BusinessMirror March 11, 2020

OFW MIDEAST FLOW TO KEEP SLIDING

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

& Recto Mercene @rectomercene

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HE deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East will continue to drop, on account of the widespread effects of the coronavirus disease, and helped along by the dramatic drop in oil prices among oil-producing countries, according to an industry expert.

The Mideast OFW-deployment issues compound the already problematic situation of thousands of OFW working in cruise ships worldwide, one of the most impacted by the rapid spread of the

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) process their documents at the office of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) in this BusinessMirror file photo.

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dreaded respiratory virus.

At the same time, the Philippine government is now considering the repatriation of hundreds of OFW stranded in the Middle East after Kuwait imposed travel restrictions on foreigners as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

During an Interagency Task Force (IATF) in Malacañang on Monday, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III reported 740 Kuwaitbound Filipinos were affected by the travel restriction.

“Those who reached Kuwait have no problem, but those in Qatar and Dubai are barred from traveling to Kuwait,” Bello reported at the meeting.

Bello said the Kuwaiti government imposed the travel restriction since it

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 153

Deficit to widen to 3.6% of GDP on virus effect T

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE government is expected to record a wider budget deficit of 3.6 percent of GDP this year—breaching its target of 3.2 percent of GDP—as it is seen to lose as much as P91 billion in revenue collections due to coronavirus outbreak if it drags on until the middle of this year, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said.

In a press conference on Tuesday following the Economic Development Cluster (EDC) meeting, Dominguez was quick to allay fears, though, that this would lead to a credit rating downgrade. He said the foreseen wider budget def-

icit-to-GDP ratio is “financeable” as such would be funded through a corresponding increase in the government’s borrowing level.

“Assuming that the COVID-19 induced disruptions last until after the middle of the year, the total

revenue collections are expected to drop by around P91 billion.

The budget deficit could breach the 2020 program of 3.2 percent of GDP to around 3.6 percent. The corresponding increase in the borrowing level will provide financing

“We have enough in our tool kit to make sure that our expenditures are going to remain at what the planned levels are, in spite of the fact that we might get a hit on our growth and revenues because of this COVID.”—Dominguez

for the increased deficit. Our credit rating is quite robust and we don’t expect any difficulty in covering a potential deficit that might occur because of the expected drop in economic activity because of this COVID,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Department of Health reported a total number of 33 cases.

See “Deficit,” A2

DOST-funded COVID test kit project clears FDA

See “ COVID test kit,” A8

PESO exchange rates n

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 36 pages |

F.D.I. IN PHL DROP 23.1% ON GLOBAL TURMOIL

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ONG-TERM investments put by foreign players into the Philippines saw a double-digit decline in 2019 compared to the previous year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Tuesday.

For full year 2019, foreign direct investments (FDI) to the Philippines recorded $7.6-billion net inflows, a 23.1-percent decrease from the $9.9-billion net inflows seen in 2018.

The BSP blamed this on turbulent economic waters overseas, putting a risk averse sentiment from emerging markets in general.

“Notwithstanding the country’s sound macroeconomic fundamentals, global uncertainties dampened investor sentiment during the year,” the Central Bank said in a statement.

FDI are usually the type of investment that is often more coveted compared to its short-term counterpart—foreign portfolio investments (FPI)—as it stays longer in the economy and creates job opportunities for locals.

Broken down, net investments in debt instruments dropped by 23.2 percent to $5.2 billion. Meanwhile, net equity capital investments declined by 38.2 percent to $1.4 billion.

According to the BSP, gross equity capital investments for the year originated mainly from Singapore, Japan and the United States. These

were channeled mostly to 1) financial and insurance, 2) real estate, 3) electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply, and 4) manufacturing industries.

Reinvestment of earnings amounted to $1 billion in 2019.

In December alone, however, FDI net inflows amounted to $1.2 billion, 69 percent higher than the $683 million recorded in December 2018.

Despite the uptick in the December FDI, analysts had earlier expressed concern about the FDI toward the Philippines in 2020 due largely to the ongoing virus woes that are creeping across economies globally.

In a recent research note, Fitch Solutions said the Philippines’s infrastructure and investment drive is likely to be affected given the country’s relatively high percentage of Chinese FDI. The think tank said the inability of Chinese workers to travel in some cases has meant delays for projects, particularly Chinese-led projects which tend to rely on Chinese labor.

“Travel restrictions and quarantine periods in place across Asia are likely to result in disruptions to investment decisions, which could prove a headwind to the infrastructure boost we had been expecting,” Fitch Solutions said.

PHL affirms goal of 11% poverty rate despite virus

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TEST kit for coronavirus developed by Filipino scientists has cleared the first hurdle at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is seen to boost efforts to contain the spread of the virus through timely detection.

The said project is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-Philippines) through the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD).

The SARS CoV-2 PCR Detection Kit technology was developed by local scientists led by Dr. Raul V. Destura from the University of the Philippines-National Institute of Health (UP-NIH). The kit will be used for field testing coupled with gene sequencing at the Philippine Genome Center.

will need seven days to procure equipment to detect passengers with COVID-19.

“DOLE’s option is either to repatriate the OFWs or wait until the ban is lifted,” Bello said in a statement.

Last week, Bello said they will scale down the deployment of OFWs bound for Kuwait due to the travel restrictions it imposed.

In an SMS, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Bernard P. Olalia told the BusinessMirror they already enforced the said restriction.

President Duterte earlier said the government is ready to bring home Filipinos abroad who were affected by the effects of COVID-19.

See “OFW,” A2

By Cai U. Ordinario

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The arrival area of Naia Terminal 1 is like a ghost town on Tuesday, unlike in pre-COVID days. Reports said that tourist arrivals in the Philippines have dropped precipitously on account of travel bans and passenger jitters induced by the virus. NONIE REYES

@caiordinario

HE President’s economic team played down the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on the country’s poverty rate, saying the Philippines remains on track to cut poverty to 11 percent by 2022.

In a briefing on Tuesday, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the impact of COVID-19 would be “transitory, if at all.”

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said around 66 firms have implemented adjusted work arrangements and 19 of them temporarily stopped opera-

tion due to COVID-19.

“The estimated job losses are temporary. You know, hotels, travel industry and we think this will pick up after airlines, after the middle of the year, so it’s really a short-term loss,” Dominguez said.

“So I don’t think there’s going to be much effect on our poverty numbers and we still keep on holding on to our target that by 2022 we should be down to 11 percent,” he added.

DOLE OIC-Assistant Secretary Dominique R. Tutay said the 66 establishments covered 4,735 workers.

She said this included 47 establishments covering 4,416 workers that implemented flexible work arrangements; and 19 firms with See “ Poverty,” A8

US 50.6260 n japan 0.4950 n UK 66.3606 n HK 6.5142 n CHINA 7.2864 n singapore 36.5795 n australia 33.3473 n EU 57.9415 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4866

Source: BSP (10 March 2020)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, March 11, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Ecop holds the line, for now, to avoid layoffs despite virus

Political cost of VFA petition doesn’t faze Senate chief Sotto

MPLOYERS are keeping most of their workers for now even as they face output slowdown due to the coronavirus outbreak, but could end up laying off in the future should the crisis last more than half of the year.

ENATE President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday affirmed a standing consensus among senators to “protect the independence of the Senate” even at the risk of “losing political alliances and support.”

Sotto made the assurance after a majority of senators agreed to ask the Supreme Court to rule on whether the treaty-ratifying chamber should also have a say in abrogating such treaties, effectively challenging Malacañang’s unilateral termination of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

Sotto led several senators in filing the petition for declaratory relief on Monday, and on Tuesday, the Senate President affirmed his commitment to “always put a premium on public welfare and the interests of the Senate over” his “personal concerns.”

The Senate wants the high court to “draw the constitutional boundaries” on the roles of the Senate and the Executive branch in the cancellation of international agreements and treaties, triggered by Malacañang’s recent termination of the VFA, which the Palace did without getting approval of the Senate.

In a statement, the Senate President clarified that the senators’ le-

E

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop), said that members of the group are likely to keep their manpower in spite of the challenges posed by the coronavirus spread. Managements, he explained, are implementing flexible work arrangements to be able to cope with the adversities and retain their workers at the same time.

“There’s no such thing as mass layoffs for now,” Ortiz-Luis told the BusinessMirror. “In fact, our members continue to add job postings and hire new workers. Things, however, could change if this virus carries on for the next two or three months.”

If the crisis extends to half of the year and the situation worsens in China, then this could be the point when firms will consider laying off some of their workers, Ortiz-Luis said. Many manufacturers rely on supplies from China, and it will be

Deficit. . .

@alyasjah

difficult for them to sustain their production at normal pace with imports cut and trade disrupted.

“We have to face the reality that most of our manufacturing firms, particularly the producers of electronic parts—our largest export item—purchase their raw materials and inputs from China, and we know what’s happening in China right now,” Ortiz-Luis explained.

“If this whole thing extends longer than is expected, then we should expect output to go down.

And that entails the consequence that firms will need to reduce their workers as well because production is hurt and there’s less requirement for labor,” he added.

UN assessment

The Philippines could lose as much as $300 million worth of exports, mostly in communication equipment, due to the coronavirus outbreak, although it will be the least to take damage in the Southeast

Continued from A1

Lower rates

Dominguez said it would not be difficult for the government to finance the increased deficit as there is a drop in interest rates.

“As I mentioned, our total estimated drop in revenues is around P91 billion, let’s say a hundred billion. Our total budget is P4.1 trillion. Our borrowing, it’s very easy for us to fund a hundred billion to cover a budget shortfall. It’s not difficult at all. That is $2 billion,” he said.

Despite the projected impact on growth and revenue collections, the finance chief assured the public that the country is not in a “worrisome situation” as the government will still go “full blast” on the “Build, Build, Build” program, as well as its other initiatives.

“We assure you that we have enough

in our tool kit to make sure that our expenditures are going to remain at what the planned levels are, in spite of the fact that we might get a hit on our growth and revenues because of this COVID. So it’s not a worrisome situation, we are not teetering on the brink of anything, we are very comfortable,” he said.

Dominguez also said the EDC recommended the approval of P2.92-billion additional funding for COVID-19 responses of the Department of Health— for additional testing, augmentation of contact tracing, surveillance and additional personnel protective equipment for health workers at the national and local levels.

This will also fund isolation packages for patients who will be admitted for COVID-19 which will be covered by Philippine Health Corp.

The government will be sourcing the P2.92 billion additional funding mostly from local sources.

“The interest rates are actually moving in favor of ourselves, the borrowers, and that bodes well for our borrowing program. As of now, we see the stimulus program

Asian region, according to an assessment by the United Nations.

The country’s exports are projected to drop by roughly $300.4 million due to the spread of the coronavirus.

Broken down, the Philippines will likely suffer significant damage in the shipment of communication equipment, office machinery and electrical equipment.

On the other hand, initial estimates by the National Economic and Development Authority put job losses between 30,000 and 95,000 on business slowdown due to the crisis.

Further, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines in February warned that at least 7,000 workers in airlines, cruise ship, travel agencies, and hotels and restaurants could be laid off within the next six months. Firms will likely be compelled to do retrenchments to somewhat cut profit losses caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) had to let go of some 300 workers in order to trim losses and in anticipation of a travel slowdown, both attributed to the crisis.

Ortiz-Luis argued what PAL did, for now, can be treated as an isolated case. He, however, said the tourism industry will be one of the hardest hit by the dreaded respiratory infection, as travel bans are slapped by jurisdictions to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus.

Last week, the Tourism Congress of the Philippines lamented stakeholders, such as hotels and resorts, are asking their workers to take leaves, as the volume of visi-

as being just keeping our expenditure budget where it is despite the fact that our revenues are going down, so that in itself is already stimulus package,” he said. “That’s another P90 billion we are going to pump into the economy so we are maintaining our ship on a steady keel and we are keeping the speed at what can we handle.”

DTI, DOT response Other government agencies also outlined their mitigation measures in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

For his part, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said they have started to provide assistance to firms on getting alternative suppliers. He said the department is also working on diversifying export markets while looking into nontraditional products and into providing logistics support to provide ease of movement of people and cargo.

Should the situation worsen or the impact of the virus be prolonged, Lopez said they are also looking at giving regulatory relief to firms like deferred payments on bank loans or lowering of interest and waiving of fees, among others.

“So these are things that we will look at in the future,” he said.

In addition, the Department of Tourism (DOT ) said it will allocate P6 billion to be spent on environmental cleanups, including the country’s beache s, i n f ra s t r u c t u re and regional tourism development in a bid to boost the partnership between the government and the private sector to help domestic tourism.

To u r i s m A s s i s tant Secretary Roberto Alabado III said they have allocated funds for resilient infrastructure development, mainly for financing sewage treatment plants for Coron as well as in Puerto Galera.

tors keeps plunging on travel bans placed against China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Upon the directive of President Duterte, foreign nationals from mainland China and its special administrative regions are prohibited from entering the archipelago.

Filipinos and those holding permanent resident visas issued by the government are exempted from the ban, although they are required to undergo a 14-day self quarantine.

With the travel ban in effect, foreign arrivals in February declined more than 41 percent, based on preliminary data from the Bureau of Immigration.

Creating jobs

In the face of a looming jobs problem, Ortiz-Luis vowed Ecop members will keep on creating employment opportunities as long as they have the capacity to do so. He cited, for one, efforts of employers based in Southern Tagalog to take in at least 3,000 workers to rescue those who lost their jobs from the Taal Volcano eruption.

“There’s 6,000 positions that our members just opened,” he bared. “Half of those are in firms in the Calabarzon [Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon] region.

We know what went down in there, and that’s why we created jobs for those displaced by the disaster.”

The respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China, has spread throughout many parts of the world. In the Philippines, there are 33 confirmed cases as of Tuesday afternoon.

Trade. . .

Continued from A8

Given that electronic products are the country’s top exports, the Philippines will be negatively affected by the downturn in China’s economy.

“We can expect the global supply chain to grind to a halt. As production—and demand—for consumer electronics fade due to China’s downturn, we can expect demand for the components that go into these electronic items to drop, as well, hurting Philippine exports,” Mapa said in a e-mail to BusinessMirror.

February results

Unionbank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion told BusinessMirror that the country will be able to ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on the economy when the PSA releases the February external trade performance.

Asuncion said, however, that the 1 percent uptick in imports is a positive sign that the Duterte administration’s infrastructure push is under way.

He expects imports to further recover with the “double budget of 2020” which is composed of the regular budget for the year and the extended budget of 2019.

However, in order to recover, Asuncion said there is a need to retransform GVCs. This means multinational manufacturing firms must think of diversifying their operations to places other than China.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has somehow cemented the changes [efforts to diversify operations base] planned. So, recovery of GVCs from COVID-19 will happen, but it may look a lot different moving forward,” Asuncion said.

The PSA said the country’s total external trade in goods in January 2020 amounted to $15.08 billion, which represents an increment of 4.1 percent from the $14.48 billion external trade in the same month of the previous year.

Of the total external trade, $5.79 billion or 38.4 percent were exported goods and $9.29 billion or 61.6 percent were imported goods.

The country’s balance of trade in goods in January 2020 posted a $3.50-billion deficit, which was lower by 10.7 percent from the $3.92 billion deficit in January 2019.

By Butch Fernandez

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@butchfBM

OFW. . .

Continued from A1

“Any Filipino for that matter. Wherever he may be. And if he wants to go home here, to his country, we are duty bound to bring him back to the Philippines,” Duterte said.

In a related development, Bello said they are also ready to help OFWs affected by the travel restriction imposed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Qatar.

He said 1,300 OFWs were unable to leave for Qatar after it banned travelers from virus-infected countries, including the Philippines, in the last 14-days, DOLE has sought funding to compensate the workers.

Steady decline “Statistics show a consistent decline of OFW deployment from 2017 until today due to the slowing economy of the Middle East countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain,” according to recruitment and travel consultant Manny Geslani.

He said prices of crude oil this year have been flat due to competition, hobbled by the entry of the COVID-19 disease now gripping the world.

“Crude oil prices have dropped to the 2014 level of $40 per barrel, further impacting on the economies of the Middle East countries,” he said. Saudi Arabia recently slashed 30 percent of its crude oil prices and increased output to 12 million barrels a day to offset Russia’s production prices of crude oil, now down to $30 dollars a barrel.

Meanwhile, he said the rising number of travel bans imposed by some countries wary of the spread of the COVID-19 “may eventually affect the deployment of OFWs this year.”

Along the way, OFW remittances will grow to a trickle “as the dreaded disease continues to move into many parts of the world,” he warned Qatar has banned the entry of flights into the tiny kingdom bringing in new arrivals except its own citizens and permanent residents. However, he said “Doha denied entry for workers from 13 countries, including the Philippines.”

He noted that “there are about 300,000 OFWs in Qatar, the world’s largest producer of natural gas and the country is in the midst of the massive construction of sports facilities and hotels for the World Cup 2022 with hundreds of thousands expatriate workers.”

There are 250,000 OFWs in Kuwait,

gal option to raise the issue before the court was intended “to assert the sense of and the power of the Senate that we know and we think that we have.”

Stressing that senators must be consulted on vital matters like the termination of international agreements and treaties just as its concurrence is required before the same are ratified, Sotto asserted that “this role is particularly important to ensure that the power to forge partnerships with our neighbors and allies remains impartial.”

“The Senate must do its part in protecting the checks and balances in our government,” Sotto said, clarifying that a Senate President, in doing so, sets aside concerns that he could lose his alliance with Malacañang because of the Senate action.

Stressing that “personal interests should never outweigh public welfare,” Sotto vowed he “will always choose to fight for the independence of the Senate. That is the legacy that I would like to leave this institution when my term comes to an end.”

Recently, rumors flew that a move is afoot among some administration senators to mount a coup against Sotto, after several of them were called to a meeting at Malacanang.

220,000 of whom are household service workers (HSW).

Saudi Arabia, Geslani said, “hosts 1.4 million OFWs.” It has not issued a travel ban for Filipinos entering Saudi Arabia, “but has already banned arrivals from 14 coronavirus-stricken countries from the Middle East and Europe.”

With the rising number of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, now at 33 in the Philippines, Geslani fears the country “would be included among countries banned by the Kingdom in the next few days.”

Cruise ships Meanwhile, the sea-based sector where Filipinos are employed in onethird of the world’s seagoing vessels is also bracing for the impact of COVID-19 on cruise and cargo ships.

Filipino seamen on board the 272 cruise ships belonging to the Cruise Lines I nternational Association (CLIA) are worried because many cruise ships especially in Asia have canceled scheduled trips to the Caribbean.

So far, the CLIA has canceled eight China sailings through March 4, while Princess Cruises has canceled 12 cruises through March 20.

Holland America said it is weighing port restrictions in Asia before deciding on a cruise scheduled to leave Yokohama on February 28.

Norwegian Cruise Lines has canceled scheduled Asian cruises on the Norwegian Spirit through December 7 and, in some cases, cruises are being rerouted. Norwegian said a 24-day cruise leaving South Africa on March 22 that was supposed to end in Singapore will now last 27 days and end in Greece.

Geslani said this development means Filipinos who have been recruited to board these cruise ships “will have to wait for embarkation until the cruise companies decided to start their new schedules.

Cargo ships with Filipino seafarers on board “will now reduce their destinations as the world economy suffers a decline. The majority of the goods are loaded in China where the lockdown on numerous factories have practically stop imports and exports of products,” he said.

The cruise ships’ association adopted measures to ensure the safety of their passengers like preventing the boarding of passengers coming from China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan and South Korea, countries with high incidence of COVID-19 cases.

News

BusinessMirror

A4 Wednesday, March 11, 2020

House panel approves P1.65-billion supplemental budget vs COVID-19

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

s cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country reached 33, the House Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday approved a bill appropriating P1.65-billion supplemental budget to combat the sickness.

The approved amount is lower than the P2-billion supplementary budget bills filed by House Committee on Health Chairman Rep. Angelina Tan and House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Joey S. Salceda.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Rep. Eric Go Yap would ask President Duterte to certify as urgent the supplemental budget bill.

Cayetano also said the lower chamber is also ready to hold special sessions to approve the supplemental budget bill. Congress is set to adjourn for its Lenten break on Wednesday and will resume on May 4.

During the hearing of the appropriations committee, Deputy Treasurer Sharon Almanza said the Bureau of the Treasury has only

P1.65 billion in excess funds.

According to Almanza, the bureau is now coordinating with the Department of Finance for faster release of the fund.

The P1.65-billion fund is also less than the P3.1 billion that the Department of Health (DOH) needs to purchase personnel protective equipment for its 5,000 health workers.

However, Health Undersecretary Roger Tong-an said the DOH could source the remaining needed funds from Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), as well as from the DOH’s quick response fund and savings.

Tong-an said the DOH could source P2 billion from Pagcor, P539 million from DOH savings, P81 million from DOH’s quick response fund and P420 million from

Navy’s brand-new warship BRP ‘Jose Rizal’ ready for delivery next month

By Rene Acosta

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@reneacostaBM

he manufacturer of BRP Jose Rizal, one of the two brand-new frigates ordered by the Philippine Navy from South Korea, has committed to deliver the warship by April, five months ahead of the official contract date of delivery.

“Per informal talks with the HHI [Hyundai Heavy Industries], they have committed [to deliver it on the] third or fourth week of April,” said Navy chief Rear Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo on Tuesday, noting that based on the official contract, the contractor was obligated to give the Navy its brand-new frigate in September this year.

The BRP Jose Rizal was launched in May last year by the South Korean manufacturer and immediately went into harbor trials until the first quarter of this year in preparation for its official turnover to the Philippine Navy.

Its sister ship, or the second frigate, the BRP Antonio Luna, was launched into the sea in November last year during a ceremony held at the HHI’s shipyard in Bangeojinsunhwan-doro, Ulsan, South Korea.

The warship is also expected to be delivered in September or October this year.

Both frigates are capable of engaging in four dimensions of modern warfare—Anti-Air Warfare, Anti-Surface Warfare, Anti-Submarine Warfare and Electronic Warfare.

They are also equipped with surfaceto-surface missiles, surface to air missile and torpedoes.

The two warships’ primary gun is a 76-mm super rapid gun, while the secondary gun is a 30-mm gun.

It also has chaffs and decoys as defense against incoming missiles.

Bacordo said all systems of the BRP Jose Rizal are ready except for the required certification for its combat management systems

(CMS), which will come from the “original equipment manufacturer.”

While he did not name the manufacturer, the Navy chief was apparently referring to Hanwha Systems of the Hanwha Group, another South Korean company, which has been contracted by HHI to input the CMS for the two frigates.

The issue over the CMS, considered the “brain” of any military warship, forced the relief of Vice Admiral Joseph Mercado as former Navy chief after he held on to the Navy’s preference for Thales Tacticos’s CMS. While the Navy showed its preference for Thales’s “much superior CMS,” which is being used by most of the world’s modern navies, the defense establishment went for the “inferior” Hanwha systems, which at the time of the signing of the contract, was only aboard the South Korean Navy.

The Navy, then under Mercado, criticized the South Korean CMS, saying that unlike Thales Tacticos’s systems, Hanwha’s CMS is not compatible with Tactical Data Link 16 (TDL 16), which is an “encrypted, jam-resistant, nodeless tactical digital data link network” that is being used by Nato countries and other states.

TDLs are “standardized, highly structured communication links used by the military for the transmission and exchange of tactical data,” and commonly referred to as the heart of all military command and control systems.

Mercado and the Navy then claimed that by going for Thales’s CMS, the military would save money since the two frigates, with their Hanwha systems onboard, would spend additional funds just for their “brains” to be connected, or made compatible, with TDL 16.

They said the money could be used to finance other modernization requirement of the Navy.

the PCSO. According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, one set of protective gear is worth P1,500 for 5,000 health workers, working three shifts, for 90 days.

Budget Undersecretary Janet Abuel also told lawmakers the government could also source fund from P13-billion contingency funds and P7.5-billion national disaster risk reduction and management fund.

Congress mandates the DOH to submit its report giving a detailed account of the utilization of the supplemental budget provided under the supplementary budget bill.

The DOH has also placed the country under Covid-19 Alert System to Code Red Sub-Level 1 to prepare for a possible increase in suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases.

With this, President Duterte has issued a proclamation formally declaring a state of public health emergency throughout the Philippines following the reported first local transmission of Covid-19.

The President also ordered the suspension of all classes in Metro Manila to minimize the risk of contracting the disease.

No need

House Deputy Minority Leader Carlos Isagani Zarate said there is no need to pass a supplemental budget, saying there are available

funds to address the threat of Covid-19 spread.

“There is an available budget for this that can be tapped in the contingency funds and that now at least have P29 billion aggregate that is not properly utilized. In fact there is no need for the P2-billion supplemental budget to combat COVID-19, all the government has to do is properly use the contingency funds,” Zarate said.

“As can be seen, we have enough funds to combat COVID-19 and they are already available, in fact, there is no need for a supplemental budget. While more cases of COVID-19 are being reported, it is still uncertain if the government has prepared any social assistance to patients coming from poor sectors, especially from the rural areas and they should be prepared now. Dillydallying is inexcusable because lives are at stake here,” added Zarate.

Meanwhile, Zarate urged the government to prepare its support program for possible COVID-19 outbreak in the barrios nationwide.

“Now that there are already 24 [33 actually as of this writing as reported by DOH] cases of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines and classes on all levels have been canceled from March 10 to 14 in the National Capital Region, the demand for a support program for possible outbreak in barrios and urban poor areas is legitimate,” said the deputy minority leader.

House leaders, NTC say ABS-CBN may operate without new franchise

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

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HE House of Representatives and the National Telecommunications Communication (NTC) on Tuesday gave assurances that ABSCBN Corp. will be allowed to continue its operations beyond May 4, 2020.

During the meeting of the House Committee on Legislative Franchises on 11 pending bills renewing the franchise of the ABS-CBN, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba said the agency will heed the opinion of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to allow the network to continue operations.

“The NTC will follow the latest advice of the DOJ and let ABSCBN continue operations based on equity,” he said.

With this, Cordoba said the NTC will “most likely” issue a provisional authority to the TV network.

“Based on the foregoing discussion, there is sufficient equitable basis to allow broadcast entities to continue operating while the bills for the renewal of their respective franchise remain pending with Congress,” Cordoba said, citing the opinion of the DOJ. However, Congress is schedule

to take a Lenten break starting March 12 without approving the franchise of ABS-CBN. The session will resume on May 4. The ABS-CBN franchise is also set to expire on May 4.

Adopt

During the hearing, the House committee approved a motion to adopt a letter enjoining the agency to grant a provisional authority to operate effective from May 4, 2020 until such time that Congress has made a decision on its application.

Cayetano, meanwhile, gave assurances that the House would conduct its hearing in “a fair, objective, and transparent manner.”

“We definitely did the right thing to focus on more important issues [first before hearing the franchise bill]. We want a continuous hearing, not a circus.

The issue is really contentious and emotional,” Cayetano said.

“Second, innocent until proven guilty. As far as we are concerned, there is still no violation so there is no reason in this world the NTC should shut them down,” he added.

Cayetano also reiterated his call for the submission of position papers on the ABSCBN franchise until April 15, 2020.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DA assures ample food supply amid concerns of corona virus spread

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

he Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday assured the public that the country has sufficient food supply, notably rice, amid growing concerns about the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said the country has overflowing stocks of rice, which he noted was sufficient to last for 80 days.

Furthermore, Dar added, the volume is expected to rise to five months to six months worth of staple supply after the ongoing palay (unhusked rice) harvest.

In terms of fish supply, Dar said, catch and harvest in Taal Lake has started to normalize, assuring sufficient delivery of tilapia and bangus to Metro Manila.

Dar said the DA is also encouraging farmers to plant other cash and fastgrowing crops to take advantage of better weather and planting conditions to boost the country’s food supply.

Among the crops identified by Dar is the planting of mung bean, or munggo, which, he pointed out, is a “good source of protein” and would also help farmers to “rejuvenate their soil.”

“We are starting now to plant munggo in big ways in areas it is possible [to grow],” Dar said.

Dar said they would also intensify efforts to promote and implement its urban gardening program amid COVID-19 concerns. Through urban gardening, he explained, Metro Manila and other metropolis in the country may be able to ensure steady flow of food supplies within their areas.

“I have to enhance now the proper implementation of urban agriculture in metropolis, so that when there’s tightening of food supply from provinces there’s enough food within the metropolis as well,” he said.

Suggested retail price The Agriculture chief disclosed that the DA is now considering to impose suggested retail price (SRP) at the traders level in its bid to bring down prices

of commodities at the retail level. “We are strengthening the teams. We are trying to study if we can impose SRP at the level of traders so they cannot put too much mark-up, which will allow retailers to give consumers much lower prices,” he told reporters in an interview on March 10.

“We are studying if we can do that.

The [Department of Trade and Industry] is part of that team,” he added.

Furthermore, Dar said the DA is currently reviewing SRP it has set earlier on certain commodities, particularly garlic, to adjust them to prevailing market prices.

Dar also clarified that the SRP set by the DA in Metro Manila only covers public markets and is not applicable to supermarkets and grocery stores.

“This is our view right now: we will let the consumers decide where they want to buy,” he said.

“Some are saying that it is even cheaper to buy in supermarkets [compared to public markets]. [If the goods are] expensive [in supermarkets] then do not go there,” he added when asked why supermarkets are exempted from the SRP. Dar issued the remarks after Laban Konsyumer Inc. (LKI) pointed out that SRP covers both public markets and supermarkets in Metro Manila.

As for garlic, Dar said they are now reviewing the P70-per-kilogram SRP on imported garlic after certain supermarkets stopped selling the commodity due to DA’s SRP. A supermarket in Manila visited by the BusinessMirror posted an announcement that garlic is not available in their shelves as “current market prices are above government prescribed P70 per kg.”

Manila-based traders and retailers told the BusinessMirror that imported garlic sold at P150 per kilogram. Some retailers said wholesale price of garlic in Divisoria is at P150 per kilogram, while at Blumentritt it is at P160 per kilogram.

Latest DA price monitoring reports showed that the average retail price of garlic in Metro Manila pegged about P152 per kilogram, which is more than double than the P70-perkg SRP that it set.

Campi, TMA report 13.15 percent increase in vehicle sales last month

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he automotive industry has recovered from a bad start in January, as February sales improved by over 13 percent on double-digit growth in the commercial vehicle (CV) segment.

February sales of vehicle makers in the Philippines went up 13.15 percent to 29,790 units, from 26,327 units during the same month last year, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) disclosed on Tuesday. CV sales carried much of the load after posting a double-digit increase in figures.

Sales of passenger cars, on the other hand, dropped by over 4.5 percent to 8,093 units, from 8,471 units, in another proof the segment has yet to recover from the excise taxes imposed on automobile by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.

