BusinessMirror March 30, 2021 by BusinessMirror

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 170

P23-B UNUSED BAYANIHAN P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 22 pages |

FUND EYED FOR NEW AID

A COVID-19 isolation facility for mild to asymptomatic patients is seen in Pasay City, one of the areas to be prioritized for Covid-19 vaccines due to its spike in infections. The Pasay City General Hospital has announced that it would temporarily suspend admission of coronavirus patients, as the beds dedicated to them are fully occupied. The city government has coordinated with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority to provide additional quarantine facilities under the government's Oplan Kalinga program. NONIE REYES

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM & Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

HE government is eyeing to tap the P23billion “unutilized” fund under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) to give aid to people affected by the new round of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the National Capital Region (NCR) and its surrounding provinces.

Citing data from the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), budget officials indicated the latest government

assistance, whether it is in cash or in kind, could benefit 22.9 million beneficiaries from NCR Plus —Metro Manila, Laguna, Cavite,

FIST law takes effect after SEC, others release IRR By VG Cabuag

@villygc

OVERNMENT agencies on Monday released the implementing rules and regulations of the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act, a law that allows for the establishment of corporations to invest in or acquire non-performing assets of covered financial institutions. The Securities and Exchange Commission, together with the Department of Finance, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Bureau of Internal Revenue and Land Registration Authority issued the IRR of the law, paving the way for its operationalization

starting this week. “ The FIST Act is integral to the government’s economic recover y program aimed at positioning us back to growth from the setbacks brought about by the Cov id-19 pandemic,” SEC C h a i r m a n Em i l io B . A qu i no said. “The commission has always supported the passage of the FIST Act. With the implementing rules and regulations in place, we are optimistic that the law will serve its purpose of ensuring the resilience and recovery of the financial sector, which in turn will provide the much-needed support for businesses and consumers alike.”

Rizal and Bulacan. “Based on our projection, this will tide them up at least up until the time that,” Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said in an online press briefing.

Deficit impact

AVISADO said the distribution of the assistance will depend on when President Duterte approves the fund release and how efficiently it will be used by local government units. As of Monday morning, he said they were still waiting for the

President’s action on their budget proposal to help people whose employment was disrupted by the weeklong ECQ. The government placed NCR Plus under ECQ effective midnight of Monday in its attempt to slow the surge of daily new cases of Covid-19, which breached the 10,000 mark. Sought for comment on whether the distribution of financial aid would still keep the country’s budget deficit within the target, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez said: “I suppose so.” Continued on A2

NG DEBT HITS RECORD P10.4T AS MORE LOANS FUEL COVID RESPONSE

HE national government’s outstand ing debt as of end-February this year soared to a new record high of P10.406 trillion as the government continued to borrow more money to respond to the raging Covid-19 pandemic. Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed this was up by P78.37 billion or 0.8 percent from the previous record high of P10.327 trillion as of end-January this year “due to net financing from local and external sources and currency fluctuations.” According to the Treasury, this was also a 6.2-percent increase from the end-2020 level of P9.795 trillion and a 27.4-percent spike from only P8.17 trillion as of end-February last year. Of the total debt stock, 71 percent are domestic borrowings while 29 percent came from foreign sources. The national government’s domestic debt as of end-February also reached P7.36 trillion, a 0.5-percent uptick or P37.51 billion above the end-January 2021 level of P7.33 trillion at-

tributed to net availment of domestic financing. Domestic debt as of endFebruary also surged by 35.1 percent from only P5.45 trillion a year ago. It also grew by 10 percent from only P6.69 trillion as of end-December 2020. On the other hand, external debt as of end-February this year amounted to P3.04 trillion, inching up by 1.4 percent from P3 trillion in the previous month. “For February, the increment to external debt was due to the net availment of foreig n loa n s a mou nt i ng to P14.53 billion and the P36.03-billion effect of loca l cur renc y depreciation against the dollar. Meanwhile, the net appreciation of the peso against third currencies trimmed P9.70 billion,” the Treasury said. The government’s external debt as of end-February was also a 12-percent jump from only P2.72 trillion a year ago. However, this was a 1.9-percent decline from P3.1 trillion as of end-December 2020, mainly because of debt repayment. Continued on A2

Continued on A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.5460

n JAPAN 0.4425 n UK 66.9644 n HK 6.2487 n CHINA 7.4209 n SINGAPORE 36.0883 n AUSTRALIA 37.0746 n EU 57.2552 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.9460

Source: BSP (March 29, 2021)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, March 30, 2021

DTI sees more deals being sealed with CREATE signing By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

ITH the signing of the corporate tax reform, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is expecting more deals in the pipeline from various sectors to be settled. DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said in a statement on Monday that the agency anticipates sealing more projects following the enactment of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act. These include motorcycle engine assembly, data centers and information technology infrastructure network, advanced metal/plastic packaging manufacturing facility and modern textile assembly. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the recently signed measure is a “game changer” because it slashed the corporate income tax substantially, benefiting the micro, small and medium enterprises and large companies.

Following the enactment of CREATE, the CIT rate is reduced to 20 percent from 30 percent for domestic corporations with net taxable income of P5 million and below and have total assets of P100 million and below, effective July 1, 2020. All other local firms and resident foreign companies are imposed a 25-percent income tax. Lopez said the “drop is very significant as it will open up cash flows to support efforts of businesses to rebuild during this pandemic.” The Trade department also welcomed the granting of four to seven years of income tax holidays, which is followed by 10 years of special corporate income tax or enhanced deductions (ED) for exporters, or

five years ED for domestic firms. Lopez noted that removing restrictions for providing incentives to foreign companies is a boon for the economy. It can attract more foreign direct investments and support the Philippines’s export market as well, he said. “The CREATE Act rationalizes, modernizes, and offers more relevant incentives to investors in line with the times. Rather than locate in other countries and export to our domestic market, we have to capture those investments as long as they are in the prioritized sectors and allow them to target the domestic market,” Lopez explained. “This can also encourage higher local content for our manufacturers sourcing from abroad, as part of value chain enhancement. What’s more, we are also committed in supporting further liberalization to enhance our country’s competitiveness and create more jobs,” he added.

investments in the country. The Trade department, meanwhile, said it will coordinate with the Department of Finance in the issuance of the measure’s implementing rules and regulations and the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan (SIPP). “The BOI [Board of Investments] is mandated under CREATE Act to craft the SIPP and at the moment, we are formulating a transitional SIPP that will be based on the current Investment Priorities Plan [IPP] which was signed by the President in December 2020,” said Rodolfo, who is also the BOI managing head. SIPP is a list of investment sectors qualified for fiscal incentives under CREATE. The critical industries include electrical and electronics; chemical and pharmaceuticals; machinery and transport; agriculture and agribusiness; information technology-business process management; research and development; and artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, and digital technologies. Last year, BOI approved P1.02 trillion worth of investments, which is 10.9 percent lower than the P1.14 trillion in 2019.

Other amendatory bills

WITH this, DTI also expressed support towards the amendment of the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, Foreign Investments Act and the Public Service Act to invite more

D.O.T.: NO MORE STAYCATIONS BUT CHECKED-IN GUESTS MAY STAY By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

NLY accommodation establishments (AEs) operating as quarantine facilities are allowed to operate from March 29 to April 4, in keeping with the implementation of an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) covering the National Capital Region, along with Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal (NCR-plus). “No more staycations,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat in a Viber message to the BusinessMirror on Sunday. “The operation of staycation hotels is temporarily suspended during said period,” she said, as government moved to contain the surge in Covid-19 cases. She added, staycation hotels have “graciously agreed” not to impose penalties on their clients who have to rebook their stays due to the ECQ lockdown. However, guests who are already billeted in staycation ho-

tels by midnight on March 28 may continue to stay there for the duration of their original booking. “But no new bookings will be allowed for the week,” said Romulo Puyat, underscoring new guidelines for the operation of AEs during the ECQ lockdown. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) re-imposed ECQ starting Monday as new Covid cases, including the more infectious UK and South African variants, continued to surge. On Sunday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 9,475 new Covid cases, bringing active cases to 105,568, of the total 721,892 recorded cases in the country. The new Department of Tourism (DOT) guidelines took effect Monday and will last until midnight of April 4, or for the duration of the ECQ period as declared by the IATF-MEID.

Hotel classifications

THE DOT classifies accommodation establishments into three,

according to the nature of their operations: isolation facilities, for Covid-19 positive guests; quarantine hotels, for individuals like returning overseas Filipinos, foreign nationals, those unable to home quarantine, and health workers who need to stay near their hospitals; and regular hotels, which are neither isolation facilities nor quarantine hotels and includes hotels that have been issued Certificates of Authority to Operate for Staycation. The DOT said regular hotels under ECQ and modified ECQ (MECQ ) may accommodate guests with long-term leases only; locally stranded individuals or those transiting to their place of residence; and authorized persons outside of residence (Apor) pursuant to their official duties. The DOT advised these accredited establishments to strictly enforce the minimum health and safety guidelines and quarantine protocols or face sanctions which include fines, suspension and the cancellation of accreditation. Under ECQ and MECQ, only a

3-MONTH SHIPMENT DELAYS NEGATE BID TO HIKE MEAT IMPORTS

Continued from A10

For example, if President Duterte reduces the tariff in the following days, then only the shipments already in transit, including those imports by current minimum access volume (MAV) or quota holders, would benefit from the 5-percent tariffs. “Only the pre-ordered will benefit but the new orders may not, since it takes us now at least three months for new orders,” Cham explained. “The uncertainty of the tariff reduction also plays a part in the ordering of the importers. If the importer doesn’t feel confident that tariff will be reduced, then he will not order,” he added. Cham said the government should push through with the reduction of pork tariffs without waiting for the increase of the MAV, which is currently pending before Congress. He insisted that it is only through lower tariffs that imports could influence prevailing domestic retail prices of pork, which have gone up anew to P380 per kilogram level. President Duterte can already issue an Executive Order modifying the tariffs on pork imports since Congress has gone on scheduled recess since Friday and won’t be back till May 17. The Cabinet-level Committee on Tariff and Related Matters earlier recommended to Duterte to reduce pork tariffs to 5 percent for in-quota and 15 percent for outquota for three months, which would increase after to 10 percent for in-quota and 20 percent for out-quota

for nine months. The Tariff Commission, based on the documents obtained by the BusinessMirror, earlier proposed a 10-percent in-quota tariff and 20-percent out-quota tariff for one year. The Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier petitioned for the reduction of pork tariffs to 5 percent (in-quota) and 15 percent (out-quota) for six months. Afterwards the tariffs would increase to 10 percent (in-quota) and 20 percent (out-quota) for another six months before reverting to current tariff rates of 30 percent for MAV and 40 percent for outside MAV. The BusinessMirror earlier reported that imports from Europe, United States and Canada, which are major pork import sources of the country, are delayed by two weeks to one month due to lack of containers and vessels. (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2021/03/26/food-shortage-seen-onglobal-supply-woes/) This is worsened by the congestion at transhipment points such as Singapore, Hong Kong and China, industry players told the BusinessMirror. “We are facing shipping and logistics problems. For example in Europe, there are a lot of delays due to Covid-19 problems and challenges such as lockdowns. We are now encountering two weeks to a month delays in our arrivals,” Royal Cargo Inc. (RCI) COO Jet B. Ambalada told the BusinessMirror.

skeleton work force and in-house staff with free accommodations within the premises shall be allowed during this lockdown period. Regardless of quarantine status, ancillary facilities and services like restaurants, cafes, bars, gyms, spas, swimming pools, and conference or function halls are prohibited unless permitted by the Department of Health or the Bureau of Quarantine to prepare packed meals for staff and guests or for take-out and delivery to the public. The DOT added that quarantine hotels should ensure quarantine guests and health workers don’t mingle, and must designate separate floors or wings, elevators and passageways for each group. In areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ, regular hotels may operate ancillary facilities subject to minimum health standards and issuances of IATFMEID, the Department of Trade and Industry, and other relevant government agencies.

NG DEBT HITS RECORD P10.4T AS MORE LOANS FUEL COVID RESPONSE Continued from A1

T he government’s total outstanding guaranteed debt also shrank by 2.1 percent to P446.72 billion in February this year from P456.39 billion in the previous month. “The lower level of guarantees was due to the net redemption of both local and foreign guarantees amounting to P9.99 billion and P0.34 billion, respectively,” the Treasury said. On top of this, the Treasury also said third-currency exchange rate fluctuations further lowered the peso value of external guarantees by P1.77 billion, slightly offsetting the P2.43-billion effect of local currency depreciation against the dollar. Total outstanding guaranteed debt in February also dropped by 7.8 percent from P484.36 billion a year ago. It also

slid by 2.5 percent from P458.35 billion as of end of last year. Domestic outstanding guaranteed debt for the month also fell by 4.3 percent to P244.12 billion this year from last year’s P254.996 billion. It also declined by 3.9 percent from P254.11 billion in January this year. The government’s external guaranteed debt also contracted by 11.7 percent year-on-year to P202.6 billion from P229.36 billion in February 2020. It also slightly went down by 0.2 percent from P202.28 billion in January this year. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said they expect the national government’s debt this year to reach 57 percent of GDP as the country aims to borrow a total of P3.03 trillion, roughly the same amount it borrowed in 2020. Bernadette D. Nicolas

www.businessmirror.com.ph

CREATE TO YIELD 1.4-M NEW JOBS IN 10 YEARS–SALCEDA By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

HE chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means on Monday said the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act is expected to yield 1.4 million new jobs over the next decade. Following a briefing with the Tax Committee of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex), Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda said CREATE is the largest infusion of tax savings in the private sector in the country’s modern history. “Based on a standard net present valuation of the cut in corporate income tax alone, the value is P7.1 trillion. We expect CREATE to yield 1.1 million to 1.4 million jobs over the next decade,” Salceda said. “I think the rules and regulations are also mostly ready, so I am calling on BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue] to issue the rules and regulations soon,” Salceda added. Dur ing the same br ief ing, the BIR said it is eyeing to issue the IR R by the second week of Apr il. Moreover, Salceda also appealed to the BIR to ease filing restrictions in view of the declaration of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and the looming April 15

deadline. “I don’t think we can extend the deadline. We need the money, especially given the plan for a SAP 3. But there are other adjustments we can make,” Salceda said. Among the adjustments Salceda proposed are the relaxation of venue rules on filing of tax returns. “The venue restrictions are the most irrational part of the BIR tax regulations. It’s also the hardest to navigate, especially given the pandemic,” Salceda added. Salceda also asked the withholding tax to be reduced in light of the reduction in the tax rate. “Withholding tax rate was 15 percent when the CIT was 30 percent. It follows that when we lowered to 20 percent, the rate should be 10 percent. It’s not for anything else but logic,” Salceda added. Under CREATE, the Department of Finance is required to review rules on withholding taxes every three years. “Because we changed the rules this year, we should review the revenue regulations on withholding also this year. Again, it’s the logical thing to do,” Salceda added, in the presence of the BIR. Salceda said he will also hold briefings with the BIR to ensure that the rules and regulations can be issued without delay.

FIST law takes effect after SEC, others release IRR Continued from A1

The rules provide that a FIST corporation shall be organized as a stock corporation, other than a one-person corporation, with a minimum authorized capital stock of P500 million, of which P125 million shall be subscribed and at least P31.25 million paid up in cash. It shall be classified as a corporation vested with public interest, and as such, it shall have independent directors on its board of directors, appoint a compliance officer, submit compensation and performance reports, and comply with other requirements prescribed by law. Applications for the establishment and registration of a FIST corporation (FISTC) shall be filed with the SEC within 36 months from the FIST Act’s effectivity. Those established on the 25th to 36th month cannot avail of the tax incentives unless an amendatory law extending the privileges is passed. Under the law, the financial institutions that may transfer their soured loans to the FIST corporation include the central bank, banks, pawnshops, non-stock savings and loan associations and non-bank creditcard issuers and other credit-granting institutions supervised by the central bank; financing companies, lending companies, and accredited microfinance nongovernment organizations; investment houses; insurance companies; and select government-owned and -controlled corporations and government

financial institutions. The assets should have become non-performing on or before December 31, 2022. They may be nonperforming loans, including receivables and restructured loans whose principal and/or interest have remained unpaid for at least 90 days after they have become past due or after any events of default under the loan agreement. The institutions may also transfer to the companies, which can be treated as special purpose vehicles, their real and other properties acquired in settlement of loans and receivables, including shares of stocks and personal properties acquired by way of dation in payment, or judicial or extrajudicial foreclosure or execution of judgment or enforcement of security interest. These soured assets that may be sold as FIST corporations can issue investment unit instruments to a qualified buyer in the minimum amount of P10 million, pursuant to its plan submitted to the SEC and issued with a Certificate of Permit to Sell or Offer for Sale Securities. The IRR prohibits one FISTC from acquiring the instruments from another FISTC. The selling financial institutions and its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates or stockholders, directors, officers, or any related interest are also not allowed to acquire or hold, directly or indirectly, the instruments of the FISTC that acquired its soured assets.

P23-B UNUSED BAYANIHAN FUND EYED FOR NEW AID Continued from A1

The government expects the budget deficit this year to rise to P1.78 trillion or 8.9 percent of GDP. In 2020, the government’s budget deficit soared to a new record high of P1.37 trillion, more than double the previous-high shortfall of P660.2 billion.

Possible extension

AVISADO said they are also now planning contingencies in case the ECQ in NCR Plus is extended or even expanded to include other areas after April 4, 2021. “We’re tied up to what we have right now [in terms of funds of aid] and that’s why the DBCC [Development Budget Coordination Committee] is going to meet later this afternoon precisely to talk about the ways forward, consider-

ing that we also anticipate other regions will also have problems,” Avisado said. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the IATF is considering the option of extension, as proposed by health experts including the OCTA Research group of the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Department of Health (DOH) Epidemiology Bureau. “There is a preliminary recommendation to the President on this [extension of the ECQ],” Roque said. He said the IATF is weighing the potential public health benefits of extending the ECQ and its impact on business operations. Based on their initial data, he said the difference in the projected new Covid-19 cases between ending the ECQ next week and extending it by midweek will be “minimal.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

Do we have a contingency plan amid WPS impasse? solon asks

HE chairman of the House Committee on Strategic Intelligence on Monday urged the government to prepare a contingency plan as there is “considerable risk” that a Chinese vessel might end up accidentally running aground in the shallow waters and submerged ridges of the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, panel chairman, issued the statement following the reported mooring of some 220 Chinese vessels, believed to be Chinese maritime militia, in Julian Felipe Reef west of Palawan. “We would urge the National Task Force for the WPS to seriously consider this risk, at the rate Chinese vessels are swarming around Julian Felipe Reef,” Pimentel said. “In fact, the task force may have to prepare a contingency plan—a comprehensive course of action— in the event of such an unpleasant incident,” Pimentel added. The lawmaker also expressed concern over the “reef degradation” caused by the horde of Chinese vessels. “It is not really good for ships to moor there for extended periods because anchors can cause extensive damage to coral reefs and reefassociated habitat such as sea grass beds,” he said. “In fact, the hazard of reef damage gets worse during bad weather owing to the risk of anchor dragging and grounding,” Pimentel said. The Philippines have already filed a diplomatic protest against Beijing

over the Chinese maritime militia’s swarming in Julian Felipe Reef. “We must stress that under international law, we are duty bound to conserve and manage the natural resources within our 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, while enjoying sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting such resources,” Pimentel said. In 2018, the Philippine Navy’s own flagship vessel, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, ran aground while on night patrol in the vicinity of Hasa Hasa Shoal at the eastern edge of the Spratly Islands. In 2013, a US warship also accidentally ran aground at the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park some 130 kilometers southeast of Palawan. The US had to pay a $1.7-million fine to the Philippines for the reef damage caused by the stranding of the USS Guardian, which had strayed into Tubbataha after a port call and fuel stop at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales. The mine countermeasures ship was eventually removed after a lengthy and costly salvage effort by US Navy contractors. Amid China’s repeated incursions in WPS, Pimentel last week urged the Department of National Defense to advance by three years the acquisition of 16 new warships. “The biggest threat to our sovereign rights as a nation is clearly in our strategic waters, so we have to give top priority to rebuilding our naval fleet,” Pimentel added. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Lawmakers urged to embark on Covid shot information drive, reverse ‘vaccine hesitancy’

OLLOWING the release of a recent tracking poll indicating that majority of Filipinos may not be willing to receive shots against the coronavirus, a lawmaker on Monday asked members of the lower chamber to take part in public information drives in their respective localities to boost the government’s Covid-19 vaccination program. Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Ray Villafuerte said lawmakers should make use of the almost two-month Lenten break of Congress to initiate information campaigns in their respective congressional districts to help government reverse “vaccine hesitancy.” Congress adjourned last March 25 for its Lenten break and will resume session on May 17. “Lawmakers should be at the forefront of the government’s efforts to convince adult Filipinos that the vaccines against Covid-19 are safe, that mass inoculation is necessary for us to contain the prolonged pandemic, and that achieving herd immunity via immunization is the only way for us to boost business confidence and consumer spending, which, in turn, could set off a quick and strong recovery from the coronavirus-driven global recession,” he said. “Legislators should take steps to help keep on track the government’s target to immunize 100 percent of the country’s adult population of about 70 million, more so now in the face of a two-week surge that has jacked up the caseload to almost 10,000 daily infections,” Villafuerte added.

The government has placed the National Capital Region (NCR) along with its four other neighboring provinces that form part of the so-called “NCR Plus bubble” under the stricter enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) for a week till Easter Sunday, as the Octa Research Group projected the number of coronavirus infections to soar to 12,000 to 13,000 daily this April. The Department of Health (DOH) reported that new Covid-19 cases went up to an all-time high of 9,838 before the weekend, surpassing the 2020 record of 6,958 logged last August 10. Moreover, Villafuerte said the government, Congress and the private sector should work together in reversing the apparent vaccine hesitancy among Filipinos, especially at this time when the rise of new, more transmissible Covid-19 variants and the seemingly lax observance by some sectors or groups of social distancing and other safety protocols, are believed responsible for what has been described as the “second wave” of coronavirus infections. The Pulse Asia survey showed that although nearly all adult Filipinos are aware of the vaccines developed against the coronavirus, 61 percent does not want to be vaccinated against the deadly Covid-19. President Duterte’s economic managers have secured P58.4 billion for the acquisition of vaccine doses enough to immunize 70 million Filipinos or 100 percent of the country’s adult population. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Chinese ships remain in Julian Felipe Reef, defense chief says By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

HINESE ships moored in great numbers in the Julian Felipe Reef are trying to drive away Philippine military “sovereignty patrols” in the area, but their warnings are being ignored by the government, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Monday, even as he disclosed proposals to anchor a tanker ship inside the reef. “There is no physical confrontation, but there are warnings, their warnings [say] ‘do not come here.’ We [replied], ‘we are patrolling our area,” the defense chief told CNN Philippines as he provided a glimpse of the latest situation inside the reef. Lorenzana said the exchanges between the Chinese manning the maritime militia vessels and the Filipino patrols are “standard,” saying these are regular occurrences every time the military conducts sovereignty run in the West Philippine Sea territory. The number of Chinese ships inside the reef, which, according to Lorenzana stretches to about 30 kilometers and measures 50 kilometers in width, has not considerably decreased, with about 183 vessels still remaining, although the number may have went down from the more than 220 ships that were spotted on March 7. Lorenzana admitted the presence of the ships inside the reef and their purpose still remain a puzzle for the government, reiterating there is no reason for them to be there despite the Chinese government’s claim that they were merely sheltering from bad weather. “There must some reasons why they are there… the Chinese ambassador insists that these are fishing boats, and they are sheltering from turbulent seas or bad weather. Now,

THIS satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows Chinese vessels anchored in Julian Felipe Reef, or the Whitsun Reef, located in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. The United States said Tuesday it’s backing the Philippines in a new standoff with Beijing in the disputed South China Sea, where Manila has asked a Chinese fishing flotilla to leave a reef. China ignored the call, insisting it owns the offshore territory. ©2021 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES VIA AP

I, we know from experience that this period of the year, from January to May, the water is apparently calm,” the defense chief said. “There was [no] truth in the allegation of the Chinese that they are there to hide against the [harsh] elements of the sea. This [period] is also…fishing season there…[and] the water is calm,” he added. Lorenzana said they are intently monitoring the ships and an Air Force S-211 plane has also been sent for a regular patrol run over the reef, while the government is planning to send a vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources,

National ID registration on track despite curbs By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

EGISTRATION operations for the National ID will not be hampered by the implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). On Monday, National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa told the BusinessMirror that PSA Registration Centers, particularly in areas outside of Metro Manila and nearby provinces under ECQ, will continue operating. Registration Centers are crucial for Step 2 registration, which requires biometrics and iris scans needed for the National ID. As of March 25, 2021, some 1.6 million Filipinos have already completed this step. “We have challenges, but most of our Registration Centers in the 32 provinces are still open and accepting Step 2 registrants for their biometrics capture,” Mapa said. “No change in our target.” The PSA earlier said that it intends to register between 50 million and 70 million Filipinos in Step 2 of the National ID registration this year. At

least 27 million Filipinos may already receive their PhilSys IDs this year. Mapa said the PSA has registered about 26.6 million Filipinos under step 1 as of March 26. This figure includes around 10.6 million registered between October 12, 2020 and December 31, 2020. The numbers for Step 1 registration is expected to increase after the Holy Week when the process will be open to the public. Currently, this process is being done through PSA enumerators who collect information on a face-toface basis per household in provinces that have low Covid-19 cases. “We will have online Step 1 registration opening soon, after the Holy Week,” Mapa said. Step 1 involves obtaining demographic information and setting up the Step appointment schedule of households. The Step 2 Registration, which involves the validation of supporting documents and capture of biometric information, such as fingerprints, iris scans, and front-facing photographs at registration centers as per the registrants’ appointments, is currently taking place in 32 priority provinces.

DENR exec clarifies grasslands, degraded forests are ‘not idle agri lands’ for CARP By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) official clarified on Monday that grasslands, degraded and denuded forests are not classified as idle agricultural lands, stressing these lands are not meant for agricultural production.

Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning, Foreign assisted and Special Projects Concerns Marcial C. Amaro Jr., also concurrent director of the DENR’s Forests Management Bureau (FMB), said in the past, in the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), grasslands and sometimes areas that are classified as forestlands have been covered by the pro-

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, March 30, 2021 A3

gram and were eventually distributed to landless farmers. With the Duterte administration’s aggressive implementation of the CARP Phase 2, Amaro said the DENR is closely watching over grasslands and open, degraded and denuded forest as they may again be mistaken as “idle agricultural lands.” Managing the country’s grasslands, as well as open, degraded and

denuded forests that are targeted for reforestation are two major concerns of the DENR-FMB. “The DENR also has jurisdiction over grazing lands or grazing areas. We also have targets to put these under proper management and therefore contribute to livestock production and food security in general,” said Amaro. “Most of these areas have already been encroached [upon],” he revealed.

hopefully by this week. The government is also eyeing the deployment of a tanker ship inside the reef, but Lorenzana said this still remains a proposal from the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea and no action has been taken yet. In mulling over the possibility of permanently berthing a tanker vessel in Julian Felipe Reef, the government is apparently attempting to replicate its move in the Ayungin Shoal where the BRP Sierra Madre, a derelict and partly submerged tanker vessel, has been permanently moored and is being used as an outpost for Marine soldiers in the area as a symbol

of Philippine sovereignty. The government, Lorenzana said, is very cautious in sending Navy ships, saying this will “militarize” the area, although the government maintains that Julian Felipe Reefs is within the country’s maritime waters. Lorenzana maintained that the Chinese ships should leave the area, a position that he said has been conveyed by no less than President Duterte to the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, who, in turn, told the Commander in Chief that he would relay it to Duterte’s Chinese counterpart.

