as government continues to spend for infrastructure.

“As more people get employed—whether OFWs or BPO sector—incomes will continue to grow and the combination of consumption growth and infra growth will help support the economy and translate to 5 to 6 percent growth for the economy moving forward. And the best and more liquid to play that theme over the next five to eight years will be the likes of SM and AC as well. I think these are solid choices,” Narvaez said. Shares of SMIC closed at P938.50 apiece while those of AC were at P785 per share. VG Cabuag

includes telemedicine hotline service available to PIZZA employees. Services include telephone-based medical consultation and triaging, diagnostic testing, and daily monitoring of employee condition for any progression or regression. ActiveOne is tapping into their pool of senior MDs and RNs to provide competent and accessible medical care during this period of heightened paranoia and uncertainty.

To reinforce protection of employees, individual testing, medical assessments, and treatment will also be made available. For high-risk employees, a personal health protection plan will also be provided.

“Safety will always remain our top priority, especially as we enter into the ‘new normal’ with the gradual resumption of dine in. Our philosophy is that guests must know, feel, and see that they are safe. A crucial component of that is ensuring that our employ-

mutual funds

ees are safe as well,” said Vicente Gregorio, President and CEO of Shakey’s.

PIZZA said it remains committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of its guests and employees, as it institutionalizes sanitation procedures and social distancing measures that are aligned with World Health Organization recommendations.

With the resumption of dine in services, interaction with guests will be mostly contactless. Various safety protocols are implemented throughout the guest journey – from temperature checks and provision of Health Declaration Checklist upon entry, to contactless ordering procedure, regular sanitation of smallwares and availability of noncash payment of options. Safety guidelines and physical distancing will be strictly implemented in all guest interactions in dining tables and common areas.

June 26, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 201 -24.81% -9.77% -5.8% -20.2% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.0302 -37.71% -13.73% -6.07% -25.46% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.7299 -34.14% -14.14% -8.07% -25.78% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.6958 -27.49% n.a. n.a. -22.44% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6668 -24.71% n.a. n.a.

-21.49% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.3011 -22.28% -8.1% -5.33% -19.28% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6801 -23.57% -10.61% n.a.

-20.33% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 79.17 -34.91% n.a. n.a.

-23.38% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 40.3657 -23.81% -8.12% -4.61% -21.29% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 431.23 -21.82% -7.43% -4.98% -19.06% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.8893 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-13.67% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.0211 -23.9% -7.79% -4.4% -20.65% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 30.0781 -23.63% -7.29% -4.09% -20.63% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7946 -25.28% n.a. n.a.

-21.95% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.113 -23.47% -7.62% -3.88% -21.26% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 688.23 -23.32% -7.59% -4.08% -21.08% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.634 -32.56% -11.06% -7.94% -25.53% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1826 -27.43% -8.86% -5.3% -24.39% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7903 -23.36% -7.73% -4.01% -21.03% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.9072 -23% -6.19% -3.33% -20.42% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 92.397 -23.12% -7.09% -3.25% -21% ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$0.9685 -2.65% -0.44% -1.78% -5.82% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.3725 5.2% 5.79% n.a.

-0.45% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5445 -11.91% -4.63% -3.91% -1.17% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0567 -12.02% -4.57% -2.14% -5.7% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4103 -10.12% -2.84% -3.4% -8.41% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1862 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-18.51% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8364 -5.87% -1.2% -0.67% -6.45% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.4592 -8.39% -2.48% -1.94% -8.71% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.4618 -9.06% -2.66% -2.07% -8.84% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.926 -11.02% -3.52% -1.69% -9.4% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.2856 -15.96% -4.54% -2.97% -14.96% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9362 -8.83% n.a. n.a.

-7.83% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8427 -17.83% n.a. n.a.

-15.43% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8221 -19.57% n.a. n.a.

-17.23% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8062 -19.7% -5.7% -4.28% -17.3% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03845 2.34% 2.31% 1.64% 0.58% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $0.9898 -0.22% 0.77% -0.26% -4.63% 4.09% 3.14% -1.34% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.8584 2.43% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1113 0.41% 2.04% n.a.

-1.55% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 365.3 4.34% 3.1% 2.51% 2.1% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.9396 2.15% 0.89% -0.05% 1.98% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.1862 4.56% 5.1% 5.07% 2.24% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2775 4.16% 2.61% 2.16% 2.36% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4316 5.02% 3.14% 1.81% 3.07% 3.82% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.54 8.56% 3.63% 2.2% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.2879 6.11% 3.86% 2.1% 2.48% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9176 6.4% 3.98% 2.07% 3.42% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0232 8.62% 3.29% 1.6% 6.11% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1575 6.69% 4.55% 2.78% 2.65% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

1.7334 5.32% 3.87% 2.26% 1.9% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $473.52 3.36% 2.44% 2.71% 1.13% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є215.47 -0.89% 0.57% 0.98% -1.94% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2181 2.88% 2.82% 2.5% 0.9% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0259 1.17% 1.32% 1.2% 0.39% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0692 -1.8% -0.34% 0.14% -2.37% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4405 3.96% 3.03% 3.06% 1.53% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0605396 2.37% 1.92% 1.82% 0.37% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.176 2.92% 1.81% 2.42% 0.02% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 128.04 3.72% 3.18% 2.41% 1.8% 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 1.283 3.16% 3.04% 2.58% 1.46% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0448 1.64% n.a. n.a.

0.73% Feeder Fund Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.92 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-7.07%

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

Fintech eyes to bridge PHL, Indo rural banks

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

H

omegrown financial technology (fintech) firm PearlPay is aiming to interconnect rural banks in the Philippines and Indonesia within the next two years in a bid to ease remittances.

PearlPay CEO Spark Perreras, in a recent interview, said that the company was building a unified payment network for rural banks here and in Indonesia.

So far, there are 200 rural banks that signed up for the program locally and additional 252 participants abroad. Perreras said that even Filipinos working in Indonesia, who are usually teachers in universities, will also be benefitted from this project as this simplifies the remittance process.

“We are unifying, aggregating all these rural banks to be interconnected,” he said. “Because of lack of access to infrastructure, technology, digital banking platform, they [rural banks] are fragmented.”

PearlPay was focusing on rural banks given their large potential network in the country.

Perreras said that there are 450 rural banks in the Philippines with 2,745 branches—95 percent of which are in far-flung areas that have no access to commercial banking. There are also around 9 million customers in rural banks, he added.

Indonesia, meanwhile, has over 1,600 rural banks and more than 10 million existing customers, he noted.

“The moment we onboard them

to our end-to-end digital platform, we are actually ... interconnecting all these rural banks. Virtually, it will be bigger than the top three banks combined in terms of network,” he added.

Currently, the fintech firm is doing a pilot study with two local rural banks.

He said that the company is about 88 percent complete the version 1.0 of its core banking solutions, adding that it was anticipated to be fully accomplished by next month.

The said solution will be compliant of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas regulations, including financial reporting package and regulatory compliance reporting, he said.

“We expect them [rural banks] to onboard, to fully migrate in our platforms four to six months after,” Perrera said. “By the time we fully migrate them, that’s the time we will start generating revenue.”

He said that it would take two years before PearlPay hit at least its break-even point. For now, the PearlPay chief said that the company was more focused on helping the rural banks be digitally transformed.

In delivering services, PearlPay has been using the cloud architect of Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop cloud-based programs to facilitate individual-to-bank transactions. Among the AWS services being availed by PearlPay are data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

PearlPay is a fintech firm headquartered in the Philippines with regional offices in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore.

Perspectives

Rethinking the cost of doing business

M

argins were already razor-thin across many parts of the retail sector. Now every cost is coming under the microscope and every drop of cash is being aggressively preserved. The memory of this event will remain in the collective consciousness of retailers for some time; the desire to eliminate costs will likely be insatiable.

Most retailers recognize that conventional forms of cost cutting are no longer enough to shore up margins and rebuild the business. Even after the aggressive cost-containment strategies to Covid-19, most retailers recognize they will need to go further if they hope to return their business to profitable growth in the years ahead. Expect to see a flurry of investments focused on improving the value of existing assets over the coming year.

Some of the more obvious places for investment include new technologies to improve the efficiency of supply chain management, inventory management and receiving. These are areas that could yield significant value if the right technologies and operating models are brought to bear. There are certainly a multitude of tools and technologies on the market that offer as much.

But this year, we expect to see retailers start to take a closer look at the value of their other assets — namely their stores, their employees and their customer loyalty. Due to Covid-19, all three are now in flux and their value propositions are rapidly shifting. Ensuring the right costs are being incurred to achieve the right objectives will be key.

Retailers need to increasingly leverage data and analytics

to identify their most profitable stores, configurations and products and, based on this, make some important decisions. Given the massive recent changes in customer expectations and demand, all previous analytics will need to be reviewed. Stores that were profitable before may no longer be so in the future.

They will likely also view their employees in an entirely new light. Rather than simply stocking shelves and overseeing cash registers, employees will be engaged as valuable customer experience agents and ambassadors for the brand’s purpose.

Head office jobs may also start to shift as companies look to take advantage of new remoteworking models and virtualized ways of working.

The most advanced will likely start to manage their customer experience and loyalty as if it were as asset, carefully nurturing and measuring their stock of loyalty in order to enhance its value and improve its resilience.

There is no doubt that margins will continue to come under pressure as markets start to rebuild from Covid-19. Yet rather than simply slashing costs and hiking prices, expect to see retailers start to look for new ways to secure value from their existing assets.