Breaking the trend, CV sales improved by more than 21 percent to 21,697 units in February, from 17,856 units during the same month last year. The positive performance can be credited to the growths recorded in the sales of Asian utility vehicles and light commercial vehicles.

In total, industry sales from January to February rose a little less than 1 percent to 53,135 units, from 53,215 units during the same period last year.

Campi President Rommel R. Gutierrez

said the industry was anticipating recovery in February, but little did vehicle assemblers expect it would be a double-digit upswing. They had to begin the year with a double-digit sales decline on production slowdown after assembly plants had to be temporarily shut down due to the Taal Volcano eruption.

“While we anticipate a growth recovery coming from the previous month’s losses due to the adverse effect of theTaalVolcano eruption, this double-digit growth is more than what we have expected,” Gutierrez said in a news statement.

The February sales figures, he added, was the highest recorded sales count by the industry on a monthly basis, surpassing the same month’s number over the past 10 years. In spite of the recovery, the industry is expecting an impact from supply-chain disruptions on factory shutdowns in China caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Gutierrez explained automobile makers are dependent on China for parts and supplies, and the crisis, therefore, is likely to take a toll on their production and sales.

“While the industry remains optimistic that this growth will be sustained in the coming months, we cannot disregard the ripple effect of Covid-19 moving forward,”Gutierrez added.

“It must be noted that the auto industry remains one of the most complex and integrated supply chains, regionally and globally.”

Elijah Felice E. Rosales

Japan turns over ₧2.91-B agrarian, agri projects to Mindanao

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

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AVAO CITY—Japan turned over P2.91 billion worth of projects for agriculture and agrarian reform program for seven provinces in Mindanao.

The assistance came in the form of 47 projects under the JapanBangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development, or J-

BIRD program.

The Japan Embassy in Manila said the project consisted of 16 infrastructure facilities, and 31 agribusiness and agro-forestry development subprojects to the Provinces of Lanao del Norte, Bukidnon, Davao del Sur, Davao de Oro, North Cotabato, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

Embassy of Japan’s Minister Masahiro Nakata participated in the ceremonial turnover in Lagu-

indingan, Misamis Oriental, of 47 subprojects under the Mindanao Sustainable Agrarian and Agricultural Development (MinSA AD) Project.

The turnover was done on February 26. Agrarian Reform Secretary John S. Castriciones also graced the event, the embassy said.

In his speech, Nakata said the “immense development potential of Mindanao, MinSAAD is a symbol of assurance that this island will

not be left behind.”

He said the assistance amounting to ¥6,063 million (P2.91 billion) was part of bringing progress closer to farmers on the ground.

The facilities include farm-tomarket roads, bridges, postharvest installations and rural water systems.

“Japan believes that the longterm impacts on the lives of many agrarian reform beneficiaries far outweigh the resources devoted to these projects,” he added.

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Xi visits Wuhan in sign China sees coronavirus under control

C

hinese President Xi Jinping visited the coronavirus epicenter of Wuhan for the first time since the disease emerged, a trip intended to project confidence that his government has managed to stem its spread domestically.

Xi arrived on Tuesday morning in the capital of Hubei province, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Xi will meet with medical workers, military personnel, community workers, police officers, volunteers and others who have been fighting the epidemic, as well as patients and residents, Xinhua said.

Wuhan, where the disease first emerged in December, has been quarantined since January 23, in what some people see as a heavy-handed approach following earlier failures to act quickly enough to stem the spread. Xi’s visit comes after a steady drop in infections, with just 19 new cases on Tuesday, and a slight easing of restrictions within Hubei to allow some people to travel within the province.

After arriving in Wuhan, Xi went to Huoshenshan, one of the two dedicated hospitals built specially to treat virus patients, Xinhua said.

A personal visit to Wuhan by the nation’s top leader has been anticipated as a potential sign that the Communist Party believed it had the situation under control. Xi’s government has seen a rare outpouring of public anger over both its initial response to the crisis and the muzzling of whistle-blowing medical professionals, shaking confidence in the ruling party.

Premier Li Keqiang had been dispatched to Wuhan by Xi in late January to boost confidence among local residents.

“Xi’s visit suggests that the authorities view the situation in Wuhan has been put under control, and a turning point has been secured,” said Gu Su, a professor of philosophy and law at Nanjing University. “His visit could help to allay the public anger to some extent, but his visit came more than 50 days after the outbreak, in stark contrast to former top leaders who’d usually visit within a week of a crisis taking place.”

Slowly dropping

There were signs on Tuesday that Chinese officials are relaxing some of the strict measures in Hubei, with the government saying it will issue “green codes” to residents free from coronavirus, allowing people from lower-risk areas to travel within the province.

Going forward, the rescheduling of the country’s biggest annual

legislative meeting, which saw a rare postponement amid the outbreak, could signal a return to normal. Putting it back on the calendar “means the end of the outbreak for Chinese leaders,” Gu said.

Xi previously took responsibility for Wuhan’s lockdown. He told China’s most powerful leaders in a speech last month that he had “continuously given verbal and written instructions” since early January and personally ordered the quarantine of about 60 million people in Hubei province, according to a transcript published by top Communist Party publication the Qiushi Journal.

China announced on Tuesday that there had been just 17 new infections in Wuhan—with none in the rest of Hubei—and 17 more deaths in the entire province. Hubei’s health commission has confirmed a total of more than 67,700 cases and over 3,000 deaths since the disease emerged in December. The virus has killed more than 3,900 people and infected more than 113,000 worldwide, with almost 81,000 of them in China. Despite slowing down in the mainland, it’s beginning to spread more rapidly across the globe, including the US, Europe and the Middle East.

In command

IN an effort to mitigate domestic discontent, China’s state media apparatus has in recent weeks doubled down on efforts to praise Xi’s leadership of the crisis. Through glowing commentaries and by seizing on early containment missteps by the US and other Western countries to which the virus has now spread, it has sought to validate its own hardline approach.

Xi “is in command of the overall situation,” state broadcaster China Central Television said over the weekend. “He has shown great foresight and insight, and is ready to make a firm decision,” it said, praising his “outstanding leadership,” “extraordinary wisdom” and “heroic courage.”

Still, many in China remain skeptical after weeks of criticism that the government didn’t act early enough.

Social media users refuse to back down in demanding answers on the fate of Li Wenliang, the 34-year-old Wuhan ophthalmologist who was reprimanded by authorities for attempting to raise the alarm about the disease before succumbing to it.

To assuage those concerns, Xi has shaken up the personnel in charge of Hubei. Last month, he replaced provincial party chief Jiang Chaoliang with Ying Yong, the mayor of Shanghai. Wuhan’s party chief was also removed. Bloomberg News

US warns 7 companies over fraudulent COVID-19 claims

U

S regulators warned seven companies to stop selling soaps, sprays and other concoctions with false claims that they can treat the new coronavirus or keep people from catching it.

The warnings were e-mailed on Friday to companies based in the US, Canada and the UK and were announced on Monday. Nearly all the targeted companies had complied by Monday morning, with mentions of the virus or products to treat it taken off their websites.

The letters, sent jointly by the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission, warned the companies their products for treating COVID-19 were fraudulent, “pose significant risks to patient health and violate federal law.”

There are no approved treatments for the new virus. Potential treatments and vaccines now in testing won’t be ready for many months or more than a year, but fake ones keep popping up.

The two agencies sent letters to these companies: Vital Silver, Quinessence Aromatherapy Ltd., NEnergetics, GuruNanda LLC, Vivify Holistic Clinic, Herbal Amy LLC and

The Jim Bakker Show.

Last month, Bakker’s streaming program aired an episode in which a guest of the disgraced televangelist promoted colloidal silver—silver particles in liquid—claiming it had been tested on previous coronavirus strains and eliminated them in hours.

Such scams typically flourish during epidemics of new diseases, including after the 2015-2016 Zika virus outbreak. The scams often prominently include glowing testimonials from supposedly cured people, but in fine print state the products aren’t intended to treat or cure any medical condition.

The seven companies’ products ranged from inexpensive items to pricey ones, such as Herbal Amy’s $155 Corona Protocol — four bottles of tinctures and tea.

In an e-mail, proprietor Amy Weidner said Herbal Amy isn’t selling treatments, just herbs.

“Within the herbal product description I simply quoted an herbalist. That quote has been removed to adhere to the FDA requirements,” Weidner wrote. The product was still on her site on Monday. AP

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Wednesday, March 11, 2020 A5

Italian premier locks down entire country to stop virus

M

ILAN—Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte put his entire country on lockdown on Monday to combat the coronavirus, banning all but the most important travel and putting the final kibosh on social gatherings after Italians failed to take previous warnings to heart amid skyrocketing infections.

Two days after imposing the same strict measures on a quarter of the country, in the hard-hit north, Conte urged all 60 million Italians to stay home. The only travel allowed will be for proven work reasons, for health conditions or other cases of necessity.

“Our habits must be changed, changed now. We all have to give up something for the good of Italy. When I speak of Italy, I speak of our dear ones, of our grandparents and of our parents,” Conte said. “We will succeed only if we all collaborate and we adapt right away to these more stringent norms.”

The nationwide restrictions take effect on Tuesday until April 3 and include extending the closures of schools and universities and closing pubs, eateries and cafes at dusk.

Conte took to task young people who continued to gather socially as the virus spread, saying “this night life...we can’t allow this any more.”

Italy registered 1,807 more confirmed cases as of Monday evening, for a national total of 9,172. The number of dead in Italy also increased by 97 to 463—most of them elderly with previous ailments.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.

According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

In mainland China, where the virus first exploded, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed and more than 58,000 have so far recovered.”

Despite registering the largest number of cases outside of China, Italy has seen only superficial compliance with measures aimed at reducing social contact, including closing cinemas and theaters and banning fans from soccer games.

The government gradually expanded the so-called red zones.

Restrictions on movement initially applied to 11 towns in northern Italy with a total population of around 50,000 people before being expanded on Sunday to all of Lombardy and 14 provinces in the neighboring regions of Veneto, Piedmont and Emilia Romagna.

On the first business day since the government locked down a broad swath of the north, confusion reigned over who could go where and under what circumstances on Monday.

Streets in Milan, Italy’s financial hub and the main city in Lombardy, were unseasonably quiet. For the first time, checkpoints were set up at the city’s main train station to screen travelers. People at Milan Central Station were required to sign a police form, self-certifying why they were traveling.

“Until a few days ago, the thinking was the alarm would pass in some weeks, we just need to follow the rules. Now we need to explain to citizens that the situation is very, very serious, our hospitals are at the point of collapse,” the mayor of the Lombardy city of Bergamo, Giorgio Gori, told RAI state television. People circulating inside the city and in the provinces were subjected to spot checks to ensure they had valid reasons for being out. Violators risked up to three months jail or fines of €206 ($225).

Earlier on Monday, civil protection authorities shut down all ski areas nationwide after one tried to tempt kids who are locked out of school to the slopes. That signaled an end to patience with the sort of wheeling-and-dealing that is often admired in Italy.

Under the extended measures, casual errands are out. The time-honored Italian tradition of an espresso at the corner cafe—gone. Customers now are required to take tables, if possible, the one furthest from the bar. The evening aperitif is also frowned upon; bars close at 6 p.m. Even going to the grocery store is a major expedition.

Sofia Celeste, a single mother of two in Milan, was hoping to avoid going out for groceries by ordering online, but deliveries for Milan are booked solid until next week. “It sounds like we should not go anywhere,” she said. “I organized a dinner with the girls’ babysitter, and was going to do some shopping, but even then I feel like it’s risky.”

Her water-delivery man—who has a heart condition—arrived on Monday wearing a mask. “He said, ‘I have to work,’” Celeste recounted. Her small family in isolation is being sustained by e-mails from the parish priest saying they are missed and a note from the catechism teacher sending the kids messages and prayers.

The regions affected by the decree are among the most productive in Italy. Industry leaders worried about a perception being created abroad that all business was shut down

and commercial deliveries of exports cannot be made.

The civil protection agency has emphasized that commercial freight is not affected by the crackdown.

Sportscar maker Ferrari, in Modena province, which went on lockdown on Sunday, said that production was continuing after the company “activated all of the measures necessary” to allow employees to keep working. But it noted that continued production “is subject to that of our suppliers, with whom we are in constant contact.”

Pirelli tire maker said there would be no immediate impact on its Italian production, 7.5% of the group’s total, split between one plant inside the containment area and one outside.

Pirelli said that precautions were being taken to safeguard the health of workers, and it did not anticipate issues transporting goods.

For travelers and commuters, procedures at Milan’s main train station were tightened significantly. Police officers in masks backed by pairs of masked armed soldiers checked tickets and documents of people arriving and departing.

Patrizia Peluso arrived at the station on Monday from a five-day holiday with her two children in Lapland, Finland. They had to reroute their return flight through Rome after airlines canceled flights to Milan. They grabbed a Naples-Turin train in Rome, connecting two cities not subject to the quarantine, and were among the few passengers to get off in Milan. AP

A6 Wednesday, March 11, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Panic buying won’t drive the virus away

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armers currently harvesting their crop are expected to augment the country’s rice inventory shortly. This is good news following the recent announcement by the Department of Agriculture (DA) that the country’s nationwide rice inventory is only good for 80 days (See, “Govt aims to keep rice imports at 1.6 MMT,” in the BusinessMirror, March 6, 2020).

The current inventory also consisted of imported rice brought in by traders under a deregulated environment, which allows them to import rice provided they secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) and pay the 35-percent tariff.

Aside from rice, poultry raisers belonging to the United Broiler Raisers Association said the country has enough poultry supply (See, “Weak demand, high inventory cut farm-gate price of broiler,”in the BusinessMirror, March 9, 2020). Ubra said the price of live broiler has been declining in the last three weeks, as fewer people frequented malls and dined out due to recent developments of an increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country. What is surprising, though, is that the retail price of chicken remains elevated based on DA’s monitoring report.

What the DA and local producers are saying is that local food supply is sufficient for now. A look at the DA’s latest report on Metro Manila’s wet markets indicates that prices of food items, such as pork, chicken and fish, are stable. The data does not show any aberrations or abnormal movements in prices, indicating that supply of essential food items is steady.

With the confirmation of more COVID-19 cases, business activities in some Metro Manila cities could slow down. This is understandable, considering the statement of experts that “social distancing” is an effective way of preventing the spread of the virus. To stop the virus from being passed on to other people, experts continue to discourage large gatherings and the staging of events, and this could further help swell the inventory of some food items.

However, the stability of the country’s food supply is currently being threatened not by the virus itself, but by the tendency of some consumers to overreact, resulting in panic buying. While we understand the apprehension of Filipinos in times like these, particularly in areas where there are confirmed virus infections, panic buying will not make the virus go away. Worse, this will only hurt the poor as hoarding consumer goods could jack up prices.

We urge concerned government agencies to monitor the supply of food items and other consumer goods, and ensure that retailers and traders will not take advantage of the situation. Government must watch out for signs of hoarding, a strategy used by traders to boost the prices of their products. Jacking up prices at this time is not warranted and unconscionable considering the health crisis facing the nation.

Certain mechanisms, such as the price freeze and suggested retail price scheme, are still in place to ensure that food items and other consumer goods will remain affordable. We call on the government to see to it that retailers, particularly in wet markets, are adhering to the SRP. Also, government should apprehend those found violating the price freeze on essential medicines and medical supplies.

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SSS supports women empowerment thru the Expanded Maternity Leave Law Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

O

ver the years, society’s perception and recognition of women have significantly changed. Equal opportunities and privileges have been extended to women, thus allowing them to make a name for themselves in society. The Philippines has had two female presidents, and a female vice president today.

We have countless female legislators, champion athletes, as well as business and industry leaders. Even the Social Security System has experienced having female leaders at the helm, with Mrs. Corazon de la Paz-Bernardo as the first female SSS president and chief executive officer, and yours truly as the first female chairperson of the Social Security Commission (SSC) before I was appointed as PCEO in March last year.

To further recognize the importance of women in society, Republic Act 11210, or the Expanded Maternity Leave Law was signed last year. Its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) were incorporated accordingly in the SSS Maternity Benefit Program, making it more meaningful and beneficial, especially for the female members.

One of the most salient features of the new SSS Maternity Benefit is the increase in the number of compensable days, from the previous 60 or 78 days for normal or caesarean

section delivery to 105 days (either through normal or caesarean section delivery). Female solo parents are also granted an additional 15 days leave, for a total of 120 days under RA 8972, or the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act. On the other hand, 60 days leave will be given to members who unfortunately experienced miscarriage or Emergency Termination of Pregnancy (ETP), including stillbirth. Imagine the benefits that this new law gives to both mother and the child: the first will be given enough time

to bond with her child and fulfill her maternal functions, while the latter receives sufficient care that is important in the development of its well-being. Of course, that’s on top of the additional amount of benefit that members may receive, depending on the amount of their compensation levels.

Aside from these, female members may also allocate a maximum of seven days of their maternity leave benefit to the father of their child or to a qualified alternate caregiver. They just need to indicate the name of the child’s father or the alternate caregiver and the number of days allocated once they submit the Maternity Notification to their employer (if employed) or to the SSS (if self-employed, voluntary member and overseas Filipino worker).

Expecting women may also file for maternity leave benefit in advance to prepare for the big day because the benefit can be a combination of prenatal and postnatal leave, as long as it does not exceed 105 days, 120 days or 60 days, whichever is the case. Just be reminded that postnatal care should not be less than 60 days.

To qualify for Maternity Benefit, a member must have paid at least three monthly contributions within the 12-month period immediately preceding the semester of childbirth, miscarriage or ETP. So if you are giving birth in June 2020, the

12-month period immediately preceding the semester of contingency (January to June 2020) would be from January to December 2019.

Make sure that you have paid your contributions until December 31, 2019, to qualify for the benefit. Of course, paying your contributions once you return to work is essential to ensure continued eligibility to other SSS benefits.

These are only few of the enhancements that were made in the Maternity Benefit Program of the SSS. It is one of the many ways to show our appreciation to the strong and deserving women of today.

As we celebrate Women’s Month this March, may we all be reminded of the special women in our lives: our mother, grandmother, mother-inlaw, wife, sibling or daughter. They have gone through, and will be going through, a lot in this lifetime, so let’s make things easy for them by giving them the security and protection that they deserve.

Indeed, the SSS is one with you in providing a convenient and worryfree future for your welfare.

Hats off to all Filipino women!

Happy Women’s Month from SSS!

Aurora C. Ignacio is SSS president and chief executive officer.

We welcome your questions and insights on the topics that we discuss. E-mail mediaaffairs@sss. gov.ph for topics that you might want us to discuss.

Egypt’s economy faces a double whammy

A

By Timothy Kaldas | Bloomberg Opinion

S Saudi Arabia and Russia engage in a war on oil prices, their mutual friend Egypt could fall victim to the fallout.

The timing could hardly be worse for an economy already threatened by the global novel coronavirus epidemic. As always, poor governance is likely to make a bad situation worse.

Remittances, estimated by the World Bank to be worth $26.4 billion last year, make up roughly 10 percent of Egypt’s GDP. This vital source of hard currency comes mostly from Egyptians working in countries dependent on oil exports. A collapse in prices could lead to layoffs, placing downward pressure on remittances reaching Egypt’s banks.

The coronavirus crisis is already affecting Egyptian expatriate workers returning to the Arabian Gulf from home visits. New restrictions require them to be tested for the virus in Egypt before they can go back to work. Huge crowds have assembled outside laboratories run by the health ministry, overwhelming the supply of test kits.

The restrictions will likely grow more stringent as authorities in the Gulf States respond to reports of an outbreak on a Nile cruise ship.

Even before the oil war, two other important pillars of Egypt’s econom-

ic growth—tourism and natural gas exports—were wobbling from the impact of the virus crisis. With people everywhere canceling their travel plans for fear of contagion, the tourism sector was already bracing itself for a hit. Hossam Al Shaer, the head of Egypt’s chamber of tourism companies, says new bookings are down 70 percent to 80 percent compared to the same period last year. The sector brought in over $12.5 billion last year, just under 5 percent of GDP. The epidemic has also reduced global demand for energy, a relatively new problem for Egypt, which has only recently become a significant exporter of natural gas. While oil prices have received the most attention, natural-gas prices have also dropped precipitously, accelerating a trend that began last November.

While natural gas exports are relatively small, valued at $1.2 billion in 2019, the sector has been an important draw for investors and increased

production has allowed the government to save billions in hard currency that used to be devoted to imports.

Yet, another of the consequences of the epidemic, a slowing of global trade, will impact Egypt’s hard-currency earnings from tolls at the Suez Canal, further constricting the country’s access to dollars and adding to its current-account deficit.

The final pillar of Egypt’s economic growth has been construction.

Much of the growth in this sector has been due to debt-driven stimulus that the government has largely channeled through military-owned enterprises. These companies are contracted to undertake large infrastructure projects, ranging from expanding transportation links to building new cities like the new administrative capital on the outskirts of Cairo.

To date, Egypt has been able to sell its debt to fixed-income investors quite easily, as it has been one of the best carry trades in the world.

Large inflows have helped buoy the Egyptian pound against the dollar, adding handsomely to the returns investors have received over the already generous interest paid on Egyptian treasuries. But recent debt auctions failed to meet their sales targets, with only half the six-month treasury bills

on offer sold as investors demanded higher interest rates.

While Egypt has managed to stabilize and shrink its debt-to-GDP ratio, borrowing in the first half of the 2019-2020 fiscal year rose 12 percent. The central bank governor, Tarek Amer, recently boasted Egypt no longer needs lending from the International Monetary Fund since it can access funds from the private sector, but this may soon change. The combined effect of the epidemic and the oil war could increase the risk associated with lending to Egypt, adding to doubts that the country has the revenue to support growing levels of borrowing without support from multilateral agencies.

Without such support, international investors in Egyptian capital markets may look to shrink their exposure in Egyptian debt. They will likely demand higher interest rates as the currency’s excellent performance over the past year is unlikely to be sustained. Government officials may believe Egypt is too big to fail, and that international assistance will be forthcoming if needed, however, the generosity of international financial institutions may be limited as they seek to manage a global economic crisis.

See “Egypt,” A7

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

AP explains: The oil market meltdown and its global impact

Central banks need to sober up for this panic

By David Mchugh | AP Business Writer

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RANKFURT, Germany—A clash of two oil titans—Saudi Arabia and Russia—is sending shock waves through energy markets, with wide-ranging implications for consumers and oil companies, including those in the No. 1 producing country, the United States.

The spat between these vital oil suppliers comes at a critical moment; the coronavirus outbreak is squeezing economies around the globe to the point where world oil demand is forecast to shrink in 2020 for the first time since 2009.

Oil prices fell on Monday by the most in one day since the 1991 Gulf War. The price of US crude fell as much as 34 percent to $27.34 a barrel, a stunning drop for one day and the lowest price since early 2016.

The decline followed Russia’s refusal last week to join the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries oil cartel in proposed production cuts aimed at supporting prices. Thwarted in its search for cuts, Saudi Arabia, the leading Opec member, sharply changed course over the weekend by cutting prices and signaling it will ramp up production.

Here is a look at the oil price war and what it could mean over the longer term in the industry, as well as for consumers at the gas pump.

Q: Why are oil prices falling?

A: First came the coronavirus outbreak, which reduced travel and transport, sharply reducing demand for fuel. The international Brent benchmark had fallen from $69 at the start of the year to around $50 last week.

Then came last week’s meeting between Opec and nonmember countries. On the agenda: a production cut of 1.5 million barrels a day, or about 1.5 percent of global production. The idea was to keep prices from sagging even more as demand is expected to fall this year. Saudi Arabia, the world’s No. 2 oil producer, wanted No. 3 Russia and other nonmembers to take 500,000 barrels per day of the cuts. Since 2016, the Saudis and the Russians have worked together on production issues.

But this time the Russians balked.

They refused to join new cuts, or even to extend previous production cuts that were due to expire at the end of March. And the Saudis hit back, telling customers that they were going to ramp up production and slash prices for Asian customers.

Q: What is Saudi Arabia’s goal?

A: First, protecting market share.

Both Saudi Arabia and Russia have seen US producers take a chunk of their market, and falling prices help keep customers on board.

Second, Saudi Arabia may hope that the pain of low prices will force a Russian rethink. “Saudi Arabia has de facto launched a price war against Russia, promising to sell its oil at a discount in order to maximize its oil revenues,” say analysts at UniCredit bank. “It appears Saudi Arabia wants to cement its position as the world’s top oil exporter and to persuade Moscow to return to the negotiating table.”

Q: What’s behind Russia’s refusal?

A: Russia may have seen no point in cutting production only to lose market share as US shale producers in Texas and New Mexico take up the slack. Analysts say Saudi Arabia may be underestimating Russia’s ability to weather low prices. Both countries are heavily dependent on oil revenues for their state budgets.

But Russia says it can balance its budget at around $42 a barrel for its own benchmark crude. Saudi Arabia,

Egypt. . .

continued from A6

While no economy is impervious to the virus, Egypt’s vulnerability is accentuated by the government’s failure to support growth in the private sector, which has shrunk nearly every month since the IMF bailout in 2016. Depressed levels of consumption, already a drag on the private sector, are likely to be exacerbated

whose economy is less diverse, needs more than $80 per barrel, according to the International Monetary Fund, even though its costs are much lower than Russia’s.

What Saudi Arabia has done is to send prices so low that both will feel a serious crunch.

And Russia may have a longerterm target: the US oil industry.

“The Russians are doing this out of long-term strategic considerations,” said Tom Adshead, research director for the Macro-Advisory consulting firm in Moscow. “Their view is that by doing this, they can damage the financial health of US shale-oil producers and that by doing this they can take a lot of US capacity offline and, thereby, remove US producers as a source of competition. The other thing that is on their mind in all this is that if they cut then that will also primarily benefit US producers.”

“So they’ve decided they’re going to take some short-term pain in order to inflict damage on one of their major competitors,” Adshead said.

Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at financial services firm AxiCorp., says Russian President Vladimir Putin may also have decided to hit back at the US industry after Washington placed sanctions on Russian state oil company Rosneft for marketing Venezuela’s oil.

Q: What does this mean for us producers?

A: The current low prices could constrain activity in the American shale oil industry. A downturn in oil prices in 2014-2016 hurt companies in places like the Permian Basin in west Texas and eastern New Mexico.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, $50 per barrel is the price at which it becomes profitable to drill a new well in the US. Large producers such as Exxon have already scaled back with prices at $50 a barrel. In Texas, the number of active rigs fell from 553 in October 2018 to 398 in January 2020. Around the same time, the oil industry in Texas shed about 14,000 jobs.

“With the growth phase of the shale boom grinding to a halt due to the lack of investment in the industry, now US shale oil could find itself running into a brick wall,” says Innes from AxiCorp.

The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, believes the US shale industry will survive but the risks are high. He warned countries against being rash with big production decisions: “This is not a Russian roulette.”

Q: What’s it mean for prices at the pump?

A: Most of the price of gasoline in the United States simply reflects the price of oil, so lower crude prices should mean lower pump prices with a lag of about six weeks. Right now, they’re at $2.42 according to the US Energy Information Administration.

When crude fell to $36 in 2016, prices at the pump averaged $2.15. Lower pump prices mean people have more to spend on other goods.

The impact is less pronounced in Europe since most of the price is made up of taxes. Currently, gasoline costs €1.32 per liter in Germany, or about $5.70 per gallon.

(Jim Heintz in Moscow, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, Angela Charlton in Paris and Cathy Bussewitz in New York contributed to this report.)

by the crisis. As the military’s economic empire has expanded, thanks to unfair competitive advantages, private-sector competitors have been squeezed.

It is an all-too-familiar Egyptian saga: Poor governance and rentier economic policies exacerbate economic challenges and leave the country highly vulnerable to external shocks. The twist in the tale this time is that Egypt’s feuding friends are making matters worse.

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 A7

Andy Mukherjee

BLOOMBERG VIEW

R

emember the proverbial drunk looking for his wallet under the lamppost, and not where it may have fallen? Global monetary czars are behaving a lot like that.

To them, containing the impact of the coronavirus seems to be all about lowering the price of money.

While that shores up asset prices that are tumbling globally, the effect on actual activity, particularly in ravaged Asian economies, could be the opposite of what’s intended.

Multinationals don’t need cheap money as much as they need banks that can confidently commit more capital to Asia, where demand will rebound after the disease subsides.

For central banks to reduce lenders’ profit margins by slashing interest rates cuts them off at the knees. And that could, in turn, hurt corporate expansion.

If the Federal Reserve were to ask chief financial officers of firms whose supply chains have been disrupted by the outbreak in China, South Korea, Singapore and Japan, it’s not the cost of funding that’s keeping them awake at night, but availability of liquidity

in the right places.

The corporate banking rails on which money moves across countries are provided in Asia by Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc. and Standard Chartered Plc. From hedging currency volatility in countries where firms buy and sell stuff to funding their vendors’ working capital and deploying the cash generated in different countries, multinationals in Asia rely on these three “global locals,” as banking consultant Greenwich Associates calls them.

The US-China trade war has already triggered a search for production bases that aren’t too reliant on the People’s Republic. The coronavirus has further shown the folly of keeping all eggs in one basket.

But a fresh location requires localcurrency funding in a new country.

Turning on such taps is easier for HSBC, Citi or StanChart, recently ranked by Greenwich Associates as the top 3 in market penetration for

banking and cash management for large companies in Asia. “Over the past 12 months, securing reliable financing has replaced cost optimization as the top priority,” say the firm’s analysts Gaurav Arora and Winston Jin. “It makes sense for large Asian companies to turn to banks that span multiple countries and have deep expertise in transaction banking.”

Just when there’s demand for their services, rate cuts, like the Fed’s half-percentage-point reduction, which is bound to lead to more easing now that the entire US yield curve has dipped below 1 percent for the first time, will damage lenders by crimping their ability to eke out a decent net interest margin and investor returns.

Unable to achieve the return that shareholders want, HSBC is cutting 35,000 jobs; StanChart, which last year earned just 6.4 percent on its tangible equity, two percentage points less than HSBC, may be fishing for a new chief executive, according to a story this week by Bloomberg News. Citi’s boss Mike Corbat has been asked why he doesn’t trim down operations in Asia to earn the 19 percent that Jamie Dimon garners at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Citi managed only 12 percent last year.

Indeed, as Greenwich’s Arora says, JPMorgan’s appetite to take on the risk of large companies in Asia has risen exponentially over the past few years because Wall Street’s

biggest spender on new technology isn’t distracted by the problems dogging HSBC or StanChart.

Against this backdrop, if central banks further weaken the profit outlook for the global-local banks by their zeal to cut rates, these lenders may be reluctant to open up their balance sheets to corporate clients, especially with the epidemic prompting them to step up loss provisions to deal with future bad loans. They may also lose critical transaction banking talent to local and increasingly aggressive Japanese rivals that can currently support firms in just a few countries.