House Speaker backs Duterte admin’s amnesty program for Reds, Moro rebs By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

OUSE Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has thrown his support behind the Duterte administration’s amnesty program for Muslim and communist rebels who may have opted to lay down their arms and return to the fold of the law. Velasco said the House Committees on Justice and on National Defense and Security have already adopted four resolutions concurring with the proclamations signed by President Duterte granting amnesty to members of four major rebel groups. “The amnesty program is a huge step toward achieving just and lasting peace in the country and giving former rebels a path back into civilian life,” the House leader said. “The amnesty will also provide a meaningful and complete transformation and assimilation of the MILF [Moro Islamic Liberation Front] decommissioned combatants into peaceful and progressive lives towards national reconciliation and healing in the Bangsamoro,” he added. Last month, President Duterte issued Proclamation 1090 to 1093 granting amnesty to members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), MNLF, Rebolusyunaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB), and Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) who may have committed crimes in “furtherance of their political beliefs.” Velasco said the grant of amnesty is proof of the government’s sincerity and determination to attain sustain-

able peace in the country. According to the House leader, amnesty is “necessary for the general interest of the Philippines and the Filipino people for a just and lasting peace.” Velasco said the creation of the National Amnesty Commission and the grant of amnesty in favor of MILF would “enable the delivery of an important commitment of the government under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, particularly the gradual normalization of the previously conflictaffected areas.” “Both Houses of Congress recognize that transforming MNLF [Moro National Liberation Front] members from armed combatants to productive citizens and peace partners is necessary to achieve the paramount ends of the peace process—national unity, solidarity and progress for all Filipinos,” he said. In his proclamation, President Duterte said there is a need to reintegrate as soon as possible all rebels and insurgents into the mainstream society under the rule of law, including those who may have committed unlawful acts. The amnesty “shall extinguish any criminal liability for acts committed in pursuit of political beliefs” and restore political and civil rights, which were lost due to criminal conviction, the proclamation stated. However, the amnesty would not cover kidnappings for ransom, massacres, rape, terrorism, drug trafficking and certain crimes the United Nations says should never be covered by amnesties, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and torture.

A4 Tuesday, March 30, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

PhilMech: Lockdowns, manpower shortage hinder distribution of free farm machinery to farmers

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) said domestic lockdowns and lack of manpower caused delays in the distribution of free farm machinery to rice farmers.

At a virtual news briefing on Monday, PhilMech Executive Director Baldwin Jallorina Jr. explained that localized lockdowns and movement restrictions imposed by local government units have hampered their distribution of farm machinery to rice farmer’s cooperatives and associations. Jallorina pointed out there were instances last year that PhilMech employees were not allowed to enter the provinces to deliver the machinery despite national guidelines crafted by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) exempting them from any form of movement restriction. “Hindi makapasok sa LGUs kasi kanya-kanya silang rules. Nade-delay. We have been coordinating with IATF and local rules are being relaxed, hopefully we can deliver all the [2019 and 2020 funded] farm machinery by end of April,” he said. (We cannot enter the LGUs due to varying rules on mobility. Deliveries are delayed) “Like Bohol dati hindi kami makapasok. As of yesterday, nakapasok na po kami sa Region 8 particularly in the province of Samar,” he added. (For example Bohol, we cannot enter that province. As of yesterday also we have been able to enter Region 8 particularly the province of Samar)

Jallorina added that the situation is worsened by the limited number of manpower in domestic manufacturing facilities due to Covid-19-related measures,whichcauseddelayintheproductionoffarmmachineryandequipment. “According to the local manufacturers, their work force is still limited in their plants,” he said. Nonetheless, PhilMech assured farmer cooperatives and association beneficiaries that all the units funded by the 2019 and 2020 Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) would be distributed by end-April. Jallorina said 15,810 units out of the total 15,918 target units for the 2019 and 2020 have already been procured. However, PhilMech, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, has only been able to distribute 8,702 various farm machinery and equipment to date, about 54 percent of the total target. The BusinessMirror broke the story on Monday that PhilMech, as of March 21, was only able to deliver 50 percentofitsmachinedistributiontarget using its 2019 and 2020 RCEF funds. Under the six-year RCEF, which started in 2019, PhilMech shall receive half of the P10-billion total fund annually for free farm machinery distribution to rice farmers

cooperatives and association. Jallorina said about 155,000 rice farmers in 57 rice-producing provinces have benefited from their farm machinery distribution to date. For 2021, PhilMech targets to distribute a total of 5,908 units of farm machinery to 1,600 identified farmer’s cooperatives and associations, Jallorina said. Of the target units, about 2,574 units would be land preparation equipment (4-wheel tractors, hand tractors, floating tillers) worth P1.7 billion while 2,028 units are postharvest machinery (dryers, rice mills) worth P2.8 billion and the remaining P500 million would be used for 496 crop establishment equipment such as seeders and transplanters. Jallorina said they will “do their best” to be able to procure and distribute the 2021 funded machinery before the year ends. Jallorina disclosed that they are also requesting to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) an advanced release of their 2022 RCEF funds in anticipation of the election ban. In January, BusinessMirror published a Broader Look story on the challenges and future of the government’s RCEF-backed farm machinery distribution tack (Related story: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2021/01/07/mechanizationmoves-agriculture-sector-slowbut-sure-to-modern-farming/). A 72-page DA paper reviewing the RTL law 18 months after its enactment explained that the mechanization component was delayed “due to the complicated and cumbersome procurement process as well as the need to address failures in the past on the provision of public funds for machinery.” PhilMech also saw delays in receiving its budget, curtailing its conduct of activities related to the RCEP mechanization component.

Oil firms roll back fuel pump prices By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

OCAL pump prices will be reduced by over P1 per liter this week. Oil firms announced Monday that gasoline prices will go down by P1.20 per liter, kerosene by P1.40 per liter and diesel by P1.30 per liter. The price adjustment takes effect at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, March 30. The price cuts will be implemented by Pilipinas Shell, Phoenix Petroleum Cleanfuel, Seaoil, Unioil, Total Philip-

pines and Caltex Philippines. Other oil firms are expected to announce similar adjustments soon. They adjust their pump prices every week to reflect movements in the world oil market. Earlier, the Department of Energy (DOE) released the country’s net oil import bill in 2020, which dropped 46.4 percent to $5.932 billion from $11 billion in 2019. Total volume of petroleum products imported last year reached 136.05 billion liters, 21.4 percent down from

173.2 billion liters in 2019. The Philippines imported 32.9 billion liters of crude and 103.1 billion liters of finished products in 2020. As a result, the cost of total imports declined 46.2 percent to $6.372 billion from $11.839 billion in 2019. Total export earnings also dropped 42.5 percent to 10,435 million liters equivalent to $439.4 million in 2020 from 12,669 million liters in 2019 worth $763.6 million. Of the total petroleum exports last year, 7.9 billion liters were products and 2.5 billion liters in crude.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Digitalization is a must—but do we take data privacy protection seriously?

By Henry J. Schumacher IT is important to realize, especially in the Philippine setting, that as economies digitalize, cross border transfer of personal data becomes more common. That’s the reason why the Philippines joined the Apec Cross Border Protection Rules (CBPR) economies and was expected to create the infrastructure to implement the Apec CBPR. Alas, it did not happen and there seems to be no urgency on the Philippine side to move forward. While many of us understand that Philippine companies will have to comply with data protection laws across boundaries, no progress is visible, despite the fact that Philippine based BPO companies wish to expand their services to the EU, the UK, the US, and Apec at large. Remember that this sector books $26 billion in revenues and employs 1.3 million people. It is unfortunate to see data breaches arising due to thirdparty service providers, given the fact that the pandemic has created thousands of e-commerce companies which have not taken cybercrime dangers and the need for cyber security measures seriously. Cyber attacks versus businesses jumped 31 percent from March 2020 to March 2021! Overriding the rights to privacy of individuals, given the current health and economic situations, can

lead to a social crisis. The view that data privacy and protection is not essential in critical times will lead to the dissolution of basic human rights as we know it. The high risk of negative consequences in setting aside data privacy and protection will diminish the social fabric of society. We must continue to be a community of law connected in a relationship that respect our individual rights. Society must be allowed to thrive on the relationship of rights and obligations much more in trying times. In the difficult situation we find ourselves in today, deducing data privacy and protection rights as hindrance to the implementation of the government and organizations strategy of reducing community transmission, is detrimental to helping the most vulnerable group in this pandemic, the patients, and we have plenty in the Philippines— unfortunately. I am happy to announce that we are running two webinars in April that should be of great interest for companies:

Avoiding data and privacy breaches Learn data privacy and protection in a simple way, allowing you to immediately start a privacy management program across your organization. Translate your privacy vision to your operations down to every employee in the company, understanding that data breaches are incurred by people in operations! Cybercrime to cyber security The Philippines recognizes the need to curb cybercrime in line with the vital role of information and communications industries in the nation’s overall social and economic development and the need to protect and safeguard computer systems and networks from all forms of misuse, abuse, and illegal access. It is therefore the responsibility of organizations and individuals to

implement cyber security to protect Internet-connected systems such as hardware, software and data from cyber threats leading to data and computer-related fraud. Let me reiterate that data management and analytics have become “core business functions” in 2021: • Data and analytics will morph into a core business function in 2021, as companies infuse these capabilities into business functions; • Throughout 2021, companies will see data and analytics as a shared business asset connected to business results; • Disruption stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic led data and analytics leaders to identify key technology trends and prioritize those with the biggest potential impact on their competitive advantage. Given this, we offer the following webinar:

Understanding data science and analytics

This practical and business-oriented live webinar is designed to enable users within their organizations to cope with and manage big data, using foundational science. This simple methodology of big data science is intended to allow user in obtaining the actionable insights inside deep data and information. Such data, in various formats and various types, enable data scientists to make rational business decisions. In conclusion, allow me to repeat that the high risk of negative consequences in setting aside data privacy and protection will diminish the social fabric of society. We must continue to be a community of law connected in a relationship that respects individual rights. Society must be allowed to thrive on the relationship of rights and obligations, especially at these trying times. Feedback is appreciated; you can contact me at hjschumacher59@ gmail.com

PHL inks $300-M AIIB loan to buy Covid-19 vaccines continued from a10 The balance of P11.6 billion will be sourced from savings and other arrangements with the Philippines’s bilateral or multilateral partners through official development assistance financing. Joven also told BusinessMirror that they do not see the need yet to tap the $100 million (roughly P4.8 billion) earmarked for Covid-19 vaccine purchase. “No need yet. It’s for standby once we deplete the $1.2 [billion],” Joven said. As for the remaining P12.5 billion, P10 billion will be sourced from funds allocated for the Covid-19 vaccination program under Republic Act (RA) 11494 or the Bayanihan

To Recover As One Act (Bayanihan 2) while P2.5 billion already forms part of the budget of the Department of Health under the 2021 national budget. As of March 17 this year, the government has so far secured $14.29 billion in loans and grants from foreign lenders for its Covid-19 response, based on the list provided on the DOF web site. However, the DOF pointed out that the “figures are rebased to reflect 2020 average exchange rates.” The DOF list also did not yet include $1.2-billion loans that the government recently secured for vaccine purchase.

According to Joven, debt secured to support the budget related to the government’s Covid-19 response should be differentiated from the debt specifically secured for vaccines. “Budget support loans go to the Treasury and get spent in the manner provided by the GAA [General Appropriations Act]. Vaccine project loans are paid directly to the supplier and does not come under the control of the Treasury,” Joven told the BusinessMirror. The finance official also explained that there was a need to rebase the amount of financing for the government’s Covid-19 response listed on the web site since the “drawdown is not one-time and functional currency is in pesos.”

Neda chief, economists weigh in on CREATE enactment By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

ITH the enactment of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE), the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said it’s now time for Congress to pass other priority legislation to ensure the country’s recovery from the recession. In a news issued on Monday, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua, who worked on tax reform packages of the administration when he was still at the Department of Finance, said CREATE will be a boost to the economy. CREATE, Chua said, will place the country in a better position to compete for investments. However, the gains from CREATE will be limited if we do not relax restrictions on foreign investments. “To maximize the benefits from the enactment of CREATE, we

To maximize the benefits from the enactment of CREATE, we urge Congress to urgently pass the amendments to the Public Service Act, the Foreign Investment Act, and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act this year. NEDA Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua urge Congress to urgently pass the amendments to the Public Service Act, the Foreign Investment Act, and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act this year. These bills will complement CREATE by easing restrictions on foreign investments,” Chua said. Chua added that CREATE is an essential part of the country’s economic recovery package that includes the Financial Institutions and Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act and the Govern-

ment Financial Institutions Unified Initiative to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) bill. Through CREATE, Chua said, the government will be able to provide immediate relief to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with a 5 to 10 percentage point reduction in corporate income tax (CIT). It will also bring the country’s corporate tax closer to the Asean average, enhancing the Philippines’s ability to attract foreign

direct investments (FDI), especially after the pandemic. However, Action for Economic Reforms (AER) Coordinator Filomeno Sta. Ana III told BusinessMirror that while he supported the enactment of the CREATE Law, the provision protecting local crude oil refineries was not vetoed by the President. Sta. Ana said it was “glaring” that this particular provision was not stricken out of the law while most of the compromises found in the bicameral conference committee version were already removed. “The protection given to one local crude oil refinery is distortionary, uncompetitive, unfair, rigid, and redundant,” Sta. Ana said. “Retention of that provision means that the law has allowed protecting a firm that is objectively uncompetitive,” he added. Meanwhile, Former University of the Philippines School of Economics Dean Ramon L. Clarete told the BusinessMirror that the enact-

ment of CREATE will not lead to an increase in FDI. Clarete said the CREATE Law will only discourage investors from coming to the Philippines, especially at a time when the world is still suffering from the pandemic. The Philippine economy has been battered by the lockdowns put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The country has been on lockdown for over a year. “I just don’t buy the idea that investments will increase because of CREATE law. Definitely those who forecast so failed to consider the dampening effect of an angry uncertain medium to long-term business prospect because of Covid,” Clarete said. “It’s more [of] CREATE inadvertently closing doors to new locators. Those who’s here may stay until they see if the IRR [implementing rules and regulations] of CREATE will take away their exemption from local taxes,” he added. The latest imposition of ECQ,

Clarete added, does not bode well for the economy. The ECQ, which began this week, will only stifle economic activities further. This will only compound the country’s challenges as the government has yet to roll out its vaccination program, which Clarete expects, is intentional and has something to do with the elections next year. Clarete also noted that another challenge is the African swine fever (ASF) which will drag agriculture growth and may cause contraction this year. The Philippine economy is expected to post slower growth this year compared to what the World Bank initially expected in December 2020 and the recovery will likely be toward the end of next year. In its East Asia and the Pacific report, the World Bank said the Philippines could register a growth of 5.5 percent this year, lower than the 5.9 percent it estimated in the Philippine Economic Update (PEU) released in December.

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘Fast Covid cases rise, slow vaccination put PHL at risk’

NTERNATIONAL economists are sounding the alarm on the Philippine economy, saying the renewed spikes in the country’s coronavirus cases, coupled with the slow vaccination progress, will have adverse effects on the local economy. In its Asia-Pacific assessment on economic recovery in the region as published on Monday, Moody’s Analytics - the research arm of Moody’s Group - said the Philippines “stands out as the laggard” in the region as it faces a surge of new infections and fresh lockdown measures. Meanwhile, in Japan and South Korea, conditions are generally better as transport activities have improved on the back of falling numbers of Covid-19 cases. “The Philippines will be one of the worst-performing economies in Southeast Asia, at least for the first half of 2021. The country’s target of inoculating most of its population this year will play a pivotal role in the recovery of the consumption-driven economy,” Moody’s A naly tics economist Dave Chia said. “However, the current vaccine rollout is evolving at a slow pace, and the country is unlikely to achieve herd immunity until late 2022,” he added. The Philippines’s inflation numbers are also a cause of concern for the country, an exception to Moody’s Analytics’ general view of a subdued inflation environment in most of Asia. “Inflation is subdued in most of Asia, and expected to only gradually pick up over 2021 because of rising oil prices and economies starting to reopen. India and the Philippines are exceptions. In these economies, inflation is above comfort levels, adding to the list of challenges for policymakers,” Moody’s Analytics

economist Katrina Ell said. “The Philippines is particularly worrisome. Elevated inflation, a large output gap, a recent resurgence of Covid-19 infections, and limited vaccine availability are all reasons for concern,” she added. Moody’s Investor Service also recent ly announced t hat t he spike in the country’s cases is a “credit negative” for the Philippine economy. Credit negative for sovereigns usually means a further deterioration of these conditions may lead to a downgrade in the country’s current credit standing. The Philippines is currently rated Baa2, with a stable outlook by Moody’s. “A delayed recovery will have effects on labor markets that could exacerbate income inequality and poverty. The government’s new measures could reverse recover y in the unemploy ment rate, which fell to 8.7 percent in the first quarter from a peak of 17.6 percent in the second quarter of last year; and the poverty incidence rate, which fell to 16.7 percent in 2018 from 26.3 percent in 2009 amid rapid economic growth,” the credit watcher said. On the same day, Fitch Solutions, the research arm of the Fitch Group, said the rising cases in the country are creating “uncertainties” for the economy. Thus, they expect the country to be in a state of recovery by late2021 through 2022 as the Philippine economy remains highly dependent on a resurgence in domestic consumption. This situation, Fitch Solutions said, will push the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to keep its policy rates on hold for the rest of the year despite rising inflation numbers. On Monday, the Philippines broke another all-time high number of new Covid-19 infections at 10,016 new cases. Bianca Cuaresma

BSP: No extensions for loan grace period under new curbs By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno clarified on Monday that there are no extensions to the mandatory grace period for the payment of loans despite the reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces. He, however, urged local banks to still extend relief packages at this time. In a news statement, Diokno said the 30-day grace period under the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act” ceased to apply in June 2020. The new omnibus guidelines from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), which was recently amended to implement the renewed ECQ for this year, does not operate to extend this 30-day grace period. The implementation of a 30-day grace period for the payment of loans was previously provided under Section 8.2 General Provisions of the Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of Community Quarantine in the Philippines under Republic Act 11469 or the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.” Despite the non-extension of the mandatory grace period, Diokno still urged local financial institutions to provide clients some sort of leeway depending on each bank’s current situation. “The BSP strongly encourages BSP-supervised financial institutions to continue

to provide relief measures to its clients by renewing, restructuring, or extending the terms of the loans, among others, based on their continuing assessment of their cash flows,” Diokno said. “The BSP will continue to closely monitor the impact of the pandemic on the financial industry to promptly address any emerging risk and to support a sustainable economic recovery,” he added. Diokno also encouraged banks to take advantage of the time-bound tax exemptions and fee privileges under the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act. The FIST Act was signed in February this year as a response to the rising non-performing loans (NPLs) in the country in the face of the pandemicinduced economic crisis. The law allows banks to dispose of their bad assets through asset management companies, which will help ease banks’ exposure to bad debts moving forward. With FIST, Diokno said the nonperforming loans ratio of banks is expected to decline by 0.63 to 0.71 percentage points. For the BSP’s part, Diokno said they are currently streamlining the procedures for application of the certificate of eligibility (COE) of nonperforming assets. Under the law, the COE will be issued by the regulatory authority (BSP, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Insurance Commission) for the purpose of obtaining tax exemptions and fee privileges.

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 A5

PNP: NCR plus ‘substantially compliant’ on first day of ECQ By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

& Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Correspondent

ATIONAL Task Force on Covid-19 chairman Delfin Lorenzana defended on Monday the decision of the government to put back Metro Manila and four neighboring provinces under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), even as the Philippine National Police (PNP) described the first day of the implementation of its checkpoints as “generally peaceful” with residents and motorists being “substantially compliant.” The PNP put up and manned more than 1,000 quarantine points (QCPs) in the National Capital Region (NCR), Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, or NCR Plus, midnight on Sunday as the government scrambles to quell the alarming rise in Covid infections. The checkpoints were implemented along with the imposition of longer hours of curfew in ECQ areas. Motorists have complained of long traffic in areas where the quarantine checkpoints are being carried out, but PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Ildebrandi Usana said this was mainly due to the infractions in health protocols by motorists and the absence of their necessary papers. “Adherence to protocol on public transport capacity, especially jeepney and motorcycle barrier/separator is a challenge,” the PNP noted in its report. “Presentation of identity of those who claimed to be APOR [authorized person outside of residence] or essential workers but no proof, delays the traffic flow,” the report added. Lorenzana, who is also the defense secretary, said the government must not be faulted with its decision to re-impose ECQ in some areas or at least, possible delay, admitting that its effects to the economy was specifically factored in. “The timing is correct…because we have to observe for a couple of days, and several days, the spike in new cases. So we were watching closely, the IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases] was watching closely the increase, and then when it…breached 8,000 then that’s the time that we acted,” he told CNN Philippines. “There are actually debates among the IATF members because the economic team doesn’t want to impose ECQ because of [the] economic health of the country…but eventually, they relented because the cases kept on increasing,” he added. Lorenzana said that the ECQ will hopefully stem the spike in cases, but he admitted the government is open to extending the ECQ, which is dependent on the effects of the quar-

A MOTORCYCLE rider stops at an Oplan Sita checkpoint in Muntinlupa. The Philippine National Police said Authorized Persons Outside of Residence and other essential workers must present identification or certificates of employment at checkpoints. PHOTO COURTESY OF MUNTINLUPA-PIO

antine condition currently imposed in Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces. “All options are open,” he said. The national task force head said the government, through the IATF, did all it can to stop the spread of the virus, and it even fared better compared with other countries. “I think we did the best we can. I think we did everything…according to what the IATF has decided,” Lorenzana said. “Looking back, I think we did better than a lot of countries.”

Cases breach 10-K mark on Monday

THE Department of Health (DOH) on Monday justified the government’s “harder measures” to control the spike in Covid cases, warning figures may hit 430,000 by the end of April. “Sabi nila kung hindi tayo magbibigay ng [They said that if we will not implement] immediate and harder measures, we will see 430,000 [active] cases by the end of April nationally and 350,000 [active] cases in NCR alone by the end of April,” Maria Rosario Vergeire revealed during the DOH media forum, citing the analysis conducted by the disease surveillance tool of the DOH. This developed as the DOH reported an all-time high single-day spike in Covid-19 cases on Monday after 10,016 new infections were logged. There were also 78 recoveries and 16 deaths. The active cases is 15.8 percent, or 115,495. Vergeire said that the enh a nced com mu n it y qu a ra ntine (ECQ) declared in NCR and

13 MRT 3 personnel test positive for virus anew

HE Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) on Monday said 13 of its personnel have tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). In a news statement, the MRT-3 said 12 of those infected were tellers at the Santolan, Ortigas, and Cubao stations and one cash assistant. “These personnel have been isolated since being identified via contact tracing, and are all now in quarantine. In addition, contact tracing has also been conducted,” the MRT-3 said. It said other workers who had contact with those infected have not been permitted to report for work and are under quarantine while waiting for the results of their swab tests. Out of the 1,434 personnel at the 13 MRT 3 stations, it said 252

are tellers. “Overall, MRT-3 has 3,265 personnel in its stations, depot, and mainline operations,” the MRT 3 said. To help avoid the spread of Covid-19, it said measures were implemented to “minimize contact between station personnel, especially tellers and passengers” since last year. “All MRT-3 tellers and station personnel wear full personal protective equipment (face mask, face shield, gloves, and gowns) to avoid contact between themselves and passengers,” the MRT 3 said. On Tuesday, the MRT 3 will suspend its operations as part of its Holy Week maintenance shutdown. The rail service will resume operation on Monday, April 5. PNA

Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite, or the Greater Metro Manila, could help to control the spike in cases. The public should also observe minimum public health standards, she said. Vergeire also noted that the increasing intensive care unit (ICU) utilization at 63 percent in Metro Manila and 58 percent for Calabarzon. She also expressed worries that the occupancy of ICU beds ranges from 70 percent to 100 percent. Meanwhile, the DOH said that of 16 deaths, 6 occurred in March

2021 (38 percent), 1 in January 2021 (6 percent), 1 in December 2020 (6 percent), 1 in November 2020 (6 percent), 3 in October 2020 (19 percent), 2 in July 2020 (12 percent), 1 in June 2020 (6 percent), and 1 in April 2020 (6 percent). Deaths were from NCR (9 or 56 percent), CAR (2 or 12 percent), Region 3 (1 or 6 percent), Region 6 (1 or 6 percent), Region 4A (1 or 6 percent), Region 5 (1 or 6 percent), and Caraga (1 or 6 percent). Three labs were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System on March 28, 2021.

BusinessMirror

A6 Tuesday, March 30, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

24/7 BUSINESS PROCESSING INC. 14/f Capella Bldg. L-3&4 B2, Asean Drive Filinvest Alabang Muntinlupa City 1.

LIU, YUANSHUN Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

SHANGGUAN, HAOZE Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHANG, WEIDA Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHANG, LUZHEN Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

SY MY VAN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

TRAN VINH IN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

UNG CHONG DAT Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

LIU, YUANSHUN Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

SHANGGUAN, HAOZE Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHANG, WEIDA Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

5. 6.

9. 10.

ZHANG, LUZHEN Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

SY MY VAN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

13.

TRAN VINH IN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

14.

UNG CHONG DAT Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

LIU, YUANSHUN Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

16.

SHANGGUAN, HAOZE Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

17.

ZHANG, WEIDA Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

18.

ZHANG, LUZHEN Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

19.

SY MY VAN Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

11. 12.

15.

8 STONE BUSINESS OUTSOURCING OPC 5/f To 10/f, Tower 4 Pitx #01 Kennedy Road Tambo Parañaque City

NO.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS POSITION

89.

44.

HU, CHONGMIN Chinese

RECRUITMENT SPECIALIST (MANDARIN SPEAKING)

ECHOTECH SERVICES INC. 18/f Philamlife Tower 8767 Paseo De Roxas Bel-air Makati City

BIG EMPEROR TECHNOLOGY CORP. Eastfield Center Cbp1, Macapagal Blvd. Brgy. 076 Pasay City

145.

YUAN, HONGLIU Chinese

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

47.

FANG, XIUHUI Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

93.

KUANG, BIN Chinese

MANDARIN SITE TECHNICAL OFFICER

48.

FENG, BING Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

94.

LIAN, JIAJUN Chinese

MANDARIN SITE TECHNICAL OFFICER

49.

JU, HANGTAO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

FAREAST OUTSOURCE PROCESSING INC. 7th, 8th, 9th Flr. Nu Tower Moa Coral Way Brgy. 076 Pasay City

50.

LI, JIA Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

51.

MA, ZHIPENG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

52.

ZHANG, XUDONG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

53.

ZHANG, JIAJUN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

54.

LIN, JUNMIN Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

55.

LIU, HAISONG Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

56.

WANG, YINGHUI Chinese

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

57.

WANG, JIN Chinese

58.

XU, WENFENG Chinese

JI, XUBIN Chinese

WANG, LIFAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (MANDARIN SPEAKING)

152.

WANG, DU Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (MANDARIN SPEAKING)

153.

YANG, CHUNLEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (MANDARIN SPEAKING)

154.

ZHANG, XIANYANG Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (MANDARIN SPEAKING)

155.

ZHAO, WEI Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (MANDARIN SPEAKING)

104.

JIN, DONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

105.

SHI, JUNSONG Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

106.

WANG, YAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

107.

WU, HAOYAN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ITECHNO SPECIALIST INC. 9/f 100 West Building Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City

108.

YE, RONGXIN Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

156.

DONG, ZHIQIANG Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

109.

KAW SHAUNG NEIN Myanmari

MYANMARI CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

157.

JIANG, XINFA Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

110.

LIN, XING-YI Taiwanese

TAIWANESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

158.

LI, LINHU Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

111.

LAI, CHU-CHUN Taiwanese

TAIWANESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

159.

LIN, QINGDONG Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

112.

LO, HUNG-PIN Taiwanese

TAIWANESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

160.

LU, JIAXIN Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

113.

NGUYEN VAN CANH Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

161.

WANG, HONGWEI Chinese

CHINESE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

114.

PHUNG KHIET NHI Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

162.

CHUNG TECK HUA Malaysian

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

115.

VONG MINH NGOC Vietnamese

VIETNAMESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

163.

PHAM HUY THANH PHU Vietnamese

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

164.

SUAW WEI SIANG Malaysian

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

165.

SUNARTA Indonesian

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER

61.

XING, CHENGDONG Chinese

ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER

62.

WU, WENBIN Chinese

BIDDING ADMINISTRATOR

63.

ZHANG, ZHIMING Chinese

CONSTRUCTION AND FACILITIES MANAGER

64.

WANG, HONGBIN Chinese

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR

65.

HAN, HONGYAN Chinese

COST CONTROL SPECIALIST

66.

LIU, TAO Chinese

COST CONTROL SPECIALIST

67.

HUANG, GUOLIANG Chinese

HYDRO STRUCTURAL SPECIALIST

73.

HE, JINJIN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

74.