The excerpt was taken from KPMG article, “Global Retail Trends 2020: Preparing for the New Reality.” © 2020 R.G. Manabat & Co., a Philippine partnership and a member-firm of the KPMG network of independent member-firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Printed in the Philippines For more information on KPMG in the Philippines, you may visit www.kpmg.com.ph.

Monday, June 29, 2020 B3

Jan-May subsidies for GOCCs from NG breach ₧100-B mark

S

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

ubsidies received by government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) from the national government already breached the P100 billion-mark for the first five months of the year, a five-fold increase from only P19.658 billion in the same period last year.

The national government extended P100.369 billion in subsidies as of end-May, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

Of the total subsidies for the 5-month period, other government corporations got 54.66 percent share or P54.864 billion while the major non-financial government corporations received the remaining 45.34 percent or P45.505 billion.

Among the GOCCs which received subsidies during the period, state-

run pension fund Social Security System (SSS) received the biggest chunk of subsidies for the period with P51 billion.

To note, the SSS was among the main implementers of the P51-billion Small Business Wage Subsidy program, a form of financial assistance to workers who were affected financially due to the temporary closure of businesses during the lockdown.

Trailing the SSS was the National Irrigation Administration (NIA)

Cashless collection system for expressways use pushed

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

T

he chairman of the House Committee on Trade and Industry has called for the passage of the bill mandating a unified cashless collection system in all expressways in the country.

Valenzuela Rep. Wes Gatchalian, the panel chairman, said he filed House Bill 6119 to minimize physical contact as the country transitions to the new normal.

“With the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, however, going cashless on toll collections has taken a public health significance,” Gatchalian said. “Our expressways serve as gateways to different parts of the country.”

Under the measure, all toll collection facilities operating in Philippine expressways will be required to implement technologies and business practices that provide for the interoperability of electronic toll collection (ETC) programs in their respective expressways.

The bill mandates the Department of Transportation, in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, to create a multi-protocol radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. It also mandates the creation of the National Electronic Toll Collection System (NETCS).

According to Gatchalian, the bill would allow expressways to transition into a cash-less collection system, which will eliminate direct contact between travellers and toll collectors and aid in the prevention of cross-border transmission of the coronavirus.

“In the absence of a cure or vaccine for Covid-19, and with the still increasing number of confirmed infections in the country, we must continue finding ways

to help contain the spread of the virus and save more lives,” he said.

Gatchalian said the RFID tag should be readily integrated with existing toll collection systems of all expressways.

The RFID account for the NETCS must also be reloadable in reloading stations of existing ETCs. Toll collection booths shall also issue or display timely statements of toll transactions upon use of the RFID tags to provide transparency to consumers and protect them from hidden charges.

According to the solon, a toll interoperability memorandum agreement signed by the toll road companies operating 13 expressways in Luzon has already been in existence for years, although it has been largely ineffective in enforcing toll interoperability.

The Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board also recently directed all toll operators to give free installation of RFID for vehicles using expressways, as a means to limit direct hand contact for toll payments and ensure social distancing measures.

However, Gatchalian said these RFID tags should also be interoperable for practicality, convenience, and public health.

“These different expressways were built, maintained and currently operated by different companies under the build– operate–transfer scheme. Each toll road operator in the country utilizes different ETC systems which are not interoperable with one another. As a result, motorists that travel between these different expressways are required to maintain multiple ETC accounts in order to utilize the ETC toll booths in all the expressways or else forced to wait in long traffic lines to pay using cash,” he added.

with a total amount of subsidies for the period of P15.383 billion.

The third-largest recipient was the Light Rail Transit Authority, whose operations were suspended during the lockdowns with P11.146 billion.

The National Electrification Administration received the fourth-largest subsidy at P11.015 billion.

Rounding up the top five GOCCs with the highest amount of subsidies for the 5-month period was the National Food Authority (NFA) with P6.4 billion in subsidies.

Those which received more than a P100 million in subsidies are the following: National Power Corp.

(NPC) with P936 million; Philippine Heart Center (P590 million); Small Business Corp. (P500 million); Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P430 million); Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (P394 million); Philippine Rice Research Institute (P381 million); National Kidney Transplant Institute (P375 million); Local Water Utilities Administration or LWUA (P237 million); Lung Center of the Philippines (P225 million); Philippine Institute for Development Studies (P148 million);

Cultural Center of the Philippines (P130 million); Philippine Coconut Authority (P130 million); Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (P122 million); National Dairy Authority (P116 million); and, the People’s Television Network Inc. (P115 million).

For the month of May alone, the government disbursed P29.799 billion in subsidies, also five times as much as the P5.239 billion that the state released to GOCCs in the same month last year. Other government corporations got 87.64 percent of subsidies for the month with P26.115 billion while major non-financial government corporations received 12.36 percent or P3.684 billion.

The SSS led the list of GOCCs with the biggest amount of subsidies received for the month, with P25.5 billion followed by the NIA with P1.806 billion, NPC (P936 million), NFA (P600 million) and LWUA (P237 million).

State-run health insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corp. finally received its first share of subsidy for the year in May amounting to P1 million.

A million families secured P2.8B via RCBC’s mobile ATM service

R

izal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) announced it has disbursed P2.8 billion—via its mobile automated teller machine (ATM) service— within the 100-day community quarantine period to beneficiaries of the government’s social amelioration program.

In a statement over the weekend, the Yuchengco-led bank said that the financial assistance was distributed to over one million households, or over five million individuals, across the country.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development has previously endorsed ATM Go as an off-site Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program payment facility. In April, RCBC was given the authority by the Monetary Board to accept government funds and assist in cash distribution under the social amelioration program.

ATM Go is a platform that allows BancNet cardholders to make basic banking transactions like withdrawals, inquiry and fund transfers through any partner rural bank, drug stores, microfinance firms and even sari-sari stores. It has now more than 1,800 terminals and is available in 72 out of 81 provinces across the country.

“The continued lockdown and the resumption of the delayed aid fuel the continued acceleration of digital transactions,” said Angelito M. Villanueva, executive vice president and chief innovation and

inclusion officer of RCBC. “Our payout partners across the Philippines are equipped and ready to accommodate every Filipino looking for accessible, safe, and secure touchpoints for their financial requirements. This pandemic also generated exponential growth across all our digital channels some even reaching four-digit increase such as card-less ATM withdrawal,” Villanueva added.

Most of the transactions coursed through ATM Go were in Metro Manila, Northern Samar, Negros Occidental, Masbate and Marinduque, RCBC said.

RCBC shared earlier that 60 ATM Go terminals were provided to new and existing payout partners in April and May. These are the New Rural Bank of San Leonardo, Cantilan Bank, Baug CARP Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Kooperatiba ng Sampaloc, Bayad Center branches, and other small, and medium enterprises. Up to 90 more of the mobile ATM platform is expected to be given to onboarding partners this month.

The Yuchengco-led bank saw its net income grow by 77 percent to P2.3 billion while gross revenues rose by 23 percent to P10 billion in the first three months. Topline figures were driven by net interest income and non-interest earnings, which increased by 19 percent and 29 percent, respectively.

Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Premyo Bonds qrtrly draw winners take home P1M, house-and-lot unit

L

and Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) announced that the grand winners of the Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) first and second quarter Rewards Draw for the “Premyo Bonds Para sa Bayan” (Premyo Bonds) recently received their cash and noncash rewards in a ceremonial turnover held at the Ayuntamiento Building, Intramuros in Manila on June 25, a week after the actual draw.

The event was led by National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon, Deputy Treasurers Atty. Erwin D. Sta. Ana, Atty. Gisela F. Lood and Sharon P. Almanza and Landbank Trust Banking Group Vice President Lolita M. Almazar, a statement by the Landbank said.

The bank said First-Quarter Rewards Draw Grand Winner China Banking Corp. (China Bank) Employee

Retirement Plan (ERP) and SecondQuarter Rewards Draw Grand Winner Josefina L. Flores each received a Manager’s Check for P1 million and a brand new house and lot unit from Lessandra by Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. (Vista Land) and Property Company of Friends Inc. (Pro-Friends), respectively.

The China Bank ERP, an entity established primarily for the benefit of the bank’s employees, was represented

by China Bank First Vice President and Trustee Maria Rosanna Catherina L. Testa, together with China Bank First Vice President Mary Ann T. Lim, and China Bank First Vice President and Treasurer Christopher Ma. Carmelo Y. Salazar.

Landbank quoted Lim as saying that innovative instruments such as

the Premyo Bonds provide wider opportunities for investors.

Flores, for her part, expressed how grateful she was to receive the rewards and shared that it was only on the last day of the Premyo Bonds public offering when she was able to invest, according to Landbank. “Luckily enough, her Electronic Rewards Number (eRN) was drawn as the grand winner during the second quarter rewards draw,” Landbank said. The eRNs of grand winners, together with other winners of the First and Second Quarter Rewards Draw for the Premyo Bonds were electronically selected last June 18.

A total of 116 lucky investors were drawn in each quarterly Rewards Draw: 100 winners of third cash-reward tier of P20,000 each, 15 winners of second cash-reward tier of P100,000

each and one grand prize winner of P1 million and a house and lot unit.

The winners of the second and third cash rewards tiers received their cash rewards on June 23 via direct crediting to their designated settlement account.

The Premyo Bonds were offered to the public by the National Government through the BTr, with Landbank and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as Joint Lead Issue Managers. Joining the two state-run lenders as Joint Issue Managers were private banks BDO Capital and Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp. and First Metro Investment Corp. The Issue Managers also served as Selling Agents.

The third-quarter Rewards Draw for the Premyo Bonds will be held on September 18, 2020.