Had the coronavirus been hurting global demand more than supply, cutting rates boldly would have been the right response. But, so far, demand destruction is mostly a problem in China, where car sales fell by a record 80 percent in February.

The rest of the world is mostly facing a supply crunch—or in the case of oil, a glut, sparked by a price war among the world’s largest crude producers. One way to deal with supply shocks is to ensure that the nuts and bolts of banking that support production, storage, transport and distribution don’t get corroded by the oxygen of cheap money. Since the 2008 crisis, central banks have gotten so intoxicated by their monetary powers—and so blinded by the idea that they alone can save the world—that they’re missing this important link.

Roads to nowhere won’t lead China out of crisis

By Anjani Trivedi | Bloomberg Opinion

W

ith the coronavirus shutting down large parts of China, plans for big infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy are rising. But what will be built, and for whom?

The scale seems striking. Several provinces have cumulatively announced plans to build or restart around 25 trillion yuan ($3.6 trillion) of projects over the next few years. For 2020, that amounts to around 3.5 trillion yuan of expenditure. To finance this building spree, around 950 billion yuan of special bonds were issued in the first two months of the year, with close to 70 percent for infrastructure. Work has resumed on more than 500 major highway and waterway projects that had been halted with the outbreak, and local governments are pushing for more.

There are also some encouraging indicators as the country begins to emerge from lockdown. Factory restarts and return-to-work numbers are getting better. Rail and freight data are edging up. Machine operating rates have been rising at a faster pace than workers are returning to their jobs, suggesting a rush to show construction activity and boost sentiment. Whether all this building actually gets done is one issue. China has large swathes of land and rural areas outside the southern and eastern regions that could use infrastructure, but they have always needed uplift. A more

pressing question is what purpose is served besides deploying money on roads to nowhere. The economy remains hung-over from excesses of past stimuli. Will one more highway in the hinterland boost car sales?

Can a maglev rail line ease pressures on crippled industrial and tech supply chains?

Much of the spending is intended to address an impending hit to growth from the virus and the latent effects of the trade war with the US. It comes as the central and local governments race to meet targets under the current five-year plan while heading into a new one.

But attempting to prop up growth numbers won’t return workers to the parts of the economy that need it most or get companies the parts they need. The headline numbers might not even be met. A 1 percent increase in infrastructure investment can lift nominal gross domestic product by 0.1 percentage points, according to HSBC Holdings Plc. analysts. That means, they say, that such spending needs to grow by 10 percent to 12 percent, from 6 percent to 8 percent previously, to help reach the growth target of at least 5.7 percent. Home-bound investors have cheered the prospect of

infrastructure stimulus, China’s fallback in tough times. Stock prices of domestic construction machinery makers Sany Heavy Industry Co. and Jiangsu Hengli Hydraulic Co., which should benefit from a push to build, have far outpaced the benchmark Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite index over the last month, even as large parts of China were effectively shut.

The foundations of such hopebased bets are flimsy. Spending doesn’t directly translate to growth because it includes outlays on land acquisition, for instance. In addition, a look at machine-operating rates as of February shows that activity has increased most in the already built-up southern and coastal regions. Meanwhile, the companies that are back to work are mainly state-backed. The country needs factories to be up and running, not smoother roads.

Part of what’s driving these stocks to multiyear highs is that Beijing is pulling out all the stops. They’re off by a few percentage points in the latest rout, but heading up again.

Hundreds of billions of yuan are being funneled to local governments with pressured finances. The issuance of special bonds amounts to directly injecting cash into the construction sector. Approval for the new projects comes straight from the top, arguably ensuring better quality. Yet even if all this building takes off, where will the trucks and excavators come from if parts factories aren’t operating? Demand was already high pre-virus as old

machines were being replaced, but growth was coming down from double-digits.

None of these measures address the problem at hand: an economy with broken supply chains. Beijing’s reflex to build its way out of trouble is the wrong one for this crisis. President Xi Jinping says the government will back “new infrastructure” that includes 5G telecom networks and data centers. Those plans may yield results in a few years, but not in the next two quarters, when the hit to growth and manufacturing will likely be severe.

China has been through this before. If there’s one lesson from its state-sanctioned discretionary spending, it’s that public investment is no longer efficient in China and real return rates have dropped. Each yuan does less for the economy as debt piles up and deepens China Inc.’s existing balance sheet problems. The benefits end up with the state sector, not the smaller and more fragile private side. China needs, as soon as possible, to alleviate the pain from the supply shock that is spilling over and worsening demand. Trucks and excavators can only do so much.

To all this, add fiscal constraints.

The virus has brought extra costs, with public expenditure totaling at least 90 billion yuan, according to HSBC’s analysts. But revenues are slowing, thanks to tax cuts and measures to boost demand.

China’s road to nowhere will be a bumpy one.

The last place you’d think to hide in a meltdown

By Shuli Ren

Bloomberg Opinion

A

S if markets didn’t have enough trouble. With the coronavirus outbreak intensifying, and the first shots of an oil price war fired, investors seem to be left with few good options. Could there be anywhere to hide in the world of corporate credit? China, despite two years of record defaults, may be in better shape to withstand an oil slump than the US. For now, traders in Asia can sit tight and watch how hard the mighty angels on the other side of the Pacific fall.

Oil’s tailspin is bringing back harsh memories of early 2016, when West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude tumbled below $30 a barrel, well beneath the breakeven point for

many American producers. US junk bonds’ credit spread over Treasuries shot as high as 8.4 percent, almost doubling the five-year average.

The price of oil remains a major catalyst there. When WTI falls below $50 a barrel, the correlation coefficient between that level and the spread of junk bonds more than doubles to 73 percent, recent sensitivity analysis conducted by HSBC Holdings Plc. shows. Energy, metals and mining companies represent about 15 percent of the high-yield cash bond market.

To make matters worse, a new host of fallen angels—investmentgrade firms that get downgraded to junk—may make the high-yield bond universe a bit too crowded. The energy sector comprises roughly a quarter of the $846 billion BBB rated

corporate issues in the US. When market sentiment is already weak, the last thing traders need is a flood of new supply.

Asia paints a different picture.

Whereas US junk bonds are dominated by companies that profit from “drill, baby, drill,” Asia is all about build, baby, build.

Just look at who dominates issuance. Even in the throes of the coronavirus outbreak, Asia’s dollar bond market didn’t freeze up, with more than $34 billion of deals in February, up a third from a year earlier.

Mainland companies continued to dominate—as they have in recent years—with 65 percent of the total.

Chinese real-estate developers raised a whopping $6.4 billion. Energy companies, by comparison, barely registered. No surprise there: Most Asian

countries are net importers.

In Asia, what really matters is Beijing’s liquidity stance—and there are signs that the coronavirus is ending China’s corporate deleveraging campaign, which began in late 2017.

From benchmark rate cuts to relending facilities for small businesses, officials are tweaking all sorts of rules to ensure that China Inc. doesn’t face a liquidity crisis.

With many sales offices still closed, China’s highly leveraged developers are by all means distressed. But are they any worse off now than, say, in late 2018, when industry titans were wondering if they’d survive a harsh winter? At that point, Beijing had shut down the shadow financing channels that developers relied heavily upon for refinancing.

A8 Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Worst yet to come for PHL external trade, say experts

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

OCAL economists believe the worst is yet to come for the country’s external trade performance as the latest data may not yet reflect the disruptions caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on global value chains (GVCs).

The country’s export revenues grew 9.7 percent to $5.79 billion in January 2020, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Data also showed import receipts inched up by 1 percent to $9.29 billion in January 2020.

Economists, like former University of the Philippines School of Economics Dean Ramon L. Clarete, said the economy in general may be in for a deep dive given the uncertainties of the situation. But for now, the economy is still living on borrowed time.

“I think we’re still living off the good side of this economy, the economy we used to know,” Clarete told

the BusinessMirror in a phone interview.

Clarete explained the country’s external trade performance is facing an uphill battle given the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19.

He said the current crisis is even worse than the Global Economic Crisis of 2008-2009. While the GEC stemmed from the disruption of financial flows, the current slowdown in trade is a health-related crisis. There are cases where factory workers are prevented from coming to work because of health restrictions to contain COVID-19.

“Given the turmoil that COVID inflicted on world markets, [it] is unlikely that exports will be better in the months to come. The flat imports gives an indication of weak exports, particularly of export items that are part of global value chains.” —Manzano

Action for Economic Reforms (AER) Coordinator Filomeno Santa Ana III added that COVID-19 has caused the breakdown of supply chains, and dampened the confidence of consumers and investors. It will not be addressed by a simple stimulus.

“The situation has greatly worsened amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. It is perhaps wishful thinking, but we hope global collective action will immediately tame the virus,” he said.

Santa Ana said the current situation is also difficult given the US-China trade war. COVID-19 erupted when the trade war had already slowed down investments and growth worldwide.

Brace for long haul

Former Tariff Commissioner George N. Manzano told the Busi-

nessMirror that because of these, it is unlikely that this growth will be sustained given that the recovery of GVCs is highly dependent on finding a cure for COVID-19.

“Given the turmoil that COVID inflicted on world markets, [it] is unlikely that exports will be better in the months to come. The flat imports gives an indication of weak exports, particularly of export items that are part of global value chains,” Manzano said.

Manzano said any hope of recovery is tied to the ability of the world’s health experts to find a cure. This means any disruption caused by COVID-19 will be as long and as deep as the length of time the virus continues to disrupt markets.

However, Manzano said, should a recovery occur, it will be swift. He said assets of firms are still intact, and it would be easy to use them again for production of goods and services.

Other economists, like ING Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa, said it’s difficult to expect that exports will continue on the same growth path given that China’s manufacturing hubs have been closed.

See “Trade,” A2

COVID test kit. . .

Continued from A1

TAIL-END OF A COLD FRONT AFFECTING EXTREME NORTHERN LUZON as of 4:00 pm - March 10, 2020

The DOST also helped Destura in forming his spin-off company Manila HealthTek. Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said the DOH-FDA called a meeting on March 9 to proactively look for alternative options to enhance ongoing efforts in testing suspected cases. This is an opportunity given by FDA for proponents of technologies to present their findings and ongoing validations.

The meeting, however, does not imply FDA endorsement.

This is the fastest and legal way to have access to technology under a state of emergency. This can empower testing centers to be able to test cases.

De la Peña said the test kit developed by the team led by Destura was presented at the March 9 meeting.

This research program actually included the dengue diagnostic kit, leptospirosis kit, etc.

Destura’s technology spin-off company, Manila HealthTek, produces local diagnostic kits.

UP owns the intellectual property. Manila HealthTek was licensed.

During the March 9 meeting, the FDA gave a certificate of exemption (COE) instead of product certificate of registration to allow UP NIH to use the test kit under the category of field validation—also to be funded by DOST. This validation category will prevail until a WHO validation is obtained.

Until this WHO validation is obtained, FDA requires an additional layer of risk mitigation measure. This means that the first 500 tests will involve a parallel sequencing technology with the help of the Philippine Genome Center in UP Diliman. This will be at no additional cost to the patient, de la Peña explained.

The FDA emergency use approval will also provide access to private hospitals with PCR capability to be involved.

The DOST-supported UP NIH test kit, which is produced by Manila HealthTek, will cost P1,320 per test. It includes the P200 for RNA extraction.

The current cost for the foreign counterpart is at the P8,000 level. The required genetic sequencing is part of the validation cost, which is on top of the test cost.

The available 6000 tests now can be made available in three weeks—1,000 this week; 2,000 next week, 3,000 week after next.

An additional 20,000 tests can be made available after that. The cost for the first 2,625 tests is already covered by available DOST funds.

De la Peña said the remaining P34.6 million still has to be sourced from funds to be allocated to address the COVID-19 epidemic.

Lyn Resurreccion

THE FOX JU EpiraQUICK barsBROWN D.O.E., Transco OVER LAZYus–NGCP DOG. THE from THE auditing LAZY DOG

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

T

HE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said Tuesday that it would not agree to the proposed comprehensive system operations audit to be conducted by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo).

The audit sought to be conducted by the DOE and TransCo “amounts to a prohibited exercise of regulatory power, as denied to them by the governing law,” said the NGCP. It added that when the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) was enacted into law, the Legislature carved out the authority to “regulate private-sector activities” from the DOE’s functions, and expressly transferred the same to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

NGCP President Anthony Almeda was supposed to say this himself during the scheduled Senate Energy Committee hearing Tuesday morning, but the hearing was canceled right away. NGCP representatives told lawmakers that Almeda is currently in the hospital. No other details were provided.

Almeda, in a prepared speech, said TransCo actually conducts, and NGCP permits, a regular periodic inspection of the substations and transmission assets nationwide.

This regular periodic inspection is defined under Section 7.03 of the Concession Agreement, which grants the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

(PSALM) and TransCo the right “to inspect the transmission assets and witness any aspect of the performance of this agreement.”

Section 10.01 also refers to PSALM’s right to “audit the concessionaire’s compliance, and performance, with its obligations under this agreement and other transaction documents.”

“In fact, TransCo will conduct another inspection this March. It is a regular, continuing and ongoing inspection. This physical inspection is apart from its access to NGCP’s books and financial records,” Almeda’s prepared speech released to the media stated.

Poverty. . .

Continued from A1

a little over 300 workers.

These establishments included hotel, restaurants and tourismrelated sectors, and a few manufacturing firms. Tutay said many of the affected firms are located in four regions: Central Luzon; Western Visayas, which includes Boracay; Central Visayas, which includes Cebu; and Soccsksargen.

Tutay said there are also 734 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been displaced in Macau, sme of them terminated while others placed on unpaid leave.

Remittance

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said the BSP projects a decline of between 0.2 percentage points and 0.8 percentage points on remittance growth for the year.

This was due to temporary ban on deployment of workers to China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Dakila said this is based on a baseline number before COVID-19, when there was 3-percent remittance growth.

Dakila said mainland China accounted for just 0.1 percent of 2019 total remittances. “That’s why reduction in remittances is still quite small. Our previous experience

The NGCP explained that the general provisions of Sections 7.03 and 10.01 must, however, be read in conjunction with other provisions of the concession agreement, especially those which restrict their general scope.

One such limiting provision, NGCP pointed out, is Section 2.01, which states that “the concessionaire, as the regulated entity, is to be regulated by the ERC. Neither PSALM nor TransCo has any regulatory rights, for any act or inaction of the concessionaire that are within the regulatory authority of the ERC, to [1] make its own determination, or [2] impose any penalties on the concessionaire.”

“It is very clear, therefore, that PSALM’s or TransCo’s right to inspect, or audit, NGCP under the concession agreement cannot encroach into matters that are within the exclusive regulatory power of the ERC. But TransCo and PSALM are asking to do just that,” he said.

“Such an audit will allow TransCo to make its own determination of whether NGCP’s system operations ensures the reliability, security and integrity of the Grid, in direct contravention to the concession agreement. These are determinations that only the ERC can make under Sections 7.03 and 10.01,” added Almeda.

Further, Almeda pointed out that the reversion of the transmission system to PSALM or TransCo will also contradict the government’s own determination, through the Epira, that the public is better served if the transmission business is in private hands.

“No one can dispute that NGCP complied with the government’s directive to infuse massive investments for the improvement and modernization of the transmission assets to serve the national economy.

NGCP also put plans and projects in motion for improvements and upgrades of the transmission assets, because it believed, in good faith, that its control, maintenance and operations of the transmission assets would continue for the duration of the concession period. At the end of the concession period, all these investments in the transmission system will belong to the government,” he said.

has shown that remittances can be quite robust—there’s still a shifting going on from one country to another in response to any unforeseen shocks, as we have seen in the past,” he said.

PhilHealth cover

In order to keep Filipinos, especially low-income families, from falling into poverty in the time of Covid-19, Dominguez said the Department of Health will provide health assistance.

Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said PhilHealth is offering a health package of around P80,000 per member who is infected with COVID-19.

Duque said there is a P14,000 worth isolation package per member; a P16,000 package if symptoms progress; and a P32,000 package if the virus progresses to severe pneumonia.

PhilHealth also covers testing costs at P6,000 cover per test. Each patient must be tested to determine if he/she is infected by the virus and must test negative twice before he/ she is released.

Diseases are among the reasons for households falling into poverty. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority said householdout-of-pocket payment reached P372.8 billion, or 54.5 percent of Current Health Expenditures in 2017.

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Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

B1

SMC offers to pay PSALM ₧23-B capacity fees, in advance

S

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

AN Miguel Corp. (SMC) chief Ramon S. Ang on Tuesday offered to pay the government in advance a whopping P22.68 billion worth of capacity fees to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

(PSALM).

The fee represents two years worth of capital payment by SMC to PSALM as administrator of the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Ilijan power plant, spread over the term of its contract.

The advance payment, it said, is meant to help the cash-strapped state firm manage its liabilities.

Moreover, Ang said the amount it is offering would help PSALM raise funds for the government that can be used for various state projects, including funding efforts aimed at addressing the Covid-19 virus.

Ang, in a letter sent to PSALM, clarified, however, that his offer is separate from the alleged “overdue receivables” of its power arm South Premiere Power Corp (SPPC), amounting to P23.9 billion. The

amount is the subject of a court case pending since 2015, stemming from differences in computing generation charges.

“While we have an ongoing court case with PSALM regarding the computation of generation fees for the Ilijan plant, as a stakeholder in the power industry and, more importantly, a proactive partner of government in nation-building, we sincerely want to help PSALM raise funds for government,” said Ang. It will be recalled that PSALM calculated generation charges based on the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices to maximize its earnings from the IPPA (Independent Power Producer Administration), while SPPC uses a fixed rate approved by the Energy Regulatory

Commission (ERC).

SPPC said selling Ilijan’s reliable baseload capacity to the WESM would have exposed consumers to the erratic surges of prices in the market and put them in violation of their power supply contract.

“Right now, the best and quickest way we can do this ahead of a decision on our case, is to fully pay the P22.6 billion remaining balance in capacity charges of SPPC for the Ilijan power plant, in full,” Ang stressed.

According to its original IPPA contract, as payment for its right to market the capacity from the power plant, SPPC is supposed to pay PSALM fixed monthly payments up to June 2022. SMC, through SPPC, originally won the bidding for the Ilijan plant for $870 million.

By the time the contract ends in 2022, SPPC would have paid P392 billion for the Ilijan plant, more than double its bid price, broken into P97.5 billion in fixed monthly capacity fees, and P294.7 in generation fees.

A brand-new power plant with the same capacity as Ilijan, would cost only about P40 billion today.

As of January 2020, SPPC has dutifully paid PSALM P240.7 billion in generation charges and P73.9 billion in capacity fees.

“We have to let the courts decide

MPTC sets aside ₧60-B capex for 4 big projects

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

M

ETRO Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), the expressway holdings subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), is spending roughly P60 billion in capital expenditures this year, covering four major thoroughfare projects in Luzon and Visayas.

Christopher C. Lizo, the company’s CFO, said the amount will be used to build and continue the construction of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEx), the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax), the C5-South Link Expressway and the Nlex Connector.

The amount is three times higher than the capital outlays in 2019, when the tollways group spent roughly P20 billion to develop its existing tollroads, as well as to jumpstart the construction of new ones.

“Almost everything is fully funded already via project financing. The equity portion comes from our parent company, MPIC,” Lizo said in an interview. “We’re not raising new financing this year.”

He added that the capital expenditures program hinges on the

delivery of the needed easement for the projects.

ROW, on time

“The assumption is that right of way will be delivered on time,” he said.

Lizo noted that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has committed to deliver substantial portions of the easements for the four expressway deals.

So far, the right of way for C5South Link stands at 80-percent delivered, while that of the connector road is now at around 60percent to 70 percent. The right of way for Calax should be fully delivered by June, while that of Cebu is at 100 percent, as it traverses Philippine waters, and not roads.

CCLEx is a P30-billion toll bridge project that will span 8.5 kilometers to connect Cebu City and Cordova. It will serve as a third bridge serving over 50,000 vehicles daily, helping reduce traffic congestion at the two existing bridges that connect Mactan and mainland Cebu.

The P35.43-billion Calax, on the other hand, is envisioned to be a four-lane, 45-kilometer roll road connecting the Manila-Cavite Toll

Expressway (Cavitex) and the South Luzon Expressway (Slex). It will have eight interchanges, namely: Kawit, Daang Hari, Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway, Silang, Santa Rosa-Tagaytay, Laguna Boulevard, Technopark and a Toll Barrier before Slex.

Meanwhile, the C5-South Link Expressway is a P10-billion tollways project that aims to connect the C5 Road in Taguig to the Cavitex, cutting travel by 20 minutes.

It will span 7.7 kilometers and will help remove about 250,000 vehicles per day from Edsa.

Lastly, the P14-billion Nlex Connector is a link tollroad that will span 8 kilometers from the new Caloocan Interchange to the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, linking Nlex to the Slex. Upon full completion in 2021, the Nlex Connector will significantly cut travel time from Nlex to Slex by at least 60 percent. Instead of the usual two hours, travel time will be reduced to about 20 minutes.

Combined, MPTC’s subsidiaries operate the largest network of expressways in the Philippines. Aside from local thoroughfares, the company also has interests in tollroad firms in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

Petron’s ’19 net income plunges 67% on lower sales, shutdown

P

ETRON Corp.’s net income last year plunged 67 percent to P2.3 billion from P7.1 billion in 2018 on account of lower sales as a result of its refinery shutdown in April last year.

Revenue in 2019 was 8 percent lower at P514.4 billion from a year ago as sales volume was slightly lower at 107 million barrels from the previous year’s 108.5 million barrels.

The oil firm’s Bataan refinery underwent emergency shutdown as a result of the earthquake. During the shutdown, Petron saw a

5-percent decline in Philippine volumes. However, Petron Malaysia’s domestic volumes grew by 3 percent. This helped offset the decline in Philippine volumes.

The company’s Philippine operations posted a net loss of P1.4 billion compared to the net income of P2.8 billion last year.

“The company’s refining business in the Philippines incurred losses due to low production, as well as start-up and stabilization activities in August to September last year. The financial results were also affected by the weak refining

margins,” Petron said.

The market remained volatile during the year due to political tensions in the Middle East and uncertainties in the global economy.

As average Dubai crude fell to $63 per barrel in 2019 from $69 per barrel in 2018, regional prices of finished petroleum products and petrochemicals also dropped amid an oversupply but slowdown in demand. On the other hand, average crude premiums in 2019 rose by almost threefold from the previous year, further depressing the margins. Lenie Lectura

on the case and let due process take its course. Both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals (CA) have already said it is the Mandaluyong RTC that has jurisdiction over the case. Let’s not muddle the facts and confuse the public,” he said.

Ang explained that the contract was designed specifically to protect consumers from higher and fluctuating prices in the WESM. Moreover, because of its nature as a baseload plant, the Ilijan capacity has been, and continues to be, fully contracted to bilateral customers, primarily Meralco. It is one of the most reliable and critical sources of power baseload power in the Luzon grid, which continues to experience issues on reliability and supply issues.

“We hope that PSALM interprets this prepayment as a gesture of good faith on our part. Like them, we also have a purpose. Ours is to provide consumers with stable and more affordable electricity. This is one of the main reasons why the Ilijan capacity has always been sold to bilateral customers, and not the WESM,” Ang said.

“This is also why, on top of the IPPA contracts, we continue to invest in new, modern power plants, to help provide stable, affordable electricity supply to consumers,” he added.

Davao firm to open direct banana route from Mindanao to Mideast

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

D

AVAO-BASED Reefer Express Line of the Filipinas Inc. (Reefer Filipinas) said it will launch a direct shipping route between Mindanao and the Middle East to allow local banana growers to directly tap the growing Middle Eastern market for their produce.

Reefer Filipinas President and CEO Felix S. Ishizuka told the BusinessMirror they are keen on launching their first Davao-Saudi Arabia-Iran route by April as they are able to consolidate 200,000 boxes of bananas for export to the Middle Eastern market.

Ishizuka claimed this will be the first commercial direct shipping route between Mindanao and Iran. He noted that only one company has a vessel shipping directly to Middle East. This, Ishizuka pointed out, leaves banana growers with no choice but to sell their produce to this company and even competing with the firm’s own banana production.

“There is no player going directly to Iran. So, how can our small growers be able to penetrate the Middle East market?” he told the BusinessMirror in an interview at Reefer Filipinas’s office in Makati.

Ishizuka said his firm has signed an agreement with the prospective first exporters to use the new route with a current consolidated volume of 150,000 boxes today. He explained that the volume should be at least 200,000 boxes for the route to launch.

“The 50,000 boxes would be easy to fill up.

We are very positive that this Philippine-Middle East direct liner service will fly very, very soon.

We’re looking at April,” he said.

“Now, we are giving our small banana growers an option to penetrate the Middle East market,” he added.

Ishizuka said the Mindanao-Middle East route would ply every once a month after launching,

eventually increasing to twice a month once volume increases and stabilizes.

Through the new shipping rouute, Ishizuka said local growers will have more elbow room to negotiate prices directly with the importers or traders of the importing country.

“At present, banana growers are forced to engage in fixed long-term contracts at low price regardless of market conditions,” he said.

Last year, Saudi Arabia overtook Iran as the top buyer of Philippine bananas in the Middle East, with a total volume of 189,268.144 metric tons (MT) worth $66.452 million, according to Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data.

The volume was more than double the 83,432.030 MT of bananas, worth $28.896 million, exported by the Philippines to Iran in 2019, PSA data showed.

Nonetheless, Philippine cavendish exports to Iran grew 16 percent to 188,822.546 MT, while its value rose 22.29 percent to $58.415 million, PSA data also showed.

Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chairman Emmanuel F. Piñol, a former Agriculture secretary, said the new route to be opened

by Reefer Filipinas is a welcome development that allows banana growers, mostly in Mindanao, to find other options amid trade disruptions in China caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Piñol added that they are “working closely” with Reefer Filipinas for the Mindanao-Middle East shipping route.

“We have to find new markets for our Cavendish bananas in view of the current health crisis in China which has affected the shipment of bananas and other products,” Piñol told the BusinessMirror.

Economist Pablito M. Villegas, a former Land Bank of the Philippines vice president, said the direct shipping route “would entail lesser costs” for both importer and export—something “good for the economy” and the local growers.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

March 10, 2020

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

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH VANTAGE

46.05 134.1 70 23 9.65 49.35 10.62 18 26.9 47.4 103.5 19 134 57.2 17.74 3.05 0.6 0.36 691.5 0.67 150.1 1.11

48.95 139 71.5 23.2 9.88 49.5 11.2 18.96 27.3 49.25 124.9 19.14 139 57.3 17.94 3.36 1 0.39 829 0.69 153 1.17

46.05 126.1 66 23.3 9.3 45.6 11 18 26.5 47 103.5 19 130 57.1 17.98 3.06 1 0.33 750.5 0.67 148 1.17

46.05 139 74 23.9 9.98 50.5 11 18 27.35 49.4 103.5 19.3 144.9 57.2 17.98 3.36 1 0.395 750.5 0.7 153 1.17

46.05 125 64 22.2 9.1 45.55 10.62 18 25 47 103.5 18.8 126 56 17.74 3.04 1 0.29 750 0.67 148 1.17

46.05 139 71.5 23 9.65 49.35 10.62 18 26.9 49.3 103.5 19 139 57.2 17.74 3.36 1 0.35 750 0.68 153 1.17

300 3875980 3067790 81400 411800 5148700 8800 3800 143100 800 120 66500 894780 10840 11700 14000 5000 1460000 30 85000 1990 1000

13815 520782744 214028002.5 1886730 3931953 250933025 93836 68400 3749735 38530 12420 1261060 122904571 614753.5 207842 43000 5000 518750 22510 57180 298600 1170

-46537938 -3472052.5 -511885 -270353 -28865725 11000 568465 -105430 24482870 10278 47880 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 1.87 1.88 1.78 1.94 1.5 1.88 8700000 14909030 ALSONS CONS 1.05 1.09 1.1 1.1 1.02 1.09 10000 10670 ABOITIZ POWER 26.3 26.4 26.1 26.6 25.9 26.3 1978900 51728850 BASIC ENERGY 0.156 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.19 0.2 1350000 269000 FIRST GEN 15.7 15.72 14.8 15.88 14.5 15.7 2884400 44197334 FIRST PHIL HLDG 58.35 59.9 60.4 60.4 58 58.35 58500 3417991.5 MERALCO 253 256 257 257 251 253 373280 94781410 MANILA WATER 10.78 10.8 10.5 10.8 10.1 10.8 4056500 43364018 PETRON 3.07 3.09 3.1 3.1 3 3.07 2766000 8473040 PETROENERGY 3.27 3.46 3.25 3.46 3.25 3.46 10000 33120 PHX PETROLEUM 9.5 10.08 10 10.08 10 10.08 150000 1504636 PILIPINAS SHELL 23.05 23.2 24.35 24.35 22.3 23.05 571400 12970775 SPC POWER 8.1 8.19 8.28 8.4 7.51 8.1 342300 2740125 6.6 6.82 6.88 6.9 6.5 6.82 1457900 9946892 AGRINURTURE 2.12 2.13 1.94 2.13 1.8 2.13 3742000 7524130 AXELUM BOGO MEDELLIN 87 94.9 87 87 87 87 500 43500 CNTRL AZUCARERA 14 14.96 14.22 14.22 14 14 3600 50532 14 14.28 13.8 14.02 13.7 14 1244000 17279742 CENTURY FOOD 3.62 4.3 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 38000 136800 DEL MONTE DNL INDUS 5.6 5.7 6.15 6.15 5.55 5.6 22921900 134799757 EMPERADOR 8.12 8.15 8.06 8.18 8.06 8.12 3091100 25123859 SMC FOODANDBEV 66.7 67 68 68 63.4 67 275950 18476933.5 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.59 0.6 0.59 0.6 0.57 0.6 1746000 1021840 1.35 1.36 1.24 1.41 1.19 1.36 30962000 41174510 FRUITAS HLDG 32.1 36.75 32.1 36.75 32.05 36.75 25300 872450 GINEBRA JOLLIBEE 158 159 160 160.9 153 158 1251780 198022833 LIBERTY FLOUR 29.15 42.95 28.05 28.05 28.05 28.05 100 2805 MAXS GROUP 6.18 6.19 6.85 6.95 6.01 6.19 1411100 9022845 PEPSI COLA 1.56 1.6 1.66 1.66 1.52 1.6 682000 1096640 SHAKEYS PIZZA 7.28 7.29 7.4 7.4 7.29 7.29 320000 2342836 ROXAS AND CO 1.28 1.4 1.27 1.4 1.25 1.4 780000 995590 RFM CORP 4.82 5 4.91 5 4.9 5 23800 116819 ROXAS HLDG 1.43 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.45 1.45 28000 41000 0.112 0.12 0.115 0.115 0.112 0.115 2080000 239170 SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA 117.5 117.7 115 123 114.7 117.5 2403060 285860364 1.03 1.05 1.04 1.05 0.88 1.03 4051000 4022090 VITARICH VICTORIAS 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.5 123000 295300 56 66.3 56 56 55 56 340 19030 CONCRETE A CONCRETE B 56 69.9 55 56 55 56 590 32735 CEMEX HLDG 1.05 1.06 1.01 1.09 1.01 1.05 6990000 7336280 8.91 8.92 8.95 9.05 8.02 8.92 959800 8,559,464( EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP 6.9 7 7.1 7.1 6.8 7 65900 452970 13.58 13.6 12.9 14.08 12.9 13.6 1582100 21598386 HOLCIM MEGAWIDE 11.34 11.94 11.1 11.94 11.08 11.94 674000 7952076 8.9 8.99 8.89 9 8.89 8.9 30300 271906 PHINMA TKC METALS 0.77 0.78 0.79 0.8 0.73 0.77 209000 164290 VULCAN INDL 0.7 0.73 0.78 0.78 0.68 0.73 1899000 1355830 CHEMPHIL 140.1 190 200 200 190 190 230 44940 1.73 1.8 1.75 1.75 1.73 1.73 113000 195690 CROWN ASIA EUROMED 2.51 2.55 2.3 2.69 2.05 2.55 12785000 30608570 4.48 4.9 4.6 4.9 4.45 4.9 21000 94700 LMG CHEMICALS MABUHAY VINYL 3 3.29 3.38 3.38 3 3 2000 6380 20.05 29 28 29 28 29 7100 205600 CONCEPCION 1.05 1.06 1 1.13 1 1.06 5021000 5335780 GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR 4.39 4.52 4.28 4.52 4.27 4.39 192000 832300 1.1 1.13 1.02 1.12 1 1.1 512000 546570 IONICS SFA SEMICON 0.83 0.86 0.78 0.88 0.72 0.86 895000 689190 CIRTEK HLDG 5.21 5.34 5.7 5.7 5.06 5.21 1512600 8005757