PENG, SHAOJUN Chinese

SITE SUPERVISOR

JI, XIAOLEI Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

75.

YANG, RUIQING Chinese

SITE SUPERVISOR

KELVIN WONG HOW SING Malaysian

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

76.

YANG, JINLIANG Chinese

LI, LIANJIAO Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

77.

TIAN, YANPING Chinese

LIU, XILIANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CHROMELAB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 25/f Techzone Bldg. 213 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. San Antonio Makati City

LUO, SONGYUAN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

78.

ONG WU CHUN Malaysian

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

79.

REN, BAODONG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

80.

SUN, XINRU Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHANG, BOLUN Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ZHAO, GANG Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

BETCONSULT INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING, INC. Office #01 20a/b Rufino Pacific Tower 6784 Ayala Ave. San Lorenzo Makati City

151.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

PROJECT PLANNING AND DESIGN SPECIALIST

JIANG, DONGCHUAN Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (MANDARIN SPEAKING)

HUANG, XINYU Chinese

ZHANG, YONGHE Chinese

42.

WANG, MIN Chinese

103.

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

150.

102.

HOTEL SALES & MARKETING OFFICER

GUO, ZIJIANG Chinese

41.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (MANDARIN SPEAKING)

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

72.

CHINESE MARKETING ASSISTANT

WANG, YAN Chinese

GUO, FENGRUI Chinese

24.

ZHANG, HENG Chinese

149.

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

PROJECT PLANNING AND DESIGN SPECIALIST

40.

INTEGRITY GLOBAL GROUP, INC. 2/f-3/f Ayala Malls Circuit A.p. Reyes Ave. Carmona Makati City

YE, MINMIN Chinese

WEI, AIJUN Chinese

CHINESE - MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE

MANDARIN SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

101.

71.

ZHANG, SIJING Chinese

FU, XINHUI Chinese

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

BBOPHIL (HOLDINGS) INC. Unit 604 6/f Itc Bldg. 337 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Bel-air Makati City

148.

XU, KUNLIN Chinese

FU, YILIN Chinese

39.

INQUICK SERVICES INC. Unit 606 6/f Itc Bldg. 337 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Bel-air Makati City

100.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR

TECHNICAL SUPPORT SPECIALIST

FLYING DRAGON NETWORK PHILIPPINES INC. Malate Bayview Mansion 1781 M. Adriatico Street 076, Brgy. 699 Malate Manila

CHIEF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER (CRDO)

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

LI, HONGWEI Chinese

MUN, HWANTAEK South Korean

ONG TIEN OON Malaysian

RAMIREZ CIELO, LUIS ALBERTO Mexican

99.

23.

ALL OUT MULTI-MEDIA SOLUTIONS CORP. Unit 2302-a West Tower Pse Centre, Exchange Road Ortigas Center, San Antonio Pasig City

97.

MARKETING EXCHANGE MANAGER (MANDARIN SPEAKING)

147.

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

60.

FUTURENET AND TECHNOLOGY CORP. Unit 2104 Robinsons Equitable Tower Adb Avenue, Ortigas Center San Antonio Pasig City 116.

MIN, KAI Chinese

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT

117.

RUAN, SHAOMING Chinese

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT

118.

WU, MINMIN Chinese

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT

STRUCTURAL MAINTENANCE SPECIALIST

119.

XU, JIAYUN Chinese

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT

TECHNICAL WORKS MANAGER

120.

YANG, YONG Chinese

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT

121.

YOU, JIA Chinese

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT PROJECT MANAGER

J-NA ALLOUT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORP. 3/f Lipams Bldg. #48 President Avenue Bf Homes Parañaque City 166.

KWAK, JIN YEONG South Korean

KOREAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

JDB MANAGEMENT AND CONSULTANCY CORP. 107 T & D House Magallanes St. 069, Bgy. 655 Intramuros Manila 167.

DANG DUC HAI Vietnamese

STRATEGIC AND FACILITATION OFFICER

168.

DUNG BAO QUAN Vietnamese

STRATEGIC AND FACILITATION OFFICER

169.

HUANG, GUIFENG Chinese

STRATEGIC AND FACILITATION OFFICER

170.

LU QUOC LUONG Vietnamese

STRATEGIC AND FACILITATION OFFICER

171.

TRAN XUAN VINH Vietnamese

STRATEGIC AND FACILITATION OFFICER

172.

TRIEU DUNG CUONG Vietnamese

STRATEGIC AND FACILITATION OFFICER

173.

TRIEU DUNG DAT Vietnamese

STRATEGIC AND FACILITATION OFFICER

174.

VUONG MY VAN Vietnamese

STRATEGIC AND FACILITATION OFFICER

175.

YEN, SHIH-HSUN a.k.a. YAN, SHIH-SYUN Taiwanese

STRATEGIC AND FACILITATION OFFICER

ZHAO, SHUNDONG Chinese

STRATEGIC AND FACILITATION OFFICER

NGUYEN HONG KIM ANH Vietnamese

BI-LINGUAL SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER

122.

SONG, YU Chinese

SUPHON, RUJIRAPORN Thai

BI-LINGUAL SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER

123.

SUN, TAO Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

THAMSOMDEE, AUNCHALEE Thai

BI-LINGUAL SPEAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER

124.

WANG, BO Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

125.

WANG, CHONG Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

126.

WANG, FENG Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

127.

XUE, HONGZHONG Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

128.

YE, YUFEI Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

129.

YE, XIANG Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

176.

130.

YI, XING Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

131.

YU, GUOYAN Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

JIANGSU DIBANG CONSTRUCTION PHILIPPINES CORPORATION Unit 2106-a West Tower Psec Exchange Road, Ortigas Center San Antonio Pasig City

132.

ZHANG, JIE Chinese

PROJECT MANAGER

133.

QIU, KUIWU Chinese

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

134.

SHEN, ZHENLIN Chinese

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS PHILIPPINES, INC. 5th And 6th Floors, 8/10 Upper Mckinley Building Mckinley Hill Cyberpark Fort Bonifacio Taguig City UONG SOAN SOAN Vietnamese

SENIOR PROCESS EXECUTIVE

COLDSTREAM MARKETING SOLUTION INC. 603-4 Eastfield Ctr. Moa Comp. Macapagal Ave. Brgy. 076 Pasay City LAN, CHENMING Chinese

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

CONTROL UNION PHILIPPINES, INC. Unit 1 12/f Mdi 10th Ave. Cor. 39th Street Bonifacio Global City Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 83.

FINCHAIN TECHNOLOGY INC. Unit 2111 21/f Cityland Herrera Tower 98 V.a. Rufino Cor. Valero Sts. Belair Makati City

IDEA Y LOTE PROJECT DEVELOPERS INC. 867 G Tolentino St. 041 Bgy. 396 Sampaloc Manila

WANG, JIQIANG Chinese

70.

38.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

SALES MANAGER, NA

CHINESE CUSTOMER SERVICE

JIA, QINGHU Chinese

82.

96.

WU, HAIDAN Chinese

LIS, JONATHAN ANDREW British

MANDARIN LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

CHINA HARBOUR ENGINEERING COMPANY 5/f Rm 501 Ramon Magsaysay Center 1680 Roxas Blvd. 076, Bgy. 699 Malate Manila

81.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (CSR)

146.

JIA, CHENGWAN Chinese

BRIGHTLEISURE MANAGEMENT INC. 10/f Newport Entertainment & C Newport City Manlunas Brgy. 183 Pasay City 59.

95.

LI, DONGGE Chinese

GOOGLE SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC. 19/f Uptown Place Tower I East 11th Drive Uptown Bonifacio, Bonifacio Global City Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

98.

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

MANDARIN MARKETING COORDINATOR

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

MANDARIN SITE TECHNICAL OFFICER

FENG, JIANLUAN Chinese

LAU, CHUI MEI Chinese

YANG, XIAOLI Chinese

WANG, ZHENYU Chinese

PROJECT MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR

ADVANCE BEYOND INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING, INC. 3/f Salcedo One Center 170 Salcedo St. San Lorenzo Makati City

143.

92.

JIA, LIANSUO Chinese

COST CONTROLLER

MANDARIN FIELD MARKETING OFFICER

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE

22.

37.

LI, HUAYIN Chinese

CHEN, MEIJIAO Chinese

PROCUREMENT OFFICER

GARELLY LASIC, BARBARA GABRIELA Spanish

90.

46.

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ACCIONA CONSTRUCTION PHILIPPINES INC. 21/f Tower 2, The Enterprise Center 6766 Ayala Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas San Lorenzo Makati City

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

CHIA WAI KEAT Malaysian

36.

XU, QING Chinese

YIN, YUNLONG Chinese

WANG, CHUANPENG Chinese

35.

142.

144.

69.

34.

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

MANDARIN FIELD MARKETING OFFICER

21.

33.

XIAO, YUHENG Chinese

YIN, CHENGCHENG Chinese

PROCUREMENT OFFICER

32.

141.

91.

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

31.

POSITION

COMPUTER SYSTEM ANALYST

CHEN, YAO Chinese

30.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

YEE YEE Myanmari

WANG, SHIJUN Chinese

29.

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

NO.

45.

68.

28.

ZHANG, SHIHAN Chinese

POSITION

IT SPECIALIST (MANDARIN SPEAKING)

20.

27.

FOREIGN NATIONAL / NATIONALITY

LIU, WENQI Chinese

MANDARIN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

26.

NO.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

43.

CHEN, KAI Chinese

25.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

WICKRAMAARACHCHI, WICKRAMA ARACHCHIGE SUNERA VIMUKTHI Sri Lankan

OPERATIONS MANAGER

CROWNTECH CORPORATION Unit 1203-1204 Techzone Bldg. Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. San Antonio Makati City 84.

DEDY HANDOKO Indonesian

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT OFFICER

135.

SUN, JINTAO Chinese

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

85.

HUANG, JING Chinese

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT OFFICER

136.

WANG, CHENGFENG Chinese

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

137.

WANG, LIYUN Chinese

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

EASTERN GOLD CORPORATION 503 Nueva St Binondo Manila 86.

LIN, CANWEN Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

138.

WANG, SHIYI Chinese

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

87.

TSE, CHUN YIN Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

139.

WEN, LIANG Chinese

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

88.

YANG, JIANTING Chinese

MARKETING AND SALES AGENT

140.

WU, ZHANGXIANG Chinese

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT

177.

LI, SUYAN Chinese

EQUIPMENT INSTALLATION SPECIALIST

KONGANBUDDIES MARKETING INC. 48/f Lower Ground Pbcom Tower 6795 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St. Bel-air Makati City 178.

IVAN Indonesian

BAHASA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

179.

LO KEN BOON Malaysian

FINANCE MANAGER

180.

BOBBY THEODORA Indonesian

INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

LUCKY365 CONSULTING LIMITED CORP. U/18a 18/f 18/f Trafalgar Plaza 105 H.v. Dela Costa St. Bel-air Makati City 181.

CHENG, YUE Chinese

MANDARIN SPEAKING BUSINESS CONSULTANT

MAC’S DOING BUSINESS SUPPORT CORP. Unit 1803 18/f Cityland Pasong Tamo Tower 2210 Chino Roces Ave. Pio Del Pilar Makati City 182.

TAYLOR, JEFFERY AARON American

IT SPECIALIST (SENIOR)

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

News

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 A7

1st batch of Sinovac Covid-19 doses bought by PHL arrive By Claudeth Mocon Ciriaco

TOTAL of 1 million doses of CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine, the first tranche out of the total 25 million doses procured by the national government from Beijingbased biopharmaceutical company Sinovac, arrived in the country on Monday, the Department of Health (DOH) said. “The arrival of these vaccines is very timely. As we finish vaccinating healthcare frontliners, we will be able to use this new batch of purchased CoronaVac vaccines to extend vaccination to vulnerable Filipinos—or those with preexisting conditions and comorbidities—who are most at risk of severe Covid-19 and highest chance of dying," Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said. Duque said the arrival of Coronavac vaccine is "most crucial " especially now that the National Capital Region (NCR)+ or the Greater Manila Area is experiencing a surge. Aside from Duque, President Duterte, Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, National Task Force against Covid-19 chief Implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr. and Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian received the vaccine doses after a Philippine Airlines all-cargo flight from Beijing landed at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City past 4 p.m. “The arrival of these vaccines is great news as we are beginning to see the fruits of our negotiation

A Philippine Airlines flight unloads the first tranche of 25 million doses of CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Monday. Photo courtesy of PAL

efforts after months of hard work to provide vaccines for our people. This is but the first of the many other doses we have negotiated in order to achieve our goal of herd immunity,” Galvez said. Galvez added, "We are expecting the delivery of around 1.5 to 4 million of the remaining procured doses from Sinovac by April and May 2021 together with the additional 979,200 AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the World Health Organization-led Covax facility. These will allow the country to further expand coverage of our vaccination program." The remaining 24 million CoronaVac doses procured by the national government are scheduled to arrive in the following months. With the arrival of both procured vac-

cines and vaccines from the Covax Facility, the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination program is expected to ramp up as the government recently approved the simultaneous rollout of vaccination to priority groups A1 to A3. Additionally, the DOH maintained that the Covid-19 vaccine is only an added protection to existing preventive measures such as the intensified public health measures. “Even with the arrival of vaccine supplies, we continue to call for the public's cooperation in this fight against the pandemic. While Covid-19 remains a public health emergency, a great deal of caution and vigilance shall still take place to ensure everyone’s protection from this disease,” Duque concluded.

Groups press a more ‘inclusive system’ in grant of pandemic aid By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

he Philippines needs an ambitious welfare program to provide assistance to millions of Filipinos whose sources of livelihood have been affected by the pandemic, according to Social Watch Philippines. In a news statement issued on Monday, Social Watch Philippines co-convener Ma. Victoria Raquiza said that rather than providing a oneoff approach, the government should create a “more inclusive system.” A Social Watch Philippines study found that assistance programs such as the Small Business Wage Subsidy program only benefitted a third of dislocated workers and returned P5 billion of unused funds from the national treasury, among others. “This continuing pandemic is a wake-up call for the government to strengthen its technical capacity and administrative competence in providing social protection schemes,” Raquiza said. The study also found that vulnerable households such as those with seniors, persons with disabilities, solo parents, pregnant and lactating mothers, among others, received only one tranche of assistance from the Social Amelioration Program (SAP). It added that the "protracted validation process of beneficiaries" was the main culprit why SAP was delayed. The second tranche, the study stated, was delayed by five months. Further, Social Watch Philippines said there was the absence of a data-driven targeting system for the SAP. The lack of a system such as the National ID at the time the SAP was distributed led the government to do manual

targeting of 14 million recipients. The study stated that the lack of a targeting system also caused some 369 local governments to be unsuccessful in distributing the SAP in a timely manner. “With these findings, emphasized the need for welfare schemes to cast wider nets so that they can help more people, not only in terms of providing for their daily needs but to assist them in leading more productive and fulfilling lives, during and after the pandemic,” Social Watch Philippines said.

Second chance

In a separate statement, Ibon Foundation Inc. said the national government should immediately distribute emergency aid and strengthen pandemic management during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). Ibon said the ECQ is the government's second chance to improve its response to the pandemic. Last year, Ibon said, the government's poor response dislocated 14.5 million people after two weeks of “insufficient and insensitive response.” The group said the government can extend P1.5 billion in financing for emergency amounts. This would provide assistance to the poorest families, Filipino-owned, domestically oriented MSMEs, cash-for-work programs, agriculture, informal earners, the health sector, and distance education. “Government can also take a look at similar proposals forwarded by lawmakers such as the Makabayan Bloc’s People’s Strategy for Strengthening Health, Social Protection, Economic, and Local Industrial Development

(SHIELD) and the Bayanihan To Arise As One Act (Bayanihan 3),” Ibon said. Apart from emergency aid, Ibon said the government should also address inadequacies in the health system, particularly in terms of testing and tracing for Covid-19. Ibon said the testing capacity of 40,000 per day is below the 50,000 target, while the current national average tracing ratio of 1:7 is also below the 1:37 goal. The ECQ, Ibon said, would aggravate the current crisis. “Government should come up with fast and real action, starting with prompt aid distribution to all affected households.” On Monday, economists said the government can maximize lockdowns and more stringent quarantine measures if these are implemented in tandem with other medical and nonmedical measures. These nonmedical measures include the provision of targeted cash transfers and food subsidies, Action for Economic Reforms (AER) Coordinator Filomeno Sta. Ana III told BusinessMirror on Sunday. Meanwhile, De La Salle University economist Maria Ella Oplas said the government should also focus on better data analysis and implement mass testing. For one, mass testing should have been implemented as early as the onset of the pandemic to trace all infected persons and isolate them as soon as possible, Oplas said. She added that if mass testing were implemented now, the Philippine economy could remain open even without the arrival of vaccines to inoculate the population.

Comelec suspends voter registration in NCR during ECQ, Holy Week

HE Commission on Elections has imposed a week-long moratorium on voter registration in the National Capital Region (NCR). The poll body made the announcement in response to the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in the NCR Plus, which comprises Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite. “Due to the reimposition of ECQ, work in Comelec offices in NCR+, including fil-

ing/reception of applications for #VoterReg2021 and other registration services, shall be suspended from 29 to 31 March 2021,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said in a statement. Voter registration nationwide will also be suspended on April 1 and 2 as stipulated in Comelec Resolution No. 10549 due to the commemoration of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday nationwide. The Office for Overseas Voting will also

suspend its voter registration from March 29 to April, 2021, also because of the ECQ and the Holy Week. During the ECQ, most businesses, except those from “essential industries” will be temporarily shut down and a a ban on mass gatherings will also be imposed. The government reimposed the said classification on NCR Plus to slow down the rise of new Covid-19 cases in the area. Samuel P. Medenilla

A8 Tuesday, March 30, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Death by junta

eople are dying in Myanmar during this pandemic and not from Covid-19 either. We are deeply saddened by the barbaric attacks perpetrated by Myanmar’s military junta on hundreds of innocent civilians to stifle democratic protests. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a nonprofit organization, the junta has killed at least 459 people in its crackdown against dissent since it seized power and overthrew the country’s democratically elected government through a military coup on February 1. Last Saturday marked the deadliest day yet, as CNN reported at least 114 people were killed during demonstrations in 44 towns and cities across the country, based on a tally by the independent Myanmar Now news outlet. Among the victims, according to the CNN report, were at least six children, between the ages of 10 and 16. According to Save the Children, at least 20 children have been killed since the military coup. The youngest victim was a seven-year-old girl, who was shot dead by junta forces while she was sitting on her father’s lap as soldiers barged into their home. Another 12 people were killed in various incidents in Myanmar on Sunday. Myanmar security forces even opened fire at a funeral mourning people killed the previous day. We condemn these attacks and express our deepest condolences and our sympathy to the families of the victims. We also express our full and unconditional support and solidarity to the people of Myanmar in their efforts toward restoring a democratic government, one that guarantees and protects human rights and the fundamental values and principles of a just, inclusive and peaceful society. In a joint statement, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned Myanmar’s military junta and urged it to “immediately stop killing the very people it has the duty to serve and protect.” The officials “strongly condemn the Myanmar military’s widespread, lethal, increasingly systematic attacks against peaceful protesters, as well as other serious violations of human rights since it seized power on February 1, 2021.” They called the killings “shameful, cowardly, brutal actions of the military and police, who have been filmed shooting at protesters as they flee, and who have not even spared young children.” “This situation has also put at further risk the already vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar, including the Rohingya,” they said. “The international community has a responsibility to protect the people of Myanmar from atrocity crimes.” The Philippine government had previously called for the “complete restoration” of democracy in Myanmar but did not join the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution condemning the military coup, citing its respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Myanmar. But perhaps it is high time for the Philippines and other members of the Asean community to act more firmly to stop the violence in the country, which the UN Special Rapporteur for Myanmar justifiably called “mass murder.” Our government should seek to uphold the foundations of our common democratic culture with Myanmar. It must reaffirm our people’s commitment to support the fundamental freedoms and rights upon which our democracies rest. Asean members need to tell Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and the Tatmadaw in no uncertain terms that the violence against the people of Myanmar is unacceptable and must be stopped at once. Of course, doing this is a delicate balancing act, since Asean states also do not want to completely ostracize the Myanmar junta and would like to continue engaging with it through peaceful dialogue. Asean states also need to deal with each other in good faith and with civility. But the Asean should take some kind of joint action nonetheless. They must show stronger solidarity against the spiraling violence. If not a stronger united stand, then perhaps some backdoor diplomacy from Asean states could produce more significant results than official statements in terms of easing tensions. Asean states must realize they can’t act on threats only when it directly concerns their own countries. They are Myanmar’s neighbors, fellow Asean members, trading and business partners. They have strong leverage that could make the military junta more reasonable, responsible and amenable to finding mutually acceptable solutions, including the possibility of restoring more stable, democratic political conditions in Myanmar.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business ✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Founder Publisher Editor in Chief Associate Editor News Editor

his Holy Week gives us respite and a time to reflect on ourselves. In this time of pandemic, the few days of rest should invigorate us in our daily fight against Covid-19 and provide us the clarity on how to best perform our job and do our share in helping the economy. A healthy population is our best defense against the pandemic. By staying healthy, we give the economy a fair chance of overcoming the current challenges spawned by Covid-19 and staging a rebound. The sudden spike of Covid-19 cases in recent days, described by a health expert from the University of the Philippines as the second wave of the disease in the country, shows that all of us should do our part to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities. Keeping safe from the coronavirus is the best way to avoid a general lockdown. Until we have enough vaccines for 70 million Filipinos, we should patiently wait and protect each other by observing the effective health protocols, such as the minimum 1-meter social distancing, wearing of face masks and face shields in establishments and outdoors, washing hands regularly and disinfecting touch surfaces. Boosting

our immune system with nutritious food and vitamins, drinking a lot of water and getting sufficient sleep will complement our defense mechanism against the virus. These health protocols helped us through the Christmas and New Year holidays without any substantial increase in infections. Active cases during this period dropped below 30,000, giving our hospitals the flexibility to attend to every patient. What led to the surge in infections in March could be a number of factors. It could be the outbreak of the new variants, complacency or the false hope that the vaccines are now readily available. It would have been convenient for our authorities to simply order a general lockdown to contain the virus spread, but as we all know now those harsh quarantine measures failed to significantly reduce the daily number of cases.

Ruben M. Cruz Jr. Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes D. Edgard A. Cabangon Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines. Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025. (Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807. (Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news@businessmirror.com.ph.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Printed by brown madonna Press, Inc.–Sun Valley Drive KM-15, South Superhighway, Parañaque, Metro Manila

I still believe that an effective enforcement and observance of health protocols by everyone, complemented by contact tracing, massive testing, isolation of Covid-19 patients and, of course, nationwide inoculation will stem the tide. I welcome the government’s commitment to strengthen the so-called Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat and Recover, or PDITR, strategy while rolling out the vaccination program. It is also important that we begin the vaccination of the population as early as April to save lives and keep the pandemic at bay. I also strongly support the “granular and calibrated” lockdown of residential blocks. A blanket lockdown or tighter quarantine restrictions might not be necessary or practical at this point. Placing Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite in a bubble is understandable as these areas have the highest number of cases. Unfortunately, these areas are also the biggest contributors to the economy. The government believes the “NCR Plus 4 Provinces” bubble will provide hospitals with breathing space and avoid a situation where new cases could no longer be attended to by health-care professionals. Regrettably, active cases topped 100,000 last week. The good news is that despite the uptick in active cases, the mortality curve of Covid-19 did not climb as fast this month, which means hospitals are able to take care of patients

Stranger than fiction in the 21st century John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug

Online Editor

MEMBER OF

THE Entrepreneur

Lourdes M. Fernandez

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso

Chairman of the Board Ombudsman President Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

Manny B. Villar

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Senior Editors

Creative Director Chief Photographer

Protect yourself to help the economy

nglish poet and politician Lord Byron in his 1823 satirical poem Don Juan writes, “Tis strange—but true; for truth is always strange; Stranger than fiction.” Human history is both the truest and strangest. You could probably take any 20-year period of history and say that was a time like no other. Between 1900 and 1920, there was the Great War (World War One) and the 1918 Influenza (Spanish Flu) Pandemic. The world changed with the invention of the vacuum cleaner and air conditioning, not to mention radio broadcasting and the first affordable motor car. And, of course, the airplane and the drug “Ecstasy” or MDMA. But do not think that the first two decades of the 21st century have been lacking in excitement. We have had our own “Great War” on terror and from terrorists. There is obviously no need to mention the Covid-19 pandemic.

Humans have invented 3D-printing, which to a simple mind like my own is almost a miracle. But we also had time to invent E-Cigarettes. Technology changing Blockchain and High-density battery packs can never compare with the 21st century’s greatest “invention”: Social Media. We have had many lessons in the past 20 years. We have learned that governments, while protecting us from terrorists and viruses, can take away our freedoms, rights, and privacy as easily as peeling an orange. The pandemic taught us that business can be conducted and deals made without having to go to a five-star hotel. Prestige within a company can

be found in being a part of the corporate “video communication network” rather than having a corner office with a view. Some students can do better without the distraction of a physical classroom (like my son number 4). Others without the social interaction fail miserably and suffer psychological problems. Many parents discovered that it became silly paying premium tuition for premium campus facilities that were no longer available with online classes. For me though, the most astounding event of the 21st century is happening right now in Egypt. In my wilder days, I was a Saucier on a cruise ship, a cook on an oceanographic research vessel, and first mate on an inter-island freighter that “smuggled” used household appliance to places like Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The sea was the major part of my lif e then. Owned by a Taiwanese shipping company, the Ever Given—launched in 2018—is one of the largest container ships ever built carrying some 20,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units. It is currently blocking the Suez Canal. The canal was opened in November 1869. Ten percent of all global trade passes through the Suez Canal, with 19,000 vessels passing through last year. Note

based on lessons they accumulated over the past 12 months. Metro Manila and the four provinces will remain under the general community quarantine status until April 4. We must make sure that this would be implemented without affecting the mobility of our essential workers and their right to work, contribute to the economy and avail themselves of basic services. Addressing the pandemic requires the cooperation of everyone. We should remind employees and workers to be extra careful at all times, while allowing them to do their work of supporting the economy and feeding their families. A week of no income for poor families means a week of hunger, and no amount of reasoning from health experts will allay their basic concerns. Depriving them of work or livelihood opportunity at this crucial period may do more harm as the government already exhausted its resources last year in providing food aid and cash assistance to millions of poor residents. The revival of the economy equates to bringing back the millions of the unemployed to the labor force. And I agree with the statement of the National Economic and Development Authority that reverting to a stricter and blanket community quarantine is “no longer an option, knowing how much it has cost the Filipino people in the past year.” For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail. com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

the significance of the canal. A ship traveling from Italy to India would cover around 8,000 kilometers if it passed through the Suez Canal and take about nine days. But going around the Cape of Good Hope and Africa, it would take three weeks and travel 19,500 kilometers. The estimate is that it is costing $400 million per hour in delayed shipments. The shipping rates for moving oil products in the Mediterranean region have almost doubled. It’s estimated that 90 percent of the world’s trade is transported by sea. There are four major international shipping “choke points” including the Suez and Panama canals. The Malaccan Strait connects the Indian Ocean with the entrance to the South China Sea and the Strait of Hormuz lies between Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Because of areas of relatively narrow width and shallow waters, the natural straits are nearly as vulnerable as the canals to both planned and unplanned disruptions of shipping traffic. The 21st century has only just begun.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

Are you scared, too?

Perfidious perpetuity of power

BusinessMirror

Manny F. Dooc

Susan V. Ople

Scribbles

TELLTALES

am scared. Too many people close to me are posting photos of lighted candles instead of their usual smiling faces on their Facebook pages. Good friends have crossed over, with no time for goodbyes, because of Covid-19. On Twitter and other social-media platforms, personal accounts of patients being made to wait hours in a parking lot of hospitals only to be declined due to lack of beds, break my heart. At home, a household rule has been set—no one leaves, period.

t is not uncommon in many governments for members of the same families or between close political allies to form a joint leadership to preserve the political power between them. Political experts have termed this unholy alliance as “tandemocracy.” It is a neologism formed by combining “tandem” (partnership) and “cracy” (rule) to mean joint rule or leadership. This setup is normally brought about by a constitutional or statutory provision that imposes term limits on elective officials up to a maximum number of terms. In the modern era, this was best exemplified by the Putin-Medvedev tandemocracy, which ruled Russia from 2008 up to 2012. Barred from serving a third consecutive term as President of his country under the Russian constitution, Vladimir Putin put up his close associate, Dmitry Medvedev, as his anointed presidential bet in the 2008 presidential election. As expected, Medvedev easily drubbed the token opposition candidate and assumed the office as Putin’s successor. With Putin’s full backing as if he were the one running for president, Medvedev, his dummy, captured almost 3/4 of the total votes cast.