B4

Monday, June 29, 2020

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Eula Valdez: Always in character

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Camila Mendes, 26; Nicole Scherzinger, 42; Melora Hardin, 53; Gary Busey, 76.

Happy Birthday: Don’t wait for things to come to you; be the one to initiate what you want to do. Anger won’t solve anything, but being productive and setting expectations will help you excel. Go after your dreams and aspirations, and be willing to invest in yourself. Add to your skills, licenses, grants and whatever else it takes to reach your goal. Your numbers are 5, 13, 17, 22, 29, 35, 48.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Clear the air, stick to facts and don’t overreact. Keeping the peace will help resolve issues quickly and encourage you to work in conjunction with the people you deal with virtually or otherwise on a regular basis. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ve got the right idea, so don’t let anyone make you feel incompetent. Your ability to take hold of a situation and idea and carry it through to fruition will make a lasting impression on someone influential. HHH

C

haracter is defined as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.

It can also refer to a person in a movie, novel, play or a drama series. Eula Valdez gets a lot of people hooked on her talent as an actor, following her television projects regularly. More than that, Valdez has earned the respect of many because of her admirable character as a person outside of her many characters on film, televison and theater.

Despite the shutdown of ASB-CBN, the network where Valdez has spent many of her professional years, her followers are still able to catch her almost daily when the network’s shows resurfaced on the Kapamilya cable channel recently. Her current drama series Love Thy Woman has resumed airing and Valdez is currently locked in a safe location to work on the continuity of the series.

Her 2019 series The General’s Daughter, one of the highest rating shows of Dreamscape Entertainment in the last few years, has also been brought back and included in the programs featured on the Kapamilya cable channel.

“I am happy that work has resumed for some,” she told us during a recent chat. “There are still many without work but I remain hopeful things will get close to some normalcy again soon, so that more people can get back to work. These are baby steps we are taking, slowly but surely, and I am glad that health and safety are given top priorities where I work these days.”

Valdez will be away from her family for a some weeks, and she admitted that it won’t be easy. “Being away from your family can be quite a challenge mentally, but I also have to work and I am committed

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take hold of whatever situation you encounter, and make it work to your advantage. Elbow grease and muscle, along with tenacity and desire, will help you get your way and get things done. HHHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Expand your interests and your mind. What you learn and experience will help you put together the pieces that will lead to success. Don’t let an emotional incident stand between you and what you want to achieve. Don’t run away from change. HH

e

to my profession as an actor, too. I have been a stay-athome hands-on mom for more than a hundred days now, and although there were days of anxiety, fear and even paranoia because of the continuing surge in cases, the love of my family has kept me strong and made me a tougher mama!”

Theater fans in the country and even Filipinos now living overseas were also treated recently to a free online streaming of Valdez’s most popular musical theater outing where she played the lead character in ZsaZsa Zaturnnah, Ze Musikal.

“I am so happy when I learned that the Cultural Center of the Philippines [CCP] decided to showcase the musical once again online. Those who were still too young then when we performed at the CCP were able to catch this wonderful musical where I had a lot of fun playing the superheroine. It was also a perfect time since we are also celebrating the

‘Mulan’ follows ‘Tenet’ to August, ending Hollywood’s summer Yifei Liu in the title role of Mulan.

NEW YORK—Hollywood’s hopes for salvaging its summer season have effectively ended after the releases of both Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and the Walt Disney Co.’s liveaction reboot of Mulan were again delayed.

With reported cases of the coronavirus surging in parts of the US, Disney on Friday followed Warner Bros. in pushing Mulan to late August. The film, initially planned to open in March, had been slated for July 24. It’s now moving to August 21. “While the pandemic has changed our release plans for Mulan and we will continue to be flexible as conditions require, it has not changed our belief in the power of this film and its message of hope and perseverance,” said Disney cochairmen Alan Horn and Alan Bergman in a joint statement.

Late Thursday, Warner Bros. also postponed Tenet, starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, from July 31 to August 12. The studio stressed the need for flexibility. “We are choosing to open the movie mid-week to allow audiences to discover the film in their own time, and we plan to play longer, over an extended play period far beyond the norm, to develop a very different yet successful release strategy,” a Warner Bros. spokesman said in a statement.

Movie theater chains had planned the widespread reopening of cinemas partially around the return of new releases, like Tenet and Disney’s Mulan. But with Covid-19 cases surging in Texas, Arizona, Florida and elsewhere, those plans became uncertain. Rising cases in California forced Disney earlier this week to delay next month’s planned reopening of Disneyland in Anaheim. On Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also said New York would delay reopening cinemas while it continued to research the safety of indoor, air-conditioned venues. AP

Pride Month.”

The musical reminded a lot of viewers that Valdez is not only a thespian but she can also sing really well.

“I hope to do a musical film soon, if a wonderful role comes along,” she volunteered.

Valdez is also excited about a cable drama series, titled Afterlife, for which she has wrapped-up work, and which is currently in the post-production phase.

“I heard it will be shown in a few months. I am thrilled because I really enjoyed being part of the series, working with our director Cholo Laurel and his wonderful team, and the superb cast.”

Eula Valdez is always in character with every role she agrees to portray. that’s why she always aces her every performance. She is a tried, tested and trusted artist. Her beauty consistently catches our attention because it is her character that always catches our hearts. n

‘VLF 2020: KAPIT’ EXTENDED

DUE to insistent public demand, the Virgin Labfest 2020: Kapit will have its extended run on Vimeo, starting July 2 to 15, 2020.

For two more weeks, theater fans will have a chance to watch and experience the theater festival of untried, untested and unstaged plays on the virtual stage.

Fifteen main features, staged readings and revisited play will have their extended run, namely Nicko de Guzman’s Bagahe, Tyrone Casumpang’s BlackPink, Jay Crisostomo’s Dapithapon, Dingdong Novenario’s Dominador Gonzales, National Artist; Herlyn Alegre’s Fangirls, Luisito Nario’s Gin Bilog, Buch Dacanay’s Jenny Li, Bernice Dacara’s Matira Matibay, Norman Boquiren’s Mayang Bubot sa Tag-araw, Claro de Los Reyes’s Mongoloida’s Casa De Pun, Juliene Mendoza’s Multiverse, Daryl Pasion’s Papaano Turuan ang Babae Humawak ng Baril, Floyd Scott Tiogangco’s Pilot Episode, Kim Vergara’s The Boyboy and Friends Channel, and Jobert Gray’s Titser Kit. Theater aficionados can visit www.vimeo.com/ondemand/ vlf2020kapit and avail themselves of the Regular Package (P100) to access all the extended plays, or opt for the Premium Package (P100) to access the plays with special features.

With the assistance from Japan Foundation, all plays will have English subtitles.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Get physical.

Regardless of your current condition, it’s a good idea to up your game. Staying fit will energize you in all aspects of life. Become the driving force who sets the standard in your family or circle.

Romance is favored. HHHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): An experience you encounter will be enlightening and prompt you to make adjustments to the way you live. Viewing alternative lifestyles and practices will encourage you to moderate your spending, eating and daily routine closely. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Emotional matters will surface if uncertainty prevails. Consider what you are up against, and come up with a practical application that will help remedy further disruptions. Straightforward conversations will eliminate false assumptions. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Go on a learning excursion. Open your mind to new ideas and concepts that can help you bring about personal change. An optimistic outlook coupled with a desire to try something new will lead you in an exciting direction. HHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Putter around the house. Take care of unfinished projects. Concentrate on the projects that will enhance your life. Physical improvement will boost your ego, and romance will enhance a meaningful relationship. HHHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Work to make your home a happier environment. The changes you conduct in unison with others will bring you closer together. Use your energy wisely, and you will avoid a mishap. HH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t try to take on the world. You’ll get the most back if you stick to a basic plan that is geared toward better emotional, mental and physical health. A friendly environment will encourage others to compromise and pitch in and help. HHHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You’ll gain insight into what others want. Listen and respond with suggestions that will help you gain the support you need to put your plans in motion.

An opportunity is heading your way, and a change will spice up your life. HHH Birthday Baby: You are smart, charming and original.

You are ambitious and sensitive.

‘obtain-a-able’ by jeffrey wechsler The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Fond du ___ 4 Plastic alternative?

8 “Odyssey” byline 13 Org. with Freudians 14 ___-Seltzer 15 Paint variety 17 Cry after stepping out of a hot tub 18 Result of a fallen kitchen rack?

20 Small stands in malls 22 Children 23 Irish actor Stephen 24 Very small amount 25 XXX-XX-XXXX ID 26 Bar that gradually disappears 27 First/second/third in-order bet 30 Little Red Book follower 32 Carnival juggler dropping a club, say?

34 “Or ___ was told” 35 Winning tic-tac-toe row 36 Warning of an approaching Caribbean thunderstorm?

44 Joan of Arc, notably 45 Annoyed repeatedly

6 Hits a wrong note, e.g.

4 47 House of Commons figs.

48 Brit’s “Ciao!”

49 Dernier ___ 50 Good place to watch The Good Place 52 Bias of concern to AARP 54 Song a bird sings after you’ve gotten up?

57 Actress Thompson 58 Pain relief brand 59 Hugh Laurie’s boys’ school 60 On the ___ (fleeing) 61 Overabundances 62 Figure skater’s feat 63 Juillet’s season DOWN 1 Good gifts for budding scientists 2 Not based on experience 3 Major artery in the neck 4 Amontillado vessel, in a Poe tale 5 Much of Switzerland 6 Navigate a snowy trail 7 Carpentry cutter 8 Roundup group

9 Heavy burden 10 Fairy queen mentioned in Romeo and Juliet 11 Involve, as in a sticky situation 12 Press ___ (newsroom oxymoron) 16 Sprang 19 A, in Aachen 21 Well-protected 25 Imperturbable person 26 Bawl 28 College application section, often 29 Messiah performance group 30 Othello’s kinspeople 31 Approximately 33 Fibula and tibia 36 Unpleasantly unexpected 37 Depot event 38 Fuji and Hood: Abbr.