-170570 -12746350 12072388 -1817018.5 -45949050 -19155458 -547590 -1521365 79800 6275153 -775580 18200 15885640 -23182351 1473780.9998 -571290.5 -5799.9999 1339440 680030 2257688 -1720118 -683580 -636035 -47713780 547870 292800 -633600 5,929,884.9997) -478400 -3547968 -246900 -197200 -3892470 115869.9999 -50000 6920 -1475255

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.56 0.58 0.56 0.59 0.53 0.58 10139000 5629100 ASIABEST GROUP 8.93 8.94 8.96 8.96 8 8.93 208000 1839091 AYALA CORP 610 611 598.5 620 590 610 539020 328794420 ABOITIZ EQUITY 40.45 40.85 41.3 41.3 39.1 40.45 1291600 52423320 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 9.81 9.82 9.9 9.9 9.81 9.81 14721000 144630148 AYALA LAND LOG 1.97 2.03 1.94 2 1.9 1.96 488000 959150 ANSCOR 5.98 6.7 6.1 6.71 6.1 6.4 40100 245549 0.61 0.64 0.6 0.64 0.6 0.61 202000 122100 ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A 0.83 0.86 0.77 0.86 0.77 0.86 232000 182580 ATN HLDG B 0.8 0.89 0.89 0.89 0.89 0.89 1000 890 638 1250 1250 1250 1250 1250 20 25000 BHI HLDG COSCO CAPITAL 6 6.01 6 6.02 6 6 533100 3200614 DMCI HLDG 5.06 5.12 5.14 5.14 5 5.06 17714800 89680648 FILINVEST DEV 9.01 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.6 5000 58000 FORUM PACIFIC 0.216 0.22 0.215 0.229 0.215 0.216 1410000 311400 GT CAPITAL 613 618 610 639.5 600 618 104730 64763355 4 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 13000 55900 HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT 61 61.95 62.4 62.4 59.3 61 2729780 166942422 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 5.03 6.36 6.37 6.37 6.36 6.36 355300 2259961 LODESTAR 0.455 0.465 0.455 0.46 0.45 0.455 430000 194450 LOPEZ HLDG 3.71 3.72 3.67 3.71 3.67 3.71 650000 2397590 LT GROUP 7.6 8.2 7.03 8.2 6.63 8.2 5351000 37988871 MABUHAY HLDG 0.57 0.6 0.54 0.6 0.53 0.57 966000 564930 3.5 3.52 3.35 3.57 3.35 3.5 85728000 299918710 METRO PAC INV 3.47 4 3.75 3.75 3.45 3.47 33000 121160 PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA 0.88 0.95 0.82 0.95 0.82 0.95 9000 7510 SOLID GROUP 0.93 1.14 0.91 0.95 0.9 0.95 176000 160480 SYNERGY GRID 150 165 150 160 145 145 530 79250 SM INVESTMENTS 900 901.5 886 919 862 900 413920 373568350 119.5 119.9 120 120.2 118.2 119.5 293760 35142551 SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES 0.69 0.72 0.71 0.72 0.65 0.72 914000 633810 142 144 140.1 145 140 142.5 760 108928 TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS 0.203 0.225 0.224 0.228 0.202 0.225 1250000 276560 ZEUS HLDG 0.14 0.156 0.135 0.158 0.13 0.156 4780000 725780

88290 -85000 -95642920 -34398265 -5768761 227772 55200 2095762 -49643750 -8796570 4300 -99912035 -2098800 -50050 -33250 -1607822 -89464810 96000 -100180 -223908755 -15481416 -22702 2240 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.66 0.68 0.6 0.66 0.6 0.66 719000 461020 ANCHOR LAND 8.5 8.7 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 3500 29750 AYALA LAND 37.1 37.5 36.8 38.2 36.4 37.1 18829600 706596725 ARANETA PROP 1.2 1.26 1.25 1.26 1.2 1.2 457000 570170 1.45 1.47 1.51 1.51 1.38 1.45 1017000 1501760 BELLE CORP A BROWN 0.73 0.75 0.65 0.74 0.62 0.74 12568000 8536220 CITYLAND DEVT 0.76 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.76 0.77 61000 46870 CROWN EQUITIES 0.151 0.172 0.152 0.176 0.152 0.172 70000 11890 CEBU HLDG 5.96 6.1 6.38 6.4 5.9 6.1 119500 738779 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.3 4.33 4.3 4.34 4.14 4.3 298000 1278200 0.475 0.48 0.45 0.485 0.445 0.48 3430000 1594800 CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY 0.295 0.33 0.28 0.3 0.28 0.295 670000 190750 DOUBLEDRAGON 16.5 16.74 16.2 16.9 15.66 16.74 1062600 16993754 DM WENCESLAO 7.6 8 7.22 8 7.22 8 62500 483797 EMPIRE EAST 0.33 0.345 0.35 0.35 0.33 0.345 130000 43900 1.07 1.08 1.08 1.11 1 1.07 25155000 26480800 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.9 0.91 0.92 0.92 0.81 0.9 3075000 2672260 8990 HLDG 14 14.1 13.94 14.16 13.94 14 556900 7876396 PHIL INFRADEV 0.77 0.79 0.76 0.81 0.68 0.77 1477000 1090070 CITY AND LAND 0.7 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 36000 27000 MEGAWORLD 3.16 3.18 3.11 3.26 3.05 3.16 19975000 63560790 MRC ALLIED 0.146 0.148 0.15 0.15 0.138 0.146 8190000 1191540 PHIL ESTATES 0.31 0.395 0.36 0.36 0.35 0.35 40000 14300 PRIMEX CORP 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.05 2.03 2.03 461000 939030 ROBINSONS LAND 20.95 21 20 21.9 19.54 20.95 2757100 57788444 0.275 0.295 0.27 0.295 0.27 0.27 420000 114500 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 1.8 1.83 1.83 1.83 1.63 1.8 208000 367630 SHANG PROP 2.97 3 2.98 2.98 2.97 2.97 220000 653500 STA LUCIA LAND 2.18 2.29 2.33 2.33 2.19 2.29 246000 546690 SM PRIME HLDG 35.5 35.6 34.75 36.95 34.75 35.5 28317700 1008234935 VISTAMALLS 4.07 4.5 4 4.6 3.71 4.5 209000 878200 SUNTRUST HOME 1.33 1.36 1.28 1.38 1.13 1.33 3397000 4453260 6.19 6.58 6.2 6.58 6.01 6.58 13363000 87667644 VISTA LAND

29750 -114182985 714400 -81900 -269586 -14250 137200 3203798 -127743 -10427930 -720000 -99120 141450 27000 -26760070 14300 688636 335847555 22879.9999 -2613518

SERVICES ABS CBN 20.15 20.3 19.1 20.9 18.5 20.3 1407500 27667591 GMA NETWORK 5.13 5.15 5.12 5.15 5.02 5.13 324400 1642453 MANILA BULLETIN 0.405 0.42 0.405 0.41 0.39 0.405 1590000 638850 1732 1734 1751 1751 1702 1732 59705 103059855 GLOBE TELECOM PLDT 1009 1010 1010 1015 985 1010 218485 219991490 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.041 0.043 0.042 0.042 0.041 0.042 11600000 484100 IMPERIAL 1.2 1.21 1.18 1.2 1.18 1.18 11000 13000 ISLAND INFO 0.085 0.09 0.087 0.09 0.087 0.087 1560000 135750 ISM COMM 1.39 1.4 1.3 1.41 1.28 1.39 16310000 21946780 NOW CORP 1.49 1.52 1.54 1.54 1.42 1.49 2289000 3428880 0.18 0.185 0.18 0.18 0.16 0.18 1230000 217820 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 1.96 1.98 1.89 2.03 1.84 1.98 1135000 2204530 6 6.25 6.5 6.5 6 6.25 6700 42229 2GO GROUP CHELSEA 2.92 2.94 2.98 2.99 2.75 2.94 710000 2046160 64.25 64.8 66.4 66.4 64 64.25 148100 9517964.5 CEBU AIR INTL CONTAINER 92 92.05 86.7 92.95 84.35 92 6194110 557429717.5 11.54 12.96 13 13 11.54 11.54 1000 12840 LBC EXPRESS LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.82 0.9 0.82 0.89 0.82 0.89 325000 282950 MACROASIA 7.12 7.14 7 7.2 6.7 7.14 708800 4989077 2.03 2.04 1.8 2.04 1.5 2.03 9976000 17945310 METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B 2.01 2.07 1.72 2.1 1.6 2.01 196000 362170 PAL HLDG 5.99 6.3 6.35 6.35 5.76 5.99 44500 262514 HARBOR STAR 0.79 0.81 0.82 0.83 0.71 0.81 1176000 911260 ACESITE HOTEL 1.35 1.38 1.29 1.38 1.29 1.38 33000 43050 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.031 0.033 0.031 0.032 0.03 0.032 8100000 253000 GRAND PLAZA 7.2 12.64 12.64 12.98 12.64 12.98 200 2562 WATERFRONT 0.5 0.51 0.53 0.53 0.45 0.5 972000 466895 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.51 6.71 6.5 6.51 6.5 6.51 12000 78030 FAR EASTERN U 800.5 830 815 815 815 815 1350 1100250 IPEOPLE 6.7 7.47 7.16 8.07 7 7.99 63000 444534 STI HLDG 0.44 0.45 0.45 0.46 0.43 0.45 3470000 1557050 BERJAYA 2.15 2.19 2.21 2.21 2 2.19 263000 561090 BLOOMBERRY 6.55 7 6.95 7.15 6.55 6.55 6151800 42194829 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.84 1.9 1.85 1.9 1.84 1.9 21000 38940 LEISURE AND RES 1.52 1.62 1.51 1.65 1.5 1.62 222000 347870 2.55 2.99 2.74 2.75 2.74 2.75 24000 65960 MANILA JOCKEY PH RESORTS GRP 3.75 4.5 3.45 4.4 3.45 3.75 21000 78000 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.36 0.37 0.38 0.39 0.3 0.37 6950000 2509200 ALLHOME 9.31 9.4 9.69 9.69 9.14 9.4 1420500 13363522 1.46 1.47 1.52 1.52 1.42 1.47 4065000 5974800 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 33 33.8 33.4 34 32.3 33 3145900 103758930 56 56.7 57 57.95 55.15 56 1178370 66022639.5 ROBINSONS RTL PHIL SEVEN CORP 150 155 149 151 149 150 421660 63251795 SSI GROUP 1.45 1.46 1.49 1.49 1.4 1.46 5754000 8351940 17.1 17.12 17.2 17.2 16.52 17.1 906700 15424900 WILCON DEPOT 0.37 0.385 0.375 0.385 0.37 0.385 3050000 1142000 APC GROUP 5.55 6.38 6 6 5.21 6 17900 101577 EASYCALL 370.4 375 383.2 400 370.2 375 1070 408544 GOLDEN BRIA PRMIERE HORIZON 0.225 0.23 0.234 0.234 0.206 0.225 7220000 1594510 6.97 7 6.97 6.97 6.97 6.97 16900 117793 SBS PHIL CORP

-62516460 -99445135 43500 90360 161080 12600 -370640 1921 11630 -3151659.5 -15761330.5 1304425 -11100 -196210 26660 -1303400 2379432 1910 1470 -2638618 4558760 -14081375 -2681496 98980 -3742950 2324344 -188000 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 9 9.98 9.51 10.56 9.51 10.56 12200 118012 APEX MINING 0.88 0.89 0.9 0.92 0.82 0.89 2574000 2224060 ABRA MINING 0.0011 0.0012 0.0012 0.0012 0.0011 0.0012 127000000 148500 1200 BENGUET A 0.98 1.17 1.14 1.17 1.14 1.17 170000 195900 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.265 0.275 0.27 0.27 0.265 0.27 560000 150800 CENTURY PEAK 2.68 2.69 2.59 2.7 2.5 2.69 974000 2588100 DIZON MINES 6.1 6.51 6.04 6.52 5.95 6.11 28000 170765 FERRONICKEL 0.7 0.71 0.64 0.71 0.56 0.7 4316000 2875000 -350020 GEOGRACE 0.194 0.196 0.193 0.195 0.192 0.195 930000 180240 LEPANTO A 0.071 0.091 0.086 0.091 0.08 0.091 750000 60890 LEPANTO B 0.072 0.093 0.087 0.093 0.087 0.093 220000 19230 MARCVENTURES 0.53 0.57 0.56 0.57 0.53 0.57 32000 17470 NIHAO 0.86 0.93 0.85 0.89 0.84 0.87 78000 68640 NICKEL ASIA 2.09 2.1 1.9 2.09 1.89 2.09 6062000 12312960 -1167010 OMICO CORP 0.34 0.495 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43 100000 43000 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.54 0.56 0.52 0.56 0.52 0.56 73000 38690 PX MINING 2.6 2.68 2.6 2.69 2.53 2.59 672000 1754820 1408800 SEMIRARA MINING 17.36 17.5 16.8 17.6 16.52 17.5 2434300 42457974 -14449938 UNITED PARAGON 0.0042 0.0045 0.0043 0.0043 0.0043 0.0043 1000000 4300 ACE ENEXOR 5.93 6.07 6.2 6.2 5.48 6.07 431100 2521241 -91608 ORNTL PETROL B 0.0091 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.0091 0.0091 56000000 534000 PHILODRILL 0.007 0.0098 0.006 0.0065 0.006 0.0064 4000000 25300 PXP ENERGY 4.9 4.91 5.01 5.03 4.4 4.91 586200 2811543 36534

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100 100.9 100 100 100 100 2500 250000 AC PREF B2R 495 502 495 495 495 495 850 420750 CPG PREF A 101.2 104 102.5 102.5 102.5 102.5 1000 102500 DD PREF 101 102.8 102 102 101 101 63600 6426230 FGEN PREF G 108.5 111.2 107 108.5 107 108.5 7560 819309 GLO PREF P 502 512 502 512 502 512 200 100500 MWIDE PREF 100.1 102.8 99.95 100.1 99.95 100.1 250030 25018498.5 PNX PREF 4 1026 1028 1030 1030 1028 1028 4220 4338220 PCOR PREF 2B 1010 1030 1010 1035 1010 1035 75 76375 PCOR PREF 3A 1041 1050 1041 1041 1041 1041 555 577755 PCOR PREF 3B 1060 1070 1060 1060 1060 1060 380 402800 SMC PREF 2C 77.75 77.8 77.85 78 77.75 77.8 23640 1840275.5 SMC PREF 2D 75.15 75.9 75.1 75.6 75.1 75.15 2200 165284.5 SMC PREF 2F 77 77.3 77.3 77.4 76.6 76.6 20760 1604146 SMC PREF 2G 75.4 75.95 75.35 75.5 75.35 75.5 79600 5997980 SMC PREF 2H 75.75 76.5 76.3 76.3 75.75 76 61900 4692847.5

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 17.3 17.7 15.7 17.8 15.56 17.7 131100 2222492 176220 GMA HLDG PDR 4.95 5.17 4.94 5 4.9 4.95 44000 217870 -138230

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.82 0.95 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 10000 9000

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 2.1 2.14 2.08 2.15 2 2.1 502000 1036020 -126800 KEPWEALTH 6.57 6.65 6.8 6.8 6.22 6.57 216800 1401310 639 MAKATI FINANCE 1.65 2.46 2 2 2 2 1000 2000 XURPAS 0.58 0.59 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.58 2236000 1254240 53100

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 96.35 96.9 94.85 97.5 92.85 96.35 64190 6139916 38000

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PSALM cuts 2019 debts by ₧15.2B, collects ₧98.4B

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

(PSALM) slashed its debts by 6.05 percent to P27.18 billion in 2019, bringing the outstanding principal financial obligations to P422.011 billion last year, from P449.19 billion in 2018.

Not only did PSALM exceed its original target to slash its debt by P15.211 billion last year, it also collected P98.37 billion in revenues and receivables in 2019 on the back of efficient implementation of its liability management strategies.

PSALM is the entity created by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), which restructured the power industry by privatizing the assets of NPC. The obligation transferred to PSALM was at a high of P1.24 trillion. This is on top of the P16-billion loans of electric cooperatives with the National Electrification Administration that were assumed by PSALM. In a report to Finance Secretary and PSALM Chairman Carlos G. Dominguez III, PSALM President Irene Joy Besido-Garcia said the revenues and receivables came from privatization proceeds, power sales, collections from delinquent and overdue accounts and proceeds from the universal charges (UC).

The state-owned firm also recorded a 93.5-percent collection efficiency in 2019 for current power sales, enabling the firm to collect P11.76 billion from its power customers.

Garcia said PSALM collected P4.32 billion in overdue and delinquent accounts by offering borrowers flexible payment schemes through restructuring agreements or special payment agreements, leading the state-owned firm to surpass its target of P4.12 billion.

“These flexible payment schemes encouraged entities and electric cooperatives to viably settle their outstanding obligations,” she said in the report.

Privatization

Meanwhile, collections from privatization initiatives amounted to P74.66 billion while proceeds from the UC for Stranded Contract Costs and UC for Stranded Debt brought in another P7.63 billion for the firm in 2019.

PSALM’s overhead expenses were also drastically reduced to just 4.67 percent of the total income, equivalent to nearly twice its goal of 8.92 percent.

Moreover, PSALM also achieved an ever better Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization margin of its remaining power assets last year at 14.07 percent,

AEV income down 1% in 2019 on weak power performance

A

BOITIZ Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) said its income was down 1 percent last year to P22 billion from the previous year’s P22.2 billion, dragged by the weak performance of its power unit, which accounted for more than half of its business.

The company recognized nonrecurring gains of P516 million during 2019, compared to the previous year’s nonrecurring losses of P891 million.

The company did not provide a revenue breakdown.

For the fourth quarter of 2019 alone, its net income rose 28 percent to P6.3 billion from P4.9 billion in 2018. It recognized nonrecurring gains of P671 million during the period, versus the P484 million in nonrecurring losses for the corresponding period in 2018.

Power accounted for 57 percent of the total income contributions of AEV, while banking, food, real estate and infrastructure were at 30 percent, 7 percent, 4 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

On a stand-alone basis, AboitizPower’s core net income for 2019 was down 20 percent to P17.3 billion, from P21.7 billion in 2018.

Income contributions from the generation and retail electricity supply businesses, which accounted for 79 percent of total income from AboitizPower’s business segments, was down 23 percent to P15.3 billion, mainly due to

the outages by its coal facilities, and exacerbated by the need to purchase replacement power at higher spot market prices.

On a stand-alone basis, UnionBank posted a record net income of P14 billion in 2019, double from the previous year’s P6.9 billion recorded in 2018.

“This growth was mainly due to revenue growth from the increase in earning assets and improved margins, as well as from healthy trading gains during 2019,” the company said.

AEV’s non-listed food units Pilmico Foods Corp., Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corp. and Pilmico International Pte. Ltd. contributed some P1.58 billion for 2019, or 2 percent higher than the previous P1.56 billion.

The food business local units reported a net income of P822 million, some 38 percent lower than 2018. The feeds business segment posted net income of P456 million, 44 percent higher due to improved margins and reduced financing costs.

Meanwhile, the flour business segment recorded P711 million in net income, more than double from the previous year following increases in margins and volume.

The farms business segment reported a net loss of P281 million, due to decreased margins and volume amid the spread of African swine fever in Northern Luzon. VG Cabuag

significantly higher than its target of 4.88-percent Ebitda margin. The firm also posted a 98.07-percent collection efficiency as PSALM’s collections on UC remittances reached P20.115 billion out of the total P20.51 billion in receivables.

All of PSALM’s proceeds from the UC-Missionary Electrification Charge to the National Power Corp.’s Small Power Utilities disbursed by the firm amounted to P13.241 billion, while those from renewable-energy developers reached P18 million.

For this year, Garcia said PSALM aims to liquidate its maturing financial obligations with a target net reduction of P11.943 billion.

Aside from this, PSALM also wants to privatize the Malaya Thermal Power Plant in Pililla, Rizal, as well as to start its privatization activities for the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan Hydroelectric Power Complex in Kalayaan, Laguna.

To maintain a 93-percent collection efficiency, PSALM targets to collect P10.47 billion on current power sales this year and another P754 million from delinquent and

mutual funds

overdue accounts.

Garcia also said PSALM’s collection goal for this year is P30.59 billion through the efficient administration of UCs, equivalent to a collection efficiency of 98 percent.

“PSALM will also diligently comply with the implementing rules and regulations [IRR] of the Murang Kuryente Act, once they are promulgated, including the submission of requirements to oversight agencies to ensure adequate annual allocation from the P208-billion Malampaya Fund for stranded contract costs and stranded debts, including anticipated shortfalls,” Garcia said.

A total of 81 lots with a total combined area of over 1 million square meters will be disposed by the firm this year under its Strategic Plan approved by the PSALM Board.

PSALM will also fully implement its Restructuring Plan as approved by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations and strive to successfully litigate its pending cases in court this year.

March 10, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 206.01 -21.63% -6.73% -6.19% -18.21% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.0233 -35.94% -10.07% -8.66% -25.96% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.8624 -30.47% -10.84% -8.62% -22.18% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7133 -23.79% n.a. n.a. -20.49% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7085 -17.71% n.a. n.a. -16.58% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.4109 -19.74% -4.89% -5.78% -17.22% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,6 0.6918 -20.73% -8.86% n.a.

-18.96% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 86.92 -30.71% n.a. n.a. -15.88% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 41.

3994 -20.07% -5.07% n.a. -19.27% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 439.66 -19% -5.2% -5.34% -17.48% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,8 0.9037 n.a. n.a. n.a. -12.27% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.0569 -19.2% -4.82% -4.63% -17.87% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 31.0752 -19.42% -3.91% -4.43% -18% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.8296 -19.3% n.a. n.a. -18.51% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.2205 -19.41% -4.39% -3.97% -19.2% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 704.55 -19.4% -4.43% -4.14% -19.21% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6669 -26.62% -7.89% -7.81% -21.67% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.3817 -21.43% -4.87% -4.77% -19.66% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8081 -19.64% -4.62% n.a. -19.25% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.0378 -17.24% -2.18% -2.78% -16.85% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 94.544 -19.13% -3.82% -3.26% -19.16% ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $0.946 -6.36% 1.5% -1.26% -8.01% 5.65% n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.2867 3.04% -6.67% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.4871 -13.13% -4.63% -5.32% -4.84% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0052 -12.82% -4.13% -3.41% -8.06% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.3962 -8.98% -1.29% -4.03% -8.94% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,5 0.1932 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-15.45% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.4385 -5.46% -1.61% -2.54% -9.25% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.3838 -6.47% -1.75% -2.58% -9.3% -2.41% -2.27% -9.78% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.918 -10.25% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.3898 -11.49% -2.04% -2.72% -12.27% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d,2 0.9241 -6.66% n.a. n.a.

-9.02% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d,2 0.8493 -13.87% n.a. n.a. -14.76% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d,2 0.8342 -15.29% n.a. n.a. -16.01% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8328 -14.21% -3.42% -4.49% -14.57% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03935 10.22% 3.87% 2.32% 2.93% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -a $1.0024 1.94% 2.92% -3.42% 0.19% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.7671 4.06% 5.09% 2.78% -3.67% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,7 $1.1209 5.25% 3.53% n.a.

-0.7% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 360.41 4.16% 2.87% 2.34% 0.73% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9128 2.55% 0.53% -0.37% 0.57% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.148 5.06% 5.19% 5.16% 1.02% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2526 4.71% 2.54% 2.21% 1.24% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.3845 6.72% 2.51% 1.62% 1.08% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.4509 3.19% 2.25% 1.78% 12.83% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.822 6.41% 3.33% 1.62% 0.89% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 0.99 8.68% 2.29% 0.93% 2.67% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1262 9.94% 4.82% 2.96% 1.64% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

1.722 9.01% 4.22% 2.36% 1.23% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $472.9 4.64% 2.84% 2.76% 1% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є220.83 2.77% 1.74% 1.23% 0.5% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2319 6.67% 3.5% 2.74% 2.05% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0258 3.2% 1.19% 1.12% 0% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -a $1.1298 7.5% 2.22% 0.84% 3.16% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4647 10.96% 4.26% 3.16% 2.53% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0608701 5.63% 2.32% 1.93% 0.92% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2718 11.61% 3.99% 3.03% 3.04% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 126.75 3.91% 3% 2.27% 0.77% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a,3 1.0332 2.92% n.a. n.a.

0.67% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a 1.2676 6.58% 3.35% 1.84% 0.87% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2721 3.61% 2.96% 2.47% 0.59% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.041 2% n.a. n.a.

0.37% Feeder Fund Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,4 $0.96 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-3.03% 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 January 3, 2019. 2 - Launch date is January 28, 2019. 3 - Launch date is February 1, 2019. 4 - Launch date is November 15, 2019.

5 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 6 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.).

7 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019. 8 - Launch date is December 09, 2019.

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

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Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Time to buy Philippine equities?

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T has often been said that the best time to buy into the equities market is when there is blood on the streets. This contrarian way of thinking does make sense. After all, it would tend to be an oversold market with most investors dumping their positions to get out of a bad market. Hopefully, being able to get a bargain will mean that you maximize your gain as the market turns around and recovers.

However, having blood on the streets is not the only thing you should consider before entering into the market. There are other considerations such as the fundamental soundness of the stock you want to get into and to determine if there are any structural factors that you need to take into consideration.

As to the first factor, is there blood on the streets? The quick and dirty answer is yes! We have gone through the Taal volcano eruption—which caused a decline in the automotive industry by 12 percent—and the more unsettling and ongoing global concern with the corona virus that has affected our supply chain, the tourism industry and the deployment of OFWs. Considering that the Philippine Stock Exchange index has already gone down by about 20 percent from last year, there are some listed equities that may be oversold and undervalued, offering an interesting upside potential. Typically, I would look at consistently profitable companies that have a low P/E ratio, and would have indications of being undervalued with prices at close to or even below book value! Of course, you could also compare these ratios with similar companies within the same industry to gauge how much you really want to take a position on the stock.

You must also take into account industry or company specific issues that will affect the long term value of the equity stock you are planning to buy. These issues could be driven by advances in technology, changing market preferences, piracy, new

Finex free enterprise George S. Chua environmental regulations, international trade agreements, government regulations and politics.

So is it time to buy Philippine equity stocks?

At the very least you should start considering it. Taking into account your other investment alternatives such as time deposits and money market placements which have a terribly low rate of return, perhaps you should take a potentially more volatile position that has a better upside potential in the longer term.

In general, it is probably too late to unload your position particularly if the stock you are holding on to is fundamentally sound. You don’t want to be unloading now when the prices are low and buy it back when they have recovered.

Depending on what you are looking for to suit your investment parameters, such as the need for cash dividends. There are stocks that do historically give consistent cash dividends. With a lower price, and the same cash dividend amount, this means that the yield is now going to be higher. You also don’t want to be part of the bandwagon, pushing the price down as everyone is selling and chasing the price up when everyone is buying.

Understand the situation, do your homework and take a stand. Nothing lasts forever: natural calamities will subside, global pandemics will end, a downturn in the economy is temporary and the politicians in power have a fixed term in office.

You are the only one who can decide if the risk you take is worth it.

Comments may be sent to georgechuaph@ yahoo.com

Cratering US yields pose a disaster for Asia’s giant savers

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he last great refuge for giant Asian pools of savings—US bond yields—is dramatically collapsing, posing a major challenge to investment strategies among pension funds and insurance firms in Japan and Taiwan.

The cratering in benchmark Treasury yields since late January, sparked by fears over the coronavirus and now the bear market in oil, took 10-year rates as low as 0.31 percent last Monday. That was less than a week after they fell below 1 percent for the first time. Yields on investment grade US corporate debt have also hit record lows.

For the moment, the bond rally means big mark-to-market gains for holders of Treasuries, US agency securities and other high-grade debt in the world’s largest fixed-income market.

But as existing holdings mature, and as Northeast Asian economies look to deploy their continuing current-account surpluses, there will be a much less attractive income stream.

“In the very short term, it’s an earnings boost. The problems come in three months,” said Michael Makdad, a Morningstar Inc. equity analyst in Tokyo. “I’ll need to make many adjustments” to recommendations in coming weeks, he said. “The strains are most immediate for Japanese institutions like Japan Post Bank, Norinchukin and life insurers.”

Japan Post Bank Co., which has $1.8 trillion of deposits to invest, illustrates the problem of the big repositories of aging Northeast Asians’ savings. Domestic bond yields are too low to cover the firm’s costs, estimated last year at 0.57 percent of its funds. Even 40-year Japanese government bonds, with 0.26 percent yields, would leave it on a road to bankruptcy.

That’s why the bank poured into US bonds, which offered much higher rates.