Dear Reader, are you scared, too? It would help so much if we knew there was a plan. Contact tracing is a failure. We are also testing way below the original target of 50,000 tests a day. Our hospitals are overwhelmed. The entire health-care system is at the brink of collapse. PhilHealth appears to be slowing down, hampered by its declining reserves. Like a Covid patient, the Philippine economy is struggling to breathe, suffocated by intermittent lockdowns. Our hope lies in the ability of local governments to accelerate their vaccination programs. We also look forward to the rollout of vaccines by the private sector. As for the IATF, it needs an overhaul. Cabinet secretaries, with some of them reportedly eyeing the senatorial race next year, should not run it. The anti-Covid government task force should be composed of our best medical experts, statisticians, and expert communicators. It can operate directly under the Office of the President with the executive secretary as chair. The task force should also have its own spokesman, preferably from the Philippine General Hospital or any of our top government hospitals. The rest of government should proceed with the fulfillment of their mandates, making the other non-medical tasks of government more visible in the media. We need to see some semblance of normalcy, and sources of good news should not hinge solely on the nation’s ongoing battle with this vicious virus. This daily bombardment of negativity impinges on the nation’s state of mental health. We need to see someone clearly in charge, who is also a good communicator, with credentials beyond reproach. Let Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque give briefings on the President’s directives, meetings, and other governance affairs. Set the other cabinet secretaries free from Covid-related obligations unless their department is critical to the rollout of solutions. Let the Labor and Health departments focus on beefing up the work force of all government and key private hospitals and clinics in Covid hotspots. Give to the medical experts the opportunity to run the anti-Covid task force with a streamlined reporting mechanism directly linked to the

office of the executive secretary. Cut the layers, and speak with one, clear and coherent voice. Use technology to help as many people as possible. If there is a department that has yet to shine, it is the Department of Information and Communications Technology or DICT. I don’t even see the DICT active on Twitter where public feedback can be easily obtained. I hope that Secretary Gringo Honasan is able to transform his department into a more agile and creative tech solutions bureaucracy, offering not just connectivity but also the best digital tools and information suitable in a health crisis situation of this scale. Secretary Roque said that government has not failed to do its job, but it cannot stop the virus from mutating. Unfortunately, it is precisely because the virus keeps mutating that we need government to do much better. I say, government can do so much more by yielding the right platforms to our best health professionals. For example, why not tap the spokesman of the Philippine General Hospital, Dr. Jonas del Rosario, to spearhead the communications side on the government’s vaccination programs? He has proven himself to be a steady and clear communicator, with no other agenda except to keep our people safe and healthy. As October comes rolling in, a lot of these Cabinet secretaries would need to go on the campaign trail if not for themselves, then certainly for President Duterte’s chosen successor. They would do this subtly or overtly, as we near the filing date. So why not revamp the IATF to insulate it from the politics of 2022? Take in the experts, free up the time of other cabinet secretaries so they can focus on their mandates and use technology to the hilt in providing solutions to contact tracing, hospital or quarantine facility searches, and in promoting the government’s vaccination program. We are all scared because of this virus. Let’s transform that fear into the fuel needed to shift to a higher gear. Susan V. Ople heads the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, a nonprofit organization that deals with labor and migration issues. She also represents the OFW sector in the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.

Uh, guys, this isn’t normal Lyca Balita

Onwards

o it’s March 2020 all over again. Social media is full of memes reminding us of the early pandemic days with Dalgona coffee, ube pandesal, ECQ passes, and that Savage Love Tiktok. It’s very predictably Filipino, considering our signature coping mechanisms: humor and forced resilience. We try to make light of situations to make them a little more bearable since we have no other option. But it’s been a year and things are only getting worse. Shouldn’t we be angry?

It’s interesting how we started using the term “new normal” back when the pandemic just began. Very early on, we really used the word “normal” for the situation, meaning we didn’t see this as a glitch or a bump in the road, which would be over soon. It was as though from the very beginning, we just accepted

that things would be like this for a long time—from the social distancing, personal protective equipment, and staying at home, to the deaths, packed hospitals, and exhausted frontliners. I’m not sure what that implied: maybe we didn’t believe that whoever’s in charge could handle this, or maybe we just un-

During the campaign, Medvedev, who was adopted as a common presidential bet by several political parties, had promised that once elected he would appoint Putin as his Prime Minister. Shortly after he took his oath of office, Medvedev fulfilled his commitment and Putin took the position of Prime Minister under President Medvedev. Under the Russian government structure, the position of the Prime minister is lower than the President of Russia, who serves as the highest official and head of the government. But this was not how the Russian people and foreign governments

perceived the political set up in Russia. Majority still believed that there was no real transfer of power from Putin to Medvedev. Surveys had shown that Putin still exercised real political control in the country. They held the view that Medvedev was just his lackey and a mere figurehead to hold the presidential office until such time that Putin became eligible to hold the office again. In fact, during the G20 Summit in London in 2009, Medvedev did not make much of an impression with then-President Barack Obama on the first meeting of the two world leaders. Although their

Is CREATE the answer?

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 A9

meeting had gone well and the Russian leader “seemed a lot more open doing business “ than what the US delegation had expected, the US team had wondered “how much of what Medvedev said was cleared with Putin beforehand.” And this assessment was generally shared by most world leaders. After Medvedev’s one term in office and Putin became eligible again to become his country’s President, Putin ran and won again with an overwhelming majority. He became the paramount leader of his country once more, which in reality he had never lost. One major accomplishment of Medvedev during his presidency was the extension of the presidential term from four years to six years. Any guess who was behind it? Putin did not waste his opportunity to amend the Russian constitution removing the constitutional provision barring him to seek a third consecutive term. He was a fast learner. After winning his second 2nd term, he floated the idea of scrapping the prohibition. Last July 2020, 78 percent of the Russians voted to amend its constitution that will allow Putin to run for president two more times—in 2024 and in 2030. Potentially, he could extend his rule until 2036 making him the longest ruler of Russia since Peter the Great who ruled Russia from 1672 until his death in 1725. Incidentally, before 1696, Peter the Great coruled Russia with his elder half-brother, Ivan V, to ensure that power would not fall outside the family. However, Putin’s reign would even eclipse the tenure in office of Joseph Stalin. Tandemocracy, if unchecked, can lead to autocracy and absolute and perpetual hold of power. As Lord Acton had warned us, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In any country, power and greed are lethal combinations that debauch public

officials. The lust for power and insatiable greed are the badges of corrupt politicians. They should be thrown out of public service. No one has the monopoly of talents and devotion to serve his people. A government position is not reserved to any ruling family or elite who can use or abuse their power to keep themselves or their minions in office. Political dynasties are common features that dot our political landscape. In every region or province, there is a powerful family that controls the political and economic life of the place. Their family members or dummies occupy the top public elective offices in their political subdivision. When the term of the office holder expires and he is barred to run for another term, he will field his wife, son or daughter to succeed him in his post to ensure that political power is preserved within the family. They succeed to the throne of power like they enjoy the divine rights of kings. Another variation adopted by many politicians is to pick a family member to run as his running mate and then swap positions when one or both of them have served out their maximum terms of office. The longer a person stays in power, he becomes more entrenched and formidable in his position. As the saying goes, it is quixotic for an outsider to fight the city hall. Incumbents enjoy undue advantages over a challenger. Even if he slides down as the running mate of his anointed candidate, the privileges of the party-in-power will spell victory. The forthcoming 2022 elections will be no different. Voters will be treated to the same circus. We may be entertained by different magicians, but they will employ the same political tricks. Creating our own Putin will be worse than this pandemic. God bless the Philippines!

But the President knows the reality on the ground. Revenue officers will find it cumbersome to process claims for refund within 90 days. Third, he rejected the immense power given to a sitting President to unilaterally exempt an Investment Promotion Agency from the power of the FIRB with respect to the review and approval of applications for incentives. According to him, this provision will give a President immense power that may be used for political gains. Finally, the President rejected automatic approval of applications for tax incentives if the same is not acted within 20 days. This raises a red flag for red tape and corruption. The government obviously wants to jump-start the economy by enacting this revenue eroding measure. It aims to equip businesses with more cash to spend for capital. Covid-19 is surging. The economy is dying. It may not be perfect, but hopefully CREATE will give companies a new lease on life.

things are being handled. Politics is always a dangerous subject, since whatever opinion is given, however honest and impartial, we are vulnerable to attacks and placed in one of two opposing sides. But this pandemic isn’t a team sport where we have to pick a side and win over the other. It’s a pandemic —we are all losers. So it’s okay to be angry. The only people who aren’t angry right now are those profiting from this situation. So if you’re not angry, that says a lot. It’s more difficult for one regular citizen to change the situation, as compared with someone in power, but for now there’s one thing we can do besides complying with health protocols: register to vote for the upcoming elections. Opinions do have an impact, but during elections, ballots are worth more. In the meantime, let’s do our part by staying isolated, wearing our masks properly, and keeping the conversation going. This does not have to be our normal. Special thanks to Jasmin Montenegro.

The corporate income tax rate is reduced to 20 percent from 30 percent for micro, small and medium enterprises and 25 percent for all other corporations. The government hopes to encourage small businesses in the country as well as attract more foreign direct investments. There are questions, however, on how to compute income tax for 2020 since the reduced rate is retroactive starting July 2020 only. It means that the original 30 percent income tax rate still applies from January to June of last year. Should the taxpayer account its income from January to June and July to December and apply the corresponding rate of 30 percent and 20 percent/25 percent separately, or compute the sum of the annual income and apply the average rate of 20 percent/25 percent and 30 percent on the entire amount? These are issues that must be

resolved immediately since the filing of income tax returns is due on April 15, 2021, unless the BIR extends the deadline. Also, taking into consideration the difficulties encountered by corporations in 2020 because of the pandemic, the law allows losses to be carried over for the next five years, instead of the current three years. The additional allowance of Net Operating Loss Carryover allows companies to deduct incurred losses from tax payments for a much longer period. It provides a lifeline for companies to survive the strong economic tides. Proprietary educational institutions and hospitals that are non-profit are now taxed 1 percent only instead of the previous 10 percent. Mindful of the tendency of high-net worth individuals to park their income in other countries, the government is now encouraging them to

bring their money back to the country by exempting foreign sourced dividends from tax. Funds from these dividends must be remitted into the country and reinvested in the business operations of the domestic corporation. CREATE has created the Fiscal Incentives Review Board. It has an overarching power over all government investment agencies. It has the authority to recommend to the President the fiscal and non-fiscal policies, among others. Companies applying for tax incentives must pass through it. We also know that a very important feature of the law is the sunset provisions on companies that are enjoying tax incentives. The government hopes that the sunset provisions will promote a fair tax incentive system. The President, however, has vetoed some important provisions. First, he did not agree to the proposed increase of value-added tax exempt sale of residential lot to P2.5 million and house and lot to P4.2 million. According to him, this will benefit those who can actually afford proper housing. This is also prone to abuse since real-estate properties may be subdivided so that their value will fall within the vat exempt range. Second, the President finds the 90-day period of processing general tax refunds as a wishful thinking. The crafters of the law may have the good intention of providing immediate relief to taxpayers whose cash flow is severely drained by the slow processing of cash refunds.

derstood and accepted how bad the virus is. Who knows? But words change mindsets. The terms we use affect the way we feel and how we interact with people. For instance, we become more respectful when we call people ate or kuya although we don’t really notice it. We also become more optimistic when we use positive words. When we say things so many times, we eventually start believing them. There is endless neuroscience research backing this up. In our case, maybe using “normal” for the pandemic did us more harm, making us a bit more passive about the whole situation? Maybe it’s why we tolerated this and prayed for a miracle vaccine to arrive. Indeed, we became more passive over time and it makes no logical sense: this time last year back when active cases were below 100, we strictly stayed home, intensely disinfected everything, and properly wore masks. But recently we’ve had over 9,000 Covid-19 cases per day. We have over 100,000 active cases as of this writing, along with packed hospitals, insufficient

vaccines, and the virus reaching people closer and closer to us. All this, yet we go out more, order more deliveries online, and wear our masks below our chins. Meanwhile, our frontliners and healthcare workers struggle yet fight on for us, as we grow more complacent. Where was the respect we had for them last year? The virus should not have to directly affect us or those we love before we become more careful. If we stick to that mindset, it’s only a matter of time before the virus actually directly affects us. And by that time, it’s too late to be careful. Some like to argue that according to the Department of Health, most cases are asymptomatic anyway and only around 2 percent of people die. But 2 percent of our over 700,000 cases is at least 13,000 deaths. That’s not even including those who suffer post-virus complications. These are real people with families and friends and stories and dreams. They are not just statistics or growing numbers on DOH infographics: they are real 13,000 plus people. And their families can’t even conduct a proper funeral. What kind of normal is this? Shouldn’t we be angry?

It’s not just the deaths too. Children are missing out on important developmental interaction. Students are prevented from experiencing physical graduations after working so hard for years. Weddings, debuts, and anniversaries, all gone. So many milestones were taken away by this pandemic. Why are we letting this be our new “normal”? The convenience and brief happiness of violating protocols and going outside are tempting, but whatever bliss we feel cause more harm than good. It’s good for the mental health to go out once in a while, and that isn’t up for debate, but when it’s done so frequently and with reckless disregard of the consequences, these things just prolong this pandemic. Let’s do our part by staying home, minimizing physical interactions, and properly wearing the dreaded masks and other protective equipment. Sure, vaccines are arriving, but several doses are required, and there is no guarantee that every single one of us will receive it soon—and with a timely second dose. Also, it’s okay to be angry with how

Atty. Irwin C. Nidea Jr.

Tax law for business

orporate Tax Reform has finally arrived. Last Friday, the President signed CREATE into law. As expected, it is met with mixed reactions. The law has given tax benefits but has also taken away some of them.

The author is a senior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices, a member-firm of WTS Global. The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at irwin.c.nideajr@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-2001 local 330.

For feedback, send an e-mail to lyca.balita@ gmail.com.

A10 Tuesday, March 30, 2021

PHL inks $300-M AIIB loan to buy Covid-19 vaccines

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Philippine government signed on Monday a US$300 million loan agreement with Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for the purchase of its Covid-19 vaccines.

Finance Undersecretary Mark Dennis Y.C Joven, who heads the Department of Finance’s (DOF) International Finance Group, confirmed this to BusinessMirror. W it h t he s i g n i n g o f t he $300-million AIIB loan, the government through DOF has finally completed securing loans amounting to US$1.2 bi l lion (around P58.5 billion) which the country needed for its purchase of Covid-19 vaccines. Apart from the country’s loan with AIIB, the DOF has already signed loans worth $500 million from World Bank and $400 million from Asian Development Bank on March 19. Finance Secretary Carlos G.

Dominguez III on Monday said the “prompt and substantial financing extended by the country’s multilateral partners will help the government achieve its target of inoculating 70 million Filipinos or 100 percent of the adult population.” The government, Dominguez added, is fully committed to accelerating the rollout of its national vaccination program in order to safely reopen the economy and restore the jobs lost since Covid-19 sparked a pandemic last year. “Our multilateral partners’ swift response to our call for support reflects their confidence in the Philippines’s capability to effectively implement our Covid-19 response

3-MONTH SHIPMENT DELAYS NEGATE BID TO HIKE MEAT IMPORTS By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

D POLICE and barangay personnel man a checkpoint at the boundary between Valenzuela City and Meycauayan, Bulacan, as Metro Manila and four provinces (Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and Rizal) are placed under stricter enhanced community quarantine for one week due to the exponential rise in Covid-19 cases. ROY DOMINGO

measures, including our national vaccination program,” he said at the virtual launching of Philippine loan agreements for vaccine procurement. Dominguez said that under the terms of these loans, the multilateral institutions will help the Philippine government purchase the vaccines through their stringent procurement rules and guidelines and then pay the vaccine

suppliers directly. The finance department has also since clarified that the government’s budget for Covid-19 procurement remains at P82.5 billion, of which 70 billion will come from unprogrammed funds that will be unlocked by collecting additional revenues or by securing additional financing from the Philippines’s multilateral partner-institutions. Continued on A4

@jearcalas

ELAYS in arrivals of food imports now stretch to as long as three months, as global shipping problems—a combination of several factors fueling a perfect storm—continue, industry leaders told the BusinessMirror. The situation poses a huge threat to the government’s plan to flood the market with “cheaper” imported pork. The global container imbalance and lack of vessels have caused shipments of meat imports to arrive in about three to four months, which could derail the government’s plan to bring in cheaper imported protein sources with its pork tariff reduction and minimum access volume (MAV) increase plans. “ We now are looking at three to four months of arrival. There’s a lot of congestion caused by Covid-19 pandemic. It has created an imbalance in trade with containers going one way and the others returning without a back-load,” Meat Im-

porters and Traders Association (Mita) President Jesus C. Cham told the BusinessMirror. Cham added that North America is also reeling from the impact of severe winters that have slowed down movement of people, trucks, and cargoes in the West. Given the current situation, shipping costs have increased with importers only getting to know the additional charges when their shipments arrive in the country, Cham said. “We will know only of the additional charges when the cargo arrives. And they are delayed. Upon arrival, we will see the destination charges,” he said. “The CIF cost of a headless pork carcass has gone up to $3 per kilogram from $1.5 per kilogram,” he added. Cham warned that given the delays in shipments, the government’s plan to reduce pork tariffs to as low as 5 percent for in-quota volume and 15 percent for out-quota volume may not be maximized, with consumers not benefitting from such low tariffs. Continued on A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

PHL business sector wants court cases handled quicker

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

@TyronePiad

EVERAL business groups urged the Supreme Court to speed up the handling of cases given that the Philippines is among the slowest in the Asean region when it comes to deciding on a legal proceeding. In a joint statement, private sector sta keholders sa id t he quicker disposition of cases is beneficial for both the litigating parties and the business sector in general. “The Court’s decisions guide businesses in their future commercial relations and transactions and profoundly affect how businesses move forward,” the statement reads. “The timely resolution of disputes inspires confidence among potential investors who can rely on the efficiency of judicial processes to uphold the

laws, regulations and contracts upon which businesses are built.” This, as the business groups noted that the Philippines has the second longest period to resolve cases in the Asean bloc, according to the 2020 World Bank/ International Finance Corp. Ease of Doing Business Report. The signatories explained that having “ judicial speed and efficiency” bodes well for the economy as this boosts competitiveness of the Philippines. “In t hese uncer ta in t imes brought about by the ongoing

pandemic, it is crucial that we strengthen our economy’s backbone by ensuring continuity and certainty in our commercial affairs,” the groups said. In addition, the statement said that the role of the Supreme Court in settling cases “inspires confidence in the private and public sectors that all rights are justly and equally protected under the rule of law.” The business groups cited the Constitution, particularly Article III, Section 16 noting that all people “have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.” In addition, they also noted that all cases should be decided within 24 months from the date of submission, unless the period is reduced by the Supreme Court. “[W]e urge and appeal to the next Chief Justice to lead the Supreme Court in making mandatory at all court levels the periods to decide cases under the Constitution,” the statement added. Among the business groups

that signed the statement are the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc., Anvil Business Club, British Chamber of Commerce Philippines, Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Cebu Business Club, Cebu Leads Foundation, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Fintech Alliance PH, French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in The Philippines and Guild of Real Estate Entrepreneurs and Professionals Inc. Other signatories include the Investment House Association of the Philippines, Iloilo Business Club, Judicial Reform Initiative, Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, National Real Estate Association Inc., Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Philippine Retailers Association, Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines, Tax Management Association of the Philippines and UP School of Economics Alumni Association.

GT Capital 2020 income down by 68% By VG Cabuag @villygc

T Capital Holdings Inc., the holding firm of the Ty family, said its net income fell 68 percent to P6.5 billion last year, from P20.3 billion in 2019 on lower car sales. Consolidated revenues reached P134.4 billion last year, down by 40 percent from P222.9 billion in the previous year. The income of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. was slashed by half to P13.8 billion from last year’s P28.87 billion, while Toyota Motor Philippines had a net income of P3.4 billion, down by 63 percent from the previous year’s P9.3 billion. “Our year-end 2020 results show the full impact of the pandemic and the consequent lockdown that hampered the group to effectively only seven months of operations. However, the strong performance posted during the last quarter under GCQ [general community quarantine] demonstrates the group’s resiliency to rebound on the path to normalcy,” GT Capital President Carmelo Maria Luza Bautista said. “We are optimistic that despite the recent

surge in Covid-19 cases, while alarming, will be mitigated once the pre-ordered vaccines are delivered by June and September. We have taken the necessary steps to procure the vaccines to protect all our employees and contractual staff. We anticipate that 2021 will be less disruptive than the previous year.” Metrobank booked provisions of P40.8 billion, resulting in a full-year 2020 net income of P13.8 billion. Non-performing loans reached a ratio of 2.41 percent, from 1.3 percent in 2019. Toyota Motor booked consolidated revenues of P99.8 billion in 2020, down 40 percent from P168.6 billion in the previous year. Toyota’s retail sales of 100,019 units exceeded initial estimates of 90,000 units for 2020. Actual annual sales declined 38 percent, versus the 162,011 units in 2019, outperforming an auto market that dropped by 41 percent. Sales have steadily recovered quarter-onquarter. In the last quarter of 2020, sales came to within 85 percent of the same quarter in 2019, peaking at 13,716 units in December. Market share increased 1.8 percentage points to 41.3 percent, the highest in its 32year history, due to a pivot in marketing and sales activities. Dealers nationwide fully reopened in Au-

gust, assuring the public that strict health protocols were put in place throughout the whole dealership network. “As jobs, consumer confidence, and general economic activity in the country return, demand for motor vehicles is expected to rise. Despite the potential dampening effects that provisional safeguard duties on imported vehicles may bring, the market—which includes Toyota sales—is expected to grow from 2020 levels. A significant upside is that Toyota produces two of its key volume models locally, which are not impacted by the safeguard measures,” GT Capital Auto Dealership Holdings Inc. Chairman Vince S. Socco said. Property developer Federal Land Inc. booked total revenues of P9.3 billion in 2020, down 29 percent from P13.2 billion in the previous year. Reservation sales for the year reached P14.2 billion, from P24.2 billion in 2019. Lease revenues rose by 17 percent to P1.8 billion during the period, driven by new tenants in the developer’s commercial properties. Federal Land reported a consolidated net income of P624 million in 2020, down 61 percent from P1.6 billion in the year before, due to restrictions in construction and sales activities during the quarantine periods.

Cebu Pacific lists convertible preferred shares By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

& Recto L. Mercene @rectomercene

ebu Air Inc., the operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific, has listed 328.94 million convertible preferred shares with a par value of P1 per stock on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). This new exercise, according to Cebu Pacific President Lance Y. Gokongwei, is on the back of the successful completion of its convertible preferred shares stock rights offering earlier this year. To recall, Cebu Pacific raised P12.49 billion from existing shareholders earlier this year through its stock rights offering initiative. “The success of this activity is a testament to Cebu Pacific’s fortitude and its steadfast commitment as the Philippine national flag carrier which reminded me of something that my father once said, ‘Success is not necessarily about connections, or cutting corners, or chamba. Success can be achieved through hard work, frugality, integrity, responsiveness to change, and most of all, boldness to dream.’ We would like to recognize and convey our gratitude to our shareholders for supporting us in this endeavor,” he said. BPI Capital Corp. acted as the sole global arranger, bookrunner and underwriter for the offer. The fundraising activity was launched to strengthen the balance sheet of the company and to ensure that it has sufficient war chest to “thrive in the new normal.” “The hard work our team puts in every day – despite all challenges, the strategies we have put into play long before this pandemic started, and the changes we have implemented in our company, will enable us to continue our dream – for everyJuan

to fly,” Gokongwei said. Cebu Air reported an operating loss of P13.72 billion in January to September of 2020, a 241.7-percent drop from the P9.69-billion operating income in the same period of 2019.

Advisory

Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific said they will continue their flights during the new Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) periods, subject to travel protocols set by the Philippine Department of Transportation (DOTr) from March 29 to April 4. The local carriers have announced the following advisories regarding international and domestic flights: *Arrivals at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) continue to be limited to a maximum of 1,500 passengers per day for all airlines combined; *As a result, airlines are compelled to cancel some flights, and/or re-route some to land in Cebu or Clark instead, to ensure that they stay within the limits. Please check regularly for updates on daily flight operations. Domestic flights to and from Manila may continue to operate subject to compliance with any restrictions on flight frequencies or capacity that may be imposed by each local government unit (LGU) of the concerned destination cities. Domestic travel to and from Manila shall be limited to essential travelers and Authorized Persons Outside of their Residences, namely: n health/emergency frontline services personnel; n government officials and frontline personnel; n duly-authorized humanitarian assistance actors; n persons traveling for medical/humanitarian reasons; n persons going to the airport for travel abroad;

n persons crossing zones for work or business permitted in the zone of destination, and going back home; and n returning or repatriated OFWs and other Overseas Filipinos returning to their places of residence. In line with the DOTr guidelines, airlines shall strictly adhere to the health and safety protocols established by the government authorities. Should flights be canceled due to the restrictions and limitations, passengers may: n Convert their ticket to a Travel Voucher (request until June 30); n Avail of unlimited rebooking (no rebooking fee) until December 31. If passengers will comple their travel in the same booking class by June 30(or ticket validity, whichever comes first), there will be no fare difference charge; n Refund their ticket without penalties. If their flight is not affected by cancellations or travel ban, passengers can make voluntary changes to their flight following the new No-Worry Flight Fare Brand. All changes shall be made within ticket validity and applicable change fees shall be assessed on the fare conditions of the route.

‘Care kits’

In prepartion for the Holy Week, AirAsia said it is handing out #AlwaysREDy care kits. The #AlwaysREDy care kit includes Lifebuoy hand sanitizers, antibacterial wipes, surgical face masks, and pens “which could come handy for their flight.” The kit contains a note which reminds guests to always practice proper hygiene, not just during the flight, but as part of the daily life of passengers.

LRMC implements adjusted LRT-1 operating hours

n support of the government’s announcement of enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila, the Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) said it has implemented a new schedule for the last train service on March 29 and 30. LRT-1 will be operating from 4:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. (Northbound) and until 9:45 p.m. (Southbound) on March 29 and 30. The adjusted schedule for the last train is in consideration of the gover nment ’s c u r few f rom 6 p.m.-5 a.m. and will allow LRT-1 Operations personnel to prepare and travel home safely. As previously announced in the Holy Week schedule advisory, LRT-1 operations will be temporarily suspended from March 31 (Holy Wednesday) to April 4 (Easter Sunday) for the annual maintenance and rehabilitation works to facilitate continuous improvements to the LRT-1 system. LRMC has also coordinated with the Department of Transportation for the deployment of public utility buses along the alignment of LRT-1 to support essential workers with additional means of transportation during this period. LRT-1 will resume its operations on April 5 following a new schedule: Northbound train (4:30 a.m. to

9:15 p.m.), Southbound train (4:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.). The shortened operating hours will allow LRMC to perform safety and integration tests for the upgrading works of the LRT-1 signaling system, as well as prepare for the commercial run of the 4th Generation trains in the last quarter of the year. “Rest assured that LRMC will continue to enforce its health and safety protocols and comply with IATF guidelines while operating and performing the maintenance works during this period.” The public is advised to be guided accordingly on passenger advisories or any change in schedule, as well as to plan essential trips ahead during this period. Follow @officialLRT1 on Facebook and Twitter and download the ikotMNL mobile app on App Store or Google Play for more updates.