39 What usually has you covered?

40 Dole (out) 41 Words read with feeling?

42 “Dig in, everyone!”

43 Sushi bar appetizer 44 Pilgrimage site 47 Cinematographer’s deg., maybe

0 Letter opener’s cut 5 51 Utterly dominates 52 Heaps and heaps 53 2020 HS students, demographically 55 Hosp. section 56 A/C measure

Solution to Friday’s puzzle:

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B5

‘Pride is a protest’ ‘P

RIDE is not a sin,” Darren Stehle wrote in July 2019 in Medium, referring to Pride celebrations by the LGBT community every month of June. “It is not a deadly sin.

Pride has many meanings to be sure, but the meaning here is about celebrating who we are, acknowledging our uniqueness, and our differences as gifts and strengths. We as LGBTQ people have the capacity to help this world evolve. We need to remind our friends, family and strangers that love, respect, and compassion are paramount.”

Earlier this month, in a direct rebuke to the anti-LGBT Trump administration, the US Supreme Court ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex. This was hailed as a major victory, bigger than the legalization of same-sex marriages in all 50 states in 2015.

Over the weekend, former US President Obama spoke at the virtual celebration of National Stonewall Day 2020, organized by Pride Live: “All that progress is worth celebrating and reflecting on. The struggle and triumph for LGBTQ rights shows how protest and politics go hand in hand— how we have to both shine a light on injustice and translate those aspirations into specific laws and institutional practices.”

The livestream event was for the benefit of Trans Lifeline, Brave Space Alliance, TransLatin@ Coalition and the Ally Coalition, which are all suffering financial setbacks due to the pandemic. The participating stars included Taylor Swift, Cynthia Erivo, Kesha, Katy Perry, Christian Siriano, George Takei, Donatella Versace, Sir Richard Branson, Luke Evans and Conchita Wurst.

The fundraiser was hosted by Stonewall Day national chair Geena Rocero, perhaps the most prominent trans model and LGBT advocate of Filipino descent. She has received an award from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center together with Vogue’s Anna Wintour. She is one of two trans models to ever appear in a Harper’s Bazaar cover, for the October 2016 Indian edition, and a trailblazing August 2019 Playmate for Playboy.

Geena explains in her—interview by Tori Adams on why Pride is always a protest: “The Stonewall riots are absolutely connected to what has been happening with Black Lives Matter over the past couple years.

Police brutality is exactly what the queer community was fighting against at the Stonewall Inn in 1969.

Queer people, specifically queer people of color, were being targeted by the police when they were out walking in the street or when they were at LGBTQ-

friendly bars just having fun in a safe space. Back then, there was an informal ‘three-item rule’ that was used to police the outfits of trans and gendernonconforming people. Trans women couldn’t wear more than three feminine items. Eventually they got tired of not being recognized as women, so they fought back.”

Sadly, hereabouts the fight for LGBT rights continues. Last Friday, 20 mostly LGBT protesters were violently dispersed and arrested without warrants in Mendiola, Manila, as they were commemorating (and responsibly social-distancing) Pride Month, calling for the junking of the anti-terror bill and protesting the oppressive policies of the government in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even Bea Luigi Gomez, a beauty queen who bravely came out as lesbian onstage during her competition, hasn’t been spared from persecution in this otherwise pageant-crazy country. She shared her story before this year’s Pride Month comes to a close: “I’ve been criticized a lot for winning the Binibining Cebu crown for being gay. I just didn’t feel like I owe anyone my identity because the people who know me personally love me just the way I am, especially my family whose opinions matter to me the most, and so I decided to always be true to myself,” she wrote on Intagram. “If being gay didn’t make God happy, why then does He continue to bless me and give me the strength to overcome life’s every challenge? I only truly became happy and lived life to the full when I started becoming honest to myself.”

Danton Remoto, gay rights advocate, educator and author of Riverrun, a “rite-of-passage in the life of a young gay man in a colorful and chaotic dictatorship,” to be launched at the Manila International Bookfair in September, posted an appeal for our neglected gay elders: “The Ladlad party-list is raising funds for the Golden Gays of Pasay City—old gay men abandoned by their families—who work as beauty-parlor workers and street sweepers. Covid-19 has left them jobless. Funds will go to their food packs, hand sanitizers, alcohol and masks. I will also ask Rock Ed Philippines for hand sanitizers and soap. Please help our 60 lolas. You may e-mail me at danton.lodestar@ gmail.com or text Dexter at 0917-6111556. Thank you for your kind heart.”

It helps, too, that the LGBT community has vocal, influential and beautiful allies. Pia Wurtzbach, trained by excellent pageant coaches such as Jonas Gaffud on her way to becoming Miss Universe 2015, proudly declares herself an ally: “Learning is always a two-way process. We listen as we understand each other’s points of view. Let me just make a stand that our friends and family in the LGBTQIA+ community have the right to take up space in our society... that their voices should be heard, that we don’t invalidate trans women as women. We can learn to accept these concepts by having a dialogue.

By listening and understanding our differences, we will grow and uplift one another as one community in strengthening equality and diversity. Happy Pride!”

Catriona Gray, Miss Universe 2018, is also a courageous ally, firm in her convictions even as she is dismissed by detractors as merely a beauty queen. In an article she wrote for Vice.com, she

CLOCKWISE: Bea Luigi Gomez in Cary Santiago (BINIBINING CEBU); Geena Rocero in Harper’s Bazaar India October 2016 (STOCKTON JOHNSON); Danton Remoto’s Riverrun; Catriona Gray, from her Facebook page; and Pia Wurtzbach for World Wildlife Fund Philippines, from her Facebook page.

asserts her allyship: “My country has a long way to go when it comes to LGBTQ rights. Here, I feel the community is more tolerated than truly accepted. There are so many misconceptions about what it means to be gay, lesbian and trans, and I feel it’s mainly due to lack of representation and diversity in the media and the business sector. We’re such a religious country and I feel like it makes certain topics like sexuality, selfexpression, and identity much more difficult to talk about, and that in turn fuels the stigma that negatively defines so many Filipinos’ lives. It’s difficult to open

these conversations because religion is weaponized against the LGBTQ community. And as a Christian, I don’t believe that’s right. I believe religion should never be used as an excuse to hate. Most religions, at their core, teach love.

“As allies, let’s ask ourselves, why do we care? For me, it’s because I’ve heard other people’s stories and it bothers me that we’re not all treated the same. No one should be made to feel unsafe, disrespected, or lesser-than. To get to that point, we need to humble ourselves, embrace our learning curves and, once we feel capable, raise our voices for those who cannot.” ■

Is it possible to increase the skin’s immunity?

THE skin is the body’s largest organ. It is actually your body’s first line of defense against the sun’s rays and other harmful factors, which include pathogens, viruses and bacteria.

In the past few months, everyone has been talking about a strong immune system. I read somewhere that when your immune system is OK, your skin should be doing well, too. But when you have immunity problems, skin can be prone to hypersensitivity and other problems. That makes a lot of sense to me.

When your body lacks nourishment, the result is dull skin that shows signs of premature aging. The skin could also have breakouts and symptoms of hypersensitivity.

For instance, one of the examples that your immune system is weak is that wounds, even the smallest ones, won’t heal easily. You could also be more prone to bacterial infections.

I have so many allergies. I’m allergic to dust and pollens and prequarantine, I had to take an antihistamine regularly but I haven’t had to since late March so I think being indoors has been good for me.

Every little things would cause me to break out in a

rash before. That hasn’t happened in a while.

If your immune system is not strong, your skin could also be vulnerable to breakouts and bacterial infections.

So how do you strengthen your skin’s immunity?

A good diet rich in nutrients, including vitamin C and zinc, would also help. You should also drink lots of water, be active and get enough sleep.

According to www.dermnetnz.org, the skin’s immune system has elements of the innate (nonspecific) and adaptive (specific) immune systems. Immune cells are in the the epidermis and dermis. The key immune cells in the epidermis are the dermal dendritic cells (langerhans cells) and keratinocytes (skin cells).

There is movement of immune cells between the skin, draining lymph nodes and blood circulation. The skin microorganisms contribute to the stability and consistency of the skin immune system.

Skin immunity allows your skin to resist infections. Aside from being your body’s physical barrier, your skin’s immune system protects your body from infections, cancer and toxins.

Can you improve your skin’s immunity via topicals?

Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate is the best-selling product in the Shiseido range, with one bottle sold every seven seconds. This preserum has received over 179 beauty awards globally, more than any other product in Shiseido’s portfolio in the course of the brand’s history. Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate was developed with an “uncompromising commitment to fortifying the skin’s inner defenses.”

Ultimune has been improved with Shiseido’s proprietary ImuGeneration Technology, a blend

of antioxidant-rich reishi mushroom and iris root extracts to strengthen skin, restore firmness and defend against daily damage.

Ultimune Shiseido has the exclusive Ultimune Complex of Bulgarian rose water and yeast extract to protect and strengthen skin against the signs of aging.

A blend of gingko biloba leaf extract, shiso and thyme keeps skin looking healthy.

The new Ultimune formula is noncomedogenic, paraben-free and mineral oil-free, and has an improved dewy texture.