Ten-year Treasuries averaged 2.27 percent yields over the five years through 2019, for example. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s biggest pension fund, and Taiwanese insurers have been among those flocking to dollar bonds in recent years.

‘Virtually disappear’

But now they face the potential of permanently lower yields. The history of Japanese bonds suggests they don’t return to previous highs after big declines. Through cycles of Federal Reserve easing, Treasuries, too, for the past two decades have failed to get back to yields seen before the US central bank started cutting rates.

“Attractive assets have virtually disappeared,” Tsuyoshi Ueno, a senior economist at NLI Research Institute in Tokyo, said. “If US yields stay low structurally, banks, pensions and life insurers will all be in a difficult position with their overseas securities investments.”

Those investments are mammoth.

Japanese funds, including the government, had some $1.67 trillion of longterm holdings of Treasuries and agency and corporate bonds as of the latest US Treasury data. Taiwan had $580 billion.

The issue isn’t confined to Asia: institutional investors around the world that need to use long-dated assets to match their liabilities have sought the relatively healthy yields on offer in US debt. European investors who have coped with negative yields on bonds for years now may need to account for risks of any similar move in the US.

‘Little choice’

Even with the rally, US yields for now remain above those in Japan and Taiwan, suggesting that flows to the American market will be sustained.

“There seems to be little choice but to continue to buy Treasuries,” Eiichiro Miura, general manager in Tokyo of the fixed-income department of Nissay Asset Management Corp., said. Long-term money pools may also seek more investments in higher rated corporate credit, Miura added. But the lower yields are bound to bite, particularly if investments are hedged for currency risk. When that cost is high, as it has been at points over the past year, it materially reduces, or eliminates returns. For Japanese investors, hedged 10-year Treasuries had a negative 0.77 percent yield last Tuesday in Tokyo. Bloomberg News

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 B3

Lawmakers OK alternative bill seeking tax amnesty

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

civil, administrative and criminal penalties.

The bill also allows those who would avail of general tax amnesty to opt to pay 3 percent the taxpayer’s net worth as reflected in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Networth (SALN) as of December 31, 2018.

The measure said the bill also provides for the lifting of bank secrecy, automatic exchange of information and the adoption of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca).

The bill also reduces the total tax due if the taxpayer settles the tax liability earlier.

It, however, excludes the following: withholding tax agents who failed to remit withheld taxes; taxpayers with cases pending in appropriate courts falling under the jurisdiction of the Presidential Commission on Good Government; unexplained wealth under Republic Act (RA) 3019 and crimes of Plunder under RA 7080; violations of the AntiMoney Laundering Act; tax evasion under Chapter II Title X of the NIRC, as amended; felonies under Chapters III and IV of Title VII of the Revised Penal Code; and, delinquencies, assessments and tax cases that have become final and executory.

Moreover, the measure allows those who would avail of general tax amnesty not to pay penalties, surcharges, and interests.

The bill also provides those who would avail shall not be liable from any civil, criminal and administrative cases and penalties under the

@joveemarie

HE House Committee on Ways and Means approved last Tuesday the substitute bill granting general tax amnesty for one year on all unpaid national internal revenue taxes for taxable year 2018 and prior years.

Albay Rep. Jose S. Salceda said the substitute bill was unanimously approved by members of the committee.

Salceda, chairman of the committee, said the bill seeks to generate substantial revenue and provide the government flexibility in collecting taxes while encouraging errant taxpayers to settle their liabilities.

According to Salceda, the bill allots the revenue generated to be spent for the establishment of the database of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the government’s social mitigating services and the ‘Build Build Build’ program.

The bill was introduced by House Committee on Economic Affairs Chairman Sharon S. Garin of AAMBIS-OWA Party-list and House Committee on Ways and Means Senior Vice-Chairman Estrellita B. Suansing.

Garin said the bill seeks to im-

prove and increase the level of public tax consciousness, give errant taxpayers a chance to enter the tax system on a clean slate, widen the tax base and ultimately raise additional revenues for the government.

For her part, Suansing said the measure contains the safeguards sought for a more balanced general tax amnesty, given the refinements introduced.

The measure provides that all unpaid national internal revenue taxes such as, but not limited to, income tax, withholding tax, capital gains tax, donor’s tax, value-added tax, percentage tax, excise tax and documentary stamp tax collected by the BIR and the Bureau of Customs within the stated period shall be relieved from payment of penalties and surcharges.

It said a taxpayer who will avail of the amnesty is granted certain immunities and privileges from

NIRC of 1997, as amended, and be exempt from such investigations or suits insofar as the tax liabilities are concerned.

The bill allows those availing of tax amnesty to enjoy settlement and termination of tax delinquencies and assessments and to be immune from all suits or action including the payment of penalties, interests and surcharges, among others. The bill also allows them not to be civilly, criminally and administratively liable under the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 and from investigations or suits relating to the Statements of Total Assets or Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth, and insofar as the tax liabilities are concerned.

The bill penalizes the unlawful divulgence of information of the availing taxpayers including all the submitted documents relating to the availment of any of the tax amnesties.

On February 14, 2019, President Duterte signed the Tax Amnesty Act on February 14, 2019, granting Estate Tax Amnesty and Tax Amnesty on Delinquencies. However, he vetoed Title III, or the General Tax Amnesty (GTA) Act by virtue of RA Number 11213.

The president vetoed the GTA Act until the Congress agrees to lift bank secrecy for fraud cases, to provide a provision for the automatic exchange of information; and to include safeguards to ensure that asset or net worth declarations are truthful.

Fintech gets $20-M funding to fuel PHL expansion

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ong Kong-based technology firm Oriente Hong Kong Ltd. announced it recently secured a $20-million debt-funding facility from Silverhorn Group Ltd., a leading Asia-focused multi-asset investment firm.

Oriente said the facility, which can increase up to $50 million, will be used to grow Cashalo’s loan book and extend the reach of its “fair, inclusive and affordable digital-credit and pay later solutions to millions of undervalued and credit-starved consumers and micro-enterprises in the Philippines.”

“This new funding is in keeping with Oriente’s commitment to invest and expand financial access responsibly in the Philippines,” the company

said in a statement.

According to Oriente, since it launched the app, Cashalo has grown over 20 percent month-on-month. It said that in less than 18 months, the app has been downloaded over 6.5 million times, grown its user base to over 2.5 million consumers and helped over 1.5 million previously ‘credit-invisible’ Filipinos build financial identities for the first time.

“The deal marks a major milestone for Oriente as it is the largest debt financing with an institutional lender it has secured to date, which underlines the quality and bankability of its fast-growing loan book,” the company said. “For Silverhorn, this represents another high-potential investment in the Asean [Association

of Southeast Asian Nations] and in the fintech sector. In addition, these funds will help diversify the funding mix of the company’s loan book.”

“As we enter the next stage of growth on our mission, the support we receive from our debt partners is critical,” Oriente Co-Founder Geoffrey Prentice was quoted as saying. “[Oriente] is one of the very few non-bank lenders that can leverage on alternative data points and an algorithmic risk engine to underwrite credit to the underfinanced populations in the region.

This helps originate and provide a portfolio construction building brick, which is higher-yielding, predictable and uncorrelated to traditional asset classes,” Mike Imam,

Virus seen adding $100B to Asian bank credit costs

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he coronavirus outbreak will add $100 billion in credit losses to banks in the Asia-Pacific region this year with Chinese lenders bearing the brunt of the damage, according to S&P Global Inc. “Some activity will be lost forever,” Shaun Roache, S&P’s Asia-Pacific chief economist, wrote in a note on Tuesday.

“We estimate an income loss of about $211 billion, which will blow a hole in balance sheets across the region.”

The ability of Asian lenders to weather the coronavirus disease of 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak, which now has claimed more than 3,900 lives worldwide, has larger implications for the global financial system. Asia accounts for a bigger share of pretax banking profits than any other region, according to a report from McKinsey & Co. The Covid-19 crisis will likely exert sharp, short-term pressure on Chinese banks and almost a quarter of the ratings and outlooks on the Chinese property sector may come under pressure, S&P said in the report.

“China’s regulatory response so far has been to use the banking system to cushion the economic impact of the epidemic, and provide financing to entities crucial to medical support and contain-

ment of the virus,” S&P credit analyst Harry Hu said. “Banks may need to sacrifice near-term commercial interests, straining institutions already facing capital pressure.”

While Beijing has asked banks to step up with support, it has also acted to mitigate the chaos. Authorities are now allowing the nation’s lenders to delay recognizing bad loans from smaller businesses, giving temporary reprieve to trillions of yuan of debt. Regulators also told lenders not to downgrade loans with missed payments or report delinquencies to the country’s centralized credit-scoring system before the end of June, according to the statement.

S&P said given the relaxed recognition of bad loans, reported non-performing loan ratios for China’s banks could “moderately” rise to 2.2 percent this year, up from 1.86 percent at the end of 2019. The questionable loan ratio could peak at as much as 11.9 percent in the aftermath of the epidemic, S&P said.

Property transactions in China may remain on hiatus for the coming weeks and construction is also largely paused.

Leverage and profitability may deteriorate in the next one to two years, denting credit profiles in the sector, S&P said.

Bloomberg News

Managing Partner at Silverhorn Group, said.

According to Oriente, Southeast Asia is one of the most credit-starved regions in the world.

“Over 11 percent of the world’s unbanked – between 40 percent to 70 percent of adults – rely on informal lending sources and only 33 percent of Southeast Asian SMEs [small-scale and medium-scale enterprises] have access to loans or lines of credit,” the company said.

Oriente is equity-funded by its founders and a group of family offices including members of the Berjaya Group, JG Summit Holdings, Inc., and Sinar Mas. To date, the company has raised over $105 million in equity.

B4 Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Lenovo uplifts students of remote La Trinidad, Benguet school

DLSU is most productive Philippine university in research

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E La Salle University is the country’s most productive research institution based on publications indexed by Scopus. The University has produced more than 600 Scopus-indexed publications in 2019, which is the highest output on record for any Philippine institution in a single calendar year.

DLSU’s publications comprise an estimated

15% of the national research output.

Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of global research literature.

In line with this latest achievement, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Dr. Raymond Tan says, “DLSU is fully committed to kno wledge creation through research as a means of contributing to nation-building.”

PUP-COC to hold Sikat Awards Night

Lenovo employees, alongside sponsor Jollibee, traded in their laptops and workstations for pencils, crayons, and food ingredients as they taught the students of Alno-Kadoorie Elementary School (AKES) in La Trinidad, Benguet lessons in arts and crafts, cooking, and crucial career advice needed for growth and development.

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OR the second year in a row, global technology and innovation leader Lenovo conducted its annual outreach activity of giving back to the students of the Alno-Kadoorie Elementary School (AKES) in La Trinidad, Benguet.

Executives, tech experts, and product managers from Lenovo, alongside staff from sponsor organization Jollibee, traded in their laptops and workstations for pencils, crayons, and food ingredients as they taught the children lessons in arts and crafts and cooking. In addition, they also imparted crucial career advice to senior high school students, who were eager to learn more about the corporate world in the hopes of landing a stable job in the future.

A staunch advocate of education and the youth, Lenovo undertakes various initiatives

and partnerships with institutions to bolster learning. Most of these efforts come in the form of outreach activities, cash and technology grants to partner schools.

“We value education highly at Lenovo as we believe it can go a long way in uplifting the nation from social ills such as poverty and malnutrition. From our various initiatives supporting youth organizations and schools to even our products that specifically target and empower the students of today, Lenovo has never wavered in its support for education and the youth, and we hope that these actions help students in their education and in their roles as tomorrow’s leaders,” said Michael Ngan, President and General Manager, Lenovo Philippines.

During the company’s first outreach activity at AKES last year, Lenovo gave the

school a much-needed facelift after the devastation of Typhoon Ompong which brought about heavy rains, flash floods, and landslides to Baguio City and the whole Benguet province. To help AKES recover after this terrible disaster, the Lenovo team re-painted some of the rooms, including the clinic as well as the Physical Education room, distributed school items to students, and turned over chairs and tables to be used in the classrooms.

AKES has a student population of over 300, most of whom are children of vegetable and flower growers. It is one of the many institutions located across the Philippines that is situated far from urban centers and seek help from both the government and private organizations. Visit www.lenovo.com/ ph/en/ and fb.com/lenovophilippines.

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IKAT Awards is the much awaited recognition day of Polytechnic University of the Philippines-College of Communication. SIKAT stands for Samu’t saring Ideya, Kakayahan, Abilidad at Talento of the students from the four different department of the college.

These are the Department of Journalism, Broadcasting, Communication Research and Advertising and Public Relations. Top and outstanding students will be given recognition for their excellence on their field of expertise through contests and festivals held during the whole academic year.

SIKAT also pays tribute to the graduating students of the college and gives recognition to the outstanding individuals and classes of each department.

This award ceremony will shine on March 24, 2020 at PUP Bulwagang Balagtas, NALLRC building from 3:00pm to 7:00pm.

ANC,the ABS-CBN news channel, begins Global March

Tony Velasquez anchors Broadcasting icon Tina Karen interviews the Monzon Palma continues newsmakers in Headstart Future Perfect on ANC to anchor The World Tonight with Karen Davila

Ron Cruz

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David Celdran

NC, the ABS-CBN News Channel embarks on a new goal of becoming a Filipino global brand.

After establishing itself as the gold standard and primary source of news and analysis for the country’s business and political leaders, ANC now aims to be the information portal of anything and everything about the Philippines for nonFilipinos living abroad.

The nation’s pioneering 24/7 English news channel announced its bid to conquer audiences in the Asia Pacific, Middle East, North America,

Cathy Yang

Christain Esguerra anchors Early Edition on ANC

Karmina Constantino

Latin America, and Europe through the launch of a new station ID featuring its topnotch news anchors led by Philippine broadcasting icon Tina Monzon-Palma from Asia’s longest-running newscast “The World Tonight.”

Together with Monzon-Palma are multi-awarded broadcast journalists and seasoned news anchors Karen Davila, Tony Velasquez, David Celdran, Christian Esguerra, Ron Cruz, Karmina Constantino, and one of the most decorated news presenters and financial journalists in the entire continent, Cathy Yang.

Yang recently won Best News Anchor/Presenter for her work in “Market Edge” at the Asian TV Awards and Asian Creative Academy Awards. She also won three Asian TV Awards trophies before during her stint in another regional news network.

ANC chief operating officer Nadia Trinidad, a veteran journalist and former ABS-CBN News North America bureau chief, said the decision to reach out to a global audience has long been a plan of ANC, where she also served as news production head for six years.

“We’re ready to share the success stories of the Philippines to the world. This is also aligned with the international expansion of our parent network ABS-CBN, which aims to cement Philippines’ position as a nation of innovative leaders, gamechangers, and talented artists with a lot to offer to the world,” she said.

For news, follow @ANCalerts on Facebook and Twitter or visit news. abs-cbn.com/anc online or via the ABS-CBN News App. Watch ANC on cable or via iWant. For updates, follow @ABSCBNPR on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or visit abs-cbn.com/ newsroom.

The Frich Revolution launched to empower OFWs

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ORE than 120 Overseas Filipino’s (OF) from 16 different countries was so ecstatic as they gathered together for the first time for the much awaited “FRICH REVOLUTION EXPO AND MEDIA LAUNCHED” held at Vector Building in Filinvest City in January 2020.

With most of them professionals in their own field, these 120 Overseas Filipino’s are part of the more than 10 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) who tirelessly work to provide for their families.

The Frich (Free and Rich) Revolution, a global campaign pioneered by Terence Lim and Tet Cudiamat-Lim, aims to empower Overseas Filipinos to have a Free and Rich life. The movement combats the poverty cycle that affects Millions of Filipinos who work abroad.

The couple worked as an ordinary OFWs in Milan, Italy, eventually reaching financial success through their real estate business.

They made it their mission to share their knowledge and secrets of success to their fellow OFWs who sought to provide an abundant life for their families.

After more than 10 years of

sharing success to all OF’s around the world the couple get it’s nodding from the President Rodrigo Duterte himself who sent his congratulatory message which was read by President’s Staunch ally and Former Acts OFW Party List Representative Aniceto John Bertiz III. Also present during the event was OWWA Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac who read the Message from DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III. in a message, Bello Stressed the needs of the Department of Labor and Employment to have a collaboration with the Frich Revolution.

Memorandum of Agreement between Frich Revo and OWWA are now in the Offing as the

couple believes there are urgent and compelling reasons to address the worrying statistics on OFWs. According to the Social Enterprise Development Partnership (2011), 1 in 10 OFWs are broke, with 80% of returning OFWs having no savings at all. While remittances remain at an all time high, OFWs only invest 5.2% of their remittances.

Francis J. Kong or FJK Philippines Top Motivational Speaker and Supporter of Frich Revo who also graced the occasion believes that thru Frich Revolution's advocacy many Overseas Filipinos will transform lives as they give free, world class educational events and trainings, plus entrepreneurship opportunities.

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

THE International Olympic Committee and local organizers say the games are on, but the clock is ticking. AP

Sports BusinessMirror

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

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CANCEL TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS?

MASSIVE IMPACT! B S W  G D The Associated Press

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OKYO—The tentacles of canceling the Tokyo Olympics—or postponing or staging it in empty venues—would reach into every corner of the globe, much like the spreading virus that now imperils the opening ceremony on July 24.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and local organizers say the games are on, but the clock is ticking.

The fate of the Tokyo Games touches 11,000 Olympic and 4,400 Paralympic athletes; coaches and sports officials; local organizers; the Japanese government and national morale; international broadcasters; fans; and world sponsors. Add to there are hotels, airlines, and taxi drivers—and even 80,000 unpaid volunteers who will miss a once-in-alifetime opportunity.

“I’ve heard things about possibly the Olympics being canceled, and I think that would stink,” J’den Cox, a two-time world champion wrestler and an Olympic bronze medalist in Rio de Janeiro, told The Associated Press. “It would probably break everybody’s heart if that were to happen.”

The Olympic brand could be damaged, although the Switzerland-based IOC may be among the least-affected parties financially if the games are called off. The IOC has been resolute in its message, although it has a several-month window to decide.

“Hard to imagine this will be defined by the end of May, but it could be,” Dr. Ali Khan, an epidemiologist and dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska, told AP in an e-mail. “Regardless, numerous sick athletes could not lead to a very interesting games.”

“From what we know from numerous other mass-gathering events including sporting events, it is very easy to spread diseases worldwide from such events—from meningitis to Zika,” Khan added.

“Beside welcoming athletes and spectators with their tiny microbes, there is and may be ongoing disease in Japan.”

Kazuhiro Tateda, an expert on infectious diseases and a member of a Japanese government panel, said the virus may not die out quickly.

“Unlike the flu that disappears with warmer weather, the response to the new coronavirus, I think, will have to continue for half a year or a year,” Tateda told Japanese broadcaster NHK on Tuesday.

The IOC has ample financial safeguards against cancellation, which has happened only in wartime since the modern Olympics began in 1896. Its latest annual report shows it has almost $2 billion in

reserve that could cover running costs until the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The IOC’s annual reports show it paid almost $14.4 million in an insurance premium to protect against canceling the 2016 Rio Olympics, and $12.8 million for a policy to cover the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

IOC President Thomas Bach was asked last week after an executive board meeting if the insurance premium has risen to as much as $20 million for a Tokyo policy.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “It wasn’t discussed at this EB.” Wolfgang Maennig, an Olympic rowing gold medalist who teaches sports economics at Hamburg University, suggested the losses will be shared.

“Insurance companies will have to pay a large amount of the losses of the IOC,” Maennig said in an e-mail to AP. “The rest will have to be borne by the IOC.” The IOC controls the Olympics and has wide latitude to act. Its protection is spelled out in the 81page Host City Contract, signed in 2013 with the City

SPECTATORS will be kept away from the Olympic flame-lighting ceremony in Ancient Olympia on Thursday because of the coronavirus. Only 100 accredited guests will be allowed to attend the traditional event, Greece’s Olympic committee said Monday. Shown in photo is Greek singer Sakis Rouvas who wears the uniform of the torch relay runners as he holds the torch of the Tokyo Olympic Games. AP

of Tokyo and the Japanese Olympic Committee.

The preamble to the contact states: “the Olympic Games are the exclusive property of the IOC which owns all rights...to their organization, staging, exploitation, broadcasting, recording, representation, reproduction...whether now existing or developed in the future, throughout the world in perpetuity.”

The contract also specifies that the IOC can terminate and withdraw from the city because of a “state of war, civil disorder or boycott...of if the IOC has reasonable grounds to believe, in its sole discretion, that the safety of participants in the games would be seriously threatened or jeopardized for any reason whatsoever.”

Victor Matheson, a sports economist at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, said athletes are the most vulnerable. The Olympics feature 33 sports, and many of the smaller ones have a limited following until games time.

“For athletes, their career length isn’t long and in

many sports success in the Olympics is your one shot at a financial returns,” Matheson told AP. Matheson said that losses by hotels and other service businesses are unlikely to be insured, the billions on government spending on venues looks like a risky investment. The loss of the Olympics would negate the difficult-to-calculate goodwill that Japan and Tokyo might have won.

An Irish bookmaker is showing odds leaning slightly toward the Olympics not going forward.

Odds are 4-6 that it will not open on July 24 in Tokyo, and even that it will.

Tokyo is officially spending $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics, although a national government audit office says it’s at least twice that much. The local organizing committee budget of $5.6 billion is private money, with the rest coming from Japanese taxpayers. About $1 billion in the local operating budget is to come from ticket sales, which would be lost if the games go ahead without fans in empty stadiums.

“Some combination of the IOC, the broadcasters and the insurers will lose big,” Matheson said. “That loss is coming out of someone’s pocket depending on how all of the contracts are written.”

Andrew Zimbalist, who teaches economics at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, said some of the venues, such as the $1.43-billion national stadium, would have “enduring value.”

“But virtually none of it would have made the list of the priority public investments,” he said in an e-mail to AP, adding that if the games were canceled, much of the investment would be “wasted.”

The IOC has said repeatedly the games will go on, and says it relies on advice from the World Health Organization. The WHO, the UN health agency, has so far resisted describing the crisis as a “pandemic,” which could force the IOC’s hand. But many experts say that threshold has already been met. More than 113,000 people have been infected worldwide from the virus, far more than those sickened by SARS, MERS or Ebola in recent years.

More than 4,000 have died.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes

only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the WHO, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks. Those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover. In mainland China, where the virus first exploded, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed and more than 63,000, so far, have recovered.

About 73 percent of the IOC’s income of $5.7 billion in the latest four-year Olympic cycle (2013 to 2016) was from selling broadcast rights. The US network NBC makes up at least half of the broadcast payments. Another 18 percent of IOC income is from sponsorship.

NBC’s parent company Comcast said that because of insurance and the way contracts are written, NBC won’t suffer losses if the Olympics are canceled. But Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said the company would miss out on ad-driven profits, which were $250 million for the 2016 Rio Olympics. The ad profits for 2020 are expected to be larger.

NBC signed a deal to pay $4.38 billion for four Olympics—2014 through 2020. It has a new agreement to pay $7.75 billion for the following six Olympics—2022 through 2032.

Christopher Chase, an attorney based in New York who specializes in sports, intellectual property and media, said sponsors and broadcasters were unlikely to sue for breach of contracts if the games are not held, or the conditions were changed.

Chase, a partner in the law firm Frankfurt Kurnit, said many such contracts would have force majeure, or “changed circumstances” clauses that spell out unforeseeable conditions that keep a contract from being fulfilled; these act as a defense for nonperformance by either party, but in this case, more likely the event producer.

The IOC, much like other large properties, such as Fifa and the NFL, “the last thing they want to do refund fees or lower the cost of what the sponsorship is,” Chase told AP. “The last thing they want to do is give any money back or charge less. So typically what they try to do is negotiate some kind of make-good or substitute benefits.” Over and above the IOC’s major sponsorship deals, local sponsors have paid just over $3 billion to the organizing committee.

“Any party that has already spent money to put people on the ground; flights and hotel rooms and all those types of things, are most likely going to lose out on that,” Chase said. “The sponsorship fee may be the least of their concerns.”

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Business

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Ibaka, Raptors just keep rolling along

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ALT LAKE CITY—Another injury was no big deal for the Toronto Raptors. Serge Ibaka and company just keep rolling along.

Ibaka and Pascal Siakam each scored 27 points, and the Raptors beat the Utah Jazz, 101-92, on Monday night for their fourth straight victory.

Kyle Lowry added 21 points and seven assists as Toronto used a 53-34 advantage on the glass to improve to 21-4 since January 15. Ibaka grabbed 13 rebounds and Siakam finished with 11 boards and eight assists.

Toronto played without Marc Gasol (hamstring) and Fred VanVleet (shoulder) due to injuries, and Norman Powell left in the first quarter after spraining his ankle. But the Raptors found a way again.

“No matter what happens we stick together as a team and we try to work the game,” Siakam said. “It’s gonna be a long game. There’s gonna be runs. The most important thing is to stay together. Don’t panic and keep executing.”

Joe Ingles had 20 points and six assists for Utah, which had won five in a row. Royce O’Neale added 15 points and seven rebounds, and Mike Conley finished with 13 points and seven assists.

OG Anunoby put back a missed lay-up to help the Raptors open an 82-72 lead early in the fourth quarter.

“We definitely put emphasis on rebounds,” Utah center Rudy Gobert said. “We’re probably going to have to watch the game to figure out what we could have done better.”

Ingles then scored three baskets to key a 15-3 Jazz run. Gobert capped the surge with a dunk for his first basket of the night, making it 87-85 Utah midway through the quarter.

Toronto responded by scoring on four straight possessions, culminating in a Lowry 3-pointer, to take a 95-90 lead with 2:30 left. The Raptors allowed one basket over the final 5:45 of the game.

“Our team is unbelievable with just kind of staying in the moment and understanding what we have to do,” Lowry said.

The Raptors put together a 15-6 run for a 57-51 halftime lead. Siakam, Lowry and Ibaka each scored in the final minute of the half—highlighted by Lowry’s 30-foot pull-up 3-pointer—to punctuate the run.

AP

SPORTS TOURISM SUFFERS

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HE postponement of the BNP Paribas Open in Southern California because of the coronavirus has done more than temporarily idle the men’s and women’s pro tennis tours. It has jolted the Coachella Valley’s economy during peak tourist season in the desert.

The two-week tournament’s economic impact to the area topped $400 million in the most recent survey done in 2017. It was set to run Monday through March 22. Based on the survey it has attracted upward of 450,000 people, including 124,000 from outside the region.

“It’s one of our biggest events of the year,” Scott White, president and CEO of the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, said by phone Monday. “This is a tough one to get through. I think a lot of people were very surprised by the postponement.”

White said the bureau would begin surveying hoteliers and area attractions Tuesday to find out the impact of not holding the tournament at this time after a case of coronavirus was confirmed in the Coachella Valley. He said hotels and restaurants are using enhanced cleaning methods to protect guests and workers.

The Riverside County Public Health Department declared a public health emergency for the desert cities 110 miles east of Los Angeles, including Indian Wells where the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tours were to play the combined event that offers prize money of over $17 million.

Riverside County health officials on Monday announced three new novel coronavirus cases in the Coachella Valley, bringing the area total to six.

Dr. Cameron Kaiser, county public health officer, said the three infections were either the result of travel into areas where COVID-19 has been confirmed or contact with a known case.

Two of the individuals have been isolated at home, Kaiser said, while the third is being cared for at a Coachella Valley hospital.

The county said its first locally acquired case involves a patient who is being treated at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage. Public health investigators have not been able to determine how the individual was infected, Kaiser said.

The county also has a second confirmed case arising from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

Both former passengers are receiving treatment at a Northern California hospital, and neither has been to Riverside County since leaving the ship, officials said.

White said he attended three sold-out events last week in the desert and people present expressed no fear of the coronavirus.

“It almost feels like nothing negative is happening, then you turn on the news,” he said.

“Everybody I talked to said they’re going to wash their hands more, be more preventive in wiping things down. Everybody I spoke to said this is not going to curtail my lifestyle, I’m still going to travel. People are still shaking hands.”

At the same time, the tournament popularly referred to as Indian Wells typically attracts an older crowd and White said that may have been a consideration in calling it off.

Tourism is the No. 1 industry in the Coachella Valley, with over 60,000 workers, White said.

Many of them are dependent on tips and they generate the majority of their income for the year during the peak tourism months in the winter.

THE tennis world, like all other sports, is suffering from the virus’s impact. AP

“We’re reminding event groups that the impact on the tourism worker can be devastating,” White said. “We had a strong January and February. Bookings for March were up going into this week compared to last year at the same time.”

The postponement also affects over 130 hours of live television coverage that was to air in the US on Tennis Channel and the ESPN networks. Tennis Channel broadcast an hourlong live daily show during nine days of the tournament from a studio at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

ESPN’s coverage was to begin on March 17. The cable network said Monday it was

in the process of scheduling replacement programming.

ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said the men’s tour schedule remains the same. The next tournament is the Miami Open from March 23 to April 5. It also features the combined men’s and women’s tours.

“We continue to monitor the situation daily, working closely with our player and tournament members with the understanding that direction must be taken from local public health authorities,” Gaudenzi said in a statement.

The WTA Tour has a lower-level $125,000 tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico, set for March 16 to 21 before the Miami Open begins. AP

TRAINERS, veterenarians and several others are charged in racehorse-drugging scheme. AP

HORSES, LIKE ATHLETES, JUICED

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ORE than two dozen people, including the trainer of champion Maximum Security, were charged in what authorities described Monday as a widespread international scheme to drug horses to make them race faster.

Trainer Jason Servis, whose stable includes the three-year-old champion, was charged with administering performance-enhancing drugs to that horse and others. Maximum Security crossed the finish line first at the 2019 Kentucky Derby before being disqualified for interference and has since won four of his five high-profile races.

The charges against trainers, veterinarians and others were detailed in four indictments unveiled Monday in Manhattan federal court.

Charges brought against the 27 people include drug adulteration and misbranding conspiracy.

Performance-enhancing drugs “were given to racehorses in an effort to increase their performance beyond their natural abilities,” William F. Sweeney Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI New York Office, said at a news conference.

“What actually happened to the horses amounted to nothing less than abuse. They experienced cardiac issues, overexertion leading to leg fractures, increased risk of injury, and, in some cases, death. Conversely, the human being involved in the scheme continued to line their purses as they manipulated this multibilliondollar horse racing industry across the globe.”

Authorities say the drugs can cause horses to overexert themselves, leading to heart issues or death. According to the indictments, other drugs used to deaden a horse’s sensitivity to pain to improve the horse’s performance could also lead to leg fractures.

Authorities said participants in the fraud— affecting races in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky and the United Arab Emirates— misled federal and state regulators, US Customs

and Border Protection agents, various state horse racing regulators and the betting public.

