ECOZONE FIRMS MAY GRIND TO A HALT By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah
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CONOMIC zone locators are facing a serious risk of funding shortage that could suspend their operations, as they are unable to receive foreign currency from their headquarters overseas with the stoppage of peso-dollar trading. For one, an electronics firm based in Tanza, Cavite could temporarily halt its assembly of parts, as it might fail to pay its workers soon due to financial issues. The firm’s parent unit is located in China and was prohibited on Tuesday from remitting dollars to the Philippines. Transactions for peso-dollar trading and government securities are called off, according to the Banking Association of the Philippines,
A long queue of vehicles is seen on Edsa early on Tuesday (March 17), as the PNP Highway Patrol Group apprehended PUVs violating the ban on public transportation effective midnight as part of the “enhanced” Luzon-wide community quarantine to avert the spread of the Covid-19. NONOY LACZA
w
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as the state on Monday placed the entire Luzon under community quarantine to arrest the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). “Our operations mainly rely on remittance from our headquarters in China,”an executive of the Cavite-based electronics firm told the BusinessMirror. “We were informed just this morning [of Tuesday] that US dollar trading is suspended.” As with many locators doing business in economic zones, the electronics firm is exporting 100 percent of its output parts and units—in this case, to the United States. As such, the firm has to maintain a healthy account of dollars in its treasury. Failure to do so, its executive explained, could result in the delayed payment of its workers’ salaries, as well as the suspension of factory operations in a worst-case scenario.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 160
‘Virus beyond control to cost 4.13% of GDP’ L
By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
@joveemarie
IMITING economic activity in Luzon in the desperate race to stop the spread of Covid-19 would result in significant losses for the economy, a senior lawmaker and economist said, but weighed this against a far bigger estimate of losses should the chain of transmission get out of control.
In an aide memoire submitted to the leadership of House of Representatives, Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, said a mass transmission of Covid-19 would
cost the economy even more significantly—at least 4.13 percent of the country’s GDP. The vice chairman of the House Committee on Economic Affairs on
Tuesday said this is significantly higher than the lockdown’s impact on the country’s annual GDP, estimated at 2.95 percent. Luzon accounts for around 71.9 percent
Calamity declaration
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OCAL government units (LGU) will now have access to more funds after President Duterte declared a state of calamity in the entire country due to the public health threat of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19), cases of which in the Philippines reached 187 as of Tuesday. “There is hereby declared a State of Calamity throughout the Philippines for a period of six months. Unless earlier lifted or extended as circumstances warrant,” Duterte said in Presidential Proclamation No. 929. See “Calamity,” A2
“At first, the Peza [Philippine Economic Zone Authority] gave an assurance that banking won’t be affected by this community quarantine. However, it’s different on the ground. I think this will be a big [problem for] manufacturing if left unresolved,” the executive said. All of the electronics firm’s workers went to the factory on Tuesday to complete the two rotational shifts they run on a daily basis. However, the executive said locators are coordinating with the Peza on how employees will be able to get to work over the next days, with mass transportation suspended until April 14. “We are just recovering from the disaster that hit us early this year and our operations are only starting to normalize, but then this community quarantine was implemented and this could put a dent on the operations of many manufacturers,”the executive added.
P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 16 pages |
BSP TACKLES CONCERNS OVER REMITTANCES By Tyrone C. Piad
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@Tyronepiad
HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is addressing the concern over remittances following the suspension of foreign-exchange trading on Tuesday due to the month-long enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. “We’re working on it,” BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a message to BusinessMirror, noting that this would be tackled during the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force on coronavirus disease 2019 [Covid-19]. He said that this was “one of the birth pains of the new Luzonwide collective isolation,” describing the situation as an “oversight.” Diokno said this “should be fixed starting tomorrow [today].” The Bank Association of the
Philippines (BAP), in an advisory, said that spot trading was suspended until further notice.
‘Business as usual’
Despite this, Bank of the Philippine Islands said that it was business as usual. Security Bank Corp., meanwhile, said that it would continue processing foreign-exchange transactions. “In order to continue to serve our client’s foreign exchange needs, we have teams on hand to price and settle foreign exchange transactions in spite of the temporary closure of the interbank markets,” it said. While the suspension will not weigh on remittances, UnionBank chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion said that trading should resume immediately. “Remittances level, I do not think, will be affected by the suspension of trading. See “BSP,” A2
See “Virus,” A8
Meat processors warn of supply gap if panic buying doesn’t stop By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
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@jearcalas
HE Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) has appealed to the public to stop panic buying and hoarding processed meat products as a surge in demand could deplete the industry’s production supply faster -- to 15 days from the normal 30-day capacity. Pampi also urged the national government to immediately resolve logistical concerns on the ground as some shuttles carrying workers and trucks transporting their products were not allowed to pass through certain check points despite showing necessary documents and identification. Nonetheless, Pampi assured the
PESO exchange rates n
public that it is doing its best to ensure that the country would have a sufficient supply of processed meat products. “There is no reason to panic as far as our supply is concerned. We have sufficient supply, especially of canned goods, which is about 30 days’ inventory,” Pampi Vice President Jerome D. Ong told the BusinessMirror. “But it is based on normal purchase patterns prior to all this panic. The panic buying results in double than usuual volume and that 30-day supply becomes 15 days,” Ong added. Ong said demand from retailers, distributors, supermarkets for certain processed meat products such as hot dogs, corned beef, See “Meat processors,” A2
Senators support relief in filing ITR By Butch Fernandez
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Some uniformed personnel, given little time to carry out the enhanced quarantine in Luzon and with scant resources, improvised their own personal protective gear. This PNP personnel at a Pasig City checkpoint used a well-angled plastic cover to protect him from Covid-19 virus while checking the temperature of a civilian. BERNARD TESTA
@butchfBM
ONGRESS need not hold a special session to amend the law fixing the deadline for income tax return (ITR) filing, because the Executive can simply waive the penalties for late filing—at least, allowing filing for several days beyond the date provided by law, the Senate chief said on Tuesday. Sought for comment on whether a special session will be held because of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez’s remark that the April 15 Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) deadline can only be postponed by
US 51.1180 n japan 0.4775 n UK 63.4834 n HK 6.5814 n CHINA 7.2934 n singapore 36.3286 n australia 31.9079 n EU 57.2113 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.6195
See “ITR,” A2
Source: BSP (16 March 2020)
News
BusinessMirror
A2 Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Govt still working on $1-B loan to fight virus spread
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By Bernadette D. Nicolas
@BNicolasBM
HE government is still negotiating for a $1-billion loan to combat the ongoing spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said. Dominguez disclosed this on Tuesday, while noting that about half -- P14 billion out of P27.1 billion, or the bulk of the economic package rolled out by the government separately from the money still being sourced from the unidentified foreign lender –v will go to tourism as it is the “hardest hit sector.” To support the tourism industry, the largest chunk of the package will go to the the programs and projects of the Department of Tourism (DOT) amounting to P14 billion from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza). Asked why the biggest share of the economic package went to the tourism sector and only P3.1 billion was set aside for direct efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19, Dominguez said in a message shared to reporters: “Because as of now the tourism sector is the most affected. Besides, our negotiations for US$1-B loans for combating Covid still in process.” However, the finance chief refused to identify the specific lender that the government is currently negotiating with. Under the economic package, the smallest allocation was P1 bil-
ITR. . .
Continued from A1
Congress because the date is set by law, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said a special session is not needed. “It should not be a problem. Government can simply waive the penalties,” Senate President Sotto told BusinessMirror in a text message. Asked if an executive order
lion for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for its Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-Asenso (P3) Microfinancing special loan package of the Small Business Corp. (SBC). This is for affected micro entrepreneurs/micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The package also consists of P3.1 billion to contribute directly to efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19, including the acquisition of test kits. The Department of Finance said these funds came from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The list also includes P3 billion for the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda)’s Scholarship Programs to support the upskilling and reskilling of affected and temporarily displaced workers and the P2.8 billion for the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Aid Program of the Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Credit Policy Council (DA-ACPC), which provides loans of up to P25,000 each at zero interest for smallholder farmers and fisherfolk affected by calamity and disasters. (EO) must be issued to waive the penalties, Sotto replied: “.... Not even EO. DOF (Department of Finance) through BIR can simply waive the penalties.” He added: “Who will object to this (option) in this kind of emergency?”
Extension appeal
Earlier, several quarters have called for such extension of the deadline.
Calamity. . .
Continued from A1
The declaration will now allow LGUs to tap their calamity funds to stop the spread of Covid-19 in their respective jurisdictions. “All government agencies and LGUs are enjoined to render full assistance to and cooperation with each other and mobilize the necessary
Flights. . .
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Cebu Pacific said it wants to ensure the safety of passengers and operations teams, “in compliance with the stricter quarantine measures, land travel restrictions and regulations in place.” In this connection, CEB said its last day of operations will be on March 18, 2020, and advised pasengers to check the flight status through bit. ly/CEBflight-status. These options may be processed online via the “Manage Booking” portal in the Cebu Pacific website.
For his part, Budget Secretary Wendel E. Avisado also assured the public on Tuesday there will be a continued release of funds amid the declaration of enhanced community quarantine in the entire Luzon. “This situation calls for the cooperation and partnership of both the government and the private sectors in addressing the current emergency and its impending effects and consequences. Therefore, the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) will ensure the continued release of funds for the requirements of the government, especially for the Department of Health to address the Covid-19 situation and other urgent health concerns, funds for our infrastructure projects under the Build Build Build Program, and funds for the peace and order requirements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and the Philippine Coast Guard, among others,” Avisado said in a statement.
PCSO giving P1-B more
In a related development, state health insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) said it will also release an initial P30 billion to accredited hospitals to help them stop the ongoing spread of Covid-19 in the country. PhilHealth on Tuesday said in a statement the amount, which will be charged to the hospitals’ future claims, is equivalent to three months’ worth of claims based on historical data. “Hospitals will be asked to submit a letter of intent to avail of the mechanism. This will include including those facing sanctions for various violations of their contracts with the national health insurer,”
Meanwhile, PCSO on Tuesday announced it will be contributing an additional P1 billion to the government to stop the spread of Covid-19. PCSO Assistant General Manager for Gaming Arnel Casas said this would be on top of the P420million contribution by PCSO, as announced earlier. In a press conference, PCSO General Manager Royina Garma said they sourced the additional P1 billion from the shortfall collected from Small Town Lottery last year. At the same time, PCSO announced the suspension of all gaming activities in Luzon while the island is under enhanced community quarantine. Despite the suspension of the games, Garma also assured the public that PCSO can sustain its medical assistance program.
Senator Francis Pangilinan, citing the Duterte government’s imposition of quarantine restrictions to effectively contain the new coronavirus threats to public health, on Tuesday pressed for a “one-month extension” of the upcoming deadline for mandatory annual filing of income tax returns. “Given the ‘enhanced community quarantine’ in Luzon, we urge Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez to extend the deadline for
the filing of income tax returns,” pleaded Pangilinan. In a statement, the Senator specifically cited Section 53 of the Tax Code which, he noted, allows the Bureau of Internal Revenue “in meritorious cases” to grant such an extension. “In effect, if the time period for filing is extended, no penalty will be impopsed, for as long as it’s filed within the extended period,” he added.
PhilHealth’s P30B
resources to undertake critical, urgent, and appropriate disaster response aid and measures in a timely manner to curtail and eliminate the threat of Covid-19,” Duterte said. In the two-page proclamation, Duterte also designated the Armed Forces of the Philippines to help law enforcement agencies in maintaining peace and order for the duration of the state of calamity. The issuance was signed on March 16, but was only made available to the media For the health and safety of passengers and personnel, all Cebu Pacific Ticket offices will be closed from March 19 to April 14, 2020. Concerns may be relayed to Cebu Pacific via bit.ly/CEBrequest, or the customer hotlines through bit.ly/CustomerHotlines.
AirAsia
PhilHealth said in a statement. “The arrangement is also part of PhilHealth’s efforts to reduce returnto-hospital payables filed in 2019 and earlier, and to further increase payments to hospitals.” Moreover, PhilHealth also said it will also provide its members and service partners with additional relief by extending the deadline of payment of contributions for its self-paying direct contributors. Instead of March 31, 2020, they can pay their first-quarter contributions on or before April 30, 2020. The policy on single period of confinement and 45-days coverage are also waived in favor of the member, while the filing period for claims is also extended from the usual 60 days to at least 120 days in favor of health care providers.
Due to the government’s travel restrictions, AirAsia said on Tuesday it is cancelling all its domestic flights to or from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and to or from the Clark International Airport until 14 April. International flights from both airports will also be cancelled starting March 20 until April 14. Meantime, AirAsia said its domestic and international flights from its other hubs in the Philippines--Cebu and Kalibo--have similarly been cancelled, dates of which follow directives of respective local government units. Guests may check on their flights via the “Flight Status” function, as well as available flights, on the airasia.com website and mobile app. AirAsia’s special recovery services from Puerto Princesa to Clark will still push through as announced.
the following day.
187 cases
As of March 17, the Department of Health (DOH) said the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases nationwide has already reach 187. Majority are in Metro Manila. Worldwide, the pandemic virus has already infected 167,511 people, according to the March 16 report of the World Health Organization (WHO). Samuel P. Medenilla All affected guests will be promptly notified via email or SMS. AirAsia encouraged guests to update their contact details using the “My Bookings” feature on airasia.com to ensure that they receive timely notifications. AirAsia said it is making provisions for guests affected by the flight cancellations and travel restrictions following the Philippine government’s latest directive, through: a one-time flight change; a credit account; or a full refund. Previously set-up emergency help desks will be discontinued to comply with the government’s directive of an enhanced community quarantine. Guests are also advised that changes to travel plans may be made with AirAsia even after the community quarantine period. For their convenience, guests may utilize AirAsia’s online support team and visit AirAsia’s office as needed once restrictions have been lifted. Noting the higher-than-usual volume of queries and requests following the Covid-19 outbreak, the airline assured it will “continue to do all we can to best assist any guest affected by a disrupted service during this period and thank them for their patience.”
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Special session for ₧15-B Covid-19 budget endorsed By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
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@joveemarie
EPUTY Speaker for Finance Luis Raymund Villafuerte is asking President Duterte to immediately call for a special session of the Congress to approve a P15-billion supplemental budget for Covid-19 testing kits. Villafuerte said the first order of business for lawmakers in the proposed special session is the congressional approval of a supplemental budget of P10 billion to P15 billion to buy enough kits to test not only patients with confirmed infections but also mildly symptomatic people—and even those who are asymptomatic, or have not displayed any of the virus’ symptoms, but had come in contact with infected persons. Villafuerte said the acquisition of cutting-edge testing kits like those in the Republic of Korea, where such medical aids are available for free to all who wish to be tested and who can get results 5 to 6 hours later, would go a long way in helping the country break the chain of community transmission of Covid-19, which the World Health Organization (WHO) classified a pandemic. Health Secretar y Francisco Duque III bared over the weekend that Korea has donated 1,500 rapid test kits, of which 500 already arrived last week, while China is donating another 2,000 kits. “In this time of crisis, I am confident that the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate are ready to hold a special session, if and when President Duterte calls for one, so the Congress can legislate urgent measures to best equip our government with the tools needed to prevent, contain and mitigate the spread of this lethal strain of the coronavirus,” Villafuerte said. Citing a media report, Villafuerte said people can submit samples—throat swabs—for Covid-19 testing in just 10 minutes in Korea’s drive-through stations, after which such samples are taken to a nearby laboratory for polymerase chain reaction testing. He said persons found positive for the pathogen receive phone calls
5 or 6 hours later while those found negative get phone text messages to inform them of the laboratory test results. Citing the same report, Villafuerte said the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tested 234,998 persons thus far— or an average of 19,000 per day— through these stations, including asymptomatic ones in contact with infected people. Villafuerte also encouraged private employers to help prevent the spread of the virus by similarly adopting work-at-home arrangements for their workers, whenever possible. Villafuerte, who authored Republic Act (RA) No. 11165 or the Telecommuting Law, has pushed for the adoption of the work-at-home setup as an alternative working arrangement following the Covid-19 outbreak in China.
DCC panel
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has announced the creation of the Defeat Covid-19 Committee (DCC), which will function as an advisory and coordinating committee. According to Cayetano, the DCC will allow the House to better harmonize and streamline its efforts to combat COVID-19. The committee will be supervised by the Speaker but it will not be a “hierarchical” body. Cayetano clarified that he will let the relevant House committee take the lead, depending on the issue at hand. “Maybe if it’s a health concern, the Committee on Health will take the lead. If it’s a concern of the economy, then Ways and Means, Economic Affairs, and Appropriations. So it won’t be a hierarchical type of committee with a chairman. It’s more of a coordinating committee,” he said. The Speaker explained that the DCC shall initially comprise the Committees on Health, Economic Affairs, Tourism, Trade and Industry, Labor and Employment, Banks and Financial Intermediaries, Public Information, Appropriations, Ways and Means, Local Government, and Metro Manila Development. Vulnerable sectors shall also be represented in the DCC by the Committees on Persons with Disability and Senior Citizens.
Meat processors. . .
longganisa and tocino has tripled or even quintupled after President Duterte declared a community quarantine in Metro Manila few days ago. The situation worsened after he declared an “enhanced” or stricted quarantine, on a wider area, Luzonwide. However, Ong said the industry has decided to limit the volume of supplies they give per retailer, supermarket and distributor to ensure the equal distribution of supplies in Metro Manila. “We’re controlling [the supply we’re providing them]. This is to equally distribute the supply within Metro Manila. We want to serve as many consumers as possible so we manage excessive orders,” he said. Nonetheless, Ong disclosed that supermarkets, groceries and retail-
BSP. . .
Continued from A1
What would really affect remittances would be the work status of the various senders themselves,” he explained. Overseas Filipinos’cash remittances via banks rose by 6.6 percent to $2.65 billion in January from $2.48 billion year-on-year, supported by higher contributions from land-based and seabased workers. Bulk or 38.6 percent of the overall remittances came from the United States.
Continued from A1
ers still have stocks equivalent to 15 to 30 days, bringing the standing inventory of procesed meat products in Metro Manila to at least 45 days to a maximum of 60 days. Ong noted that the total processed meat inventory held by processors and retailers and supermarkets would be sufficient for the consumers’ demand if there would be “less panic and plants are able to accept unhampered delivery of raw materials and delivery of goods to stores.”
Checkpoints and logistics
Ong urged the government to quickly resolve problems surrounding transportation of their workers and the deliveries of their raw materials and finished products which are being delayed due to inconsistent policies in checkpoints. RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort, meanwhile, is confident that the spot market will resume any time soon. “Trading in the local currency spot market could resume, just like in other parts of the local financial markets, in view of increased use of electronic trading and banking channels/systems locally and around the world in recent years/ decades,” he said. While the banks remain operational amid the community quarantine, they have shortened operating hours, with most of them closing earlier at 3 p.m.
The Nation BusinessMirror
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Woman with travel history to Japan tested positive for Covid-19 after visit to Baguio By Marilou Guieb
Correspondent
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GUEST in one of the best hotels in this city inside Camp John Hay tested positive for Covid-19 infection upon her return to Manila. Guests at the hotel regularly undergo thermal scan screening before entering and the visitor was clear of fever when she checked in on March 9. She had though the early signs of the disease but were not apparent upon entry. The guest came to attend a seminar of the Government Service Insurance System held at the CAP Convention Center at Camp John Hay and the team had stayed at the hotel from March 9 to 11, occupying several rooms. The 24-year-old female was already coughing occasionally on March 7 and 8 but had no fever and was, therefore, allowed to travel and join the three-day seminar on the said dates. She had recently spent time in Hiroshima, Japan from February 16 to 25 and showed no symptoms of the disease upon her return to the Philippines. Still, given the mandator y 14-day quarantine after coming from a country or area with known cases, she would have been a patient under investigation (PUI) even at the time of travel, especially since she had started coughing two days before the seminar. She now has the city in jitters as she is said to have roamed around the market and a popular restaurant aside from several eateries inside Camp John Hay.