In clinical global trials, women who used Ultimune

daily saw skin damage reduced by 28 percent within the first week and experienced a 3.5-times higher level of moisture in the skin compared to using a moisturizer alone.

To use, put two pumps of the serum into your palm and pat the product onto your face using your fingertips. I use it after cleansing and applying an essence and before moisturizing.

Shiseido Ultimune is not inexpensive. The price starts at nearly P4,000 for a 30ml bottle but that will already last you a couple of months and for me, it’s worth the expense if you are above 30 years old and you can afford it. If you’re still not going out, you can check out Shiseido Ultimune at Rustans.com.

To protect your skin, you also need to wear sunscreen. One of my favorites is Cetaphil Sun Light Gel SPF 50+, which offers complete sun protection and photostable filters for more effective defense from harmful UVA/UVB rays. It is also formulated for both face and body and works for even the most sensitive skin.

Cetaphil, the No. 1 skin-care brand prescribed by dermatologists, offers Cetaphil Sun Light Gel SPF 50+, which has photostable UV filters. It also is dermatologically-tested and -recommended and is free from parabens and fragrances. It is also highly water-resistant. You can wear Cetaphil Sun Light Gel SPF 50+ alone or with makeup because it does not leave a white cast on your face (this is one of my favorite features).

The texture of Cetaphil Sun Light Gel is slightly sticky. If you’re going out you can just set it with powder. I love that it’s broad spectrum and fragrancefree. I’ve been using this on and off for about a year and I haven’t broken out or experienced skin redness.

B6 Monday, June 29, 2020

Smart Infocast boosts Lanao del Sur Covid-19 info drive

Toyota’s Up for GRAB Promo for change oil and filter service package for as low as P999

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OYOTA Motor Philippines wants to continuously give support to our partner-GRAB drivers who use the ever-reliable Toyota to serve the public and earn a living for their families.

Grab drivers and operators using select variants of the Vios, Wigo, Avanza, and Innova are entitled to avail of Toyota’s Up for GRAB promo which offers discounted package for change oil and filter service for as low as Php 999 from June 10 to August 31, 2020. The price already includes Toyota Genuine Motor Oil, Toyota Genuine Oil Filter, Drain Plug Gasket, labor and materials.

Customers are encouraged to book their appointments before visiting the dealer as only scheduled appointments will be accommodated by Toyota.

Once a schedule has been set, they just need to bring their GRAB registered vehicle to a Toyota dealer and present their Grab ID and Grab App for validation, and a dedicated Service Advisor at the Grab Reception lane will assist them on how to avail the promo package.

To know more about the Toyota’s Up for GRAB promo, customers can visit: http://toyota.com.ph/promos/up-forgrab-promo. They can also inquire at any Toyota dealer outlet nationwide, or call the Customer Assistance Center Hotline at (02) 8819-2912.

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F you’re looking for ways to augment your income during these challenging times, you don’t need to look farther than your kitchen to start a business. As you may have observed, many Filipinos have already started putting up their own little ventures by offering something that we all love—food.

From ube pandesal to baked sushi, to new twists to fries and cheesecakes, our enterprising kababayans have shown their resiliency and inventiveness through these food ventures.

If you’d like to start a home business from your kitchen, here are some tips that may help you in establishing one.

Think of the product you want to offer. Are you or someone in your family

For the latest Toyota news and information, visit TMP’s official website at www.toyota.com.ph and follow the official Facebook page at www.facebook.

com/ToyotaMotorPhilippines. You may also sign-up at www.mytoyota.ph for online appointments of Express Maintenance and Air Care.

good in baking or cooking? Capitalize on your skill and passion in determining the product you want to offer.

Know your target market. Ask yourself if the product you’d like to put out there has a market. Food, for one, can have an immediate market—your family, colleagues, and friends.

Make your product worth your customers’ money. Of course it goes without saying that you have to ensure that the items you sell should satisfy your customers. Offer products that they will like so that they can tell their other friends and relatives about it. This way, more people will be interested in your products.

Invest in good equipment. If you’re going to pursue a business in food, make sure that you have quality equipment. At Hanabishi, we have a range of products that can help you with your cooking and baking needs. broilers, grillers, fryers, and electric cookers. For those who are into baking, we have our mixers, food processors, ovens, and more.

Make it more convenient for customers to purchase your products.

For example, most businesses have gone online these days and customers can easily buy the product of their choice and have it delivered safely and securely to their home. We have been running our e-commerce site for about two years now

and with the new conditions dictated by the pandemic, we had to review its system and implement the necessary updates in its features to address the anticipated influx of online shoppers. Our customers can now easily place an order with just a few clicks and taps on their computers and mobile devices. Likewise, we are now offering them the option to have their products delivered or picked up from our warehouse.

Set up a Facebook or Instagram account. Most Filipinos are social media users and being on FB and IG makes you more visible to them. In fact, according to a recent Nielsen Homepanel Tackon survey, 49 percent of Filipinos who shop groceries online prefer Facebook. In making your goods available through these social media apps, make sure that you take good photos. Food, most specially, need to look delicious and enticing to attract customers.

Be forward-looking. Expect challenges to come your way and make sure you keep up with consumers’ changing behavior.

It’s not easy, but with hard work and foresight, success will come your way.

Aside from being a homemaker, Cherish Ong-Chua is the Vice President, Finance and Marketing, at Hanabishi. She graduated with a degree of Marketing at De La Salle University- Taft.

Sprout Solutions aids recovery of local businesses as PH transitions out of ECQ

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EADING human resources (HR) management and software provider Sprout Solutions is extending the free access period for its Rescue Kit until June 30 to help enterprises get back on their feet as Metro Manila enters the general community quarantine (GCQ).

The Rescue Kit is a package of Sprout’s digital HR services including timekeeping, payroll, leave requests, 201-file management, digital activations, and access to legal expert webinars, which aims to keep businesses afloat and ensure the continuity in operations amid new normal.

Since its introduction in April, Sprout’s Rescue Kit has supported over 350 businesses in maintaining their link to employees. It has gone beyond the standard HR service suite by providing access to an ISO 31000-certified Lead Risk Manager who advises companies about effective business continuity planning. As the government has consistently implemented strict labor laws throughout the quarantine period, Sprout aims to provide counsel on risk management and legal compliance protocols to protect businesses ensure business continuity, including HR and Legal expert counselling in the rescue kit offering.

“Sprout Solutions has stayed true to its mission of transforming HR practices to sustain operations even during challenging times. We have always believed that taking

Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong, Jr. The partnership of Smart with the LGU was facilitated by the USAID and Plan International’s Marawi Response Project (MRP) that supports the government endeavors in their fight against Covid-19.

“We are grateful to have partnered with the LGU in various capacities. Smart’s Infocast system makes valuable, real-time information available to their constituents,” said Marlon Libot, Deputy Chief of Party of USAID MRP. “The Infocast system supports the province and MRP’s aim to combat disinformation regarding COVID-19 by strengthening sources of accurate information, thereby, protecting the civil liberties of vulnerable populations,” he added.

“Through Smart Infocast, we hope to be instrumental in enhancing both the communication and preparedness efforts of Lanao del Sur,” said Smart VisMin Public Affairs Affairs AVP and Center Head Maria Jane Paredes. “The service supports our #SafePH advocacy which promotes the use of technology to help mitigate risk in communities,” she added.

The solution has boosted the communication efforts of institutions where it has been implemented, among them local government units, government agencies, and other organizations. In Mindanao, Smart Infocast has been used as part of the Covid-19 information campaigns of Maguindanao, Cagayan de Oro City, Surigao del Norte, Pagadian City, among others.

SSS now accepts unemployment benefit applications online

Start a work-from-home business from your kitchen

Cherish Ong-Chua - Vice President, Finance and Marketing - Hanabishi Philippines

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N a health crisis, accurate and credible information is critical. When the Covid-19 pandemic reached Lanao del Sur, the provincial government strengthened its information drive using Smart Infocast, a textbroadcast solution powered by PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart).

With Infocast, the provincial government can send the latest advisories on health protocols and efforts of the government against Covid-19 to Maranao constituents. The platform also allows registered subscribers to send feedback directly to the LGU. “Information is vital especially during a crisis. If you can inform 1,000 people, you can save around 5,000 more. This will cause a ripple effect until the information reaches everyone,” said Jennie Tamano, head of the Provincial Information Office.

The service complements other communication tools of the LGU, such as social media and radio broadcast “Not all people have access to internet connection and radio to stay updated. Infocast, allows us to reach a wider audience. It is convenient since we can disseminate information in an instant,” Tamano added.

“With Smart Infocast, the Provincial Government of Lanao del Sur is able to beef up its communication and information drive especially during this health crisis we are experiencing. We are assured that we can give fresh, vital and relevant information to our constituents in the grassroots,” said Lanao del

care of the backend procedures of companies allows their leaders to focus on growing their business and this focus is crucial now more than ever,” shares Sprout CEO Patrick Gentry.“We’ve been agile in our collaborations over the past few months to address the birthing pains of our partners who are striving for digital transformation as they regain their operational and financial momentum during this unprecedented time.”

Enabling employee assistance with Sprout InstaCash, Sprout has also included InstaCash in its Rescue Kit. InstaCash is a hassle-free loan service available to all employees of companies running Sprout’s HR and Payroll software. This allows eligible employees to borrow up to P25,000 interest free through the HR platform’s dashboard, which can be processed in just a few minutes and transferred straight to the employee’s payroll account. The platform aims to relieve employees of unnecessary steps and paperwork to receive loans and instant source of cash to sustain their households amidst the pandemic.