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Investment of Taiwanese telco firm in PHL hits $45M–BOI

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

@TyronePiad

Taiwanese telecommunications and broadband equipment manufacturer has invested a total of $45 million since setting up shop in the Philippines nearly two years ago, the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Board of Investments (BOI) said. Sercomm, a publicly listed Taiwanese firm and the parent company of Sercomm Philippines, has also recently seen its production of networking and broadband equipment reach 10 million units. In 2019, the telco firm opened its facility in Carmelray Industrial Park 1 in Calamba, Laguna. “The company is at the forefront among Taiwanese companies that have decided to establish their manufacturing bases to the Philippines

growing rapidly in the past two years since inception. This is an excellent example for other companies still considering to make the Philippines their second home,” Trade Secretary and BOI Chairman Ramon Lopez said in a statement on Monday. Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said the decision of Sercomm “to put up a Philippine facility barely 2 years ago, played a major part of its global operations as validated

by the numbers in its recent filing.” “Recognizing the opportunities then and the ability to meet global demand by strategically growing their capabilities in the Philippines in support of their global supply chain in a relatively short period has certainly contributed to these milestones.” James Wang, chief executive officer of Sercomm, said the company intends to further expand operations both in the local and global markets to support business growth. “We are very proud to have achieved the production milestone in such a short time, especially during this unprecedented time.” Sercomm Philippines, considered a professional consumer premise equipment manufacturing site, uses automation facilities that specialize in wireless devices. The Taiwanese telco firm, headquartered in Taipei, employs 2,000 workers in its Philippine facility. It has also presence in North and Central America, Europe and the Asia Pacific.

Last year, Sercomm raked in $1.27 billion in revenues. As of endFebruary, the firm saw its topline figures grow by 41 percent to $219 million, from $155 million yearon-year. Rodolfo is expecting more investments to flow into the country following the signing of Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act into law last week. Following the enactment of CREATE, the corporate income tax rate is reduced to 20 percent from 30 percent for domestic corporations with net taxable income of P5 million and below and have total assets of P100 million and below effective July 1, 2020. All other local firms and resident foreign companies are imposed with a 25-percent income tax. The BOI and Philippine Economic Zone Authority approved investments amounting to a total of P1.11 trillion last year, which is 11.7 percent lower than P1.26 trillion both agencies booked in 2019.

CDC to upgrade wastewater treatment plant

lark Development Corp. (CDC), in collaboration with Clark Water Corp. (CWC), are gearing up efforts to upgrade its wastewater treatment processes to make its sewage treatment facility compliant with the new standards of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The sewage treatment facility serves the Clark Freeport Zone. CDC and CWC want to ensure that the facility is compliant with the DENR Administrative Order (DAO) 201608 on Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR). In a statement, CDC and CWC said the current waste treatment facility which has the capacity to treat as much as 27 million liters of wastewater per day will undergo a series of preparatory works including removal of sludge to maximize its processing capacity and improve the flow of water. These activities will increase its overall treatment efficiency and prepare the facility for the installation of upgrades. During the project commencement, CDC Chairman Edgardo Pamintuan said they will adhere to the new government-mandated environmental regulations. “Our collaborative actions to continuously improve our wastewater facilities and ser-

vices to support the government’s initiatives of promoting environmental sustainability is significant in pursuing our mission to make the Freeport a preferred busines and tourism destination in the region,” Pamintuan said. Meanwhile, CDC President and CEO Manuel Gaerlan said upgrading the wastewater treatment plant is a big investment for CWC that will have an economic impact on various locators and investors. He said CDC and CWC are working together to set in place acceptable solutions that will balance the interest of the locators while complying with DAO 2016-08. Gearlan added that CDC will push through with finalizing the revised Compliance Action Plan to the requirement of DAO 2016-08 for submission to DENR. CDC is the government-owned and controlled corporation that administers the Clark Freeport Zone. As the water and wastewater service provider of Clark Freeport Zone, CWC President and CEO Virgilio C. Rivera, Jr. said the company will remain steadfast in its commitment to uphold environmental sustainability by providing world-class wastewater services to the locators of the Clark Freeport Zone. Jonathan L. Mayuga

mutual funds

March 29, 2021

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 209.77 16.31% -8.6% -3.92% -7.68% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.2462 46.75% -7.78% 1% -5.09% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.8652 15.72% -12.84% -6.13% -8.55% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7361 23.76% -8.33% n.a. -8.43% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6635 9.42% n.a. n.a. -10.53% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.5863 17.48% -6.36% -2.67% -7.18% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6653 10.24% -10.2% -7.58% -12.44% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 96.03 44.06% -5.79% n.a. -5.8% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 43.1267 20.86% -6.57% -2.61% -7.94% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 451.25 17.75% -6.53% -3.12% -7.72% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 1.0148 25.78% n.a. n.a. -7.52% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.0916 18.1% -6.16% -2.09% -6.56% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 32.2205 19.33% -6.21% -1.68% -7.33% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8377 18% n.a. n.a. -8.25% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.415 21.51% -6.16% -1.91% -7.85% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 738.55 21.68% -6.05% -2.04% -7.87% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6624 15.72% -10.24% -5.65% -7.86% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.3437 15.66% -8.19% -3.39% -7.73% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8444 21.04% -6.39% -2.16% -7.99% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.0997 19.19% -5.44% -0.89% -6.61% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 99.0984 21.79% -5.84% -1.37% -7.86% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.2309 46.76% 3.19% 8.11% 2.33% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.6431 51.52% 8.98% n.a. -1.78% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.6151 14.33% -3.02% -1.57% -3.21% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.1587 15.32% -2.97% -0.65% -5.54% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4972 11.29% -2.07% -1.41% -4.94% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.188 7.31% n.a. n.a. -5.34% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.9009 9.25% -0.23% 0.58% -3.21% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.557 12.7% -1.7% -0.64% -6.1% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.9532 12.39% -1.55% -0.67% -5.81% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.9968 11.4% -2.56% -0.56% -4.65% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.3883 10.63% -3.99% -1.68% -5.17% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9545 12.65% n.a. n.a. -6.66% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8707 16.09% n.a. n.a. -8.27% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8553 16.91% n.a. n.a. -8.34% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8365 13.27% -4.94% -2.35% -5.77% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03815 3.19% 2.62% 1.42% -2.48% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.1132 29.38% 1.56% 4.61% -3.22% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.4399 37.99% 6.65% 7.87% -1.62% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1719 22.69% 3.23% n.a. -2.51% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 369.69 2.55% 3.07% 2.58% -0.37% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9069 -0.44% 0.7% 0.14% 0.35% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2169 2.33% 4.09% 4.53% 0.07% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2426 0.39% 2.11% 1.72% -2.33% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4256 2.95% 3.09% 1.76% -1.13% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.4454 2.11% 3.68% 1.96% -4.08% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3168 5.16% 4.24% 2.61% -0.33% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.963 5.21% 4.43% 2.88% -0.95% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.024 6.79% 4.03% 1.97% -1.73% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1695 3.93% 4.67% 3.08% -1.14% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7297 2.23% 3.95% 2.33% -1.44% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $482.04 2.48% 2.91% 2.44% -0.38% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.52 0.8% 1.09% 1.2% 0.16% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.1814 5.09% 1.86% 1.28% -7.73% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0258 1.98% 1.33% 0.96% -3.01% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0559 1.39% 0.35% -0.44% -3.37% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4678 6.8% 4.16% 2.28% -2.67% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0625191 5.17% 3.23% 2.23% 0.32% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1136 0.48% 1.97% 1.03% -3.41% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.82 2.45% 3.2% 2.51% 0.01% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0497 1.58% n.a. n.a. 0.15% 2.12% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.3006 2.9% 2.58% 0.31% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0551 1.5% 1.76% n.a. 0.26% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.1751 n.a. n.a. n.a. 4.03% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.98 18.07% n.a. n.a. 0% a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU). 1 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 2 - Launch date is November 15, 2019. 3 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019. 4 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 5 - Launch date is December 09, 2019. 6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund). 7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020. "While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa.com.ph to see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

March 29, 2021

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

BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FIRST ABACUS FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE

106 83.8 23.1 9.5 46.55 10.2 22.05 22.85 53.5 17 122.3 68.85 1.55 3.94 0.59 2.98 1.4 0.38 970 0.73 141.1 2,300

106.2 84.6 23.15 9.52 46.6 10.28 22.85 22.9 56.6 17.1 123 69 1.62 3.96 0.62 3.13 1.46 0.39 975 0.77 144 2,400

103 82 22.95 9.36 45.5 10.2 22.9 22.95 55.3 17.1 118.5 69 1.55 3.91 0.59 3 1.48 0.375 950 0.75 141.5 2,300

106.6 84.8 23.15 9.5 46.8 10.2 22.9 23.05 56.7 17.1 123 69 1.62 3.97 0.59 3.13 1.48 0.41 970 0.75 144.4 2,300

102.1 81.5 22.8 9.33 44.55 10.2 22.85 22.85 53 17 118.5 68.75 1.5 3.91 0.59 2.95 1.4 0.375 950 0.73 140 2,300

106 84.6 23.1 9.5 46.6 10.2 22.85 22.85 56.6 17.1 123 68.85 1.62 3.96 0.59 3.13 1.46 0.41 970 0.73 143.9 2,300

3,819,710 2,911,090 59,800 214,600 2,596,000 49,200 1,100 632,000 380 8,200 306,680 18,030 468,000 305,000 150,000 55,000 78,000 30,000 530 25,000 2,330 10

403,295,429 245,243,067.50 1,378,285 2,024,357 119,170,575 501,840 25,140 14,469,765 20,641 140,150 37,301,119 1,241,339.50 725,880 1,205,600 88,500 164,770 113,850 11,600 503,900 18,450 331,556 23,000

51,886,699 56,745,320.50 -1,060,475.00 -735,700 -30,313,445 -12,668,135 -1,897,716 859,920.50 6,040 -379,810 475,000 -7,300 79,709 23,000

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 6.92 6.93 6.73 6.94 6.73 6.93 11,737,200 80,400,178 ALSONS CONS 1.25 1.29 1.26 1.29 1.25 1.29 318,000 402,550 ABOITIZ POWER 23.7 23.8 23.9 24.65 23.6 23.7 2,408,000 57,787,165 0.86 0.87 0.85 0.9 0.83 0.86 141,088,000 123,005,780 BASIC ENERGY 29.85 30.05 29.95 30.05 29.4 30.05 118,200 3,533,735 FIRST GEN 69.95 71.45 70 71.5 69.5 71.45 38,710 2,756,855 FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO 270 273.8 270.2 276 270 270 228,950 62,391,210 MANILA WATER 15.38 15.4 14.48 15.38 14.32 15.38 3,597,400 53,879,338 PETRON 3.08 3.09 3.05 3.1 3.01 3.09 1,777,000 5,469,390 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 14,000 53,200 PETROENERGY PHX PETROLEUM 10.78 10.8 11 11.1 10.78 10.78 98,900 1,083,472 PILIPINAS SHELL 20.4 20.5 20.75 20.75 20.2 20.5 436,300 8,930,065 SPC POWER 10.36 10.44 10.2 10.44 10.12 10.36 261,000 2,678,982 VIVANT 13.72 14.8 14.86 14.86 14.8 14.8 4,800 71,074 7.07 7.08 6.81 7.14 6.8 7.08 3,914,800 27,392,657 AGRINURTURE 3.45 3.46 3.3 3.45 3.23 3.45 22,264,000 76,678,850 AXELUM 12.9 13 12.9 13.18 12.9 13 11,100 144,174 CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD 17.36 17.4 17.3 17.56 17.3 17.36 936,700 16,310,814 DEL MONTE 9 9.1 8.9 9.2 8.9 9 85,900 774,289 7.27 7.33 7.18 7.42 7.1 7.33 967,500 7,073,682 DNL INDUS 10.2 10.28 10.16 10.28 10.06 10.28 81,500 830,788 EMPERADOR 60 60.5 60.05 60.1 59.5 60 46,280 2,766,430 SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT 0.62 0.63 0.61 0.62 0.61 0.62 683,000 417,840 FRUITAS HLDG 1.39 1.4 1.33 1.41 1.32 1.4 7,018,000 9,646,940 GINEBRA 50 50.25 50 50.8 50 50.25 16,190 815,999 175.7 176 173.5 177.3 170.7 175.7 1,704,030 299,291,101 JOLLIBEE 31.75 32.7 31.75 32.7 31.75 32.7 1,500 48,065 LIBERTY FLOUR MACAY HLDG 7.17 7.76 7.15 7.8 7.15 7.16 2,800 20,147 MAXS GROUP 5.81 5.85 5.75 5.85 5.74 5.8 47,600 274,951 MG HLDG 0.305 0.31 0.3 0.31 0.29 0.31 6,850,000 2,071,700 6.8 7 6.75 7 6.61 7 2,385,600 16,690,924 SHAKEYS PIZZA 1.02 1.03 1.02 1.03 1.01 1.02 4,022,000 4,078,110 ROXAS AND CO 4.59 4.76 4.59 4.59 4.59 4.59 2,000 9,180 RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG 1.43 1.44 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.43 6,000 8,580 SWIFT FOODS 0.135 0.138 0.137 0.141 0.132 0.139 9,770,000 1,332,560 UNIV ROBINA 132.5 132.7 130.2 135 130.2 132.5 2,991,630 395,414,035 0.81 0.83 0.82 0.83 0.79 0.81 5,496,000 4,428,520 VITARICH 54 55.75 52.9 55.75 52.9 55 2,300 126,436 CONCRETE A CONCRETE B 55.1 59.85 55.1 59.8 55.1 59.7 310 17,588 CEMEX HLDG 1.14 1.15 1.11 1.16 1.11 1.15 1,752,000 1,973,260 DAVINCI CAPITAL 2.85 2.86 2.73 2.93 2.62 2.86 5,533,000 15,520,740 11.04 11.4 11.5 11.5 11.02 11.4 600 6,744 EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP 7.37 7.5 7.15 7.5 7.12 7.37 105,900 773,734 5.58 5.6 5.45 5.58 5.34 5.58 301,900 1,670,273 HOLCIM MEGAWIDE 6.38 6.4 6.15 6.5 6.15 6.38 1,016,900 6,484,077 PHINMA 12.22 12.26 11.96 12.26 11.96 12.26 121,200 1,480,830 1.17 1.19 1.08 1.21 1.05 1.19 2,263,000 2,597,720 TKC METALS 2.05 2.06 2.02 2.12 1.96 2.06 8,404,000 17,231,570 VULCAN INDL 1.95 1.96 2.08 2.08 1.86 1.96 1,452,000 2,828,170 CROWN ASIA EUROMED 1.97 2 1.94 2.01 1.93 2 39,000 76,680 PRYCE CORP 5.22 5.24 5.3 5.35 5.24 5.24 91,600 485,534 CONCEPCION 20.85 21 20.45 21 20.3 21 5,400 111,715 10.24 10.32 10 10.4 10 10.32 403,700 4,121,748 INTEGRATED MICR 1.07 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.05 1.08 630,000 667,510 IONICS 5.69 5.94 5.6 5.98 5.6 5.95 3,600 21,445 PANASONIC SFA SEMICON 1.27 1.3 1.27 1.3 1.22 1.3 861,000 1,086,820 CIRTEK HLDG 5.97 6 5.89 6.02 5.75 6 1,344,000 7,950,199

8,333,525 -62,500 -10,490,290 -84,700 -179,750 -512,518 -5,908,396 -8,461,370 -824,440 -3,677,340 145,505 -2,290,960 19,350 -1,168,534.00 -244,651 -214,754 -1,224,142 3,050 -654,760 -42,389,830 -41,595 -97,600 221,389 -2,927,610 274,330 -5,830,221.00 2,430 -504,750 444,150 -605,831 10,151 187,061 -1,248,386 -83,290 -296,600 -716,764 13,880 212,360 32,116

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 1.12 1.13 1.06 1.16 1.05 1.12 51,944,000 57,109,600 ASIABEST GROUP 6.91 7 7.2 7.28 6.9 7.2 7,000 49,335 AYALA CORP 758 763 740 764.5 725 763 181,360 137,433,450 36.25 36.35 35 36.4 35 36.35 1,219,300 43,983,980 ABOITIZ EQUITY 10.64 10.66 10.3 10.72 10.24 10.64 3,672,500 38,796,444 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 2.92 2.93 2.89 2.94 2.88 2.92 718,000 2,081,890 AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR 6.44 6.82 6.5 6.6 6.4 6.54 23,000 148,858 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.63 0.64 0.61 0.66 0.61 0.64 1,305,000 827,370 ATN HLDG A 0.75 0.76 0.73 0.78 0.71 0.76 3,107,000 2,318,450 0.77 0.8 0.83 0.83 0.75 0.8 182,000 141,180 ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL 5.18 5.21 5.15 5.23 5.14 5.21 276,400 1,434,415 DMCI HLDG 5.65 5.67 5.3 5.81 5.21 5.65 17,635,600 99,419,080 FILINVEST DEV 8.15 8.7 8.15 8.16 8.15 8.15 3,100 25,275 GT CAPITAL 535 537 510 541 504 535 121,780 64,188,620 3.53 3.66 3.51 3.51 3.51 3.51 1,000 3,510 HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT 60.9 61 59.7 61.8 59.6 61 1,423,540 87,053,701 4.71 4.8 5 5 4.8 4.8 7,000 34,700 JOLLIVILLE HLDG LODESTAR 1.04 1.05 1.03 1.06 0.99 1.04 7,109,000 7,301,200 LOPEZ HLDG 3.34 3.47 3.47 3.47 3.34 3.35 202,000 676,410 13.4 13.48 13.2 13.58 13.2 13.4 1,804,800 24,190,482 LT GROUP 0.47 0.495 0.43 0.495 0.43 0.495 22,000 10,675 MABUHAY HLDG MJC INVESTMENTS 1.72 1.88 1.88 1.88 1.88 1.88 1,000 1,880 METRO PAC INV 3.76 3.8 3.71 3.9 3.7 3.76 18,265,000 68,713,510 PACIFICA HLDG 3.5 3.6 3.59 3.94 3.5 3.5 22,000 79,620 PRIME MEDIA 2.58 2.6 2.7 2.75 2.38 2.58 14,229,000 36,786,780 1.23 1.25 1.24 1.27 1.23 1.25 169,000 209,060 SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID 345 350 340 355 340 353 260 89,200 SM INVESTMENTS 970 972 974 995 962 970 210,330 205,721,785 SAN MIGUEL CORP 121.2 121.5 120 122 116.1 121.5 42,360 5,104,048 SOC RESOURCES 0.69 0.7 0.68 0.71 0.68 0.71 40,000 27,620 140.6 143 143 143 140.7 143 610 86,988 TOP FRONTIER 0.24 0.25 0.255 0.255 0.24 0.24 700,000 170,250 WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG 0.195 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.195 0.195 440,000 91,950

634,520.00 5,909 52,288,070 29,872,910 6,017,152 142,720 19,310 39,950 -72,208 1,756,993 16,300 26,124,295 9,998,676.50 25,000 -163,740 -14,927,214 -12,557,640 442,300 21,795,240 572,753 48,643 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.61 0.63 0.62 0.63 0.6 0.63 1,128,000 688,750 AYALA LAND 35.6 35.65 34.45 35.85 34.1 35.65 9,753,000 346,592,560 ARANETA PROP 1.2 1.26 1.16 1.26 1.15 1.26 39,000 47,770 33.4 33.45 33.1 33.5 33 33.45 364,400 12,142,945 AREIT RT 1.49 1.5 1.48 1.5 1.43 1.5 232,000 347,120 BELLE CORP 0.88 0.89 0.85 0.88 0.84 0.88 1,641,000 1,412,310 A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT 0.78 0.79 0.77 0.79 0.77 0.78 94,000 72,780 CROWN EQUITIES 0.13 0.133 0.133 0.133 0.13 0.133 880,000 114,780 CEBU HLDG 6.72 6.8 6.43 6.8 6.42 6.8 168,500 1,129,645 5.89 5.9 5.5 5.97 5.5 5.9 3,349,400 19,417,925 CEB LANDMASTERS 0.38 0.385 0.38 0.4 0.36 0.39 15,540,000 5,935,150 CENTURY PROP DOUBLEDRAGON 12.98 13 13 13.2 12.6 13 2,125,400 27,634,324 DDMP RT 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.15 2.23 596,594,000 1,332,478,720 DM WENCESLAO 6.75 6.8 6.84 6.84 6.74 6.8 35,800 242,204 0.28 0.29 0.275 0.28 0.275 0.28 210,000 58,050 EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO 0.099 0.1 0.09 0.101 0.088 0.099 12,910,000 1,235,940 FILINVEST LAND 1.1 1.11 1.1 1.11 1.09 1.1 18,634,000 20,481,100 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.81 0.82 0.81 0.82 0.8 0.82 335,000 271,850 8990 HLDG 7.12 7.15 7.15 7.15 7.15 7.15 5,000 35,750 1.37 1.38 1.3 1.39 1.29 1.38 1,862,000 2,499,400 PHIL INFRADEV 1.36 1.38 1.32 1.41 1.25 1.36 2,790,000 3,776,780 CITY AND LAND 3.65 3.67 3.49 3.68 3.45 3.67 17,040,000 61,664,670 MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED 0.375 0.38 0.36 0.385 0.355 0.375 30,190,000 11,203,200 PHIL ESTATES 0.54 0.55 0.46 0.54 0.455 0.54 36,880,000 19,003,100 PRIMEX CORP 1.86 1.88 1.81 1.91 1.75 1.86 7,332,000 13,494,180 17.7 17.78 17.5 17.86 17.38 17.7 1,220,200 21,532,500 ROBINSONS LAND 0.26 0.265 0.26 0.265 0.25 0.265 330,000 85,950 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 1.5 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.47 1.5 1,010,000 1,547,620 SHANG PROP 2.68 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.67 2.69 383,000 1,026,330 STA LUCIA LAND 2.22 2.28 2.29 2.3 2.22 2.22 324,000 720,190 36.9 37.05 35.5 37.45 35.2 37.05 6,785,900 249,504,360 SM PRIME HLDG 3.71 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 5,000 19,500 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 1.51 1.53 1.53 1.54 1.46 1.51 340,000 511,320 VISTA LAND 3.78 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.65 3.78 2,206,000 8,285,430

-6,000 -61,730,875 741,215 -7,450 34,400 543,177 -43,554 132,200 369,726 -90,718,670 -6,145,550 40,000 374,070 -1,230 18,882,770 859,850 20,600 2,582,780 -9,857,684 -509,620 881,720 222,000 99,184,260 -1,974,530

SERVICES ABS CBN 11.1 11.5 10.96 11.5 10.96 11.5 47,400 525,368 GMA NETWORK 8.94 8.95 8.5 9.4 8.5 8.95 34,913,100 311,482,325 MANILA BULLETIN 0.435 0.45 0.43 0.435 0.43 0.435 50,000 21,650 10 11.5 10.7 11 10.7 11 2,300 24,966 MLA BRDCASTING GLOBE TELECOM 1,908 1,910 1,900 1,932 1,891 1,910 28,865 55,288,295 1,267 1,270 1,249 1,280 1,230 1,267 90,575 114,457,530 PLDT APOLLO GLOBAL 0.194 0.195 0.186 0.198 0.182 0.194 556,880,000 106,744,490 CONVERGE 19.12 19.18 18.56 19.12 18.18 19.12 4,790,800 90,350,888 DFNN INC 3.63 3.65 3.6 3.76 3.6 3.65 416,000 1,504,470 10.2 10.22 9.98 10.26 9.61 10.22 24,205,400 242,136,100 DITO CME HLDG 1.61 1.65 1.58 1.65 1.58 1.65 12,000 19,630 IMPERIAL NOW CORP 2.6 2.62 2.59 2.63 2.5 2.6 1,741,000 4,464,860 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.425 0.43 0.41 0.435 0.405 0.425 11,830,000 4,947,100 PHILWEB 2.8 2.81 2.75 2.81 2.7 2.8 656,000 1,818,770 8.47 8.5 8.4 8.6 8.4 8.5 270,800 2,298,308 2GO GROUP 15.04 15.5 15.5 15.5 15.04 15.04 20,500 309,088 ASIAN TERMINALS 3.25 3.28 3.25 3.34 3.12 3.25 1,047,000 3,383,440 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 44.55 45 43.8 45.75 43 45 476,600 21,102,735 INTL CONTAINER 124.1 124.4 122 125.4 121.9 124.1 1,784,320 220,634,795 0.95 1.06 0.95 1.06 0.95 1.06 3,000 3,050 LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA 4.82 4.85 4.56 4.89 4.56 4.85 1,279,000 6,119,370 2.3 2.32 2.3 2.45 2.2 2.32 505,000 1,138,360 METROALLIANCE A PAL HLDG 6.02 6.29 6 6.35 6 6.02 24,600 148,131 HARBOR STAR 1.11 1.14 1.09 1.15 1.09 1.14 244,000 269,380 ACESITE HOTEL 1.54 1.6 1.58 1.7 1.52 1.6 558,000 896,140 0.081 0.082 0.08 0.084 0.077 0.081 191,800,000 15,619,780 BOULEVARD HLDG 4.06 4.3 4 4.38 4 4.33 165,000 668,310 DISCOVERY WORLD 0.54 0.55 0.54 0.56 0.53 0.55 5,747,000 3,142,730 WATERFRONT CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.51 7.16 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 100 720 STI HLDG 0.375 0.38 0.38 0.38 0.375 0.375 330,000 124,500 6.8 6.85 6.79 6.85 6.76 6.8 5,271,200 35,926,354 BLOOMBERRY 2.14 2.19 2.09 2.47 2.09 2.14 1,809,000 4,102,630 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.81 1.85 1.8 1.85 1.75 1.85 506,000 906,150 LEISURE AND RES PH RESORTS GRP 2.04 2.05 1.99 2.05 1.94 2.04 4,065,000 8,153,730 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.385 0.39 0.38 0.39 0.375 0.39 1,670,000 644,350 PHIL RACING 6 6.02 6.1 6.1 6.02 6.02 1,100 6,646 7.67 7.69 7.72 7.9 7.69 7.69 533,400 4,119,413 ALLHOME 1.33 1.34 1.34 1.34 1.32 1.34 3,248,000 4,347,820 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 40 40.1 40.05 40.85 39.15 40 2,480,700 99,348,625 ROBINSONS RTL 57.5 57.8 56.7 58 56.5 57.5 850,520 48,953,523.50 PHIL SEVEN CORP 92 94.05 97.5 97.5 94.05 94.05 2,490 235,643 1.21 1.22 1.2 1.22 1.2 1.21 586,000 705,830 SSI GROUP WILCON DEPOT 17.46 17.88 17.34 17.88 17.34 17.88 209,100 3,676,852 0.39 0.4 0.38 0.4 0.38 0.4 170,000 66,100 APC GROUP EASYCALL 6.6 6.7 6.65 6.7 6.55 6.7 21,000 139,345 GOLDEN MV 420 450 400.2 450 400.2 442 1,210 514,000 4.81 5 5 5 5 5 4,300 21,500 IPM HLDG PAXYS 2.26 2.48 2.48 2.48 2.48 2.48 3,000 7,440 PRMIERE HORIZON 2.04 2.05 2 2.1 1.96 2.04 47,527,000 96,844,170 SBS PHIL CORP 4.25 4.45 4.25 4.25 4.25 4.25 12,000 51,000