Upon her return to Manila, her cough became consistent and she was constrained to undergo a medical checkup at the San Juan de Dios Hospital. The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine on March 15 informed her that she tested positive for the virus, which she then relayed to her mother agency which closed its Pasig and Quezon City offices just as the government imposed a Luzon-wide community quarantine. The Baguio City Health and Services Office under Dr. Rowena Galpo is now intensifying its contact tracing process. The hotel where she had stayed in had only six guests still left as of March 16 but its management assured that they have completed sanitation protocol of the hotel and have had their employees under quarantine and instructed to go for testing. But Mayor Benjamin Magalong, claimed that the city remains Covid-19 free, saying the case was merely transit in nature, even while she was symptomatic and that she is from Parañaque and not a resident of the city. The Cordillera region has so far one confirmed case for the Covid-19 from Manabo, Abra, who was tested in La Union when he went to fetch his mother who was confined in a hospital there. The 39-year-old overseas foreign worker arrived in the Philippines on March 2 and came down with a fever on March 9 and was confirmed positive on March 14. He was later confined at a hospital in La Union and is reported to be recovering well.
DFA halts passport services in Luzon By Recto Mercene @rectomercene
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HE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Office of Consular Affairs announced on Tuesday that there would be delays in the availability of passports in its consular offices due to disruptions in the services of its logistics partners following the declaration of an enhanced community quarantine in the whole of Luzon effective March 17, 2020. The DFA said normal operations resume once the quarantine period ends. Applicants with questions, or emergencies, may get in touch with the consular office where their appointment was scheduled via phone or e-mail. Contact details may be found at https://consular.dfa.gov.ph/ directory. Alternatively, the public may also e-mail oca.concerns@dfa. gov.ph for inquiries. All consular offices in Luzon were temporarily closed beginning Tuesday until further notice in line with the enhanced community quarantine imposed in the region. In a public advisory, the DFA said the suspension of its operation will include its Office of Consular Affairs in Aseana, Parañaque City. “ Pa sspor t appl ic a nt s w it h confirmed appointments do not need to reschedule as they will be accommodated once operations resume. Likewise, those seeking authentication and civil registration services are also advised to avail of these services after the same period,” the advisory read. On the other hand, all consular offices in the Visayas and Mindanao will provide services only to individuals with urgent consular needs, such as overseas Filipino workers and those with medical emergencies, beginning March 17. “This temporary arrangement is in support of the declarations of various local community quaran-
tines and the current nationwide public health efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19,” the agency said. Meanwhile, there will be no Saturday operations in the Visayas and Mindanao also until further notice. Passport applicants with confirmed appointments from March 9 to April 8, including those with confirmed appointments on Saturdays who will be unable to proceed with their appointment as scheduled will be accommodated from April 13 until May 29, during regular office hours, except on Saturdays. Likewise, those seeking authentication and civil registration services are also advised to avail of these services during the same period.
US visa appointments postponed
IN response to the Cov id-19 measures implemented by the government, the United States Embassy in Manila has also suspended its routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments and notarial services beginning Monday. “All applicants should monitor their e-mail address on record for visa appointment updates. We will resume routine services as soon as possible but are unable to provide a specific date at this time,” the Embassy said in a statement. But it reminded that the Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee is valid and may be used for a visa application in the country where it was purchased within one year of the date of payment. “There is no fee to change an appointment and visa application fees are valid for one year in the country where the fee was paid,” it said. For urgent cases, applicants are advised to contact the immigrant or nonimmigrant visa unit by visiting its visa web site at ph.usembassy.gov/ visas. With PNA
Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, March 18, 2020 A3
DOJ justifies arrest of PUV drivers during quarantine period in Luzon Flagged down
AROUND 600 taxis on Edsa were flagged down by the PNP-Highway Patrol Group on Tuesday. Public transport is suspended in the entire Luzon in line with the implementation of an enhanced community quarantine to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country.
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By Joel R. San Juan
PNA PHOTO BY LLOYD CALIWAN
@jrsanjuan1573
HE Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday defended the apprehension of taxi drivers and the impoundment of their vehicles by local authorities, saying that it is in line with the guidelines on the enhanced community quarantine being imposed by the government in the entire Luzon main island to stop the spread of the Covid-19. DOJ spokesman Undersecretary Markk Perete said under the guidelines on the enhanced community quarantine, mass transportation facilities are suspended until April 12. “The suspension is meant to minimize mobility and prevent mass transmission of the disease. Those who insist on operating these facilities and disobey orders from law enforcers to desist from further operations may be held to account under Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code, among others,” Perete said. Perete also expressed support to the PNP’s move to either suspend, or revoke, the permit, or franchise, of the operators of public-utility vehicles (PUV) who will be caught violating President Duterte’s order. “Remember in the hand of an operator, a franchise to operate is
a privilege saddled with conditions, among them compliance with lawful orders of the State,” Perete stressed. Thus, drivers and operators of the rules on enhanced quarantine are facing both criminal and administrative charges, he added. “Action against the franchise becomes important since operators may force their drivers to continue plying routes. The possible cancellation, etc. of the franchise could deter operators from doing so,” Perete explained. Police officers will apprehend disobedient drivers and, if necessary, impound their PUVs for operating despite the order suspending all public transport modes during the enhanced community quarantine, the Philippine National Police (PNP) warned Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Perete reiterated that the enhanced community quarantine should not be construed as a curtailment of a person’s right to mobility. However, he said, “such an individual’s right yields to the safety of the community at large.” Thus, he said, resistance and disobedience to a person in authority, or the agents of such person, including violation or evasion of quarantine is punishable under Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC). The penalty for violating Article 151 of the RPC is arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding P100,000. If committed with acts of violence, the person may be liable for direct assault, and if it is a more serious offense, it is punishable by prison correctional, or a fine of not more than P200,000. Perete said mere failure to follow the order of the President to stay at home is already tantamount to violation of Section 4 of Article 11332 (An Act Providing Policies and Prescribing Procedures on Surveillance and Response to Notifiable Diseases, Epidemics, and Health Events of Public Health Concern, and Appropriating Funds Therefor, Repealing for the Purpose Act 3573, Otherwise Known as the “Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases”). “That is how the law stands, and the reasoning behind it seems pretty straight forward in times of health event of a public concern, an unfounded insistence to act in a way that impedes our collective health can be criminally sanctioned,” the DOJ official added.
EARLIER on Tuesday, the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) flagged down some 600 taxis at Edsa that defied the temporary suspension of public transport in line with the enhanced community quarantine implemented in the entire Luzon. This came after PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa ordered the apprehension of the PUV that will continue to operate. “I told the Highway Patrol, specific, apprehend everyone. If needed, we will impound all of them. Probably later, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board [LTFRB], would really come up with a clear order that all are suspended so that if they are apprehended, it is not only the ticket of the Land Transportation Office [LTO] that they’re going to face,” Gamboa told a television interview. HPG Director Brig. Gen. Eliseo Cruz said the ban on PUVs is not only in Metro Manila but in the entire Luzon island. “Nakikita nyo karamihan nahuli natin taxi kasi wala na talaga ang mga bus ipinatupad na ng kanilang mga operator na huwag na silang bumiyahe. Bumiyahe itong mga taxi ang mga dahilan, hindi daw nila alam. [You see, many of those apprehended were taxis because there are no buses anymore. Their operators told them not to operate. These taxis still went on operation because their reason is that they are not aware],” he told reporters during the taxi apprehension. Cruz said they will get the name of the taxi and operator and take photos of their drivers licenses, plate number, car registration which will be submitted to the LTFRB for appropriate action. Meantime, the drivers were given a warning and were allowed to go home. In a news conference in Malacañang on Monday night, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the suspension would include all forms of mass transportation such as public utility buses, jeeps, taxis, transport network vehicle services, among others. Aside from the ban on public transportation, land, air, and sea travel will also be restricted while the movement of cargoes over the entire Luzon would continue unhampered. Under the memorandum signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, enhanced community quarantine means that the public will have to strictly remain indoors unless they need to access basic necessities. With PNA
Vape group warns vs proliferation Briones clear of Covid-19, issues DepEd rules of low-quality products, black market
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-CIGARETTE regulations that are “unreasonably difficult” to comply with and lead to high business costs would result in the elimination of legitimate vaping products and the creation of an unregulated black market, a group claimed. “Both consequences will end up protecting tobacco cigarette sales and putting vapers at risk with the proliferation of low-quality and unsafe black market products,” The Vapers Philippine said. Peter Paul Dator, president of The Vapers’s Philippines, said e-cigarettes should be taxed lower than tobacco cigarettes to provide an incentive to smokers to switch to e-cigarettes and completely quit smoking. He stressed ecigarette regulation should be realistic and ensure product quality. Dator said regulations must ensure that e-cigarettes do not target never-smokers and youth. “Selling of e-cigarettes to minors should be banned, and violators should be fined heavily. Instead of a ban, specific regulatory restrictions should be implemented on e-cigarette advertising. Marketing and proper education should emphasize that e-cigarettes are to be used as smoking substitutes only.” The group called on the government to adopt a reasonable, risk-proportionate, and realistic regulatory framework for e-cigarettes to help reduce serious sickness and premature death among millions of cigarette smokers in the Philippines. “We all know that the combustion in cigarettes is what is harmful to the health of smokers. To help the 16 million Filipino smokers quit smoking, or switch to less harmful alternatives, the regulation of e-cigarettes and other smoke-free alternatives should not be more restrictive than that of combustible cigarettes. We call on the government to follow the lead of other countries that have looked at the evidence for e-cigarettes with an open mind and made decisions that are helping reduce smoking,” said Dator.
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DUCATION Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones has tested negative for coronavirus disease (Covid-19). After receiving the result on Monday, Briones immediately presided at DepEd Execom’s third videoconferencing meeting to discuss the actions of DepEd on the recent issuances of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and the Office of the President (OP). “Classes may be suspended but our work in DepEd to protect our Filipino teachers, personnel and 27.2 million learners against this virus will never stop. I will continue to discharge my functions as the government enhances its measures in responding to this crisis,” Briones said. Though she had no direct exposure from a Covid19-affected person, Briones voluntarily took a home quarantine as a precaution as some DepEd officials were exposed to a person positive for the infection during a meeting in the Central Office on February 28. They have shown no symptoms past the recommended 14-day quarantine period. Like other Cabinet officials, Briones underwent Covid-19 testing to ensure no threat to her functions as Education chief and to protect the President and other Cabinet members from possible exposure.
Rest of school year
BRIONES also issued DepEd Memorandum 042, Series 2020, detailing the guidelines for the remain-
der of School Year 2019-2020 in light of the Covid-19 measures, which include the directives for the 4th quarterly examinations, graduation rites, grading and transmutation formula, and Online Alternative Learning Delivery. Through DepEd Memorandum 43, Series 2020, the DepEd chief also released guidelines for work arrangements in all DepEd offices, units and schools within the National Capital Region and other areas where community quarantine was impopsed. DM 43, Series 2020 is guided by the following: observance of stringent social distancing measures by all DepEd offices, units, and schools located within NCR; continuity of delivery of DepEd essential services and priority programs, while observing stringent social distancing measures in work-related functions and responsibilities; and consistency of the actions of each official, teaching and nonteaching personnel in the context of work and private activities, to ensure that the public health objectives are achieved and not compromised by the inconsistent action and behavior of individuals. Last week, Briones also established guidelines on graduation rites in light of the public health situation (DepEd Order 2-2020); and signed DepEd Memo 39 authorizing the prudent use of regular MOOE and local funds to implement measures in preparing and responding to Covid-19 threats, particularly for DepEd offices and schools. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco
A4 Wednesday, March 18, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug
Economy BusinessMirror
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Biz groups press for higher funding for MSME recovery By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah
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NDUSTRY leaders on Tuesday appealed to the government to increase the budget for recovery of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as the enhanced community quarantine placed on Luzon is seen to injure their operations, or worse, result in bankruptcy. Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. President Sergio R. OrtizLuis Jr. said the P1 billion allocation for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) intended for MSME
recovery is just too little, too small. He estimated such amount can only help around 20,000 small firms, and would not even be able help them recuperate their losses. As such, he suggested that 10 percent of the government’s roughly P109-billion conditional cash transfer for the poor be redirected to the recovery program of MSMEs affected by the Luzon-wide quarantine placed in Luzon. “To be meaningful, I think you have to get at least 10 percent from the CCT funds,” Ortiz-Luis told the BusinessMirror. “If you get 10 per-
cent and allocate for MSMEs because many of them might not be able to survive the lockdown, that could be enough to support them.” “Giving money to the poor will not change their lifestyle, so might as well use the CCT funds for subsidy of MSMEs during times of crisis,” he added. The government on Monday announced it is releasing a P27.1billion stimulus package that will bankroll programs and projects to fight the effects of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in the Philippines. Of the war chest,
the DTI received the least amount at P1 billion was earmarked its microfinancing program for affected MSMEs. “The crisis only lessens the revenue and increases the business cost of all firms. As such, it’s important that they, especially the MSMEs, receive some form of assistance from the government to be able to bounce back from this tragedy,” Ortiz-Luis argued. George T. Barcelon, director of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, agreed with Ortiz-Luis, saying P1 billion is too
small to put MSMEs back on track. For him, it’s more than just financial support, it should be policy. He called on the government, therefore, to appeal to banking institutions to extend the payment deadline for loans availed of by small firms. This way, Barcelon sees MSMEs obtaining the much-needed financial space to rebound from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic without having to think about paying their dues for the meantime. MSMEs are reeling from the impact of the enhanced community
quarantine placed by President Duterte in the entire island of Luzon. The virtual lockdown has not only suspended school and work in many sectors, but public transportation as well in the state’s bid to arrest the spread of the virus in the Philippines. In 2017, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported there are a total of 924,721 business establishments in the Philippines, of which 99.56 percent, or 920,677, are MSMEs. They generated 4.92 million jobs that year as against the 2.9 million created by large enterprises.
Governments, aviation authorities urged Processing of shipments at the ports to lift cargo ban in fight against the virus remains normal, BOC chief assures
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HE International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Tuesday called on governments and aviation authorities around the globe, including the Philippines, to lift the ban on incoming and outgoing cargo, saying the move is an “essential part of the fight” against the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac explained that air cargo keeps the supply chains functioning for timesensitive goods and is also instrumental in transporting food and other products purchased online in support of quarantine and social distancing policies. He added that air cargo also ensures life-saving medical products to
be transported without disruption. Hence, air cargo should be prioritized by governments and should not be part of any transport ban. “Over 185,000 passenger flights have been canceled since the end of January in response to government travel restrictions. With this, vital cargo capacity has disappeared when it is most urgently needed in the fight against Covid-19. The world’s fleet of freighter aircraft has been mobilized to make up this capacity shortfall. Governments must take urgent measures to ensure that vital supply lines remain open, efficient and effective,” de Juniac said. He advised governments to ensure the implementation of standardized
DBM assures funds for govt ops during lockdown period
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UDGET Secretary Wendel Avisado on Tuesday assured the public of adequate funding for government programs and activities despite the declaration of a state of public health emergency in the country. In a news statement, the budget chief said that even as Malacañang ordered the implementation of enhanced community quarantine for Luzon, DBM “assures the public its continued operations while complying with the directives” of the memorandum on the quarantine. He said “releases of allotments and cash allocations shall be facilitated to cover the requirements of the government.” Avisado said the current situation “calls for the cooperation and partnership of both the government and the private sectors in addressing the current emergency and its impending effects and consequences.” “Therefore, the DBM will ensure the continued release of funds for the requirements of the government, especially for the Department of Health to address the [Covid-19] situation and other urgent health concerns, funds for our infrastructure projects under the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program, and funds for the peace and order requirements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and the Philippine Coast Guard, among others,” he added.
A community quarantine was declared initially over Metro Manila starting March 15, 2020, until April 12 to help address the further rise of coronavirus disease cases. Among others, it entails the suspension of classes at all levels and work in government service, provided that agencies have a skeletal force and directed people to observe social distancing. However, problems that arose Monday, such as the long queues at the entry points going to Metro Manila and disobedience to the social distancing policy, prompted officials to implement a Luzonwide enhanced quarantine starting March 17. Under the enhanced community quarantine, the operation of mass transportation has been suspended to limit people’s movement. President Duterte, in turn, directed the village chiefs to ensure the distribution of food supplies to poor families, whose members will lose their jobs during the community quarantine. He also urged companies of private firms to grant workers their 13-month pay bonus in advance to alleviate the plight of their workers during the quarantine period. To date, the government has reported 142 confirmed Covid-19 cases, three of whom recovered while 12 died. PNA
measures to facilitate the unhampered movement of air cargo. This, he said, includes the removal of “economic impediments, such as overfly charges, parking fees, and slot restrictions.” Likewise, he advised that crew members, who do not interact with the public, should be exempted from quarantine procedures. “Air cargo carriers are working closely with governments and health organizationsaroundtheworldtosafeguardpublic health, while also keeping the global economy moving. Today, as we fight a global healthwaragainstCovid-19,governments must take urgent action to facilitate air cargo. Keeping cargo flowing will save lives,” said de Juniac. Lorenz S. Marasigan
@sam_medenilla
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OVERNMENT employees in Luzon are now required to work from home after the entire island was placed under “enhanced communit y quarantine” amid rising cases of novel coronavirus disease 19 (Covid-19). “Work arrangements of government agencies in Luzon shall be limited to work from home except those agencies required to provide skeletal force under paragraph thereof, as part of the implementation of the strict home quarantine,”
Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chairman Alicia dela Rosa-Bala said in an announcement. Bala was referring to the memorandum circular signed by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea on Monday declaring the enhanced community quarantine over Luzon. Based on the memorandum circular, work from home arrangement shall be implemented in the Executive branch, except the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and health and emergency frontline ser vices,
directive to all our port collectors to ensure normal operations even while on the skeletal work force without compromising the health and safety of our personnel,” the BOC official said. The BOC, according to Maronilla, is in close coordination with shipping lines and arrastre operators on the issue of relief from storage charges. “We will update everyone once a decision to provide one is made,” he added. Meanwhile, the BOC announced that a cleanup and disinfecting activity was simultaneously conducted in all offices, including Port of Manila
premises over the weekend. In a news statement, the bureau said the activity was in line with the nationwide drive to prevent the spread of Covid-19. On Monday, it also implemented disinfecting procedures on vehicles and personnel entering Customs facilities and offices by spraying disinfectant and subjecting persons to a foot bath and disinfecting spray. The bureau added that it will continuously conduct disinfection and cleaning of BOC offices to maintain a virus-free environment and ensure unhampered service to the public. PNA
DTI chief says quarantine ‘birth pains’ to be fixed in due time
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RADE Secretary Ramon M. Lopez on Tuesday assured that “birth pains” being encountered at checkpoints will soon be fixed as the government continues to improve the full implementation of the “enhanced” community quarantine over Luzon, including Metro Manila. Lopez made this remark following reports that some transiting cargoes carrying food products were held off at checkpoints despite government guidelines that movement of cargoes should be unhampered. He said the government is addressing these problems to ensure stable prices and supply of the basic goods despite placing the entire Luzon under an enhanced community quarantine to boost efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). “Ngayong umaga, maraming text sa amin na merong nahihirapan tumawid sa checkpoint. ’Yung iba pinagbabawal. Tawagin na natin birth pains ito na hindi pa siguro nagkalinawan. Pero yun po ay maayos in due time [Now, there are many texting us that they’re having difficulty crossing the checkpoint. Some are being prohibited. Let’s call them birth pains because these guidelines remain unclear. But these will be fixed in due time],” he said in a televised Laging Handa public briefing. Interior Assistant Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya apologized and sought for more patience in managing these “first day kinks,” including reports that even health
CSC allows Luzon state workers, except soldiers, cops, to work from home By Samuel P. Medenilla
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HE Bu reau of Customs (BOC) on Tuesday assured t hat nor ma l processing hours are being implemented while ensuring the safety of its personnel amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak. “We still have normal Customs processing hours [8 a.m. to 5 p.m.], while the release of containers remains on a 24/7 schedule,” said BOC spokesman Vincent Philip Maronilla in a news statement. He said Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero has ordered all port collectors to ensure that their offices are functioning well. “The commissioner has given a
border control and other critical services. Bala noted the work from home arrangement will be in effect from March 17 to April 13 or until the quarantine order has been lifted. CSC Commissioner Aileen A. Lizada assured that the work arrangement for state workers would basically remain unchanged. “Their pay will continue since they are still working from home,” Lizada told the BusinessMirror in an SMS. In the case of CSC, she said, they are still keeping in touch with the public through social media like Facebook or through e-mails and their mobile phones.