“We created InstaCash for our own employees, first and foremost, and recognized that this is something all businesses out there are dealing with during the nationwide lockdown. Sprout goes beyond HR and Payroll; our mission is to help our clients provide benefits to their employees at

no additional cost or administrative time. Good employers use Sprout, and employees benefit,”Gentry expounds.

InstaCash is embedded in Sprout’s software, thus allowing for accurate computation of maximum loanable amount and automatic loan repayment through salary deduction.

Powered by Microsoft Azure, Sprout’s HR solutions run on Microsoft’s Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing service.

Gentry says that being housed in a digital platform gives Sprout the agility to respond to the dynamic requirements of businesses at present and expand seamlessly to accommodate more customers.

“Placing our services on Azure has allowed us to respond quickly to our customers’ needs and provide them solutions to adapt to the restrictions brought about by the public health crisis. We are glad to be partnered with Microsoft Philippines in empowering local businesses to strengthen their invaluable link to employees through an effective, digital solution,”Gentry adds.

Sprout is on track to expand its service reach and portfolio after its Series A funding which raised USD 6 million in October last year. They also recently secured ISO270001 certification for their legal, physical, and technical controls on information risk management.

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HE Social Security System (SSS) is now ready to accept online applications for the unemployment benefit from members who were involuntarily separated from work due to the huge impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio said, “Job loss in times of global health crisis is one of the worst-case scenarios that we wish would never happen. However, as a pension fund, we have to anticipate these kinds of contingencies by allocating funds and providing our members with safer, faster, and more convenient means of filing benefit claims and receiving their cash benefits.”

To qualify for the unemployment benefit, covered employees, including kasambahays and overseas Filipino worker (OFW) members, must have paid at least 36 monthly SSS contributions, wherein 12 months of it should have been paid within the last 18 months before the month of involuntary separation.

Reasons for involuntary separation should be due to retrenchment/downsizing, closure or cessation of business operations, and other reasons brought about by the coronavirus disease (CoVID-19) pandemic.

Furthermore, the member must not be more than 60 years old at the time of involuntary separation, except for underground and surface mineworkers, and racehorse jockeys whose age should not be more than 50 and 55 years old, respectively.

Before the online application of unemployment benefit, members should have their own My.SSS account through registration at the SSS Website. Contact details, especially the mobile number, should also be registered in My.SSS account in case the member opted to receive their benefits through remittance centers. Disbursement accounts should also be enrolled in the respective My.SSS accounts through Bank Enrollment Module (BEM).

To submit their benefit application online, members should log in to My.SSS account and click “apply for unemployment benefit

claim” under the E-Services tab. Provide all the pertinent information such as the active savings account enrolled through the Bank Enrollment Module (BEM), employment category, date of involuntary separation, the reason for involuntary separation, and the employer’s name where the member was separated.

Members should read the certification carefully before clicking the “Submit” box to agree and proceed with the application. SSS will send a notification through email. Members should reply by attaching the scanned images of the certification issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) or by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), together with the Notice of Termination from the Employer or Affidavit of Termination from Employment, whichever is applicable. SSS will once again send a notice through email regarding their unemployment benefit application.

“We would like to remind our members to double-check the encoded details before submitting their application to avoid any inconvenience brought by any erroneous entry such as bank account number and contact details.

Also, secure your email and text notifications for future reference,” added Ignacio.

As of May 2020, more than 900 members already availed of the unemployment benefits during the community quarantine from March 16 to May 31, with total disbursement amounting to P11.76 million.

“This is part of the SSS’ assistance package that intends to provide financial assistance to members and pensioners affected by the health crisis brought by COVID-19. We hope that our displaced members will immediately get a new job so that they can financially support themselves and their families,” Ignacio concluded.

For more information, members may call the SSS hotline at 1455 or the Interactive Voice Response System facility at 7917-7777.

They may also follow the official Facebook page “Philippine Social Security System” and Instagram Account “Mysssph” for further updates.

Fight boredom at home with GMA Artist Center’s “I Know Right/IKR”

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HILE most Filipinos are still stuck in quarantine, Kapuso stars share tips on how to stay productive even in the comfort of their homes via GMA Artist Center’s online show “I Know Right/IKR.” Various talents try their hands on doing life hacks or ‘Do-It-Yourself’ activities every week that encourage viewers to remain efficient while at the same time exercising their creativity skills.

On its fourth week, 'StarStruck Season 7' avenger Karl Aquino on Monday (June 22) taught netizens how to properly pinroll their favorite pairs of baggy jeans. This was followed by 'Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit' star Yasser Marta's tutorial on making a 'Do-It-Yourself' bottle lamp to decorate the house.

Last Wednesday, June 24, 'Descendants of the Sun PH' actress Nicole Donesa revealed her simple skincare routine that helps her look glowing everyday. Then, 'Anak ni Waray vs. Anak ni Biday' star Faith da Silva showed some ways to clean makeup brushes for the kikay viewers

who are also makeup enthusiasts like her!

This Friday, June 26, Kapuso artist Jay Arcilla is set to teach netizens how to create their own phone case and holder using only items that can be found at home. Meanwhile, Bubble Gang mainstay Liezel Lopez will show how she does her nail art, especially now that she can't visit the salon yet.

All these and more on “I Know Right/IKR,” every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 1pm and 6pm on GMA Artist Center’s Facebook page.

Be sure to tune into their official social media pages for the latest updates.

Marketing BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, June 29, 2020 B7

The rise of the Mega Trend PR Matters

By Margarita Y. Locsin

Events: Brave new world, braver design— Design Center launches IDxCONVERSATIONS with Al de Lange and Kenneth Cobonpue

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—The Design Center of the Philippines celebrates the 2020 World Industrial Design Day with an intimate conversation about industrial design with two of the most influential figures in the Philippine design journey, Al de Lange and Kenneth Cobonpue.

The virtual event, IDxCONVERSATIONS, Design for Everyday Life, premieres on Monday, June 29, at 9 a.m., as it aims to deep dive into the guests’ thoughts on the role of industrial design to overcoming the current health crisis.

Vanguards of their respective generations, IDxConversations will look into each of their philosophies, processes, and inspirations, while at the same

time highlighting the power of industrial design to provide a unique narrative reflective of the times, as well as the promise of the future, touching on topics of consumerism, sustainability and the future of design.

World Industrial Design Day 2020 also celebrates the amazing power of “design for everyday life,” recognizing the value and benefits of design on the products and services that make our lives easier and more efficient. From commonplace items, appliances, tools, devices and accessories to intricately designed transit networks, infrastructure systems or even digital platforms and apps, design infiltrates our daily lives and practices, whether we are conscious of it or not.

The program schedule is as follows:

PART 1: Interview with Al and Kay de Lange from California The first industrial designer of the Philippines and the founder of Designs Ligna, Al was a man ahead of his time. In the late 1960’s, he sought out to make the best furniture the Philippines had to offer. His designs and ideology that has endured to this day are a testament to his

Nattanee Srisuk | Dreamstime.com

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INGAPORE has just moved on from Phase 1 post-Circuit Breaker (the local, more politically and emotionally correct term for a lockdown) into Phase 2, which allows for schools to restart, stores to reopen, and some semblance of normalcy to return—all while wearing masks and continuing to keep safe distances from one another.

Such is the way Singapore has handled the Covid-19 Crisis, with precision and decisiveness that reassures those living within that things are under control. The Circuit Breaker and its subsequent phasing, was a means of instilling discipline and a sense of community among its people, and while it went through some teething pains, has, overall, succeeded in keeping spread in the general community down, ensuring life will soon (prayerfully) go back to normal....or, the new normal, as many are calling it.

But what is the new normal?

No one really knows what the “new normal” will look like, but everyone has an idea, everyone is speculating and, in my opinion, everyone is right to a certain degree. The new normal will entail change, adaptation and embracing of technology that is no longer new, but also no longer optional.

The changes to personal circumstances are obvious—masks are the new accessory of law, face shields or goggles, of choice, and social distancing is now the to do—but changes to businesses are less so. Many will have to embrace technologies and ways that were once shunned and seen as “mass” and “commercial” instead of the much valued personalized and bespoke.

To address questions of how best for businesses to rethink and rebuild, I sought the advice of Donna Lee here in Singapore.

One of Singapore’s leading SME and franchise advisors, Lee has a long-standing reputation for internationalizing many brands and currently heads the International Franchise Community (IFC) (for more information, check out her site internationalfranchisecommunity.com), whose focus is to help franchises and SMEs navigate the global sphere.

Her weekly webinars have been enlightening and encouraging— especially in these most uncer-

tain of times.

Her last webinar focused on Globalization during Covid 19 and from which I have taken some key points, with her permission, to share with readers.

While her focus is on retail and franchising, the reflections and takeaways offer advice for any business owner—from the selfemployed freelancer, to a brand looking to grow overseas, and even some insights for the already big, but suddenly vulnerable, with the onset of Covid-19.

Of the new normal, Donna says, “SMEs will need to very creative in how they can best incorporate safe distancing, hygiene and safety measures while maximising efficiency and productivity at the same time.”

With many more businesses having to operate online and contactless delivery becoming the norm, new market opportunities have suddenly exploded while others have struggled. For some, their traditional customer base has shifted from the core face to face, to the prospect of becoming more digitized and less dependent on human interaction.

Thinking positively and strategically, entrepreneurs and business owners now have the opportunity to attract a more diverse, multinational market, one maybe with different tastes and specifications from what you are used

work and his legacy.

Al was the founder and design director of the Design Center of the Philippines. He is now enjoying retirement in Northern California.