National Thoroughbred Racing Association President and CEO Alex Waldrop called the charges “abhorrent.”

“There is no place in our sport for individuals who treat horses with disregard for their well-being or who undermine the integrity of our competition for personal gain,” Waldrop said. “We support the effort to bring these charges to light and are hopeful that their swift adjudication will help assure other horse racing participants and the public at large that our sport will not condone or tolerate the behavior alleged in the indictments.”

Federal authorities searched barns in Florida and a manufacturing facility in Kentucky. The Stronach Group, which operates Gulfstream Park West and Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, said it complied with the search warrants specific only to the barns and stalls of those charged.

“The Stronach Group is committed to achieving the highest level of horse care and safety standards in thoroughbred racing,” the company said in a statement. “There is no room in our sport for anyone who does not prioritize the health and well-being of horses and riders.” AP

James surges, Giannis sits: A reminder health is key

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EBRON JAMES was making a statement on the court when the Milwaukee Bucks had to make one of their own.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had been hurt two nights earlier while losing to James and the Los Angeles Lakers, and on Sunday afternoon they said the reigning MVP had a minor sprain of his left knee and would miss at least two games.

Shortly after, James and the Lakers closed out the Clippers for another big win. Milwaukee lost again later Sunday and dropped a third in a row Monday in Denver while resting other regulars.

It was a reminder that everything in the National Basketball Association (NBA) always comes down to health.

James and the Lakers have it right now, along with suddenly the look of the team to beat.

“I feel like right now I’m just playing some really good basketball,” James said. “Last year obviously started out really well but the injury hurt me a lot physically and mentally as well, having an injury like that.”

That was a groin injury he sustained while the Lakers were blowing out Golden State on Christmas Day. It continued to trouble him until he was shut down for the season in late March.

Now, he’s the Western Conference player of the week, averaging 30.3 points, 10 assists and 8.1 rebounds in his last nine games. The Lakers (49-13) have won 11 of 12 to close in on Milwaukee (53-12) for the league’s best record.

Just a few days earlier, the Bucks were potentially on pace to join the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls and 2015-16 Golden State Warriors as the only teams to win 70 games.

Those Warriors fell short of a title after Stephen Curry hurt his knee in the first round and never appeared to fully regain his rhythm after returning.

So, as long as Antetokounmpo’s injury is indeed minor, the Bucks will be glad it comes in March and not May. And the Lakers will hopes James looks as good then as he does now.

“For me, I prepare myself, both my body and my mind, to endure anything even at this stage of my career,” the 35-year-old James said. “I know what it needs, what it takes for me to be prepared mentally and physically to go out and perform at a high level and it’s my responsibility to put this team in a position to be successful.” AP THE Lakers’ LeBron James tries to get past the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo during their game last Friday. AP

orts

sMirror

Villacencio sets pace in Q-School

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RNOLD VILLACENCIO hit a pitch-in eagle on the par-4 No. 15, spiking a solid five-under 67 for a two-stroke lead over Anthony Fernando at the start of the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Qualifying School (local) at Splendido Taal Golf Club in Batangas on Tuesday.

Villacencio, a former PGT leg winner at Summit Point who ended up No. 41 in the last PGT Order of Merit, birdied all but one of the four par-5s then knocked down an eagle on the 15th to complete a 34-33 card in the 72-hole elims held alongside with the foreign qualifiers for the 11th season of the country’s premier circuit.

The PGT Asia will hold its own Q-School from April 22 to 25 at Luisita Golf and Country Club with the fourth season of the region’s emerging circuit set to unfold from April 28 to May 1 with the International Container Terminal Services Inc. Luisita Championship, also in Tarlac.

Fernando, a former national titlist, birdied two of the first two holes at the back then fought back from a two-bogey, one-birdie card at the front with a pitch-in eagle on No. 7 to save a 69 while Raymund Gonzales and Francis Morilla shot a pair of 70s for joint third.

Arnel Enema missed grabbing a share of second with two bogeys in the last four holes, finishing with a 71 while Nico Evangelista, Erwin Madrileño, Bonifacio Salahog, Sean Talmadge and Dino Villanueva all matched par 72s.

Three, meanwhile, shared the lead in the Q-School for foreign players with Japanese Gen Nagai stumbling at the finish to settle for 70 and drop into a tie with American CJ Lee and Romano Saincic of South Africa.

Nagai, winner of the national amateur championship last year, struggled after an impressive five-birdie splurge after 12 holes, bogeying three of the last six for a 32-38 that enabled Lee and Saincic to gain a piece of the lead.

Unlike Nagai, Lee banked on a strong windup, birdying three of the last eight while Saincic blew hot and cold, opening with an eagle on the par-five No. 10 and birdying two of the next three.

But he dropped four straight strokes from No. 15 before gunning down two birdies at the front for a 34-36.

The troika seized a two-shot lead over Aussie William Bruyeres, who mixed two birdies against the same number of bogeys for a 72 while Korean Hwang Myung Chal and Venezuelan Rafael Parra matched par 72s.

In the local eliminations, only the top 40 plus ties after 36 holes will advance to the final two rounds with the leading 30 qualifiers to be included in Category 6 and the 31st to 50th to settle for Category 9 status in the 2020 PGT starting rosters.

The top 12 after 72 holes in the foreign qualifiers, meanwhile, will gain Category 7 slots with the rest to be included in Category 9 in the 2020 PGT starting fields.

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

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CORONA CRISIS HITS COLLEGIATE LEAGUES T HE country’s premier collegiate leagues—University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)— announced on Monday that they are halting all events in the program of their current season as of Tuesday.

Both popular leagues said the cancellation of games was prompted by the Department of Health’s declaration of a Red Alert Sub-Level 1 status amid the coronavirus or COVID-2019 outbreak.

The cancellation of games will be in effect until March 17.

“All NCAA activities are hereby suspended until further notice,” said Management

committee Chairman Peter Cayco said in a statement.

“The [NCAA] Policy Board is set to meet soon to discuss the possibility of postponing the games, or canceling all together all games,” Cayco said.

The NCAA games were already suspended last month due to the virus scare.

“The action of the NCAA is for the safety and welfare of the students, the athletes, the fans and the officials,” Cayco added in the statement.

Season 82 President Emmanuel Fernandez of Ateneo and Executive Director Rebo Saguisag made the announcement for the UAAP also on Tuesday.

Suspended were competitions in volleyball,

football, baseball and softball and school girls’ basketball.

The UAAP officials said a decision to cancel the games after March 17 would be a “day to day” decision. Like the NCAA, the UAAP heeded the crisis by moving its February 15 opening of the volleyball season to March 3.

On Monday, Marikina City totally called off its hosting of the Palarong Pambansa from May 1 to 9 after it was confirmed that one of its residents tested positive of the virus.

The Department of Education has already recommended for the cancellation or postponement of the Palaro a month ago, but reasserted the decision by suspending all DepEd activities that include regional athletic meets.

Organizers of two International Cycling Union races—the Le Tour de Filipinas and PruRide which were set in May and March, respectively—canceled their respective events as early as last month.

The Philippine Basketball Association and its D-League, which attracts thousands of fans, have yet to make an announcement of whether to cancel their games or bar spectators from the arenas.

On Tuesday, organizers postponed the TCS Clark Animo International Marathon, a major international fitness event at Clark Global City originally set over the weekend, to May 10.

The event is organized annually by the De La Salle Alumni Association Pampanga chapter

along with Clark Global City. It conducts courses certified by the International Association of Athletic Federations and the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races.

A help desk will assist racers who have been affected by the change in schedule. They can be reached at 0938-4798166, 0938-4798167 or 0966-6406420. Queries may also be e-mailed to TCSClarkAnimo@gmail.com or posted on their Facebook page, TCS Clark Animo International Marathon. Registered racers who could not make it to the new race date will be automatically registered for next year’s race. Ramon Rafael

Bonilla and Ryniel Berlanga

TOKYO OLYMPICS UPDATE: 3 AND COUNTING FOR PHL B R R B

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ARIANO “NONONG” ARANETA, the Philippine chef de mission to the Olympic Games, believes at least 20 Filipino athletes will qualify for Tokyo 2020.

Araneta made the bold prediction despite so far, only three—world champion gymnast Carlos Yulo, pole vaulter EJ Obiena and boxer Eumir Felix Marcial—have qualified for Tokyo 2020 as of Sunday.

Women world boxing champion Nesthy Petecio bowed to Japan’s Iri Sena via split decision in a featherweight clash in the Asia-Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament on Sunday in Amman, Jordan, and lost her chance of earning a ticket to Tokyo 2020.

Marcial stopped Mongolia’s Byamba Erdene Otgonbaatar in the same Jordan qualifier on Saturday to become the first boxer to make it to Tokyo with Carlo Paalam and Irish Magno hoping to follow suit on Monday. As for Petecio, she still has a chance in the world qualifiers in May. There are 64 Filipino athletes—archery, athletics, swimming, basketball, boxing, cycling, canoe-kayak, fencing, golf, gymnastics, judo, karate, rowing, skateboarding, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling—who are up for qualification

World Wrestling Asia comes to Manila

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CHEF de Mission Mariano “Nonong” Araneta (center), Philippine Sports Commission Chief of Staff Marc Velasco (left) and Philippine Olympic Committee Secretary-General Atty. Ed Gastanes update media of the country’s Tokyo 2020 campaign.

for the Olympics.

But Araneta told a press conference at the Philippine Sports Commission Admistration Building in Manila on Tuesday that the coronavirus outbreak is impeding the potential advance of Filipinos to the Olympics.

“The President [Duterte] gave them money [funding for Olympic qualification and training].

NOKX Pro, in partnership with Red Boxing International, has formed a groundbreaking promotion in the world of professional wrestling—World Wrestling Asia (WWA).

The newly formed WWA will go on an initial publicity tour throughout the Philippines this month.

Pro wrestling Hall of Famer Rikishi and Reno “Black Pearl” Anoa’i will arrive on Sunday to hold clinics throughout the country for local, aspiring,

professional wrestlers.

WWA will also host a “Road To The Philippines” show in Los Angeles, California, which will be broadcast live in order to build awareness and anticipation for the ensuing WWA tour of the Philippines in August.

The multicity tour of the Philippines will include 14 different WWA shows across Asia, showcasing both local and international talent.

Together, KnokX Pro and RED

AL MENDOZA alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL

A PBA game without fans?

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ANCEL sporting events?

Yes. Postpone sporting events?

Yes. But banning fans from sporting events?

Nah. While the world reels from the COVID-19

They should be happy and what we ask is for them to be their best,” said Araneta, who was joined by Philippine Olympic Committee Secretary-General Atty. Ed Gastanes and PSC Chief of Staff Marc Velasco.

Malacañang allocated P100 million and the PSC set P50 million for the Olympic campaign with the hope of winning the country’s first gold

outbreak, postponing tournaments and canceling schedules have become as common as colds.

Already, a number of actual competitions had been played in empty arenas, the most recent of which was an NCAA Division III men’s basketball game on the campus of Johns Hopkins

medal in the Games.

Araneta said that although there are dozens of aspirants for Tokyo 2020, he believes that the realistic number of qualifiers could be 20 athletes.

“Our best bets are in athletics, boxing, judo, skateboarding and weightlifting,” he said.

Rio 2016 silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz has yet to earn her slot to Tokyo with Olympic qualifying tournaments being either canceled or postponed because of the virus scare.

Sprinter Kristina Knott and thrower William Morrison are closing in on Olympic standards, while judoka Kiyomi Watanabe, according to Araneta, has collected enough ranking points but is awaiting confirmation from her international federation.

Jakarta Asian Games skateboard gold medalist Margielyn Didal is also rushing to collect ranking points, while London 2012 veteran cycling BMX rider Daniel Caluag is apprehensive at competing in the Olympic qualifier Asian championships in Jakarta next month also because of the virus scare.

Gastanes, meanwhile, said Filipino athletes could be flown much ahead of Tokyo 2020 set July 24 to August 9 to meet quarantine and health check requirements in case the virus outbreak extends to the Games schedule.

Boxing International, as the WWA are committed to fostering local talent, putting on one of a kind spectacles for underserved markets, and reinventing the professional wrestling landscape in Asia.

KnokX Pro, founded by Anoa’i (CEO,) and WWE Hall of Famer Fatu (president) both of the famed Samoan Dynasty, has become the premier destination for aspiring professional wrestlers across the globe.

University in Baltimore, Maryland.

That game on Friday was believed to be the first US sports even held without fans due to the virus scare, although the decision was in contravention to a tournament advisory “not recommending cancellation, or public spacing, of athletic and related events scheduled to occur in public spaces across the United States.”

But be that as it may, the biggest sporting news from America was LeBron James’s declaration that he won’t play in an empty arena should officials ban fans from watching live National Basketball Association games. In a memo, the league asked NBA teams to prepare on playing without fans “if necessary because of the coronavirus crisis.”

Those targeted to be banned from NBA games are fans and media personalities—a mere mimic of what some sports tournaments in Europe have already done. But when informed of the plan after James had scored 37 points in his Los Angeles Lakers’ 113-103 win over NBA leader Milwaukee Bucks last weekend, the scoring

Located in the heart of Southern California, KnokX Pro has produced some of the most prominent competitors in the wrestling world today with alumni going on to work for organizations such as the WWE, NXT and MLW. Red Boxing International, founded by famed boxing promoter Rey “Cacoi” Almirante Rodis, is a promotional and management organization for professional boxers.

leader was emphatic with his stand.

“Nah,” James said. “We play games without the fans? That’s impossible.”

He said he won’t suit up with fans not being around. “I ain’t playing if I ain’t got the fans in the crowd,” he told The Associated Press.

Commendable for every athlete who puts the fans’ interest above all else.

“That’s who I play for,” he said.

But he also plays for others.

“I play for my teammates,” he said, “and I play for the fans. That’s what it’s all about. So, if I show up to an arena and there ain’t no fans in there, I ain’t playing.”

The NBA memo to the teams, AP said, should identify which team and arena people would be necessary to conduct the games, and “be able to communicate quickly with nonessential staff, as well as ticket holders and corporate partners.” With Metro Manila now being gripped by the virus venom that has now infected more than 100,842 across 94 countries and killed 3,456 people, will the Philippine

SAN MIGUEL Beer’s June Mar Fajardo and Columbian’s CJ Perez are raking in the awards.

‘Usual suspects’ lead PBA scribes’ honor roll

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IX-TIME Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) MVP winner June Mar Fajardo and Rookie of the Year CJ Perez lead the initial honor roll list to be recognized in the 2019 PBA Press Corps Awards Night next week at the Novotel Manila in Araneta City.

The San Miguel Beer premier big man is the recipient of the Order of Merit for having garnered the most number of Player of the Week honors last season, while the prolific Columbian guard emerged as the new Scoring Champion, becoming the first rookie to lead the league in scoring since Eric Menk in 1999.

The awards are just two of 11 accolades to be handed out in the March 16 affair presented by Cignal TV. A new batch of the All-Interview Team will be honored, too, as well as the two Finals MVPs of last year’s D-League.

Comprising the All-Interview Team, which is given to personalities who churned out quotable quotes and at the same time, always make themselves available for interviews to the working men and women of the PBA beat, are Kiefer Ravena, Beau Belga, Vic Manuel, Arwind Santos, Christian Standhardinger and Coach Yeng Guiao.

The D-League Finals MVPs, meanwhile, are Cignal-Ateneo’s Thirdy Ravena (Aspirant’s Cup) and Hessed Gabo of BRT-Sumisip Basilan-St. Clare (Foundation Cup).

The other awards to be given are the Game of the Season, All-Rookie Team, Mr. Quality Minutes, Defensive Player of the Year, President’s Award and the Danny Floro Executive of the Year.

Highlight of the night is the naming of the Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan Coach of the Year, named after the great late “Maestro” of Philippine basketball.

San Miguel Beer’s Leo Austria and Tim Cone of Barangay Ginebra are disputing the coveted trophy.

Basketball Association (PBA) be also subjected to possibly having games on empty arenas?

I can never imagine the 20,000-seat Smart Araneta Coliseum staging a crowdless game during a PBA contest. Surreal, if not eerie.

Who would applaud when Marcio Lassiter sinks a three, when Terrence Romeo completes an acrobatic reverse lay-up, and when Japeth Aguilar stuffs one in with his two hands?

LeBron James has a point.

THAT’S IT Nice to know that Eumir Marcial has clinched a boxing slot to the Tokyo Olympics, joining pole vaulter EJ Obiena to the Olympiad in July. Let’s pray that COVID-19 will spare the games, whose fate remains hanging precariously by a thread of fragility...Tiong Bahru, a swanky restaurant that specializes in chicken novelty that is owned by my dear friends Abel and Malu Manliclic, is now open at plush Capitol Commons in Pasig City. My “glassmates” Senen Glorioso and Du Dizon swear by the joint’s heavenly offerings. Cheers!

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Sports BusinessMirror

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

THERE are no fans at the Juventus Stadium when the team faced Inter in Turin, Italy, on Sunday. AP

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Leagues in US closing locker rooms amid virus scare M

ALL SPORTS EVENTS IN ITALY CANCELED EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE SPREADING VIRUS, INCLUDING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SOCCER MATCHES AND JAPAN’S PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL SEASON. LATE SUNDAY, ONE OF THE BIGGEST TENNIS TOURNAMENTS IN THE WORLD WAS POSTPONED.

R

B A D The Associated Press

OME—Sports ground to a halt throughout Italy late Monday night when Premier Giuseppe Conte announced that games and travel will be banned nationwide.

“There’s no reason for the games to continue,” Conte said. “The fans will have to deal with it. We won’t even allow gyms to be used.” A new government decree that will come into effect Tuesday and last until April 3 will stop games in Italy’s top soccer division and preparatory events for the Tokyo Olympics.

Events around the world have been affected by the spreading virus, including Champions League soccer matches and Japan’s professional baseball season. Late Sunday, one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world was postponed.

Italy’s top soccer division had resumed on Sunday with five games played in empty stadiums. Twelve rounds remain, with eight-time defending champion Juventus holding a one-point lead over Lazio.

Serie A has not been canceled since World War II. Sassuolo’s 3-0 win over Brescia inside an empty stadium on Monday was almost certainly the last Serie A game for several weeks. Sassuolo striker Francesco Caputo sent a comforting message after scoring the first of his two goals. He displayed a sign that read “It will all be OK. #Stayathome” in Italian.

Anticipating the government’s decree, the Italian Olympic Committee said earlier that the decree will not include international competition “for clubs or national teams,” since it does not govern those. Juventus, Napoli and Atalanta are each competing in the Champions League, while Inter Milan and Roma are still in the Europa League.

But after Conte’s announcement, it seemed likely that games like Juventus-Lyon in the Champions League on March 17 would have to be postponed or moved to another country.

The Italian swimming federation said it was withdrawing its

teams from international events and canceled an Olympic qualifying meet scheduled for next week in Riccione.

The Tokyo Games are scheduled to begin in four-and-a-half months. More than 300 Italian athletes qualified for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

In France, police said that the Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund at Parc des Princes will be played without fans. It is the second of the four matches in the competition this week to be played in an empty stadium. Spanish authorities previously recommended restrictions on games involving teams from areas in Italy with high numbers of virus cases and said the Valencia-Atalanta match on Tuesday will take place without fans in attendance.

Leipzig’s match against Tottenham on Tuesday and Liverpool’s home game against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday are expected to be played with fans.

Wednesday’s game in Paris will be the first match with no fans at the Parc des Princes in 10 years. The last time it happened, in March 2010, the decision was taken following crowd trouble during a match between PSG and French rival Marseille.

PSG, which lost the first leg 2-1, said it took note of the decision and said the club remains “fully mobilized to organize the match in the best possible conditions.”

In the French league, the match between Lyon and visiting Reims on Friday will also be played without fans.

France has banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people. The country reported 1,126 cases of the virus as of Sunday, up 19 percent from the day before and the second-largest number of cases in Europe after Italy. So far, 19 people in France have died.

In Slovakia, all sports events will be halted starting on Tuesday.

The suspension will include games in the top soccer and ice hockey leagues. The virus also forced the postponement of the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland. French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu said the decision to postpone was taken after discussions with tournament organizers and the French rugby

federation. The game was due to take place on Saturday at the Stade de France. A new date has yet to be announced.

In Germany, it will be up to local authorities to decide if fans can attend matches this weekend in the top 2 divisions, the league’s organizers said.

Last weekend’s Bundesliga matches ahead as planned with fans, though Borussia Mönchengladbach refunded tickets for supporters from an area affected by the virus after asking them not to attend the game. Local authorities in the Swiss city of Basel refused permission for the city’s soccer team to host Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League on March 19. UEFA has not yet confirmed a venue for the match.

Even the flame-lighting ceremony for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is being affected. Spectators will be kept away from the event in Ancient Olympia on Thursday, the Greek Olympic committee. Only 100 accredited guests will be allowed to attend.

Also, World Cup qualifying games in Asia were formally postponed until at least September, FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation said Monday, but matches could still go ahead on schedule if all relevant parties agree.

Japanese officials earlier postponed the start of the 12-team professional baseball league season. The season was to open on March 20. Japan’s professional league had been playing its preseason games without fans because of the virus.

“I personally believe that we have no choice but to postpone at this stage,” Japanese League Commissioner Atsushi Saito said.

No restrictions on sport have been introduced yet in Britain where governing bodies and broadcasters met with government officials on Monday to discuss contingency plans if fans need to be banned from events or games are postponed.

But the English Football Association on Monday canceled an annual gathering for its staff of around 800 that was due to be held on Thursday at St. George’s Park, a hotel and training facility complex in central England. It is a precautionary move as the coronavirus spreads.

IAMI—The National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Soccer (MLS) are closing access to locker rooms and clubhouses to all nonessential personnel, including media, in response to the coronavirus crisis, the leagues announced in a joint statement Monday night.

They said they made the decision “after consultation with infectious disease and public health experts.” The NBA, in a call with teams earlier Monday, stressed that the move is not to ban reporters but to ensure the safety of players and staff in those areas.

The statement, in part, read: “Given the issues that can be associated with close contact in pre- and postgame settings, all team locker rooms and clubhouses will be open only to players and essential employees of teams and team facilities until further notice. Media access will be maintained in designated locations outside of the locker room and clubhouse setting.”

The changes, which the leagues say are temporary, will begin Tuesday—though some NHL teams began putting them into use this past weekend and the Buffalo Sabres did the same on Monday night. The NBA said interviews with players would continue in different settings, stressing a gap of 6 feet to 8 feet between reporters and interview subjects.

“I don’t know that we have our arms around how significant of an issue this is at this point, so if the league is recommending or their policy is we want to take step-by-step type precautions, then we want to go along with that,” Texas Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels said.

It is unclear how long the new policies will last.

“No disrespect, but that’s the last thing I’m worried about,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said prior to Denver’s NBA game against Milwaukee on Monday night.

“I think it’s dangerous for everybody,” Rangers pitcher Edinson Volquez said. “Somebody could have it, you talk to a guy, you go home, maybe you transfer that to your kids and wife and family. So I think it’s a good idea for now. Probably later, hopefully, we can get together again. But, for now, we have to take care of that.”

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.

According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover. In mainland China, where the virus first exploded, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed and more than 58,000 have so far recovered.

“Roses are red, Violets are blue, Wash your hands! WASH YOUR HANDS!” Enes Kanter of the Boston Celtics wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, there is already a clear sense of the new normal in the US. The Miami Heat held their annual gala at a theater in Miami Beach on Monday night, albeit a bit differently than usual. The team’s three NBA championship trophies were near the entrance—with someone standing by with a bottle of hand sanitizer. And guests, when they arrived, were offered champagne by some attendants, more hand sanitizer by others.

“Until the league says something else, we are business as usual with a tremendous amount of caution and prevention to make sure everybody’s safe,” Heat President Pat Riley said Monday night. “But also, educating them that they’ve got to do the same thing.” AP

RONALDINHO’S STAR CRUMBLES

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ÃO PAULO—Retired soccer star Ronaldinho and his brother are in jail in Paraguay after being accused of entering the country using fake passports. It was the latest in a string of incidents involving the 2002 World Cup winner and Barcelona icon, who officially retired in 2018 after several lackluster seasons.

Here is a look back at some of the issues the Brazilian has faced off the pitch in recent years.

■ PARAGUAYAN PASSPORT. Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto de Assis are jailed after they arrived in Asunción on Wednesday with fake passports. Their lawyer Sérgio Queiroz confirmed the documents were false, but argued they were a gift from a businessman, who has also been jailed.

Ronaldinho and Assis had said they went to Asunción for business reasons. It is unclear why the former footballer entered Paraguay using the passport considering Brazilians can enter the neighboring country using their national ID card. A local prosecutor told Brazilian media the former footballer will be investigated for other alleged crimes, but did not reveal what these were.

■ INSTITUTO RONALDINHO GAÚCHO INVESTIGATION. The Instituto Ronaldinho Gaúcho (IRG), which was closed in the end of

2010, was investigated on two occasions due to allegedly irregular contracts with the Porto Alegre city hall.

The first probe came in 2012, with city councilors claiming that more than $100,000 was paid to the educational institute led by Ronaldinho. That investigation ended after politicians decided there was no ill intent by the footballer and his brother in the case.

Three years later, state of Rio Grande do Sul prosecutors sought to open another case that was based on the 2012 probe, but this time they claimed the irregularities amounted to about $300,000. A judge later ruled there were no grounds to sentence the brothers.

■ ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME. Ronaldinho was fined for building an illegal fishing platform and dock on the shores of the Guaiba river in his hometown of Porto Alegre in 2015. He challenged the decision for years until a judge seized his passport, claiming he had to pay damages of about $2 million.

Despite not having his passport, Ronaldinho became a tourism ambassador for the administration of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in September. Later, he paid the fine and had his documents returned.

■ CRYPTOCURRENCY. The former footballer has been under

investigation since the start of the year because of his links with a cryptocurrency company called 18kRonaldinho, which promised lucrative returns.

Victims told media the initiative was actually a pyramid scheme and demanded damages of more than $65 million from the company. Ronaldinho’s lawyer says he is not involved with it.

■ FAR-RIGHT SUPPORT. Barcelona distanced itself from its former star’s support of Bolsonaro, a fringe far-right congressman who rose to power in 2019.

After the former footballer endorsed Bolsonaro, club spokesman Josep Vives said in a press conference in 2018 that Barcelona’s democratic values “do not coincide with the words we have heard from the candidate [Bolsonaro].”

Vives added that Barça supports freedom of speech, but Ronaldinho has been a less frequent attendee of club events since.

He used to be paid about €100,000 for each appearance.

■ HUGE DEBTS. Newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported in July that Ronaldinho had multiple debts amounting to more than $2 million. At least four properties belonging to the former soccer star have been auctioned by a court in Rio Grande do Sul state. AP

FORMER soccer star Ronaldinho talks as he walks escorted by police officers with hands handcuffed in Asunción, Paraguay, over the weekend. AP

God of mystery and beauty

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EAR God, Your truth and love exceed our imagination.

We humbly pray: Deepen our faith, oh God. Animate Christians to renew our baptismal vocation and live the Gospel with good zeal. Inspire us to pray for our enemies and show kindness to those whom we struggle to love. Help the sick and suffering to experience Christ in the midst of their affliction and needs. Let those affected by coronavirus be healed soon.

May God bless us from harm, and grant us salvation, through Jesus, the fount of unconditional love. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

Life

EGYPT’S ONCEREVILED STREET DOGS GET CHANCE AT A BETTER LIFE D2

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

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Facebook says it will ban ads for medical face masks

BY MA�TIN C�UTSINGE� The Associated Press WASHINGTON—Facebook is temporarily banning advertisements for medical face masks as part of an effort to prevent use of its platform to exploit people’s concerns about the new coronavirus. The ban covers advertisements on the social-media

platform as well as commercial listings on Facebook Marketplace, the company said. Facebook said it would begin to enforce the ban over the next few days.

“Our teams are monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely and will make necessary updates to our policies if we see people trying to exploit this public health emergency,” Rob Leathern, Facebook’s director of product

management, said in a statement issued late Friday.

Facebook noted that it previously announced a ban on ads that make claims about the health benefits of a particular product or guaranteed that “a product will prevent someone from contracting” the disease.

Some public health officials have urged people to stop buying masks. US

Surgeon General Dr. Jerome M. Adams noted in a tweet on February 29 that masks aren’t effective in protecting the general public “but if health-care providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”

In a separate development, Amtrak announced that it was canceling its nonstop Acela passenger train service

Twitter preps ephemeral tweets, starts testing in Brazil

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BY BARBARA O�TUTAY The Associated Press

AN FRANCISCO—Twitter is starting to test tweets that disappear after 24 hours, although initially only in Brazil.

The company says the ephemeral tweets, which it calls “fleets” because of their fleeting nature, are designed to allay the concerns of new users who might be turned off by the public and permanent nature of normal tweets.

Fleets can’t be retweeted and they won’t have “likes.” People can respond to them, but the replies show up as direct messages to the original tweeter, not as a public response, turning any back-and-forth into a private conversation instead of a public discussion.

Despite having high-profile users, such as President Donald J. Trump, Twitter has lagged behind other tech powerhouses like Facebook and Google in terms of user growth and advertising revenue. Twitter is hoping that by offering disappearing tweets, people will be more likely to share casual, everyday thoughts—and to do so more often.

The new feature is reminiscent of Instagram and Facebook “stories” and Snapchat’s snaps, which let users post short-lived photos and messages. Such features are increasingly popular with social-media users looking for smaller groups and more private chats. But Twitter often serves a different function than Instagram or Facebook, operating not only as a basis for conversation but as a platform for politicians and other public figures. Disappearing tweets could make it harder to hold such people accountable, monitor their posts and fact-check them.

Social-media services often test new features in

smaller markets before bringing them to the US and elsewhere—if they do so at all.

Twitter said it may bring fleets to other countries depending on how the Brazil test goes. In its blog post

Wednesday, Twitter said it will be looking into how the new feature “changes the way you interact and if it allows you to share what you’re thinking more comfortably.” ■

Google in the time of coronavirus IT has been tech giant Google’s mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful to everyone. As the coronavirus evolves, the company is committed to providing timely and helpful information to people around the world. Below are some of the highlights of what Google has been doing to help in the global fight against coronavirus.

NOKIA MOBILE, JAMES BOND PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCED HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, has announced that it is the official phone partner for the 25th James Bond film, No Time to Die. The video advertisement, featuring Lashana Lynch as Agent Nomi, was inspired by the film and directed by BAFTA award-winning director Amma Asante.

The commercial is part of HMD Global’s largestever global marketing campaign showcasing Nokia smartphones.