AFTER presenting documents to authorities, a motorcycle rider was allowed to pass a checkpoint on Marcos Highway at the border of Marikina City and Cainta, Rizal on Tuesday. Luzon is currently under an enhanced community quarantine to prevent further spread of the coronavirus disease 2019. PNA PHOTO BY JOEY O. RAZON
workers were barred from passing through checkpoints. “Health workers ang nangunguna sa exemption [among the first to be exempted],” he said. Malaya also assured that local governments are working on providing health workers with shuttle services to and from their respective workplaces amid the suspension of public transport in Luzon.
Earlier, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the suspension of all mass transport facilities would include public utility buses, jeeps, taxis, transport network vehicle services, among others. Land, air, and sea travel will also be restricted except travel of uniformed personnel for official business, especially those transporting medical supplies, laboratory speci-
mens related to the Covid-19, and other humanitarian assistance. Agriculture, manufacturing, and services like food preparation and deliveries and distribution of these basic necessities will still be allowed under the enhanced community quarantine. Banks, money transfer services, power, energy, water, and telecommunication supplies and facilities will remain open. PNA
PCSO halts lotto draws, games amid virus threat
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H E Ph i l ip pi ne C h a r it y Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) announced the temporary suspension of the draws for lotto games and operations of its outlets nationwide in connection with the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine. PCSO General Manager Royina Garma said agency officials decided to suspend lotto, digit games and Keno nationwide starting 4 p.m. Tuesday while the small-town lottery (STL) will also be suspended only in Luzon. “To ensure health and safety of our employees, agents and patrons as
well as the general public, we decided in our board meeting to suspend PCSO operations,” Garma said in a news statement. She said the STL in Visayas and Mindanao will be monitored everyday. Garma said the operations of PCSO’s assistance center at the Lung Center of the Philippines will be suspended starting Wednesday. “Those in need of medical assistance will be referred to the nearest hospital with Malasakit Center and other government hospitals,” she added. Those seeking medical assis-
tance may call the PCSO hotline numbers: 0945-7746439; 09152962243; 09177035866, Landline no. 0284043956 or send an e-mail to pcsomain.charity@pcso.gov.ph. She assured the public that the PCSO would play a proactive role in the fight against Covid-19 and would readily provide assistance to local government units (LGUs) in the implementation of community health initiatives. She said the agency is ready to release P424 million to augment the funding for government programs set up to contain the local spread of Covid-19. PNA
www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso
The World
Amazon seeks to hire 100,000 to keep up with surge in orders
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EW YORK—Amazon said Monday that it needs to hire 100,000 people across the US to keep up with a crush of orders as the coronavirus spreads and keeps more people at home, shopping online. The online retailer said it will also temporarily raise pay by $2 an hour through the end of April for hourly employees. That includes workers at its warehouses, delivery centers and Whole Foods grocery stores, all of whom make at least $15 an hour. Employees in the UK and other European countries will get a similar raise. “We are seeing a significant increase in demand, which means our labor needs are unprecedented for this time of year,” said Dave Clark, who oversees Amazon’s warehouse and delivery network. Amazon said this weekend that a surge of orders is putting its operations under pressure.
It warned shoppers that it could take longer than the usual two days to get packages. It also said it was sold out of many household cleaning supplies and is working to get more in stock. Last week, Amazon tweaked to its time-off policy for hourly workers, telling them they could take as much time off as they wanted in March, although they would only be paid if they had earned time off. Additionally, Amazon said it would pay hourly workers for up to two weeks if they contracted the virus or needed to be quarantined. The Seattle-based company said the new job openings are for a mix of full-time and part-time positions and include delivery drivers and warehouse workers, who pack and ship orders to shoppers. Amazon is already the second-largest US-based employer behind Walmart, with nearly 800,000 workers worldwide. AP
U.S. surgeon general: U.S. cases are where Italy was 2 weeks ago
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ASHINGTON—The US surgeon general said on Monday that the number of coronavirus cases in the United States has reached the level that Italy recorded two weeks ago, a sign that infections are expected to rise in America as the government steps up testing and financial markets continue to fall. “We are at a critical inflection point in this country, people. We are where Italy was two weeks ago in terms of our numbers,” US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told Fox News. “When you look at the projections, there’s every chance that we could be Italy.” Two weeks ago, there were 1,700 cases of coronavirus in Italy and the country had reported 34 deaths. Now, Italy is reporting an estimated 25,000 cases and more than 1,800 people have died. There are about 3,800 cases reported in the US and so far, more than 65 people have died from coronavirus. Adams claims the US has “turned the tide” on testing, a critical part of tracking and containing pandemics. The US effort has been hobbled by a series of missteps, including flaws with the testing kits first distributed by the federal government and bureaucratic hurdles that held up testing by private laboratories. Adams’ details about the capacity of roll- out of drive-through and walk-by testing sites, however, contradicted other administration officials. Adams said there will be 30 to 40 new testing sites running in 19 states that could each perform 2,000 to 4,000 tests a week. However, Brett Giroir, a senior health administration official, said community testing sites manned by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and members of the US public health service would be capable of testing 2,000 to 4,000 people each day, not every week. He said the federal government would begin deploying these sites on Monday. Asked about the shortage of intensive care beds and supply of ventilators, which are used to treat patients with respiratory problems, Adams told CNN only that supplies were growing. He said there was a bill in Congress to increase supplies of face masks and that there were thousands of ventilators. Vice President Mike Pence said he and the president would brief the nation’s governors on Monday “specifically about our expanding testing to the American people.” Pence said the federal government also on Monday will release updated guidance concerning restaurants, bars and other establishments. California and Illinois are among jurisdictions that have ordered restaurants and bars to close to help slow the spread of the virus. Asked whether restaurants and bars around the nation should close for the time being, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said he wanted to wait for the guidance to come but allowed, “That could be.” Fauci said he would like to see more aggressive measures, such as a 14-day national shutdown. Still, Fauci said travel restrictions within the United States, such as to and from hard-hit Washington state and California, probably would not be needed anytime soon. “The worst is yet ahead for us,” Fauci said. “It is how we respond to that challenge that is going to determine what the ultimate endpoint is going to be.” AP
BusinessMirror
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
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With borders and businesses closing, world hunkers down
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ANGKOK—With borders slamming shut, schools and businesses closing and increasingly drastic restrictions on movement in place, tens of millions of people were hunkered down on Tuesday, heeding government calls to isolate themselves and slow the spread of the new coronavirus.
From Southeast Asia to Europe to the Americas, people found their lives upended by lockdowns and social distancing. Shoppers in Malaysia stood in long lines to stock up at pickedover supermarkets. Commuters in the Philippines waited in huge traffic jams at checkpoints set up to take their temperatures before entering the capital city. Officials in seven San Francisco Bay Area counties issued a sweeping shelter-in-place mandate, ordering millions of residents to stay at home and go outside only for food, medicine and outings that are absolutely essential. The cancellations of treasured holidays and community events continued to build, with Thailand saying it was calling off its water festival in April and the organizers of the so-called “most exciting two minutes in sports”— the Kentucky Derby—reportedly prepared to announce the delay the horse race for the first time since World War II. Fresh moves to contain the virus came even as Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus was first detected late last year and which has been under lockdown for weeks, reported just one new case on Tuesday. The fronts in the battle have clearly shifted outside China, with its caseload now outnumbered by those outside its borders. A nd Spa i n i s now t he
fourth-most infected country, surpassing South Korea, where new cases have been subsiding. With the number of cases worldwide topping 181,000, a surge of patients in Madrid’s hospitals fueled worries across Europe of what lies ahead. Pleas went out to funnel masks and ventilators to places struggling with soaring caseloads. “There is no easy or quick way out of this extremely difficult situation,” Mark Rutte, the prime minister of the Netherlands, said in the first televised speech by a Dutch premier since 1973. The virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, for most people, but severe illness is more likely in the elderly and people with existing health problems. More than 79,000 people have recovered from the illness. Nevertheless, a growing sense of crisis has roiled financial markets. Shares reversed early losses in Asia on Tuesday after the US stock market plunged to its worst day in more than three decades and huge swaths of many economies came to a standstill as businesses and travel shut down due to the outbreak. Only China, Italy and Iran have more infections than Spain, where the number increased by roughly 20 percent, to 9,191 and fatalities rose to 309, according to the Spanish Health Ministry. It switched to a new reporting system, so the
actual number may be higher. A somber Rutte told viewers “a large part” of the Netherlands’ 17 million people are likely to contract the virus. So far, 1,413 people have tested positive and 24 have died. The government closed schools, restaurants and bars, and banned gatherings of more than 100 people. Countries from Canada to Switzerland, Russia and Malaysia announced sharp new restrictions on the movement of people across their borders. “We have a window of time at the moment to slow the spread of the virus,” said Ulrike Demmer, a spokeswoman for Germany’s government, which reversed its earlier insistence that border controls would not work. It imposed new limits on crossings with France, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Luxembourg, after German infections increased by more than 1,000 over 24 hours. Malaysia banned foreign travel and is allowing only essential services to stay open. France allowed people to leave home only to buy food, go to work, or do other essential tasks, restrictions President Emmanuel Macron said were heightened because people hadn’t complied with earlier guidelines and “we are at war.” India shut down the Taj Mahal to visitors. Most schools and entertainment facilities were already closed across India, the world’s second-most populous country with 1.3 billion people. The first confirmed cases of Covid-19 were reported in Somalia, which has one of Africa’s weakest health systems after nearly three decades of conflict. As the pandemic expanded its reach, China and South Korea were trying to hold their hard-fought gains. China is quarantining new arrivals, who in recent days have accounted for an increasing number of cases, and South Korea starting Thursday will increase screenings of all overseas arrivals. Infections have continued to
slow in South Korea’s worst-hit city of Daegu. But there’s concern over a steady rise of infections in the Seoul metropolitan area, where new clusters have emerged. Italy reported another jump in infections, up more than 3,000 to 27,980. With 2,158 deaths—including 349 more in just the last 24 hours—Italy now accounts for well over a quarter of the global death toll. Cases, however, slowed in Lombardy, the hardest-hit region. In the United States, officials urged older Americans and those with chronic health conditions to stay home, and recommended all group gatherings be capped at 50 people. Americans returning from abroad encountered chaotic airport health screenings that clearly broke all virus-fighting rules against having packed crowds close together. School closings in 56 countries kept more than 516 million students home, the United Nations said. New York City joined those ranks Monday, closing a school system with 1.1 million students. Still, some countries have resisted more stringent measures to contain the virus. In Britain, bars and restaurants remained open and there was no ban on large events. The prime minister’s spokesman said closing schools hadn’t been ruled out, but “the scientific and medical advice is that that’s not a step which we should be taking at this point in time.” A senior official from South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kwon Jun-wook, urged people to take the virus seriously and follow recommended precautions. “In a similar way to how the September 11 attacks completely changed people’s perception about security, quarantine authorities like us believe the daily lives of all the people around the world will be changed because of Covid-19,” Kwon told a briefing on Tuesday. “From now on, if you are sick, you should voluntarily rest to prevent a spread to others.” AP
As pandemic spreads, China’s ex-epicenter down to 1 new case M
ADRID—The battle to contain the coronavirus reached new urgency, as more governments locked down borders and ordered new closures and restrictions and pleas went out to funnel masks and ventilators to places struggling with soaring numbers of sick patients. The growing sense of crisis rocked financial markets on Monday, particularly on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 12.9 percent. Investors’ fears that the pandemic will throw the economy into a recession sent the market to its worst one-day loss since 1987. The shift in the battle lines was made clear by tallies showing cases outside China have surpassed those inside it and Spain now has the fourth-most cases in the world. The central Chinese city that was the former epicenter where the viral illness was first detected in December was down to just one new case on Tuesday. With the number of cases worldwide topping 181,000, a surge of patients in Madrid’s hospitals fueled worries across Europe of what lies ahead. Only China, Italy and Iran have more infections than Spain, where the number increased by roughly 20 percent, to 9,191 and fatalities rose to 309, according to the Spanish Health Ministry. It switched to a new reporting system, so the actual number may be higher. With much-needed ventilators in short supply, the British government asked manufacturers, including automakers Ford and Rolls-Royce, to convert some of their assembly lines to making the life-saving equipment. “We are facing what is an unprecedented
situation and that is going to require an unprecedented response,” said James Slack, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Around the world, fast-changing rules and restrictions tore up the script for daily life. Bars, pubs and restaurants were closed or restricting orders to takeout and delivery. Cemeteries in the Croatian capital restricted attendance at funerals to the closest relatives. US casinos went dark, not just in Las Vegas, but in more than a dozen states. Malaysia banned travel in and out of the country for two weeks and is allowing only essential services to stay open. France allowed people to leave home only to buy food, go to work, or do other essential tasks, restrictions President Emmanuel Macron said were heightened because people hadn’t complied with earlier guidelines and “we are at war.” The first confirmed cases of Covid-19 were reported in Somalia, which has one of Africa’s weakest health systems after nearly three decades of conflict between the government and the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group. As the pandemic expanded its reach, China and South Korea were trying to hold their hard-fought gains. China is quarantining new arrivals, who in recent days have accounted for an increasing number of cases, and South Korea starting Thursday will increase screenings of all travelers arriving from overseas. China on Tuesday reported 21 new cases of the virus, 20 of them imported. Just one new case was confirmed in Wuhan, the Hubei provincial capital where the illness was first detected in late December. The update raised
A supermarket cashier waits for costumers behind a makeshift plastic curtain as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 16. 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. AP/Natacha Pisarenko
China’s totals to 80,881 cases and 3,226 deaths. China this week relaxed travel restrictions in Hubei, sending thousands of workers back to long-shuttered factories. Most of the world’s 78,000 recovered patients are in China. The virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, for most people, but severe illness is more likely in the elderly and people with existing health problems. In the United States, officials urged older
Americans and those with chronic health conditions to stay home, and recommended all group gatherings be capped at 50 people. Americans returning from abroad encountered chaotic airport health screenings that clearly broke all virus-fighting rules against having packed crowds close together. School closings in 56 countries kept more than 516 million students home, the United Nations said. New York City joined those ranks Monday, closing a school system with 1.1 mil-
lion students. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested a 30-day ban on people entering the bloc for non-essential travel reasons. “The less travel, the more we can contain the virus,” she said in a video message. A number of EU member countries have, so far, resisting such far-reaching controls. But many went ahead with measures to sharply curtail activities inside their borders. Switzerland’s government declared a state
of emergency, ordering shops, restaurants, bars and other facilities shut down. The measures exclude health-care operations as well as supermarkets, but also include entertainment and leisure facilities, which will be closed until April 19. “We need to do everything possible to slow the advance of the coronavirus,” Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga said, urging people to practice social distancing and follow government guidelines. Still, some countries have resisted more stringent measures to contain the virus. In Britain, bars and restaurants remained open and there was no ban on large events. The prime minister’s spokesman said closing schools hadn’t been ruled out, but “the scientific and medical advice is that that’s not a step which we should be taking at this point in time.” Italy reported another jump in infections Monday, up more than 3,000 to 27,980. With 2,158 deaths—including 349 more in just the last 24 hours—Italy now accounts for well over a quarter of the global death toll. Cases, however, slowed in Lombardy, the hardest-hit region. In Spain, a cut in the frequency of commuter trains created considerable crowds during rush hour. Wearing blue latex gloves, cleaner Mari Carmen Ramírez said she, like many others, couldn’t afford to risk her salary of €950 ($1,042) per month. “I fear the coronavirus, but I fear more not being able to pay the utility bills,” the 55-yearold said. “When this is all over, how are we going to eat?” AP
A6 Wednesday, March 18, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso
Opinion BusinessMirror
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editorial
Poultry is safe to eat
E
ven before Metro Manila residents could fully comprehend the quarantine guidelines ordered by the President due to the onslaught of Covid-19, authorities will have to grapple with another virus. This virus, which causes avian influenza, has again unleashed its wrath on a poultry farm in Jaen, Nueva Ecija. The Department of Agriculture (DA) confirmed on Monday, March 16, that bird flu struck a farm in Jaen and affected thousands of quail (See, “Avian flu here; DA clears out 12,000 quails in Nueva Ecija farm,” in the BusinessMirror, March 17, 2020). The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strain that struck the lone quail farm in Barangay Ulanin-Pitak is the H5N6, according to the DA, which is not known to be transmitted to humans. It is the same strain that struck the hundreds of quail and layer farms in Pampanga and Nueva Ecija in 2017. This is different from the one that struck China and infected humans and caused seven deaths, based on a report from the World Health Organization (WHO) dated March 6. The government’s top veterinarians said the H5N6 strain that affected the Jaen farm is not fatal and has a “very slim” chance of jumping to humans. Also, the outbreak involved only one farm that grows quail and the virus did not strike farms where broilers are raised. This means that consumers need not worry about the bird flu virus as local poultry and poultry products, such as chicken and egg, are still safe to eat. During the avian influenza crisis in 2005, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the WHO said chicken and other poultry are safe to eat if cooked properly. The recommendation of FAO and WHO is to cook poultry--chicken, ducks, geese, turkeys, and guinea-fowl--at or above 70°Celsius so that no meat remains raw and red. This, they said, is a safe measure to kill the bird flu virus. Despite this, consumers still avoided poultry meat after the government confirmed the outbreak of bird flu in Central Luzon. The decline in consumption caused the price of live broiler to plummet to P15 per kilogram, way below the production cost incurred by poultry growers. Many farmers lost millions of pesos after consumers avoided buying chicken and shifted to other protein sources (see “Fowl farmers’ fears persist 1 year after bird flu flare-up,” BusinessMirror, August 15, 2018). The outbreak in Jaen has been effectively contained with the culling of some 12,000 quails. The government has protocols in place to ensure that this outbreak will not spread to other farms in the province. Despite this, we urge other poultry raisers to remain vigilant and immediately report to government veterinarians if there is an unusually high mortality of fowls in their farm. Following established protocols, which has been updated since 2004 when it was crafted, will help prevent the spread of the virus and stop it from threatening farms in the region. Securing the country’s food supply is critical at this time when the Philippines is grappling with African swine fever, which has reduced pork production, and the onslaught of Covid-19. Government and poultry raisers must work together to ensure that this additional threat to food supply will be eliminated soon. Since 2005
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SSS: Securing the future of our ‘kasambahay’ Aurora C. Ignacio
All About Social Security
O
ur day-to-day lives have been made a lot easier, thanks to the house helpers in our employ. These hardworking individuals clean our homes, cook our meals, do the laundry, and take care of our children, among many other things. Without them, we would be hard pressed to find time to pursue higher education or career advancement, or even to find time to relax and follow our individual passions. As we chase our own dreams and work to make our own lives better, we need to keep in mind that our house helpers are doing the same for themselves and their own families. They sacrifice not being around their own family members to serve us. They sacrifice being away from their loved ones to manage another family’s needs. To treat them well, we need to provide them suitable accommodation, reasonable workload and work hours, and legally mandated salaries and benefits. Included in the latter is to ensure their coverage in social security institutions. The State recognizes the invaluable economic and social contributions of house helpers, which is why on September 1, 1993, Republic Act 7655 was enacted into law, making mandatory the coverage for house helpers who are earning at least P1,000 under the
Social Security System. Republic Act 10361, an Act Instituting Policies for the Protection and Welfare of Domestic Workers, or more popularly known as “Kasambahay Act,” was then signed into law on January 18, 2013 to further protect the rights of our domestic workers. Under RA 10361, our kasambahays must be registered with, and paid contributions not just to SSS, but also to Philhealth and Pag-IBIG Fund. The benefits that they will receive are no different from those given to regularly employed members in times of contingencies, such as sickness, maternity, disability, unemployment, retirement, death and funeral. Plus employers also pay contributions to the Employee’s Compensation Commission (ECC) for work-related accidents. Under the “Kasambahay Act,”
Employers who fail to fulfill their obligation, especially with SSS, can be sued for violating two laws: one under the “Kasambahay Act”, and the other under the Republic Act 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018. Thus, it is our responsibility as employers to make sure that our house helpers get the social protection that they deserve by regularly paying the employer share to complete the monthly contribution.
registering house helpers has been made easy through the Kasambahay Unified Registration System (KURS), wherein the respective registration processes of SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG have been integrated into a “One Stop Shop” or “3-in-1” system. Through KURS, the three agencies shall provide registration services and membership numbers to household employers and their house helpers, regardless of which agency they choose to register with. Both the employers and house helpers will be issued the membership numbers and covered under the three agencies using just one form. The unified forms are available in all the branches and service centers of the three agencies, and can also be downloaded from their respective web sites. Employers who fail to fulfill their obligation, especially with SSS, can
be sued for violating two laws: one under the “Kasambahay Act,” and the other under the Republic Act 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018. Thus, it is our responsibility as employers to make sure that our house helpers get the social protection that they deserve by regularly paying the employer share to complete the monthly contribution. For house helpers receiving monthly salaries of P5,000 and below, their employers are mandated to shoulder the entire monthly SSS contribution, while house helpers receiving salaries above P5,000 a month will shoulder 1/3 of the SSS contribution and their employers will pay the remaining 2/3. Let us not view paying for our house helpers’ contributions to these three government institutions as just another expense, or worse, something that can be ignored and skirted around. These are legal obligations that household employers must bear under the law. Just as our kasambahays invest their time and effort in managing our households and taking care of us, we also need to invest in their future well-being so that when they are not able to work, they can lean on the SSS and other government institutions for protection and assistance. Sulit na serbisyo, katapat ng sulit na benepisyo! 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.