-9,925,205 3,852,680 227,890 716,418 101,570 2,600,461 184,610 33,150 5,440 1,699,945 129,344.00 169,610 5,856,135 -40,377,084 -178,760.00 10,204 -49,830 369,270 -32,720 189,200 -12,436,805 -236,180 -18,000 55,620.00 148,200 -867 -3,352,970 10,094,875 -6,878,197 -157,823.50 338,418 -10,640 2,728,650 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 8.8 8.93 8.12 9.5 8.1 8.8 1,260,500 11,205,647 15,042.00 APEX MINING 1.42 1.43 1.41 1.47 1.4 1.43 2,539,000 3,582,760 36,940 6.24 6.29 6.2 6.3 6.19 6.29 88,100 547,519 2,517 ATLAS MINING 2.55 2.6 2.55 2.6 2.55 2.6 20,000 51,750 BENGUET A COAL ASIA HLDG 0.285 0.295 0.29 0.29 0.285 0.285 50,000 14,400 CENTURY PEAK 2.69 2.7 2.7 2.75 2.68 2.7 42,000 113,700 113,700 DIZON MINES 8.6 9.15 9 9.49 9 9.2 2,200 20,189 FERRONICKEL 2.43 2.45 2.27 2.54 2.24 2.43 6,739,000 16,243,310 -1,521,480 0.325 0.33 0.34 0.34 0.3 0.33 1,340,000 425,750 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.133 0.134 0.133 0.135 0.133 0.133 4,850,000 646,690 LEPANTO B 0.132 0.138 0.139 0.139 0.132 0.132 400,000 52,870 -36,960 MANILA MINING A 0.0096 0.0099 0.0097 0.0099 0.0096 0.0096 58,000,000 560,100 MANILA MINING B 0.0097 0.0099 0.0096 0.0096 0.0096 0.0096 1,000,000 9,600 1.22 1.24 1.18 1.24 1.17 1.24 756,000 908,270 -7,320 MARCVENTURES 2.16 2.28 2.15 2.35 2.05 2.29 166,000 360,840 -25,800 NIHAO 5.16 5.17 5.07 5.28 5.07 5.16 3,126,700 16,265,475 4,572,635 NICKEL ASIA OMICO CORP 0.405 0.435 0.405 0.435 0.405 0.435 40,000 17,100 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.84 0.85 0.84 0.85 0.81 0.85 724,000 604,960 4.56 4.6 4.54 4.64 4.5 4.57 422,000 1,921,730 -68,020 PX MINING 13.6 13.62 13.2 13.6 12.8 13.6 6,952,700 93,297,196 19,838,680 SEMIRARA MINING 0.0075 0.0077 0.0074 0.0077 0.0074 0.0075 38,000,000 283,500 UNITED PARAGON ACE ENEXOR 22.95 23 21.8 23.4 21.1 23 654,100 14,624,625 445,635 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 469,500,000 5,750,000 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.013 45,000,000 542,600 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.011 0.012 141,400,000 1,685,800 PHILODRILL PXP ENERGY 8.64 8.65 8.5 8.65 8.49 8.64 108,800 931,056 288,551.00 PREFFERED HOUSE PREF B 100.3 101 100.3 100.3 100.3 100.3 700 70,210 HOUSE PREF A 100.5 101 100.5 101 100.5 101 6,460 649,480 AC PREF B1 522 525 522 522 522 522 1,000 522,000 100.6 102 101.2 101.2 100.6 100.6 3,800 383,882 ALCO PREF B ALCO PREF C 102.5 109.9 102.6 102.6 102.5 102.5 38,080 3,903,621 AC PREF B2R 526 540 521.5 526 521.5 526 4,540 2,370,305 CEB PREF 39.5 39.75 38.5 40 38.05 39.5 422,500 16,522,850 -89,895 CPG PREF A 102.2 103.5 102.2 103.5 102.2 103.5 4,970 509,299 DD PREF 101.8 102.5 101.9 102.5 101.8 101.8 600 61,109 110.7 111 110.9 111 110.9 111 73,300 8,129,520 FGEN PREF G FPH PREF C 490 517.5 490 490 490 490 10 4,900 GLO PREF P 501.5 504 503.5 503.5 503.5 503.5 2,500 1,258,750 GTCAP PREF B 1,040 1,041 1,040 1,040 1,030 1,030 1,250 1,297,600 MWIDE PREF 99.9 100 100 100 99.9 99.9 6,670 666,528 100 101 100 100 100 100 680 68,000 68,000 MWIDE PREF 2A 100.5 101 101 101 100.2 101 12,740 1,285,542 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 987 990 995 995 986 990 8,670 8,574,360 158,075 PCOR PREF 2B 1,012 1,030 1,012 1,030 1,012 1,030 55 55,930 PCOR PREF 3A 1,100 1,115 1,100 1,100 1,100 1,100 800 880,000 1.7 1.83 1.7 1.75 1.7 1.75 7,000 12,200 SFI PREF SMC PREF 2C 77.65 77.75 77.75 77.75 77.7 77.75 53,500 4,157,679 SMC PREF 2E 75.7 77 75.8 75.8 75.7 75.7 7,930 600,660 SMC PREF 2F 78 78.95 79 79 79 79 680,780 53,781,620 SMC PREF 2K 75.6 75.65 75.7 75.7 75.6 75.6 4,470 338,105.50 - PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 10.5 10.94 10.96 10.96 10.32 10.94 36,000 375,620 -72,668 GMA HLDG PDR 8.46 8.49 8.02 9 8.02 8.49 3,595,000 30,441,101 -5,967,638 WARRANTS LR WARRANT 1.87 1.88 1.81 1.93 1.8 1.87 2,743,000 5,106,020 35,200 SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 19.54 19.7 19.08 19.9 18.7 19.7 103,400 1,981,532 149,620 ITALPINAS 2.39 2.41 2.33 2.42 2.26 2.41 446,000 1,050,640 64,510 KEPWEALTH 5.14 5.26 5.14 5.14 5.14 5.14 5,100 26,214 2.53 2.59 2.54 2.54 2.53 2.53 4,000 10,150 MAKATI FINANCE MERRYMART 4.93 4.94 4.65 5.03 4.6 4.93 11,484,000 56,062,590 -1,617,530 EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF 100 100.1 98.5 101 97.5 100 16,730 1,664,391.50 64,940

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Being a good steward of your finances

EING a good steward of your finances is being good in managing the inflow and outflow of your finances. This means we have to give a name for every peso that comes out from your pocket. Why do we need to be a good steward of our finances? They always say that it all starts with a very little amount. How you handle P10,000 is the same thing as how you will handle P100,000. Remember, that being a good steward is not to impress people but how you can afford what they can’t afford. In this world, everything that happens, has its reason. Stop blaming the older generation why you were born in a poor family set-up. Your perspective will determine your future. The bible makes it clear that the standard for good stewardship is that we are to be both faithful and disciplined. We must be faithful on what we are doing, just like how great people do little things with excellence. There is a story in a bible entitled, the parable of the talents. The “Parable of the Talents” offers some powerful insights into effective investment and personal growth. This is my personal thought about the story. The story about the three servants: “A man went away and put his three servants in charge of all he owned. The man knew what each servant could do. So he handed 5,000 coins to the first servant, 2,000 to the second and 1,000 to the third. Then he left the country.” Each servant were entrusted coins of different amount based on their ability to do. God knows your ability on how you handle resources. We pray and ask God for what we want, but God knows how we can handle our finances. It is important that we learn how to be a good steward. The story continues “As soon as the man had gone, the servant with the 5,000 coins used them to earn 5,000 more. The servant who had 2,000 coins did the same with his money and earned 2,000 more. But the servant with a thousand coins dug a hole and hid his master’s money in the ground.” Look at what the three servants did. In handling our finances we have different perspective but applying this principle will help us to be a good steward of things entrusted to us. We have to use it properly no matter how small the

Rodora Mendoza

personal finance amount and what risk it may take. As the story continues: “Some time later the master of those servants returned. He called them in and asked what they had done with his money. The servant who had been given five thousand coins brought them in with the five thousand that he had earned. He said, “Sir, you gave me five thousand coins, and I have earned five thousand more. “Wonderful!” his master replied. “You are a good and faithful servant. I left you in charge of only a little, but now I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share in my happiness! Next, the servant who had been given two thousand coins said the same what the first servant did and his master replied same thing. The servant who had been given one thousand coins then came in and said: “Sir, I know that you are hard to get along with. You harvest what you don’t plant and gather crops where you haven’t scattered seed. I was frightened and went out and hid your money in the ground. Here is every single coin!” The master of the servant told him: “You are lazy and good-for-nothing! You know that I harvest what I don’t plant and gather crops where I haven’t scattered seed. You could have at least put my money in the bank, so that I could have earned interest on it.” As you see, the story worked for the three servant. As we end this article, let me ask you these questions: n How good are you in handing your finances today? n Do you think God can give you more? n How good are you in handling small amount of money? n How wisely you are in spending? May this story help learn lessons that will help your personal growth and how to be a good steward. To help you plan wisely and skillfully for the finances you are blessed with, you will need someone to coach how. Rodora Mendoza is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about personal-financial planning, attend the 89th RFP program this May 2021. To inquire, e-mail info@ rfp.ph or text at 0917-6248110.

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 B3

Govt hikes April borrowing target to ₧170B on liquidity

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of the Treasury said it plans to borrow P10-billion more in April at P170 billion, higher than the P160 billion it programmed in March, to take “advantage of good liquidity conditions.”

The tweak upward was announced by National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon on Monday as a way to explain the schedule of government securities offering it released that day. To raise P170 billion in April, the Treasury will be auctioning off P100 billion in Treasury Bills (T-bills) and P70 billion in Treasury Bonds (T-bonds). The Treasury said it will be offering P25 billion in T-bills in each of the four auction days of the month; the amount bigger than the usual program of P20 billion in the previous months. Likewise, the P70 billion T-bonds offering for April was also higher than the P60-billion programmed for the debt papers in the past months. In each of the four Mondays of

April, the Treasury is set to offer 91-day, 182-day and 364-day T-bills. On the other hand, it will be offering P35-billion in 5-year T-bonds on April 6 and another P35 billion in 7-year T-bonds on April 20. On Monday the Treasury awarded P24 billion in T-Bills, an upsize from the P20 billion initial offer. Broken down, the Treasury awarded P7 billion each for the 91day and the 182-day T-bills and P10 billion for 364-day T-bills. The auction was also oversubscribed by almost four times the initial offering as the tenors attracted total bids of P79.3 billion. This prompted the auction committee to raise the accepted non-competitive bids for 91-day and 182-day securities to P4 billion each.

Rates moderating

UNLIKE the past weeks, the T-bills’ average rates for all tenors were all down compared to the previous auction. De Leon said they “see rates moderating as investors again flock to safe-haven assets” and that “sufficient liquidity remains.” Pressed on whether investors are shrugging off elevated inflation and the re-imposition of enhanced community quarantine restrictions, De Leon said: “As BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) clarified, higher inflation is transitory, coming from supply-side constraints, which nonmonetary measures will address.” De Leon also said they opened the tap facility auction on Monday for an additional P5-billion for 364day T-bills. The 91-day T-bills capped at an average rate of 1.269 percent, sliding by 6.7 basis points from the previous auction’s 1.336 percent. Total bids for the tenor amounted to P22.357 billion, more than quadruple the P5 billion initial offer. Meanwhile, the 182-day T-bills fetched a lower average rate of 1.609 percent, a 10.9-basis point (bps) drop from 1.718 percent in the past auction. Tenders for the security reached P21.507 billion, also four times the initial offer of P5-billion.

Lastly, the average rate for 364day T-bills fell by 7.1 bps to 1.926 percent from 1.997 percent previously.

Moody’s views

THE Treasury’s announcement came on the day Moody’s Investor Services flagged the rising Covid-19 infection rate to delay economic recovery; “a credit negative.” Moody’s Investor Services also noted that the “tightened restrictions on households and businesses have prompted calls for another stimulus package while the weak economy weighs on taxable income.” “At the same time, the recently passed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create) Act may worsen near-term weakness in tax revenue,” the credit rating agency said. “Although the Create Act introduces limits to tax incentives that will expand the tax base over the long run, policymakers saw this measure as facilitating the recovery from Covid in part by lowering corporate income tax rates.” Last year, the agency said, national government debt rose sharply to 54.5 percent of GDP [gross domestic product] from 39.6 percent the previous year, “effectively reversing the progress on debt consolidation over the past decade.”

BOC moves to plug leaks in assessment of imports By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

HE Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) initiative to “plug loopholes in the current import assessment system” to ensure that the government is not losing much-needed revenues from alleged undervalued rice imports was welcomed last Monday by a group of farmers. The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) on Monday said the BOC’s plan was the highlight of a dialogue they had last March 29 with Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero and other officials. During the dialogue on the issue of rice import undervaluation, Guerrero “promised to implement key measures to stop the tariff leakage” from undervalued rice imports, according to the FFF. The FFF added that the BOC has earlier “adopted” several of its suggestions to curb undervaluation of shipments. The agreements between the FFF and the BOC during the Mon-

day meeting included involving the use of updated and standard tariff classification for rice imports and the provision of reference and/or indicative prices for each variety and grade of rice from specific countries. “The reference prices should include not only the FOB [freight on board] prices or selling price at the port of origin but also those for freight and insurance,” the FFF explained. The FFF said the BOC agreed to “require importers to fully divulge the variety, grade and other specifications of their shipments so that a proper comparison can be made between their declared import costs and BOC reference prices.” Furthermore, the BOC vowed to “strictly require importers, whose declared import costs are found to be below BoC reference prices, to post bonds equivalent to the estimated tariff discrepancy before their shipments can be released,” according to the FFF.

The FFF said the BOC would also pursue the audit and collection of unpaid tariffs, surcharges and other penalties from erring importers and blacklist them from future transactions with the bureau. FFF pointed out that Guerrero clarified to them that “all collections arising from the audit of import entries, including penalties and surcharges” will be part of the annual rice competitiveness enhancement fund. “We are hopeful that the BOC under Commissioner Guerrero’s leadership will seriously address the problem of undervaluation not only in rice but also in many other agricultural products,” the group said. “This will provide much-needed funds for the government in addressing the Covid pandemic and other urgent concerns. In the case of rice, the collection of proper tariffs will generate more resources to help farmers affected by the drop in prices caused by excessive imports,” the group added.

The BusinessMirror has published numerous exclusive stories on the issue of undervaluation of rice imports, especially since the government deregulated the industry by enacting the rice trade liberalization law in March 2019. Likewise, the BusinessMirror exposed the aggressive use of unscrupulous traders and importers of farmers’ cooperatives and associations as their fronts in importing huge volumes of staple. Since late last year, the government has suspended farmers’ cooperatives and associations as well as irrigators’ associations from importing rice. The BusinessMirror also broke the story that the BOC have found over 40 rice importers liable for undervaluing their rice shipments in 2019, resulting in a P1.4 billion collectible. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2020/09/23/rice-importerscharged-p1-4-billion-on-undervaluation)

Amid pandemic, Insular Life names Littaua to replace Dela Cruz as new president lender to open 6 T new branches

ECURITY Bank Corp. announced it would open six new branches this year, despite uncertainty over government’s response to the rising Covid-19 infection rate. This the bank said in a statement released last Monday after announcing the opening of its newest branch in Eton Centris in Quezon City. The opening coincides with the first day of an enhanced community quarantine that orders non-essential businesses to stop operating until April 4. “Eton Centris is a dynamic commercial center in Quezon City. It also serves as a transportation hub and is close to many private institutions, government agencies, and thriving residential areas,” Executive Vice-President and Branch Banking Group Head Leslie Y. Cham was quoted in a statement as saying. “It is a privilege for our bank to have a presence in this area both because it presents new opportunities for growth and for us to bring our mission to enrich lives, empower businesses and build communities closer to Filipinos,” she added. As of March 11, Security Bank has a total of 314 bank branches and 788 Automated Teller Machines nationwide. Bianca Cuaresma

HE Insular Life Assurance Co. Ltd. recently announced its Board of Trustees accepted during its March meeting the retirement of President and CEO Mona Lisa B. dela Cruz, effective June 7. Dela Cruz has served Insular Life for 41 years, rising from assistant manager in mass marketing to heading actuarial and administrative operations, before being appointed in 2015 as the first female president and chief operating officer and then chief executive officer in 2018 of the life insurance company. She also held concurrent positions as chief actuary and treasurer. Dela Cruz became President of Insular General Insurance and director of Insular Life subsidiaries including Insular Health Care, Insular Foundation and the firm’s affiliate Mapfre Insular Insurance. She held directorships in Union Bank of the Philippines, The Medical City and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. “An ‘InLifer’ during her entire career life, [Dela Cruz] took on increasing management responsibilities and strengthening the compa-

DE LA CRUZ

LITTAUA

ny’s core operations,” the company said. “She championed Insular Life’s strategy of customer-centricity and led in incorporating the ‘Magandang Araw’ servicing brand into the corporate culture, which later became one of the corner stones of Insular Life’s brand identity.” Insular Life Executive Chairperson Nina D. Aguas thanked Dela Cruz “for her leadership, commitment, consistency and stability that has allowed the company to survive the many challenges, staying focused on the welfare of our policyholders, employees and agency force.” “We wish her all the very best

as she takes on a truly deserved retirement from corporate life,” Aguas added. Succeeding Dela Cruz as president and CEO is Senior Executive Vice President and Insurance Distribution Group Head Raoul E. Littaua. Littaua joined the company in 2018 as Chief Agency Officer. He is currently the Chief Distribution Officer in charge of agency operations and bancassurance. He is also Board Director of InLife Health Care Inc. “A veteran of the life insurance business, he introduced several changes in agency distribution channel that led to revitalizing the company’s agency force mak-

ing the company an attractive business partner for field managers and agents,” the company said. “His brainchild, ‘Project Alpha,’ has enabled [Insular Life] to bring and develop promising and productive millennial agency leaders and financial advisors. He transformed the bancassurance business model resulting in impressive business results amidst the pandemic.” Prior to joining Insular Life, Littaua worked with two global life insurance companies in various roles in progressive capacities in operations, agency management, bancassurance, marketing and human resources. At Sun Life, he established the nationwide customer service centers, and initiated the Company’s process improvement efforts when he was the insurance operations head. When he was moved as Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing, he conceptualized and spearheaded various sales and marketing campaigns that contributed to the company’s strong market performance. It was also under his watch that solid marketing discipline was introduced

making the competitors notice the company’s innovative marketing drives. He was Board Director of Sun Life Foundation, Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Sun Life Financial Plans Inc. and Sun Life Prosperity Bond Fund. As Allianz PNB Life Insurance Corp. senior vice president and chief distribution officer, Littaua strengthened their bancassurance partnership and established agency channel. A strong advocate of renewable energy, he worked with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as technical consultant for foreign-assisted projects and special projects. Among his projects were Philippine solid waste management project, coral reef rehabilitation and eco-tourism development, climate change adaptation and biodiversity project, and digitization of Cadastral Lands. Littaua graduated from the De La Salle University with an AB Psychology degree. He completed an Executive Development Course from LOMA/LIMRA in conjunction with Penn State University.

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Art

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Today’s Horoscope

THE second solo show of Binong Javier, titled Drop of Life (Stillabunt Vitae), runs at Galerie Roberto until April 2.

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Katy Mixon, 40; Celine Dion, 53; MC Hammer, 59; Eric Clapton, 76. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Assess your relationships and set boundaries where necessary. Concentrate on how to utilize your skills to enhance your life and relationships with those who bring out the best in you. Recognize what you can do, and don’t waste time arguing over petty grievances when you can channel your energy into building a stable, satisfying future. Take control and excel. Your numbers are 2, 15, 24, 27, 36, 41, 44.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Question everything that doesn’t feel right. Don’t put up with situations that drag you down or stop you from doing what’s best for you. Don’t complain; look for solutions that will lead to a better environment. Take control, and you’ll have no regrets. HHH

Binong Javier makes a point

NDERSTANDING the life journey of visual artist Binong Javier reveals an important truth about his art. What appears to be cohesive explosions of colors— meticulously applied drop by painstaking drop—are actually a mapping of a constellation of experiences, wherein the artist highlights in equal parts the individuality of moments and the role they play in the big picture. On view at Galerie Roberto in Alabang is Javier’s ongoing second solo exhibition, titled Drop of Life

(Stillabunt Vitae). The show runs until April 2. “Itong mga patak na ’to, istorya ko ’to,” Javier says in the exhibition’s promotional video. “’Yung mga taong nakasama ko sa abroad, mga nakatrabaho, may kanyakanyang kwento. May madilim, may makulay.” Javier was born and raised in Caloocan. He was introduced to the arts at a young age when his uncles handed him a chalk and asked him to draw on the floor. Such was the impact of the experience that Javier eventually pursued a degree in Fine Arts, Major in Advertising at Technological University of the Philippines. It was in college that Javier started to paint more frequently and more seriously, joining a number of art competitions in and out of school. After graduation, Javier worked as a muralist, before flying out of the country to work overseas as a graphic artist for advertising agencies. Javier returned home in 2015 and rejoined the art competition circuit. With a broader view on life after spending years overseas, Javier decided to try a new style in 2016 for the GSIS National Art Competition under the Non-Representational category.

The artist toyed with the idea of reproductive science and created art using squeeze bottles, fashioning paint drops in the form of sperm cells. The piece, titled Pwedeng Kami, Pero Ikaw, relates to the idea of one sperm winning the race in a field of millions. The artwork only received an honorable mention in the competition, but it did give birth to the style that has come to define Javier as an artist today. Of course, Javier’s technique isn’t particularly a groundbreaking discovery. It qualifies in principle as pointillism, a painting technique pioneered by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac in Paris in the mid1880s. The movement involved the application of paint in carefully placed dots of pure color. Seurat and Signac posited that the blending and mixing will occur not on the canvas, but on the viewer’s perception, creating more striking images. Icons from Vincent van Gogh to Maximilen Luce have dabbled in the style. But while the movement’s

Continued on B5

Ortigas Malls hosts 4th annual art festival By Roderick L. Abad Contributor ORTIGAS Malls is bringing the best of film, painting, photography, sculpture, and more closer to everyone in its award-winning and admission-free art festivities, ongoing until March 31. “We at Ortigas Malls have always supported the art community. Through the Ortigas Art Festival, we have been able to bring together hundreds of talented local and even international artists, providing them a platform to express their craft and inspire people from all walks of life,” said Architect Renee Bacani, vice president of Ortigas Malls. “The theme of this year’s Ortigas Art Festival aligns with Ortigas Malls’ ‘Enjoy Everyday’ campaign, which promotes the importance of making every day enjoyable and seizing every opportunity, despite the many challenges that life may bring,” he added. The fourth installment of this annual celebration has ventured on to film this year from the previous year’s photography, paintings and sculptures exhibits. “Art is an important part of society, it is food to the

soul. As long as the community remains dedicated to pursuing the craft and enthusiasts continue to support it, the art industry will thrive,” noted Renato Habulan, exhibit head. As the entire world continues to reel from Covid-19 pandemic, he pointed out that collaboration and innovation among artists remains a top priority. “We are grateful to continue this partnership with Ortigas Malls through the annual Ortigas Art Festival. Through activities like this, we are able to foster a sense of commonality among artists, encourage learning and push the industry together,” said Habulan, who himself is a multi-awarded Filipino artist. To keep Ortigas Art Festival 2021 more engaging to all kinds of art lovers amid these trying times, the mall and partner-artists have made it a hybrid creative event with on-ground and virtual activities. Among the highlights is Agos.studio, whose artists led by Habulan himself showcase their fluid and borderless art to the world. They continue to spearhead the e-mentoring sessions for aspiring and established artists to uplift

their spirits and guide them in these unprecedented times. The Art Relief Mobile Kitchen is the beneficiary of this headline gallery. Everyone is also raving about the works by Born in Film, a nonprofit organization. It features masterpieces including those of Alberto Garcia, the only Filipino photographer included in Time Magazine and National Geographic’s Most Influential Photos of the 20th Century with his Mount Pinatubo picture “Beauty Amidst Disaster.” Art enthusiasts and aspiring artists can also check out the creative pieces from Richard Buxani, Arnel Borja, La Maison D’ David Art Gallerie, vMeme Contemporary Art Gallery, and many others at the Estancia in Capitol Commons, Pasig City. First launched in 2018 with over 60 local artists from well-renowned groups, the Ortigas Art Festival has grown and become a much-awaited annual festivity. In 2019, its roster expanded with more than 130 artists from all over the country, growing even bigger with over 200 artists here and abroad, including those from Southeast Asia in 2020.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Make decisions based on facts. Question anyone who doesn’t appear to have a plan. Use your ingenuity, physical ability and determination to overcome any obstacle you face. Handle your finances cautiously, and refuse to let emotions trigger indulgent behavior.HHH

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Hard work will lead to an excellent opportunity. Refuse to let someone step in and take over. Follow through with your plans, and you’ll be the one to reap the rewards. Distance yourself from anyone who is unstable, misleading or intrusive. HHH

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Choose to follow your intuition when it comes to working and dealing with situations that may affect your health and well-being. Make moves based on common sense, and show discipline when faced with temptation. Choose to liberate yourself from being a follower. HHHHH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take a moment to rethink your next move. Don’t act under emotional duress. Filter what’s happening and being said, then make a move that offers safe and sound suggestions. Personal improvement will lift your spirits and encourage a healthier lifestyle. HH

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A change someone makes will tempt you to head in the same direction. Consider what will happen if you don’t choose to follow your dreams. Do what’s best for you, and you’ll breathe easy at the end of the day. HHHH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Consider every angle. Make sure you have the necessary knowledge, technology and money to finish what you start. Preparation will be the key to getting ahead. Take physical action. HHH

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’ll be up and down like a yo-yo if you let someone dictate what you can do or say. Speak up, make yourself clear and follow your heart. You have plenty to offer, and you can make a difference. HHH

i j k

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Consider how to get ahead or move forward financially. Don’t rely on someone to do your bidding for you. Stick to what you know and do best, and build your confidence by investing in your future. HHHH CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t lose sight of your goals and objectives. Take better care of your health and your relationships with friends, relatives and peers. HHHH AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t spend impulsively. Consider your overhead before you buy something you don’t need. Personal improvements don’t have to cost money. Start with a physical fitness routine and proper diet that you can do in the comfort of your own home. HH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You’ll have plenty of ideas, but not all will be financially sound. Do your best to make a difference. Improve your life and the lives of loved ones. Avoid getting into an argument with someone who will never see things your way. HHHHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are adaptable, conscientious and determined. You are resourceful and ambitious.

‘carried away’ BY LYNN LEMPEL The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Dallas NBA team, informally 5 Grand shindig 9 Pueblo brick 14 Brother of Cain 15 Dissenting votes 16 ___ Forces Day 17 Bowler’s assignment 18 Transport some bike parts? 20 Cosmetics mogul Lauder 22 Radio personality Glass 23 Weekend spoof show, briefly 24 Transport some roosters? 28 Summary 29 Flatware company 33 Passed handily 35 They may absorb stuff in classrooms 38 “...but that could be wrong” 39 Excessively 40 Transport some white wine, informally? 42 Dove’s soft sound 43 Lexus competitor 45 Orbital period 46 Introductory jazz passage

7 “I’m all ears!” 4 49 Bobby in a Janis Joplin hit 51 Transport some anglers? 56 “If I were ___...” 58 Eager supporter 59 In-demand blood group 60 Transport some dogs? 64 Resolute 65 Modify 66 Pennsylvania lake port 67 Diva’s solo 68 Sheen 69 Shove under a seat, say 70 An oboist may make one DOWN 1 Bulls and bucks 2 Embarrass 3 Proceed bravely 4 Fell as freezing rain 5 Health food chain 6 Org. for those on the road 7 Line on a karaoke screen 8 Houston slugger 9 “That feels so-o-o good” 10 Place to store clothes, or a person

wearing them 1 Prophetic sign 1 12 Stock exchange signal 13 Puzzle tweakers, briefly 19 Baylor University’s city 21 List-writing shortcut, for short 25 Tibetan monk 26 Adhesive resin 27 Rounded door handle 30 Atahualpa’s realm 31 Ruination 32 Situated over 33 Just slightly 34 Pixar hit set in Mexico 36 Pizza, for one 37 Fraudulent offers 40 Looking down on one’s peers? 41 Word after “fallen” or “triumphal” 44 Says no 46 A long, long way off 48 Uber alternative 50 Catch on to 52 Deities that control mortals’ destinies 53 Like helium 54 Weird

5 Bedouin or Mongol, historically 5 56 Bellow 57 German name that’s also an Italian number 60 Indulgent spree 61 Hosp. triage sites 62 ___ Grande 63 Do some quilting Solution to Friday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Tuesday, March 30, 2021

CHRISSY TEIGEN DELETES TWITTER ACCOUNT, CITING NEGATIVITY LOS ANGELES—Chrissy Teigen has deleted her popular Twitter account, saying the site no longer plays a positive role in her life. “For over 10 years you guys have been my world,” Teigen wrote to her 13.7 million followers on Wednesday night. “But it’s time to say goodbye. This no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively, and I think that’s the right time to call something.” Teigen’s account was popular for its mix of jokes about her husband John Legend and their children, their playful banter on the site, funny observations about assorted topics and fierce retorts for those she disagreed with or who criticized her. That reputation is at odds with who she really is, the model and cookbook author wrote. “My life goal is to make people happy,” she wrote. “The pain I feel when I don’t is too much for me. I’ve always been portrayed as the strong clap back girl but I’m just not.” Last year, Teigen shared the heartbreak of a miscarriage on the site, posting an anguished picture of her in the hospital. Another image showed her and Legend grieving over a bundle cradled in her arms. While her candor about the loss of their son won praise, some criticized her for putting such painful moments on social media. She wrote on Wednesday that she’s experienced so many attacks from low-follower accounts that she’s “deeply bruised.” In one of her final posts, she told her followers to “never forget that your words matter.” Teigen’s Instagram account, with more than 34 million followers, remains active as does Legend’s Twitter account, with 14 million followers. AP

MAJA SALVADOR (left) and Olivia Quido-Co

Ladies in charge T

WINWYN MARQUEZ

Winwyn admits being as unpredictable as first lead role BY LEONY R. GARCIA BEAUTY queen-actress Winwyn Marquez would love to be known as an accomplished individual wearing many hats: versatile actress, beauty queen, teacher, military officer, dutiful daughter and loving sister, among many others. “Yeah, I believe, I’m as unpredictable as Nelia, my new character in my forthcoming movie, because I do things simultaneously on my own. So pumasok ako sa beauty contest, nag military training ako, then I took up a license as a teacher. I did all these without telling others, not even my family,” she said during a recent Zoom interview. Winwyn said she just returned home for a week from her lock-in taping for a TV show with GMA. Then she’s scheduled for another two months of lockin shooting for Nelia in the coming days. If there would be no changes due to the lockdown and movement restrictions, shooting should have started on March 22 in Gapan, Nueva Ecija. Nelia, “a contemporary movie about a curious woman that will surely intrigue, frighten and make audiences scream,” is the maiden film venture A&Q Productions Film Inc. The new film company envisions to produce quality Filipino films, most especially as this pandemic lingers to help the country’s movie industry, according to producer Atty. Melanie Honey Quiño, who also penned the story of Nelia. “Nelia is the first of many quality and entertaining film offerings from A&Q,” said Atty. Aldwin F. Alegre, the other half of the power tandem for the nascent company. The upcoming film tells the story of Nelia, whose womanly instincts and gut feel are aroused because of mysterious cases that happen in the hospital where she works. With Lester Dimaranan as the director, Nelia also features Mon Confiado, Dexter Doria, Lloyd Samartino, Vin Abrenica, Ali Forbes, Shido Roxas and Raymond Bagatsing as Dr. Rey.