A range of Nokia phones will appear in the No Time to Die film, forming part of an integrated campaign running across cinema, digital, social, OOH and retail which launched globally on March 8, International Women’s Day. It kicked off with a 90-second video revealing a glimpse of soon-to-be-announced Nokia smartphones.

The secret device will be fully unveiled on March 19, while No Time to Die comes to UK cinemas in November. Other future-proof Nokia phones included in the film are the Nokia 7.2, featuring a powerful 48MP triple camera with Quad Pixel technology and ZEISS Optics; and the iconic Nokia 3310 fans know and love. The film partnership allows HMD Global to demonstrate its status as a global provider of Android smartphones, showcasing its commitment to security, speed and innovation, meeting the demands of the world’s toughest customers—MI6 agents.

The commercial is filmed against the backdrop of the distinctive London skyline featuring St Paul’s and The Shard. Agent Nomi utilizes the range of capabilities of the soon-to-be-revealed Nokia smartphone, to complete her mission.

Disinformation” (bit.ly/2xp4Tgv), provides further background on how information quality is upheld across platforms.

ENABLING PRODUCTIVITY FOR REMOTE WORKERS AND STUDENTS AS more employees, educators, and students work remotely in response to coronavirus, Google Cloud is helping them stay connected and productive. Google has rolled out free access to our advanced Hangouts Meet videoconferencing capabilities to all G Suite and G Suite for Education customers globally. This includes the Philippines’s Department of Education.

HELPING PEOPLE FIND USEFUL INFORMATION ■ SOS Alert on Search—In many countries around the world, including the Philippines, Google launched an SOS Alert on Search to help users find the latest developments surrounding the virus from authoritative sources. With SOS Alert, people will see a top stories carousel, links to helpful information and safety tips from authoritative sources.

■ Information Panel on YouTube—This aims to direct users to the World Health Organization (WHO) or other locally relevant authoritative organizations.

This also appears underneath some of the videos a user is watching about the coronavirus.

PROTECTING PEOPLE FROM MISINFORMATION ■ On YouTube, any content that claims to prevent the coronavirus in place of seeking medical treatment is being removed.

■ On Google Ads, the company is blocking all ads capitalizing on the coronavirus, and Google has blocked tens of thousands of ads over the last six weeks. The company is also helping WHO and government organizations run PSA ads.

■ Google Play also prohibits developers from capitalizing on sensitive events, and its long-standing content policies strictly prohibit apps that feature

between Washington, D.C., and New York City through late May because of a sharp drop in demand. That service will be canceled starting Tuesday and through May 28, Amtrak said.

The cancellation does not affect Amtrak’s other high-speed Acela service connecting Washington, New York and Boston, which runs several times per day with limited stops.

ADVANCING HEALTH RESEARCH AND SCIENCE DEEPMIND has released structure predictions of several proteins associated with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus. These structure predictions have not yet been experimentally verified, but the hope is that by accelerating their release, they may contribute to the scientific community’s understanding of how the virus functions and experimental work in developing future treatments.

medical or health-related content or functionalities that are misleading or potentially harmful.

■ Google’s policy whitepaper, “How Google Fights

SUPPORTING RELIEF EFFORTS AND GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS GOOGLE is providing $25 million in donated ad credit to the WHO and government agencies, and will provide more if there is a need throughout the year. Google.org and Googlers have donated over $1 million to support relief efforts, which will go toward organizations working to purchase medical supplies, provide frontline workers with food and lodging, support the construction of temporary hospitals, and help with long-term recovery efforts.

LASHANA LYNCH as Agent Nomi in the upcoming James Bond film No Time to Die, with the soon-to-be-revealed Nokia smartphone.

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Pet Corner BusinessMirror

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Egypt’s once-reviled street dogs get chance at a better life AFTER centuries of stigma, the street dogs of Egypt are finding popular acceptance.

Campaigns led by vets and animalrights groups are leading vaccination and sterilization campaigns for street animals, fighting long-held religious and societal stigma. AP

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Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Anthony Davis, 28; Thora Birch, 39; Johnny Knoxville, 50; Terrence Howard, 52.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Lean toward the obvious, and make the most out of what you are blessed with. How you deal with people, as well as how you handle your money and health issues will make a difference this year. This is not the year to take risks or to be a follower.

Focus on what you have, not what you want. Excessive behavior will lead to trouble. Your lucky numbers are 6, 11, 20, 27, 36, 41, 49.

a

By Isabel Debre The Associated Press

AIRO—Karim Hegazi spends his days in a Cairo clinic taking care of animals long considered a menace in Egypt.

Stray dogs roam in almost every Cairo neighborhood—lurking in construction sites, scavenging through trash and howling nightly atop parked cars. The government says there’s around 15 million of them. They bite some 200,000 people a year, according to the World Health Organization, and spread rabies, one of the world’s most lethal diseases.

And if that wasn’t reason enough to feel revulsion toward dogs, a famous Islamic saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad warns that angels won’t enter your home if there’s a dog inside.

Yet, after centuries of stigma, the street dogs of Egypt are finding popular acceptance, and along with it, surging grassroots support. That includes adoption and medical care, as well as spaying and neutering to keep them from producing more puppies on the streets. Volunteers armed with giant fishing nets and tranquilizer darts embark on regular missions to catch, vaccinate and sterilize dogs before letting them loose.

These efforts are making inroads against the prevailing government policy of extermination by poison.

“I’ve seen a major shift...people are seeing a value in strays,” said Hegazi, 32, from his veterinary hospital in the upscale suburb of Maadi. He says he’s no longer treating just foreign pooches, but also a growing number of adopted “baladi” dogs, the oncereviled Egyptian street breed. Even pious Muslim clients are taking in street dogs. Hegazi says they often reconcile their religious beliefs and love of dogs by keeping them in grassy yards or on rooftops.

Egypt’s upper and middle classes have increasingly adopted Western-inspired ideas of dog ownership. Pet hotels, cafés and grooming emporiums are sprouting up in major Egyptian cities. Fueled by the rise of social media, enthusiasm for Cairo’s dogs is “moving beyond snob culture,” said local advocate Amina Abaza.

A Facebook forum for vet recommendations exploded into a community of 13,000 pet lovers trading stray rescue stories. Dozens of new shelters coordinate adoptions online, flooding Instagram feeds with images of abandoned puppies.

What has surfaced online is spilling into the

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You can be open to new ideas, concepts and opinions, but in the end, you have to do what’s best for yourself. Keep your life simple to avoid the drama going on around you. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Concentrate on getting things done. Finish what you start before you present and promote what you have to offer. Planning and fine-tuning will help you eliminate the competition. You don’t have to fight; you just have to be the best. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Trust in yourself, your ability to survive on your own and your intuitive guide who helps you recognize when someone is taking advantage of you. Put your time and effort into what you believe in and do best. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Consider your options and how best to reach your goal. Call in favors from those you know can offer sound advice and the support you need to be successful. A partnership will help stabilize your position and improve your reputation. HHHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Don’t let stubbornness be your downfall. You may not agree with what others say, but listen to reason and be willing to compromise. How you treat others will make a difference to the outcome of a sticky situation. Avoid petty arguments. HH

streets. Some of Cairo’s more well-to-do districts are mobilizing spay and neuter teams to counter what advocates describe as gruesome government methods to control the dog population.

The General Organization for Veterinary Services, an arm of the agricultural ministry, routinely sends authorities to kill strays by scattering poison in streets overnight, according to a dozen activists and residents. They say they’ve woken up to find carcasses piled on curbs, or sick dogs wailing in distress.

“It’s a horrible way to die,” said Mohamed Shehata, founder of Egyptian Vets for Animal Care, or EVAC. It’s the country’s first spay and neuter program, also based in Maadi.

The government organization did not respond to questions about its policy. But in a recent report, it described street dogs as a “time bomb that threatens our children,” and defended the “merciful killing of dogs that are harmful to people,” citing Islamic law.

After the French invaded Egypt in 1797, Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops spent two nights shooting all of

Cairo’s street dogs because of their raucous noise.

According to American historian Juan Cole, they were likely employed as informal watchdogs in the city’s winding alleys.

Major dog eradication campaigns in Egypt stemmed from the city’s explosive growth in the early 1800s, when dogs became scavengers dependent on Cairo’s ubiquitous mounds of garbage, said Alan Mikhail, professor of Ottoman history at Yale University. As part of a public hygiene push, authorities trapped, shot and poisoned dogs en masse.

These days, a consensus is emerging among experts that “poison is not a real solution to rabies or to overpopulation,” said Shehata. A toxic substance called citrinin is used to kill off dogs, but most of it ends up seeping into soil and cement, poisoning gardeners, garbage workers and children playing in the street. Culling street dogs doesn’t stop the spread of disease either, he added, as over 70 percent of the stray population must be vaccinated to attain herd immunity. n

Dogs, cats can’t pass on coronavirus, but can test positive HONG KONG—Pet cats and dogs cannot pass the new coronavirus on to humans, but they can test positive for low levels of the pathogen if they catch it from their owners.

That’s the conclusion of Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department after a dog in quarantine tested weakly positive for the virus February 27 and 28, and March 2, using the canine’s nasal and oral cavity samples.

An unidentified spokesman for the department was quoted in a news

www.businessmirror.com.ph

release as saying, “There is currently no evidence that pet animals can be a source of infection of COVID-19 or that they become sick.”

Scientists suspect the virus known as SARS-CoV-2 that causes the disease originated in bats before passing it on to another species, possibly a small wild mammal, that passed it on to humans. However, experts from the School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences of the City University

of Hong Kong, and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) have unanimously agreed that the dog has a low level of infection and it is “likely to be a case of human-to-animal transmission.”

The dog, and another also in quarantine which has tested negative for the virus, will be tested again before being released. The department suggested any pets, including dogs and cats, from households where someone has tested positive for the virus should be put into quarantine.

In general, pet owners should maintain good hygiene, including washing hands before and after handling animals, their food and supplies, and no kissing them. People who are sick should avoid contact with pets and a veterinarian’s advice should be sought if changes in a pet’s health conditions are detected.

“Apart from maintaining good hygiene practices, pet owners need not be overly concerned and under no circumstances should they abandon their pets,” the spokesman said. AP

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your imagination will run wild, but that doesn’t mean you have to follow through. Choose what you know you can rely on to get you where you want to go. You will be able to make positive changes and gains. HHHHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Flesh out your ideas, and look for a sound way to advance.

Keep your distance from people who tend to take advantage of you. Concentrate on what you can do to improve a health, financial or contractual problem.

HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Participate.

What you discover by interacting with unique people will help you make a positive change. Don’t argue or fight a losing battle; follow your heart and do your own thing. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Take a moment to weed out the truth. Someone with big ideas will try to solicit you to get involved in a plan that isn’t solid. The information you are given will be exaggerated. Protect your personal information.

HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Make positive changes to the way you live. Surround yourself with people who motivate and inspire you to strive for success. An emotional situation should be dealt with peacefully. Getting into an argument will make matters worse. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Stay put until you have the facts. If you act on an assumption, you will end up looking bad and giving someone the leverage to manipulate you or a situation you face. HH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Get the facts before you take part in something you know little about. Knowledge is power, and following through with your plans in the safest way possible will lead to victory. Don’t take chances or show signs of inconsistency or indulgent behavior. HHHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are creative, forceful and ambitious.

You are passionate and popular.

‘getting wetter’ BY STELLA ZAWISTOWSKI The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Right now, in the O.R. 5 Wise member of a tribe 10 J. Crew alternative 13 “___ or credit?”

14 “The Christmas Song” cowriter Mel 15 After the buzzer 16 Trick 17 Like very hot water 18 Help in crime 19 Orange summer cocktail 22 “Great” tsar 23 Receding 27 Party that might involve making wedding dresses from toilet paper 31 Command after “Sit,” perhaps 34 Cookie that went kosher in 1997 35 One saying “namaste” 36 “7 Rings” singer Grande, to fans 37 Boston airport 38 Badminton barrier 39 World capital with pre-Incan ruins 41 Heavy load 42 Off-road transports, for short

3 WNBA legend Sue Bird’s team 4 47 Of the stars 48 Coins across the pond 52 Patsy Stone’s BFF on Absolutely Fabulous 56 Some stay-at-home parents 59 Certain Scottish musician 60 “La ___ Bonita” 61 Get ready to run?

62 Trio + five 63 Shaving mishap 64 Took the gold medal 65 Garlicky green sauce 66 Neither black nor white, in Britain DOWN 1 Bit of paper 2 Neutral shade 3 Great smile or big vocabulary 4 As a result of that 5 And others, in Latin 6 High tennis shots 7 Roller-coaster plunge 8 Head of state in Kuwait 9 Has faith in

0 Run one’s mouth 1 11 Enjoyed injera, e.g.

12 Goldfish or gerbil 15 Brand for kicking back 20 Bobby of Bruins fame 21 Texter’s “Truthfully...”

24 “No way, no how!”

25 Beersheba’s desert 26 Shrimp and ___ 28 Lorna of literature 29 Hundred-eyed giant of Greek myth 30 Absolute minimum 31 Lively Latin dance 32 Gives it a go 33 Target, as in paintball 37 Candy that may have swirls 40 Not going anywhere?

42 Giggle-worthy 44 Wee bit 45 Portuguese wine city 46 Hermione’s husband 49 Military denial 50 Gabbana’s partner 51 Sinuous

53 “Good one!”

54 Many city housing listings, for short 55 Get together 56 Morning moisture 57 Much ___ About Nothing 58 Earsplitting noise

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

BLIND SPOT BRUCE C.

SHADY WIFE

LAUREL (from left), voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ian, voiced by Tom Holland, and Barley, voiced by Chris Pratt, appear in a scene from Onward, which topped the North American box office by pulling in $40 million on its opening weekend.

Business as usual at North American box office amid virus

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BY LINDSEY BAH� The Associated Press

OS ANGELES—North American audiences are not staying away from theaters amid virus concerns, according to the weekend’s box-office numbers. Disney and Pixar’s Onward topped the charts as expected and the Ben Affleck basketball drama The Way Back also opened normally.

Onward earned $40 million from 4,310 North American locations, according to studio estimates on Sunday. It’s on the lower end of openings for the studio, more in line with The Good Dinosaur’s launch in 2015. Onward is an original story about two teenage elf brothers voiced by Chris Pratt and Tom Holland who get a chance to spend one last day with their late father. “I think it’s a solid start for an original animated film,” said Cathleen Taff, Disney’s president of distribution. “We’re especially excited about the fact that we’ve seen such good word of mouth.”

The studio expects it to continue performing well with spring breaks starting for many students and families next week.

Internationally, Onward picked up $28 million.

Disney noted that outside of Asia-Pacific regions, coronavirus concerns have not made a material impact on earnings. The weekend overall is down some 50 percent from the same weekend last year, but that’s only because when Captain Marvel opened to over $153 million, and not any indication of the market taking a hit, said Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

The rest of the charts also looked normal, even with recent virus-related shake-ups in the entertainment industry, including the cancellation of the South by Southwest festival and the decision to push back the release of the new James Bond film No Time to Die from April to November.

Universal and Blumhouse’s The Invisible Man dropped to second place in week two with $15.2 million, bringing its domestic total to $52.7 million.

Worldwide, it’s just shy of $100 million.

In third place, Warner Bros.’s The Way Back opened in line with projections with an estimated $8.5 million. The R-rated drama cost around $21 million to produce. Affleck’s performance was well-received by critics, and the star has been unusually candid about his own real-life struggles with alcoholism in the press in the weeks leading up to release.

“It’s a very specific drama,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ president of domestic distribution. “Ben Affleck did a great job and the reviews back that up.”

Audiences, who skewed older (64 percent were over the age of 35), gave the film a “B+” CinemaScore.

Goldstein noted that the audience age broadened over the weekend. He also hasn’t seen any significant impact of the virus on the North American box office yet. “When you look at the box office this weekend with Onward and The Way Back, these are solid numbers when we’re all concerned ‘Will people hole up inside?’” Goldstein said. “We’re not seeing evidence of that, but anything can happen.”

Industry analysts are keeping an eye on the numbers as the news continues to develop around the outbreak. “Thus far, I’m not seeing any impact,”

Dergarabedian said. “This weekend played out exactly as expected. You have families and children going to theaters to the tune of $40 million. People remain in the habit of going to the movies.”

In limited release, A24 debuted Kelly Reichardt’s acclaimed First Cow in four locations in New York and Los Angeles. It earned $96,059 and will be rolling out nationwide throughout the spring.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore.

Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.

1. Onward, $40 million ($28 million international) 2. The Invisible Man, $15.2 million ($17.3 million international) 3. The Way Back, $8.5 million ($640,000 international) 4. Sonic the Hedgehog, $8 million ($12 million international) 5. The Call of the Wild, $7 million ($4.8 million international) 6. Emma, $5 million ($1.5 million international) 7. Bad Boys for Life, $3.1 million ($2.8 million international) 8. Birds of Prey, $2.2 million ($1.9 million international) 9. Impractical Jokers: The Movie, $1.8 million 10. My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, $1.5 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the US and Canada), according to Comscore: 1. Onward, $28 million 2. The Invisible Man, $17.3 million 3. Sonic the Hedgehog, $12 million 4. The Gentlemen, $4.9 million 5. The Call of the Wild, $4.8 million 6. The Kangaroo Chronicles, $3.5 million 7. Parasite, $3.3 million 8. Bad Boys for Life, $2.8 million 9. Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island, $2.4 million 10. Birds of Prey, $1.9 million. ■

GMA widens Nutam lead in February GMA tightly held its leadership in the nationwide television ratings as it continued to expand its viewership advantage in key urban areas, which now include Urban Visayas, according to the latest data from Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

The network, which posted a higher margin from the previous month, remained victorious in the National Urban Television Audience Measurement (Nutam) with 35.2-percent average total day people audience share.

It outscored ABS-CBN’s 32.1 percent for February (with February 23 to 29 based on overnight data).

GMA’s overall lead was mainly driven by its steadily improving THE multi-awarded numbers in the morning and Jessica Soho afternoon blocks. GMA’s 29.4

percent won against rival’s 26.3 percent in the morning block, while its 38.4 percent performance in the afternoon block was clearly ahead of competition’s 30.9 percent.

The network similarly ruled in the viewer-rich areas of Urban Luzon and Mega Manila. In Urban Luzon, GMA recorded a 37.2-percent average total day people audience share, besting ABSCBN’s 29.5 percent. GMA was also the clear winner in Mega Manila (official data from February 1 to 22) with 38.1 percent while its rival only managed to get 27.5 percent. Notably, GMA has now clinched the ratings lead in Urban Visayas with 35.7-percent average total day people audience share versus ABSCBN’s 34.1 percent.

In the list of top-rating programs, Kapuso

Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS) is still the consistent No. 1 show nationwide.

More GMA shows also occupied the overall top 30 lists in the respective areas—17 in both Nutam and Urban Luzon; 19 in Mega Manila; and 16 in Urban Visayas.

Joining KMJS as the network’s toprating shows for February were 24 Oras, Wowowin Primetime, Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko, Magpakailanman, Descendants of the Sun The Philippine Adaptation, Centerstage, Anak ni Waray vs Anak ni Biday, The Gift, Daddy’s Gurl, Pepito Manaloto, Amazing Earth, Prima Donnas, Love of My Life, Eat Bulaga, Tadhana and Magkaagaw.

Nielsen TV Audience Measurement’s client pool covers a total of 37 clients/ subscribers consisting of local TV networks, regional clients, blocktimers, advertisers and agencies.

BEFORE this public figure married his wife, he was involved with a controversial and flamboyant personality who was very generous with him. One day, the public figure dropped the flamboyant personality just like that and many people started wondering why. He apparently had fallen in love with someone who was richer. Or so it seems. There are rumors the wife is shady and sketchy, and that she is on the run from the law because of questionable transactions in the past. It’s been finally revealed why the public figure left the flamboyant personality— his wife is even more generous. If the flamboyant personality gave him a car, his wife gave him three.

The difference is that flamboyant personality’s money came from hard work while his wife’s allegedly came from nefarious means.

OLDER WOMAN

ON to another public figure, who is as rich as he is famous, and his long-suffering wife who is the envy of many people because she has all the money in the world because of her husband. What they don’t realize is that she has endured so much, including her husband’s womanizing and other vices, such as gambling. In the eyes of the public, the husband is a changed man who loves to quote the Bible and is righteous. But he is still a womanizer.

The public figure’s last girlfriend is a lovely starlet but he is now with someone who is even older than his wife. The public figure hero worships his new girlfriend because he sees her as someone who is highly intelligent, unlike his other women (including his poor wife) who he perceives as shallow. Let’s see where this relationship goes, if it will go anywhere at all.

HE LIKES STARLETS

THE young man, who is venturing into show business and sports, comes from a rich family and is attractive in his own way. Thus, it’s not a surprise that girls want to be noticed by him. The young man was once involved with an equally young starlet who seemed to like him for his money. His seemingly nice mother, who is actually strong-willed, soon set that affair in order after she saw her son’s credit-card bills. The starlet would do her grocery shopping courtesy of the boy’s credit card. Money is not an issue with this family but the mom wishes her son would date someone less mercenary. Well, the boy has moved on from the starlet and is now seeing another starlet. The mother is no longer as worried because the second starlet may also be mercenary but she isn’t looking for a commitment or a future husband. She just wants money and his mom has no problem with that.

LEVEL OF INTENSITY

THERE have been rumors about the actor’s character and behavior, and how he treats his staff and costars.

It’s not that he is mean. It’s more like he is so focused on his work that he becomes inconsiderate when he it’s in the zone. He sometimes forgets to eat or sleep.

Imagine him with his costars. The actor believes that if he can forego his meals, so can everyone on set.

One of his “victims” was a senior actor who the actor screamed at for something very minor. To make up for it, he bought the senior actor a brand-new car.

There have been many instances when the actor has seemed unkind to his coworkers. He is, too, intense that he cannot separate work from his real self. The actor is so intense that the script changes practically every hour of the taping day and he posts these changes in a Viber group.

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Wednesday, March 11, 2020

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Is your music making you deaf?

AT the height of their music careers, Mark McGrath and Huey Lewis had No. 1 hits, top-selling albums, and jam-packed live tours across America and the world. McGrath, lead singer of alternative rock group Sugar Ray, is the voice behind popular 1990s songs “Every Morning” and “Someday,” while Lewis, who fronted the 1980s band Huey Lewis and the News, sang pop hits; such as “Hip to Be Square,” “Do You Believe in Love” and “The Power of Love.”

Today, both singers are going deaf, a consequence of being constantly exposed to loud music during their heyday as rock stars. “It’s years and years, and years of being on the road, and being 2 feet in front of cymbals and drums, [high] frequencies,” said McGrath to Daily Mail TV. Lewis, who was diagnosed with the inner ear disorder, Meniere’s disease, told Vanity Fair “I can’t hear music. It’s hard enough to hear speech. But music is impossible. The music is cacophony for me, and now my hearing fluctuates.”

You don’t have to be in a rock band to lose your sense of hearing. Many of us are guilty of listening for hours to our favorite songs on full blast through earbuds plugged to our smartphones. Starting with a tolerable level, we slowly pump up the volume once our ears become desensitized by loudness. Before we know it, we’re experiencing temporary hearing loss, a condition that affects the quality of our hearing for a short period of time. Repeated, long-term exposure to blaring music can give us tinnitus, the annoying ringing in the ears. It can also damage part of our inner ear, or cochlea (from hair cells that help your brain detect sounds, to the auditory nerve, which carries information about sounds to our brain), resulting in permanent hearing loss.

Once you lose your hearing, there’s no getting it back. The top hospital in the Philippines, Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed, www.makatimed.net. ph), through its ENT Center (Dr. Ariston G. Bautista Center), suggests ways to prevent noise-induced hearing loss while still enjoying your favorite tunes.

■ LOWER THE VOLUME. “The best way to avoid noise-induced hearing loss is to decrease the volume of what you’re listening to,” Joseph Ray Richard R. Cedeño, MD, points out. How to know when loud is too loud? “If you’re listening to music on your earbuds or headphones and can’t hear what a person talking to you from arm’s length is saying, then that’s too loud,” he says.

■ LIMIT YOUR LISTENING TIME. “Instead of listening to loud music for hours on your earbuds, take breaks every 30 minutes to allow your ears to rest,” Cedeño.

“You can also observe the 60-60 rule: Don’t go over 60 percent of the maximum volume for any longer than 60 minutes.”

■ INVEST IN THE RIGHT EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES. “Noise-canceling earphones block out external sounds that interfere with your music,” says Cedeño. “With these type of earphones, you don’t have to increase the volume of your smartphone because your favorite songs will sound clearer.” Consider using over-theear headphones instead of in-ear or ear-plug-style models, too. “Over-the-ear headphones put distance between your inner ear and the speaker, sparing you from too-loud music,” Cedeño explains.

■ CARE FOR YOUR EARS. On its own, the ear is a self-cleansing organ that produces wax to prevent dust and harmful particles from getting into its inner parts. Still, it helps to treat it with tender loving care.

“Instead of cotton swabs, use a damp towel to gently clean excess wax around the canal,” says Cedeño.

“Towel-dry your ears after showering or swimming, as too much moisture in the ears attracts bacteria, which could attack the ear canal. If water gets into your ears after a dip in the pool or beach, simply tilt your head to the side and tug at your ear lobe to let the water out.”

“Exercise is also a good way to keep our ears in shape,” he adds. “Cardiovascular workouts, like running, walking and cycling, get the blood pumping to all parts of the body, including the ears, keeping them healthy and working well.”

Counseling techniques for coaching SUI GENERIS CARLO ATIENZA

biblisko@gmail.com

W

HEN I took a counseling class a while back, there was a process taught by my professor in talking to people in crisis.

While the tool was used primarily for counseling, I realized that the same steps could actually be used in coaching people and helping them realize what they need to improve, not just for their work, but also for their personal life. The process goes by the acronym SSVVPP; which stands for safe, secure, ventilate, validate, predict and prepare.

In counseling, this means you need to be perceived as a safe person whom people can approach and you can provide a secure environment where they feel protected. After establishing these, you then need to let people ventilate and tell their story, all the while validating the perceived emotions as you read between the lines. You, as the counselor, then predict what could happen next or give the counselee options they can choose from, and prepare them for the consequences of the actions they choose to pursue. Using this technique empowers the counselor to provide the best course of action the counselee is willing to take, while ensuring they are fully aware of their actions and their consequences. I think this technique is beneficial when applying it to coaching in a professional setting.

One of the pitfalls of coaching team members for performance management is when we do it only when they have done something wrong. So when you set a time to talk to them, they become anxious and apprehensive about what is going to happen during the coaching session. People managers need to understand that setting a regular time with their team will set an environment where coaching becomes a norm for helping them, and not as a time for disciplinary action. You also set aside a time to commend them for work done well, or to celebrate little triumphs for achieved milestones. This will help them see you as a safe person who champions their personal development and wants to see them to succeed, rather than a boss who exacts from them only the deliverables.

If your team members do not come to you for advice or even small talk, that in itself is an indication they do not find you a safe person.

Several organizations have adapted an open-door policy where employees can talk to management unimpeded. If you are doing this already, good for you

When you coach your team members, they need to understand that what you are doing is not only for you and the team but, ultimately, for their self-improvement.

Too often, coaching is seen as disciplinary more than personal development and so people cringe at the thought of coaching. But when people see it as an opportunity to improve themselves, they become more engaged and motivated to do their work better. and the organization. But an open-door policy should also entail actually listening to employees and doing something about their concerns. Being a safe people manager means they can approach you for whatever problems they may have about their work, or even their personal life.

Your team should not only know you are a safe person but a secure person, as well. They need to understand that what they say to you in confidence stays in confidence. There are so many horror stories of people managers divulging personal matters onto the corporate rumor mill. Your team needs to understand that whatever they say to you stays in confidence. Being secure also means you refrain from openly judging people, and you actively try to understand their predicament. Many times our team does not come to us for help because they feel they will be openly criticized or, worse, embarrassed in front of others which is detrimental to their personal growth and, in the end, would adversely affect the team’s performance.

I remember talking to one of my team members and in the discussion, she burst out crying. She had a complicated family issue she needed to attend to, and it was messing with her attendance and performance.

I allowed her to change her shift schedule, and it helped her. Coaching should help not only the people manager but also the coachee because when they feel safe and secure, it becomes easier for people managers to uncover the root cause of their teams’ performance, and find a solution which works for both the organization and the individual.

When you have already provided a safe and secure environment for your team, let them vent. This means allowing them to talk more than you do. Coaching should be an exercise in understanding how you can help them, and what better way toward that than to let them talk. But this also means you need to know how to ask questions to get to the bottom of what keeps them from doing the work. A proven technique is to ask five whys in succession to understand the

root cause of their issues.

To encourage them to open up and talk more, you need to validate what they are feeling by empathizing with them. This does not necessarily mean agreeing with them, but understanding where they are coming from. This will also help you understand your team members better by knowing their motivations, and what they hold important which will help you craft coaching points later on. Understanding where individual team members are coming from also helps you understand the whole team, and will help you gauge if future members are fit for your group, even provide you insights into what activities are helpful to keep them engaged and motivated.

When you have identified their performance issues, you now need to predict how to go about it.

Both you and your member can outline steps on how to address their opportunity for improvement.

You should actually list down all their options, but it is important that you include the advantages and disadvantages of each option. This is especially important if you are dealing with an employee who incessantly blames others or the organization for their shortcomings. But whatever the case, your team member should understand the effects of their actions and the consequences that come with these.

And when they have decided on a course of action to address their performance gap, we need to prepare them by walking them through the steps they will take to address their opportunities or to keep doing good work. This will help them get a handle on what is going to happen next and will lessen their anxiety.

When you coach your team members, they need to understand that what you are doing is not only for you and the team but, ultimately, for their self-improvement. Too often, coaching is seen as disciplinary more than personal development and so people cringe at the thought of coaching. But when people see it as an opportunity to improve themselves, they become more engaged and motivated to do their work better. ■

BusinessMirror E1 | Wednesday, March 11, 2020 • Editor : Tet Andolong

The Velaris Residences

RHK Land Corp.: PHL property market one of the best in Asia

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

T

@brownindio

HE country’s property sector continues to attract overseas players because of its stellar performance, according to a top executive of a foreign property firm.

Robert Wong, chief executive of Hongkong Land, said the country is one of best performing markets in the Asian region. The Velaris Residences is an incomparable investment for those who steward success.

“The Philippine property market is one of the most exciting markets in Asia, and we are delighted to be part of it and to bring the innovations and design excellence that Hongkong Land is known for. Through our partnership with Robinsons Land, we have no doubt that we can duplicate our global successes in the Philippines through The Velaris Residences,” Wong said in a press statement.

RHK Land Corp., a joint venture of international property leader Hongkong Land (HKL) and Robinsons Land (RLC) recently launched The Velaris Residences for the premium segment in the local property market.