Hong Kong shutdown a lesson to the world in halting virus By Iain Marlow Bloomberg News
A
S the world struggles with the rapid spread of Covid-19, Hong Kong appears to be having success controlling it— in part because the memory of a similar virus in 2003 prompted a public outcry early on. Hong Kong’s government quickly implemented restrictive “social distancing” measures now being hotly debated around the world, in part because of pressure from medical workers to close its border with China at the beginning of the outbreak. Those included closing schools, canceling large-scale events, shutting government offices and ordering civil servants to work from home—a move that many companies quickly followed. Hong Kong’s experience with severe acute respiratory syndrome— which killed almost 300 people of more than 1,700 infected, the most outside of mainland China—impacted the psychology of the city, said Nicholas Thomas, an associate professor at the City University of Hong Kong. Many residents wore
surgical masks and avoided gatherings from the very start of the outbreak, a practice that continues more than six weeks later. “As soon as the virus started to break out, and people read ‘China’ and ‘coronavirus,’ people remembered,” said Thomas, who has edited an academic book series titled Health Security and Governance. “The social part is one of the reasons why we’ve been able to keep the virus cases so low, because in some way the public has been able to make the government take measures.” On Tuesday, the government said it was extending mandatory 14-day quarantines for all visitors arriving from outside of Greater China, reiterated that city residents should avoid traveling, and said it would
keep some schools shut beyond an original April 20 deadline. We will be very careful on school resumption,” Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said. “From what we see now, a complete school resumption on April 20 is quite impossible. And even if the situation has stabilized, we could only reopen schools in phases.”
Early measures
IN recent days, the virus’s spread in the US—highlighted by the National Basketball Association’s decision to suspend the season—has driven home the need to avoid large gatherings, even as some government officials have maintained there’s no reason to panic. Recent high-profile infections, including actor Tom Hanks, the Australian home affairs minister and the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, also underscore the need to take early precautions. Most of Hong Kong’s restrictions were put in place at the end of January, when the city had only a handful of cases. As of Monday, it had 157 cases in total, including returnees from the
stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship, and only four deaths. By contrast South Korea didn’t start taking unprecedented measures until February 23, when hundreds had already been infected. It has now seen more than 8,100 people infected and 75 deaths. New York City also acted much later by comparison. On Sunday evening, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that public schools would be shut from March 16 as the city’s tally soared over the weekend to 463 confirmed cases and five deaths. For Hong Kong, the relative success marks a bit of good news in what has been a devastating 12 months for the economy. The virus is further curbing growth after violent pro-democracy protests periodically shut down large parts of the city in the second half of 2019, prompting Beijing-appointed leader Lam’s popularity to plummet. The effective virus response hasn’t helped Lam much. She initially resisted public pressure to fully shut the border with China, relenting only as thousands of medical workers began a strike that put pressure See “Hong Kong,” A7
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Opinion
The end of Opec is here
‘Virus at Iran’s gates:’ How Tehran failed to stop outbreak
BusinessMirror
By Julian Lee | Bloomberg Opinion)
O
pec may not survive to celebrate its own 60th birthday later this year. Saudi Arabia’s decision to abandon output restraint and flood the market with cheap crude signals the end for a group dubbed the world’s most successful cartel. In a selfish bit of showmanship, Saudi Arabia, by far the biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, tore up an output agreement that had lasted since the start of 2017. It did so because Russia, the largest of Opec’s external allies, wouldn’t play ball and refused to make deeper production cuts to help prop up oil prices in the face of the economic devastation being wrought by the Covid-19 virus. The kingdom had probably hoped to shock the Kremlin into coming back to the negotiating table, but that clearly backfired. The impact—compounded by the deadly virus’s continued spread—will be much more damaging for Opec’s other members, from Algeria to Venezuela, than it will be for Saudi Arabia’s nemesis in the wider Opec+ coalition.
in tanks in Japan, the Netherlands and on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. While the kingdom can partially offset the collapse in oil prices with the boost in volumes, most of its fellow Opec members are much less fortunate. They are already pumping almost as much as they can. In Libya, for example, production has been cut to near zero after a local warlord closed almost all of the country’s export terminals. A peace deal could increase it by more than 1 million barrels a day, but that seems remote. Iran and Venezuela could both boost output were it not for US sanctions on their oil trade, although Venezuela’s upside is limited. For the rest of team Opec, Nigeria is the only country outside the Persian Gulf that can boost production by more than 100,000 barrels a day.
This is not the first time that Saudi Arabia has cast smaller Opec producers to the wolves. As a grouping of sovereign nations, they have little leverage over the group’s biggest producer. But the kingdom’s latest actions, in the face of an unprecedented hit to global oil demand, show its true disregard for fellow members. The de facto leader of Opec could have made other calculated choices before taking an every man for himself approach and starting an all-out oil price war. After all, Russia offered to extend the current output cuts beyond the end of March, and there was nothing to stop Opec’s 13 members from agreeing further reductions just among themselves. But Saudi Arabia seems to have decided that the Opec+ pact, which started life as a temporary coming together meant to last only six months, needed to continue further into its fourth year. If the external partners weren’t prepared to cut deeper, then Opec wouldn’t act either. And, since not everyone saw eye to eye, the current agreement wouldn’t be extended, leaving everybody free at the end of March to pump as much as they want, or are capable of. Then, rather than wait and see, Saudi Arabia acted with a vengeance, slashing the cost of its crude for loading in April. Official selling prices—set as differentials to regional benchmarks—were cut by the most on record after the Opec+ deal fell apart. With Brent trading around $30 a barrel and the discount for sales of Saudi Arabia’s key Arabian Light grade set at $10.25 a barrel, there is an ocean of $20 oil set to head for Europe next month. There have also been big increases in the volumes allocated to buyers in both Asia and on the US Gulf coast. Saudi Arabia’s monopoly oil producer, Saudi Aramco, says that it will supply its customers with 12.3 million barrels a day in April. That’s more than the company can pump out of the ground, even if it opens the taps fully, thus implying that it will draw down crude stored at home and
But that’s not going to get it very far. A simple back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that lifting output to capacity would only reduce the West African nation’s losses from the price drop to $30 a barrel from $60 by 6 percent. For Angola, the region’s second-biggest producer, the potential reduction in its loss is just 3 percent. By contrast, Saudi Arabia, from its kingpin perch, could recoup more than a quarter of the oil revenue it would lose as a result of the price drop by increasing supply to 12.3 million barrels a day from 9.7 million. This is not the first time that Saudi Arabia has cast smaller Opec producers to the wolves. As a grouping of sovereign nations, they have little leverage over the group’s biggest producer. But the kingdom’s latest actions, in the face of an unprecedented hit to global oil demand, show its true disregard for fellow members. When Opec was originally formed back in 1960, part of its principal aim was “safeguarding the interests of Member Countries individually and collectively.” That goal was still paramount in the revised Opec Statue, drawn up in 2012. So too was “eliminating harmful and unnecessary fluctuations” in oil prices. Saudi Arabia’s latest actions are diametrically opposed to those goals, and have helped cause oil prices to fall by almost 40 percent in a little over a week. That is certainly not in the collective interests of Opec’s members. The oil cartel was a useful fig leaf for Saudi oil policy when it wanted to support oil prices. Now that it wants to send them tumbling, Opec is simply an inconvenience. The group has survived seemingly irreconcilable internal differences in the past. This one might just be a step too far.
Hong Kong. . .
ranking published by the Heritage Foundation.
continued from A6
on officials and the health system. Her approval rating rose slightly to 13 percent from just 9 percent, according to a survey released on March 10 by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Program. When Hong Kong ordered the early closures, it had just emerged from more than six months of antigovernment protests that had hammered the financial hub’s economy into a recession. On Tuesday, Hong Kong lost its title as the world’s freest economy to Singapore for the first time since 1995, according to a
Earlier intervention
Deploying measures early can have a dramatic effect. Research on the 1918 influenza pandemic in the US showed cities that had implemented multiple “non-pharmaceutical interventions,” including closing schools and churches, experienced death rates that were as much as 50 percent lower—as well as less severe outbreaks—than those that did not. Medical researchers estimated China could’ve reduced the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases by as much as 95 percent if officials had implemented non-pharmaceutical
D
By Jon Gambrell | The Associated Press
UBAI, United Arab Emirates—Appearing before the cameras coughing and sweating profusely, the man leading Iran’s response to the new coronavirus outbreak promised it was of no danger to his country. “Quarantines belong to the Stone Age,” Iraj Harirchi insisted. A day later, he himself would be in quarantine from the virus. Harirchi’s story is a microcosm of what has happened in Iran amid the coronavirus pandemic. Roughly nine out of 10 cases in the Middle East come from the Islamic Republic, which has reported nearly 15,000 people infected and at least 853 deaths amid fears that cases may still be underreported. While most people who are infected recover, the virus spreads rapidly and can kill the elderly and those with breathing problems or other underlying illnesses. Days of denials gave the virus time to spread in Iran as the country marked the 41st anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution with mass demonstrations and then held a parliamentary election in which authorities desperately sought to boost turnout. Although Iran has one of the Mideast’s best medical services, its hospitals appear to be overwhelmed and authorities have asked for 172 million masks from abroad. It also has asked the International Monetary Fund for $5 billion, the first such loan for Iran since 1962. The Islamic Republic has an opportunity to limit the virus as the Persian New Year, Nowruz, approaches. But authorities appear unable or unwilling to stop travel between major cities as local towns affected by the virus threaten to set up their own checkpoints to turn away or even attack outsiders. That’s in sharp contrast to Iraq and Lebanon, Iranian allies that have restricted movement while facing a fraction of the reported infections. What happens next will not only affect Iran’s civilian government and Shiite theocracy, whose officials already have fallen ill, but also the wider world. “Judging by the fact that Iran has now asked for a $5 billion loan from the IMF, this speaks to how dire the situation is getting and them realizing that it’s spun out of control,” said Dr. Amir A. Afkhami, an associate professor at George Washington University who studies Iran.
to Tehran amid crushing US sanctions. China is also constructing a solar power plant there. From late January, worries could be seen on the front page of the proreform newspaper Aftab-e Yazd. “Mysterious virus at Iran’s gates,” its banner headline warned as China began a lockdown to control the outbreak. Yet, travel between China and Iran continued. The first two coronavirus cases were reported February 19, with the announcement that both died in Qom. Since it can take up to two weeks to show symptoms, they could have gotten it in early February. Iranian authorities haven’t offered any details. Iran analysts suggest it might be because the country marked the 41st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution during that period. Iran also held parliamentary elections February 21. The government desperately wanted a large turnout to boost its legitimacy after shooting down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people on board. Days earlier, a US drone strike in Baghdad killed top Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, further shaking its credibility. Iranian authorities already had disqualified thousands of candidates from running, ultimately tilting the election to conservatives. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei even later accused foreign enemies of trying to influence turnout with the outbreak. “The pretext of an illness and virus was used, and their media did not miss the slightest opportunity to discourage people from voting,” he said. The election saw Iran’s lowest turnout since the revolution, with some voters wearing the masks that everyone soon would want. But people already were dying and fear was spreading.
Shrines and hazmat suits
IN a country like Iran, where the state controls all broadcasters and journalists face restrictions, many things about the outbreak remain unknown. Chief among them is who was “patient zero”— the person who was first infected with the coronavirus in the nation, and where. Public comments point to the city of Qom, 125 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Tehran, on the country’s windswept central desert plateau. How the virus arrived there remains in question. Authorities suggested that perhaps an Iranian businessman returned from China with the virus. Qom is home to major Shiite seminaries that draw Chinese students. It also is along a $2.7 billion high-speed train route that a Chinese company is building, a sign of China’s outreach
Qom long has been the stronghold of Iran’s Shiite clergy. A focal point of devotion is the golden-domed shrine of Fatima Masumeh, a Shiite saint. Crowds pray there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, touching and kissing the shrine. That raises the risks for visitors. In Saudi Arabia, authorities have closed off access to the holiest sites in Islam over concerns about the virus. Churches, mosques, temples and shrines around the world have been closed or subject to stringent disinfecting campaigns. But in Qom and elsewhere in Iran, the shrines stayed open despite civilian health authorities demanding they close. Mohammad Saidi, who oversees the Fatima Masumeh shrine, insinuated that closing shrines was part of a plot against Shiites by President Donald J. Trump. “Defeating Qom is the dream of treacherous Trump and his domestic mercenaries, but this dream will not be realized even in their grave,” Saidi said on February 22. That decision likely gave the virus time to spread. Police later arrested those who
interventions—from containment and isolation to social distancing— just three weeks earlier than they did. Even implementing them one week earlier would have reduced China’s cases by 66 percent, while the number could’ve jumped 18 times if such measures came three weeks later, according to the study this month funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Social distancing measures can be a critical part of stopping the virus after governments have already implemented other containment measures, said Benjamin Cowling, a professor and co-director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epide-
miology and Control at Hong Kong University’s School of Public Health. Governments need to conduct tests to identify and quarantine infected people and those with whom they’ve had contact, while also reducing imported cases from overseas, Cowling said. Once an outbreak has occurred and it becomes more difficult to track down suspected cases, social distancing measures like closing schools, working from home and voluntarily avoiding crowded areas is key, he said. “Social distancing becomes more important if there’s sustained transmission in the community and we want to slow it down, because at that point, the first two measures won’t be
‘Patient zero’ and an election
Wednesday, March 18, 2020 A7
posted online video of themselves licking and kissing shrines. “The city’s religious epithet— ‘the nest of the Prophet and his family’— was intended to reassure believers worldwide that it was insulated against epidemics and other disasters,” wrote Mehdi Khalaji, a Qomtrained Shiite theologian who is an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near-East Policy. “If early reports about the spread of the coronavirus prove correct, Qom’s status as the ideological capital of the Islamic Revolution helped make it the pathogen’s transmitting center to the rest of Iran and at least seven other countries.” Since then, hazmat-suited workers have fogged disinfectant and cleaned the shrines. Some mosques even hand out alcohol as a disinfectant to the poor despite Islam forbidding its consumption. By Monday night, the Fatima Masumeh shrine and another one in Mashhad had closed, only to see online videos purport to show hardline faithful storming the shrines’ courtyard, demanding they open. But by that point, the virus had spread, reaching the highest levels of Iran’s theocracy.
‘The situation is terrible here and I hope god helps us’
Like blood from a beating heart, the infections in Qom coursed out across Iran in maps later shared by the Health Ministry. In Tehran, the virus began moving through the government and the Shiite theocracy. Among those first infected was Harirchi, the deputy health minister who tested positive only a day after he downplayed the virus in a televised news conference. It didn’t stop there. The virus killed Expediency Council member Mohammad Mirmohammadi, described as a close confidant of Khamenei. Hadi Khosroshahi, Iran’s former ambassador to the Vatican, and Ahmad Tuyserkani, an adviser to Iran’s judiciary chief, also died along with several lawmakers and a member of the country’s Assembly of Experts. The sick included Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar, better known as “Sister Mary,” the English-speaking spokeswoman for the students who seized the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 in the 444-day hostage crisis. The virus also infected senior Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and two other Cabinet members, along with Revolutionary Guard members and doctors. Soon, even 80-year-old Khamenei was seen wearing disposable gloves at a tree-planting ceremony. President Hassan Rouhani, 71, was pictured at a teleconference with the nearest official a few meters (several feet) away. The numbers soared. Iran’s death rate from the virus now is higher than in other hard-hit nations. That could be from the initial lack of testing kits and facilities. It also could be from what outside experts, Tehran lawmakers and other local leaders have alleged from the start: Iran was hiding the true number of infections and deaths. Authorities initially denied that, especially after the BBC’s Persian service said deaths far exceeded those reported at the beginning of the crisis. But that denial appeared to weaken over time. “We found out a little late that the coronavirus had entered Iran as effective,” he said. “And hopefully the US and Europe and other countries can learn from Hong Kong and Singapore in how social distancing can be applied and how our populations can be aware.”
Airlines slash flights
Singapore—which did not close schools or offices—initially saw success containing the virus, but has more recently seen a second wave of cases that brought its total to 226. Recent cases seem to have mostly been imported from abroad, rather than through local transmission. Taiwan, which has carefully screened flights from China and has ordered strict fines for quarantine breakers as
because we mistook it for the flu,” Reza Malekzadeh, a deputy health minister, later said. A man in Qom filmed rows of bodies in black bags and caskets awaiting burial for days in a trench lined with lime. He alleged all had tested positive for the coronavirus, although officials later said the bodies had been held pending test results. “The situation is terrible here and I hope God helps us,” he said while walking through the mortuary. Authorities later arrested him.
Past experiences, new worries
Diseases have influenced Iranian history. Cholera outbreaks plagued its Qajar dynasty, long indebted to British and Russian powers. The chaos and debt set the stage for Iran’s 1906 Constitutional Revolution and the creation of parliament. That cholera outbreak saw Shiite religious leaders lash out at the West. Now, Iranian leaders, such as the head of its Revolutionary Guard and Khamenei himself, traffic in the baseless conspiracy theory that the coronavirus is a biological weapon created by the US, something echoed by Chinese officials as well. “The psychology of the leadership in Iran has sort of an almost selfdestructive need to double down on a lie just to sort of portray itself as competent,” Afkhami said. That’s contrasted with the response to the El Tor strain of cholera that caused a pandemic through the 1960s. Iran produced millions of vaccine doses and inoculated its people, controlling its spread. It even gave broad-range antibiotics from the US to pilgrims visiting Shiite shrines, Afkhami said. “This rapid mobilization and this rapid response allowed the country to control the epidemic,” he said. That was under Iran’s shah, toppled in the 1979 revolution. But even after, Iran fought off other outbreaks, and its hospitals, doctors and nurses are known as some of the best in the wider Middle East, with a network of clinics from villages to big cities. However, the system appears to be stretching at the seams, with online videos purporting to show field hospitals going up. Meanwhile, Iran’s 80 million people, whose sense of high risk has been dulled by years of international isolation, crowd into grocery stores and butcher shops, suspicious of anything in the state media. Nowruz, the Persian New Year, looms on Friday, a holiday when millions travel. The government repeatedly has stopped short of ordering any major travel restrictions. It hasn’t explained why, but there could be worry about further angering its people or slowing down its anemic, sanctions-hurt economy. Online videos show Iranians ignoring government demands to stay home and moving instead toward the coast of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Residents of hard-hit Rasht, on Iran’s coast, have threatened to attack out-of-towners. “We expect that, God willing, we can contain the rising trend of the disease, not the disease itself, by March 26,” said Harirchi, the health official who is recovering from COVID-19. “But I say this very frankly: if the great people don’t cooperate, the disease will continue to be there until late May or even in June, and turn into a huge crisis.” high as $33,228, has also seen success —with just 59 cases and one death. Hong Kong is now also worried about a second wave of cases. A local newspaper lambasted expats gathering in bars without masks —showing that social pressure for social distancing continues in spite of government measures. “There is a strong responsibility of people to adhere to social norms and respect the wider community,” said Thomas from City University. “There’s been an awareness in the last two decades that these problems are there and that we have to do something about it.” With assistance from Rachel Chang and Natalie Lung.