HERE comes a point in our lives when all we have to do is take charge of our lives and be open to changing direction. Such is the case of actress Maja Salvador, whose professional life was caught in a very tight bubble at the onslaught of the pandemic. She was one of the stable of stars of the beleaguered franchise-denied network who took on work assignments in an available, smaller studio. Despite the fact that she did so with utmost care and propriety, knowing that she was no longer bound by any existing contract and informing her former bosses of her big move, Salvador still got bashed for her decision. Sunday Noontime Live, her first weekend variety show on TV5, was short-lived, only airing for less than 100 days. Whatever the reasons for the cancellation, Salvador just brushed off any negative thoughts and charged it to experience. “There are things that you have no full control over. You just have to find full acceptance and be ready for the next chapter of this amazing life,” she said. Salvador will soon be seen in a new drama series on TV5, titled Niña, Niño, which explores faith and favors, mercies and miracles. She top bills the series with promising actor Noel Comia Jr., whose skills

were first noticed in the local independent film festival circuits. And because blessings continue to pour on her wonderful heart, Salvador recently announced that she has put up Crown Artist Management, a full-service talent and entertainment agency that will manage her career and those of her other celebrity friends. Salvador ventured into this new venture with her fiancé Rambo Nuñez, her future mother-in-law Marilen, and she shared that she will be hands-on, eager to learn about the ins and outs in running this new business. For the meantime, Salvador continues to learn about life and living, winning some battles and losing some struggles, and she has remained undaunted, charging ahead, showing class, charisma and courage.

pageant in Florida, the Olivia Quido Skincare line has been tapped by the organizers to come in as a major brand sponsor, and this will allow almost a hundred beauty queens from all over the world to experience the products of this brand which Filipino communities in the US have been raving about, including a 24karat gold line of beauty care products. “I am blessed that I am able to raise the Philippine flag at a period when the world seems to be in turmoil because of natural and unnatural causes. If only the citizens of the world can learn to accept each other wholeheartedly, give each other space and respect each other’s uniqueness, we can all have an equal ground in showing the best that we can be.” ■

A BEAUTIFUL MIND ANOTHER inspirational lady of style and substance is US-based celebrity entrepreneur Olivia Quido-Co, whose clear vision of what she wants paved the way for her to establish a beauty and skin-care empire in the West Coast known as OSkin Med Spa. With an initial investment of only $1,500 in 2003, Quido-Co started a small venture and learned about beauty and skin care, working beyond office hours to offer the best service and treatments for her small clientele. “I was mending a broken heart when I flew to the US, and I have to admit studying about skin care was not just an escape but it helped me understand how a woman feels, heals and becomes complete again.” Quido-Co who had her own beauty show during the peak of The Filipino Channel, believes that a person is most beautiful when he or she has good skin. “It is priceless when you become an instrument that someone feels good again about herself, that you are able to bring out the best in them because they also feel good about the world.” For the next edition of the Miss Universe beauty

BINONG JAVIER MAKES A POINT CONTINUED FROM B4 most recognizable works involve representational subjects, Javier mostly deals with abstract expressionism. His works appear as readings of human emotions. Javier exercises complete command over the direction of his drops, from inside out, outside in, to waves and other patterns. In whichever desired motion he pleases, however, the artist is able to project his idea of visualizing a person through his or her individual experiences. All these and more are in display in Javier’s second solo at Galerie Joaquin. The artist offers a range of flavors, from sunset gradients in Refined to striking visuals in Red Flower Stamen. “Iyon ’yung mga experience natin,” Javier said in the video. “’Pag tinignan mo ’yung kabuuan, isang malaking picture, isang malaking painting.” ■

GMA execs represent Philippines anew in NYF Grand Jury GMA is set to represent the Philippines in the global scene once more as GMA Senior Vice President for News and Public Affairs Marissa Flores, First Vice President for Public Affairs Nessa Valdellon, and top GMA News anchor Jessica Soho were again named to the 2021 New York Festivals (NYF) TV and Film Awards Grand Jury. With years of industry experience, Flores brings both leadership and creativity to the role as head of GMA’s News and Public Affairs Group, in the process propelling it to become the country’s most awarded and most credible broadcast news organization. In 2020, amid the challenges brought by the pandemic, the GMA group continued to provide the public with the much-needed news and information on air and online while sparking hope and inspiration through various innovative shows and projects. GMA News led all Philippine media organizations in video viewership across all digital platforms for last year, while digital powerhouse GMA Public Affairs recorded a total of 80 million followers across popular platforms. GMA Public Affairs also reached 10 million subscribers on YouTube in April 2020, making GMA the first Philippine media organization to receive two Diamond Creator Awards from the streaming site. On top of being a Grand Jury member, Flores will also be part of the NYF’s Advisory Board. Valdellon, on the other hand, is behind some of the country’s most ground-breaking and compelling public affairs programs and specials. In 2011, she led the launch of GMA News TV, which recently

rebranded to GTV. Valdellon also produced the pioneering mobile journalism newscast Stand for Truth. Under her watch, GMA Public Affairs was able to launch a fresh programming lineup in 2020. These included the “New Normal: The Survivor Guide” strip which was geared toward helping viewers navigate the so-called New Normal; the timely documentary Lockdown: Food Diaries, The Atom Araullo Specials: Nang Tumigil ang Mundo, and various public affairs shows that featured stories about Covid-19. Soho, meanwhile, is the first Filipino news anchor to be shortlisted at the NYF TV and Film Awards last 2018 and later winning the Bronze Medal in the Best News Anchor category for State of the Nation with Jessica Soho. Widely regarded as the most-awarded broadcast journalist in the country, Soho is a two-time recipient of the highly prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and a Hall of Famer at the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand Awards, winning the Most Trusted News Presenter plum for eight consecutive years. She currently hosts the top-rating public affairs program Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho. Joining Flores, Valdellon and Soho in the NYF Grand Jury are award-winning directors, producers, writers, actors and other creative media professionals from across the globe. Together, they are tasked to determine this year’s winners from entries coming from over 50 countries. All NYF judges are prohibited from judging entries from their own companies.

GMA Senior Vice President for News and Public Affairs Marissa Flores

B6 Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Philhealth only pays ‘good’ claims; commits processing ahead of prescribed timeframe

Globe at Home launches #WiFiSolutions

OW that Filipinos rely on the internet more than ever in this prolonged period of work-from-home and distance learning, it pays to keep the home connected— and to know what to do when it isn’t. To prepare every subscriber for this new online normal, Globe is launching #WifiSolutions, a new online hub for getting the most out of a Globe At Home subscription, via glbe.co/wifisolutions. #WifiSolutions contains user guides to educate and help customers solve WiFi issues and manage their broadband account. From understanding the lights on the modem all the way to setting up a mesh network, the new portal from Globe At Home gives you practical

knowledge to keep the internet experience smooth at home. Key features of the online help hub include: Maximizing Your WiFi, Booking and Tracking Repairs, DIY Troubleshooting, Managing Your Account, Paying Your Bills, and Upgrading Your Plan. Aside from tips and tricks to boost WiFi signal and speed, the new online help hub also includes a troubleshooting section that eliminates the need to call for quick fixes. But if the situation calls for it, the support section makes it easy to book an appointment and track repairs. It’s not just troubleshooting, however. The site also has sections for managing your Globe At Home account, with features that let you

monitor usage, pay bills, and upgrade your plan to suit every need. “We want to make sure that we are able to improve our customer care, especially now that connectivity plays a bigger role in daily life,” says Barbie Dapul, VP for Marketing of Globe At Home. “We established #WiFiSolutions to expand our channels for customer assistance, as well as equip our customers’ knowledge to improve their WiFi experience at home.” To learn more about keeping the home connected, look up #WiFiSolutions on YouTube or visit glbe.co/wifisolutions. Download the Globe at Home app and follow Globe at Home on Facebook for the latest news and updates.

HE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has assured its accredited health care providers that it is committed to paying claims that are without deficiencies and compliant to all pertinent policies and requirements of the program. This was reiterated by the state health insurer amid concerns of the Private Hospital Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PHAPi) over the supposed nonpayment of claims to their member hospitals amounting to P6-B. The Agency clarified that the issue was not presented in the proper perspective as the said hospital association only highlighted the unpaid portion and downplayed that a total of P25-B has been paid in CY 2020. PhilHealth said that based on records, it received a total of three million claims from PHAPi member hospitals from January to December 2020, 87 percent of which had been paid amounting to P25-B, while 5 percent amounting to over P1-B are in different stages of processing. However, about 8 percent of total claims received, estimated to cost around P2.4-B, were either denied payment or returned to hospitals (RTH) due to deficiencies and/or violations of existing policies and guidelines. Among the common reasons of RTH are unavailability/incompleteness/ inconsistency/unreadability of required documents, other documents being required, discrepancies in entries, Claim Form 2 not properly accomplished, and Claim Form 4 with errors, among others. On the other hand, claims are usually denied due to non-compliance to standard of care (system), filing beyond the 60

days statutory period, late refiling, and non-compensable cases, among others. “No less than the Filipino people expect us to be prudent in our dealings especially where their funds are involved, this is why we take great pains seeing to it that each and every claim that we pay are consistent with applicable laws and Program regulations,” PhilHealth President and CEO Atty. Dante A. Gierran asserted, adding that as a state insurer, PhilHealth is bound by the auditing rules of the Commission on Audit. The PhilHealth Chief also recognized the difficult situation being faced by many facilities especially in the midst of the pandemic, saying that “we are committed to pay good claims, but we are bound by law to properly act on deficient ones.” He even guaranteed quicker processing for good claims, citing latest performance record of 39 days on national average against the 60 days provided for by law. Gierran added that the issue is best addressed through dialogues and reconciliation of records to put things into proper perspective. “Bukas po ang aming tanggapan sa lahat ng rehiyon para mag-reconcile po tayo ng ating claims records. Nakahanda kaming tulungan sila na makapag-comply sa mga polisiya para mabawasan kundi man maiwasan na ang denied o pagbabalik ng claims sa mga ospital.”

PDA, MWF celebrate World Oral Heath Day

ANILA Water Foundation and the Philippine Dental Association inaugurated a three-faucet toothbrushing and handwashing facility in a Dumagat community in Tanay, Rizal, in line with the celebration of the 2021 World Oral Health Day. With the theme, “Be Proud of Your Mouth,” this year’s World Oral Health Day is led by the Philippine Dental Association and Manila Water Foundation, in a virtual ceremony at Manila Water Foundation’s Facebook and Youtube pages. During the celebration, experts from the dental and medical fields provided talks that aimed to raise awareness

about proper oral health. FDI World Dental Federation, the world's leading organization representing the dental profession, shared what this celebration is about through a message from its president, Dr. Gerhard Seeberger. Representatives from the Philippine Dental Association also discussed about visiting the dentist in the “new normal” and the proper toothbrushing techniques. The virtual event is co-presented with the Department of Health and the Department of Education’s Oplan Kalusugan, and corporate partners PHILUSA Corporation, makers of Cleene CLIO toothbrush, and Lamoiyan Corporation, makers of Hapee Toothpaste.

Aside from the virtual ceremony, MWF and PDA also inaugurated a three-faucet toothbrushing and handwashing facility in a Dumagat community in Tanay, Rizal, in line with the celebration of the 2021 World Oral Health Day. PDA nominated Brgy. Cayabu, their community partner for their programs, with 60 Dumagat families or 200 individuals as the beneficiary of a three-faucet hybrid hygiene facility. “Most of the Tribong Dumagat don’t have a wash area or lababo and even toilets," said Brgy. Cayabu Chair Antonio Bolaños. "We have to guide and familiarize [sa] mga tamang practices sa kalinisan at kalusugan,” he added. During the inauguration last March 10, PDA led a toothbrushing lecture, while MWF provided IECs on proper handwashing and toothbrushing, and distributed hygiene supplies from PHILUSA Corporation containing CLIO toothbrushes, foaming hand soap, ethyl alcohol, povidone iodine, tissue rolls, dental floss, and vitamin C tablets. From March 8 to 12, MWF also distributed the same hygiene supplies to institutions in Bulacan, Laguna, and Pangasinan, covering schools, day care centers COVID-19 facilities, and barangay health centers, benefiting more than 2,000 individuals. For the virtual celebration of World Oral Health Day, visit Manila Water Foundation’s Facebook or Youtube pages. Brush your teeth properly, visit the dentist regularly, and eat healthy, nutritious food. With these habits, you will surely be #MouthProud!

NEW NHMFC PRESIDENT. Mr. Carlo Luis P. Rabat (right) takes his oath before Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario as the newly-elected President of the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC). Mr. Rabat, whose thrust is on the development of housing programs, served as mayor of Mati City, Davao Oriental from 2013 to 2019 and as the city’s Vice Mayor from 2010 to 2013.

‘Pantawid ng Pag-ibig’ continues to help Filipinos in need

BS-CBN Foundation, Inc. (AFI) launches the newest edition of its “Pantawid ng Pag-ibig” campaign. Tagged “Pilipino Para Sa Pilipino,” the campaign invites individual and corporate donors to respond to the continuing need for food and basic necessities of those who have lost jobs and cannot make a living due to COVID-19. In its launch phase, the new campaign is focused on providing immediate relief through distribution of food packs and hot meals to families most in need. “The COVID-19 pandemic has gone on for a year now, and it doesn’t yet show signs of slowing down. The longer we are not able to go out to work or to school, the greater the chance that more businesses will shut down, adding to the growing number of people unemployed,” said Roberta LopezFeliciano, ABS-CBN Foundation managing director. “Therefore there will be more people in need of food and basic necessities, and we will commit our best efforts to reach out to these affected families, so your donations can support as many people as we can.” Since “Pantawid ng Pag-ibig” was first launched in March 19, 2020, over Php 500 million in cash and in-kind donations from corporate and individual donors have supported more than 920,000 families from the National Capital Region (NCR) and selected provinces nationwide. Cash donations were used to purchase food and basic necessities such as rice, canned goods, noodles, biscuits, milk, coffee, shampoo, soap, detergent, and vitamins. The campaign included distribution of hot meals to families in need and to frontliners in hospitals and

partner cities. Under the campaign, ABS-CBN Foundation was also able to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to hospitals and to frontliner organizations in NCR and various provinces. “On behalf of our beneficiaries, I thank all our donors, partners, and everyone who has supported the ‘Pantawid ng Pag-ibig’ all this time,” Lopez-Feliciano said. “With your continued support, we hope to reach even more Filipino families as we go into ‘Pantawid ng Pag-ibig: Pilipino Para Sa Pilipino.’” Individual donations of Php 100 or Php 400 may be made through online payment channels, particularly electronic wallets GCash and PayMaya and through vouchers available in Lazada and Grab. AFI also accepts donations via online banking channels of its partner banks. More ways to donate will be released in the coming weeks. AFI’s “Pantawid ng Pag-ibig” is part of ABSCBN’s multi-pronged public service initiative to help Filipinos cope with the pandemic through an information drive, fundraising campaign, multiplatform news coverage, and special programming for the entire family. The company’s COVID-19 response won a Silver Stevie ® for Most Valuable Corporate Response last December 2020 and a Philippine Quill award on March 25. Visit www. pantawidngpagibig.com.

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso

The World BusinessMirror

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Funerals become scenes of resistance in Myanmar

In this March 19, 2021 file photo, a nurse tends to a patient affected by Covid-19 in the ICU unit at the Ambroise Pare clinic in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris. France’s president say he has nothing to be sorry about for refusing to impose a third virus lockdown earlier this year, even though his country is now facing surging infections that are straining hospitals and more than 1,000 people with the virus are dying every week. AP/Thibault Camus

Paris doctors warn of catastrophic overload of new coronavirus cases

ARIS—Critical care doctors in Paris say surging coronavirus infections could soon overwhelm their ability to care for the sick in the French capital’s hospitals, possibly forcing them to choose which patients they have the resources to save. The sobering warnings were delivered on Sunday in newspaper opinions signed by dozens of Paris-region doctors. They came as French President Emmanuel Macron has been vigorously defending his decision not to completely lockdown France again as he did last year. Since January, Macron’s government has instead imposed a nationwide overnight curfew and followed that with a grab-bag of other restrictions. But with infections soaring and hospitals increasingly running short of intensive-care beds, doctors have been stepping up the pressure for a full French lockdown. Writing in Le Journal du Dimanche, 41 Parisregion hospital doctors said: “We have never known such a situation, even during the worst (terror) attacks” that targeted the French capital, notably assaults by Islamic State extremists in 2015 that killed 130 people and filled Paris emergency wards with the wounded. The doc tors predic ted that softer new restrictions imposed this month on Paris and some other regions won’t quickly bring the resurgent epidemic under control. They warned that hospital resources won’t be able to keep pace with needs, forcing them to practice “catastrophe medicine” in the coming weeks as cases peak. “We already know that our capacity to offer care will be overwhelmed,” they wrote. “We will be obliged to triage patients in order to save as many lives as possible. This triage will concern all patients, with and without Covid, in particular for adult patients’ access to critical care.” Another group of nine critical-care doctors writing in the newspaper Le Monde also warned that intensive care units in Paris may have to refuse patients. “The current situation is tending toward prioritization, also called ‘triage,’” they wrote. “When just one ICU bed is available but two patients could benefit from it, it consists of deciding which of them will be admitted [and

will perhaps survive] and which will not be admitted [and will quite probably die]. This is where we are heading.” They also accused Macron’s government of hypocrisy “by compelling health care workers to decide which patient should live and which should die, without stating so clearly.” Macron remains adamant that not locking France down again this year, like some other European countries, was sound government policy, even as more than 2,000 deaths per week push the country ever closer to the milestone of 100,000 people lost to the pandemic. The country now counts more than 94,600 virusrelated deaths. “We were right not to implement a lockdown in France at the end of January because we didn’t have the explosion of cases that every model predicted,” Macron said last week. “There won’t be a mea culpa from me. I don’t have remorse and won’t acknowledge failure.” Macron’s administration has been hoping to outrace the resurgent outbreak with its vaccination campaign, an ambition that appears increasingly unrealistic as hospitals struggle. After a sluggish start in December, France’s inoculation drive stepped up this weekend with the start of injections for healthy people aged 70 and above. More than 7.7 million people—close to 15 percent of all French adults—have had at least one jab of either the Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines. The government says the pace will continue to pick up, with France expecting to get nearly 3 million additional Pfizer doses this week. The European Union’s vaccine czar, Thierry Breton, told French radio RTL on Sunday that the bloc will deliver 420 million vaccine doses to its member countries by July 15. “The vaccines are coming,” he said. B re to n a l s o u nve i l e d a m o c k- u p o f a proposed EU health cer tificate that could allow the bloc’s residents to cross its internal borders more easily. The cer tificate shows if people have been vaccinated, tested negative for coronavirus or recovered from it. He said the cer tificate would be optional and could be available by mid-June. AP

Stuck ship blocking Suez Canal for days refloated

o r k t o f re e t h e g i a n t c o n t a i n e r ve s s e l b l o c ki n g t h e S u ez Ca n a l i s proving successful and will continue within the nex t few hours, a key step toward getting o n e o f t h e wo r l d ’s m o s t i m p o r t a nt trade ar te ri e s m ov i n g a g a i n . The Ever Given has been re-floated in an operation early Monday and maneuvers are scheduled to resume again at about 11:30 a.m. local time, as the water level rises to its maximum height, the Suez Canal Authority said in a statement. Effor ts are under way to prepare the giant ship to cross the canal and out of the chanel, M o h a b M a m i s h , t h e Eg y p t i a n p re s i d e nt ’s

adviser for the Suez Canal, said. “Today we will star t our plan for all the ships to cross the canal,” he said. “It could take around one week to get all ships out of the Suez Canal corridor.” The Ever Given—which is longer than the canal is wide and was wedged across the waterway—has been stuck since Tuesday, causing a backlog of hundreds of ships and snarling global supply lines that were already under pressure. At last count, 450 vessels were stuck, waiting or headed to the water way that’s a conduit for about 12 percent of world trade. Others have diverted to the longer route around the southern tip of Africa. Bloomberg News

ANGON, Myanmar—Myanmar security forces opened fire on Sunday on a crowd attending the funeral of student who was killed on the bloodiest day yet of a crackdown on protests against last month’s coup, local media reported. The escalating violence—which took the lives of at least 114 people on Saturday, including several children—has prompted a UN human rights expert to accuse the junta of committing “mass murder” and to criticize the international community for not doing enough to stop it. The Security Council is likely to hold closed consultations on the escalating situation in Myanmar, UN diplomats said Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement. The council has condemned the violence and called for a restoration of democracy, but has not yet considered possible sanctions against the military, which would require support or an abstention by Myanmar’s neighbor and friend China. The mounting death tolls have not stopped the demonstrations against the Feb. 1 takeover—or the violent response of the military and police to them. Myanmar Now reported that the junta’s troops shot at mourners at the funeral in the city of Bago for Thae Maung Maung, a 20-year-old killed on Saturday. He was reportedly a member of the All Burma Federation of Student Union, which has a long history of supporting pro-democracy movements in the country. According to the report, several people attending the funeral were arrested. It did not say if anyone was hurt or killed. But at least nine people were killed elsewhere Sunday as the crackdown continued, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which has been documenting deaths during demonstrations against the coup. Some of the funerals held Sunday became themselves opportunities to demonstrate resistance to the junta. At one in Bhamo in the northern state of Kachin, a large crowd chanted democracy slogans and raised the three-finger salute that has come to symbolize defiance of the takeover. Family and friends were paying their respects to Shwe Myint, a 36-yearold who was shot dead by security forces on Saturday. The military had initially seized her body and refused to return it until her family signed a statement that her

death was not caused by them, according to the Democratic Voice of Burma, a broadcast and online news service. In Yangon, the country’s largest city, meanwhile, mourners flashed the three-finger salute as they wheeled the coffin of a 13-year-old boy. Sai Wai Yan was shot dead by security forces as he played outside his home. The Feb. 1 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government reversed years of progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule. It has again made Myanmar the focus of international scrutiny as security forces have repeatedly fired into crowds of protesters. At least 459 people have been killed since the takeover, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The crackdown extends beyond the demonstrations: Humanitarian workers reported that the military had carried out airstrikes Sunday against guerilla fighters in the eastern part of the country. Henrietta Fore, head of the UN children’s agency UNICEF, said in Saturday’s bloodiest day since the coup “an 11-year-old boy, an 11-yearold girl, two 13-year-old boys, a 13-year-old girl, three 16-year-old boys a nd t wo 17-yea r- old boys, (were) all reportedly shot and killed.” She said “a 1-year-old baby girl gravely injured after being struck in the eye with a rubber bullet.” “In less than two months, at least 35 children have allegedly been killed, countless others seriously injured and almost 1,000 children and young people reported arbitrarily detained by security forces across the country” she said, condemning the indiscriminate killings and demanding that those responsible be held accountable. The junta has accused some of the demonstrators of perpetrating the violence because of their sporadic use of Molotov cocktails and has said its use of force has been justified to stop what it has called rioting. While protesters have occasionally hurled firecrackers at troops and on Saturday carried bows and arrows, they remain vastly outgunned and have shown commitment to methods of nonviolent civil disobedience.

US lawmakers decry violence against Asians in Georgia visit

TLANTA—Members of Congress laid flowers on Sunday at the three massage businesses in Georgia where a gunman killed eight people, six of them women of Asian descent, and demanded that prosecutors charge the suspect with a hate crime and the US Department of Justice take a leading role in the probe. The congressional delegation was led by members of the Asian Pacific American Caucus, which said Asian Americans have faced increased hostility since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The lawmakers said they wanted to experience the shooter’s roughly 30-mile (48-kilometer) trip from Cherokee County, where police say he killed four people at Youngs Asian Massage, to Atlanta, where he is accused of shooting and killing four more people at two businesses across the street from each other. New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim said he came to show solidarity with the local Asian American community and try

to understand how it felt after the March 16 attack. “As I come here, what comes to mind is the idea that this could have been anywhere,” Kim, who is Korean American, said. “And that’s what makes us so fearful right now. We’re fearful because what happens next, what other violence could there be.” Kim later recalled crying the night of the shootings and struggling to explain them to his 3 and 5-yearold boys. New York Congresswoman Grace Meng said she wanted to honor the lives of the victims, particularly the Asian women, whose “stories and lives are just as American as anyone else.” “For too long in this country, we have made invisible so much of the histor y and contributions of Asian Americans, specifically Asian American women in this country,” she said. The lawmakers spoke outside Gold Spa, one of the shooting sites, where

the ground was covered with bouquets and tree branches that spelled out, “Love.” Signs read, “Asian Women Are Sacred” and “Stop Asian Hate.” They also held a news conference in an Atlanta suburb and met with the families of two of the victims, Xiaojie Tan and Young A. Yue, and local leaders of the Asian American community. Robert Aaron Long, the 21-yearold white man facing murder charges in the attacks, has told police he had a “sex addiction.” Authorities have said he apparently lashed out at what he saw as sources of temptation. Long told police the shootings were not racially motivated, but those statements have spurred widespread skepticism given the locations and that six of the eight victims were of Asian descent. “It is clear that this was a deliberate journey,” said California Rep. Judy Chu, who chairs the Asian Pacific American Caucus. She added, “It is clear that you would not choose those three places unless you were

targeting Asian women.” Chu said later she was concerned about comments she has heard from local investigators, including that the shooter was having a bad day and said he had a sex addiction. She said they were “improper” and wrongly cast doubt on whether the shootings were a hate crime. She said the Justice Department should use its resources to “call these murders a hate crime.” Mark Takano, another representative from California, said there were “plenty of non-Asian businesses” that the suspect could have hit on his trip from Cherokee County to Atlanta, so his actions “speak louder” than what he has said. He called on the Justice Department to help local prosecutors, who he said may not have as much experience with hate crimes cases. “We cannot allow the AAPI community to be gaslighted into thinking that this is not a hate crime,” he said. “They see with their own eyes, and they feel what they feel.” AP

Anti-coup protesters use slingshot to confront police at Thaketa Township in Yangon, Myanmar on March 28. Protesters in Myanmar returned to the streets Sunday to press their demands for a return to democracy, just a day after security forces killed more than 100 people in the bloodiest day since last month’s military coup. AP Saturday’s death toll far exceeded the previous single-day high that ranged from 74 to 90 on March 14. The killings happened throughout the country as Myanmar’s military celebrated the annual Armed Forces Day holiday with a parade in the country’s capital, Naypyitaw. “ Today the junta of Myanmar has made Armed Forces Day a day of infamy w ith the massacre of men, women and very young children throughout country,” said Tom Andrews, the UN’s independent expert on human rights for Myanmar. “Words of condemnation or concern are frankly ringing hollow to the people of Myanmar while the military junta commits mass murder against them.... It is past time for robust, coordinated action.” Those calls were echoed by others. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was shocked by the killings of civilians, including children, and a group of defense chiefs from 12 countries also condemned the violence. UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said: “The shameful, cowardly, brutal actions of the military and police— who have been filmed shooting at protesters as they flee, and who have not even spared young children—must be halted immediately.” President Joe Biden told reporters: “It’s terrible. It’s absolutely outrageous. Based on the reporting I’ve gotten, an awful lot of people have been killed. Totally unnecessar y.” Biden said his administration is working on a response but offered no details. It’s still not clear what action is possible—or how quick it could be. The UN Security Council has not advocated concerted action against the

junta, such as a ban on selling it arms. China and Russia are both major arms suppliers to Myanmar’s military as well as politically sympathetic. If the Security Council isn’t able to do anything, Andrews called for an emergency international summit. Human rights group Amnesty International also criticized the hesitancy to do more. “UN Security Council member states’ continued refusal to meaningfully act against this never-ending horror is contemptible,” said Ming Yu Hah, the organization’s deputy regional director for campaigns. In the meantime, protesters have continued to rally in Myanmar’s streets. In one demonstration in Yangon on Sunday, a small group made its way through a residential area that the day before had seen chaos with police shooting at demonstrators and the protesters responding with fireworks and Molotov cocktails. The march finished without incident. In addition to unleashing violence against demonstrators, the military is also continuing to battle ethnic Karen fighters in the country’s east. About 3,000 villagers from territory controlled by the Karen fled across the border to Thailand on Sunday after Myanmar military aircraft dropped bombs on a Karen guerrilla position, said workers for two humanitarian relief agencies. The Karen National Union is one of more than a dozen ethnic organizations that have been fighting for decades to gain more autonomy from Myanmar’s central government. The tension at the border comes as the leaders of the resistance to the coup are seeking to have the Karen and other ethnic groups join them as allies. So far the ethnic armed groups have only committed to providing protection to protesters in areas they control. AP

Dozens dead after attack near Total project in Mozambique

n insurgent attack on a Mozambican town near a $20 billion liquefied natural gas project that Total SE is building left dozens of people dead and state infrastructure destroyed, the government said. The attackers, who Defense Ministry spokesman Omar Saranga called terrorists, aimed to threaten the development of the energy projects, he told reporters on Sunday in Maputo, the capital. Insurgents on March 24 attacked the coastal town of Palma, a base for several companies involved in the LNG projects and located less than 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Total’s camp. It’s the nearest major attack to the site so far. Fighting was continuing in the area on Monday morning, according to two people familiar with the matter. The group known as al-Shabaab had attacked villages increasingly close to Total’s site in December, prompting the company to halt work and evacuate staff. The brazen seizure of Palma dramatically increased risks for what is Africa’s biggest private investment yet, in one of the world’s poorest countries.