PART 2: Coffee chat with Kenneth Cobonpue on Future of Design with videos, graphics, Q&A Kenneth Cobonpue is a multiawarded furniture designer and manufacturer from Cebu, Philippines. After design studies in New York, he worked in Italy and Germany and then moved back to the Philippines where he founded his own brand.

Cobonpue is known around the world for unique designs that integrates locally sourced materials with innovative handmade production processes.

TIME magazine once called him “rattan’s first virtuoso” and in 2014 Maison & Objet awarded him Designer of the Year.

Preimere of documentary videos “Disenyong Pang Araw Araw” and “Disenyo Ng Ating Kinabukasan” These two short films will be shown in collaboration with renowned curator Marian Pastor Roces and powered by a crowdcoursing campaign, and are meant to provide a unique voice

to, but one that could also potentially allow your business to grow and to take on a new path across oceans and territorial borders.

That said, “SMEs need to ensure their core business is intact and stable before heading out again,” Lee shares for those for whom internationalization was an option pre-Covid-19. While this new normal has definitely brought its challenges, it has also opened possibilities thanks to the new-found dependence on online, digital and logistics driven businesses.

Lee sees the Pandemic and what in business terms is known as a “Black Swan” event (defined as a “rare, unpredictable and extremely impactful period) as a time of innovation and emergence in new trends. Whereas blockchain and robotics were the themes of the beginning of the year, the situation has rapidly brought about a resurgence in interest in Big Data and a focus on creating smart devices, transforming our environments into smart homes and smart cities, and evolving our politics into smart governments.

On a personal level, Lee sees a “Mega Trend” in individualism and personal branding, in self-tracking, in expanding from networking within a space to networking globally and operating in a hyper-connected society and

from the Philippines in this global celebration of WIDD with its theme “Design for Everyday Life.”

It is also meant to raise awareness for the Philippine design and creative economy, sectors that have been identified by the Department of Trade and Industry as priority sectors for development.

Digital: U.N. SDSN Youth launches first youthled knowledge platform on COVID-19 MANILA, PHILIPPINES— Launched in 2015, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Youth (SDSN Youth) is the global youth division of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a nongovernment initiative meant to empower and engage young people to be part of the movement to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Recently, SDSN Youth was included in the official UN Taskforce on Covid-19 response, with an institutional mandate to create solutions that respond to the current pandemic, as well as other pandemics when and should they appear. This mandate encompasses all es-

much aware world.

To this end, she poses some points of introspection for entrepreneurs and SMEs. Ask yourself—is your product or service one that can be re-innovated or remodeled to fit the current environment? Can it be further split into multiple categories to cater to different demand clusters? Is your product or service original? Can it be easily replicated? Are you consistently and constantly innovating? Is your product or service an affordable option? Does it offer value to your market? Is your product or service “green” or “smart”?

Following this round of reflection, business owners should then consider moving forward by reviewing how their businesses are modeled and remolding and remodeling to keep in line with future trends. They should find ways to innovate, to increase “intercultural competence”, as Lee likes to call multiculturalism.

They need to be socially intelligent and engage “virtually,” think in terms of the kind of data they produce and become “interdisciplinary”—meaning integrative and multifaceted.

Lee goes on to say, “companies who are starting out, need to make sure that they actually do have a market out there in the midst of a watershed oc-

tablished SDSN Youth divisions globally, including our very own UN SDSN Youth—Philippines.

Since its launch, the organization has impacted over 17,000 youth leaders throughout the Philippines, through capacity building sessions, youth summits, and project support. It is among the biggest and most active youth nongovernment organizations (NGOs) in the country, with a network of 150 youth organizations and 200,000 members.

As the world enters its new normal, and global governments all enact their own policies to squash the virus, the Philippine team was appointed to spearhead the regional projects for Asia for SDSN Youth’s Covid-19 efforts. The first of its Covid-19 response initiatives is the creation of a consolidated and comprehensive Interactive Philippine Dashboard on Covid-19. As the first and only youth-led online knowledge platform on Covid-19, this platform was specifically designed to be understood by the youth.

This interactive online dashboard is youth-oriented, easily digestible, with accurate and verified information. The information that is accessible on the dashboard include (1)

currence such as this. Ensuring sufficient cash flow is critical as we will be facing a lot of uncertainties from many angles. On the brighter side, in the midst of any crisis there will be new opportunities too.”

A big believer in the Philippines as a country for investment and growth, Lee sees brighter days and more opportunities between the two countries, “there are opportunities between both countries despite the current environment. Firstly, all businesses need to relook at their business model, pivot and embrace technology, not just for local needs only but also for overseas opportunities. Our market is now more global, the reach of every business is already global through technology. We both need to embrace the new future.”

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the UK-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior communications professionals around the world. Margarita Locsin is an OFW from Singapore.

PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail. com.

the symptoms and features of Covid-19, (2) a consolidated list of news from local and international media, (3) updates on the current cases in the country, as well as (4) donation and volunteering opportunities, among others. In order to make the online dashboard even more interactive, SDSN Youth has also added state-of-the-art features, such as Watson, an artificial intelligence chatbot designed to answer questions related to Covid-19, launched in partnership with IBM; and the vulnerability map, which offers a visual representation of the risk percentage of contracting Covid depending on an individual’s locality, using data gathered from the Commission on Population and Development (PopCom).

Apart from IBM, SDSN Youth is also proud to be partnered with Ayala Corp., Asia Society Philippines, Aboitiz Foundation, GCash, as well as media partners which include Inquirer.net, The Manila Times, adobo magazine, WhatsHappening.PH, and WhenInManila.com.

If you would like to support SDSN Youth’s efforts, you may find details on donations and partnership opportunities at http://covid19.sdsnyouthph.org/.

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Monday, June 29, 2020 | mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

Editor: Jun Lomibao

NBA: PLAY BALL!

By Tim Reynolds

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The Associated Press

ION WILLIAMSON is about to get another chance at opening night.

Injury kept him out of New Orleans’ appearance in the first game of this National Basketball Association (NBA) season when the Pelicans started the year at Toronto, but now the big-name rookie will be in position to be on center stage at Disney when play resumes—against the team that was the first to find itself in the middle of the NBA’s coronavirus situation.

New Orleans will be in the first game of the resumed NBA season on July 30, taking on Utah at the Disney World complex near Orlando, Florida in the opener of a doubleheader. And just as the initial first night of this season-likenone-other did, the second game of nationally televised twinbill will pit the Los Angeles Lakers against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Jazz were a logical storyline for the first game back, after Utah’s All-Star center Rudy Gobert was the first player in the league to test

positive for the coronavirus—a development that forced the league to suspend the season on March 11. More than four and a half months will have passed between game nights in the NBA, but the league officially completed talks Friday with the National Basketball Players Association on the terms for restarting the season and therefore could release the 88-game slate of what are being called seeding games.

Finally, play will resume in a season that started with political strife between the NBA and China in October, the deaths of David Stern and Kobe Bryant in January, a pandemic breaking out in March and racial issues surrounding police brutality and other forms of inequality dividing the country once again during much of the league’s shutdown.

“There’s no question this season and frankly this year has been one which none of us will soon forget,” NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts said. “Obviously, the virus came at us hard without any prior warning and then we were faced with the prospect of losing the season.”

But with a plan for strict medical protocols agreed upon, the league and its players believe

it is safe to resume.

Players will start arriving at the Disney complex on July 7, will be tested daily once they get there, and could be away from their families for more than three months. Families aren’t expected to be permitted on-site at Disney until the start of the second round of the playoffs, set to begin in late August or early September.

“Everyone is making some type of sacrifice,” Miami Heat forward Andre Iguodala said. “A lot of people in America don’t have jobs right now, and we have the opportunity to be a beacon of light, not just for that one particular thing but the social injustices. We’re going to shed light on that, people being away from their families, understanding that sacrifice ... the greater good of everything that our players stand for, including the game of basketball.”

For the 22 teams going to Disney, the setup of the eight-game slates will be largely the same—one back-to-back for each of the clubs, with all the games set to be played in a 16-day span ending August 14. The NBA will be using three arenas at Disney, and other than the two-game slate on the opening night there will

be somewhere between four and seven games played each day.

There will be some very unusual elements, with games starting as early as 1 p.m. on weekdays, 12:30 p.m. on weekends and most nights seeing the slate end with 9 p.m. tip-offs—other than NBA Finals games, an absolute rarity for games being played on the East coast.

Plans call for 52 of the 88 seeding games to be nationally televised, with 18 on TNT (including the opening-night doubleheader), 17 on ESPN, 14 on NBA TV and three on ABC. Games will be shown in local markets as well.

Most of the arenas on the ESPN Wide World of Sports campus will be used for multiple games each day, with no tip-off scheduled for less than four hours apart in each of those three buildings— with the league allowing time in between games for sanitizing of everything that players, coaches or staff could come into contact with.

If a play-in tournament for the No. 8 seed in either conference is needed by the ninth-place team finishing within four games of the team in eighth, those games in a best-of-two series that

THE big-name rookie Zion Williamson will be in position to be on center stage at Disney when play resumes. AP

the No. 9 team would need to sweep will begin on August 15.

The NBA playoffs will begin August 17, and the NBA Finals are set to begin September 30 with a possible Game Seven on October 13.

Patafa athletes in dire need of training venue

Rick Olivares bleachersbrew@gmail.com

Bleachers’ Brew

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HE Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) has started shopping for a temporary training venue for its athletes as the government facilities in Manila and Pasig City remain off limits while they cater to Covid-19 patients.

Patafa President Dr. Philip Ella Juico told an online press conference on Sunday that the association has pinpointed several schools as training venues in lieu of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and the PhilSports oval in Pasig City.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases has designated both complexes as quarantine facilities since March.

“We are looking for other locations for our training and activities, in the NCR [National Capital Region, in Cavite, and also in Laguna,” Juico said.

De La Salle Dasmariñas or Vermosa Sports Hub in Imus, both in Cavite, are tops on the list, although Juico, a former Dean of Graduate School of De La Salle, said a school in Biñan, Laguna, is also a potential venue.

The Patafa and other national sports associations have requested the IATF to order the resumption group training and even competitions.

Juico’s secretary-general, Agapito Capistrano, said identifying a training venue is marked as urgent as Patafa athletes are still trying to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics that were postponed to July next year.

Kristina Knott, the national and Southeast Asian Games record holder in the women’s 200 meters, and another Filipino-American, SEA Games shotput record holder William Morrison, joined the online press conferences from their homes in the US. “All the competitions were canceled. It’s kind of sad for me. Competing is the most important part to be in the Olympics,” the 24-year-old Knott said from Orlando, Florida, where she is working out on grass as track facilities in the US remain shuttered.

Like Knott, Morrison is also working on his ticket to Tokyo.

“To be honest, I was on my way to get it,” the 23-year-old said. “I was pretty upset. I have 15 meets lined up but were all canceled because of the virus.”

Morrison set a personal best 20.21m last February, under a meter short of the 21.10m standard for the Tokyo Games.

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Dream fulfilled after 30 years

Liverpool supporters celebrate as they gather outside of Anfield Stadium. AP

Mass gatherings in England smell of perfect storm L

ONDON—In many ways, it has been a perfect storm for illegal gatherings in England as days of hot weather and Liverpool Football Club’s first league title in 30 years have prompted people to abandon their cooped-up coronavirus existence.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that authorities have the power to close beaches and other public spaces in England amid mounting concerns over the public’s adherence to social distancing rules.

Following widespread rule-breaking at crammed beaches, illegal street parties in London that turned violent and a mass celebration in Liverpool on Thursday night, there were worries Friday that many residents have ditched their risk-averse attitude as the government eases its lockdown restrictions.

That’s particularly true in Bournemouth, a coastal town in southern England that witnessed huge crowds of sun-seekers on its beaches in the past couple of days. With many people not working during the pandemic, most children out of school, holidays abroad curtailed and restaurants and bars closed until July 4, popular popular locations such as Bournemouth are feeling the pressure as the mercury rises.

“It was just mayhem. People just want to have a good time, but they just don’t give a monkey’s about others,” Pat Munday, 73, said.

Late Thursday, the hottest day of the year so far in the UK, three men from London in their 20s were stabbed following a fight near the amusements on the town’s pier. Their injuries were described as not life-threatening. Police are investigating.

With the hot weather persisting Friday, there was potential for more mass gatherings.

The local council in Bournemouth said extra police patrols were brought in following the “irresponsible” behavior of crowds, but the beaches appeared less packed during the day than they did on Wednesday and Thursday.

Under lockdown restrictions in England, groups are limited to six people, and the public is advised to avoid public transport whenever possible.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned people against “taking liberties” with social distancing rules. saying it could lead to a “serious spike” in new coronavirus infections.

“If you look at what’s happening elsewhere in the world, where people have been coming out of lockdown, I’m afraid what you’re also seeing is people taking too many liberties with the guidance, mingling too much, not observing social distancing,” Johnson said while visiting an east London restaurant ahead of the scheduled reopening of pubs and restaurants in England on July 4.

Bournemouth resident Munday described visitors double-parking their cars and blocking driveways, preventing emergency vehicles from getting through, and even of people using the gardens of her apartment block as a toilet.

“When they urinate in your garden, it’s the pits,” she said.

The images from around Bournemouth prompted the health secretary to issue his warning. While saying he was “reluctant” to take such action given the stress people have endured during the lockdown, Hancock told UK radio station Talk Radio that “we will take action” if there is a spike in the number of coronavirus cases.

The government’s chief medical officer also issued a rare warning on social media that cases will rise again if people don’t follow the guidelines.

“Naturally people will want to enjoy the sun but we need to do so in a way that is safe for all,” Professor Chris Whitty said in a tweet.

The scenes of revelry were evident overnight on the streets of London and Liverpool, two of the worst-affected cities during the pandemic, which has claimed 43,230 lives across the UK, by far the highest in Europe.

A night after clashes in the south London district of Brixton following a street party, which left 22 police officers injured, London’s

Metropolitan Police said officers attended further unlicensed music events, block parties and raves.

Kensington and Chelsea Police said a gathering in Notting Hill in west London was dispersed by around 2 a.m. Friday. And though there were no confirmed reports of serious injury, it said objects had been thrown at police officers.

“Such behavior and any violent acts will not be tolerated,” it said.

In the wake of the clashes in Brixton on Wednesday night, the Met said it was undertaking an “enhanced policing operation” across London, which involved additional officers in place.

In Liverpool, the scenes were far more jubilant as the Reds ended a three-decade wait to be champions of England again. Fireworks lit up the sky and thousands of delighted fans packed the streets after Manchester City’s defeat to Chelsea meant no team could catch Liverpool in the Premier League.

“You want to be amongst it,” said 23-yearold supporter Libby Stevens.

The gatherings took place just days after Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave notice that a number of lockdown restrictions would be eased from July 4, including allowing pubs and restaurants to open their doors. AP

Hamilton saddened, hurt by Ecclestone’s comments

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LEWIS HAMILTON (right) is shocked by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone’s claim that “in lots of cases, Black people are more racist” than white people. AP

ARIS—Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has criticized “ignorant and uneducated” comments by former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

Hamilton, a six-time world champion and the only Black driver in F1, was shocked by Ecclestone’s claim during an interview with broadcaster CNN on Friday that “in lots of cases, Black people are more racist” than white people.

“Damn, I just don’t even know where to start on this one—so sad and disappointing to read these comments,” Hamilton posted on Instagram. “This is exactly what is wrong—ignorant and uneducated comments which show us how far we as a society need to go before real equality can happen.”

Ecclestone made his assertion when he

was asked his opinion on Hamilton setting up a commission to increase diversity in motorsport.

“I don’t think it’s going to do anything bad or good for Formula One. It will just make people think, which is more important,” Ecclestone replied. “People ought to think a little bit and say ‘what the hell’, somebody’s not the same as white people and that Black people should think the same about white people. Because I think in lots of cases, Black people are more racist than what white people are.”

Challenged to give evidence, Ecclestone replied: “Things over the years I’ve noticed and there’s no need for it.”

Hamilton recently attended a Black Lives Matter march in London. He has spoken widely

about racism in recent weeks after saying he felt “so much anger, sadness and disbelief” following the killing of George Floyd—a handcuffed and unarmed Black man—by a police officer in Minneapolis last month.

“Lewis is a little bit special. First he’s very, very, very talented as a driver and he seems to be now extremely talented when he’s standing up making speeches,” Ecclestone said. “This last campaign he’s doing for the Black people is wonderful. He’s doing a great job and it’s people (who are) easily recognizable that people listen to.”

F1 pledged to increase diversity in a whitedominated series by setting up an initiative called “We Race As One. ” F1 chairman Chase Carey followed up with a personal donation of $1 million. AP

I AM in tears as I write this.

It’s 30 years of hope in my heart that has been fulfilled and I am sure for the other millions out there. It’s 30 years I had to take stick from fans of other clubs about never winning it again and only reliving past glory.

Even after all this time, I cannot get my head wrapped around the fact the Liverpool are finally English champions once more. Exactly 30 years after their last. We’ve had so many false starts and good runs only to come grinding to a halt and extending the agonizing wait.

I woke up, saw the news, and tears began to stream my face. Someone asked, “Why are you crying?”

I guess some people will never understand.

I am crying for joy. For that Jurgen Klopp came over to Liverpool and revitalized the club. I am crying for the players who nearly won it the previous year and had to go out and not only do it again, but in smashing style and panache that has set them apart from their competition. They did so too in the Champions League.

I am crying for the players who didn’t win it.

I began watching the club in 1979 but can only say that I followed them in earnest when Robbie Fowler suited up. I am crying for Steven Gerrard who came so close but slipped up. I am crying for Gerard Houllier, Rafa Benitez, and Brendan Rogers who gave us so many great moments and won some silverware, but not the Premier League.

I think of Luis Suarez who wept when the title slipped away. I think of my friend in Liverpool, Jeff Goulding, a lifelong fan who has written books about his favorite club (and yes, I have them).

I think of the time and money I spent watching the team across three continents and buying the kits, season reviews, and other merch year in and out. That is what die-hard fans do, I guess.

I am crying because even if I am thousands of miles away, I did what I could for the club— organizing the sympathy run for the 96 who lost their lives in the Hillsborough Disaster with a run in the University of the Philippines oval, helping make the new kits available to Filipino fans, traveling to England to watch the team and interview the coaches and the players. It is an honor to write for This Is Anfield—in fact, am the only non-English writer in a staff of Liverpudians.

I am crying because...this is probably the best feeling in the world...of being champions.

My first year with my new company meant I could have availed of leaves come the first week of May. I planned on booking a flight to Liverpool in the last week or so of the season; just around the time there would be that parade around the city that I have visited on several occasions and have to come to love. The pandemic ended any hope of being a part of an historic parade and celebration.

At least there is still the championship to enjoy and savor for a lifetime.

Let me wipe now these tears of joy and smile that toothy grin just like Saint Jurgen.

Thirty years. Thirty agonizing years. Waiting.

Dreaming.

It’s all fulfilled.

We are Liverpool. This means more.