A8 Wednesday, March 18, 2020
PAL, Cebu Pacific, AirAsia cancel flights on lockdown
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By Recto Mercene
@rectomercene
HE country’s three main airlines announced massive flight cancellations once the 72-hour window imposed by government ends, following the declaration of a Luzon-wide lockdown to stop mass transmission of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Legacy carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said it has canceled all domestic flights “effective immediately until April 12, but flights will resume the following day, April 13, 2020.” PAL issued the advisory “in compliance with the government’s
enhanced community quarantine measure over the Luzon, including Metro Manila.” “We continue to operate international flights up to midnight of March 20, 2020,” PAL said in a statement, adding it will announce
in due course the status of its international flights from March 20 up to April 12. PAL said it is coordinating with government authorities on the relevant implementing details and will comply with the travel restrictions and quarantine rules. The carrier said its Manila Airport ticket office at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, will remain open from 2 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily, seven days a week. “However, all other PAL ticket offices in Metro Manila will be closed to comply with the quarantine directives.” For travel and ticketing concerns, the public may call the Hotline at (63 2) 8855-8888. “We respectfully request you to consider deferring any requests for rebooking until after April 12,
2020, in view of the strict social distancing required by the quarantine measures,” the carrier said. PAL added it expects a high volume of queries and transactions at its ticketing office and hotline, “and we ask you to bear with us as we deal with the challenge of handling an unprecedented number of canceled flights over this quarantine period.” “Please note that this is a developing situation, and the quarantine rules are subject to periodic review by the Philippine government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for Covid-19,” PAL said.
Cebu Pacific
Cebu Pacific and Cebgo flights will be canceled from March 19 until April 14, 2020. See “Flights,” A2
Shuttle service for exempted workers eyed
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HE government is eyeing a dedicated “shuttle service” for workers who are exempted from the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. During an online press conference, the Department of the Inte-
rior and Local Government (DILG) said it is considering the measure to transport the workers from their homes to their workplaces amid the prevailing public transportation ban in Luzon. “ Event u a l ly we w i l l solve
NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING NORTHERN AND CENTRAL LUZON TAIL-END OF A COLD FRONT AFFECTING THE EASTERN SECTION OF SOUTHERN LUZON as of 4:00 pm - March 17, 2020
that because they are clearly exempted and need to go to work,” Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said during the Laging Handa briefing. Only workers employed in these companies are exempted from the
home-quarantine rule in Luzon: establishments providing basic necessities and such activities related to food and medicine production, manufacturing and processing plants of basic food products and medicines, banks, money transfer services, power, energy, water and telecommunications supplies and facilities. The lack of commute, which started on Monday evening, stranded many workers who were trying to get home. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said it got reports that the quarantine, which initially only covered Metro Manila before being expanded to the entire Luzon, delayed the production of at least two factories. On Tuesday, the lack of public transportation also made it difficult for many workers to report for work, prompting the national government to tap the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), as well as private bus firms to assist the affected workers. Army trucks were used to ferry stranded individuals exempted from the ban so they can be safely brought to their places of work and their homes after work. The buses from the private sector that were also used for the same initiative were marked with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) logo so it will not be hindered by authorities enforcing the no public transportation rule. “We would like to apologize to our countrymen [who were affected]. These are birth pains and firstday kinks, which we’ll fix,” Malaya said. Samuel Medenilla
Virus. . .
Continued from A1
of the GDP. “No lockdown, mass transmission will kill 4.13 percent of GDP. A lockdown will decrease GDP by only 2.95 percent. It saves lives and saves the economy,” Salceda said. He said the lockdown in Luzon would also result in job losses, revenue losses for local and national governments Salceda said the seasonal job losses, primarily from the informal sector, are estimated at 251,000 jobs while losses on structural jobs will be at 85,000. He said national internal revenue tax and local business tax losses from these jobs are expected to reach P68 billion.
‘Game-changing’
Salceda said the enhanced quarantine imposed by the national
THE BROWN JU SOMEQUICK POWER FIRMSFOX FACE OVER THE THE DELAYS ASLAZY WORKDOG. STOPS LAZY DOG By Lenie Lectura @llectura
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OME power firms are facing delays in the construction of their power projects as a result of the paralysis induced by measures to stop the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19). “We are anticipating some delays because of travel restriction; technical expats can’t come to the Philippines. Also, shipment of materials and equipment are experiencing delays,” said EnergySecretary Alfonso Cusi said via text message on Tuesday. Aboitiz Power Corp.’s GNPowerDiningin is the latest in the power industry to hit a snag. The baseload plant’s first 688-megawatt (MW) capacity will not come online until October this year. In a report posted by brokerage firm Regina Capital Development Corp., “the most notable impact of the virus on [AboitizPower] is on its technicians for GNPower Diningin.” The power firm’s management reported that some of its crucial EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) workers and technicians went to China during the Chinese New Year celebration and were unable to return to the Philippines due to the travel ban. AboitizPower has moved to address the delay by shifting workers from Unit 1 to Unit 2 and hiring locals. “The management assured that the progress is on track and Unit 1 will likely come online by October. Meanwhile, Unit 2’s operations are hinged on the lifting of the travel ban,”Regina Capital said in its report dated March 16. The second generating unit of another 668 MW is now targeted to be o line in 2021. AboitizPower is developing a supercritical coal-fired power plant with two identical units with a net capacity of 668 MW each. The two GNPower plants will help the company meet the 4,000MW target. Also, these are essential in the company’s commitment to securing a balanced energy mix to support the country’s energy security. The first 688MW unit was supposed to go on line late 2019, while the second unit, which also has a gross capacity of 668 MW, was earlier targeted for commercial operations in 2020. The company has set aside P41 billion in capital expenditure (capex) this year, mainly for the completion of the GNPower Diningin. Aboitiz Power gave assurances that it will preserve cash and spend this year’s capex wisely this year. “The management acknowledged that the recent virus outbreak, which initially affected the construction of GNPower Dinginin, will put pressure on its operations. The firm will be prudent with its cash and its capital expenditures in order to brace for the headwinds,” said the brokerage firm. Last month, Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen) said its Tarlac and Bulacan solar power projects, with a combined capacity of 135MW, are en-
government on Luzon will deny the novel coronavirus ample room to spread and help ensure that the country’s health system is not overwhelmed by cases. “Obey the lockdown, it will save 1,565 lives. It could be yours or your loved ones,” he said. The enhanced quarantine, which President Duterte has also called a lockdown, was declared Monday night, and will be in effect until April 13, 2020. Most modes of movement have been restricted, including domestic travel and mass transport. The public has also been advised to remain at home except for essential activities like buying food and basic supplies. Local governments were mandated by the President to be on top of the local situation and provide for the needs of their constituents. “My office has done the numbers. The lockdown will prevent up to 26,500 more infections by May 4, when Congress’s session resumes.
countering delays because shipments of photovoltaic (PV) panels from China have not been shipped out. For MGen’s Tarlac solar power project, company President Rogelio Singson earlier said that only “about 30 percent” of PV panel shipments were received. Two solar power projects were supposed to be commissioned this year. “Every time there is a new engineer that comes around, we have to quarantine them for 14 days. We hope this is resolved sooner,” he said. PetroEnergy Resources Corp. (PERC), an energy company with investments in petroleum and renewable energy, said it is exposed to operational risks. Manpower for operations is affected due to state-imposed expanded quarantine, it said. Also, scheduled power plant maintenance by third-par ty foreign suppliers may be affected. “In preparation for this, PERC has communicated with its Operations and Maintenance [O&M] providers to strengthen its remote support and provide contingencies,” PERC said. Moreover, it cited the risks relating to compliance with regulatory permits and submissions due to changes in work schedule both in public and private sectors. Meanwhile, Greenergy Holdings Inc. said it was informed by its supplier, Hanergy Thin Power Asia Pacific Limited, that its shipment of solar products will be postponed until after the community quarantine period.
Expiring documents extended
Meanwhile, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said Tuesday that all Certificates of Compliance (COCs), Provisional Authority to Operate (PAO), Retail Electricity Supplier (RES) License, Certificate of Authority as WESM Metering Service Provider, Meter Type Approval (MTA) and Meter Shop Approval (MSA) expiring during the quarantine period are extended for 60 days from April 14, provided the required application for renewal is already filed with the ERC. Power generation companies with power supply agreements with the Luzon distribution utilities and contracts with the National Grid of the Philippines (NGCP), the Market Operator and the NGCP for the transmission charges are directed to extend the period of payments of the Luzon distribution utilities for 30 days from April 14, without interest and penalties. Also, the ERC extended the deadlines for payment of permit fees and other payables to ERC falling on March 15 to April 14 this year for 30 days. Likewise, all compliances, submissions, pleadings falling due on March 15 to April 14 may be filed within 30 days after April 14. The ERC said these are in line with the declaration placing Luzon under enhanced community quarantine.
President Duterte’s decision will be game-changing and life-saving. By the decision, the President has protected thousands of lives and Filipino families,” Salceda said. “Congress is prepared to assist in authorizing and operationalizing mitigating measures to help our countrymen in this fight. I myself am proposing a P199-billion package of measures to assist Filipino families,” Salceda said, explaining his Filipino Families First Coronavirus Response bill. “The people need to understand how crucial their cooperation is. The President is right to say that we are all soldiers in this fight, so we must obey the chain of command—in this case, instructions from the President and public health authorities. This is what worked in China, which was able to contain the disease early enough, despite the massive number,” he said.
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Companies BusinessMirror
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
PSE suspends trading, SEC approves videoconferencing
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By VG Cabuag
@villygc
rading at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) was suspended indefinitely starting Tuesday after the government placed the entire Luzon under an “enhanced community quarantine,” but authorities want to resume trading as early as Thursday. There will also be no clearing and settlements at the Securities Clearing Corp. of the Philippines, the PSE said. Capital market was not identified as among businesses that should remain open, according to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. The PSE, however, is trying to convince the IATF for a possible exemption from business closures other than basic necessities, such as groceries and drugs. According to Ramon S. Mon-
zon, PSE president and CEO, they plan to open the market for trading on Thursday if authorities will allow it, since its systems are ready despite fears over the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). T he benchmark Phi lippine Stock Exchange index fell 15 percent last week and, when it resumed trading last Monday, it continued its free fall and ended 8 percent down to close at 5,335.37 points. The PSE has already instructed its brokers to temporarily switch to remote or off-site trading,
while trading hours was cut from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., down from the usual close of 3.30 p.m. Those that will continue to do business on the trading floor are required to limit the number of personnel on the trading floor to just one trader per booth, effective Tuesday, March 17. “More importantly, in accordance with 2015 SRC IRR [Securities Regulation Code's implementing rules and regulation], TPs [trading participants] are required to publish in their corporate web site official landline and mobile phone numbers that their clients can access for official business purposes during remote or off-site trading,” it said. Amid the outbreak of Covid-19, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday said it has approved the guidelines allowing participation in corporate meetings through teleconferencing, videoconferencing and other remote or electronic means of communications. The agency now allows corporations to conduct meetings
SM Group to donate P100M to hospitals
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he SM Group on Tuesday said it has allocated P100 million to provide personal protective equipment, Covid-19 test kits, alcohol and other medical supplies to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and other hospitals. SM, known for its chain of shopping malls, said it reached out to Manila Healthtek Inc., the producer of the local test kits developed by the UP-National Institutes of Health team, to distribute 20,000 tests for free to government hospitals, once approved for use. SM has also been working with both PGH and RITM to determine
how to expand laboratory testing capacity. “As there is a local shortage of personal protective equipment—face masks, gowns, visors, hoods, gloves, and shoe covers, SM is br inging these PPEs in for government hospitals who badly need them,” the company said. To provide PPEs and medical supplies to an even wider network of hospitals, SM has also been working with the UP Medical Foundation Inc. to reach their network of hospitals, it said. Meanwhile, AC Health, through Ayala Foundation, said it started its distribution of N95 masks for use of key hospitals in Manila,
Quezon City, and other locations. More than 10,000 N95 masks were d i st r ibuted d i rec t ly or through Department of Health channels to different health institutions, as well as to partnerinstitutions that serve communities outside Metro Manila. Among others, it gave the said N95 masks to PGH, RITM, San Lazaro Hospital, East Avenue Medica l Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Quezon City General Hospital, Quirino Medical Center, Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center and Ospital ng Maynila. VG Cabuag
GSIS, SSS buy ₧385M worth of stocks By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM
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tate-run Social Security System (SSS) and Government Ser v ice Insurance System (GSIS) bought a combined total of P385.089 million worth of stocks on the last trading day of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) before the entire Luzon island was placed on enhanced community quarantine. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez said SSS and GSIS on Monday bought P245.089 million and P140 million, respectively. This, after Dominguez directed both agencies to “take advantage of low stock prices, as well as to support the stock market by at least doubling their average purchase volumes last year.” Earlier, Dominguez said SSS’ estimated average daily buying in the PSE for March 2019 was P55.5 million. Despite this, the benchmark PSE index fell 458.57 points, or about 8 percent to close at 5,335.37 points—a new sevenyear low. The last time it touched the said range was on October 1,
2012, when it closed at 5,308.52 points, according to PSE data. The surprise rate cut by the US Federal Reserve was not able to lift investor sentiment. The US Fed slashed its rate to near zero over the weekend, which surprised the market, and will buy $700 billion worth of Treasury bonds and other mortgage backed security. On Tuesday, GSIS said in a public advisory that its head office, Quezon City Branch Office and all of its branch or extension offices located in Luzon shall be closed to the public until April 12. Senior executives, department heads and branch managers of GSIS are instructed to implement work from home and or rotational duty assignments for their respective personnel at their own discretion, subject to GSIS Business Continuity Plan and guidelines set by the Civil Service Commission on alternative working arrangements. Despite the lockdown, GSIS assured the public that they will continue to accept loan applications via GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System and pension payments shall, likewise, be credited to old-age and survivorship
pensioners during the first week of the month, as usual. However, GSIS operations like filing and processing of retirement/separation benefit claims, nonlife insurance claims, GSIS Financial Assistance Loan applications; processing of requests for renewal of active status of pensioners residing locally and abroad, as well as enrollment of members and releasing of GSIS Unified Multipurpose ID eCards, are temporarily suspended. Moreover, a month's extension is granted on all premium remittances, loan pay ments, housing loan amortization payments and rental payments for GSIS investment properties due this March. Payments for these transactions may be settled on or before May 10 without penalty. Unless a state of emergency is declared by the local government wherein a GSIS branch is located and/or unless certain employees have close physical contact with a Covid-19 positive person or are showing symptoms of Covid-19, all GSIS personnel in the Visayas and Mindanao shall continue to report for work to provide pension and loan services to members and pensioners in the area.
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through remote communication or other alternative modes only for the purpose of approving the provisions in their bylaws or internal procedures, which will govern participation in board meetings and stockholders’ and members’ meetings through remote communication or other alternative modes. “The Guidelines support the President’s declaration of a state of public health emergency throughout the Philippines to contain the outbreak of the new coronavirus disease, Covid-19,” SEC Chairman Emilio B. Aquino said. The guideline are contained in SEC Memorandum Circular 6, Series of 2020, approved on March 12. “Aside from allowing directors, trustees, stockholders or members to participate in meetings through remote communication to minimize face-to-face interactions, the Commission encourages corporations to explore and implement all necessary measures to prevent the further spread of Covid-19,” he said.
GCash, partners to raise funds for health workers
By Lorenz S. Marasigan
F
@lorenzmarasigan
INA NCI A L technolog y (fintech) company GCash has partnered with seven nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and foundations to launch a fund-raising campaign to purchase medical gear for the frontline health workers that are fighting the deadly novel coronavirus (Covid-19). G C a sh P resident A nt hony Thomas said the digital donation drive provides GCash account holders with the means to support the people who are facing the virus head-on. To donate, Cash users simply have to click on the “Pay Bills” icon in their GCash apps, choose the “Others” tab, click “FightCovid19,” then fill out the information needed and click send. “Our platform is more than just a
mobile wallet. It is a conduit of good that we can use in times of great need. We are encouraging GCash users to support the donation drive to help our frontline health workers #FightCovid19,” said Thomas. Proceeds of #FightCov id19 will be equally divided among the seven NGO partners of GCash, namely: the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), World Vision, UP Medical Foundation, PGH Medical Foundation Inc., ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, and Ayala Foundation. Thomas said these organizations have been at the forefront of aid efforts to curb the transmission of the virus since day one. The donation drive is part of GCash for Good, the corporate social responsibility program of GCash that was first introduced last year.
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Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Banking&Finance BusinessMirror
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Loans may increase after 1-mo lockdown
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By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
@Tyronepiad
1.5 percent. “Right now, banks will be called on to help maintain cash operations and payments and settlements for transactions while we’re on lockdown,” Mapa said. He explained the quarantine could see a surge in withdrawals but lesser deposits as consumers would likely hold on to their cash and remain liquid amid uncertainties brought about by the community quarantine. Mapa said that a turnaround was possible and banks would make collections from borrowers should the situation during the pandemic improve. But he warned that banks would also likely delay payment period to help clients “get their cash flows back online and healthy.”
emand for new loans is seen to spike after the monthlong community quarantine imposed all over the country’s largest and most populous island—amid the rising cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19)—as businesses try to pick up their pace towards recovery.
But ING Bank Manila economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa told the Business Mirror in an e-mail that loan demand will likely decline during the quarantine period that began midnight last Saturday. “New loan demand may increase as both investors and consumers attempt to compensate for lost business after the lockdown,” he said. With this, Mapa urged the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the national government to provide
financial succor to small-scale and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs). “BSP and the national government, meanwhile, can look for emergency loan assistance to SMEs and even consumers who need to normalize cash flows after such a disruption,” he said. Prior to the quarantine, bank lending growth rose to 11.6 percent in January from 10.9 percent the previous month. For the same period, commercial bank loans climbed by
Resilient industry
UnionBank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion is confident that the local banking industry will survive the impact of the community quarantine. “The Philippine banking industry is well capitalized and have gone through regulatory stress testing
exercises in the past years,” he said. In its latest report, the BSP said that capitalization of local banks rose by 14 percent to P2.07 trillion in 2018 from P1.76 trillion the previous year. Asuncion said that the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) has prepared the industry to possible challenges that could weigh on bank operations, employing “macroprudential policies that help address bank systemic risks.” “At this point, I can say that the potential economic losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic can be addressed better considering the large experience provided for by the 2008-2009 GFC,” he added. RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort agreed that the Philippine banking industry could deflect some of the impact given its “robust” capitalization that is above minimum regulatory requirement. “The financial results of the Philippine banking industry in terms of net income have been strong, both in terms of net income growth and net income in billions of pesos, considered among the most profitable
RCBC boosts digital presence
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izal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has been beefing up its digital platforms to expand presence in the country and to promote financial inclusion. In a statement on Tuesday, RCBC Executive Vice President Angelito M. Villanueva said that digital banking has been gaining traction among “technology-savvy” clients and, in response, the firm has been improving its service offering to cater to the demand. “In the Philippines, we see that there is a large number of underserved markets in grassroots communities and in remote provinces. There is a great opportunity to reach them and teach them to be financially literate through bringing our services online, and that is the driving force for our digital plans,” said Villanueva, who is also RCBC’s chief innovation and inclusion officer. RCBC, earlier this year, rebranded its mobile point-of-sale device into “ATM Go.” It allows BancNet cardholders to make basic banking transactions like withdrawals, inquiry and fund transfers through any partner rural bank, drug stores, microfinance firms and even sari-sari stores. This spurred RCBC’s transaction count, volume and revenues by fivefold year-on-year since. “With [our] ATM Go, the bank provides banking solutions to customers across the country, with majority of the transactions coming from [government’s cash dole-out] ‘4Ps’
program household-beneficiaries receiving their cash grants,” it added. The 4Ps is a government program that provides conditional cash grants to poor communities, allowing them to have funding for health, nutrition and education. RCBC said it has also developed a quick response (QR) code-enabled application to facilitate quick cashless payments. “With this, people on-thego can now prepare transactions online and receive a unique QR code, which they can use at any RCBC branch to immediately facilitate their transaction,” the bank said. Clients can now enroll and activate new accounts without the need to visit a branch through RCBC’s improved mobile banking application. The said
app also allows scheduled payments and transfers and online check deposit service, among others. The bank also launched a financial inclusion accelerator application to tap the unbanked and underserved Filipinos in the provinces as it promotes financial inclusion, in line with the government initiatives. “Financial inclusion is really at the core of our mandate in RCBC, and we think that today’s digital landscape presents a way for us to easily enable and empower people to uplift their lives,” Villanueva said. RCBC saw its net earnings grow by 25 percent to P5.4 billion last year on the back of robust core business and high margins and trading gains. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
BDO employee tests positive
IN an advisory on Tuesday, BDO Unibank Inc. announced that an employee—who was in quarantine beginning March 10—from one of its operational offices in San Juan tested positive for Covid-19, adding that it would be “providing said employee with every support and guidance.” “The affected office area, as well as the common spaces such as the elevators and toilets, are being deep cleaned and disinfected,” the bank’s statement read. “We have also advised all our employees to be cautious about their wellness and hygiene to boost their immune system.” Employees exposed to the infected worker are currently on selfquarantine. BDO said it is working with public health officials to address its next steps following the incident. The bank added its staff are “performing detailed contact tracing with all employees and other parties that the infected employee may have come into contact with.”