Located along the C5 corridor and near the private estates of Valle Verde, Wack Wack, and Corinthian Gardens, the 45-story is a manifestation of opulence, meant to represent the very best of the Filipino owner and the country.

With access points through C5 Road, Ortigas Avenue and Amang Rodriguez Avenue, Wong pointed out that The Velaris Residences is at the center of Metro Manila and, for those who do not compromise on location, never too far from any section of the city.

A member of the Jardine Matheson Group, HKL currently owns and manages more than 850,000 square meters of premier com-

mercial and corporate spaces, luxury residential and mixed-use properties across Singapore, Jakarta, Greater China (Beijing and Hong Kong), and other countries in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, its most notable projects are premium properties One Roxas Triangle and Two Roxas Triangle in Makati City, Mandani Bay in Cebu.

Wong pointed out the development is situated in Bridgetowne’s choicest location, rising next to a beautiful bridge, a victor statue, and a verdant central park. To connect with nature, a 200-meter bridge structure will be built over the historic Marikina river, which was designed using state-of-theart technology and indigenous ingenuity by Mañosa and Company.

Beside it, a 60-meter sculpture of a victor stands proudly and stirs rapt admiration. These elements come together to demonstrate that Bridgetowne is Robinsons Land’s 31-hectare ode to urban prosperity.

He said The Velaris Residences springs from the stylings of modernist architecture pioneer Ludwig van der Rohe, and turned into reality by WV Coscolluela & Associates. It will have a concrete-andglass structure resembling a sunbeam amid the greens, the structure presents an elegant shard of disruption in the city—an architectural Tour de Force directing viewers’ vision and spirit toward light, grace and ease. The classic contemporary masterpiece can be credited to both international and Filipino influences.

Upon entering the building,

Grand Lobby

penthouse

observers and residents will immediately notice the marriage of ease and sophistication. The Velaris Residences’ intentional design philosophy reveals itself.

Artfully considered in the layout is people’s natural movement within the spaces—a mark of truly el-

egant places. Every inch and detail is meticulously designed with the residents’ experience at the heart of every architectural and interior design choice.

Whether it’s a one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom, or a penthouse unit, each residence

is a study in complements and contrasts. Earth tones do not feel neutral here. Combined with rich browns, grays and cream, the effect surprisingly manages to feel new, textured and interesting.

Premium finishing accents and fixtures follow the stylings of the

affluent in Hong Kong, catching the discerning eye with metallic tones of bronze and rose gold.

Smart home connectivity and high-end appliances complete every savvy unit purchase and assure buyers of future-ready convenience at the tap of a finger.

Biometric fingerprint scanning, PIN code, RFID card access, and Smart digital locks offer state-ofthe-art security; air-conditioning and lights can be controlled remotely from the phone; and threebedroom and penthouse residences have Smart Mirrors for users’ discretion.

PTang Studio Ltd., which serves global commercial and residential clients in Hong Kong, China, Japan and the United Kingdom, is the brains behind the interior planning and design.

“We don’t just design spaces.

We design experiences. And in order to stage an experience that is memorable and unique for our residents, we always design with intention in mind,” said Stanley Ng, head of design, South Asia Development Properties, Hongkong Land.

Business

E2 Wednesday, March 11, 2020

ASEANA, the Livable City in the Bay Area

ly Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE) certification from the Philippine Green Building Council. In collaboration with international design firm Aedas, and local architecture heavyweight Visionarch, Parqal is perceived to become one of the top tourist hubs in the Metro. “Parqal is not a mall” according to Wenceslao. Parqal is an idea implemented based on blurring the lines between public and private space by integrating public amenities like parks and a church in the commercial development.

From a vision of transforming water into land, to an ambition of transforming, and enhancing the urban landscape through aesthetically compelling and beneficially endearing city layouts and concepts, Aseana City progressively proves to deliver worldclass infrastructures, products and services making it one of the most competitive central business districts in the Metro. Their connection to key transport linkages, such as Naia Expressway, LRT Line 1 Extension, and the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITx), boosted further by enhanced public security and open spaces, walkway systems, and proximity to entertainment centers are what truly make this city irresistibly great and valuable. In the future, each of these developments, while separate and unique from each other, will form a completely organic, complementary and symbiotic city ensuring a healthy and sustainable community for its residents.

Amor Maclang

first dibs in real estate

Ongoing façade construction of Pixel Residences

Elevated walkway located at the second floor of Starbucks Macapagal—biggest Starbucks branch in the Philippines to date

Part Two Residential offerings

Trusting on the overwhelming response from home buyers from their first project, ARHC advances further with their expertise in the residential development arena, through MidPark Towers.

The second residential offering which was launched in the market last November 2018 is already on its last phase of preselling for its four towers.

Remaining true to its work, live, and play concept, MidPark Towers is located just across Ayala Malls Manila Bay, the biggest Ayala Mall development to date and will be accessible via an elevated walkway.

Additionally, the development is close to various office buildings and Aseana City’s linear mixeduse and park development called Parqal. Aside from its prime location, MidPark Towers also offers a modernized classic approach to

its interior design. The simplicity and elegance of natural stones and wood elements will be integrated to the whole interior layout giving off an ambiance of warmth and sophistication. Customized furniture pieces playing along neutral color palettes can be found in the main lobby and amenity areas, such as the library lounge and function room. The integration of a modern classic visual and its unique functionalities are all possible with ARHC’s collaboration with Asuncion Berenguer Inc., a local design firm known for its list of high-end residential clienteles. MidPark Towers is composed of 669 units spread across four towers.

Commercial and mixed-use expanse

Aside from residential enclaves, Aseana City also boasts spacious and competitive office and commercial spaces through its highgrade buildings that include Ase-

About DM Wenceslao and Associates Inc.

should strengthen the livability aspect of cities. Here in Aseana City, we welcome the challenge of integrating green spaces, and making them highly and quickly accessible in the entire span of our city.

With Parqal, public space becomes an integral and interwoven part of the landscape,” said Buds Wenceslao, CEO of DMWAI. Further, the initiative aims to secure five-star rating for Building for Ecological-

DMWAI is an integrated property developer with expertise in land reclamation, construction and real-estate development. It is the master developer and primary owner of Aseana City, a development project with a total land area of 107.5 hectares located along the coastal waters of Manila Bay. Since 1965, DMWAI has reclaimed more than 2.4 million square meters of land, leased or developed 245,000 sq m of land and buildings, and completed over 140 construction and infrastructure projects, including large, complex government developments throughout the Philippines. For further information, visit dmwai.com.

tial investment among Filipinos, be they an entrepreneur or midexecutive wishing to settle near the workplace, an OFW looking for a good investment or an upgrade from their previous place of residence, a young family scouting for a conducive place to raise children or even empty nesters hoping to retire in a secure yet calming en-

vironment. With The Hive, you can also have the opportunity to invest your hard-earned money in an upgraded and modern lifestyle that will surely suit your family’s needs today and in the future.

Visit us at the Valley Fair Town Center for more information and discover the possibilities of suburban living.

DMWAI executives during the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Pixel Residences

ana One, Aseana Two, Aseana Three, and the forthcoming twotower office development known as 8912 Asean Avenue Building.

The said project has a total construction floor area of 100,699.75 sq m and a gross leasable area of 69,283.51 sq m. Designed by local design firm Jose Siao Ling & Associates, it is perceived to become one of the most prime office spots in the bay area with its

sleek corporate design and direct access to Ayala Malls Manila Bay via an elevated bridgeway. Further, Aseana City is set to open the first phase of its largest mixed-use and public space project dubbed as Parqal. Parqal, a word play of Park and kalye (street) is further testament to Aseana City’s goal of promoting walkability and seamless connections within the development. “Public infrastructure

Bank on your future: The hows and lots W

HO doesn’t wa nt to wake up every morning to panoramic views of breathtaking sunrise and lush greeneries, and end the day with an equally inspiring sunset? Who doesn’t dream of living in a relaxing setting while still having easy access to modern comforts and key establishments, such as school, work and places for leisure?

As city living increasingly becomes less appealing, more home seekers are realizing the advantages of living on the city’s outskirts. MySpace Properties Inc., a progressive property developer of residential communities, promises residents an upgraded lifestyle in the suburbs at an affordable cost with its pioneer mixed-use development, The Hive. Located in Taytay, Rizal, The Hive gives residents the opportunity to invest in their future not only by owning a property and place of residence, but also by enjoying amenities

and features designed to enrich their lives.

Invest in your wellness

Stress from work, family life and even just surviving the heavy city traffic can take a toll on anyone.

Encounters with nature, even brief, can alleviate mental fatigue and stress. Parks and other open spaces encourage relaxation, social interaction, exercise and meditation with their instantly calming ambience. Having quality landscaping and lush green spaces close to one’s place of residence is a good investment as both visual and physical access to greeneries can restore one’s ability to focus.

Invest in your leisure time

All work and no play can make one dull. Taking time off daily stressors, going for some personal time or simply being around loved ones can do a lot to recharge and, improve one’s state of mind. But,

more often than not, additional costs and inaccessibility of areas of relaxation hinder leisure time with family.

At The Hive, resort-like amenities are just a short walk from the doorstep. You can spend an entire afternoon with your family basking in the large lap pools. Kids can also enjoy swimming on their own at the kiddie pools adjacent to the lap pools.

Invest in your relationships

Relationships with family, friends, and even colleagues and mentors are the richest source of joy, meaning and fulfillment in life.

These special bonds create lasting memories that can come in handy during life’s hardest moments.

Celebrate all special moments with family and loved ones at The Hive’s spacious clubhouse, which has its own multipurpose hall.

Birthdays, anniversaries, graduation or even a simple get-together

will be doubly special with the festive ambiance and amenities.

Invest in your family’s security and convenience

Home seekers invest in properties with their family in mind, considering the space, security and convenience that comes with a potential residential space. At The Hive, your family is assured of uncompromised spaces with large unit cuts starting at 30.10 square meters, providing spacious living areas for greater comfort and privacy.

Moreover, each tower at The Hive is equipped with 24/7 security, fully functioning CCTVs, and emergency light in common areas to guarantee safe and worry-free living for you and your entire brood.

Invest in The Hive

MySpace Properties Inc. sees suburban communities as fast becoming the preferred residen-

sMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

E3

Life in the Philippines’s richest province

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N an archipelago composed of 81 provinces, vast riches can be seen and experienced in every corner at any given time.

When it comes to finding a place that you can truly call home and where you can grow your wealth exponentially, choosing a location where opportunities come aplenty will always be a winning start.

Consistently hailed by the Commission on Audit (CoA) as the Philippines’s richest province, Cebu— with all its network of paved roads, an efficient informationtechnology ecosystem, and a huge employable population—may just offer the ideal address for you and your family.

If you want a place where relaxation means simply gazing out the window and into the vast blue sea or the lush mountains on the horizon, look no farther than Lapu-Lapu City in Mactan.

Here is a progressive urban center where efficiency and investment opportunities meet your every need to build a rewarding family life.

The country’s wealthiest province can be your next home with Megaworld’s The Pearl Global Residences at The Mactan Newtown

A new residential haven at The Mactan Newtown

Living in a place where everyday feels like a vacation is something that every family needs to build worthwhile memories and create stories together.

Located in a community where residents enjoy being a mere walking distance away from the beach, The Pearl Global Residences is Megaworld ’s latest offering to home owners who want to be part of charming community while also enjoying utmost convenience and accessibility. Rising 20 floors high, this residential condominium development adds 222 residential units to the existing 1,836 residential unit inventory within the

property giant’s 30-hectare The Mactan Newtown township.

Future residents of The Pearl Global Residences can choose from a variety of units, which include executive studio with either a balcony or a lanai (up to 40 square meters); one bedroom and executive one bedroom with balcony (up to 59 sq m); two bedroom with balcony or lanai

(up to 80 sq m); and three bedroom with balcony (up to 116 sq m).

Also nestled at the roof deck of this rising new residential tower are an outdoor lounge and garden, a dry bar, and a viewing deck where families can enjoy unhindered panoramic views of the Cebu mountains, the Magellan Bay and the Hilutungan Channel,

Lamudi Philippines Celebrates Its 6th Year

the nearby islands, as well as the nearby Lapu-Lapu Shrine.

Where home and history come together

Set to rise near the road leading to the historic Lapu-Lapu Shrine, residents of The Pearl Global Residences are sure to fall in love not only with their home, but also with

the rich culture that surrounds this place.

“The Pearl Global Residences will showcase the Filipino pride to the world. We got the name from the country’s title of ‘Pearl of the Orient,’ and as we expect more visitors and tourists to come to The Mactan Newtown in the coming years, we want this tower to be one of the icons of Filipino pride inside our development,” said Noli D. Hernandez, president of Megaworld Cebu Properties Inc. The Pearl Global Residences will feature an array of amenities at the second level that include an adult pool and kiddie pool, fitness center, outdoor lounge and seating areas, children’s play area, function room, game room, reading nook and co-working spaces.

The residential tower is expected for completion in 2025.

Home

2017: Lamudi introduced The Outlook Awards

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arch 3, 2014, Lamudi Philippines was launched formally. Back then, finding the dream home online, typing in only a few words on the search bar, was only a utopian reality. The Internet was already at the peak of its popularity, but it wasn’t a place for looking up properties, yet.

Today paints a different picture, of course.

With only a few clicks, people can instantly see the home of their dreams in an ideal neighborhood with the price they prefer. What’s more, they can connect with brokers even before going to the actual site.

From then to now, so much has changed.

Celebrating change

As a way to celebrate Lamudi’s sixth year, the team gathered together that morning, remembering the wonderful changes the company has enjoyed through the years. The main hall of the office was filled with Lamudians’ gleeful spirits and joyful Happy Birthday greetings. Of course, the traditional cake was brought out,

completing the merry celebration.

In her speech, Bhavna Suresh, the CEO of the company, recalled the time when Lamudi was only starting. “Imagine talking to brokers and convincing them to take a package six years ago ....Imagine talking to developers and explaining to them what Lamudi was.” Through the years, Lamudi has become a household name in the real-estate industry.

In keeping with taking a trip down memory lane and celebrating change, Suresh led a new tradition: the creation of a time capsule memory box. Each Lamudian wrote down their hopes and dreams in a piece of paper and dropped it inside the memory box. Next year, as the company celebrates its birthday, the entire team will open up the capsule to look back at the things they longed to see the year prior.

Experiencing progress

As a throwback to the wonderful years and an ode to positive change, allow Lamudi to indulge in the milestones they have expe-

rienced through the years:

2015: Lamudi acquired MyProperty.ph

The Outlook Awards: The Philippine Buyers’ Choice Property Awards is one of the highly anticipated events in the real-estate industry.

This event puts together renowned real-estate professionals as the panel of judges and involves 10,000 property seekers in the process of selection.

Lamudi was also a trendsetter in terms of niche forums, launching The Outlook: Real Estate Conference the same year, gathering the best and the brightest of the industry in one room to talk about the most pressing issues in real estate.

The Broker Awards Night was first introduced in 2017, as well, acknowledging top property agents all over the country.

2018: Lamudi put up its academy

Lamudi expanded its digital scope with the acquisition of the next big property platform at the time, MyProperty.ph. With a widened marketplace, Lamudi were able to offer thousands of property listings to seekers, giving them myriads of options fitting to their unique needs and lifestyle.

Committed to empowering more brokers, Lamudi launched the Lamudi Academy, the educational arm of the company. Through the training sessions, brokers and agents learn more about how to do digital marketing and online selling right.

2016: Lamudi launched targeted campaigns and housing fairs

Beyond empowering through knowledge, Lamudi wanted to create a space where brokers can discover more business opportunities. For this reason, the Lamudi Link: Broker Networking Night was launched. It gave agents the chance to meet, talk about future projects and plan collaboration projects.

Six years ago, Lamudi entered the real-estate industry. In the years to come, the company will continue to fulfill its central goal: helping Filipinos find their dream property online.

Targeted campaigns were for partner developers, giving them tools to better promote properties to seekers. Housing fairs, meanwhile, were events meant to gather developers, real-estate professionals and property seekers. These two initiatives proved to be very promising not just to individuals and organizations involved, but to the entire real-estate industry, as well, making it more vibrant than ever.

2019: Lamudi provided more networking opportunities for brokers

Royale Homes Marketing Corp. celebrates 25th annual awards

R

OYALE Homes Marketing Corp., the exclusive marketing arm of Sta. Lucia Realty and Development Inc. and Sta. Lucia Land Inc. recently recognized its outstanding sales force for the year 2019 at RHMC 25th Annual Awards held at One Shangri-La Place, Ortigas.

Recognition of excellence, travel and cash incentives were given to the top sales teams and producers as Royale Homes’ 25th year in real-estate marketing set a record high of sales production. The awards for the Top Sales Team Lead Brokers and the most prestigious Royale Achiever’s Award were presented by Sta. Lucia Land CEO and President Exequiel D. Robles together with RHMC executives Matilde P. Robles and Ma. Melinda A. Bernardino.

The whole RHMC family is extremely proud of all the awardees who have dedicated their time and effort to their careers.

Kohler wins international recognition for third consecutive year

K

ohler Co., a global leader in the design and innovation of kitchen and bath products, announced the Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet was named one of the CES 2020 Innovation Awards Honorees in the smart home category. This is the third year in a row that the global brand was recognized at the recently held annual international trade event.

Products named as honorees scored above the threshold set for their respective product categories. The Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet joins other Kohler products that have won recognition at CES—the Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror with Amazon Alexa, which was a2018 Innovation Honoree, and the Sensate Touchless Kitchen Faucet with Kohler Konnect, a 2019 Best of Innovation winner.

An annual program that celebrates outstanding design, the CES Innovation Awards recognizes outstanding products across 28 categories. A panel of judges consisting of designers, engineers and members of the tech media reviews submissions based on design, functionality, consumer appeal, engineering and how the products compare with competition.

The Numi, Kohler’s most advanced intelligent toilet, offers exceptional water efficiency, personalized cleansing and dryer functions, a heated seat and high-quality built-in speakers. The lighting features on Kohler’s flagship intelligent toilet can be paired with speakers to create different spa-like environments within a bathroom space.

The built-in Amazon Alexa enables

simple voice control of Numi’s features and access to tens of thousands of skills.

Kohler Konnect features innovative kitchen and bath products combined with quality product design and craftsmanship to deliver comfort, convenience and enjoyment to the home.

Personalized features are managed through the Kohler Konnect application for iOS and Android devices. Powered by the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, Kohler Konnect offers support in select products for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit. The Kohler Konnect product portfolio is expanding with additional options for the enhanced smart home experience.

The CES Innovation Awards is sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association, owner and producer of CES, the world’s largest and most influential technology event. CTA has been recognizing achievements in product design and engineering since 1976.

Kohler’s Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet was displayed in the Innovation Awards Showcase at CES 2020. The complete list of CES 2020 Innovation Honorees, including product descriptions and photos, can be found at CES. tech/Innovation.

As Kohler Philippines stays true to its commitment to share the experience of luxury in the homes of the Filipinos, the Numi 2.0 is available in the Philippines through drop ship by accredited retailers of Kohler products in the country.

For the latest news and show announcements, visit CES.tech.

Entrepreneur BusinessMirror

E4 Wednesday, March 11, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Chef cum entrepreneur Gene Gonzalez reopens Café Ysabel at Greenhills strip

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

A

@brownindio

Contributor

T a relatively young age of 23, chef Gene Gonzalez opened Café Ysabel in the early 1980s at P. Guevarra Street, Wilson, Greenhills. The café served their clients for three decades and became a landmark in the upscale district.

Acknowledged as one of the best restaurants in Metro Manila, Café Ysabel became a byword serving classic Filipino dishes, such as boneless bangus belly ala Pobre and the exotic food like stuffed frog legs.

When they learned Café Ysabel would be closing down, loyalists and foodies protested because a lot of them have developed a strong affinity to the food institution in that part of the metropolis.

After a strong clamor, Gonzalez reopened Café Ysabel two years ago.

However, the reopening was met with a lot of challenges that tested his patience and perseverance.

In fact, Café Ysabel’s opening had to be moved several times because Gene has to contend with one issue after other.

Retirement option Gonzalez revealed in a recent interview with the BusinessMirror that he even planned on retirement and close Café Ysabel for good. Nevertheless, Gonzalez would still be busy as he will continue teaching at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies (CACS) and, at the same time, do consultancy work in the hotel and restaurant industry.

The crucial point of his decision to carry on came from his daughter Gianina. “My daughter told me: Dad, if you retire you will get bored and die in two years,” he recalled telling him. “It was a choice between retiring and continuing Café Ysabel. What happened was that we spent a whole load of money here in our new home in P. Guevarra renovating this place,”

Gonzalez pointed out.

The loving father followed Gianina’s recommendation and continued Café Ysabel at the same time doing a lot of consultancy work on the side.

Gonzalez’s consulting job is lucrative because he and his group worked with the major names and players in the restaurant business. “We were the same group that did projects with Vikings, Seattle’s Best and Max’s,” he said. “It was a choice between retiring and continuing Café Ysabel.

What happened was that we spent a whole load of money here in our new home in P. Guevarra renovating this place,” Gonzalez pointed out.

Gonzalez added that finding the new location emerged as the initial challenge. Chef Gino, son of Gonzalez, revealed in an online magazine interview, that their decision to move to their current location in M. Paterno Street was a blessing in disguise because the ancestral house was a bigger location. Although it has moved to a new location, Café Ysabel has retained his old-world charm because the father and son tandem has brought the paintings and fixtures from their original location.

New direction

Gino and four other senior consultants are helping Gonzalez in the consultancy projects with hotels.

For those who cannot afford a foreign-executive chef, Gonzalez and

his group developed system to run a hotel, or a restaurant’s food and beverage operations. “All the executive chef needs to do is enforce the system,” he said.

That takes out the several variables such as the dependency on a foreign executive and the high cost that goes with it, according to Gonzalez.

Meanwhile, Café Ysabel is going to pursue an aggressive marketing campaign to bring back the old clients and attract new ones to handle the rental expenses.

Moreover, Café Ysabel will also concentrate on developing custommade meals and concentrate on events. It is finishing its banquet hall that will host bigger events. It is also producing a line of bottled products, such as bagoong that is being distributed in SM malls other supermarkets.

“We want Café Ysabel to be a brand and a label and at the same time keep up its prestige,” Gonzalez said.

Just like Café Ysabel, Gonzalez guaranteed his group is ready and capable to deliver a high-quality food and beverage system. It has 1 million recipes on file for interested clients.

Gonzalez also ensured students from CACS will excel in their field once they go out for the apprenticeship outside. Café Ysabel serves as the internship venue of the students.

“Before we send our students for their externship, we made sure they

will stand out, have the confidence and the movements of a good chef,” he pointed.

At the same time, Gonzalez trains his instructors in a rigid manner and that is why CACS is known to produce skilled chefs. To ensure quality instruction, student to teacher ratio is one instructor to 15 students.

Gonzalez recalled that there was an upsurge in the 1990s of young people enrolling in culinary arts.

He said television played a big part in attracting the youth because they thought being a chef was a glamorous job. “Then they realized all that they saw on TV was all glamour stuff,” he pointed out.

Interestingly, Gonzalez mentored celebrities such as Judy Ann Santos, Ryan Agoncillo, Sarah Geronimo, Matteo Guidicelli and Pia Wurtzbach. But this has changed in the current times. He said people now come to CACS become they want to be chefs and really like to cook.

Right now, Gonzalez’s time is variable. When he gets up in the morning, he is ready for work. In fact, he enjoys the routine because he loves what he is doing and did not consider his being chef as a job.

“I’ve probably never worked in my entire life. My work does not only involve teaching people to make recipes but tying it with up with ideas of business development. That is the strength of our consultancy,” he said.

SMEs offered commercial space at newly opened market in Laguna

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28

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NTERPRISING individuals or start-ups are encouraged to locate to the newly inaugurated SanJos Market San Pedro in Laguna, which is accessible to residential areas, offices and other high-foot trafficked establishments nearby.

This is the second commercial market venture of P.A. Alvarez Properties and Development Corp.

(P.A. Properties), one of the leading developers of affordable housing in Southern Luzon. The first was SanJos Market in Caloocan.

Located in Barangay Langgam, San Pedro, Laguna, it spans at over 8,110 square meters and has a spacious parking facility. Providing consumers an array of selections, it has three areas—wet, dry and food cart sections.

Besides meat and fresh products, like fruits and vegetables, this market houses other amenities. These include a pawnshop and money remittance center, general merchandise, rice dealers, food kiosks, a pharmacy and a local supermarket, among others.

SanJos Market San Pedro has proven P.A. Properties’ thrust to build sustainable communities by

CHARM attends to a customer in her rice stall.

providing decent dwellings and convenience to Filipino homebuyers, as well as livelihood opportunities.

Among its tenants are residents of Saint Joseph Village 9 named Charm and Joven. They co-own a rice stall here, which has been operating since December 2019.

Joven is hopeful that the community, and the nearby residential homeowners, would support and visit SanJos Market now that it is fully opened.

P.A. Properties is among the largest low- to medium-cost housing developers in key growth areas of Luzon.

With a capitalization of P3.8 billion as of December 2018, it has already built around 19,000 housing units in Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga and Metro Manila.

The real-estate company’s expansion plans include the construction of 25 additional housing communities in the next five years to help ease the more than 6 million housing backlog in the Philippines and contribute to the growth of the economy, as well.

Those interested to avail commercial spaces in SanJos Market San Pedro may contact Gina Villamor, commercial/business unit head, at 0918-9217178; Raymon Anthony Garcia, 0998-5959115; or Jesseca Tabuzo, 0948-1817843.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Pinoy mothers yearn for job security, run own business

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orking mothers in the Philippines are the most interested in starting businesses and finding a stable job, compared to other segments of the population. However, they encounter lack of finances and time as barriers to opportunity, or opportunity gaps.

These were findings from LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2020, a composite measure that seeks to understand how people perceive opportunities and the gaps that stand in the way of achieving them.

Barrier

The study published by LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, found that as much as 25 percent of Filipino working mothers consider entrepreneurship as the main opportunity they are interested in. Job security was named by 16 percent of working mothers and ranks second among the main opportunities they want to pursue.

However, Filipino working mothers are held back from these opportunities by their financial status and lack of time. In particular, lack of time is a more difficult barrier for them compared to other respondents. They also experience related concerns such as lack of support in family commitments and weak networks as bigger hurdles compared to other respondents.

Single working moms

Salute to Asean women

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and GoNegosyo founder Joey Concepcion led the awardees of GoNegosyo Asean Women of Impact in a courtesy call with President Duterte at the Malacañang last March 3, 2020. Alice Eduardo (Santa Elena Construction) and Asean BAC PH council member George Barcelon were also present.

Women entreps list challenges, issues to rebirth of textile and weaving industry

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ssues surrounding cotton supply, credit facilities, and supply chain are just some of the major challenges confronting the revival and sustainability of the local fashion, textile and weaving industry, according to women entrepreneurs, and industry leaders and advocates.

Maribel Ongpin, founder of Habi The Philippine Textile Council, an organization that seeks to promote and enhance Philippine textiles through education, communication and research, said one of the biggest challenges the industry currently faces is limited supply of cotton.

“We need more cotton because our weavers can get a better price with cotton. The idea is to make [weaving] sustainable, and get a good price [for cotton],” she said.

This calls for planting our own, rather than importing as we do now, Ongpin added. Planting indigenous fibers should be supported and promoted, and not just cotton, but abaca, piña and others, as well.

Ongpin, who spoke during a panel discussion at the Forum on Women of Impact last March 2, pointed out that cotton is an indigenous fabric that has been grown in this country for centuries and that used to even be exported.

D i n a B on ne v ie - Save l l a no, founder of La Bon Vie Enterprise which specializes in handwoven products, including inabel handicrafts, agreed that having to import cotton is a major drawback and that the allocation of more lands for the fiber should be a priority.

Antique Rep. Loren Legarda added that there has been a resurgence in global demand for indigenous fabrics and handwoven garments, and this can be met by planting on a massive scale, as what Bangladesh has been doing in support of its successful garment and textile industry.

Ongpin said another problem is the lack of credit facilities, stating that weavers need funding “because they have to buy thread.”

She mentioned, as well, the need to educate weavers about entrepreneurship.

“They need to learn how to price, they need to learn how to manage their resources, they have to see the competition” to be challenged to create something better, Ongpin said.

Meanwhile, Jeannie Javelosa, lead of GREAT Women, or GenderResponsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women, batted for a more integrated supply chain to support, and invigorate, domes-

tic fashion development and textile production.

“It is the synergy of all the different points of this integrated supply chain that can bring us to the international market,” Javelosa said.

She emphasized the necessity of private-sector partnership with government to be able to develop yarn facilities, fill in the gaps in the supply chain and consolidate stakeholders in one area to improve operational flow.

Integration, coupled with strategic planning, Javelosa added, will also lead to the improvement in the quality of domestic yarns and products, enabling local weaving communities to tap the international market.

“We need to get that midrange market, which means we need to improve our fibers, and we need to talk to our designers about leveling up their product development,” Javelosa said.

To accomplish this requires “a whole mindset shift in each part of the supply chain.”

“We have to be able to make sure that the stakeholders are together.”

She said this was done in Marawi, where the women displaced by the war benefited from supply-chain integration and were able to earn a living through handweaving.

These opportunity gaps can be particularly challenging for a significant number of working mothers in the Philippines raising children on their own. The study found that close to 22 percent of working mothers in the Philippines are single, the second highest in the world after Brazil, which has 23 percent.

With their hands full, Filipino working mothers are least likely to be actively, or casually, looking for work opportunities, but this does not mean that they don’t have ambitions on their own. In fact, the study found that they are the most open to consider any offers that come their way.

Philippine economic data has found that the country has the lowest female work force participation in Southeast Asia at 46 percent. Filipino women are also more likely to quit work during their childbearing years. Addressing opportunity gaps is vital so that working mothers can return to or remain at work, should they wish to.

Feon Ang, vice president, LinkedIn Talent and Learning Solutions, Asia-Pacific shared, “across Apac, women feel that they face higher barriers to opportunities than men, such as a lack of work experience, confidence and a fear of failure.

Working mothers also struggle more with too many family commitments and a lack of support.”

“As industries face the global shortage of talent and skills gaps, it becomes more important for businesses to do more to encourage women to be a part of the work force and help them reach their full potential.

A diverse and inclusive work force can be a huge advantage for businesses as employees can share and learn from one another’s perspectives, experiences and ways of solving problems,” she added.

Finding support

LinkedIn encourages women to find the support they need whenever opportunity gaps become too overwhelming. This can be in terms of working to prioritize, setting boundaries or reaching out to others, especially those with shared experiences for support and resources. By being open about their needs, women can inspire or advocate for others in similar situations.