Total said on March 27 it suspended plans to return to work, having announced the morning of the attack that it would restart activities after the government declared a 25-kilometer perimeter surrounding the Mozambique LNG Project as a special security area. The French energy company, which bought a 26.5% stake in the development for $3.9 billion in 2019, hasn’t said when operations might resume. “Total trusts the government of Mozambique, whose public security forces are currently working to take back the control of the area,” the company said in a statement Saturday. About 180 people, some foreigners, who had been trapped inside a hotel in the north of the town tried to escape in a convoy late on March 26 but were ambushed. About 100 fled to a nearby beach. Saranga confirmed seven died in the attempted escape. The security forces’ actions resulted in the evacuation of hundreds of other Mozambicans and foreigners, he said. Security forces continue to face “some pockets of resistance from sporadic terrorist attacks,” Saranga said. Bloomberg News

Sports BusinessMirror

| Tuesday, March 30, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

No respite for taekwondo Tokyo Olympics hopefuls

By Josef Ramos

HE country’s Tokyo Olympics hopeful in taekwondo are staying at the Inspire Sports Institute bubble in Calamba despite the weeklong enhanced community quarantine that ends on Easter Sunday. Their training, according to Philippine Taekwondo Association national team director Dindo Simpao, will continue during lent—but sparring sessions will have to take a back seat. “There’s no order to break the bubble. We have to continuously train,” Simpao told BusinessMirror. “We cannot afford to cease training at this time. We are monitoring them daily and they are in very good spirits, they’re doing well.” The ECQ were reimposed in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, including Laguna, to drastically stop the spike in Covid-19 infections. As a result, the Philippine Sports Commission ordered a halt to all indoor and outdoor training activities of all national team members. But the jins will be content with doing individual training-weights and other exercises. “We are in the crucial stage of our training so I don’t think it is possible or advisable to make them stop,” Simpao said. The jins will be in the bubble until May and will fly

to Amman, Jordan, for the Asian Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament set from May 21 to 23. Men’s 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Kurt Bryan Barbosa (-58 kgs), Arven Alcantara (-68 kgs), Dave Cea (-80 kgs), Samuel Thomas Harper Morrison (-80 kgs) and Joseph Chua (-68 kgs) are currently in the bubble. With them are women’s 2019 SEA Games gold winner Pauline Louise Lopez (-57 kgs), 2016 Rio Olympian Kirstie Elaine Alora (+67 kgs), Baby Jessica Canabal (-57 kgs) and Laila Delo (-67 kgs). With them are coaches Carlos Padilla and Christian Al Dela Cruz. “We’re hoping all of them will qualify for the Tokyo Olympics,” Simpao said. A country can qualify a maximum of two athletes in each of the eight weight classes in both genders in Tokyo.

Pauline Louise Lopez is eyeing her first Olympics.

TICKETS for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics are displayed in Tokyo. AP

NO FULL REFUNDS T

OKYO—Many fans living outside Japan who bought Tokyo Olympic tickets from brokers—so-called Authorized Ticket Resellers— will not get full refunds. And they may have a long wait to get any refunds at all. The question of refunds came into play a week ago when local organizers and the Japanese government decided to bar most fans from abroad because of the Covid-19 pandemic. There are dozens of Authorized Tickets Resellers. They are typically appointed by national Olympic committees and are allowed to charge a 20 percent handling fee on tickets. For

SBP suspends Gilas cadet bubble camp in Calamba

HE men’s national basketball pool broke camp at the Inspire Sports Institute in Calamba to comply with protocols following the reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine in the Greater Manila Area. Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio announced the suspension of training of the Gilas Pilipinas cadet pool on

Monday and ordered everyone inside the bubble facility to go home. Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez also declared the temporary suspension of all indoor and outdoor training activities of all the national team members within the Metro Manila, Laguna, Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal province.

“As always, we will remain supportive of the decisions coming from the PSC and will also strictly follow the relevant precautionary measures from the Department of Health and the IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases],” SBP President Al Panlilio said in a statement sent to BusinessMirror.

$2,000 worth of tickets, for instance, the reseller can charge $2,400. CoSport, the ATR for the United States and other territories and countries, said in a letter over the weekend to ticket holders that it would not refund the handling fee. It said it would refund the face value of the ticket and the shipping fees. The letter, signed by CoSport president Robert F. Long, said: “CoSport and other Olympic entities encouraged the Japanese government and organizers to refund all cost incurred by international spectators.” Tokyo organizers have said they would refund the face value of the tickets, but are not responsible for other added charges. They have said they will not cover the extra fees imposed by

SBP program director Tab Baldwin has been facilitating the training of the men’s pool since March 15 to prepare for final window of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup qualifiers set from June 14 to 20 in Clark, Pampanga, and the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, from June 29 to July 4. The weeklong ECQ will end on April 4. “The timing is unfortunate because our Gilas Pilipinas pool has been putting a lot of work to prepare for Fiba competitions in the coming months,” Panlilio said. “It’s been a difficult stretch for the SBP and the team as Covid-19 has affected so many of our plans but we have no other choice but to adjust and move forward.” Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie online draft in the bubble were Terrafirma’s The Gilas cadet pool composed of Justine Baltazar, Dwight Ramos, Chris Koon, naturalized candidate Ange Kouame, Lebron Lopez, RJ Abarrientos, Carl Tamayo, Kyle Ong, Gian Mamuyac, SJ Belangel, Josh Lazaro, Troy Mallillin, Geo Chiu, Jason Credo, Matt and Mike Nieto, Isaac Go and Rey Suerte. Joining them recently were fresh draft picks Jordan Heading, William Navarro, Tzaddy Rangel and Jaydee Tungcab. With Baldwin in the coaching staff are Jong Uichico, Caloy Garcia, Alton Lister, Boyet Fernandez, Sandy Arespacochaga, Gabby Severino and Dex Aseron. Josef Ramos

ATRs, or cancellation fees for hotels or flights. The New Jersey-based CoSport added that it would not receive refunds from the organizers until “the third quarter of this year” and could not start paying refunds until then. It has also asked purchasers to apply for refunds almost immediately. It set a deadline of April 9 to submit the required document. “Failure to meet this deadline will jeopardize your refund,” the letter said. “We realize this is a quick turnaround, however, it is based on the deadline we must meet to apply for a refund on your behalf.” In addition, by applying for a refund customers may in effect be releasing CoSport from any further claims. This would keep ticket holders from taking further legal action. Brandon Nagata, who lives in Honolulu, said he has spent almost $4,000 on tickets. He said he applied for some refunds from CoSport more than six months ago. He said he’s received $209 but is still waiting for $420 to be refunded. He said he held on to about $3,000 worth of tickets, hoping he’d able to attend. “I don’t like that they are making us fill out a form with information they already have,” he wrote in an email to Associated Press. “It’s another thing to delay the refund or to disqualify customers from getting the refunds.” Records show CoSport, which also operates as JET Set Sports, received a $784,900 loan just under a year ago in a Coronavirus-related loan program run by the Small Business Administration. The future of CoSport and all resellers is in question with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba slated to take over ticket sales starting with the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Andrew Pham, who lives in Spokane, Washington, spent about $2,500 on tickets and faulted the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee for repeatedly appointing CoSport as the ticket agent. He questioned the level of customer service provided. Cartan Tours, which is the reseller for most of the Caribbean and Latin America, did not indicate on its website how it would handle refunds, or when. It said it would work “to obtain all eligible and applicable refunds.” Team GB, which is handling sales in Britain, indicated on its website it would give full refunds. “If you have bought a travel package[s] through us, they are protected by our Covid-19 guarantee, offering a 100 percent refund.” Tokyo organizers said about 600,000 Olympic tickets have been sold to people outside Japan. Japanese residents bought 4.45 million. Organizers said several years ago there would be a total of 7.8 million tickets for the Olympics. Shutting out fans from abroad will be a large blow to the local operating committee budget. It had expected to receive $800 million from ticket sales and any shortfall will have to be made up by Japanese government entities. The official cost of the Olympics is $15.4 billion. However, several government audits suggest it might be twice that much, and all but $6.7 billion is public money. A study by the University of Oxford says these are the most expensive Olympics on record. No information about tickets has been forthcoming from organizers of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which open in just 10 months— February 4, 2022. It is possible that fans from abroad will also be banned from these games. AP

Knott on track to qualifying for Games

HILIPPINE Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) president Dr. Philip Ella Juico is confident Kristina Knott will soon break the qualifying time for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Knott clinched the 100 meters silver medal in the 93rd Clyde Littlefield Relay in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, clocking 11.54 seconds to finish closely behind gold medalist Kiana Parker (11.20 seconds) of the US. The Tokyo Olympics qualifying time for the century dash is 11.15 seconds. “This is a big boost,” Juico told BusinessMirror Sports in a phone interview on Monday. “She’s just getting started and I’m sure she’ll eventually make it there (Tokyo).” According to Juico, the 25-year-old Knott encountered personal issues earlier and had to shake them off to get to fighting form.

“There were many distractions which prevented her from going full-blast,” Juico said. “But there is more to it than that, this is a positive development.” The Texas race was Knott’s first outdoor stint in seven months. “She still has many high quality competitions to join. It will all be worth it once she qualifies.” In August last year, Knott broke the 28-year-old national record of 11.28 seconds set by the legendary Lydia De Vega in the women’s 100 meters when she clocked 11.27 seconds at the Drake Blue Oval Showcase in Iowa. The 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist will compete in the 100 and 200 meters at the Pure Athletics in Florida on Saturday, also looking to break the Olympic qualifying mark of 22.80 seconds in the 200 meters. She will also compete in the Miramir Invitational on April 10, Gainesville on April 17, both in Florida, and finally at the 10th Savona International Meeting in Italy on May 13. Miguel La Torre

KRISTINA KNOTT is getting closer to her goal.

Sports marketer’s view Vincent Juico @VJuico, Instagram vpjp_j, vince.juico@gmail.com

SPORTS WITHOUT BORDERS AS Covid-19 cases are once again on the rise, onground sports events become even more buried deeper than six feet underground. Sports brands have had to pivot and realign their budgets to digital and online initiatives to keep themselves relevant throughout this ordeal. The closest thing to on-ground events these days are league bubbles that offer multi-platform branding. Leagues must have a surplus of resources to afford to stage a bubble season. The Philippine Basketball Association reportedly spent P65 million over two months to stage its bubble in Clark last year. The National Basketball Association forked out $180 million also last year to stage a successful bubble at Disney World which prevented the league from losing $1.5 billion in expected revenues. The Philippine Football League held its own successful bubble with some challenges to start and end its season. The Philippine Super

Liga started off its season with a successful beach volleyball tournament last February in Subic. The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketbal League also had its own bubble, but not without controversy hounding a few teams in relation to players’ salaries and wages. Thailand held a successful bubble in January, housing 433 athletes from 25 countries who competed in three badminton tournaments. The players were quartered in a hotel from January 4 to 31. There were no reports of positive cases. In the UK, the Yonex All England Championships were held successfully behind closed doors from March 17 to 21. Their competition was a bubble as well and they too, were successful. Sports marketers have to be creative and innovative in keeping their respective brands relevant and to expand brand association.

Sports brands must focus on not just basketball and volleyball but evaluate going beyond the two sports, looking at brand ambassadors from other sports, as well. Podcasts and webinars are other avenues and options for sports marketers. Naming rights for a podcast is creative and will assist in the brand being looked at in a different light. There are values to be had from podcasts and webinars, from logo inclusion and product placement on screen and on crawlers to TVC playbacks before and after the program to product mentions and brand exposure on virtual backgrounds. The Danish football league, already used as early as last year virtual fans for its games by partnering with video call companies like Zoom, Google Meets and Microsoft Teams. The fans got a courtside and ringside view of the action in the process. Some sports have resorted to doing things virtually—virtual marathon, virtual triathlon (what about the swimming part?), virtual duathlon and virtual athletics which Milo did with the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association. Even in virtual, there are creative and innovative opportunities for sports marketers of sports brands. In the end, it is not just navigating through the challenges and obstacles posed by the outbreak, but also creating an abundance of creativity and innovativeness to go around these obstacles to make sure your brand stays relevant.

18th Philippine Quill Awards A BusinessMirror Special Feature

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

THE POWER OF COMMUNICATIONS

IABC QUILL AWARDS OFFER LIGHT AND SOLIDARITY AMIDST PANDEMIC

It is this sentiment that led to the creation of the Philippine Quill Awards, the country’s most prestigious business communication awards program. For many years, it stands as a symbol of global excellence in the field of business communication and the desire to make a difference in society. This year’s Quill Awards is no different, despite the global lockdown forcing people to stay at home. Rather, the dire circumstances only amplified the desire of making a positive impact. Held last March 25 over a Youtube livestream, this year’s Quill Awards had the theme of “Arise: Communications that Uplift”. Through this theme, the awards night showed that though we are apart, humanity will always find a way to rise and uplift each other in any way possible. The Philippine Quill Awards is subdivided into four divisions, namely; Communication Management, Communication

By Stephanie Joy Ching

S a foundation that serves professionals in the field of business communication, the International Association of Business Communicators has always emphasized the power of words as a force of change. After all, the independence of the Philippines was brought upon by the power of writing and history has shown that, with the right words, people could bring about significant changes within their communities.

Continued on C2

SM Foundation’s social good programs recognized at Quill Awards for Effective CSR Communications

SM Foundation distributed thousands of Kalinga packs to families and individuals affected by the pandemic.

SMFI Newsletter Special Edition Cover

SMFI distributed various medical equipment to hospitals to help in the fight against COVID-19.

By Maan D’Asis Pamaran

HE pandemic situation has affected many Filipino lives, causing uncertainty about what happens next. In the spirit of Bayanihan, many organizations mobilized to lend a helping hand and to share hope. The SM Foundation Inc. (SMFI), which has long been advocating to help the nation achieve a brighter future through its social good programs and the stories they share, mobilized quickly to do its part in uplifting lives during these trying times. Spreading stories of hope

AMONG the programs that SMFI strengthened as the pandemic started to take its toll on the country were its CSR communications campaign dubbed as #SocialGoodStories and its COVID-19 response. Through SMFI’s COVID-19 initiatives and stories, SM has shown that it is one with

the nation in fighting the pandemic and that Filipinos, together with SM, choose not to feed the pandemic with fear, but of hope – and focus not on isolation, but on spreading social good amidst this crisis. Spreading #SocialGood Stories Online is a social media story telling campaign by SM

farming technologies, and relief for thousands of Filipinos nationwide. In addition, SMFI was also able to provide support in managing the pandemic to more than 200 health care institutions and grassroot communities - on top of its distribution of thousands of Kalinga Packs of those who were affected by the pandemic. Through its communication strategy, SMFI intends to inspire Filipinos to emulate its principle of Spreading Social Good.

Excellence in Communication

Continuous spreading of #SocialGood stories through virtual events.

Foundation that elevates its programs that touch the lives of Filipinos in its host communities nationwide. It utilizes the influence of digital platforms to continue to communicate the legacy and principles of Tatang Henry Sy Sr., which enabled it to grow its online community to more than 400k engaged followers – consistently topping its peers in online engagements. With more people going online as a result of the community quarantines, the #SocialGoodStories have

helped in bringing inspiration through its content whose messaging, tonality, and content have been revamped in order to engage the Philippines’ discerning and highly visual online public. By utilizing various communication channels, SMFI has also been constantly updating stakeholders of its #SocialGood programs, which, in 2019 was able to provide college and techvoc scholarships, school buildings, health facilities and medical services, sustainable

THESE communications efforts to reach out and spread hope and positivity through the challenges of the pandemic were recognized during the annual Philippine Quill Awards, winning seven Quills in five categories namely Audio/Visual, Social Media Programs, Publications, Community Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility. From almost a thousand entries, the International Association of Business Communicators’ (IABC) uses global standards that measure and determine the finest, the sharpest, and the brightest in the business communication industry. It is the country’s most prestigious awards program in the field of business communications. Debbie P. Sy, SMFI Executive Director, underscored the importance of communicating with their stakeholders as a way to promote social development. “At SMFI, we always ensure that our programs are well communicated. With more and more people being supported by SM Foundation (SMF), we intend to help the nation to achieve a brighter future not only through our social good programs but also through our stories. After all, we’ve been passionately committed to

the needs of our stakeholders since 1983. So it’s the perfect moment to reshape our identity and strengthen our presence to a wider audience.” For the SMFI executive director, communication plays an important role in social development and the awards that they received have validated their updated strategies. “It’s not just putting our message out there, but making sure that stakeholders can hear us. Since at SMFI, we believe that effective communication engages. You might have the best story in the world to tell, but if no one is listening, then your communications strategy is not very effective. Being able to bag several Quill awards is a bonus for us since our main goal is to promote social development especially in areas where we operate. Winning the awards means that we are right on track specially on communicating our social good efforts.” It is challenging to execute SMFI’s social good programs because of the pandemic, she adds. “But by utilizing technology, we are able to execute some of our social good programs digitally. By utilizing various platforms, we are able to bring social good to more stakeholders and engage them. At SMFI, we don’t limit ourselves in just executing and innovating our social good projects; we also continuously innovate our communication tools. We believe that end-to-end communication efforts present proof of a company’s commitment to sustainable social development. If your communication strategy is well contextualized and authentic, your social good program can unite various institutions in spreading social good which in turn multiplies impact.”

18th Philippine Quill Awards

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

www.businessmirror.com.ph

THE POWER OF COMMUNICATIONS

IABC QUILL AWARDS OFFER LIGHT AND SOLIDARITY AMIDST PANDEMIC Continued from C1

Research, Communication Training and Education, and Communication Skills. The 800 entries from both public and private organizations come in a variety of forms- from traditional written articles to programs and campaigns that benefit the communities within and around the companies. The entries are then judged according to IABC’s Global Seven-point Scale of Excellence. This scale looks at a program’s execution, resource management, and how appropriate the strategy and objectives were for the desired benefactors. In order to qualify for the Merit Awards, a program must achieve a total average score of 5.25 while an average score of 5.75 or higher is needed to qualify for an Excellence Award. Companies and groups such as Avida Land, ComCo, and DDB Group were able to walk away with several Merit Awards under their belt for their works. Other winners of the Merit

Awards include PLDT, PayMaya, Meralco, Maynilad, GMA Network and many more. Their campaigns covered a wide array of problems the country is facing, most notably are campaigns that promote employee and customer health during COVID-19, local tourism, and campaigns that help the population adjust to a remote work setting. Meanwhile, groups such as Aboitiz Power Corp, the Far Eastern University, SM Supermalls and the ABSCBN Corporation bagged the Professional Excellence Awards. Like the winners of the Merit Awards, their works also cover a broad range of topics and issues, with a heavy focus on the economic and health issues brought about by the pandemic. Through their campaigns, they were able to provide hope and salvation for communities and lead the way towards a more progressive and virus free future. The next award given out was the CEO Excel Awards, which is given to business leaders who have masterfully and

successfully used communication tools and leadership qualities to achieve business goals. This year’s winners includeMs. Angel Guerrero of adobo magazine for Communication, Ms. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat of the Department of Tourism and Dr. Alfredo Pascual of the Institute of Corporate Directors for Leadership. Other winners include Manila City mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, Pasig City mayor Vico Sotto, and French Baker CEO Johnlu Go Kua. Finally, the most coveted award of the night was the Professional Quill Top Award, which was presented by MERALCO Foundation President and Chair of the 18th Philippine Quill Awards Jeffrey Tamayao. According to Tamayao, the Top Award is reserved for projects that “excel in combining communication strategies with effective and results driven management.” Though competition was tough, five winners emerged from the pool of nominees. Smart Communications was able to take home the Award for Communication

management with their campaign, “Learning by Doing: Creating independent learners for nation building”, while Philcare won Top Communication Researcher with their “Community Quarantine Index: Filipinos in the New Normal” survey. The other winners are Megaworld Corporation for their “Quarantraining: Adapting to the new reality through a daily dose

of learning” for Communication Training and Education, Metrobank Foundation for Communication Skills with their “Puso at Sigasig: The Metrobank 40th Anniversary Celebration” program and Meralco for the newest division, the Top Award for COVID Communications. This award recognizes effective and creative communication methods done

to help people connect despite social distancing, which Meralco perfectly embodied in their “Keeping Close with Media and Public Despite Social Distancing” press conference. Though we live in uncertain times, these Awardees prove that with enough perseverance, teamwork and passion, we can overcome anything that stands in our way and rise to the challenge.

RECORD 59 GROUP-WIDE WINS

PLDT and Smart sweep Company of the Year and 1st runner up honors at the 18th Philippine Quill Awards

LDT Inc. (PLDT) and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) bagged 59 group-wide wins, including the Company of the Year and 1st runner up titles, at the 18th Philippine Quill Awards. The wins were for brand and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives that leverage on PLDT and Smart’s integrated technology, digital innovations, and the fastest network in the Philippines. Organized by the Philippine chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the Philippine Quill Awards honored programs and campaigns which exemplified the Quills’ global standards of excellent, effective, and purposeful business communication. Judges scored entries using IABC’s Global Seven-point Scale of Excellence for strategic planning and execution. “We at PLDT accept this Philippine Quill Company of the Year Award for 2020 with a most profound sense of gratitude, after having survived and thrived for a year under the most extraordinary circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” First Vice President and Group Head of PLDT and Smart Corporate Communications Cathy Yap-Yang said during her acceptance speech. “This is dedicated to every employee at PLDT group for their relentless commitment to deliver our service, as demand for connectivity soared to unprecedented levels,” she added. PLDT and Smart won a total of 37 awards under Communication Management, including the Top Division Award for the Smart-backed CVIF-Dynamic Learning Program. A crisis-resilient learning strategy developed world-renowned Theoretical Physicists and Ramon Magsaysay laureates, Dr. Christopher Bernido, and Dr. Ma. Victoria Carpio-Bernido of the Central

Visayan Institute Foundation in Jagna, Bohol, Smart and PLDTSmart Foundation have been helping roll out CVIF-DLP workshops for over a decade. Amid education’s new normal, Smart announced the availability of over 2,000 free-to-download CVIF-DLP Learning Activity Sheets via the Department of Education (DepEd) portal DepEd Commons, accessible by Smart, Sun, and TNT subscribers even without data load. One of only three supplemental learning materials endorsed by DepEd for school year 2020-2021, 16 DepEd divisions nationwide have implemented CVIF-DLP, many of whom learned about the independent learning methodology after Smart’s ‘No Learner Left Behind’ web forum, which generated almost half a million views. Other winning entries under the Communication Management division were: “Are you a Data Privacy Hero or Sidekick?” PLDT Data Privacy e-Learning Program; CVIF-DLP’s Change Communication entry; Digital Catechism: Road to PH's 500 Years of Christianity; Digital Farmers Program; Free Stories for All with Giga Stories; Gabay Guro program; Gabay Kalikasan omnibus campaign; LearnSmart Literacy Apps program; PLDT Enterprise initiatives Beyond Fiber, Day Zero, Everyday Stories of Real IMPACT, Focus Campaign, Ignite, Philippine Digital Convention 2019, and Tech Talk ON-AIR; PLDT Home initiatives “Learning to Naks!” Empowering Filipino students to be the 'Bida' with PLDT Home Prepaid Wifi, Fibr-powered Esports in the Philippines, #StayHome Campaign, and PLDT Home Wifi Prepaid: Leveling Up Students' Education Through Connectivity; PLDT and Smart Cyber Security Awareness Campaign for Employees; Power Over Plastic Company-wide Ban on Single-Use Plastics; Safe PH for Smart Millenniors; School-

in-a-Bag; Simple, Smart Ako; Smart at the 30th SEA Games; Smart Communities and the UNSDGs; Smart Giga Mania; Smart powers National e-Sports Team; SWEEP: Digital Shift for Future Ready Schools; TNT’s campaigns for Big Bente, Free YouTube For All, Giga Stories, and Giga Video; TNT Tropang Ready Batch 2; and PLDT Vox Now. Smart was also shortlisted for the Top Division Award under Communication Training and Education for the Smart Creator Programs. The online learning series aimed to take the youth’s budding and fast-growing passion for content creation to the next level. Shortlisted for the Top Division Award for Communication Skills was PLDT Home’s “Dear Pa” Father’s Day campaign. Other winning bids were the CVIFDLP #NoLearnerLeftBehind Web Forum; CyberSmart Caravans; Digital Catechism: Heritage Tour Series; Free Bee Paskong Pinoy; Gabay Guro Grand Gathering; In Good Company: PLDT Group 2019 Sustainability Report; LearnSmart eLearning Sessions; LearnSmart Literacy Apps; PLDT Global’s MUSIKALAYAAN Para sa Global Pinoys; PLDT Enterprise’s Pasasalamat Night Manila 2019; PLDT Home initiatives #ComeHomeToLove for Valentine's Day, #StayHomeSeries, “Ako Naman, Ma” for Mother's Day, Mother Hood Series: Celebrating All Kinds of Moms, PLDT Home Powers the 2019 Kadayawan Festival, and The Round Up; PLDTSmart Gabay Kalikasan AVPs for Paperless Billing and Clean The Cloud; and Sunrise Run. IABC Philippines is the first IABC chapter in Asia. Celebrating its 38th year in 2020, it continues to uphold excellence in business communication through masterclasses and other learning activities that equip its member-professionals with trends and global-standard communication skills and strategies.