Pag-Ibig offers 3-month moratorium on all loans
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This photo courtesy of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) shows the bank’s interior showcasing its digital access experience for clients.
companies and/or industries in the Philippines,” he added.
TAT E-owned lender Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG), popularly known as the Pag-IBIG Fund, announced on Tuesday it is offering a three-month moratorium to its member-borrowers to help defray their expenses during the enhanced community quarantine being implemented by the government in its fight to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). In a statement, the HDMF said it “understands the plight of its members in these challenging times.” “Our Board of Trustees saw this [moratorium] as an urgent measure and immediately voted for the grant,” Pag-Ibig Fund Chairman and Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario was quoted in a statement as saying. “This moratorium will help alleviate our members’ worries so that they could focus on providing for the basic necessities and safety of their families.” Eligible to apply for the moratorium are Pag-Ibig Fund housing loan, multi-purpose loan and calamity loan borrowers with payments due on March 16, 2020 until June 15, 2020.
Presently, only those residing in Luzon and in the National Capital Region can avail of the offer, the agency said. Pag-Ibig Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti said that “the welfare of their members is [our] priority.” “Pag-Ibig Fund’s mandate is to promote the security of its members, either by providing a loan facility for their permanent shelter, or a savings plan that allows them to prepare for the future,” Moti was quoted in the statement as saying. He added that the agency’s service “is not just about providing excellent results; it’s about providing tapat na serbisyo, mula sa puso [reliable service from the heart]. “Our goal, therefore, is to meet their needs and empower our Filipino workers,” Moti said. “Thus, we will do what we can to ensure that they will not be put in a difficult situation especially in trying times such as these.” Pag-Ibig Fund said it will start receiving applications once the community quarantine has been lifted. Members may submit their application at the nearest Pag-Ibig Fund branch until June 15, 2020.
Ensure debts maintained at safe levels –economist
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onitoring low levels of debt could be a key to ensuring external debt of countries are maintained at safe levels, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) economist. Irfan A. Qureshi, ADB Young Professional Economist at ADB´s Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, said the threshold level beyond which public external debt negatively affects economic growth may be as low as 30 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for countries in the lowest income bracket. Keeping close watch on external debt levels, Qureshi wrote in an Asian Development blog, would help prevent banking or currency crises. He said there have been many examples of high levels of external debt causing these crises. “It is important to think carefully about the sustainable level of external debt,” Qureshi said. “Even low levels of external debt should serve as an early warning sign since it raises the debt risk profile of a country.” If not carefully managed, external debt increases the exposure to exchange rate fluctuations, making economies vulnerable to sudden stops in capital flows as well as sharp capital outflows. “There are far too many examples of external debt exposures that precipitated a banking or currency crisis for us to take this issue lightly,” Qureshi wrote. The ADB economist said low-income and middle-income countries must develop technical capacities when it comes to monitoring the build-up of external debt. This includes stringent screening and monitoring policies which begin at the implementation level. These measures, Qureshi said, ensure that borrowed funds are allocated efficiently and enable careful management of opportunities, costs, and risks. In the Philippines, the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio was pegged at 41.5 percent at the end of 2019, lower than the 41.9 percent posted in 2018. Due to the coronavirus 2019 pandemic, the national government said it is open to increase its borrowings as well as exceed its debt to GDP ratio to 3.3 percent to 3.5 percent this year. “While an efficient use of debt finance can generate sustainable economic growth, high levels of external debt can be especially risky for developing countries,” Qureshi said. Cai U. Ordinario
T-bill rates fail to lure investors Japan banks tap Fed’s swap lines for $32 billion By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM
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eak demand marked M o n d a y ’s a u c t i o n through the tap facility window for the reissued 364-day Treasury bills (T-bills) as bids fell short of the P8-billion offering at P5 billion amid the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). In her message to reporters on Tuesday, National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said the rate of 3.557 percent was not attractive to investors. “[The] rate [was] not appealing so [they] would rather place [in the] TDF [term-deposit facility],” she said. The tap facility window is only made available to Treasury’s top market makers. On Monday, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) decided to open the tap facility due to strong demand for the one-year paper. But that was hours before President Duterte ordered an enhanced community quarantine on Luzon, the country’s
most populous island. De Leon earlier attributed the higher bid rates as well as the undersubscription for the 91-day Tbills to investors’ prefererence to hold on to their cash. Despite its rejection of bids for the 91-day T-bills, the auction remained oversubscribed with total bids reaching P42.28 billion, more than twice the P20-billion offering. The auction committee fully awarded 182-day and 364-day tenors, which fetched average rates of 3.398 percent and 3.557 percent, respectively. Following the declaration of the quarantine, the BTr said it is also suspending the operations of the National Registry of Scripless Securities (NRoSS) until further notice. “The settlement in NRoSS of the affected trades and transactions shall be effected following the standard procedures for unscheduled holiday or force majeure upon the resumption of normal operations,” read the March 17 memorandum of the BTr.
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apanese banks tapped into the Federal Reserve’s revamped swap lines, taking up a total of about $32 billion in the first operation since the US central bank lowered rates on Sunday. Lenders from the Asian nation borrowed about $30.3 billion for 84 days at 0.370 percent in the swap coordinated by The Bank of Japan. They borrowed about $2.05 billion in the 7-day tenor operation at 0.410 percent. Together, that’s the biggest use of the swap lines by Japan since 2008. Three-month cross-currency basis for dollaryen—a proxy for how expensive it is to get the greenback—steadily tightened in Asia trading following the allotment, suggesting less dollar borrowing pressure going forward. The large take-up is a sign that the new lower rates are enticing dollar borrowers and should help to serve the Fed’s aim of removing funding strains, which have been permeating borrowing channels such as cross-currency basis and FX swaps. The authority beefed up existing swap lines with major central banks as part of its broad easing package on Sunday, lowering the rate by 25 basis points and adding a new 84-day tenor. The operation also shows the importance of US dollar funding. While the BOJ too previously announced yen repurchase operations to boost liquidity, they have been met with very limited take-up by banks. For example, an operation that Friday
offered as much as 500 billion yen ($4.7 billion) saw a take up of just 0.5 billion yen. The BOJ on Tuesday conducted repurchase agreements, offering to sell 1.5 trillion yen of Japanese government bonds to banks, which could use the
securities as a collateral to borrow dollars. Settlement for Tuesday’s swap operations is on March 19. Central banks of England and Europe are set to hold 7-day and 84-day US dollar swap auction on Wednesday. Bloomberg News
BusinessMirror
Editor: Tet Andolong
Wednesday, March 18, 2020 B3
Farming is the new sexy for this Davao developer
Amor Maclang
first dibs in real estate
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Part One
have always been an advocate for agriculture and the importance of agriculture to the value chain. For one such developer, championing agriculture and real-estate development in Mindanao has been their priority.
Primarily an agricultural region, Mindanao traces its heritage to its rich lands and world-class produce. For many years, this region has fed thousands all over the country, and boosted the economy of the south, earning the name “Food Basket of the Philippines.” The region alone is responsible for producing 40 percent of the country’s food needs, 30 percent of the country’s
food trade and is home to millions of agricultural workers. Growing alongside the region for decades now is one property developer that has constantly honored the region’s heritage and integrated the agricultural DNA in its projects. The company has created real-estate masterpieces designed for sustainability, and developed various innovative
projects intended to house agricultural amenities for their diverse market. Considered as a homegrown property developer of the south, Damosa Land Inc. has been a competitive player of the real-estate industry in Mindanao since the early 2000s. Boasting of Peza-accredited properties and master-planned townships predicated on agriculture, DLI has pioneered residential, commercial and industrial developments that have impacted and revolutionized the real-estate sector of the south, and nurtured the lives of the people in their community. In a recent bid to build a heritageembedded space for the community, DLI has launched the country’s first-ever “agropolis:” an agritourism property that houses hectares of land dedicated to promoting the tourism of Mindanao, educating the next generation of agricultural experts, showcasing the region’s natural wealth and ingraining the importance of agriculture to their market. Capitalizing on the strong growth of the region, we continue to aim to gain a stronger foothold in the region by offering a development that would cater to the needs of the community,” DLI Head Ricardo “Cary” Floirendo Lagdameo said. “The south is the focal point of agriculture in the Philippines, however, there are a few agritourism projects that entice local and international tourists to visit the region. We saw it as an opportunity for us to capitalize on its wealth and establish a go-to agritourism zone where anyone across the country can experience the richness of Mindanao’s lands.” he added.
This Month, the Activity Zone of the Naturetainment will be launching its operations that include features such as Earth Mound and Nature Play Agriya, which is located in Panabo City, 30 minutes away from Davao City, features 88 hectares of residential, commercial, institutional and agritourism developments. Each component offers unique amenities that can impart agricultural familiarity and proficiency to its respective target market.
Living in Agriya
Thirty-five percent of Agriya’s land area will be dedicated to homeowners who can now impart the region’s agricultural heritage to their everyday life. Through its sustainable urban farming feature, this enables Agriya’s
residents to produce their own crops in their backyard. These products in turn can be personally used by them, or can be marketed through the help of DLI. Twenty-one hectares of terrain were developed for the first phase of the residential area. This land mass is divided into two subdivisions, the first one being Ameria. Patterned after the California mission style architecture, Ameria will have bungalows and two-story house models, accentuated with amenities such as a village clubhouse, multipurpose hall, swimming pool, open parks, pocket gardens and playgrounds.
The master-planned mixed-use development would not be complete without the presence of commercial establishments. As such, Agriya will be showcasing a commercial arcade which will stretch for 21,000 sq.m, and will be dominantly composed of the Food and Beverage industry to cater to the needs of DLI’s market. Boutique hotels, a church, a boating lagoon, jogging and bike paths, picnic areas, open parks and gardens are some of the offerings of the commercial arcade that will service both the residents of Agriya and the local and international tourists of the property’s agritourism component.
B4 Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Sarangani Protected Seascape turns 24
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ARANGANI Bay, one of the country’s richest body of water and home to the tuna industry, recently marked another milestone as it celebrated its 24th year as a protected seascape. To mark the occasion, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 12 in collaboration with the Protected Area Management Board launched the first-ever Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (SBPS) Week to highlight the efforts to protect and conserve its coastal and marine resources. The bay was declared a Protected Seascape by former president Fidel Ramos under Proclamation No. 756 in 1996, covering an area of 215,950 hectares. Held in Gen. Santos City and various parts of Sarangani province, the weeklong observance consisted of mall exhibits of marine species and simultaneous bay-wide cleanups participated in by the 68 barangays, business and tourism establishments along the bay’s coast. A dive safari and underwater photography contest held at Maitum, Kiamba and Maasim towns showcased Sarangani’s emerging scuba diving sites. Topping the 3-day photo tilt were Bretch Garcinez of General Santos City and East Pardillo of Davao City who won the wide and macro categories, respectively. Fringe activities included a 3-day environmental forum and enforcement summit, trash to art, mass dance and
Vivant Foundation will convert one classroom per school at Mandaue City Comprehensive National High School, Mabolo National High School and Mandaue City Science High School into science laboratories. To start the project, Vivant's Shem Garcia (second from left) signs an agreement with (from left) Arlinda Amante, Rosemarie Novabos and Marilou Mabansag, principals of the three beneficiary schools. Also in the photo is Lee Damaolao (standing, left) of Vivant Foundation.
The 14th International ICT awards Philppines 2020
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Coastal cleanup
logo making competitions, and the search for the Ambassadress of SBPS. Declared by the Department of Tourism as a scuba diving haven in southern Mindanao in 2017, the bay was also listed by the DENR as a Key Marine Biodiversity Areas with coral resources covering 2,293 hectares, 60 important live hard coral genera, 411 reef species, and 11 species of seagrass. The DENR has also monitored various dolphin species, killer whales, dwarf and pygmy sperm whales in the bay, attesting to its rich biodiversity. Because of the event’s success, the SBPS Protected Area Management Board passed a resolution declaring March 5 as the annual SBPS Day, and directing local government
units, major stakeholders, and partner organizations to take part in the observance. Sarangani governor and PAMB vice chair Steve Solon lauded the maiden celebration, saying it symbolizes a broader commitment in preserving the bay as a shelter, and source of living and life to the areas around it. He said that the provincial government is a major stakeholder in the preservation of the bay’s ecosystem through its Sulong Kalikasan program and the Enviro nmental Conservation and Protection Center. Hugging a coastal road of some 224 kilometers, the bay is host to the Gen. Santos City Fish Port Complex, fisherfolk villages, beach resorts, a coal energy power plant, shipyards, marine parks and sanctuaries, and aquaculture farms.
OR the 14th consecutive year, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CanCham) will once again produce the annual International Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Awards Philippines, the leading and most prestigious annual ICT awards event in the country. This year’s event will be held on April 2, 2020 at the Marriot Grand Ballroom in Pasay City. CanCham continues to champion the achievements and excellence of ICT services companies all across the country. It founded and supported the establishment of ICT Awards in 2007 to promote the industry and put the Philippines ICT services on the global map as a major contributor to economic growth in the Philippines and the well-being of Filipinos. CanCham's role has been to plan and manage the production and financial arrangements for the event. It does not have any role in the actual judging or in nominating
companies. CanCham is pleased to announce it has retained former Department of Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Monchito “Mon” Ibrahim as its Senior Adviser for the event. The Chairman of the ICT Awards Organizing Committee, CanCham President Julian Payne, notes this year’s edition of the ICT awards is momentous as the scope of the categories has been ‘expanded and enhanced’. As in previous years, this year’s event is supported by the countries two biggest and leading telecommunication companies – PLDT Enterprise and Globe Business - as Title Sponsors. Also supporting this event are Business Mirror, Philippines Graphic and ANC and as well as BDO Unibank, Converge ICT Solutions Inc. and Leechiu Property Consultants Inc. as Category Sponsors. For inquiries on the event, please contact International ICT Awards – Philippines secretariat at 8843-6466 or 8824-2071
SSS-Etiqa continue partnership for enhanced PLP
SSS-Etiqa continue partnership for enhanced PLP
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HE Social Security System (SSS) continues its partnership with Etiqa Life and General Assurance Philippines, Inc. (Etiqa) through the ceremonial signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on March 05, 2020, at the SSS Building, Diliman, Quezon City. Etiqa, formerly known as AsianLife & General Assurance Corporation, has been the credit insurance partner of SSS since the
launching of the Pension Loan Program (PLP) in September 2018. The PLP aims to give financial assistance to SSS retiree-pensioners for their various and other miscellaneous expenses. Under the existing guidelines, SSS pension loan borrowers are covered by Group Credit Life Insurance, which shall include the full amount of the loan in case of the death of the pensioner-borrower. It means that the outstanding balance of the loan
shall be deemed paid regardless of the remaining number of months of the approved term of the pension loan. Starting October 2019, a retiree-pensioner may avail up to a maximum amount of P200,000, which is payable up to a maximum of two (2) years or 24 monthly installments. Above photo shows (from L-R) SSS Business and Development Loans Department Manager III Ma. Gracia G. Abas, SSS Lending and Asset Management Group Senior Vice President Pedro T. Baoy, SSS Investments Sector Executive Vice President Rizaldy T. Capulong, Etiqa President and Chief Executive Officer Rico T. Bautista, Etiqa Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer James Patrick Q. Bonus, and Etiqa Group Marketing Department Manager Jeremy B. Ramirez during the ceremonies.
Maybank Philippines Inc. concludes collective bargaining agreement with Labor Union
MAYBANK PHILIPPINES INC. CBA signing signals two years of collaboration and long term partnership. Bank executives and Union officers In the photo are: Seated (L-R), Noel San Pedro – Union Officer, Danilo Mercado – Union Officer, Richard Cuerquez – Union Officer, Diosdado Maslog – Union President, Mr. Choong Wai Hong – MPI President and CEO, Ma. Bernadette Ratcliffe – Chairwoman of Management Panel and MPI Chief Compliance Officer, Maria Alicia Marasigan – Vice Chair of Management Panel and Head of MPI Central Operations, Theresa Fung – Head of MPI Human Capital, Bernardo Talimban Jr. – Head of Information Technology, Atty. Gerardo J. De Leon - Head of Legal and Corporate Secretary. Standing (L-R): Atty. Gerlie Mahinay - Union Legal Consultant, Atty. Nenita Mahinay – Union Legal Consultant, Noreen Arteche – Union Officer, Donnabel Calleja – Union Officer, Marvin Verba – Union Board of Director, Jose Luis Figueroa – Union Board of Director, Victor Carcabuso – Union Board of Director, Sarah Jane Golondrina – Union Board of Director, Oscar Orosa – Union Board of Director, Melanie Santos – Deputy Head, MPI Human Capital, Enrico Cordoba – Head of Corporate Planning, Atty. Ramil de Villa – Head of Asset Quality Management, Karina Mara Evangelista – Learning and Development Officer, MPI Human Capital, Atty. Robert Joseph Andres – Legal Officer
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FTER a period of negotiation, the representatives of Maybank Philippines Inc. (MPI) and the MPI Employees Labor Union reached today a final agreement and signed a Collective Bargaining Agreement for a term of two fiscal years. The agreement represents a package that is mutually beneficial to the employees and the Bank, towards collaboration and long term partnership. At the CBA signing, MPI President & CEO Choong Wai Hong said:
“I am proud on the conclusion of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with our Union. I am thankful of the good relations we developed after a prolonged period of negotiation between the Union and the MPI Panels. The negotiations were tougher than expected, but we made sure that we started on the same page. We mutually respected the process, both committed to working with fairness and circumspect that we are one team, one family, and responsible for our stakeholders. These agreements show once
again that mutually satisfactory agreements can only be reached through dialogue and good faith. For this year, Mr. Wai Hong emphasized that Maybank remains steadfast to the growth and development of the Bank customers, the economy, and the country. He concluded: “We are mindful on realizing the sustainable growth of our businesses and adhering to the strict operational standards embedded in our organizational culture based on our TIGER values. We win as one”
With wondrous deliverance
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EAR God, You answer us, oh God our savior. You are the hope of all the Earth. With trust in Your loving care, we pray: Give us a new heart and mind, oh God. You still the tumult of the peoples. Help us to speak with reverence and respect to one another. You fill the Earth with joy. Inspire preachers and missionaries to reveal Your good news with compassion. You bless the land with growth, grant clement weather for the planting and growing of gardens and fields. We beg you to stop the spread of coronavirus on Earth. May God fashion our hearts and minds into the likeness of Christ and strengthen us with every gift of the spirit, through Jesus our friend. Amen. GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com
Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com
Life
CORONAVIRUS STRIKES JOURNALISTS, OTHERS CHANGE WAY THEY WORK C4
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Wednesday, March 18, 2020
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Acknowledging pioneers SPEAKER of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-California, makes a statement about a coronavirus aid package on Capitol Hill in Washington, on March 13. AP
SUI GENERIS CARLO ATIENZA
biblisko@gmail.com
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KEEP being teased about my salt-and-pepper hair. A lot. And so, even if I am not the oldest one in my team, I accept the ribbing and the flippant way they joke about me and my graying crown because I know it is all done in good humor and I am not offended by it at all. In fact, I revel in my originality. But it becomes a wet rag when someone uses it when they have nothing better to say or when they have lost the argument. But I just let it slide. I am too comfortable in my own skin and what I know I can and cannot do that I ignore comments which do not help me at all. I have encountered a few generational slurs lately to prompt me to ask why people are suddenly so preoccupied with generational differences and are more focused on these than what each generation has actually contributed to what we have today. And I guess this also cuts across not just generations but ideologies and political leanings, as well, to the point where everything has become polarized even if initially there was no intent to dichotomize. And in a society where everybody is encouraged to exercise their freedom of speech, everything is seen through their own lenses. Everybody wants to speak. Nobody wants to listen. And so we end up with people wanting to be heard but not willing to hear others out. But I digress. I really want to focus on the willful disregard of what previous generations have contributed to what we enjoy today, and how each generation is unique in how they shape the world and the communities they live in. I used to teach in a school where one of the pivotal materials used is called the totem pole of civilization, which showed the caveman in the bottom and the contemporary man on top. This teaches grade school students the lesson that each one rests on top of the others to symbolize their contribution for other people to build on. The countless liberties you enjoy today are the products of other people’s struggles. Just recently, I watched the astonishing fourpart Hulu documentary on Hillary Clinton and I discovered that women only started becoming actively elected to Congress in the early 1990s, and they have gone on to hold prominent positions including Nancy Pelosi—the only woman to have held the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives not just once but twice. But these women would not have been able to occupy such powerful and seminal positions if not for others who have made headways in civil rights and gender parity. Today’s women owe a debt of gratitude to the countless women before them who struggled and continue to fight to create the environment they enjoy today. To forget what these trailblazers have accomplished is incongruous to enjoying the fruits of their sacrifice. To put this in perspective: How do you think Andres Bonifacio would feel and think about the government today? What I really do not understand are the selfentitled people who willfully disregard other people’s contributions and arrogantly declare themselves pioneers blazing the trail on their own. There is nothing wrong with innovation and doing things differently, but you need to and must appreciate those who went before you. And before we disparage other people’s opinions and ideas, we need to understand that people speak in context. Understand their
context and you will understand what they are saying between the lines. While we need to be open-minded and take other’s opinions in consideration, there are still absolutes. A professor once said to us to keep our minds open but not so much that our brains fall out. There is more danger in sitting on the fence because it means you do not have any principles to guide you, or, worse, you wait for whichever side is winning. On the other hand, what also alarms me is the devil-may-care attitude which is so rampant these days, with people flippantly saying and doing whatever they feel like as a form of self-expression. Your rights end where the rights of others begin. Just like there are principles governing physics and the natural world, there are absolutes governing acceptable behavior and consequences for violations, and you need to choose which ones you will conform to. On the flip side of this would be those who think everything is black and white. Gray areas are swept under the rug in the vain attempt to ignore these altogether. But it is actually in the gray areas where people can be creative and raise awareness of issues affecting the minority. I think the gray areas help us understand differences, and to at least appreciate that not all people will think the way we do. It would be better, of course, if we can embrace and accept people for who they are, but I think recognizing that they exist will suffice. In the end, we are all called to love one another. Also, ever notice that people are so focused on standing out when what they really want is
I want to focus on the willful disregard of what previous generations have contributed to what we enjoy today, and how each generation is unique in how they shape the world and the communities they live in.... The countless liberties you enjoy today are the products of other people’s struggles.
just to belong? That is because we are all part of a community and our communities form part of who we are. People find their “unique” identities in social groups where they feel safe and comfortable, and where they can be who they really are. It may seem ironic that we find our individuality in groups but it actually just shows our identity rests in a community where we feel accepted. And I guess those who make noise and feel the need to create an opportunity to be in the limelight are those who feel unaccepted in their own groups. Talent is a rare gift which can get you noticed, but you still need hard work to sustain it. Look to the likes of athletes, like Kobe Bryant or artists, like Madonna and you will discover they are where they are now not just because of their talent but also, and just as importantly, because of their hard work and perseverance. The problem lies with flash-in-the-pan personalities who suddenly find themselves in the public eye because of their talent but fail to sustain it with hard work, or even sustain being relevant. Your credibility can only go so far as your integrity and dedication to your craft. And this goes for anyone who finds themselves in the spotlight. In this time when the fad is dictated by whoever is popular, nothing beats a reputation based on integrity and consistent and reliable performance. Countless brands have maintained their market through innovations and at the same time being true to their vision. A vision which encompasses not just profit but corporate social responsibility in communities where they belong. ■
Mercury Drug celebrates 75th anniversary with focus on diabetes care FOR a patient with diabetes, it is extra-challenging to live a normal daily life because of serious health risks and considerations. Diabetics are at risk of developing acute and long-term complications affecting the nerves, eyes, heart and kidneys. They also have a higher risk of developing infections. Likewise, diabetics may suffer from the emotional burdens of a chronic disease. Recognizing that diabetes is an alarming epidemic in the country, Mercury Drug Corp. collaborates with the Philippine Society for Endocrinology, Diabetes
and Metabolism, Philippine Pharmacists Association, and MSD in the Philippines to elevate efforts in providing quality diabetes care for Filipino patients. Celebrating 75 years of service, the popular pharmacy chain has become more proactive in its efforts to raise awareness about diabetes care—from disease prevention to management. Knowing that the number of Filipinos being diagnosed with diabetes is growing, Mercury Drug boosts its services through the Get Well at Mercury Drug Diabetes Care specialty corners. “On our 75th anniversary, we are happy to
announce that we now have 29 diabetes care specialty corners nationwide—11 in Metro Manila, two in Luzon, nine in Visayas, and seven in Mindanao. We plan to open more of these specialty corners in order to reach more Filipino patients,” shared Cristina Dalisay-Vetus, director at Mercury Drug Corporate Pharmacy Affairs Group. Mercury Drug also extends its diabetes care and awareness advocacy to their social-media pages via their monthly Diabetes Care videos featuring expert endocrinologists.
As part of their 75th anniversary countdown, they recently produced a “Health Tips for Suki” video series where they tackled relevant and practical topics, like “10 Basic Tips for Healthy Living and Diabetes Prevention,” “5 Essentials that Should be in Your Bag if You Have Diabetes,” and “3 Questions You Can Ask Your Pharmacist about Diabetes.” More information about diabetes management can be found at the Get Well at Mercury Drug Diabetes Care specialty corners at select Mercury Drug branches.
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TOKYO 2020 POSTPONED OR CANCELED
HAWAII’S Kai Lenny rides a wave during the Nazare Tow Surfing Challenge at Praia do Norte or North Beach in Nazare, Portugal, last month. AP
ABE COULD BE BIGGEST LOSER By Stephen Wade And Mari Yamaguchi
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OLD COAST, Australia —The World Surf League is canceling or postponing all events through the end of May, citing the continued evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. WSL events at Bells Beach in southeast Australia and at the Margaret River on the west coast have been postponed in the wake of the cancellation of the season-opening competition on the Gold Coast. It’s not expected to be a complete wipe out, though. WSL Chief Executive Erik Logan is hopeful the season will get started by mid-year, saying “June feels like the most likely time to kick off the 2020 season safely.” “We are a truly global sport. Moving tours and events between countries is challenging under the best of conditions. Under current circumstances, it’s just not possible, and will not
Surfing events wiped out until June amid outbreak be for some time to come,” Logan said in a video statement. “As a league that organizes public gatherings, we are also extremely conscious of our social responsibility not to enable and accelerate the spread of the virus.” A tour event scheduled for June 4 to 14 at Banyuwangi, Indonesia, will either canceled or moved to an area with more infrastructure, the WSL said. The surfing suspension follows cancellations or season delays in other sports, including the
first four Formula One Grand Prix races of the season in Australia, Bahrain, Vietnam and China and the major sports leagues in the US. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, and most recover. The worldwide outbreak has infected more than 179,000 people and left more than 7,000 dead. More 78,000 people have recovered, most of them in China, where the outbreak started late last year. AP
VIRUS VS. GB SPORTS, 1-NIL S
PORT in Britain virtually ground to a halt on Monday as the government ramped up its efforts to tackle the coronavirus by advising against mass gatherings in the country. The iconic Grand National Steeplechase, the Oxford vs. Cambridge university boat race, all levels of rugby union and rugby league, and the lower levels in soccer were among the remaining events or competitions to be canceled or suspended amid the pandemic. Elite soccer, such as the widely watched English Premier League, had already been suspended last week after individuals at clubs tested positive for the virus. But Monday marked a significant shift in the government’s position, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson advising the public to take extra steps in the face of the virus. Britain has had 1,543 confirmed cases and 53 virus-related deaths. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, and most recover. The worldwide outbreak has sickened over 179,000 people and left more than 7,000 dead. Over 78,000 people have recovered, most of them in China. While acknowledging the risk of transmission of disease was relatively low at sporting events, Johnson said: “But obviously, logically, as we advise against unnecessary social contact of all kinds, it’s right that we should extend that advice to mass gatherings, as well. “We will no longer be supporting mass gatherings with emergency workers in the way that we normally do. So mass gatherings, we are now moving emphatically away from.” It meant soccer teams were opting to close training complexes, with Premier League club
THE gates to the Etihad Stadium where Manchester City is due to play Burnley in an English Premier League match is locked. AP
Crystal Palace among those urging players to stay home and “undertake personalized training plans.” As it stands, a snooker tournament—The Tour Championship, being held in north Wales— and minor horse-racing meetings are the only sporting events that will continue. They will be held without fans. The Grand National—the horse race Britons bet on more than any other—was one of the last events to fall, with organizers giving up on plans to stage the April 4 race without fans because of “its importance to the racing industry and beyond.” “But following the new government measures confirmed this evening to help to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, this is not a viable option,” the Jockey Club said. “I know this is hugely disappointing news,” said Sally Dudgeon, the Jockey Club’s senior steward,
Cricket Australia cancels season
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ELBOURNE, Australia—All professional cricket has been canceled in Australia in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and national organizers are “strongly recommending” that the season be called off at every level right down to children’s community games. Cricket Australia announced the cancellation Tuesday, and declared New South Wales state the winner of the Sheffield Shield, the national firsts-class competition. The last
round of the regular season in the Sheffield Shield had already been scrapped and there was no prospect of the final going ahead as scheduled on March 27. New South Wales won six games, lost two and drew one in the Shield, finishing 12 points clear of second-place Victoria. International cricket series between Australia and New Zealand had already been postponed. Cricket Australia Chief Executive Kevin Roberts said the measures are aimed at
“for the many people who work in our sport and the many millions who were looking forward to this year’s event, but very sadly these are exceptional times and this is the responsible thing to do.” In advising all grassroots soccer to be postponed, the Football Association said it was taking government advice as it had done “throughout this period.” The Rugby Football Union said it was suspending all levels of rugby in England from Tuesday until April 14 “subject to continued review.” “Where possible, players at all levels are encouraged to maintain their own personal fitness and keep active during this time,” the RFU said, “while following government guidelines about safe distance and safe exercise environments.” AP
slowing the spread of the virus. “By effectively canceling the remainder of our season, Cricket Australia is playing its part in protecting fans, players, staff, volunteers and match officials during this unprecedented global health issue,” Roberts said. “These are difficult decisions but the right ones in the circumstances.” Roberts said Cricket Australia had closed its headquarters in Melbourne and instructed staff to work from home. National administrators said the decision was taken based on the expert advice of its chief medical officer and recent government information and “we want to ensure that
The Associated Press
OKYO—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe might be the biggest loser if the Tokyo Olympics don’t go off as planned in just over four months. Abe has attached himself to the success of the Olympics since pushing hard for Tokyo’s selection at an International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Tokyo was picked over Istanbul by billing itself as a “safe pair of hands.” It was also Abe who charmed the closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, parading before a 70,000 sellout as Nintendo game character Super Mario. Abe hopes to use the Tokyo Olympics as the capstone of his career as Japan’s longestserving prime minister. But the games are in doubt, even though Japanese organizers and the IOC have repeatedly said they are going ahead on July 24—as planned. But the possibility of the first Olympic cancellation outside of wartime—or a postponement—is real in the face of the fast-spreading virus that the World Health Organization has declared a pandemic. The virus, of course, has clobbered the economy, another bad sign for Abe. “He [Abe] must certainly be worried that he might not be in charge if the Olympics were delayed for a year,” David Leheny, a political scientist at Tokyo’s Waseda University, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “He really has invested a lot in the idea of showing Japan to the world in the best possible light, and he’s extraordinarily reluctant to give that up.” Leheny speculated that Abe’s tenure would be unlikely to survive a cancellation or postponement. He has been embroiled in corruption scandals and blamed for his slow reaction to the virus outbreak although his popularity increased about eight percentage points to 49.7 percent in a telephone poll released this week by Japanese news agency Kyodo. In the same poll, 69.9 percent of respondents said “no” when asked if Tokyo “can hold the Olympics as planned. Almost one-quarter of respondents thought the games could be staged as planned. “I think he’s still clinging to the hope that the epidemic is going to pass as quickly as it came on,” Leheny said. There are signs it may not, and more questions about the safety of bringing hundreds of thousands of athletes and fans together in Tokyo. “Who would want to be prime minister during the Olympics that nobody attends because of a global pandemic,” Leheny added. The IOC this week asked its staff at headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, to work from home until further notice. It also closed the Olympic Museum. In addition, the staff for the Olympic Broadcasting Service
cricket is doing everything it can to contribute to the global effort to slow, and eventually stop, the spread of coronavirus.” The move comes nine days after Australia hosted and won the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup final against India, in front of a crowd of more than 86,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. New South Wales Coach Phil Jaques said the health and well-being of players and the public was more important than playing on. “This is not how we wanted to win the title,” Jaques said. But, “We fully understand and support the decision to abandon the last round and the final.” The spread of the virus has escalated in Australia, with the season-opening Formula One Grand Prix canceled last weekend in Melbourne and other sports either suspended, called off or modified. Most people who come down with the disease have relatively mild symptoms, but it can be deadly for some, especially the elderly and those with underlying health problems. Most people infected with the virus recover in a matter of weeks. AP
in Madrid is being asked to work from home. The IOC said staff members have not reported any coronavirus cases. An Irish bookmaker is offering odds of 1-4 that the games will not open on July 24. A small reception is planned Friday when the Olympic flame arrives from Greece at an airbase in northern Japan. The torch relay will start officially in Fukushima prefecture as planned on March 26 with severe limits on crowd size. “The IOC has repeatedly faced serious challenges in the final road map into the games,” Michael Payne, the IOC’s marketing director for 20 years, told AP. “Experience has also reinforced in the IOC that you don’t jump the gun, no matter the media or political pressure.” Payne said there was no reason to decide now with the Olympics still four months away. “As serious as it is, the final decision is only going to get taken much, much closer to the games because the situation then may be very different from what it is today,” said Payne, who still consults for the IOC. The IOC holds most of the leverage over any decision to cancel or postpone, which
Pound suggested cancellation was the most realistic option. Others have suggested postponement as a likely option if the IOC can reach a financial deal with broadcasters, sponsors, sports federations, athletes, and 200 national Olympic committees. Most have long-term relationships with the IOC and an incentive to go along. Holding an Olympics in empty venues has also been suggested. “Postponing the games is, I fear, the only option if the government, under advice from the WHO and others, comes to the conclusion that the risk of hosting with spectators is too great,” high-profile sports marketing expert Patrick Nally told AP. Nally and Payne were key figures in driving IOC sponsorships. Nally dismissed the no-spectator option because of the event would lack “atmosphere.” A no-fans option would also cost local organizers about $1 billion in ticket sales, and many would have been tickets sold to sponsors who pass them on to customers—a valuable perk. “Participants will find the event hollow and quality performances will be severely impacted,” Nally said. “My view, therefore, is a games without public is an impossible and unrealistic proposal.”
is spelled out in the Host City Contract signed in 2013 with the city of Tokyo and the Japanese Olympic Committee. At stake are billions in broadcast and sponsorship deals. Tokyo organizers additionally say they’re officially spending $12.6 billion to hold the Olympics, although a national audit board says it’s twice that much. John Coates, the IOC member who heads the inspection team for Tokyo, told The Australian newspaper there was more concern back in 1980 about a boycott of the Moscow Olympics. “There is less uncertainty than we had in 1980, I can tell you that,” Coates told the newspaper. In an exclusive interview last month with AP, former IOC Vice President Dick Pound speculated the Olympic governing body would have to announce a decision by the end of May.
Caluag, Dormitorio
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HE chances for BMX champion Daniel Caluag and BMX star Arianna Dormitorio of qualifying for Tokyo 2020 turned dim after the International Cycling Union (UCI) sought for a retroactive cutoff for Olympic qualification. The UCI, in a statement on Tuesday, said it would ask the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) that Tokyo 2020 qualification in mountain bike, BMX racing and BMX and Para cycling road be retroactively stopped as of March 3. The UCI request was prompted by the coronavirus pandemic that forced the cancellation or postponement of all of the federation’s events—specifically Olympic qualifying races. That means all athletes who are in a qualification spot would be automatically awarded a Tokyo 2020
INDIAN players walk off the ground after their loss to Australia in the Women’s T20 World Cup final in Melbourne early this month. AP
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sMirror
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Asean Para Games moved to October
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HE 10th Asean Para Games, which the country is scheduled to host, has been rescheduled for a fourth time to October. But the new schedule, which the Asean Para Sports Federation (APSF) Board of Governors set for October 3 to 9, would still be dependent on whether or not the COVID-19 outbreak has been totally eradicated. The Asean Para Games were originally scheduled last January—a month after the country’s successful staging of the 30th Southeast Asian Games—at venues at the New Clark City and in Metro Manila—but were moved to March and eventually canceled with the Capas facility in Tarlac already deleted because the Athletes Village was used as a quarantine building. Local organizers then set a late May schedule but with Malacanang’s enforcement of a enhanced community quarantine as well as elsewhere in Southeast Asia and the world, the third date was also scrapped. “Not unless the virus is ‘under control and no longer a threat to human,’” was the condition set by the federation which conducted an emergency video conference before releasing the official statement on Monday night. All 11 member countries of the Games agreed on the postponement. “The APSF is adhering strictly to the guidelines and preventive measures stipulated by the World Health Organization and health authorities to help contain the pandemic in the respective ASEAN Nations to protect the health, welfare, and safety of all participating athletes, officials and contingents,” the statement said. The APSF board will convene in late July to assess the outbreak which struck SEA Games countries with Malaysia coming up with the worst statistics. Malaysia as of Tuesday has close to 600 cases, while the Philippines has confirmed 144 cases with 12 deaths. Ramon Rafael Bonilla
PHILIPPINE Basketball Association Chairman Ricky Vargas says the league is on its toes against the pandemic.
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HE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has joined the entire world in fighting the coronavirus as league Chairman Ricky Vargas called on players and officials to hope and pray that the crisis would be over sooner than later. “The PBA is our league, and the league cares for its stakeholders,” Vargas told BusinessMirror on Tuesday. “Together we will fight this, and let’s all take care and pray that this will pass.” Just like all leagues, both domestic and international, the PBA is in a hiatus as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread worldwide with the Philippines recording 140
VARGAS: LET’S FIGHT THIS VIRUS confirmed cases with 12 deaths. “The PBA board is taking this crisis seriously and very proactively—with much concern and care for all of our stakeholders,” Vargas said. “We continue to stay in touch with our players, to educate and communicate.” The players, Vargas stressed, have been strongly advised by the league and their teams to heed the enhanced community quarantine by staying at home and following strictly all protocols from the Department of Health and the government. The PBA, he added, set up a management response and assistant point person for each team. “So far all is good and everyone is cooperating. And what’s more important is that no one has been tagged as a
P.S.C. STAYS ONLINE T
HE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has gone digital in its operations with Chairman William Ramirez and the commissioners and key personnel keeping in touch with each other via group chat while the enhanced community quarantine is enforced.
PSC Chief of Staff Marc Velasco told the BusinessMirror on Tuesday, the first day of the enhanced community quarantine, that Ramirez and commissioners Celia Kiram, Ramon Fernandez, Charles Maxey and Arnold Agustin are maintaining virtual offices and have been directing operations. On Monday, Velasco presided over an emergency meeting with key PSC personnel, including Executive Director Merle Ibay and Deputy Executive Directors Atty. Guillermo Iroy and Dennis Rivera, at the PSC Offices at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. “From today onwards, we work online while frontline offices, like the Cashier, Records and Operations, will be manned by
person under investigation, or PUI, in the league—from the player to team staff to team owners and governors. “Thank God none that we know of [PUI]. We hope it stays that way and if we do have, it will be reported immediately if someone falls ill,” he said. The National Basketball Association, also in a lull because of the pandemic, has three positive cases—the Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell and the Detroit Piston’s Christian Wood. They are currently in isolation. Vargas said instructing the players to stay home, they were advised to be active in social media to encourage their fans to observe the protocols set by the government. There are no definite dates for a rescheduled Philippine Cup and Vargas
admitted the league would definitely feel the pinch of the lost revenues at the gates and advertisements and sponsorships. “We’re talking millions for every game, including the, operating expenses. Upfront delays and extension of the season will be costly,” he said. “But the losses [financial] are not what we’re concerned about at this time, we are greatly concerned about the health of everyone, not only in the league.” The month-quarantine has lulled at least 24 games of the Philippine Cup and Vargas said options for a revised schedule are not being reviewed by Commissioner Willie Marcial. “We are monitoring on a day-to-day basis and the Commissioner’s Office is already working on options for a new schedule,” Vargas said.
skeletal forces,” Velasco said. “For example, payroll personnel will be physically present at the PSC to attend to their responsibility.” On Tuesday, Velasco said the PSC has deposited checks with LandBank for the allowances of national athletes and coaches. But only those from national sports associations which have completed their documents for their national teams were included on the payroll. Velasco said the PSC has advised all athletes to stay home and for those who remain at the dormitories at the PhilSports in Pasig City will remain in the facility. The PSC, Velasco said, has not yet canceled major events for this year—among them the Philippine National Games, Batang Pinoy and Children’s Games. “These events are postponed,” he said. Velasco also said no athlete or coach or PSC personnel has been reported to have fallen sick.
CHAIRMAN William Ramirez and key officials of the sports agency operate and communicate via group chat.
Donovan: I don’t even feel sick
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o could lose chance for Tokyo 2020 berth, providing the IOC and the IPC agree to the request. Caluag, the 2014 Asian Games gold medalist and silver medalist in the 30th Southeast Asian Games, was supposed to compete in the Asian BMX Championships in Jakarta next month but these were postponed for November. Another potential chance for Caluag, the world championships in Houston in May, were also canceled. Dormitorio also needs to race in regional qualifiers, all of which were canceled by the organizers and the UCI. The UCI said it had made the decision “to preserve sporting equity for the athletes” and claimed continuing with the process in the four disciplines would result in “unfairness between
nations.” The UCI added that between 70 percent and 85 percent of the qualifying events in cycling had already been completed. Tokyo 2020 qualification is also finished in road, track and para-cycling track. “The international situation linked to the coronavirus has accelerated sharply recently, especially in Europe, which has pushed the authorities to take drastic measures that have a major impact on our sport in particular,” UCI President David Lappartient said. “Faced with this unprecedented and changing situation, we must adapt and take necessary measures to guarantee, as far as possible, the security of people at our events, as well as sporting equity,” he added. With insidethegames
UFC, finally, postpones next events
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OS ANGELES—The UFC has postponed its next three scheduled events through April 11, finally giving up on President Dana White’s plan to keep fighting amid the coronavirus pandemic. The UFC will not hold its show scheduled for Saturday, which was initially slated to be held in a full arena in London. The UFC also won’t hold shows scheduled for March 28 and April 11. “It’s just impossible,” White said on ESPN, the UFC’s broadcast partner. “We can’t do it.” White insists he will hold UFC 249 on April 18, although he doesn’t have a venue for it. Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is scheduled to fight Tony Ferguson in the promotion’s biggest pay-per-view show of the spring. “We’re hoping that this all clears up by April,” White said. “This fight is going to happen. No crowd, whatever it takes. Probably not even in the United States, but this fight will happen.” The UFC finally joined nearly every other major worldwide sports organization in postponing its
events only after White on Monday heard about the White House’s recommendation to avoid gatherings of 10 or more people. White had vowed for the past week to keep staging fights while the public health crisis worsened, and the UFC held a 12-fight card in Brasilia, Brazil, last Saturday in an empty arena. White said it would take “a total shutdown of the country” to prevent him from staging fights, while the NBA, NHL, MLB, Nascar and the NCAA all postponed or canceled events. The UFC’s plans to hold this week’s show in London became unfeasible due to travel restrictions, but White found another home for the show: He said he has a deal in place to hold Saturday’s event at FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma, at the Grand Casino Resort Hotel, which is owned by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. The UFC only decided not to do it after the White House’s recommendations. AP
Daniel Caluag and Arianna Dormitorio could miss the chance of their lives because of the coronavirus pandemic.
LL-STAR guard Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz says he showed no symptoms of being sick before testing positive for the coronavirus, and he continues to have no signs of illness since going into isolation. Mitchell, speaking to ABC’s Good Morning America in an interview broadcast Monday, also revealed that it “took awhile for me to kind of cool off” at Rudy Gobert, his All-Star teammate who was the first National Basketball Association (NBA) player to have a positive test for the virus revealed. Gobert has said in recent days that he did not take the threat of the illness seriously. “I’m glad he’s doing OK. I’m glad I’m doing well,” said Mitchell, who did not say if he has spoken to Gobert in recent days. He has seen video updates Gobert has posted to social media updating fans about his own condition. Meanwhile, a person familiar with the situation said the league’s Board of Governors scheduled a teleconference for Tuesday to share various updates with one another and likely discuss next steps. The person confirmed the plan for that call with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it was not publicly announced. ESPN first reported plans for the call. NBA teams and officials spent Monday continuing to process information being shared by infectious disease experts and others. Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks shared a video telling fans that “we’re all going to get through this together.” Mitchell said he continues to feel fine, and that the worst physical issue he’s had during this process was going through the test for Covid-19 itself. He said getting swabbed was so uncomfortable that it left him in tears. “I’m asymptomatic,” Mitchell said. “I don’t have any symptoms. I could walk down the street [and] if it wasn’t public knowledge that I was sick, you wouldn’t know it. I think that’s the scariest part about this virus. You
may seem fine, be fine. And you never know who you may be talking to, who they’re going home to.” Mitchell’s father, Donovan Mitchell Sr., works for the New York Mets and was tested last week as well. Mitchell Sr.’s test was negative. Gobert’s positive test was disclosed Wednesday and Mitchell’s on Thursday. Christian Wood of the Detroit Pistons learned on Saturday he has tested positive for Covid-19 as well. Wood played against the Jazz last week. Gobert—thinking at the time he was making a joke—touched a few Jazz reporters’ digital recording devices at a media availability March 9, two days before his positive test became public and forced the NBA to suspend the season. It cannot, however, be concluded he is responsible for Mitchell or Wood contracting the virus. AP
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Al Mendoza alsol47@yahoo.com
THAT’S ALL
Science on trial
WHAT could be more revolting than this? The Covid-19 has not only made more than 150,000 ill worldwide and killed more than 5,800, but it has done more unimaginable damage than Supertyphoon Yolanda: Sporting events—both big and small—are off in nearly 118 infected countries. Indefinitely. Who would have thought of a global catastrophe happening in this age when the moon has become as near and as reachable as Quiapo, when cars will shortly travel minus drivers? What is happening, indeed? There is no PBA. There is no UAAP. There is no NCAA. There is no PSL/PVL. There is no MPBL. There is no PBA D-League. There is no ABL. There is no NBA. There is not even an inter-barangay cagefest in the neighborhood. There is nothing. No one can conclusively say when the standstill will end. Even tumbang-preso, taguan-pung, patintero and luksong tinik are on hold. Only two times did mankind see a sporting stoppage of this magnitude: World War I and World War II. Not even the Munich Massacre, an offshoot of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict engineered by the Black September Group that killed 17 persons, including six Israeli coaches and five Israeli athletes inside the Olympic Village, did not stop the 1972 Olympiad from pushing through. We suffer in pain because there is no more thrill and spill these days as our arenas of grass and hard court are as empty as a desert. All because of Covid-19, the virus from Wuhan, China, that unleashed its deadly venom starting on December 17, 2019. There is no more March Madness. There is only March Sadness. There is no more Augusta Masters. There is only Mustered Madness. What is golf without the first of the four yearly majors set every April the last 75 years? What kind of coach needed to outwit this virulent virus? Where is Doctor Naismith’s kin to discover the cure-making assist to stop the bleeding, weeping? The world has virtually stopped turning as the outbreak has forced us all to be under house arrest. Against our will. Seemingly, only the Tokyo Olympics is the “last man standing.” It has not been either canceled or postponed. Stubborn as a mule, Thomas Bach, the German president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has refused to budge. The Olympic Games will begin on
Donovan Mitchell continues to have no signs of illness since going into isolation. AP
July 24. “I rely on the expert,” Bach has repeatedly said. “WHO is the ONLY expert.” WHO’s last word on the matter is yes to the Olympiad. That was about two weeks ago. Nothing’s changed. But will the virus change its course? Upon its route will hinge the fate of the entire sporting world. Science is on trial here. THAT’S IT With many Olympics-bound participants left inactive because of many canceled tournaments worldwide, the quality of competition will surely suffer if and when the Tokyo Games pushes through in July. Sigh.
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Show BusinessMirror
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last
www.businessmirror.com.ph
strikes journalists, z Coronavirus others change way they work
CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Lily Collins, 31; Adam Levine, 41; Queen Latifah, 50; Vanessa Williams, 57. Happy Birthday: You have to be adaptable if you want to get ahead this year. Use your intelligence to consider suggestions others make. You will find workable solutions. Address emotional matters, and situations that have been less than satisfactory will improve as long as you are honest about the way you feel and able to adapt to change. Your lucky numbers are 3, 14, 22, 28, 31, 37, 46.
a
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Do whatever it takes to get along with people in higher positions. If you want to have a say, you have to make allowances. Avoid situations that are depressing or that can set you back financially. Sometimes it’s best to sidestep controversy. HH
b
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Take advantage of whatever comes your way. Make calls, and be ready to hustle into unknown territory to make your mark. You will pick up information and find out what’s available quickly, allowing you to excel. HHHHH
c
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Be aware of what’s going on around you. Someone will take advantage of you if given a chance. Take the first step, and don’t look back. Take care of your interests, and you will be the one to prosper. HHH
d
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Use your emotions intuitively. Act instinctively, and you will make good decisions. Partner with someone who complements what you have to offer. Good times are heading your way if you are quick to take action. Ask, and you will receive. HHH
e
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Research will pay off down the road. Reconnecting with someone from your past will lead to information and insight that will help you move forward. A lifestyle adjustment or occupational move geared toward lowering stress is encouraged. HHH
f
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Make purchases that will update your image. Do something beautiful for the people you love. A workrelated event will open up an opportunity to use your skills differently. Pursue your dreams. HHHHH
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Before you spend or make costly promises, consider the longterm consequences. Rethink your plans and financial feasibility. Don’t let someone with more disposable funds talk you into something you cannot afford. Look for fun things to do on a budget. HH
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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Present, promote and pursue your dreams, and you will get a good response, great suggestions and an unusual offer. A spiritual or educational journey will lead to a magical experience that will prompt you to make personal changes. Enjoy the moment. HHHH
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Stabilize situations that are currently undergoing revision. Make sure any plan you undertake is feasible. Don’t follow someone or trust what others tell you. Go directly to the source, and act on facts that are already verified. HHH
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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’ll have plenty of choices. Look for the best offer, and negotiate on your behalf. Secure your position with legal documentation. A responsibility you have dealt with for years will pay off. HHH
k
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): If you have shared secret information with someone who isn’t trustworthy, it will be revealed. Don’t make changes based on hearsay or what someone else decides to do. Stay put, and work to stabilize your position. Protect against injury and illness. HHH
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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Associate with mentally stimulating people. A social event will put you in the limelight and lead to an encounter with someone in a high position. An offer is heading your way. HHHH Birthday Baby: You are headstrong, possessive and charming. You are accessible and proactive.
By David Bauder
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The Associated Press
EW YORK—Six people at CBS News have tested positive for coronavirus, including a correspondent stationed in Italy, as media organizations fought on Monday against the same epidemic they’re charged with describing. Five employees with the virus work in CBS’s New York offices, where most of its journalists were ordered to stay away as a result. “Everyone works remotely unless specifically requested to come in,” CBS News President Susan Zirinsky said in a memo to her staff. ABC News said on Monday that a journalist who worked on the network’s coverage team of the outbreak in Seattle had tested positive for coronavirus. The person, who works in ABC’s Los Angeles bureau, has been isolated since last week and has suffered only mild symptoms. The network said it has told its entire Seattle coverage team to stay home and has closed its Los Angeles bureau for a thorough cleaning. Meanwhile, at NBC, an employee who worked on the Today show’s third hour tested positive, forcing the show’s anchors Craig Melvin and Al Roker, and others who came into contact with the person to be ordered to isolate in their homes as a result. The Today show’s 7 am anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb came to work but kept their distance. They sat several feet apart from each other as the show opened on Monday, saying they were setting an example by following guidelines for social distancing. “It does matter,” Kotb said. “We’re practicing that at home, we’re practicing that with our children, and we want to practice that at work because it’s important.” It was a subtle trend throughout the television world. The white couch on Fox News Channel’s Outnumbered, typically crowded with four women and one man, held only Harris Faulkner and Melissa Francis on Monday. The other guests, Dr. Nicole Saphier, David Webb and Jessica Tarlov, were stationed in different studios. Seth Doane, a CBS News correspondent who lives in Rome, revealed on Monday that he was one of the network’s employees to test positive. Italy is one of the worst-hit countries in the world. “For the most part, I feel OK,” Doane said in an interview on CBS This Morning. But he said he coughed enough to worry people around him, had a slight fever and felt pressure in his chest, so he chose to get tested. He said he’s felt worse in the past with colds and the flu. Most people who get coronavirus have only mild or moderate symptoms similar to what Doane described. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause
CBS News Rome-based correspondent Seth Doane, who revealed on Monday that he was one of the network’s six employees to test positive for coronavirus. AP
more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover. It was a point Doane wanted to illustrate: that symptoms can be so mild that people can spread the disease while not even realizing they have it. “The psychological part for me has been worse than the physical part,” Doane said, referring to how he’s had to call people that he’s been in contact with. The cases in CBS’s New York studios has had cascading impacts. New York’s WCBS-TV broadcasts from there, so late last week, New York’s local news was delivered by anchors in a Los Angeles studio. The syndicated Inside Edition also airs from there, and late last week Deborah Norville did the show from her kitchen at home. John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight tapes in a studio in the New York complex, and there were also people in the HBO show’s office that tested positive. So Oliver on Sunday night taped a show without an audience from a studio where he sat in front of a white
backdrop. His abbreviated show was part comedy, part social commentary and part service journalism. He went through specific instructions of what viewers could do to avoid the coronavirus and implored viewers to be careful about e-mailing or posting false information. “We’re going to need to look out for one another,” he said. With society shutting down and many Americans house-bound for an undetermined length of time, there are preliminary signs that it might boost television audiences, particularly for news. For the past two weeks, Fox News has averaged 3.57 million viewers in prime time, up 40 percent from the same two-week period a year ago. MSNBC had 2.44 million, up 13 percent, and CNN had 1.63 million, up 72 percent, the Nielsen company said. An estimated 10.83 million people watched Sunday night’s debate between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders on CNN, Nielsen said. n
Bianca Umali debuts single under GMA Music Bianca Umali is a force to be reckoned with. An award-winning actress, dancer, fashion inspiration, and advocate of education and women empowerment, the GMA star has another talent everyone has to witness. She is now officially a recording artist. Bianca debuted her first single, titled “Kahit Kailan,” on her birthday on March 2. As she ventures into recording, she is grateful for the opportunity to explore her love for music, which she reveals she shares with her father. She is also looking forward to perform songs that would speak the feelings and experiences of many.
“I am very thankful GMA Music believes in me and in my talent. This is my first single and the experience has been really fun,” she said. “Kahit Kailan,” composed by former Introvoys drummer Paco Arespacochaga, immediately made it on Spotify’s New Music Friday Philippines and OPM Workday Marathon playlists after its release. “Nung ni-record ko, nung napakinggan ko na, hindi ko masyadong inakalang sad song siya. Pero nung ginawa namin ’yung music video, na-realize ko na ang lungkutlungkot pala nung kanta. It’s about someone who is longing for a person they love but they can’t have for some reasons, or maybe
because they aren’t just meant to be,” Bianca shared. Twenty-twenty is proving to be a year of breakthroughs for the GMA star. Currently, Bianca is gearing up for her lead role in HBO Asia’s longest-running series Halfworlds. The thriller is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Mikhail Red. For GMA’s 70th anniversary, she is one of the leading ladies in the upcoming primetime series Legal Wives, alongside top GMA actor Dennis Trillo with Alice Dixson and Megan Young. “KahitKailan”isnowavailableforstreaming on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, and other digital platforms worldwide.
‘type set’ by gabrielle friedman The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg
ACROSS 1 Santa ___ winds 4 Uncommon 8 Create a likeness of, maybe 12 Home 14 One may be written in red pencil 15 Pledge 16 Apply, as sunscreen 17 Sail support 18 Nonbinary pronoun 19 Southern cobbler ingredient 22 Shoppe descriptor 23 They come with instructions 24 Takes a snooze 28 No from Amy Klobuchar 29 A high-scoring basketball team may pass it 31 Org. that helps mom-and-pop stores 33 Gazpacho, e.g., in Spanish 34 Et ___ (and others) 35 Quite some time 38 Tool for cleaning a spill 40 “If you say so” 41 It may go under or over a tent
5 “Do I know her?” 4 46 Where many gather on New Year’s Eve 49 Dr. Fiona Hill’s former grp. 52 The Phantom of the ___ 53 “That sounds wrong” 54 Workers’ watchdog org. 55 Result of a meteor strike 58 Ran in the washer 61 Home to Arches and Canyonlands 62 Start of a fitness motto 63 “...___ against the dying of the light” 64 Source of feedback, informally? 65 Ball-balancing animals 66 Stench 67 Laptop brand 68 Reggae relative DOWN 1 Grandma, in Granada 2 Ironic answer to a doorbell 3 Worship 4 What’s left 5 Become comfortable with 6 Revolts
7 Singer Jones or James 8 “Figure it out!” 9 Pep rally syllable 10 Had palak paneer, perhaps 11 Existential question 12 Noble gas in air 13 AP Lit. or Lang. subject 20 1950s presidential nickname 21 Exclamation 25 Hearty meal for a pescatarian 26 Huey, Dewey and Louie, e.g. 27 Pass over 29 ___ Poly San Luis Obispo 30 Not just undercooked 32 One should wear a helmet 35 Camry or Civic 36 ___ into shape 37 Visitors from Mars, e.g., briefly 39 Mama sheep 42 Like sea life 43 Dessert with a kick 44 Usually black cat 47 ___-I-Am 48 Bird in Arabian Nights
0 “Sweet little” girl in a 1962 hit 5 51 Vehicles for luggage 54 Camels drink at them 56 Cat in a sneaker brand’s logo 57 Neighbor of Ukraine 58 Dude 59 Young dude 60 Big head Solution to yesterday’s puzzle: