BusinessMirror March 31, 2022 by BusinessMirror

Ukraine war impact on PHL mild—think tank B C U. O @caiordinario

HE war in Eastern Europe will cause inflation to breach the Central Bank’s target this year because of spiraling crude oil and commodity prices, according to a local think tank. However, First Metro Investment Corporation-University of Asia and the Pacific (FMIC-UA&P) Capital Market Research said the conflict’s impact on the Philippine economy will be “mild.” “However, its [Russia-Ukraine war] impact on the economy will likely turn out mild amid heavy election spending in H1 and grow-

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ing business confidence and robust earnings,” FMIC-UA&P Capital Market Research said. “Despite an acceleration in M3 growth, BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] has reiterated, and we think so too, their determination to keep policy rates unchanged for most of 2022,” it added. The impact of the war in Eastern Europe on the economy will be cushioned by election spending expected in the first semester of 2022; growing business confidence; and robust earnings. The think tank said national government spending is expected to accelerate as the May 2022 Presidential elections draw near.

FMIC-UA&P Capital Market Research said government spending slowed in December in preparation for 2022 and in light of the cashbased budget system.

Manufacturing boost

THE think tank also said business firms and workers anticipated the relaxation of Covid-19-related restrictions in late February. This has allowed the country’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) to jump to 52.8 in the same month from 50 in January 2022, representing a 26-month high for PMI. Further, FMIC-UA&P Capital Market Research said business

confidence is also improving because of the growth in the import of capital goods at 16.8 percent. This marked the 9th consecutive month of year on year gains. However, the Russia-Ukraine war will cause inflation to reach 4 percent in March, and this could continue the pressure on the peso to depreciate, it pointed out. “The dollar-peso rate, which breached P52/$ in early March, will remain under pressure until the Russia-Ukraine conflict gets some reasonable form of resolution,” the think tank said. Earlier, the National EconomS “U,” A

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Thursday, March 31, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 174

P.  |     | 7 DAYS A WEEK

Construction begins in H1 for ADB-aided NCR bridges

B L L

@llectura

XPECT power interruptions and soaring electricity rates this summer because of unplanned and prolonged shutdown of most power plants, an independent energy think tank warned on Wednesday.

During a virtual press briefing held Wednesday afternoon, the chief data scientist of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), Jephraim Manansala, cited outages of large coal power plants in the first quarter of this year up to today, despite the Grid Operating and Maintenance Program (GOMP) approved by the Department of Energy (DOE) which allowed planned and scheduled outages only until March 25. The GOMP is a consolidated preventive maintenance schedule of power plants, considering the needed supply to meet the projected demand. This year’s GOMP was approved by the DOE last January 10. The power plants cited by ICSC include: ■ GN Power Dinginin Unit 1, which had 34 days of outages in 2022, contributing to the yellow alert status in January 11 and March 26; ■ Calaca Unit 2, which has not been operational this first quarter; ■ GN Power Mariveles Unit 1, which has experienced multiple shutdowns in the same period; ■ SLTEC Units 1 and 2, where Unit 1 had 18 days of unplanned outages this year and Unit 2 had 81 days of outages in the same period and still remains on shut down; ■ SLPGC Unit 1 and 2, where Unit 1 had eight days of outages this quarter while Unit 2 had 54 days of unplanned shutdowns in the same period, contributing to the yellow alert status in March 26; and ■ Sual Unit 1 and 2 where Unit 1 had four days of outages in 2022

B B D. N @BNicolasBM

ONSTRUCTION of three Metro Manila bridges funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is set to begin in the first half of this year, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said. Financed through a $175.1-million (about P8.8 billion) loan from the ADB, the three climate-resilient bridge projects spanning over 3 kilometers across the Marikina River are seen to decongest Metro Manila’s traffic-heavy areas. The loan for the three bridges was approved by the ADB in December last year and became effective on February 10, 2022. The three bridge projects—the Marcos Highway-Saint Mary Avenue Bridge, Homeowner’s Drive-A Bonifacio Bridge, and the Kabayani Street-Matandang Balara Bridge— are due for completion in 2026 and are among the 12 to be built under the Metro Manila Bridges Project. The Department of Public Works and Highways earlier filed for the exemption of 18 infrastructure projects from the election ban, including the Metro Manila Bridges Project, based on the list obtained by the BM. The ban C  A

ISUZU MAKATI WITH IOS DESIGN REOPENS Isuzu Gencars Inc. celebrated the reopening of its maiden dealership, Isuzu Makati, on March 30, 2022, after adopting the Isuzu Outlet Standard or IOS. Gencars Chairman D. Edgard A. Cabangon led Gencars executives in welcoming the delegation from Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC), headed by its president, Hajime Koso. Posing in front of the new Isuzu Makati IOS showroom at the corner of Chino Roces Ave. and Dela Rosa St. in Makati City, after cutting the ribbon (photo below) to reopen Isuzu Makati, are: (from left) Arch. Rafael Tecson of RDB Tecson and Associates, contractor of the Isuzu Makati IOS project; Shojiro Sakoda, Executive Vice President of IPC; Hajime Koso, D. Edgard A. Cabangon, Lerma Nacnac, Isuzu Gencars President; and Giannina Eunice Cabangon, Special Assistant to the President. PATRICK DIZON/ROY DOMINGO

B.A.I. TIGHTENS RULES ON POULTRY AS BIRD FLU AFFECTS 7 PROVINCES B J E Y. A

@jearcalas

HE Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has further tightened its rules and regulations on poultry industries in the country to curb the spread of bird flu that has affected at least seven provinces this year. The BAI, an attached bureau of the Department of Agriculture (DA), issued Memorandum Circulars (MC) 9 and 10 that seek to further strengthen the government’s efforts against bird flu. The bureau’s MC 9 ordered the resumption of avian influenza (AI) testing for transport requirement and renewal

of poultry layer farm, poultry breeder farm and gamefowl farm certification. “In light of the recent outbreaks of AI in the country, testing shall be enforced for the purposes of renewal of poultry layer farm, poultry breeder farm and gamefowl farm certification and bi-annual AI monitoring,” the document read. “Said animal facilities are still subjected to the mandatory bi-annual inspection to be conducted by the local government veterinary services,” the document added. The MC 9 stipulated that farm owners must submit an inspection report and AI negative results for the issuance of farm certification, which is also known as the animal disease monitoring

compliance certificate. “All other avian species are still subjected to testing for the purposes of local movement, farm registration and disease monitoring,” it read. The BAI also issued MC 10 that suspended the issuance of pigeon club animal disease monitoring compliance certificates until Department of Agriculture (DA) MC 5 and 6, Series of 2022, are lifted. The BAI issued MC 10 after it received reports of continuous “pigeon transport, racing, training and breeding” despite temporary suspension under DA MC 5 and 6. The DA MC 5 and 6 outlined the rules S “BAI,” A

C  A

PESO EXCHANGE RATES

■ US 52.0690 ■ JAPAN 0.4237 ■ UK 68.2104 ■ HK 6.6526 ■ SINGAPORE 38.3961 ■ AUSTRALIA 39.0986 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 13.8758 ■ EU 57.7445 ■ CHINA 8.1824

Source: BSP (March 30, 2022)

News BusinessMirror

Thursday, March 31, 2022

Ukraine...

C  A

ic and Development Authority (Neda) said the economy still had a few aces up its sleeve that will enable it to weather the impact of the European crisis. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the crisis will hit the economy on four fronts: commodities, financial markets, trade, and business confidence. However, Chua said the full strength of the domestic economy has yet to be unleashed as parts of the country remain under Alert Level 2 and many offices and schools have yet to open. Currently, the country is still P40 billion short of its normal economic performance per week. Chua said shifting the entire country to Alert Level 1 will add another P16 billion to the country’s GDP per week while opening classes will add another P12 billion to the economy per week. The country’s chief economist said only 1,000 schools have since started face-to-face learning, which is only a fraction of the 60,000 schools in the country. He added that recommendations including placing the National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila, the economy’s juggernaut, to Alert Level Zero could further boost economic growth. Chua gave assurances that the President’s economic team is closely and regularly monitoring developments in Eastern Europe. The crisis in Europe has been blamed for skyrocketing commodity prices, most notably oil prices, which the country imports.

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Taal victims to get DTI livelihood kits, DOLE cash-for-work support

B S P. M

@sam_medenilla

HE government will extend cashfor-work, livelihood kits and other forms of aid to around 6,000 individuals affected by the recent eruption of Taal Volcano.

This is on top of the 18,000 food and non-food items from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which are now ready for deployment at the Batangas Sports Complex. During the public address of President Duterte on Tuesday night, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said his agency will implement their Tulong Panghanapbuhay para sa ating Displaced/Disadvantaged (Tupad) for eruption

victims. Under Tupad, qualified beneficiaries will be provided work by the government, to last for at least 10 days, and will be paid the minimum wage. “The minimum wage in Region 4 [is P400] a day, so they will work for 10 days. We will give them P4,000 for 10 days of work,” Bello said. Currently, their allocation for Tupad implementation in areas af-

fected by the Taal Volcano eruption is only good for around 4,000 individuals. The labor official said, however, that they are now preparing an additional P50 million to P100 million to assist more workers in areas deemed “high risk” from the eruption, namely, Agoncillo, Laurel, San Luis, Taal, Calaca, Calatagan and Lemery towns. For his part, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said they will distribute 1,228 livelihood kits to affected individuals in Batangas through their Pangkabuhayan, Pagbangon at Ginhawa program (PPG). He said DTI has applied with the Commission on Elections for an exempt for the program from the public works election ban, which took effect last week. “We are continuing to validate and profile more beneficiaries,” Lopez said.

on public works which started on March 25 will last until May 8 this year. During the formal exchange of copies of the loan documents for the construction of the three bridges in ceremonies on Wednes-

day, Dominguez pointed out that traffic congestion in Metro Manila is once again seen, given the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions. The finance chief said the Duterte administration planned to build 12 additional bridges in the country’s capital in the medium

term, given that the current 30 bridges across major waterways in the country’s capital are “insufficient to efficiently move vehicular traffic.” “These bridges are crucial components of the Build, Build, Build program that will help our economy bounce back from the adverse effects of the pandemic. With their high multiplier effect and job-generating potential, investments in infrastructure will be the engine for our rapid economic recovery,” Dominguez said during the formal exchange of copies of the loan documents for the construction of the three bridges in ceremonies held at the Department of Finance (DOF) office in Manila on Wednesday. Apart from addressing traffic congestion, Dominguez also emphasized that the key design of the three ADB-funded bridges is their ability to absorb strong earthquake shocks and reduce flood risks in the area, making them climateand disaster-resilient. Moreover, the finance chief also expressed gratitude to the Manilabased lender for being the country’s “most reliable multilateral

C  A

and regulations on the local movement of domestic and wild birds, poultry products as well as domestic and captured wild ornamental birds and their poultry products. (Related story: businessmirror.com. ph/2022/03/02/da-tells-raisersto-follow-rules-ontransportingchicken)

LABOR Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III

Construction begins in H1 for ADB-aided NCR bridges C  A

BAI...

development partner.” For his part, ADB Managing Director General Woochong Um described the project as a “milestone for the Philippines’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program.” Now, he added, “we are seeing the beginning of the end of the pandemic, we hope. And the signing [of the loan agreement] comes at a critical time. We must continue investments in infrastructure now, which is essential for securing strong economic development in 2022, and this comes from a very strong [Philippine] rebound of 5.6 percent economic growth last year.” The ADB has consistently supported President Duterte’s centerpiece infrastructure program “Build, Build, Build” since the start of his administration. Among the big-ticket infrastructure projects that the ADB has supported through its financing assistance for “Build, Build, Build,” totaling $2.3 billion, are the Malolos-Clark Railway, the Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector, the Edsa Greenways, and the Angat Water Transmission Improvement.

However, “despite the above issuances, numerous reports have been received by the Bureau on pigeon transport, racing, training and breeding,” the document read. Earlier, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar called on local government units (LGUs) to strengthen efforts against bird flu as the DA confirmed outbreaks in areas as far as Benguet and Sultan Kudarat. The BAI earlier confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N1 in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Benguet. These are the two latest provinces to have confirmed bird flu outbreaks after Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Tarlac, Pampanga and Bulacan. DA-BAI Director Reildrin G. Morales said the possible reasons behind the spread of the virus were migratory birds and illegal movement of infected birds from areas with confirmed bird flu outbreaks. “The possible sources of infection and spread of the virus in those areas are the presence of migratory or resident wild birds, late or non-reporting of suspect cases [sick/ dying birds], and illegal movement of infected birds from H5N1 infected areas as per disease investigation conducted by veterinary authorities,” Morales explained. Dar has sounded the alarm that the government must “act immediately” to “prevent further spread and damage” of bird flu to the country’s poultry industry. Dar urged the LGUs to report suspected bird flu cases immediately to the national government to ensure swift actions and containment. In its latest report to the OIE, the Philippines confirmed four outbreaks of HPAI H5N1 in Sultan Kudarat, affecting 3,205 birds, mostly ducks. The latest report showed that 3,136 birds were culled by the government in four barangays in Tacurong City to contain the outbreak, while 69 birds died due to bird flu. With its latest report, the Philippines has already culled a total of 49,580 birds, mostly quails and ducks, to contain the spread of HPAI H5N1, which was first confirmed in the country in February. (Re-

lated story: businessmirror.com. ph/2022/02/22/phl-reports-newavian-flu-outbreaks-in-central-luzon-farms)

The Philippines has also recently confirmed its first-ever outbreak of HPAI H5N8. (Related story: businessmirror.

com.ph/2022/03/28/ducks-quailsculled-to-prevent-spread-of-avianflu)

POWER OUTAGES, HIGH RATES SEEN IN SUMMER C  A

even after its planned and scheduled outage a few months ago, and was derated by 390 MW last weekend while Unit 2 had 30 days of unplanned shutdowns in the first quarter. “We have seen plenty of them to be noncompliant with the scheduled outages to the GOMP. The GOMP requires coal plants to be no longer on outage after March 25 but today we still see multiple plants...undergoing forced outages like the Calaca unit 2 and SLTEC unit 2 in particular,” said Manansala. “We have also seen plenty of them to have exceeded the ERC mandated allowable—outages and they exceeded this value in the first three months of the year alone. “Plants that have undergone recent maintenance still experienced unplanned outages just a few weeks after their scheduled maintenance and even the newest, youngest coal-fired power plants are seen to experience recurring frequent outages,” said Manansala. Moreover, the commissioning of GN Power Dinginin Unit 2 this year “appears not to be feasible” considering that unit 1 almost took 10 month to finish its commissioning stage. “So, with all these complications we can see that full compliance [with] the GOMP is less likely to occur and our more conservative

orange scenario with blackouts and high cost of electricity is still the most probable to occur this summer,” stressed Manansala.

Financial risks

SARA JANE AHMED, founder of the Financial Futures Center and finance advisor to the Vulnerable Twenty Group of Finance Ministers, discussed how the continued reliance on imported fossil fuels exposes the country to multiple financial risks. “The Philippine energy mix is skewed towards imported fossil fuels, whose prices have always been volatile. The exposure includes price instability, high prices and an unreliable power system,” said Ahmed. “It’s best not to try to build the recovery of the Philippine economy on unpredictable fossil fuel prices, especially because renewables and storage are better placed to fuel the economy, providing long-term economic and financial stability. The spot market operator of the Philippines has called for more RE to minimize power outages. Developers and investors now need to be confident in stable and robust policies to guide the accelerated transition,” Ahmed added. Nazrin Castro, branch manager of the Climate Reality Project Philippines, said the government must enable the environment to advance RE in the country. “This includes abolishing automatic pass through

and to make carve out clauses mandatory. The moratorium on new coal should also be permanent,” said Castro. Oxfam Philippines Country Director Lot Felizco warned that if the next set of leaders continue to make the country rely heavily on coal, oil, and fossil gas “then we will be further locked into expensive, imported, and unreliable power sources that will never be able keep up with our needs and will only hamper our pandemic recovery and long-term development.” They also called for the immediate removal of the “pasa-load subsidy,” which has allowed power generation companies to automatically pass on volatile fossil fuel price fluctuations to consumers. “Without a truly level playing field, Filipino households and businesses can’t enjoy what they have always deserved in the form of affordable, reliable, and secure power,” said Atty. Pedro Maniego Jr., ICSC senior policy advisor. “Fossil fuel-dependent baseload systems are obsolete and have been replaced by residual load systems anchored on near zero marginal cost energy sources in many countries. Real modernization through flexible and distributed generation—powered by renewable energy—is what we need to spare us from the perennial outages and to establish long term energy security and affordable, reliable power.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

251 Balikatan soldiers stage parachute jump in N. Ecija By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

HE ongoing Balikatan military exercise involving Filipino and American troops was treated to an air show after 251 special operations forces parachutists conducted a friendship jump. The jump, part of the combined interoperability activities, was executed by military free faller and airborne-qualified troops from special operations forces both from the US and Philippine militaries. Military spokesman Col. Jorry Baclor said the 51 Filipino and American free fallers and 200 static line airborne parachuted toward the Drop Zone Royce located at Barangay Mapalad in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija. Baclor said the jumpers leapt from two US MC130 aircraft while civil-

ian and military observers watched in an event aimed at enhancing the individual, unit, joint and combined SOF (Special Operations Forces) airborne capabilities. Meanwhile, in Cagayan combined US and Philippine troops are building classrooms at the Masi Elementary School, Rizal, Cagayan under the engineering civic action project (ENCAP), which is still part of the Balikatan exercise. Baclor said the 7 meter by 16 meter classrooms will provide additional room of learning for students in the Municipality of Rizal. Three other sites have also been identified for the ENCAP and these are Taggat Sur Elementary School and Pinas Elementary School, both in Claveria, Cagayan, and San Francisco Elementary School in Alicia, Isabela.

Kontra Daya urges Comelec to ‘cleanse’ voters’ master list

MID issues of the “voting dead,” poll watchdog Kontra Daya on Wednesday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to ensure a clean master list of voters for the May 9, 2022 national and local elections. In an interview, Kontra Daya convenor Danilo Arao also warned the public against “flying voters.” “The Comelec should ensure that the master list of voters is up-to-date. We have specific calls on the issue of ‘the voting dead,’” he said. “There is a possibility that there will be flying voters as IDs can be faked and indelible inks can be washed off even if this could be a bit challenging,” he added. A flying voter is a person, who votes more than once during elections by using other registered voters’ names, including deceased individuals. According to Arao, the poll body should hasten the uploading of the precinct finder so that voters could be able to search their names as well as their deceased relatives’ voter information status. “Full transparency on the security measures [must be] put in place to protect the master list,” he said. “Strengthened vigilance among people in reporting the deaths in the family, especially those who have been active voters [must be implemented],” Arao added. He also said proper coordination between the Comelec and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) must be

done to reconcile the data with the poll body’s certified list of voters. Earlier, the poll body asked the relatives of individuals who died during the pandemic to report or notify the local Comelec offices to prevent anomalies during the May 9 elections. In the House of Representatives, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers has filed House Bill 69 to amend Section 9 of Republic Act 8189 or Voter’s Registration Act of 1996 to prevent flying voters. The bill requires the presentation not only of proof of identity but also proof of residence for the purpose of voter’s registration to prevent the problem of perennial flying voters. “It is now a rampant practice in our country before the election period for people to register anew or transfer their registration to a new place even if they are unqualified in terms of residency requirements for voter’s registration. They simply have to present their identification cards as proof of their identity just to qualify in their registration. This has been one of the sources of flying voters in the country,” he said. Barbers said his proposal would strengthen and protect the sanctity of Filipinos right to suffrage and the integrity of the country’s election system. The bill is still pending before the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms since 2019. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

DepEd boosts measures to forestall virus outbreak in schools holding F-to-F classes By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

CAMPAIGN aiming to enhance existing health and safety protocols being implemented in schools holding limited face-to-face (F-to-F) classes is set to be launched by the Department of Education (DepEd) on April 5, 2022, in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH) and the United States Agency for International Development. “The goal of the BIDA Kid campaign is to raise awareness on our learners of the health reminders through the 3Bs: Bakuna, Bayanihan and BIDA],” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said in Filipino, even as she bared plans for the progressive expansion of limited F-to-F classes amid the continued decline in Covid-19 cases. BIDA stands for “Best friend natin ang mask [Mask is our best friend],Ingatan at hugasan ang kamay [Wash your hands regularly] Dumistansya upang makaiwas sa sakit [Maintain social distancing so as not to get sick] and Airflow.”

“It is very important that they should be aware of the reminders to ensure that they are safe and protected against Covid-19 while inside our schools,” Briones said. Earlier, the department said a total of 14,396 public and private schools nationwide with 2.6 million learners have been nominated by its regional officials to resume limited F-to-F classes. Since the pandemic began two years ago, the DepEd implemented a dual track of delivering education to learners, namely through the use of modules and online or virtual learning. On Tuesday, DepEd Assistant Secretary for Curriculum and Instruction Alma Torio said the development of learning recovery plan to guide schools in addressing the learning gaps of students due to the Covid-19 pandemic also includes the health and safety not only of students but also teachers. The DepEd has said that over 90 percent of the more than 500, 000 public school teachers across the country are already vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, March 31, 2022 A3

UP, Ateneo study airs caution on credibility of socmed news

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

S more Pinoys turn to social media for news and other information, professors from the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) offer caution and urged Pinoys to diversify sources of news.

The research released by the Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) showed 79 percent of Filipinos said they often get their news from incidental or random news exposure on their Facebook feed. The results of the online survey of 2,000 respondents also showed 66 percent were getting their news from television; some 57 percent from YouTube; and 54 percent from news web sites. “We wish to remind the public that it is not enough to get political news from your Facebook feed. The habit of actively seeking news from a variety of credible sources is very important to increase your understanding of politics and level of confidence in participating in political

Makabayan bloc claps back at Duterte’s ‘red-tagging’

HE House Makabayan bloc on Wednesday described President Duterte’s recent attack against them as a “desperate attempt” to silence progressive groups. House Deputy Minority leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate said the President’s recent attack on the Makabayan bloc is “a desperate election squid tactic to create a wedge in the growing numbers of the political opposition that support the Leni Robredo-Kiko Pangilinan tandem, as well as to prevent the eventual reelection of progressive party-lists to Congress.” “Clearly lacking in admissible and credible evidence that will stand in court, President Duterte and his minions now resort to guilt by mere association, a ploy also designed to divert the attention of the people from the failings of the Duterte administration in the past six years, especially during this time of the pandemic,” Zarate said. “In all these accusations, no credible evidence was presented against the Makabayan bloc was ever presented, except for innuendoes and hearsays coming from perjured witnesses,” he added. President Duterte tagged five party-list groups as “legal fronts” of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Duterte also backed the claim of National Taskforce to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTFELCAC) spokesperson Lorraine Badoy that Kabataan, Anakpawis, Bayan Muna, Alyansa of Concerned Teachers or ACT, and Gabriela are affiliated with leftist groups. For her part, Assistant Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro condemned President Duterte’s recent red-tagging tirade against the Makabayan bloc. The lawmaker said this is the Duterte administration’s attempt at pointing blame at progressive lawmakers with baseless red-tagging accusations instead of solving urgent problems of the people. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

affairs,” Project Research Manager and Associate Professor Ma. Rosel San Pascual said. Results also showed that two in every three respondents or about 71 percent said they pay attention to posts about government and politics on their Facebook feed. Some 59 percent also said they would click on the link to the whole story or watch the video at least most of the time whenever they see a political news story on their Facebook feed. This indicated, the researchers said, that political news on Facebook is a type of content worthy of attention to the respondents. It is also something they would likely engage with whenever it appears on their Facebook feed.

However, respondents pointed out that clicking a story or a video does not assure that respondents read or watch the entire story or video. The study also emphasized the need to always check the credibility of the source of news stories that the public encounters online and to always fact check its content. Reading the entire story and watching the entire video after verifying the credibility of news stories are also very important. San Pascual noted that it could be dangerous to just read the caption of a story or video because these can be clickbait and that these can be sensationalized. “Being properly informed will give you that feeling of empowerment, that reinforcement that you actually have the capacity to create the change that you want. Not just when you cast your vote in your ballot, but in everyday practice of being involved in political affairs,” San Pascual said.

Legacy media

DESPITE actively consuming news from Facebook, the results of the study showed majority of the respondents said they still trust legacy or traditional media when it comes to providing accurate information about politics and political personalities. The study also revealed that individuals who rely on random news

exposure on Facebook are more cynical about politics than those who are not Facebook-reliant for news. Findings showed that those who do not rely solely on their Facebook feed for political information believe they have a better understanding of politics. They said they are also more confident in participating in political discussions compared to those who were reliant on their Facebook feed for news and information about politics. “Those who are not reliant on their Facebook feed for news have a greater variety of sources of news for politics, government, and governance. They are proactively seeking news, they do not just depend on random news exposure on their Facebook feed [and] they also encounter news from other sources. Thus, they are still informed even if they are not exposed on news from Facebook,” San Pascual explained. “Because of this, they tend to feel more confident to engage politically... versus those who only rely on incidental news exposure on Facebook,” she added. ASoG asked 2,000 respondents in an online survey from October 27 to November 12, 2021 about how often they get news from TV, radio, print, news web sites, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Economy BusinessMirror

A4 Thursday, March 31, 2022 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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IFC partners with AboitizPower to conduct new study on viability of PHL’s RE potential

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

BOITIZ Power Corporation and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will conduct a joint study on the viability of renewable energy (RE) as a source of baseload power for the Philippines.

The recently signed agreement, according to AboitizPower, is a step to help navigate the country’s transition towards a cleaner energy future. In support of the Philippines’s target of 35-percent share of RE in the country’s overall generation mix by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040, the study seeks to explore a mix of technologies that can potentially displace

fossil fuel-based power sources and reduce CO2 emissions from the Philippine energy mix. “I am pleased to join the representatives of IFC in signing this agreement that aims to take the first few very important steps in this journey of discovery. We eagerly look forward to learning about how we can generate baseload power that is

technically and financially feasible and also scalable,” said AboitizPower President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel V. Rubio. Integral aspects of the study include evaluating hybrid-photovoltaic storage technology and assessing the technical and economical viability of generating power from a combination of different RE sources within the context of the Philippines’s baseload needs and energy supply and demand characteristics. “Thus, we expect this study to be bespoke to the Philippines’s based on our national resources, our climate, and our geography to suit our energy system. I am excited and optimistic that we will find what we are all looking for simply because it is a great journey of discovery, but more so, this holds great potential for the future generation of Filipinos, and of course, our planet Earth,” added Rubio. Liza Luv Montelibano, Chief Financial Officer of AboitizPow-

er, said the partnership with IFC began in 2007 when the latter financed the rehabilitation of its power plants, which now serve as an essential contributor to the Philippines’s energy landscape. This new engagement, however, marks another milestone in their RE journey. “It is with this critical piece that we believe we will be able to pursue an effective solution for energy transition in the Philippines. For us in AboitizPower, this is key for us to remain true to our mission of driving energy sufficiency for the country that is reasonably priced and that is cognizant of taking care of our environment,” said Montelibano. IFC Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific Alfonso Garcia Mora said IFC is confident that renewables will offer a viable path forward for the Philippines. “Harnessing cleaner and natural resources, including solar and wind, will enable the country to diversify

its energy mix and improve energy security while also tackling climate change impacts,” said the official. AboitizPower, together with its partners, holds the largest RE generation-installed capacity in the country, comprising solar, hydro, and geothermal energy. Currently, P190 billion has been allocated for its RE projects and an additional capacity of 3,700 megawatts. “At AboitizPower, we recognize our integral part in the commitment towards net zero emissions in the country. Through our 50/50 by 2030 strategy, we aim to achieve a balance between renewable and thermal portfolios in support of the global movement for clean energy,” said Rubio. “To grow RE above and beyond the 2030 ambition and to begin reducing CO2 emissions from the Philippine power system, we must find ways to displace fossil fuel burning baseload power with zero-emissions power generation technologies.” With Cai U. Ordinario and Jonathan L. Mayuga

Good governance and synergies urged for next administration

HE next president of the Philippines should make governance and synergies a priority if the country is to recover from the ravages of the pandemic and become resilient to external shocks, and poise itself for sustainable growth, key business leaders agreed in a recent forum organized by top think-tank Stratbase ADR Institute. “There is no better time to effect this fundamental change

than now because we are in the midst of a watershed year in our political and economic history,” said Stratbase President Professor Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit during a virtual roundtable discussion with the theme “Business Agenda for the Next Administration.” According to Manhit, it is crucial that transparency is institutionalized across all levels of government, both national and local. “After all, transparency reeds good governance, which creates public trust.” Trust, in turn, encourages investments by the private sector, because “they are integral to national development as these endeavors create jobs, provide income security, and alleviate poverty. Because of this, our country’s next leaders should actively encourage collaboration between the government and the private sector, which has proven itself a trusted and capable partner for development, even during these hard times,” he added.

External shocks

THE president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, George Barcelon, acknowledged that uncertainty over the ongoing war in Ukraine has serious ramifications on our country’s economic recovery. “Higher costs of fuel and power will easily intensify into high inflation and stagnate our economic growth. Even as we are now beginning to rebound economically, somehow we are being pulled back because of this crisis,” he noted. Nonetheless, Barcelon said that the PCCI already has a program, REACH OUT, to bring to the next president. REACH OUT stands for efforts on priority sectors to shore up the economy: reinvigoration of natural resources, education and energy, connectivity, human skills and human dignity, and transformation and transparency. “It is critical at this point to take urgent and even drastic measures to develop our resilience to external shocks,” he said, emphasizing the development of the agriculture and fishery sectors to ensure self-sufficiency and food security.

House in order

ALFREDO PASCUAL, president of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), talked about the parallels between public governance and corporate governance. He also discussed how the Performance Governance System, a performance management and measurement tool that aims to translate organizational goals into breakthrough results, guided by set performance indicators and metrics as practiced in the private corporate world, is being used to introduce reforms to some government offices. Pascual said digitalization is one of the most important aspects of good governance. “Digital technologies to facilitate efficient and instant transmission and processing of information as well as storing and retrieval of data,” he said. “Thus, digitalization helps implement core values of good governance such as transparency, effectiveness, accountability, and participation of citizens in the case of the public sector. Digitalization can disrupt corruption.” For Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., President of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), addressing red tape and transforming jobs is key.

Bello: Accord expands OFW market for Ontario, Canada By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is now seeking to expand labor destination for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Canada. Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, in a news statement issued on Wednesday, said a mutually beneficial arrangement for the deployment and hiring of Filipino workers in Ontario, Canada is now under way for Filipino workers. This, after Bello and Ontario Labor Minister Monte McNaughton recently signed a Joint Communique, which recognized the strong relations between the Philippines and the Province of Ontario. According to Bello, the Philippines and Ontario Province have both signified the intention to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Labor Cooperation. Bello also expressed optimism that the MOU would be signed soon as he convey his appreciation for the opportunities provided by the Province of Ontario to Filipino workers. Bello, meanwhile, welcomed Ontario’s recent programs intended to provide workers with complete protection and bigger take-home pay. With 75 percent of Ontario’s work force being immigrants, Minister McNaughton highlighted their programs recognizing immigration as a key tool to strengthen economic development. These include the Bill 27 or the Working for Workers Act of 2021, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, and the reduction of the language proficiency requirement for internationally educated workers. The Working for Workers Act requires recruiting and temporary help agencies to be licensed. It also prohibits certain regulated professions from requiring a Canadian experience as a qualification for an internationally trained professional to obtain a license, except for the health sector. Meanwhile, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program recognizes and nominates, among others, foreign workers with a job offer in a skilled occupation the opportunity to apply to live and work in Ontario permanently. McNaughton also expressed appreciation for the contribution of Filipino workers, not just to the Province of Ontario but the whole of Canada. He also lauded those who were at the frontlines during the height of the pandemic and said the Province was “truly grateful for their hard work and sacrifice.” Moreover, the representatives of the Filipino professional groups also expressed their appreciation to the Province of Ontario for passing Bill 27, as this made it easier for them to integrate into Canada and find stable jobs. The nurses, meanwhile, thanked the Province of Ontario for modernizing the assessment process for those applying for nursing positions. They said that Filipino nurses are willing to help fill up the nursing shortage in Ontario and gave assurance of quality nursing care.

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Thursday, March 31, 2022 A5

BBM keeps 61% lead as more parties back UniTeam

ORE major political parties and groups are expected to throw their support behind the UniTeam tandem of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, according to the camp of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard bearer, as the latest Laylo national survey results still showed him the frontrunner. The former senator clinched 61 percent in voters’ presidential preference rating, enjoying a 42-percent margin over his closest rival. The Laylo Report which covers the results from its fieldwork research, conducted from March 15 to 22, 2022, shows Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo lagging behind at 19 percent, Isko Moreno at

9 percent, Manny Pacquiao at 6 percent, Ping Lacson at 2 percent, and the Undecided at 2 percent. Marcos topped the Laylo preferential survey in all regions, with the “Solid North” delivering the highest voters’ preference rating: 86 percent in the Ilocos Region (Region 1), 86 percent in the Cordillera Autonomous Region, 84

percent in Cagayan Valley (Region 2), and 62 percent in Central Luzon (Region 3). Marcos also enjoys strong support in Mindanao. The Davao Region (Region 11) and the Caraga (Region 13) delivered the highest voters’ preference rating at 80 percent each, with Soccsksargen (Region 12) at 67 percent, the Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9) at 66 percent, BARMM at 63 percent, and Northern Mindanao (Region 10) at 55 percent. The results in terms of demographics also show the runaway lead of Marcos in all classes. He registers 58-percent voters’ preference rating in Classes ABC, 62 percent in Class D, and 58 percent in Class E. In terms of trust ratings of candidates for president by major areas, Marcos got +53, with Moreno following at +16, Robredo taking a negative mark at -9, Lacson with -11, and -23 for Pacquiao. The Laylo survey also asked respondents who among the presidential candidates can best continue the

PRESIDENTIAL frontrunner and former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. speaks during the BBM-Sara UniTeam proclamation rally at a jampacked Polomolok Municipal Gymnasium on Sunday, March 27.

legacy of the Duterte administration. Marcos, who received 65 percent, emerged as the most capable in continuing the legacy projects of the current administration. He is followed by Robredo with 15 percent, Moreno and Pacquiao received the same mark at 6 percent each, and Lacson with 4 percent. The Laylo survey had a universe of 3,000 respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus two per-

centage points.

Biggest, most influential parties

MEANWHILE, some of the country’s biggest political parties banded together to support the UniTeam aspirants. On Tuesday, the Nacionalista Party led by former Senate President Manny Villar declared support for the UniTeam duo.

The National Unity Party (NUP), described as one of the biggest political parties in the country, earlier declared its support as well. NUP leaders said Marcos’s call for unity adheres to their party’s primary vision. President Duterte’s political party, the PDP-Laban wing led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, also endorsed Marcos’s presidential bid. Marcos is the standard-bearer of PFP, while his running mate Inday Sara Duterte chairs the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) and the vice presidential bet of the Lakas-CMD. Apart from their own parties, the UniTeam was also endorsed by the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), HNP, Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino and the Reform Party. Also earlier, three of the biggest labor groups, including the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Labor Party of the Philippines, and Partido Lakas ng Manggagawang Pilipino also endorsed the UniTeam.

Marcoses ‘not taking steps’ to settle estate tax due because of pending litigation–BIR By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

FTER President Duterte called out the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for its failure to collect a certain estate tax due, the agency said presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is not taking any steps to

settle and pay their family’s unpaid estate taxes. In a message sent by the BIR to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, the government’s main collection agency assured the public that it is doing its part in collecting the estate tax liabilities from the heirs of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., now estimated by some quarters to

have ballooned to P203 billion. “BIR is collecting and demanded payment from the Marcos Estate Administrators. They have not paid,” BIR said in a message to Dominguez, a copy of which was shared with reporters. “Bottomline Marcos does not take any steps to settle and pay because of pending litigation.” Earlier, Marcos Jr.’s chief of staff

and spokesperson lawyer Vic Rodriguez argued that the tax case is still pending in court and the ownership of the properties in litigation has yet to be settled. Marcos Jr. himself also earlier said that “there’s a lot of fake news involved” in his family’s unpaid estate taxes. In the meantime, the BIR said it would continue consolidating the

titles in favor of the government on those properties, which have been levied upon. “We go against the properties levied upon, assessment is final,” it added. However, the BIR admitted that the procedure “may take time as it involves selling at public auction to convert to cash.” The BIR also made the statement amid calls for the

agency to file a criminal case against the Marcoses for their refusal to pay their estate tax liabilities. BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay earlier confirmed to the party of presidential aspirant and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso that they sent on December 2, 2021 a written demand letter to the Marcos family for them to settle their estate tax liabilities.

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

A4 Thursday, March 31, 2022 • Editor: Jennifer A. Ng A6

www.businessmirror.com.ph

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

GRICULTURE Secretary William D. Dar said Wednesday that there are discrepancies in the government’s trade data system as the Department of Agriculture (DA) does not have the data of imports that are classified under the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) green lane. Shipments under the green lane are considered low risk and are automatically cleared for release upon the submission of documents and payment of necessary duties and taxes. “We are not involved in the green lane of the BOC. So, there is really a discrepancy. What we monitor are the import clearances that we issue and the actual arrivals that we have,” Dar said during a virtual press briefing. “We stand by our own record system because we cannot record the import arrivals [in the green lane] if we are not involved.”

Nonetheless, Dar said that the DA has been pursuing the digitization of its data system to prevent undervaluation, misclassification and misdeclaration of imports. Dar said the DA is proposing the provision of tablets to their quarantine officers so they can monitor imports real-time as part of the agency’s efforts to discourage connivance between government employees and unscrupulous importers. “We hope that our quarantine officers will be given iPads so they can take a picture of incoming shipments and input them in our database,” he said. “This will help reduce the elbow room for connivance between quarantine officers and importers. We understand valuation is done by the BOC but we also want to investigate [DA] employees who could be the accomplices [of unscrupulous traders].” Last Monday, the Senate Committee of the Whole resumed its in-

BUSINESSMIRROR FILE PHOTO

‘DA has no access to green lane data of BOC’

quiry on the unabated smuggling of agricultural products in the country. (Related story: https://business-

mirror.com.ph/2022/03/28/senate-eyes-private-sectoragendavs-food-smuggling/)

During the hearing, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Frederico Laciste admitted that the DA’s data system

is not yet centralized, thus, resulting in delayed analysis of the arrival of farm products in the country. “One of our recommendations is to have fully automated trade transactions and monitoring. Currently, we do not have a way of monitoring how much volume has arrived in contrast to the volume issued as per sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances [SPS-ICs],” Laciste told the committee. Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, proposed that the DA require importers to provide them with real-time reports regarding their import arrivals or utilization of SPS-ICs. If the importers refuse to submit the reports, the DA must not issue new SPS-ICs to them, Villar added. “Tell them that they have to give you real-time arrival data. You can enforce that because you are issuing import permits. If they do not want to follow then don’t issue SPS-ICs to them in the future.”

DAR: Italian-funded project assists Pests, diseases destroy up to 40% of food crops–FAO thousands of ARBs in Mindanao T By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

N eight-year project funded by the Italian government in support of rural communities in Mindanao officially ended “on a high note,” according to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). Hailed by DAR as a success, the Italian Agrarian Reform Community Development Support Program (IARCDSP), Italy’s aid agency for development cooperation project focused its projects on strengthening the peace process in Mindanao with the hope of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. It basically supported farming communities lacking vital rural infrastructure and capacity to sustain livelihood activities. DAR Secretary Bernie Cruz said the project got delayed since its inception in 2018 due to the pandemic, but its major components hit 100-percent last year. Originally a six-year program, it was set to end its implementation in December 2018.

The program covered 35 agrarian reform communities (ARCs) in the provinces of Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao. “The Italian peace projects became a success because of cooperation among various players and that the projects truly reached the people it intended to help,” Cruz said. More than 50,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) were served through the 160 completed infrastructure projects worth P1.2 billion. The infrastructures were composed of farm-to-market roads, bridges, irrigation facilities, postharvest facilities, potable water systems, and multi-purpose buildings constructed in target areas under IARCDSP. DAR Undersecretary Virginia Orogo said the project was able to provide financial assistance worth P191.7 million to 35 cooperatives. The said amount was spent on hauling trucks, modern farm machinery, fertilizers, pesticides, animal feeds, and office equipment. “The project also provided the farmers with various training worth

Stable biz regime to unlock big mining potential–COMP continued from a16 “With strong support from our current government, our participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) allowed us to further demonstrate our commitment to the highest standards of transparency and accountability in business,” Toledo said. The Philippines was the first of 51 implementing EITI countries found to have satisfactorily met the 2017 EITI Standard for fiscal transparency in the extractives sector. “We in the Chamber are determined to be a strong partner in nationbuilding—one with a strong focus on

social development, on minimizing the impact of our operations on the environment, and on ensuring a fair division of economic and financial benefits of mining,” Toledo said. “But first, please allow us to flourish. Modern mining technology, global mining standards, and the increasingly stringent laws of the land governing mining have evolved in the last two decades to assist, enable, and guide the industry to become a responsive partner. We like to think that we have also evolved in lockstep with these developments.”

Victims of online sex abuse now younger continued from a16

“They have also observed that the child victims are getting younger. The reported profiles of the victims, who are rescued and who are still in the community, do not form a homogenous group,” the DOJ secretary said. “Rather, they are composed of children of different ages and gender. In a national study covering four major Philippine cities, the victims’ ages at the time of the abuse and exploitation range from 5 to 14,” he added. Guevarra said this information is “sad and alarming” and that one of the challenges in addressing the problem was the failure of the Inter-

net Service Providers (ISP) to comply with their legal obligation to assist law enforcement in cyber-related investigations, such as preserving and disclosing computer data associated to a specific IP address. He said this is being addressed through the DOJ-Office of Cybercrime’s (OOC) reinforced publicprivate partnerships and encourage their cooperation in incident reporting and to provide relevant information during criminal investigations, particularly with ISPs and electronic communication service providers such as Facebook, Google and Yahoo!

P104.4 million to teach them how to manage their agri-businesses, increase production, develop market opportunities and introduce modern farming technologies,” Orogo said. She said a total of 159 trainings on capacity building worth P30.6 million were also provided to more than 5,000 farmers. Livelihood assistance worth P8.6 million was provided to 117 barangays. A project exit conference was held in General Santos City on March 29 to celebrate the success of the Italian project. Deputy Head of Mission Pietro Pipi said the partner government agencies and local government units (LGUs) played a major role in the joint effort of addressing food security and promoting resiliency in the implementation of the project. “We hope our partners in government will continue to sustain the gains from the project and help the beneficiaries maintain the infrastructure so the ARBs and farmers can be relieved from poverty and overcome the challenges from this pandemic,” Pipi said.

HE United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said plant pests and diseases cause food crop losses of up to 40 percent. FAO said the damage caused by plant pests and diseases exacerbates growing world hunger and threatens rural livelihoods. “Protecting plants from pests and diseases is far more cost effective than dealing with plant health emergencies. Once established, plant pests and diseases are often impossible to eradicate, and managing them is time consuming and expensive,” it said. Jingyuan Xia, director of FAO’s Plant Production and Protection Division, said sustaining plant health promotes food security and nutrition while protecting the environment and biodiversity, and boosting livelihoods and economic growth. FAO said it welcomes the UN’s decision to establish an annual International Day of Plant Health, an issue critical in addressing global hunger. The observance, to be held every 12 May, was championed by

Zambia and unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly in a resolution co-signed by Bolivia, Finland, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Tanzania. The day is a key legacy of the International Year of Plant Health, which was marked in 2020-2021. The resolution sets out that healthy plants constitute the foundation for all life on Earth, as well as ecosystem functions, food security and nutrition, adding that plant health is key to the sustainable development of agriculture required to feed a growing global population by 2050. “The International Day of Plant Health will be an opportunity to highlight the crucial importance of plant health, both in itself and as part of our One Health approach, encompassing human, animal and ecosystem health,” said FAO Deputy Director-General, Beth Bechdol. “It could not be more vital to make sure that we do everything we can to maximize the food resources our planet can provide.” Building on the achievements of International Year of Plant Health, the International Day of Plant

Health has five specific objectives: 1. Increase awareness of the importance of keeping plants healthy to achieve the UN 2030 Agenda, particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger). 2. Campaign to minimize the risk of spreading plant pests through trade and travel, by triggering compliance with international plant health standards. 3. Strengthen monitoring and early warning systems to protect plants and plant health. 4. Enable sustainable pest and pesticide management to keep plants healthy while protecting the environment. 5. Promote investment in plant health innovations, research, capacity development and outreach. FAO said it works extensively to help curb the spread of quarantine and transboundary plant pests and diseases, which have increased dramatically in recent years. “Globalization, trade and climate change, as well as reduced resilience in production systems due to decades of agricultural intensification, have all played a part.”

Nickel paralysis deepens as battered LME market barely trades

ICKEL trading volumes continue to collapse on the London Metal Exchange (LME) in the wake of an historic short squeeze, setting up a liquidity crisis in the market for one of the most crucial industrial commodities. The LME halted nickel trading and canceled nearly $4 billion worth of transactions earlier this month after prices spiked by 250 percent in under two days, as it sought to protect its brokers from huge margin calls owed by Tsingshan Holding Group Co. and other short position holders. After a haphazard effort to restart trading, nickel has spent much of the past fortnight locked at the upper or lower limit of a new daily price cap designed to rein in the unprecedented volatility. Yet the market has remained in near-paralysis, even on days when prices have been trading within the 15-percent daily limit. Fewer than 210 lots had traded in the first hour after the market opened at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, down nearly 60percent from the 90-day average for that time of day before this month’s trading halt. There was a small bump in trading activity in the afternoon as Russia announced that it will sharply cut military operations near Kyiv and Chernihiv, but electronic volumes remained depressed. Nickel traded 1.9 percent lower at $32,120 a ton at 3:11 p.m. London time, with fewer than 1,350 lots traded electronically. Aluminum dropped 5.3 percent to $3,422 a ton, as the prospects for a de-escalation in Ukraine eased anxi-

TRADERS, brokers and clerks on the trading floor of the open outcry pit at the London Metal Exchange Ltd. (LME) in London, United Kingdom, on February 28, 2022. BLOOMBERG NEWS

ety over supply from Russia. “The LME need a few sessions where nickel is trading like a proper commodity,” said Colin Hamilton, managing director for commodities research at BMO Capital Markets. While Tsingshan owner Xiang Guangda started buying contracts on the LME last week to reduce his massive short bets, the businessman

and his allies only reduced a portion of their total short position, and still held large bets on falling prices, Bloomberg reported last week. Many other industrial consumers and physical traders also have large short positions in the market. The plunging liquidity represents an escalating crisis for producers and consumers who rely on the exchange

to hedge their pricing risk. Usage is growing rapidly in electricvehicle batteries, and the illiquid trading conditions on the LME threaten to exacerbate volatility. That will hit carmakers—who’ve already seen a neckbreaking rally in battery metal prices over the past year—as well as the steel mills that account for the lion’s share of demand today. Bloomberg News

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

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Thursday, March 31, 2022

MONDELEZ LEADS THE WAY IN EMBRACING

WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE By Leony R. Garcia

the global pandemic. “During the pandemic, the company even ensured more jobs for the Filipinos. Not a single employee experienced a reduction of his or her salary, not a single employee was laid off,” Aumentado said during the BusinessMirror Coffee Club.

ONDELEZ Philippines was recognized to be one of the Best Places to Work in 2021 in the country. This recognition was given by the Best Places to Work certification, which is the most definitive ‘Employer of Choice’ body that organizations aspire to achieve. The company received a staggering nod of approval from 84 percent of its employees, 88 percent rating for leadership and social responsibility and this secured the recognition. The company employs about 450 people in a manufacturing facility in Parañaque City. The workplace greatly changed during the global health crisis and Mondelez PH took it as an opportunity to create a more flexible working arrangement for their employees. This included the introduction of “Meet-less” Fridays, which encouraged employees to avoid booking meetings starting 1:00 PM every end of the week, to give way to personal assignments or learning opportunities. The organization also set up several platforms where employees and their leaders can engage in a healthy discussion on company policies. Some of these activities include their quarterly virtual Coffee Chat, Balitaktakan, and e-tambayan.

Purpose Day

For well-being, employees engaged in a walk/run/bike challenge for their Purpose Day, which helped them achieve five million steps and almost 5,000 kilometers collectively, all while staying at home due to the lockdown. Another important milestone that the company has achieved is the celebration of the 10th year of their Joy Schools

Diversity and Inclusion

community program, which has engaged colleagues through 18 events and achieved 10,000 volunteer hours in the past decade. “It's about how people feel about the workplace, how we are able to play to our potential while at the same time getting a good balance between work and personal lives, especially during these times. On teamwork

and relationships, we scored a high 87 percent as well, which is really about how people feel about their peers, their colleagues, how well people work together, and how respected they feel as individuals in the organization. These were some of the merits that our award was based on,” Ashish Pisharodi, Country Director for Mondelez Philippines, shared in several interviews.

Aileen Aumentado, People Lead, Mondelez Philippines, could personally attest that her company is a perfect place to work in. The HR leader, who has more than 16 years of experience in strategic business partnering to diverse leaders in scaled growth and start-up stage operating companies, was in her third month of pregnancy when she moved to Mondelez at the height of

Women empowerment

By Leony R. Garcia

OMEN, by nature, are vulnerable. But behind that seemingly fragile frame is a strength that emerges as the need arises. During the pandemic, more women carried the brunt of caring for the home while doing their share financially to support the family. The pandemic and school closures have added onto the already big burden of domestic work for women, impacting their mental and physical health. Women are losing livelihoods because they are overrepresented in sectors and jobs hardest hit by COVID-19. The International Labor Organization and UN Women said that 41 percent of women work in the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic – hospitality, real estate, business, manufacturing, and retail. UN Women also revealed that women’s mental health has also suffered. It was reported that 57 percent of women experienced stress and anxiety, compared to 48% of men. Increased unpaid care and domestic workloads, anxiety over income loss, and the impacts of movement restrictions on genderbased violence, were all contributing factors. Indeed, women experienced unique challenges during the global health crisis. However, the

few women accorded leadership roles during the pandemic performed better than their male counterparts. A point in case was the resounding reelection of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last October on the back of her successful COVID-19 response.

From the academe to hospital industry

In the home front, our women industry leaders performed their duties well during the pandemic, surpassing even their own expectations and imparting remarkable changes and experiences in the lives of others including their peers, co-workers, and staff. From taking charge of the production of institutional publications (newsletters, manuals, reports, etc.) and creating communication, public relation and marketing strategies/branding, to establishing linkages with the media, donors, government agencies,

donor institutions, and other institutions for the De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute (DLSMHSI) in Dasmariñas City, Haydee Abayan-Sy, DLSMHSI Institutional Communications Director, suddenly found herself doing something totally differet. She was appointed Assistant Director for Cavite De La Salle COVID-19 Diagnostic Center at the height of the pandemic in May 2020. Abayan-Sy suddenly became a medical frontliner as part of the crisis response team where there is no room for the work from home set up. She had to be on the ground, responding to the needs of others while deep inside she also needed assistance and care from the deadly disease. “It was a life-changing experience for me that I needed to know how to protect people, especially the medical frontliners I directly work with. At that time, we did not know what COVID-19 was and how we could really protect ourselves from the virus. Among others, I took charge of providing shuttle services for the frontliners, providing dormitories to stay, and even the food deliveries which we got from donors and private individuals,” Abayan-Sy recounted during BusinessMirror’s Coffee Club on March 28. In times like these, AbayanSy said it was an opportunity for women to rise up, face the challenge and find the solution. All she needed was to focus and to protect the people around her. “Even though I was asking God all the time why I ended up here, which is not my line of work, I held on to my faith and trust that He has a greater plan for me. And that He’s allowing me this to happen to my life now to make me a better per-

son. That belief calmed me a lot and convinced me that I am taken care of,” she added.

The blessing and the gift of being a leader

For Cleofe Albiso, Managing Director for Megaworld Hotels and Resorts, it takes grit, resilience, and love for women to shine in the workplace. In her capacity, Albiso takes care of the Philippines’ largest homegrown hospitality chain with 4,000 room keys and 11 hotels. It came as a surprise to her that a preschool teacher from Cebu with a Bachelor of Science in Education major in mathematics would eventually end up in the corporate world and be part of the country’s biggest telecommunications group and international hospitality brands. She joined Megaworld in the last quarter of 2019 as its Group General Manager. Her brand of leadership -- the will to persevere and continue with passion – served not just her clients and guests but the people she worked with. For that, she was recognized and promoted to become the first Filipino General Manager of a Marriott International branded property in the country, the Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo. During the pandemic, she said, her realignment of priorities have become intentional. Her first priority was to be a servant of God. “That was the only way to survive. To declare that it’s not your confidence to go through it, it’s not your talent, creativity, but it’s God’s,” she said. She has also embraced a new role, that of a grandmother to her first grandchild. “My first apo in 2020 now calling me lala is happiness beyond explanation,” she stressed. On top of that, she has accepted the evolving role of a homemaker.

More than that, she said, the company comes strong with its diversity and inclusion campaign. In September 2020, Mondelez International announced a multiyear commitment focused on elevating its existing diversity and inclusion initiatives to make meaningful impacts in the areas of racial equity economic empowerment by expanding its diversity and inclusion initiative across three key areas – colleagues, culture and communities. These three pillars drive the Company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. For employees, this means ensuring the diversity of employees, to represent the customers and consumers the Company serves. In the Philippines, this translates to creating a full candidate slate for new positions. Candidates to be interviewed for a job opening must include women and applicants from different schools and work backgrounds. This means choosing the right person for the job, not for who they are or where they come from.

Bias free

For Culture, the Company aims to create an inclusive, bias-free and equitable workplace in which all colleagues can be themselves and achieve their full potential. Women empowerment is a core focus of the Company. It works to empower women through career develop-

“Our children grow and they have different needs year after year. They have different demands and they become more expressive. They know what they want from us and what we use as excuses while we're in the office don’t apply anymore,” she said. Albiso added that women should be thankful for “the blessing and the gift of being a leader at work. Because this role, no matter what we say, juggles out our time from being a mother or a homemaker that’s really big on our hands. This role is also a gift that we have a chance to mold or change lives and create opportunities that will change the direction of the lives of our people.” “We are the fruits of opportunities that our former leaders had before us. We must pass on the same opportunities to these associates and employees. That would be the biggest blessing knowing that if we become servant leaders people see God through our actions,” she said.

From corporate world to full time entrepreneur

Michelle “Mitch” Garcia-Arce has nearly two decades of professional experience in marketing and communications management specifically for hospitality and foodservice brands before deciding to become a full-time mom to her three-year old son while pursuing another role as an entrepreneur. Prior to becoming CEO of Salmo Trading and Distribution Corp. and Storytellers Marketing Communications, Arce was the Cluster Director of Marketing Communications of the Marriott International group in the Philippines, overseeing marketing communications strategies across five properties and three distinct brands – Marriott, Sheraton, and Courtyard. She uses her expertise in integrated marketing programs, public relations, advertising, brand management, ecommerce, social media, and events to generate business demand for Marriott, build a positive company

ment opportunities as well as flexible work policies, which allow them the ability to balance work and life commitments. All employees, regardless of gender, marital status or role enjoy this flexible working policy, work from home policy and career development opportunities. In the Philippines, the Company’s Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) benefits have also been expanded since 2017. This entitles health coverage not only for married couples, but also those for domestic partners of all genders. Under Community, the Company aims to drive economic inclusion for underrepresented communities. Locally this has been done for the past 10 years through the Joy Schools program, a school adoption initiative which supports underprivileged public elementary school students. Since 2011 the program has adopted 19 schools nationwide and reached 25,000 students. “Guided by our Purpose, Mission, and Values, we strive to promote diversity and inclusion for our colleagues, culture, and communities. Like our well-loved snack brands Tang and Eden cheese, we encourage not only acts of playfulness but also inspire acts of generosity and take a stand on issues that matter. We choose to believe we are stronger through our diverse, inclusive, and connected community; to do what’s right and treat everyone with integrity, and to foster a culture of belonging,” Aumentado shared. Post pandemic, Mondelez PH is now focused on recovery in 2022, with a voluntary return to office scheme now in place. This aims to promote flexible working, where physical and virtual working go hand in hand.

reputation, and develop strong relationships with stakeholders and the community. Arce said she is thankful for Marriott’s culture which embraces women and her needs and allowed them to shift and align skills during the pandemic to keep them earning. “Every woman has the capacity to lead even if she’s nurturing children and managing the household,” she said. “Health and wellness were a top priority then at Marriott at the height of the pandemic. But we still need to make people happy. We become creative, we find reasons to celebrate. And social media was a great help in sending our messages back then. With her own ventures, she believes that stories have the power to influence and shape positive perceptions of customers on brands. The brand, the styles of its communication, and the customer are at the heart of her expertise in weaving together great stories that have defined her campaigns and programs. All three ladies agreed that women should make their health their top priority to be able to take care of others as well. Arce encouraged women to keep on learning, even simple things. “We become rich when we learn. And always be grateful for what you have” she said. Meanwhile, Abayan-Sy discouraged women from comparing themselves with others. “We have a different set up and are unique in ourselves, she said. “Surround yourself with people who bring the best in you,” she said. “Get rid of so many unrealistic expectations, even from ourselves. What’s important is really the simplest of all things. I hope that the pandemic has manifested to us that we just have to focus on things of importance such as our relationship with family, with God, with people, with nature, and most especially with ourselves. Let us be ourselves,” Abayan-Sy concluded.

Thursday, March 31, 2022

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Thursday, March 31, 2022 A9

BusinessMirror

A10 Thursday, March 31, 2022

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

ACE VELOCITY CONSULTANCY INC. 37/f Lkg Tower, 6801 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

TAO AI BINH Chinese Speaking Solutions Consultant 1.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written

TOMINAGA, TAKUYA Deputy Officer, Risk Management 2.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing and directing all activities related to risk management

HOANG THI NGUYET Chinese Speaking Marketing Consultant 12.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ATLAS FERTILIZER CORPORATION 7/f Syciplaw Center, 105 Paseo De Roxas, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati Basic Qualification: With solid experience in handling risk management functions with proven managerial and operational skills; can speak and write in Japanese fluently Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware. MAO, LIN Chinese IT Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware. QUACH THI NHU QUYNH IT Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming phone calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware.

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking)

13.

Brief Job Description: Produce quality work and results. Ensure fast and accurate turnaround of work.

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking)

14.

15.

16.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

17.

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

11.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

EVERSON VISA CONSULTANCY INC. 37/f Lkg Tower, 6801 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

CHEN, CONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

18.

19. Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience / Good in oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: Supports Customers by Providing Helpful Information, Answering Questions and Responding to Complaints

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints

HOANG MANH CUONG Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Finnish, German, Polish and in English; Vocational Diploma,Short Course Certificate Undergraduate or Bachelors/College Degree; Background and knowledge in IT is preferred.

Brief Job Description: Supports Customers by Providing Helpful Information, Answering Questions and Responding to Complaints

DO MANH CUONG Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking)

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints

LAM MAI SAM Customer Service Representative 20.

Brief Job Description: Supports Customers by Providing Helpful Information, Answering Questions and Responding to Complaints

LAM YEN SAM Customer Service Representative 21.

Brief Job Description: Supports Customers by Providing Helpful Information, Answering Questions and Responding to Complaints

LE DAO THANH PHUC Customer Service Representative 22.

Brief Job Description: Supports Customers by Providing Helpful Information, Answering Questions and Responding to Complaints

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

DYNAMIC STUDIO TECHNOLOGY INC. 5th To 10th/f Platinum Tower Building, Aseana Ave. Cor. Fuentes Street, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque

WANG, WENJUN Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

Brief Job Description: Customer Service

DANG XUAN THANH Customer Service Representative

CRONYX INC. No. 4th-10th Flr. Yinhope Bldg., Dela Rama Cor. Zoili Hilario St., Seascape Village, Ccp Complex Subd. Zone 10, Barangay 76, Pasay City

10.

BUI VAN ANH Customer Service Representative

CHU VAN TU Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking)

23.

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written

No.

25.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written

26.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

LIU, JUNCHENG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

MAC THE HIEN Customer Service Representative 24.

Brief Job Description: Supports Customers by Providing Helpful Information, Answering Questions and Responding to Complaints

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION NGUYEN HUU QUOC Customer Service Representative

FLYING DRAGON NETWORK PHILIPPINES INC. Ri Rance Ii Bldg., Block 2 Lot 3 Aseana City, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

LIEU DINH QUAY Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

CGI (PHILIPPINES) INC. 2/f One World Square, Mckinley Hill, Pinagsama, City Of Taguig

KOTILAINEN, TEPPO JUHANI Multilingual Service Desk Member

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

WANG, HAOLIN Chinese Speaking Technical Consultant

CAPSLOCK INC. 7th & 8th Flr. Y Tower Bldg., Coral Way Drive Cor. Macapagal Ave., Barangay 76, Pasay City BAI, XIUYUE Chinese IT Support Specialist

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Brief Job Description: Supports Customers by Providing Helpful Information, Answering Questions and Responding to Complaints

NGUYEN PHAM PHUONG HONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

NGUYEN THI PHUONG Customer Service Representative 27.

Brief Job Description: Supports Customers by Providing Helpful Information, Answering Questions and Responding to Complaints

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English

NGUYEN THI TRANG Customer Service Representative 28.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate Level, Preferably with Customers Service or Sales Experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English

NGUYEN VAN KINH Customer Service Representative 29.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate Level, Preferably with Customers Service or Sales Experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English

30.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints

PHAM THI HANG Customer Service Representative 31.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate level, preferably with Customer Service or Salese experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints

PHAM DUY CUONG Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate level, preferably with Customer Service or Salese experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints

32.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints

SAM NAM TAC Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate Level, Preferably with Customers Service or Sales Experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English

SOC CONG NAM Customer Service Representative 33.

Brief Job Description: Supports Customers by Providing Helpful Information, Answering Questions and Responding to Complaints

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate Level, Preferably with Customers Service or Sales Experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English

SON HOANG LAN ANH Customer Service Representative 34.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate Level, Preferably with Customers Service or Sales Experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English

TRAN HOANG NAM Customer Service Representative 35.

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English

VU NAM ANH Customer Service Representative 36.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate Level, Preferably with Customers Service or Sales Experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

37.

Brief Job Description: Supports Customers by Providing Helpful Information, Answering Questions and Responding to Complaints

XU, WEI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: College Graduate Level, Preferably with Customers Service or Sales Experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate Level, Preferably with Customers Service or Sales Experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate level, preferably with Customer Service or Salese experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate level, preferably with Customer Service or Salese experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate level, preferably with Customer Service or Salese experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate level, preferably with Customer Service or Salese experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate Level, Preferably with Customers Service or Sales Experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate level, preferably with Customer Service or Salese experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate level, preferably with Customer Service or Salese experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate Level, Preferably with Customers Service or Sales Experience, Fluent in Mandarin and Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

38.

39.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION YAO, ZHIXIANG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

ZHANG, ZHANQI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

No.

JANG, DONGSUN Korean Sales Support Specialist 50.

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/ Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

SMITH, JAMES WILLIAM JOHN Co-head Of Roll-out 40.

Brief Job Description: Collaborates with Head of Roll-Out in terms of Project management and operations management

51.

CAI, YUAN Chinese Customer Service Representative 41.

Brief Job Description: Track Main Industry Trends in Chinese Through Blogs Micro and Forums KIM, HUNKYOUNG Korean Customer Service Representative

42.

Brief Job Description: Track main industry trends through blogs, micro blogs and forums.

Basic Qualification: College Graduate, Speaks and Write Fluently (Mandarin and English )

43.

Brief Job Description: To lead organization in attaining its goals by overseeing the management of the business operation.

44.

Brief Job Description: Will assist in the development and implementation of the company’s strategy.

53.

54.

BADILLA LOYOLA, JUAN MANUEL Disputes With Voice Coordinator

45.

Brief Job Description: •Analysis disputes received (Basis Target allocated) – Understand what is Customer disputing for •Look up all upstream process to fetch data and understand the history of the said shipment •Analysis the case and decide on accepting/ clarifying or rejecting the case •Reach out to relevant coordinators for more information if required •Process the amendment in core systems for accept processing •Communicate to customer •Record complete root cause on reason or dispute

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

56.

46.

Brief Job Description: Ensure that it systems meet demand and data storage is secure resolve co-workers issues with it systems

JO, YUNHO Korean Information Technology Specialist 47.

Brief Job Description: Ensure that IT systems meet demand and data storage is secure resolve co-workers issues with IT systems

KWON, YOUNGJUN Korean Information Technology Specialist 48.

Brief Job Description: Ensure that IT systems meet demand and data storage is secure resolve co-workers issues with IT systems

LEE, SEUNGMOK Korean Information Technology Specialist 49.

Brief Job Description: Ensure that it systems meet demand and data storage is secure resolve co-workers issues with it systems

Basic Qualification: 2 Years Experience: Can Relate wee=ll SPeak and Understand Korean Leadership skills esp with Koreans

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries NGUYEN XUAN DUC Chinese Customer Service

57.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries OU, LIYONG Chinese Customer Service

58.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries OU, ZHENHAO Chinese Customer Service

59.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries PHONE WAN NATE Chinese Customer Service

60.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries SHWE TEE Chinese Customer Service

61.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries SU, YUANZHI Chinese Customer Service

62.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries ZHAO, XUEMEI Chinese Customer Service

63.

64.

MAI MAI INFO TECH INC. 9/f Double Dragon Plaza Tower 3 Bldg., Macapagal Ave. St. Zone 10 District 1, Barangay 76, Pasay City AN, MYEONGU Korean Information Technology Specialist

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries KELVIN CROWN Chinese Customer Service

MAERSK GLOBAL SERVICE CENTRES (PHILIPPINES) LTD. Levels 6-8 North Wing, Estancia Offices, Capitol Commons, Meralco Ave., Oranbo, City Of Pasig Basic Qualification: 3 or more years of experience in accounting roles, preferably in Multinational companies. •Proficient in MS Office, esp. Excel. SAP knowledge is an advantage. Strong analytical skill •Good English and Spanish communication skills. Confidentiality and discretion at a high level is expected •Capable of meeting strict deadlines and flexible to work in a team environment. Highly energetic and selfmotivated, proactive, and resourceful •Able to adapt successfully to multiple tasks that occur in a rapidly changing environment and to perform in highly interruptive conditions to meet time pressures/ deadlines. Willing to take on stretched goals, and to go above and beyond for urgent work requirements

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires HO THI LAM Chinese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Has an excellent managerial experience. Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries DANNY LEE CHOON JIAN Chinese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Graduate of any course and with at least 15 years related work experience.

KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION MANILA OFFICE INC. Unit Lz-10 19th Floor Tower 1 High Street South Corporate Center, 9th Avenue Corner 26th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig JEONG, JOSEPH Marketing Coordinator

CHEN, LINGMIN Chinese Customer Service

55.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Brief Job Description: Helps Troubleshoot Problems Customers Accounts Provide Sales Team and Data Reports and Sales Guide

65.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries HO THI THANH XUAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

YONG WEI JIE Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: 2 Years Experience: Can Relate wee=ll SPeak and Understand Korean Leadership skills esp with Koreans Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: 2 Years Experience: Can Relate wee=ll SPeak and Understand Korean Leadership skills esp with Koreans

66.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: 2 Years Experience: Can Relate wee=ll SPeak and Understand Korean Leadership skills esp with Koreans

Brief Job Description: CUSTOMER SERVICE

SUN, ZHIYONG Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 67.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

WEI, MINGQING Chinese Speaking Admin Associate 68.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

No.

Basic Qualification: 2 years experience; can relate well w/ Koreans; can speak and understand foreign language esp. Korean

69.

70.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

SOKOLOWSKI, DARIUSZ SEBASTIAN Commercial IBS Supervisor 71.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

72.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Outstanding organizational and leadership skills Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

Brief Job Description: Overall office management including sales, admin, accounting, financial budget

Basic Qualification: 15 years experience in general management; proficiency in Korean and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

SATRAP POWER CORPORATION 816 Aurora Blvd., 4, Kaunlaran, Quezon City LYU, HYANG REOL Chief Executive Officer 73.

Brief Job Description: Act as the primary spokesperson for the company with the other foreign investors.

Basic Qualification: With experience in a senior management position Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

SPEED QUALITY TECH INC. 3/f Eco Plaza Bldg., 2305 Chino Roces Ave. Extn., Magallanes, City Of Makati

74.

75.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Manage and control activities related to commercial back & middle - office, performed by the team of up to 6 analysts

KIM, HYUN CHYUL General Manager

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written

S.N.A.G.P. CORPORATION #126, Level A, Fmf Building, Pioneer, Highway Hills, City Of Mandaluyong

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

PMI BUSINESS SOLUTIONS (PHILIPPINES) INC. 15th/f & 16th/f 8 Rockwell, Hidalgo Drive, Rockwell Center, Poblacion, City Of Makati

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

ZHANG, HENGHAO Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: 2 Years Experience: Can Relate wee=ll SPeak and Understand Korean Leadership skills esp with Koreans

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION ZHU, DI Chinese Speaking Admin Associate

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

76.

CHONG YEE PEI Mandarin Customer Service Specialist Brief Job Description: Customer service

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin both oral and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NOVIA Mandarin Customer Service Specialist Brief Job Description: Customer service

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin both oral and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

WANG, ZHIHUA Mandarin Customer Service Specialist Brief Job Description: Customer service

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin both oral and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

TLG STAR ENTERPRISES CO. Unit A 2/f V-tower Bldg., 1275 Dagupan St. 004, Barangay 51, Tondo I/ii, City Of Manila

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

WU, YUWEN Technical/Machine Consultant

Basic Qualification: Skilled & expert in machine operations

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

77.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ZIMI TECH, INC. 29th/f Burgundy Corporate Tower 252, Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

78.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

79.

80.

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Professionally handle incoming request from customers and ensure that issues are resolve both promptly and thoroughly

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proficient in writing, reading and speaking in both English and Korean/ bahasa/Chinese/Malay Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in writing, reading and speaking in both English and Korean/ Bahasa/Chinese/Malay Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in writing, reading and speaking in both English and Korean/ Bahasa/Chinese/Malay Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ZXY ECOMMERCE PLATFORM & CONSULTANCY INC. 1960, A Mabini St., 077, Barangay 701, Malate, City Of Manila

CHEN, CEN Mandarin Customer Service Representative 81.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Professionally handle incoming request from customers and ensure that issues are resolve both promptly and thoroughly ROY MICHAEL WIDJAYA Bahasa Language Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: Professionally handle incoming request from customers and ensure that issues are resolve both promptly and thoroughly MARK OCTIUS Bahasa Language Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English

Brief Job Description: Monitor day to day operation and ensuring all equipment are maintained

FENDY Bahasa Language Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

NEO INCORPORATED North Tower Centrum Bldg., Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: 2 Years Experience: Can Relate wee=ll SPeak and Understand Korean Leadership skills esp with Koreans

ZHAO, HUAREN Customer Service Representative

A11.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 4th-11th Flr. Nexgen Tower, C4 Rd. Edsa Ext., Barangay 76, Pasay City

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

KAWASAKI MOTORS (PHILS.) CORPORATION Km 23, East Service Rd, Cupang, City Of Muntinlupa SUDO, ISAO Director, President & Chairman Of The Board

52.

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: speaks and write fluently (Mandarin & English)

Brief Job Description: helps troubleshoot problems w/ customers accounts; provide sales team w/ data reports and sales guide

WON, JONGMUN Korean Support Specialist

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

J-NA ALLOUT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORP. 3/f Lipams Bldg., #48 President Avenue, B. F. Homes, City Of Parañaque

Brief Job Description: Helps Troubleshoot Problems with Customers Accounts, Provides Sales Team W Data Reports And Sales Guide

LEE, SEUNGJUN Korean Sales Support Specialist

FRONTIER TOWER ASSOCIATES PHILIPPINES INC. 3rd Floor Unit E, Active Fun Bldg., 9th Ave. Cor. 28th St., Bgc, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig Basic Qualification: 15+ year experience & leadership focusing on civil, mechanical and electrical works in telco projects

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Thursday, March 31, 2022

Brief Job Description: Mandarin Customer Service Representative will be in-charge of monitoring delivery of products/ services to clients; processing client’s orders. Responsible for assisting clients with product information.

HAN, YU Mandarin Customer Service Representative 82.

Basic Qualification: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to multitask, prioritize and manage time effectively. Proficient in Microsoft Docs, Excel & Google sheet. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to multitask, prioritize and manage time effectively. Proficient in Microsoft Docs, Excel & Google sheet. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 *Date Generated: Mar 30, 2022

Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE National Capital Region located at DOLE-NCR Building, 967 Maligaya St., Malate Manila, within 30 days after this publication. Please inform DOLE National Capital Region if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

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A12 Thursday, March 31, 2022

China braces for economic slowdown as Covid spreads

hina’s economy is bracing for an even bigger slowdown as fears of an expanding lockdown in Shanghai and the spread of Omicron elsewhere continue to grow. Long-lasting restr ictions across the country could push gross domestic product growth toward 4 percent this year, according to UBS Group AG, well below the government’s target of about 5.5 percent. Economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. and NatWest Group Plc. have already downgraded their growth forecasts for the second quarter as the outbreaks worsen. Researchers at Chinese University of Hong Kong estimate a strict lockdown in Shanghai alone could reduce China’s real GDP by 4 percent for the duration of the curbs. “Given the highly transmissive nature of Omicron, China may face more difficulties controlling the spread than during the previous waves,” UBS economists including Tao Wang wrote in a note. As of Monday, cities with mid or highrisk areas accounted for 34 percent of GDP, and more than a quarter of the population, they said. Covid infections have continued to rise in Shanghai, which is rolling out restrictions targeting half the city at a time to control the outbreak. Authorities haven’t imposed a full lockdown on the sprawling financial and trade hub of 25 million residents, but that possibility looms large. That would have far-reaching consequences for the rest of the country. “My concern is that if even Shanghai needs to have a fullcity lockdown to contain the outbreak, the prospects of a change to China’s strategy to fight the virus

Singapore hangs drug trafficker in resumption of executions

INGAPORE—A Singaporean man on death row for drug trafficking was hanged Wednesday in the first execution in the city-state in over two years, rights activists said. Singapore, which has harsh anti-drug laws, had halted executions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and last meted out capital punishment in November 2019. Abdul Kahar Othman, 68, was hanged early Wednesday, anti-death penalty activist Kirsten Han said. The execution occurred despite pleas from rights activists, including the UN Human Rights office, to commute Kahar’s sentence to life imprisonment. Han and several others held a small vigil outside the prison late Tuesday for Kahar. Kahar, who came from a poor family and had struggled with drug addiction since he was a teenager, spent more time behind bars than as a free man, Han said. He was released from prison in 2005 after a decade of preventive detention. In 2013, Kahar was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death two years later. Kahar’s incarcerations without proper rehabilitation had made it difficult for him to walk new paths, Han said. Han, along with the UN and other rights groups, have expressed concerns that executions might be accelerated in the city-state after a two-year halt. Transformative Justice Collective, a group working for the reform of Singapore’s criminal justice system, said the families of seven other death row prisoners have recently received execution notices. Their See “Drug trafficker,” A13

will not be very promising,” said Liu Peiqian, China economist at NatWest Group Plc. The spread of the highly infectious Omicron virus strain has disrupted life across the country during the worst coronavirus outbreak since Wuhan in early 2020. Cities including Langfang and Tangshan, near the capital Beijing, as well as the entire northeastern province of Jilin have been sealed off for up to two weeks. Xuzhou, in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, said Wednesday it would lock down for three days.

Growth downgrades

Zheng Michael Song, an economist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, estimated earlier this week the Covid restrictions are likely costing China at least $46 billion a month, or 3.1 percent of GDP, in lost economic output. That impact could double if more cities tighten restrictions, he added. Liu said the outbreak in Shanghai, which contributes 3.8 percent to the country’s GDP, were a factor in her recent growth downgrades. She estimates the city’s staggered eight-day lockdown could help dent GDP growth by 0.4 percentage point in the first and second quarter compared to a year prior. And broad restrictions in other cities could create damage “far beyond” what she’s predicting. “We may have to revise down our forecasts for the coming

Residents stock up on daily necessities at a supermarket in Shanghai, China, on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. A two-phase lockdown of Shanghai’s 26 million people is testing the limits of China’s hardline “zero-Covid” strategy, which is shaking markets far beyond the country’s borders. AP/Chen Si

quarters in that case,” Liu added, though she said it’s tough to predict how curbs will evolve. NatWest expects GDP growth to hit 5.7 percent in the third quarter as fiscal policy benefits the industrial sector, with the firm maintaining its full-year growth forecast of 5 percent. Shangha i aut hor it ies have rolled out some measures—including tax relief, rent extension or reductions, and loan support for small businesses, retail and catering industries hit hard by the outbreak—to mitigate the impact of the virus and restrictions. But signs of economic pain are starting to emerge. The cost of almost every major vegetable sold in the city went up Tuesday from a day earlier, with the average cost of a Chinese cabbage jumping 17.1 percent, according to the Shanghai Municipal Development & Reform Commission. Pork prices also rose 8.1 percent during that period. While economists expect the hit to manufacturing to remain limited as long as Shanghai’s lockdown isn’t extended for too long, some firms are starting to feel the effects.

T he t r uc k i ng of good s to Shanghai’s ports and airports has slowed significantly, and delays are expected, according to logistics firms. AP Moller-Maersk said late Monday that some facilities in the city were shut in connection with lockdowns, and that trucking services had been reduced. In a customer advisory, the shipping company said while air operations in Shanghai for existing cargo in warehouses remained normal, new cargo would be affected. Aptiv, a supplier for Tesla and a General Motors joint venture in China, sent workers at a Shanghai production plant home on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Tesla earlier extended a production pause at its Shanghai plant until Thursday over Covid issues. Even before Shanghai’s Covid surge, economists were pessimistic about China’s growth outlook. Nomura on Saturday said the economy was facing its worst slowdown in two years, and warned economic activities for March “may notably deteriorate across the board.” Bloomberg News

Europeans expel dozens of Russian diplomats to combat espionage

HE HAGUE, Netherlands— In what appeared to be a coordinated action to tackle Russian espionage, at least four European allies expelled dozens of Russian diplomats on Tuesday. The expulsions come as relations between Russia and the West have plunged into a deep freeze following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The Netherlands said it was expelling 17 Russians who it described as intelligence officers masquerading as diplomats. Belgium said it was ejecting 21 Russians. The Czech Republic gave one Russian diplomat 72 hours to leave the country. Ireland told four senior Russian officials to leave the country because of activities deemed not “in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behavior.” North Macedonia announced late Monday it is expelling five Russian diplomats for “activities contrary to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.” “Together with our allies, we are reducing the Russian intelligence presence in the EU,”

the Czech Foreign Ministry said. Poland last week expelled 45 Russians whom the government identified as intelligence officers using their diplomatic status as cover to operate in the country. The Netherlands said it took its decision in consultation with “a number of like-minded countries,” citing similar expulsions by the United States, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Montenegro. “The cabinet has decided to do this because of the threat to national security posed by this group,” the Dutch ministry said in a statement. “The intelligence threat against the Netherlands remains high. The current attitude of Russia in a broader sense makes the presence of these intelligence officers undesirable. The deportation is a measure taken in the context of national security.” Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said he was prepared for retaliation from Moscow. “Experience shows that Russia does not leave these kinds of measures unanswered,”

he said. “We cannot speculate about that, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is prepared for various scenarios that may arise in the near future.” That was demonstrated earlier Tuesday, when Russia said it expelled a total of 10 diplomats from the three Baltic EU states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in retaliation for those countries expelling Russian diplomats earlier this month. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was cancelling the accreditation of four Lithuanian diplomats, three Latvians and three Estonians and they would be required to leave the country. That corresponds to the number of Russian diplomats each country previously expelled. On March 18, the three Baltic countries ordered the expulsion of 10 Russian embassy staff members in a coordinated action taken in solidarity with Ukraine. Moscow called that move “provocative and entirely baseless” and that it had summoned the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian ambassadors in Moscow for an official protest. AP

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

Relief for Kyiv? Russia vows to scale back near the capital By Nebi Qena & Yuras Karmanau The Associated Press

YIV, Ukraine—Russia announced Tuesday it will significantly scale back military operations near Ukraine’s capital and a northern city, as the outlines of a possible deal to end the grinding war came into view at the latest round of talks. Ukraine’s delegation at the conference, held in Istanbul, laid out a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral and its security would be guaranteed by an array of other nations. Moscow’s public reaction was positive, and the negotiations are expected to resume Wednesday, five weeks into what has devolved into a bloody war of attrition, with thousands dead and almost 4 million Ukrainians fleeing the country. Amid the talks, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said Moscow has decided to “fundamentally...cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv” to “increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations.” He did not immediately spell out what that would mean in practical terms. The announcement was met with skepticism from the US and others. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia cannot be trusted. Although the signals from the talks are “positive,” they “can’t silence explosions of Russian shells,” he said in a video address. Zelenskyy said it was Ukrainian troops who forced Russia’s hand, adding that “we shouldn’t let down our guard” because the invading army still “has a great potential to continue attacks against our country.” Ukraine will continue negotiations, he said, but officials do not trust the word of the country that continues “fighting to destroy us.” While Moscow portrayed it as a goodwill gesture, its ground troops have become bogged down and taken heavy losses in their bid to seize Kyiv and other cities. Last week and again on Tuesday, the Kremlin seemed to lower its war aims, saying its “main goal” now is gaining control of the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. US President Joe Biden, asked whether the Russian announcement was a sign of progress in the talks or an attempt by Moscow to buy time to continue its assault, said: “We’ll see. I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested Russian indications of a pullback could be an attempt by Moscow to “deceive people and deflect attention.” It wouldn’t be the first time. In the tense buildup to the invasion, the Russian military announced that some units were loading equipment onto rail cars and preparing to return to their home bases after completing exercises. At the time, Putin was signaling interest in diplomacy. But 10 days later, Russia launched its invasion. Western officials say Moscow is now reinforcing troops in the Donbas in a bid to encircle Ukraine’s forces. And Russia’s deadly siege in the south continues, with civilians trapped in the ruins of Mariupol and other bombarded cities. The latest satellite imagery from commercial provider Maxar Technologies showed hundreds of people waiting outside a grocery store amid reports of food and water shortages. “There is what Russia says and there is what Russia does, and we’re focused on the latter,” Blinken said in Morocco. “And what Russia is doing is the continued brutalization of Ukraine.” Even as negotiators gathered, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces blasted a gaping hole in a nine-story government administration building in a strike on the southern port city of Mykolaiv, killing at least 12 people, emergency authorities said. The search for more bodies in the rubble continued. “It’s terrible. They waited for people to go to work” before striking the building, said regional governor Vitaliy Kim. “I overslept. I’m lucky.” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the US has detected small numbers of Russian ground forces moving away from the Kyiv area, but it appeared to be a repositioning of forces, “not a real withdrawal.” He said it was too soon to say how extensive the Russian movements may be or where the troops will be repositioned. “It does not mean the threat to Kyiv is over,” Kirby said. “They can still inflict massive brutality on the country, including on Kyiv.” He said Russian airstrikes against Kyiv continued. Rob Lee, a military expert at the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, tweeted of the Russian announcement: “This sounds like more of an acknowledgment of the situation around Kyiv where Russia’s advance has been stalled for weeks and Ukrainian forces have had recent successes. Russia doesn’t have the forces to encircle the city.” The meeting in Istanbul was the first time negotiators from Russia and Ukraine talked face-to-face in two weeks. Earlier talks were held in person in Belarus or by video. Among other things, the Kremlin has demanded all along that Ukraine drop any hope of joining Nato. Ukraine’s delegation offered a detailed framework for a peace deal under which a neutral Ukraine’s security would be guaranteed by a group of third countries, including the US, Britain, France, Turkey, China and Poland, in an arrangement similar to Nato’s “an attack on one is an attack on all” principle. Ukraine said it would also be willing to hold talks over a 15-year period on the future of the Crimean Peninsula, seized by Russia in 2014. Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, said on Russian TV that the Ukrainian proposals are a “step to meet us halfway, a clearly positive fact.” He cautioned that the parties are still far from reaching an agreement, but said: “We know now how to move further toward compromise. We aren’t just marking time in talks.” In other developments: n In what appeared to be a coordinated action to tackle Russian espionage, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland and North Macedonia expelled scores of Russian diplomats. n The head of the UNnuclear watchdog agency arrived in Ukraine to try to ensure the safety of the country’s nuclear facilities. Russian forces have taken control of the decommissioned Chernobyl plant, site in 1986 of the world’s worst nuclear accident, and of the active Zaporizhzhia plant, where a building was damaged in fighting. n Russia has destroyed more than 60 religious buildings across the country in just over a month of war, with most of the damage concentrated near Kyiv and in the east, Ukraine’s military said. n In the room at the Istanbul talks was Roman Abramovich, a longtime Putin ally who has been sanctioned by Britain and the European Union. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Chelsea soccer team owner has been serving as an unofficial mediator approved by both countries. But the mystery surrounding his role has been deepened by news reports that he may have been poisoned during an earlier round of talks. Over the past several days, Ukrainian forces have mounted counterattacks and reclaimed ground on the outskirts of Kyiv and other areas. Ukrainian soldiers gathered in a trench for photos with Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, who said that Ukraine had retaken control of a vast majority of Irpin, a key suburb northwest of the capital that has seen heavy fighting. “We defend our motherland because we have very high morale,” said Syrskyi, the commander in charge of the defense of Kyiv. “And because we want to win.” Ukrainian forces also took back Trostyanets, south of Sumy in the northeast, after weeks of occupation that left a landscape of Russian bodies, burned and twisted tanks and charred buildings. Putin’s ground forces have been thwarted not just by stronger-than-expected Ukrainian resistance, but by what Western officials say are Russian tactical missteps, poor morale, shortages of food, fuel and cold weather gear, and other problems. Repeating what the military said last week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that “liberating Donbas” is now Moscow’s chief objective. While that presents a possible face-saving exit strategy for Putin, it has also raised Ukrainian fears the Kremlin aims to split the country and force it to surrender a swath of its territory. Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.

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Hackers steal about $600 million in one of the biggest crypto heists

ackers stole about $600 million from a blockchain network connected to the popular Axie Infinity online game in one of the biggest crypto attacks to date. Computers known as nodes operated by Axie Infinity maker Sky Mavis and the Axie DAO that support a so-called bridge—software that lets people convert tokens into ones that can be used on another network—were attacked, with the hacker draining what’s known as the Ronin Bridge of 173,600 Ether and 25.5 million USDC tokens in two transactions. The breach happened on March 23, but was only discovered Tuesday, according to Ronin, the blockchain that supports Axie Infinity. The attack is the latest to show that bridges are often rife with problems. The computer code of many isn’t audited, allowing for hackers to exploit vulnerabilities. It’s often unclear who runs them and exactly how. Identities of validators, who are supposed to order transactions on bridges, are often shrouded in mystery. And yet there are thousands of bridges out there, and they move hundreds of million of dollars worth of crypto. “The fact that nobody notices for six days screams aloud that some structure should be in place to watch illicit transfers,” said Wilfred Daye, head of Securitize Capital, the asset-management arm of Securitize Inc. The price of Ron, a token used on the Ronin blockchain, dropped about 22 percent after the hack was disclosed. AXS, a token used in Axie Infinity, fell as much as 11 percent, according to CoinMarketCap. In its blog, Ronin said it’s in touch with major cryptocurrency exchanges and with blockchain tracer Chainalysis to monitor the move of the stolen funds. Ronin also said it’s working with law enforcement. Ronin didn’t immediately return requests for comment. The stolen funds went to two cryptocurrency exchanges, according to blockchain forensics firm Elliptic. Several exchanges acknowledged the hack without confirming that the funds had been moved there. Huobi tweeted that it would “fully support Axie Infinity in the aftermath of the attack. Sam

Bankman-Fried, who runs the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, said in an email that it would assist on the blockchain forensics. Binance Holdings Ltd. and OKX issued similar statements, with Binance also saying it’s “working with certain law enforcement agents on potential leads,” without giving details.

Validator Breach

The Ronin hack follows the February attack on the Wormhole bridge, which resulted in more than $300 million in losses that one of Wormhole’s sponsors, Jump Crypto, reimbursed. Other crypto bridges have suffered from so-called rug pulls when their founders disappeared and had issues when their key developers have gone rogue. “In this case the issue was that the bridge was highly centralized—the theft came as a result of someone hacking the ‘validator nodes’ of the Ronin Bridge,” said Tom Robinson, co-founder of Elliptic. “Funds can be moved out of the bridge if five of the nine validators approve it. The hacker managed to get hold of the private cryptographic keys belonging to five of the validators—so that was enough to steal the crypto assets.” Hacks at bridges can threaten the entire ecosystem of decentralized apps, called dapps, from games to lending services. A bridge would typically take a user’s Ether and put it in a smart contract. Then it would issue the user an equivalent amount of so-called wrapped Ether, which can be used on this particular non-Ethereum blockchain—like Ronin or Solana—to invest into dapps. If the underlying Ether is stolen, the wrapped Ether becomes worthless, effectively leaving dapps and their users with massive losses. “If a bridge has the ability to mint tokens, it’s like taking control of the minting machines,” Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoca Brands, an investor into gaming studio Sky Mavis, said in an interview before the hack. “Bridges are authorities at this point, and if they are designed badly or have vulnerabilities, they become a huge risk to the ecosystem.” To save the entire Solana ecosystem from a direct hit, Jump Crypto bailed out Wormhole last month. Sky Mavis and Ronin haven’t announced any similar plans yet. Bloomberg News

Chinese officials see dramatic drop in job security under Xi

eaders of China’s provinces have less job security than at any time in the past four decades, a sign of the upheaval caused by President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign. The ruling Communist Party’s provincial heads stayed in the job just 1.6 years on average in 2021, according to data compiled by Cheng Li, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, a US research organization. That was the shortest average duration for a post that carries a five-year term in Li ’s data going back to 1985, when party bosses held their jobs for 4.5 years. Tenures have been dropping for decades but the phenomenon has sped up amid X i ’s curbs on graft, Li wrote in an article. That campaign to clean up the government of the world’s No. 2 economy has had the added benefit of removing potential political rivals as Xi prepares to secure a precedent-defying third term in office at twice-a-decade leadership congress later this year. Lower officials around the nation will also be jockeying for promotions before that event.

Xi signaled in 2013, shortly after taking power, that he wouldn’t spare any dirty official, and millions of cadres at all levels of government have been busted. One of the earliest victims of the anti-corruption purge was Zhou Yongkang, who had been one of the nine most senior politicians in China. He was sent to prison for life for bribery, abuse of power and leaking state secrets—a takedown that smashed taboos about who was untouchable in elite Chinese politics. Xi has kept up the pressure on Chinese officials since then. Last year, Sun Lijun, a former vice minister of public security, was ex pel led from the part y for “cultivating personal power and forming an interest group,” a sign that Xi remains keen to tame rivals. Li also wrote that mayors and governors, who answer to provincial party bosses, also face greater turnover in their roles. They lasted just 0.8 years in office in 2021, down from 2.5 in 1985, according to his March 27 article, which used sources including the web site of the official X inhua News Agency. Bloomberg News

Thursday, March 31, 2022 A13

Poland to cut Russian oil imports; Germany warns consumers on gas

ARSAW, Poland—Poland will take steps to cut Russian oil imports by the end of 2022, the prime minister said Wednesday, as Germany triggered an early warning level for natural gas supplies and called on consumers to save energy amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. Poland has already largely reduced its dependence on Russian oil, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said. Morawiecki told a news conference that Poland was launching the most radical plan among European nations to wean off Russian energy sources. Poland said Tuesday it was banning imports of Russian coal. Morawiecki said he expects gas imports will be cut in May. Poland is calling on other European Union countries to also cut dependence on fuel imports from Russia. Poland argues that money from oil and gas exports are fueling Russia’s war machine and that that should stop. Morawiecki called on the European Commission to impose tax on

all hydrocarbons imported from Russia to make trade “just.” Poland has been taking strides to cut reliance on Russian gas. A liquid gas terminal was built in Swinoujscie and is being expanded now, receiving deliveries from Qatar, the US, Norway and other exporters. A new, Baltic pipeline bringing gas from Norway is to open at the end of this year. In Germany, the government triggered an early warning level for natural gas supplies and called on consumers to save energy amid concerns that Russia could cut off deliveries unless it is paid in rubles. Western nations have rejected the Russian demand for ruble payments, arguing it would undermine the sanctions imposed against Moscow over the war in

Ukraine. Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the move was a precautionary measure as, so far, Russia is still fulfilling its contracts. But he appealed to companies and households in Germany to start reducing their gas consumption. “There have been several comments from the Russian side that if this [payments in rubles] doesn’t happen, then the supplies will be stopped,” he told reporters in Berlin, adding that Moscow is expected to unveil new rules for gas payments on Thursday. “In order to be prepared for this situation I have today triggered the early warning level.” Habeck, who is also Germany’s energy minister and vice chancellor, said this was the first of three warning levels and entailed the establishment of a crisis team in his ministry that will step up monitoring of the gas supply situation. Germany has taken steps in recent weeks to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel supplies from Russia because of the war in Ukraine. “On average we in Germany imported 55 percent of our gas from Russia in recent years, and this has now already gone down to 40 percent,” Habeck said. Berlin has signed deals with several supplies of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, which is shipped to neighbor-

South Korea announces key rocket launch, days after North’s ICBM test

EOUL, South Korea—South Korea said it made its first successful launch of a solidfuel rocket Wednesday in what it called a major development toward acquiring a space surveillance capability amid rising animosities with rival North Korea. The launch came six days after North Korea conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile test since 2017 in an apparent attempt to expand its weapons arsenal and increase pressure on the Biden administration amid stalled talks. South Korea’s domestically built solid-propellant rocket was launched from a state-run testing facility with the presence of Defense Minister Suh Wook and other senior officials, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. It said solid-fuel rockets have simpler structures and are cheaper to develop and manufacture than liquid-fuel rockets. It said solidfuel rockets also reduce launch times. The statement said South Korea will soon launch a spy satellite into orbit aboard a solid-fuel rocket. South Korea currently has no military reconnaissance satellite

of its own and depends on US spy satellites to monitor strategic facilities in North Korea. In 2020, South Korea won US consent to use solid fuel for space launch vehicles, a restriction that Washington had previously imposed on its key Asian ally out of concerns that its use could lead to building bigger missiles and trigger a regional arms race. Wed nesd ay ’s l au nc h c a me amid tensions over North Korea’s ICBM launch last Thursday, which broke its own moratorium on big weapons tests and violated multiple UN Security Council resolutions. South Korea’s Defense Ministry concluded earlier this week that North Korea fired the Hwasong-15 ICBM, rather than the newer, bigger, longer-range Hwasong-17 that North Korea claimed to have tested. “Coming at a very grave time following North Korea’s lifting of the weapons tests moratorium, this successful test-launch of the solid-fuel space launch vehicle is a key milestone in our military’s efforts to [build] a unilateral space-based surveillance system and bolster defense capability,”

Elementary school students pass by mock South and North Korean missiles at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea, on April 18, 2019. South Korea said it made its first successful launch of a solid-fuel rocket Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in what it called a major development toward acquiring a space surveillance capability amid rising animosities with rival North Korea. AP/Ahn Young-joon

the South Korean statement said. The rival Koreas remain divided along a heavily fortified border since their division at the end of the World War II in 1945. To cope with North Korea’s increasing nuclear threats, South Korea has been building and purchasing powerful conventional missiles, stealth fighter jets and other hightech weapons systems. But South Korea has no nuclear weapons and it’s under the protection of the US “nuclear umbrella,” which guarantees a devastating American response in the event of an attack on its ally. AP

ing European countries and then pumped to Germany. Habeck said Germany’s gas storages are currently filled to about 25 percent capacity. “The question how long the gas will last basically depends on several factors [such as] consumption and weather,” he said. “If there’s a lot of heating, then the storage facilities will be emptied.” He added that Germany is prepared for a sudden stop in Russian gas supplies, but warned that this would have “considerable impacts” and urged consumers to play their part in preventing a shortage by scaling back demand. “We are in a situation where, I have to say this clearly, every kilowatt hour of energy saved helps,” said Habeck. “And that’s why I would like to combine the triggering of the warning level with an appeal to companies and private consumers to help Germany, help Ukraine, by saving gas or energy as a whole.” The second warning level would require companies in the gas industry take necessary measures to direct supply. The third warning level entails full state intervention into the gas market to ensure that those who most need gas—such as hospital and private households— receive it, said Habeck. “We’re not there and we don’t want to go there,” he added. AP

Drug trafficker. . . Continued from A12

cases were postponed due to legal appeals. A Malaysian man with a mental disability may be next in line after he lost a final appeal Tuesday against his death sentence. Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam has been on death row since 2010 for trying to smuggle less than 43 grams (1.5 ounces) of heroin into Singapore. At an earlier court hearing, his IQ was revealed to be 69—a level internationally recognized as an intellectual disability, but the court ruled Nagaenthran knew what he was doing by violating Singapore’s harsh anti-drug laws. Rights groups have urged Singapore President Halimah Yacob to pardon Nagaenthran or commute his sentence. Malaysia’s leader, European Union representatives and global figures such as British business magnate Richard Branson have also joined calls for Nagaenthran’s life to be spared. AP

A14 Thursday, March 31, 2022 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

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editorial

Contraband vegetables and the ‘untouchables’

muggling of vegetables into the country has been going on for the longest time. This illicit activity impacts the Philippines in so many ways: Zero government revenues from customs duties and taxes, distortion in prices of locally-produced vegetables resulting to farmers’ losses, slowdown in food production, and increasing the risk of entry of pests. It also puts Filipinos’ health at risk. That’s because smuggled vegetables do not have phytosanitary permits, which makes them unsafe for consumption since we do not know if they contain pesticides or cancer-causing preservatives. In February, hundreds of vegetable delivery trucks drove through the main road in La Trinidad, Benguet for a caravan, carrying banners calling on authorities to protect farmers by ending the widespread smuggling of vegetables into the country. Senators on Monday lined up recommendations to improve the country’s trade system to curb agricultural smuggling, such as implementing a sound data system and empowering government agencies to seize contraband food products. The Senate Committee of the Whole, presided by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, resumed its oversight hearing on the unabated agricultural smuggling in the country. In wrapping up the hearing, Sotto vowed that Senate probers won’t stop until the rampant food smuggling is resolved, setting up meetings with private sector groups on their concrete recommendations to fight the menace (Read, “Senate eyes private-sector agenda vs food smuggling,” in the BusinessMirror, March 28, 2022). During the hearing, Agot Balanoy of the League of Associations at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Areas disclosed that Benguet farmers are losing P2.5 million per day due to smuggled carrots. She said smuggled vegetables depress farm-gate prices to the point that farmers are forced to give away their produce. Agriculture Secretary William Dar said he welcomes the Senate hearing on vegetable smuggling. “I condemn in the strongest terms the smuggling and illegal entry of all agricultural, fishery and meat products into the country— as these compete directly with our local farmers, fishers and food producers, depriving them of much-needed livelihood and incomes,” Dar said in a statement. “Smuggled farm products could carry transboundary pests and diseases that could harm our agriculture, fishery and animal industry, in general. More importantly, they could pose danger to human health,” he added. Here’s a glaring proof: International Trade Centre data analyzed by BusinessMirror showed that China exported $4.679 million worth of fresh or chilled carrots and turnips to the Philippines from January to November of last year. However, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that the country did not import a single carrot or turnip from China during the 11-month period. The ITC data is based on General Customs Administrative of China statistics, while the PSA data is based on documents from the Bureau of Customs. Agriculture Assistant Secretary Frederico Laciste admitted at the Senate hearing that the Department of Agriculture’s data system is not yet centralized, thus, resulting in delayed analysis on the arrival of farm products in the country. Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, proposed that the DA require importers to provide them with real-time reports regarding their import arrivals or utilization of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances. If the importers refuse to submit the reports, the DA must not issue new SPS-ICs to them, Villar added. “Tell them that they have to give you real-time arrival data. You can enforce that because you are issuing import permits. If they do not want to follow then don’t issue SPS-ICs to them in the future,” she said. There’s brazen vegetable smuggling because “untouchables” like powerful government officials are allegedly involved in the illicit trade. Laciste said that in 2021, while his office was preparing charges against the vegetable smugglers, he received phone calls from government personalities urging him to drop the cases. Pressured by senators to identify the personalities, Laciste said he was willing to reveal the identities of the callers in an executive session. Sotto instead asked him to write down the names. “We will know how to handle it,” the Senate president said. Agriculture officials know the names of the powerful people involved in vegetable smuggling. The good senators now know the people in power who are protecting them. The public can hardly wait to see what happens next.

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My celestial burden John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

here have been a couple of notable observations that I have made recently. On June 11, 2007, I sent my first Gmail e-mail—my BusinessMirror column of that week—and have maintained the same address for the past 15 years. Needless to say, I must be a prominent “celebrity” on many e-mail address lists used by some of the finest “spam senders” on the planet. Two days without deleting and I can have nearly one hundred or more “Your $25,000 Settlement Check Has Arrived” and “I’m lonely and I tried to call YOU” in the Spam folder.

Gmail has a reasonably strong spam filter but that only puts these messages in a separate folder. I must confess that I am interested in reading the subject lines, as it is a revealing clue to what is going on in the world. In the past months, “Ukrainian Brides are looking for you” have disappeared. But through 2020 and 2021, my spam folder was “hungry” except for the occasional “Covid Cure!.” However, since the beginning of 2022, the Spam Industry is back in business. Is that a good sign that the pan-

demic is finished, and the global economy is coming back to whatever normal used to be? The other phenomenon I have encountered since late-February is along the lines of this article headline from the Dallas Morning News. “I’m an atheist, but between Covid and nuclear weapons, I’m ready to give God a try.” The author goes on to write, “We are all pinwheeling, God, and I’m not sure how long we can remain like this. To be honest, I’m not even sure I believe in you, but I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt because I need someone to talk to.”

Much of the article is tongue-incheek but behind the humor (as always) is some truth. I genuinely detest people who evangelize and proselytize, the difference being the first wants to spread the word hoping you will see the light. The latter has only one purpose—to convert you to their beliefs. I do not care if you are in the service of Jesus, Allah, Odin, Krishna, Buddha, or if you believe that anyone who follows any of those beliefs are fools. In addition, “evangelizing” about your preferred sexual appetite, global weather patterns, or cryptocurrencies in my face will definitely be hazardous to your emotional and maybe physical well-being. I forgot to mention pushing “your political views” to me. An intelligent conversation about any topic is always welcome because that is what I enjoy and what also makes me someone you do not want to get stuck with at a party. At least that is what my wife says. I am a card-carrying member of the Roman Catholic Church by choice because my life experience has taught me that, unlike for the other beasts of the field, religion can be comforting and grounding. I enjoy Catholicism for its comparatively unchanging dogma, its formal “worship” structure, and a relative

simplistic philosophy. Besides, since I do not have the discipline for meditation, I get my quiet contemplation time at Mass once a week. However, I have not attended a physical Mass since March 2020. I may not attend again for some time as I am disturbed by what some people have told me. One nice neighbor lady– a good Catholic—was upset that at the Ash Wednesday Mass, the priest made clear that voting for a certain presidentiable was expected. And as a Man of God, the implication was clear. Unfortunately, even at my advanced age, heaven and hell are not concepts that I fully understand. But I do still feel remorse for something that happened back in 1982. It was “through my most grievous fault” and I certainly do not want to add to my celestial burden by voting for the wrong candidate. Wouldn’t it be an eternal disappointment if St. Peter turns me away because he did not like the way I marked my ballot in 2022? My eldest son tells me Lord Shiva is much more flexible but no cheeseburgers. 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.

Saudi’s unilateral Yemen cease-fire offer rejected by rebels

By Jon Gambrell | The Associated Press

UBAI, United Arab Emirates—The Saudi-led coalition fighting rebels holding Yemen’s capital planned a unilateral cease-fire to begin early Wednesday ahead of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The Houthis rejected the proposal as “meaningless” without the coalition fully reopening the country’s ports. The coalition planned to begin the unilateral cease-fire at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) to facilitate negotiations in the kingdom that Yemen’s Houthi rebels are boycotting. Brig. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said late Tuesday it would “take all steps and measures to make the cease-fire successful...and create a positive environment during the holy month of Ramadan to make peace and end the crisis.” However, the announcement raised immediate doubts because the Iran-backed rebels are skipping the summit in Saudi Arabia, called by the Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council, because it’s taking place on their adversary’s territory. Other unilateral cease-fires announced by the coalition over the past two years have swiftly collapsed. Within hours, a Houthi official named Mohammed al-Bukaiti rejected the offer over the continuing closure of Sanaa’s airport and restric-

tions on the country’s ports by the Saudi-led coalition. “If the blockade is not lifted, the declaration of the coalition of aggression to stop its military operations will be meaningless because the suffering of Yemenis as a result of the blockade is more severe than the war itself,” he wrote on Twitter. It wasn’t immediately clear how long the unilateral cease-fire would last and how the coalition would respond if the Houthis did not comply. The United Nations and others had been pushing the warring sides to reach a truce for Ramadan, as has tenuously occurred in the past. Ramadan is likely to start this weekend, depending on the sighting of the new crescent moon. The GCC, which is a six-nation club including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, began the talks Tuesday in Riyadh. The summit is expected to continue through April 7.

On Monday, the GCC SecretaryGeneral Nayef al-Hajraf held talks with British Ambassador to Yemen Richard Oppenheim and Yemeni officials allied with its internationally recognized but exiled government. Those talks saw al-Hajraf, a Kuwaiti politician, discuss “efforts to stop the war and ways to achieve comprehensive peace to alleviate the human suffering witnessed by Yemeni people,” according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency. Al-Hajraf attended the World Government Summit in Dubai on Tuesday, but didn’t speak about Yemen at his appearance. He declined to answer any questions from an Associated Press journalist as he hurried out of the building, saying: “I have a flight to catch.” Hours later, the GCC issued a statement quoting al-Hajraf calling on all sides in the war to halt fighting, while again asking the Houthis to take part in the negotiations. The rebels, who over the weekend attacked an oil depot in the Saudi city of Jiddah ahead of a Formula One race there, have called for the talks to be held in a “neutral” country. “The Saudi regime must prove its seriousness towards peace...by responding to a cease-fire, lifting the siege and expelling foreign forces from our country,” Houthi spokesman Mohammad Abdul-Salam wrote

on Twitter. “Then peace will come and it is time to talk about political solutions in a calm atmosphere away from any military or humanitarian pressure.” However, a Geneva-based rights group focused on Yemen, SAM, accused the Houthis of arresting three Yemeni civil rights activists in Ibb province who planned to attend the Riyadh talks. The Houthis did not respond to questions about the arrests. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, supported the Houthi position in a statement Tuesday. He also noted Ramadan was soon and said a possible prisoner swap could help ease tensions. “The plan proposed by Sanaa in good faith carries a strong message suggesting robust determination to end the war, lift the cruel blockade on people and resolve the Yemen crisis through political means,” Khatibzadeh said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke late Monday with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan. The State Department said the two “discussed support for the UN’s proposal for a Ramadan truce in Yemen and efforts to launch a new, more inclusive and comprehensive peace process.” US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim See “Saudi” A15

Opinion BusinessMirror

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UN food chief: Ukraine war’s food crisis is worst since WWII

Who will OFWs vote for?

Susan V. Ople

Scribbles

By EDITH M. LEDERER | The Associated Press

NITED NATIONS—The UN food chief warned Tuesday the war in Ukraine has created “a catastrophe on top of a catastrophe” and will have a global impact “beyond anything we’ve seen since World War II” because many of the Ukrainian farmers who produce a significant amount of the world’s wheat are now fighting Russians. David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Program, told the UN Security Council that already high food prices are skyrocketing. His agency was feeding 125 million people around the world before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, and Beasley said it has had to start cutting their rations because of rising food, fuel and shipping costs. He pointed to war-torn Yemen where 8 million people just had their food allotment cut 50 percent, “and now we’re looking at going to zero rations.” The war in Ukraine is turning “the breadbasket of the world to breadlines” for millions of its people, while devastating countries like Egypt that normally gets 85 percent of its grain from Ukraine and Lebanon that got 81 percent in 2020, Beasley said. Ukraine and Russia produce 30 percent of the world’s wheat supply, 20 percent of its corn and 75 percent to 80 percent of the sunflower seed oil. The World Food Program buys 50 percent of its grain from Ukraine, he said. The war is going to increase the agency’s monthly expenses by $71 million because of rising food, fuel and shipping costs, he said. That will total $850 million for a year and mean that there will be “4 million less people we’ll be able to reach.” Beasley said the World Food Program is reaching about a million people inside Ukraine with food now, and will reach 2.5 million over the next four weeks, 4 million by the end of May and hopefully 6 million by the end of June. The price tag is about $500 million for the first three months and “we are short by about $300 million so we’re going to need to step up,” he said. Beasley warned that focusing on Ukraine should not lead the international community to neglect of Africa, especially the Sahel, and the Middle East, because “otherwise, you’ll have massive migration” coming to all parts of Europe. “If we end the conflict, address the needs, we can avoid famine, destabilization of nations and mass migration,” he said. “But if we don’t, the world will pay a mighty price and the last thing we want to do as the World Food Program is taking food from hungry children to give to starving children.” US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said that “President (Vladimir) Putin’s war of choice” is responsible for damaging global food security. “Russia has bombed at least three civilian ships carrying goods from Black Sea ports to the rest of the world, including one chartered by an agribusiness company,” she said. “The Russian navy is blocking access to Ukraine’s ports, essentially cutting off exports of grain.” “They are reportedly preventing approximately 94 ships carrying food for the world market from reaching the Mediterranean,” Sherman said, adding that many shipping companies are hesitating to send vessels into the Black Sea, even to Russian ports. As Russia “chokes off Ukrainian exports,” food prices are skyrocketing, with wheat prices rising between

Saudi . . .

continued from A14

Lenderking traveled to Riyadh to take part in the talks. The US under President Joe Biden has pulled back from the Saudi campaign while still supplying the kingdom new air defense missiles.

French Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere told the Security Council, which has not passed a Ukraine resolution because of Russia’s veto power, that “it is Russia’s unjustified and unjustifiable war that is preventing Ukraine from exporting grain, disrupting global supply chains, and driving up prices that threaten the accessibility of agricultural commodities for the most vulnerable.” Russia’s aggression against Ukraine increases the risk of famine in the world,” he warned. 20 percent and 50 percent so far this year, she said. “We are particularly concerned about countries like Lebanon, Pakistan, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen and Morocco which rely heavily on Ukrainian imports to feed their population,” Sherman said. Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, retorted that the Russian military is “posing no threat to the freedom of civilian navigation.” He said that Russia has set up an 80 nautical-mile-long humanitarian corridor to allow foreign vessels to leave Ukrainian ports and that it is organizing humanitarian corridors every day within Ukraine to Russia and the West. “The real reasons why the global food market is facing serious turbulence are by no means in the actions of Russia, (but) rather in the unbridled sanctions hysteria that the West has unleashed against Russia without considering the population of the so-called Global South nor of its own citizens,” Nebenzia said. Lifting sanctions is the only way to ensure uninterrupted shipments and stabilize international agricultural and food markets, he said. Sherman countered: “Sanctions aren’t preventing grain from leaving Ukraine’s ports. Putin’s war is. And Russia’s own food and agricultural exports are not under sanction by the US or by our allies and partners.” France and Mexico called for the council meeting to follow up on the General Assembly’s adoption of a humanitarian resolution on Ukraine that they initiated that was adopted overwhelmingly Thursday by a vote of 140-5, with 38 abstentions. It demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians and infrastructure essential for their survival, and unimpeded access to deliver desperately needed aid. French Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere told the Security Council, which has not passed a Ukraine resolution because of Russia’s veto power, that “it is Russia’s unjustified and unjustifiable war that is preventing Ukraine from exporting grain, disrupting global supply chains, and driving up prices that threaten the accessibility of agricultural commodities for the most vulnerable.” Russia’s aggression against Ukraine increases the risk of famine in the world,” he warned. “People in developing countries are first to be affected.” Yemen’s war began in September 2014, when the Houthis swept into the capital, Sanaa, from their northwestern stronghold in the Arab world’s poorest country. The Houthis then pushed into exile the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, elected in 2012 as the sole candidate after the long rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh.

ased on my current reading of the overseas Filipino workers (OFW) sector, a great majority of them favor a Marcos vote, thus reflecting the current national trend.

This is, of course, only my personal opinion, based on conversations with OFW advocates and OFW families, here and overseas. There is a long history behind the OFW sector’s support for a Marcos presidency. It was, after all, during the time of the late President Ferdinand Marcos that Filipinos left for abroad as pioneers of Philippine overseas employment. Due to the oil shocks of the ’70s, which gave Gulf countries their golden years as the wealthiest nations on earth, the petrodollars of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Iran and Iraq, among other Middle East states, made it possible for them to embark on monumental infrastructure development requiring partnerships with Filipino construction firms. These firms brought in the much-appreciated Filipino contract workers, through legal processes and government institutions set in place under the Marcos administration. Aside from the history, there is

also the huge “Tatay Digong” factor. OFWs, especially in the Middle East, see the incumbent president as a member of the family, someone who genuinely cares for them. If continuity is the name of the game, Inday Sara Duterte can easily lay claim to guaranteeing that her father’s legacy will continue under the UniTeam’s watch. Add to this the consistent, overwhelming, and effective presence on social media of Bongbong Marcos and his family, in ways that are relatable to our OFWs. Can the other presidential candidates catch up? I am sure that some of the camps are already focused on how to get as many OFW votes as possible beginning April 10. I have received inquiries as well from partylist groups and senatorial bets eager to campaign and touch base with our OFWs. It would be difficult to start campaigning for the migrant workers’ votes in an abrupt manner simply because they would be among the first to vote for our national can-

Thursday, March 31, 2022 A15

didates. Relationships with the OFW sector ought to have been built over time. Our overseas workers are quite discerning; they can and often do influence the votes of their families back home since many of them serve as breadwinners. Aside from presidential aspirant Marcos and his running mate, Sara, I think the team of Senator Ping Lacson and Senate President Tito Sotto also has the respect of our OFWs because of their fight against corruption and illegal drugs. “Tito Sen,” in particular, has his own following among OFWs given his extensive exposure courtesy of the highly popular Eat Bulaga TV show, and as a prominent senior national leader. Of course, Senator Manny Pacquiao and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno have rags-to-riches stories that resonate with OFWs that dream of scaling up and giving their families a better, more prosperous life. What of Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate, Senator Kiko Pangilinan? Her domestic labor agenda is quite comprehensive and well thought out. More needs to be done on the OFW front to communicate what her plans are for our migrants, especially our women workers overseas and their families back home. Overseas Filipinos especially those in the United States and who are living the life of professionals abroad are actively campaigning for VP Leni, and it is not surprising to see millennial OFWs and dual citizens favoring the pink camp.

The best way to campaign for the OFWs’ votes is through social media that would also include online news platforms that carry stories that are relevant to their plight. Because of the pandemic, there are fewer occasions for national candidates or their surrogates to go abroad, in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The smarter way to campaign would be to use all kinds of platforms to present one’s campaign platform and agenda for OFWs. This would include radio interviews, especially in the provinces where a high number of OFW families reside. Foremost among the issues close to the hearts of our workers are the faster and easier processing of Philippine passports especially the renewal of passports onsite, better terms and conditions for our OFWs, 24/7 assistance here and overseas especially for OFWs in distress, health insurance and medical programs, reintegration and livelihood programs to sustain the needs of their families and scholarships for their children. Whoever they vote for, I am sure that our OFWs will look forward to this next chapter in Philippine history though there will always be that special fondness for the current President, the man they proudly call their “Tatay.” 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 InterAgency Council Against Trafficking.

US opens second Covid boosters to 50 and up, others at risk By lauran neergaard & matthew perrone | The Associated Press

mericans 50 and older can get a second Covid-19 booster if it’s been at least four months since their last vaccination, a chance at extra protection for the most vulnerable in case the coronavirus rebounds. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for that age group and for certain younger people with severely weakened immune systems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention later recommended the extra shot as an option but stopped short of urging that those eligible rush out and get it right away. That decision expands the additional booster to millions more Americans. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC’s director, said it was especially important for older Americans—those 65 and older—and the 50-somethings with chronic illnesses such as heart disease or diabetes to consider another shot. “They are the most likely to benefit from receiving an additional booster dose at this time,” Walensky said. There’s evidence protection can wane particularly in higher-risk groups, and for them another booster “will help save lives,” FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said. For all the attention on who should get a fourth dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, only about half of Americans eligible for a third shot have gotten one—and the government urged them to get up to date. Two shots plus a booster still offer strong protection against severe illness and death, even during the winter surge of the supercontagious Omicron variant. The move toward additional boosters comes at a time of great uncertainty, with limited evidence to tell how much benefit an extra dose right now could offer. Covid-19 cases have dropped to low levels in the US, but all vaccines are less pow-

erful against newer mutants than earlier versions of the virus—and health officials are warily watching an Omicron sibling that’s causing worrisome jumps in infections in other countries. Pfizer had asked the FDA to clear a fourth shot for people 65 and older, while Moderna requested another dose for all adults “to provide flexibility” for the government to decide who really needs one. FDA’s Marks said regulators set the age at 50 because that’s when chronic conditions that increase the risks from Covid-19 become more common. Until now, the FDA had allowed a fourth vaccine dose only for the immune-compromised as young as 12. Vaccines have a harder time revving up severely weak immune systems, and Marks said their protection also tends to wane sooner. Tuesday’s decision allows them another booster, too—a fifth dose. Only the Pfizer vaccine can be used in those as young as 12; Moderna’s is for adults. What about people who got Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose shot? They already were eligible for one booster of any kind. Of the 1.3 million who got a second J&J shot, the CDC said now they may choose a third dose—either Moderna or Pfizer. For the more than 4 million who got Moderna or Pfizer as their second shot, the CDC says an additional booster is only necessary if they meet the newest criteria—a severely weakened immune system or are 50 or older. That’s because a CDC study that tracked which boosters J&J recipients initially chose concluded a Moderna or Pfizer second shot was superior to a second J&J dose.

A Saudi-led coalition, including the UAE, entered the war in March 2015 to try and restore Hadi’s government to power. But the war stretched into long bloody years, pushing Yemen to the brink of famine. More than 150,000 people have been killed in the warfare, according to the Armed Conflict Location and

Event Data Project. Those include both fighters and civilians; the most recent figure for the civilian death toll in Yemen’s conflict stands at 14,500. Also, Saudi airstrikes have killed hundreds of civilians and targeted the country’s infrastructure. The Houthis have used child soldiers and indiscriminately laid landmines

Even if higher-risk Americans get boosted now, Marks said they may need yet another dose in the fall if regulators decide to tweak the vaccine. For that effort, studies in people—of Omicron-targeted shots alone or in combination with the original vaccine—are underway. The National Institutes of Health recently tested monkeys and found “no significant advantage” to using a booster that targets just Omicron.

If the new recommendations sound confusing, outside experts say it makes sense to consider extra protection for the most vulnerable. “There might be a reason to top off the tanks a little bit” for older people and those with other health conditions, said University of Pennsylvania immunologist E. John Wherry, who wasn’t involved in the government’s decision. But while he encourages older friends and relatives to follow the advice, the 50-year-old Wherry—who is healthy, vaccinated and boosted— doesn’t plan on getting a fourth shot right away. With protection against severe illness still strong, “I’m going to wait until it seems like there’s a need.” While protection against milder infections naturally wanes over time, the immune system builds multiple layers of defense and the type that prevents severe illness and death is holding up. During the US Omicron wave, two doses were nearly 80% effective against needing a ventilator or death—and a booster pushed that protection to 94 percent, the CDC recently reported. Vaccine effectiveness was lowest—74 percent—in immune-compromised people, the vast majority of whom hadn’t gotten a third dose. To evaluate an extra booster, across the country. Meanwhile, gunmen shot and killed a security officer in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on Tuesday, security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief journalists. They identified the slain officer as Capt. Karam al-Mashraqi, with

US officials looked to Israel, which opened a fourth dose to people 60 and older during the Omicron surge. The FDA said no new safety concerns emerged in a review of 700,000 fourth doses administered. Preliminary data posted online last week suggested some benefit: Israeli researchers counted 92 deaths among more than 328,000 people who got the extra shot, compared to 232 deaths among 234,000 people who skipped the fourth dose. What’s far from clear is how long any extra benefit from another booster would last, and thus when to get it. “The ‘when’ is a really difficult part. Ideally we would time booster doses right before surges but we don’t always know when that’s going to be,” said Dr. William Moss, a vaccine expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Plus, a longer interval between shots helps the immune system mount a stronger, more cross-reactive defense. “If you get a booster too close together, it’s not doing any harm— you’re just not going to get much benefit from it,” said Wherry. The newest booster expansion may not be the last: Next week, the government will hold a public meeting to debate if everyone eventually needs a fourth dose, possibly in the fall, of the original vaccine or an updated shot. Even if higher-risk Americans get boosted now, Marks said they may need yet another dose in the fall if regulators decide to tweak the vaccine. For that effort, studies in people—of Omicron-targeted shots alone or in combination with the original vaccine—are underway. The National Institutes of Health recently tested monkeys and found “no significant advantage” to using a booster that targets just Omicron. AP journalist Mike Stobbe contributed to this report.

the UAE-backed Security Belt militia. Al-Mashraqi was the second senior security official killed this month in Aden, the seat of Hadi’s government. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the killing. Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Ahmed alHaj in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report.

A16 Thursday, March 31, 2022

Stable biz regime to unlock big mining potential–COMP

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

IG players in the mining industry are pushing for a stable business environment to enable the sector to support the country’s post-pandemic recovery efforts.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) defined a stable business environment as something where “policies are reliable, contracts and investments are protected, and the rules do not change midstream.” COMP’s Michael Toledo made the pitch in a speech before the members of the Consular Corps of the Philippines, an association of diplomats and consular officers. With “estimated untapped mineral reserves worth US$1 trillion or equivalent to three times its 2021 GDP, the Philippines has tremendous potential to contribute to socio-economic growth,” Toledo said. Mining used to be a huge contributor to the Philippine economy, particularly in the 1980s when the industry accounted for 21 percent of

the country’s export earnings and over 2 percent of GDP, he recalled. Gina Lopez’s short stint in the DENR also saw the cancellation of 75 inactive mining contracts – 75 Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSAs) and 1 Financial and/or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) -- for projects near or within watersheds, bringing cheer to environmental groups and anti-mining advocates. She also imposed a ban on open-pit mining methods for select ores. Under Lopez’s successor, Roy A. Cimatu, the mining policies she put in place were slowly reversed, giving mining relief but triggering howls of protest among anti-mining groups. Toledo noted that in 2020, mining’s share in total exports plummeted to 8 percent, and subse-

quently to 0.6 percent. He attributed the decline to a combination of factors, among them the “policy roadblocks” that included the recently lifted 9-year moratorium on new mining projects and a 4-year ban on open-pit mining.

Tampakan project

A LLUDING to the Tampakan Project in Mindanao that is being stalled by a provincial code that still bans open pit mining, Toledo said the industry needs “the next government to harmonize local and national laws to avoid conflicts on the ground.” He said Tampakan, along with two other copper-gold projects Silangan and King-king, can increase yearly national government revenues by P12 billion a year, local government revenues by P1.5 billion, exports by almost US $2 billion, and social expenditures by close to P800 million pesos per year. Royalties to indigenous tribes, Toledo added, will increase by over P600 million per year. “The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 is considered by many industry experts to be one of the most advanced mining laws,” he said. “Its social and environmental pro-

visions are comparable to measures formulated in industrialized nations. What is needed is to increase the capability of government, both national and local – and the political will – to fully implement it. “We wish the next government will further its roles as facilitator, partner, and demonstrator of environment, social, and governance (ESG) best practices in the mining sector,” Toledo added. He cited the Mines and Geosciences Bureau’s support for COMP ’s adoption of the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) by allowing the industry association’s members to allocate a portion of their mandated social development funds for this initiative. TSM is a growing global standard for best practices in mining. Started in 2004 by the Mining Association of Canada, TSM has proven to be very effective in raising the standards of mining in that country. It is now being implemented in 10 countries. He said COMP also hopes the next government will continue encouraging increased transparency and reporting of ESG practices in mining. Continued on A6

VICTIMS OF ONLINE SEX ABUSE NOW YOUNGER By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

USTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra yesterday lamented that victims of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) in the country are getting younger, with ages ranging from five to 14. In his keynote speech during the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center (PICACC) 3rdanniversary, Guevarra praised the agency for being a model for global response against OSAEC. Guevarra noted that in 2021 alone, PICACC conducted 118 operations that led to the rescue of 373 trafficked victims and arrest of 84 suspects. “PIC ACC now ser ves as a model for an enhanced global response against OSAEC cases. No doubt, these efforts contr ibuted to the Phi lip pi ne s m a i nt a i n i n g T ie r 1 ranking in the 2021 United States (US) Global Trafficking in Persons (GT IP) Report,” Guevarra noted. “PICACC has set the template for international law enforcement action and has set a high standard for global response

against OSAEC. Your efforts, no doubt, have created a huge dent on OSAEC and the lives of the victims you have rescued,” he added. OSAEC, according to the DOJ, refers to the use of digital or analog communication, and information and communications technology, as a means to abuse and exploit children sexually, which includes cases in which contact child abuse and/or exploitation offline is combined with an online component. This could also include, but not be limited to the production, dissemination and possession of child sexual abuse and ex ploitation materials (CSAEM); online grooming for children for sexual purposes; sexual extortion of children; sharing image-based sexual abuse; commercial sexual exploitation of children; exploitation of children through online prostitution; and live streaming of sexual abuse, with or without the consent of the victim. While it is difficult to determine the exact number of OSAEC cases in the country, Guevarra said the common observation is that such cases have been steadily increasing. Continued on A6

Companies

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Thursday, March 31, 2022

JG Summit swings to profit

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

G Summit Holdings Inc., the holding firm of the Gokongwei family, said its net income last year reached P5.1 billion, a reversal of the previous year’s P468.16-million loss, but still below the P31.28-billion income it posted in 2019.

Total revenues grew 13 percent to P230.6 billion from the previous year’s P221.64 billion, as the partial reopening of the economy benefited its food, real estate, petrochemical and banking segments. “For the full year of 2021, the business experienced a mixed set of

results. Our food and banking segments continued to be stable while the mobility restrictions and quarantine measures still affected our real estate, specifically malls, and airline businesses,” JG Summit President and CEO Lance Y. Gokongwei said. “While 2022 started with a surge

given the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, we remain hopeful that the more relaxed alert level after this surge will positively impact the demand for our products and services. We are cautious though that headwinds continue to affect us with the current volatility in oil prices, rising input costs and peso devaluation will result to margin pressures.” Core net income last year reached P3.5 billion, driven by the profits of its property development arm, and larger contributions from its core investments in the Manila Electric Co., Singapore Land Group, and PLDT Inc. There were also headwinds from elevated fuel prices, high inflation, and currency depreciation, which led to narrower operating margins for its food unit Universal Robina Corp., JG Summit Olefins Corp. and Cebu Air Inc., which ended the year with a net loss of P24.9 billion driven by

higher fuel prices, maintenance-related expenses, interest, and strong peso depreciation. The company’s petrochemicals business saw a revenue growth of 90 percent to P40.3 billion, driven by strong volumes and higher average selling prices, in addition to fresh contributions from its LPG trading business and the newly commissioned Aromatics Extraction Unit. Full year cracker and polymer rates were at 91 percent and 83 percent, up from 70 percent and 69 percent, respectively. Higher depreciation cost and interest charges, as well as foreign exchange losses for the period led to a net loss of P2.1 billion. Revenues of Robinsons Bank Corp. was flat at P9.3 billion last year, despite the growth loans by 14 percent, higher than the industry’s 5 percent expansion.

Nintendo shares fall due to Zelda sequel delay

intendo Co. fell by more than 4 percent in Tokyo on Wednesday after announcing that it will delay the launch of the next Zelda game to 2023, spurring concern over software revenue

in the next fiscal year. Zelda franchise producer Eiji Aonuma revealed in a video presentation that the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would hit the market in spring 2023 in-

stead of this year. On Wednesday, the Kyoto-based company halted a six-day run of gains fueled in part by a weakening yen, which is favorable to its international business. “The game should sell 10 million

copies quickly once released, and the delay led to speculation that Nintendo’s software sales in the coming fiscal year would drop at least by that much,” Ace Research Institute analyst Hideki Yasuda said. Bloomberg News

Metro Pacific unit invests in Byahe M

ETRO Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), through its unit MPT Mobility Corp., has acquired a minority stake in Byahe (registered as OnUs Solutions Inc.), a jeepney services network platform provider. Under the agreements signed by the two companies, MPTC will infuse fresh equity in Byahe to bankroll the growth of its current fleet of 30 modernized, Euro-IV compliant jeepneys to 200 in the near term and 500 thereafter. The new capital will, likewise, finance the procurement of new state-of-the-art electric jeepneys, as well as expansion of its present eight routes to 20 and eventually 30 over the next two to three years in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon. Byahe was cofounded by IP Ventures Inc. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Enrique Gonzalez and former Grab Philippines CEO Brian Cu in 2018. It links jeepney operators with creditors, jeepney manufacturers, the government and commuters. “We believe there is immense value in what Byahe could create for the improvement of Filipino lives,” MPTC President and CEO Rodrigo Franco said.

“They have started strong with a well-thought strategy, have been executing well even through the pandemic and we’re excited to support them on this clean, green journey.” While they are just in the initial stage of building a green and sustainable urban transportation network in the country, the cofounders of Byahe were thrilled by the support of their partner to revolutionize urban transportation in the Philippines. “To have the backing and stewardship of Mr. Pangilinan and to be able to leverage the experience of the institutions that he has created is a great honor and privilege, especially so early on in our journey,” they said. The modernized jeepney operator is dedicated to advance not only the carriers but also the operations with fleet management solutions that will standardize the service, according to Byahe CEO Laurence Bahia. “Improving our public transport system is a continuous journey and we are looking forward in getting the support and cooperation of all our stakeholders for a better Filipino commuting experience,” he said. Roderick L. Abad

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, March 31, 2022

D&L’s 2021 income leaps on higher export gains

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

hemical manufacturer D&L Industries Inc. on Wednesday said it ended 2021 with an income of P2.64 billion, some 31 percent higher than the previous year's P2.01 billion and 1 percent higher than the P2.62 billion recorded in 2019. D&L President and CEO Alvin Lao said the company's full recovery was mainly driven by increased activities and the better performance of its exports business. Sales rose 42 percent to P30.85 billion from the previous year's P21.74 billion and 38 percent higher than P22.38 billion in 2019. Its total volume was up 11 percent year-on-year while its export business grew 62 percent.

“While we are cautiously optimistic that we are likely at the tail-end of the pandemic, we remain focused on our core competencies, ready to ride another wave of volatility brought about by recent geopolitical uncertainties," said Lao. "While Russia and Ukraine are not a significant part of our supplier or customer base, the ongoing conflict poses a threat to global recovery and has sent prices of key commodities

skyrocketing over a short span of time." The company's income could have been higher if not for the effects of the Delta surge that peaked in September. For the fourth quarter alone, its income fell 25 percent to P480 million from the previous year's P637 million. Revenues were still up by 60 percent to P9.32 billion from the previous P5.82 billion, but mainly as a result of soaring commodity prices that it passed on to its customers. Prices of some of the company’s key raw materials, such as coconut and palm oil, have soared in the past months. Average coconut oil and palm oil prices are either near or have already breached their all-time highs and are up another 23 percent year-todate, coming from over a 60-percent annual increase for both commodities last year. “While D&L is able to adjust its selling price regularly to reflect higher input prices, there is a time lag of 3045 days before the company can fully pass on price changes. As such, in an

environment of rapid price increases, temporary margin contraction is possible. However, management sees this as temporary and expects margins to recover once commodity prices start to stabilize,” the company said. Lao said the Russian invasion of Ukraine has little direct impact on the company since it can source some of the commodity items it needs from other countries. The war, however, has an impact on the general business environment that it is currently in as it has resulted in higher shipping costs. “While 2022 won’t be without difficulties, we continue to pursue areas of opportunities that will bring the next leg of growth for the company," said Lao. "With coconut oil continuing to gain traction globally as a natural and sustainable substitute to many petroleum-based raw materials, we plan to further capitalize on this by entering more export markets and by using our research and development expertise to introduce more highly specialized, coconut-oil based products."

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Local tourism will return to pre-Covid levels in Q3—AirAsia

BusinessMirror file photo

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

omestic tourism will return to pre-pandemic levels by the third quarter of the year, a ranking official of budget carrier AirAsia Philippines said, citing the recent easing of restrictions in the destinations the airline operates. “ We’re ex pecting domestic tourism to be back in pre-Covid levels by the third quarter of 2022, which we are confident will be beneficial to our economic standing in general,” said Ricky Isla, the CEO of AirAsia Philippines. His optimism is fueled by the rising demand for air travel in the Philippines, as the government lowered pandemic-related mobility restrictions in major cities and provinces in the country. Data from the airline showed

that “more than 300,000 domestic flights” have been booked for the second quarter of the year alone. In another development, AirAsia has introduced Super+, a subscription plan that allows holders to book for unlimited flights across all of AirAsia’s units in the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Similar to its previous product called Asean Pass, Super+ enables holders to do away with paying for their base fares. They only need to pay for taxes and other fees when booking using their Super+ plans. “The airasia Super+ plan comes at an opportune time. It is now more than ever that we must support all globetrotters in their quest to be back on the road and to reconnect with the sights and adventures present in airasia destinations, most especially in the Philippines,” Isla said.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

RCBC to zero out exposure in coal-fired power plants, soon to close deals in RE By VG Cabuag

@villygc

IZAL Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) announced last Wednesday it is set to zero out its remaining existing exposure on coal-fired power plants by 2031. The Yuchengco-led bank said the move is consistent with its earlier announcement to cease funding of new coal power plants. “As part of RCBC’s commitment to the environment and to the world we all live in, we are phasing out lending to coal-fired power plants by 2031,” RCBC President and CEO Eugene S. Acevedo said. “A call to be part of the net zero revolution has started. Businesses need to redouble efforts in order

PHL digital investment platform bags $6M By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

EEDBOX Technologies Inc. (Seedbox) announced last Wednesday it received a $6-million investment by new investors SBI Ventures Singapore Pte. Ltd. (SBI Ventures) and Philippine Equity Partners Inc. (PEP). Seedbox is a joint venture between the independent asset and wealth management Atram group and the Indonesianbased software company PT Indivara. Rex Ma. A. Mendoza, founder and CEO of Rampver Financials and Insurance Agency Inc., the biggest independent mutual fund distributor in the Philippines, is also an investor and director of the firm. Before the fundraising, Seedbox experienced a strong period of growth, which saw active users reach over 1 million and exceed the number of online stock trading accounts in the country. Through its collaboration with Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. and Atram, Seedbox pioneered digital sachet investing, where new investors can invest in funds for as low as P50. Seedbox was also responsible for digitizing the Personal Equity Retirement Account (PERA), the country’s voluntary pension system, which connects investors with administrators and product providers. The PERA has seen the number of personal retirement accounts double after a year since the introduction of the Seedbox PERA digital platform. A joint statement by the new investors quoted SBI Holdings Inc. Representative Office (Philippines) Chief Representative Yujin Otsuka and PEP Managing Director Lorenzo T. Roxas as saying that “seedbox has built an impressive ecosystem of product providers and online distribution channels over the years.” “We are excited to participate in the growth of the market for investment products in the Philippines,” Otsuka and Roxas were quoted in the statement. “Aside from capital, we will be able to provide key insights and technical resources that will help accelerate the growth of Seedbox.” The new funding will support Seedbox’s rapid growth and allow the company to scale its operations with investments in upgrading its technology platform, enhancing its product suite and expanding its team. Mendoza, Atram Group CEO Michael V. Ferrer and PT Indivara CEO Jusuf Sjarrifudin concur that “the shareholders and management team of Seedbox welcome the entry of SBI and PEP, leading firms in their respective fields, as our new partners.” “With their expertise and experience across the region, SBI and PEP will be able to contribute greatly to Seedbox’s ability to meet Filipino investors’ growing needs for new investment products and access points,” Mendoza told the BusinessMirror.

to reach net zero,” Acevedo added. “Much more needs to be learned on how sustainable finance can contribute to this.” In December 2020, RCBC became the first local commercial bank to officially end extending financing to new coal-fired power projects, following the Department of Energy’s imposition of a nationwide moratorium on coal. Acevedo said that in terms of funding energy projects then, the bank has been focusing on renewable energy since 2012. The bank’s coal exposure is amortizing every year and will decline until it zeroes out in 2031. Currently, RCBC is poised to close funding deals on renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 1.6 gigawatts (GW). This

is on top of the 3.06-GW worth of renewable energy projects that the company has already supported since 2012. Elizabeth E. Coronel, head of the RCBC Corporate Banking Group, said the lender aims to close these new renewable energy deals–a combination of solar, wind, hydro and geothermal projects–in the next 12 months to 24 months. From 2019 to 2021, RCBC issued roughly $1.1 billion of funding under its Sustainable Finance Framework. As of June last year, about 10 percent of the bank’s loan portfolio is eligible under sustainable financing. Earlier this year, RCBC also began offering the first-ever environment-related time deposit in the Philippines.

NEW DIRECTOR

This photo courtesy of Pru Life UK Philippines Inc. shows Imelda C. Tiongson, newly installed chairman of the insurance firm’s Board of Directors. Also recently appointed to the firm’s Board as Independent Directors are Maria Cristina R. Opinion and Marife ButalidZamora. “With this addition to our roster, we now have over 70-percent composition of women, which is a reflection of our commitment to diversity,” Pru Life UK President and CEO Eng Teng Wong said.

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Thursday, March 31, 2022

BTr to auction off securities to meet ₧200-B April target

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is targeting to borrow P200 billion from the local debt market in April. Bulk of the total or P140 billion is programmed to be raised through selling Treasury Bonds (T-bonds) while the remaining P60 billion will come from Treasury Bills (T-bills), based on the schedule released by the Treasury last Wednesday. April’s target is less than P250 billion programmed to be raised this March given the fewer number of auction dates that fell on Mondays and Tuesdays—the usual schedules for auctions of government securities. National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said they considered market conditions as well as the funding requirements for the second quarter of the year in calibrating the domestic borrowing program for the month. On Tuesday, De Leon expressed optimism that investors will demand

“reasonable” bid rates for T-bills despite the market pricing in a higher inflation forecast by monetary authorities. Last week, the country’s central bank maintained monetary policy rates at a record low of 2 percent, even while conceding that inflation is likely to breach the target range again for this year.

Still better vs US

FINANCE Undersecretary Mark Dennis Y.C. Joven told the BusinessMirror last Monday (See, “PHL braces for higher interest rates, borrowing costs in ’22,” March 28, 2022) they remain optimistic that the increase in rates being demanded by investors in the government’s auctions of debt papers would taper off moving forward since the country’s inflation rate is

still better than that of US. For March, the Treasury only raised P91.7 billion, more than onethird of its P250 billion programmed offering as investors sought higher yields amid the Russia-Ukraine war and the recent hawkish signals from the US Federal Reserve that it could further raise rates if necessary to rein in inflation. In April, the Treasury is set to auction off P15 billion in T-bills for each of the four Mondays of the month. Meanwhile, P35 billion worth of T-bonds per auction day is slated to be offered on all four Tuesdays of the month. Three-year T-bonds will be sold on April 5 while 4-year T-bonds are up for auction on April 12. Seven-year and 10-year T-bonds will be offered on April 19 and 26, respectively. For this year, the government is expected to borrow a total of P2.2 trillion, around 75 percent of which is expected to come from domestic sources. As of end-January this year, the government’s outstanding debt has already hit a new record-high of P12.03 trillion as the country needed to borrow more to cover a yawning budget deficit.

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

Thursday, March 31, 2022

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL ambassador presents credentials to Russian deputy foreign minister

By Malou Talosig-Bartolome

the two countries look forward to the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2026,” the embassy quoted the DFM. Both agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation—especially in the cultural sphere—to realize the full potential of Philippine-Russian bilateral ties.

OSCOW—Philippine diplomat Igor G. Bailen recently presented his credentials as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Bailen provided a copy of his credentials to Deputy Foreign Minister (DFM) Igor Morgulov. This, as Russian President Vladimir Putin was a “no-show” during the new Philippine envoy’s presentation of credentials. The newly installed ambassador arrived in Moscow a few days after Russia invaded Ukraine. During the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on February 28, the Philippine delegation

voted in “explicit condemnation” of Russia’s incursion. B a i l e n c o n v e y e d P r e s i d e nt Duterte’s gratitude to the Russian government for its hospitality toward Filipino workers and migrants who made the transcontinental country their second home, as well as the Chief Executive’s appreciation to the federation for its “favorable approval” of the request of the Philippines to grant “safe corridor exit” for distressed Fili-

Putin ‘snubs' envoy

BAILEN (left) and Morgulov

pinos escaping the war in Ukraine “should the [need] arise.” During Bailen’s credentials presentation, the Philippine Embassy in the Russian capital echoed the DFM’s hopes that despite the Philippines’s position on the Ukraine resolution, “there will be continu-

ing engagement with the country [Russia].” “[Morgulov] also hopes that the next Philippine president would build on…Duterte’s achievements in foreign relations, particularly with respect to closer friendship and engagement with Russia, as

Russia’s war vs Ukraine: For whom the bell tolls By Olexander Nechytaylo

Nonresident Ambassador of Ukraine to the Philippines

T has been almost a month since Russia made a mockery of the international law and the United Nations Charter by waging a full scaled cruel war on my country. Moscow openly challenged the world by putting into question the right of every nation to lead its existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion. So, where do we stand now, and what is the end game? First and most obvious fact: Russia failed to achieve its immediate military objectives. Kremlin’s pipedream of a blitzkrieg has been forgotten like it never even existed. All major cities across Ukraine remain under control of the Ukrainian government. At the time of writing this article, the enemy has lost almost 15,000 personnel, including six (!) generals, 476 tanks, 96 airplanes, 118 helicopters, countless vehicles, equipment and axillary hardware. Some of their most elite units, including the Pskov Air Assault Division, Taman Motor Rifle Division and Ulyanovsk Air Assault Brigades, were practically annihilated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Even human resources—something that has never been lacking and therefore hardly had any value to the Russian leaders—are running out. The other week Defense Min-

NECHYTAYLO

ister Shoigu signed off the clearance to engage 17- to 18-year old teenagers to fight in Ukraine. In fact, the losses are incomparable to any other military campaign led by Russia so far. The brilliant strategy of the Ukrainian Armed Forces proved to be very effective. More important, Russians failed to break our people’s morale and our will to resist. Even in the areas where the aggressor managed to move forward, the civil disobedience and defiance of the locals came as a shock to the occupiers, who naively believed their own propaganda of promising a “walkover.” Losing momentum and motivation, the invaders resort to the tactics they had widely used in Chechnya in Syria: indiscriminate massive attacks against the civilian population. Cities with millennial history were flattened to rubble. The world is witnessing a globalscale humanitarian catastrophe, as Ukrainians pay the heavy price for their freedom: 4,000 civilian casualties—including 115 children, 6.5 million internally displaced persons, and 3.5 million refugees in Europe. Following the referrals of 39

countries, the United Nations’ International Criminal Court opened an investigation into the war crimes committed by the invaders. Due to the scale of the atrocities and the complexity of the prosecution, there are growing calls for establishing a special international tribunal for the Russian war against Ukraine. Internationally, Moscow has lost the access to the global banking system and financial markets. They are being increasingly isolated in their ability to trade, travel and compete in sports. Putin has become toxic, even his close allies seemed to be taken aback by his irrational moves. Russia has broken a record (if there’s such a thing) by becoming a global leader by the number of sanctions imposed against it. There are some skeptical voices as to their effectiveness, but the plain truth is that the Russian economy is going down at an astonishing speed. Clearly for oligarchs and the Kremlin goons, Putin is no longer the source of wealth and power, but more of a liability. They are used to enjoying all the luxuries from countries they claim to despise; where their children study, live and until recently, had businesses in the “so much hated” West. Will they be ready to give it all up? Last, but surely not least: It has been a test for quality leadership. While the “strongman” is hiding in the bunker and keeping a few meters distance during rare and carefully

orchestrated public appearances, President Zelenskyy has shown extraordinary bravery by refusing to leave Kyiv, encouraging Ukrainians from the streets of the national capital and finding time to address parliaments worldwide. Make no mistake: In time, we will rebuild our beautiful country. And Russia will pay for every life lost, every house destroyed, and every tear of children who were orphaned because of their aggression. But for now, each member of the international community must cease contacts with Russia at all levels, particularly when it comes to the officials, diplomats and military command directly responsible for planning and committing war crimes in Ukraine. Some Asean countries have a long history of defense and military cooperation with Moscow, but let’s be very clear here: There will be no more business as usual. Almost all major global brands from all industries have already said “No!” to Russia. Similarly, responsible media should not fall into a trap of false narratives and brutal disinformation that mislead the public, and incite distrust as well as hatred. Russia is an outlaw, and it ought to be treated accordingly. Five weeks into the war, the clock on the Spasskaya tower of the Kremlin is ticking. Every hour the peal of the bells gets louder. What started as a fake “de-Nazification” may well end up as a genuine and comprehensive “de-Putin-ization.”

Korean Cultural Center sees closer collabs in next 10 yrs

HE Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the Philippines held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening of its new office on March 23 led by Ambassador Kim Inchul. Luminaries included Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat; Mayor Lino Cayetano of Taguig City; National Commission for Culture and the Arts chair Arsenio Lizaso; Department of Education’s Director IV for the Bureau of Curriculum Development Office Jocelyn Andaya; Film Development Council of the Philippines Special Projects and External Affairs Unit Manager Frank David Fabros; and Brigadier General Miguel Villamor, who heads the Phil-

ippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea Veteran Association. KCC celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. Since its establishment in 2011, it continues to create activities, events and projects related to its goal of expanding the understanding and appreciation of Korean culture, and the promotion of an active cultural exchange between Korea and the Philippines. For the past decade, KCC has actively expanded the understanding and appreciation of Korean culture in the Philippines through Pinoy Kpop Star, the Korean Film Festival, Global Taste Korea, and the Korean Culture Caravan. And for the next 10 years, the center plans on expanding these

goals with a cultural collaboration between Korea and the Philippines, while promoting Philippine culture to the former. KCC’s Director Im Young-a remarked about the collaboration of both countries: “If the past 10 years of KCC in the Philippines focused on introducing Korean culture to Filipinos—of course, we’ll keep doing that—then, for the next…we’ll also try to introduce the Filipino culture to Koreans, so we can grow together through the cultural exchange of our countries.” She also introduced the new theme of the KCC at its new home: “This year, with the reopening of the cultural center, we are preparing

several important projects under the [‘Phil-Koraboration’ theme]. Murals involving Filipino artists, [and] a ‘media art’ showcase…from both countries will be opened to the public. There will be a Korean culture caravan visiting our future generation, with a cultural street festival where people can experience the culture of both countries. A film industryexpert workshop is also waiting to answer your questions.” To start the cultural linkage, KCC currently houses “Punghwa: Light of Asean”—a kinetic mediaart installation created by interactive media-art studio SILO Lab, which features lights and sounds that reflects the shared fondness of

“FOLLOWING his presentation of credentials to [the DFM], Ambassador Bailen may fully perform his duties in the Russian Federation,” the Philippine embassy said in a media release. “The presentation of credentials with [President Putin is scheduled later].” When asked why Bailen did not present his credentials to the Russian leader, the embassy’s Press Officer Khaye Alipay replied: “Our press release informs the public of the first step toward the presentation of credentials.” The country’s former deputy ambassador to Moscow Pete Chan believes Putin snubbed President

Duterte’s newly installed ambassador to Moscow. “Putin may be so busy with the war in Ukraine, but why present it to the deputy minister?” Chan told the BusinessMirror. “It’s definitely a snub!” He explained that all ambassadors with the highest rank of extraordinary and plenipotentiary representing Duterte himself should be presenting their credentials before the head of state; in this case, Putin. Protocol dictates that ambassador-designates present in a formal ceremony a letter of credence written by the Chief Executive and addressed to the latter’s counterpart. Only after that can designates begin their official duties as ambassadors. On the day of Bailen’s presentation of credentials, Duterte said in a speech in Leyte: “Ako diyan sa Russia, nasasaktan ako… Kaibigan ko si Putin, eh. [What’s happening in Russia hurts me. Putin is a friend.]”

German chamber hails PRRD’s signing of Public Service Act amendments

DUTERTE (center) presents a copy of the signed act to GPCCI’s Zimmer

HE German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) has lauded the passage of the amendments to the Public Service Act, which allows foreign entities to completely own public services in the country. On March 21 the chamber’s executive director Christopher Zimmer was personally invited by President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang to witness the signing of Republic Act 11659, as well the presentation of the recently enacted Amendments to Foreign Investments Act, or Republic Act 11647. “On behalf of our members, our partners in the global…network, and the foreign business community, we are glad to have personally witnessed the signing of this important law, and we thank President Duterte for the invitation,” said Zimmer. “This gamechanging law shall break major economic barriers in the country, and will be beneficial for…economic recovery.” RA 11659 seeks to ease or lift restrictions on foreign investments in public services by amending the 85-year-old public service law, distinguishing definitions between “public utilities” and “public services,” as it will repeal provisions that limit for-

eign participation in certain economic activities. According to the chamber, amendments will attract global players to help modernize Philippine public services, which include telecommunications, shipping, air carriers, railways, and subways. Increased competition, it said, is seen to generate higher quality of service and competitive pricing for consumers. “The passage of the Amendments of the Public Service Act harmonizes with the recently passed amendments to Retail Trade Liberalization Act and Foreign Investment Act,” noted GPCCI’s president Stefan Schmitz. “With these laws enacted, we are confident that the country can attract many investors in various sectors, and will benefit Filipinos by improving basic services and creating more jobs.” GPCCI belongs to the international network of German chambers of commerce abroad represented by 140 offices in 92 countries. It is the official representation of German businesses in the Philippines, a bilateral membership organization with around 300 members, and a service provider to companies in their market entry and expansion.

MAYOR Lino Cayetano (from left), Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, Ambassador Kim Inchul, KCC Director Im Young-a and NCCA Chairman Arsenio Lizaso KCC

Korea and the Philippines to “light culture:” a practice of wishing into the shining light in the dark sky. It symbolizes hope, confidence and bravery for a new normal after these difficult times. KCC’s doors were opened to the public on March 25. No reservations are needed for guests, but the center

follows the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ guidelines, and requires them to present vaccination cards before entering, plus submit to a mandatory temperature check. It is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays until May 31.

Parentlife BusinessMirror

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BY YUE LENG University of California, San Francisco DOCTORS often recommend “power naps” as a way to compensate for a poor night’s sleep and help keep alert until bedtime. But for older adults, extensive power naps could be an early sign of dementia. Research on how napping affects cognition in adults has had mixed results. Some studies on younger adults suggest that napping is beneficial to cognition, while others on older adults suggest it may be linked to cognitive impairment. However, many studies are based on just a single selfreported nap assessment. This methodology may not be accurate for people with cognitive impairment who may not be able to reliably report when or how long they napped. As an epidemiologist who studies sleep and neurodegeneration in older adults, I wanted to find out if changes in napping habits foreshadow other signs of cognitive decline. A study my colleagues and I recently published found that while napping does increase with age, excessive napping may foreshadow cognitive decline.

TAKE frozen fun on the go with Disney’s Frozen 2 Elsa’s Fold & Go Ice Palace Playset.

ENJOY a summer splash with the family with this Intex Summer Color Pool.

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LET your child learn bike basics with the Deck Genesis 16’’ with Training Wheels.

UNBOX the surprises with the latest Barbie Color Reveal Rainbow Mermaid Series.

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THE CONVERSATION

to make small choices whether she was going to be a wife or a mother or a business leader. She realized she had to create a community who could fill in for her when she could not do these roles by herself. And doing that meant she also had to live with the guilt and build her own set of coping mechanisms to deal with that guilt.” I love how Kristine and her husband model gender equality and inclusiveness to their two young kids. She shares, “My husband and I have a truly equal partnership. From Day 1, he did not expect me to do the traditional roles typically assigned to women. Our roles and responsibilities have always been based on who has the better skill set for it, and who has the capacity to own the responsibility. My husband is better at managing the home—he does the grocery, the bills, the repairs and the finances. I am better at handling the kids’ schedules: arranging their doctors’ appointments, preparing their school work and planning birthdays/events. My husband also had to take over from me multiple times during instances when work took me away and vice versa.” She adds, “Women [and men] cannot have it all, all the time. Be deliberate in articulating what matters to you most during a particular phase in your life and career and follow through. Learn to let go and build a system or network of support that will allow you to let go.” I want to leave you with her words, when asked about being a woman of high position and her advise to women today on how to continuously empower oneself at home, work and her environment. She says, “I am a believer of work-life integration and molding my work priorities to my life priorities.... On a personal note, be kind to yourself—you cannot have it all, all the time. Invest time in creating a coping system that will allow you to not do everything by yourself.” ■

Splashy summer fun EXPLORE the great outdoors with amazing playmates from leading fun hub Toy Kingdom, which has listed its 10 Top Toys that should make this summer exciting and memorable for kids everywhere. Topping the list are new toys from Batman and Barbie that have brought happiness to kids for many generations. This summer, the incredibly detailed McFarlane DC Comics Multiverse Batman Figure and Barbie’s Color Reveal Mermaid sets will be delightful additions to their collection. Toys that allow kids to discover outdoor fun come next. With eased restrictions, this is the best time for kids to enjoy and explore the great outdoors. They can make a splash in the family backyard with cool inflatable pools, floaters and bubble blasters. Create exciting water adventure with a giant rectangular pool or Waterslide with Gator sprinkler pool. Or kids can have a blast biking around the neighborhood or in the park. There are Disneyinspired bikes, foldable e-Scooters, and protection sets for active kids on the go; as well as motorized Motor Trucks and Go Karts by Rux and Segway. These will make kids love outdoor activity as they explore with their friends and guardians the world outside the four corners of the home. Rounding up the list are portable playsets from Frozen and Barbie, and Play-Doh sets where kids can explore their creative side. Check out the Toy Kingdom summer splash collection in-store, or at www.toykingdom.com.ph and order through their Call-toDeliver services at 09175578797.

KRISTINE TANG in action at home and at work.

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NAPPING AND THE ALZHEIMER’S BRAIN OUR study shows that longer naps are a normal part of aging, but only to a certain extent. Research from my colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, offers a potential mechanism for why people with dementia have more frequent and longer naps. By comparing the post-mortem brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease with the brains of people without cognitive impairment, they found that those with Alzheimer’s had fewer neurons that promote wakefulness in three brain regions. These neuronal changes appeared to be linked to tau tangles, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s in which the protein that helps stabilize healthy neurons form clumps that hamper communication between neurons. While our study does not show that increased daytime napping causes cognitive decline, it does point to extended naps as a potential signal for accelerated aging. Further research might be able to determine whether monitoring daytime napping could help detect cognitive decline.

AST week, I shared my view on the richer meaning of female leadership. This week, to cap off Women’s Month, I thought it would be good to feature an actual “womanspiration” in today’s post-pandemic and digital world. Kristine Tang is a wife and mom to two young kids. She has over 15 years of experience at Procter & Gamble in marketing and various multi-functional business management roles, and is currently the vice president for brand operations and commercial leader for Fabric and Home Care. According to Kristine, “I have clear non-negotiable periods where I don’t let work interrupt what I am doing and I have clear flexible periods. It is important also to note that as a mom of two young kids (6 and 2), it is easier for me to switch off. The kids force me to. They are always excited to spend time and do activities together after a day of remote-learning for them and remote work for me. Once the kids ask me to read them books, play with them or tuck them in bed, they have to be 100 percent of the focus. My eldest is now at that age where he calls me out if I hold my phone during our quality time. I also make it a point to have downtime with my husband before bedtime. He and I talk about our day (even though we are now together 24/7) just to share funny stories or unpack

some of the challenges we encountered. Talking to each other helps us to unwind, plan and generally make each other feel better.” She also shared that the norms of when she was growing up are very different from what she is exposed to today. She credits her exposure to women empowerment primarily from P&G where from Day 1, she saw female leaders who were outspoken about their points of view, and who did not hesitate to voice out and ask for what they wanted. I was interested to know her views on women empowerment in today’s digital and post-pandemic world. She says, “Women empowerment in today’s digital and post-pandemic world is recognizing and deliberately addressing the reality of how the pandemic has set back many years of progress in opening up opportunities for women to work, get ahead and drive their agendas. We have to recognize that many industries lost female talents who either had to take time off to take care of family and kids staying at home, or elders whose movements were limited during the pandemic. We need to be able to offer flexible work arrangements that would allow these talents to balance the demands of work and home. We also need to encourage and build a culture of being output-driven rather than being activitydriven which champions results and efficiency that will serve well these talents who juggle multiple roles and commitments.” Her inspriation is Indra Nooyi. Nooyi is PepsiCo’s former chair who spent 24 years with the company. Kristine shares, “One thing that stuck with me was her candid declaration many years ago that she doesn’t think women can have it all—this was particularly timely during that point when appearing as though women could have it all was seen as the standard of success. She was emphatic that everyday and many times during the day, she had

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THE LINK BETWEEN DAYTIME NAPPING AND DEMENTIA SLEEP disturbance and daytime napping are known symptoms of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in older adults. They often become more extreme as the disease progresses: Patients are increasingly less likely to fall asleep and more likely to wake up during the night and feel sleepy during the day. To examine this link between daytime napping and dementia, my colleagues and I studied a group of 1,401 older adults with an average age of 81 participating in the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a longitudinal study examining cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. The participants wore a watchlike device that tracked their mobility for 14 years. Prolonged periods of inactivity were interpreted as naps. At the start of the study, approximately 75 percent of participants did not have any cognitive impairment. Of the remaining participants, 4 percent had Alzheimer’s and 20 percent had mild cognitive impairment, a frequent precursor to dementia. While daily napping increased among all participants over the years, there were differences in napping habits between those who developed Alzheimer’s by the end of the study and those who did not. Participants who did not develop cognitive impairment had nap durations that averaged 11 extra minutes per year. This rate doubled after a mild cognitive impairment diagnosis, with naps increasing to 25 extra minutes per year, and tripled after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, with nap durations increasing to 68 extra minutes per year. Ultimately, we found that older adults who napped at least once or for more than an hour a day had a 40 percent higher chance of developing Alzheimer’s than those who did not nap daily or napped less than an hour a day. These findings were unchanged even after we controlled for factors like daily activities, illness and medications.

• Thursday, March 31, 2022

‘Womanspiration’ in today’s post-pandemic world

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Longer naps in the day may be an early sign of dementia in older adults

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

B6 Thursday, March 31, 2022

Empowered and empowering: The women of The SM Store in Visayas

T is no secret that behind the success of The SM Store are women—from the leadership in board rooms to those welcoming shoppers in the stores. Women—with their nurturing, meticulous, and laser-focused nature— are the leading forces that resulted to the household brand The SM Store has become today. To cap off Women’s Month celebration, SM presents The SM Store Visayas’ women leaders who ensure the seamless operations of all eight branches in the region.

Evelyn Lim, Vice President for Operations

EVELYN grew up with her mother’s retail store as her playground and learning space. With this, her mother taught her to believe in herself and take charge of her decisions. Today, Evelyn guides the entire The SM Store operations team for Visayas. “Women are generally empathic, creative, and meticulous. These qualities help us to connect well with our customers and employees, provide trendy merchandise and a welcoming feel, and deliver exceptional financial results,” she said.

Lorna Tenefrancia, Assistant Vice President for Premium Fashion Retail Design

TAKING inspiration from her mentor Evelyn, Lorna has a practical approach in helping make the business grow: she makes sure that her team members are focused on a common goal and trusts them in decision making to boost their confidence. She underscored that being passive is not an option when things are going well, but mistakes are inevitable. “Empowered women always look at mistakes as an opportunity to learn, fix and make things better.”

POWER LEADERSHIP OF THE SM STORE IN VISAYAS: (from left) Evelyn Lim, Lorna Tenefrancia, Joffie Mae Alamo

Joffie Mae Alamo, Business Center Operations Regional Manager

AS a working mother and a wife of an Overseas Filipino Worker, Joffie faces the daily challenge of solely taking care of her kids while looking after the Business Center Operations in Visayas. Her weapons? Time management and a hardworking team who never fails to support her. “Women are the epitome of love and sacrifice, which gives us the resiliency— not just to survive and overcome the unexpected circumstances or difficulties, but to rise above it.”

Ma. Rizalie Samson, Senior Manager for Human Resources in The SM Store Bacolod

A breast cancer survivor and a human resource practitioner for more than 15 years, Rizalie knows how women in leadership can make a difference. “The SM Store empowers women by offering more challenging roles and opportunities for growth in the organization. Opening positions that are traditionally men-dominated gives a boost of confidence to women in the workplace.”

Ma. Jessa Lynn Narciso, Gift Registry Advisor in The SM Store Bacolod

TIMES can be difficult, but this makes celebrations sweeter, and Jessa personally witnesses how critical and influential women are—both in going through difficult times and celebrating wins. “Our gift registry customers are generally women: engaged ladies, soonto-be moms, grandmothers, and god mothers who make life celebrations more meaningful.”

Gemma Magpusao, Fixed Assets and Supplies Manager in The SM Store Iloilo.

GROWING up in a family of 10 raised mostly by her mother, Gemma took all the lessons she learned from the hardships and applied them in her daily work, and even when she became widowed at 24 years old with two toddlers. Being surrounded by empowered women in The SM Store also fueled her to power on. “Women are more flexible and adept in any kind of jobs thrown at them, whether it be in an executive, managerial, supervisory or rank-and-file capacity. Women at The SM Store are dynamic and resilient to the changing times.”

Build a better world for women: Watch out, #SpeakOut against verbal abuse

NE out of 4 or 25 percent of Filipinos, aged 15-49, is revealed to have experienced some form of violence during the ongoing health crisis. This includes verbal abuse, which has become a hidden battle faced by most women on a regular basis. Verbal abuse can often be confusing not just for the survivors but also for the abusers because it manifests differently— gaslighting, judging, blaming, namecalling, condescension, and verbal threats, among others. According to the Gender Watch Against Violence and Exploitation (GWAVE), verbal abuse often contributes to psychological abuse experienced by women and can be penalized as a violation of RA 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004. “Violence in the homes is not ‘away pamilya’ and is everybody’s concern,” says GWAVE Executive Director, Sheema Bajana-Samson. “People should be vigilant and watch out for signs of abuse through what is heard verbally and body language as well.” GWAVE is one of many non-government organizations and independent agencies that helps rescue survivors by offering legal assistance and rehabilitation. “We have survivors also accompany their fellow survivors in hearings, and they do home visitations to other survivors as a form of moral support towards each other.” continues Bajana-Samson. “We’re happy to share that we now have a number of survivors who are emotionally and psychologically ready to become advocates themselves.” In celebration of International Women’s Month, and the advocacy to build a better world for women, Avon sounds the call to #SpeakOut, take a stand and be more selfaware to help others fight verbal and other forms of abuse. Based on a global study of more than eight thousand women in eight countries, including the Philippines, found that one in five women are consistently subjected to verbal abuse by an intimate partner.

Nearly two in five respondents aged 2534 are experiencing potential signs of verbal abuse within their relationship - the highest amongst the age groups. Avon Philippines PR and Communications Head, Marion Limlengco encourages more Filipinos to join dialogues and be more aware of this silent battle that has been affecting more women than actually perceived. “Filipinas are very resilient women, but it turns out, there are some of us who are going through such invisible battles and we don’t even know it. That is why we are tapping a platform where we can freely discuss this issue with no holds barred while still centering on positivity and freedom of expression.” Everyone is also invited to catch Avon’s collaboration with the livestreaming app, Kumu, where viewers can enjoy talks, performances, and fun challenges #Speakout Kumunity Challenge is slated until April 3. #SpeakOut Dialogues For All (via @kumunityheroes) will be on April 4. People are also encouraged to support the cause through our fundraising items like the #SpeakOut Avon True Color Lipstick, Women Empowerment Umbrella, Evita Watch, and Self-love Accessory set available on avonshop.ph where part of the proceeds will be donated to partner organizations including GWAVE, Ing Makababaying Aksyon (IMA) Foundation, and Luna Legal Resources Center for Women and Children.

Women unite in special activities and reinforced resources to #BreakTheBias on Women’s Month 2022

NE of the largest global providers of customer experience (CX) products and solutions, Sitel Group joins the worldwide celebration of International Women’s Day with several women-centered activities and events throughout the month of March. “We believe in celebrating women every single day. We are committed to creating an equitable culture where women are empowered by providing opportunities for development, fostering valuable connections, and facilitating success and career growth,” shared Pamela Donato, Vice President of Human Resources, Sitel Philippines and China and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Executive Sponsor and Chairwoman. The company believes in empowering its people at all levels and is passionate about becoming the world’s most inclusive BPO provider. Sitel Group believes that bringing together different

backgrounds, experiences, and skill sets contributes to the business’s success. By strengthening inclusion in the workplace, the company enhances the overall employee experience. Likewise, gender equality is essential at Sitel Group. The company was recently honored by Comparably, a workplace culture monitoring site, as one of the “Best Companies for Women 2021” for creating a safe and successful workplace for women professionals to thrive. At Sitel Philippines, women represent more than half the local workforce, with 49 percent among managers and senior leaders. For International Women’s Day, Sitel encouraged all employees to join the global #BreakTheBias event. Associates took photos and shared their commitment to breaking gender biases in their respective communities. Participants also highlighted ways they champion women empowerment and gender equality at the

workplace and home. The Women’s Day Fitness Challenge through its global health and wellness program, SitelFit, was also launched. From March 7-13, associates signed up for the event and logged in at least 16 minutes of wellness activity each day. Associates were encouraged to sign up with female co-workers and friends to complete the challenge together. The IWD celebration culminates with a Women Executive Leaders (WELead) Women’s Summit on March 31, 2022, for all Sitel Group employees. The panel discussion brings together women leaders and allies to highlight ways to break free from stereotypes, effective women leadership, and gender equality roles. “Women’s Month is special, but more than that, at Sitel Group, we strive to recognize the invaluable contributions of women in a wide variety of ways,” Donato added.

MARZ FUEL SIGNS PARTNERSHIP WITH SEAOIL. At the helm of the pandemic, Marz Fuel started grasping at straws emerging from the bottom as they forged partnership with Seaoil’s “Unconverted White/Independent Station to DealerOwned, Dealer-Operated; SEAOIL Managed Inventory (UWIDOX)”. The contract signing was held at Gulliver’s of San Francisco, Great Eastern Hotel in Quezon City. Prime Managers Inc. The managing arm of Marz Fuel is represented by its Managing Director Lawrence C. Lesangke and Deputy Managing Director Abner M. David (first and second from left). Joining them are seasoned men from the fuel industry Reynaldo Melendres, Seaoil Vice President for Retail Business Development and National Sales head, and Joey Jao, Seaoil Senior Manager for Independent Retail Business in Luzon, Franchise Conversion Development.

UnionBank partners with EXUS Software UK and TIM for debt collections and recovery technology

NION Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), the digital trailblazer in the Asia Pacific and in the country, has selected EXUS Software UK (in collaboration with Total Information Management Corporation), the global leader in debt collections and recovery technology, to optimize its collections operations, while offering exceptional service to its customers. Among the first to embrace technological innovations to lead its customers to the future of banking, UnionBank required a debt collections software platform that would help manage risk along the whole lifecycle while enhancingcustomer experience through the usage of modern technologies and multiple digital channels. EXUS’ long-term experience and focus on collections paired with EFS the world-

leading debt collections platform developed by the company that empowers banking and financing organizations in more than 30 countries worldwide, made them the ideal strategic partner for UnionBank.

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Health&Fitness BusinessMirror

Thursday, March 31, 2022 B7

Groups pushing for PHL to be TB-free by 2030

By Rory Visco | Contributor

OW that the majority of the country is already under the lowest alert level classification, the next thing to do now is for the workers to slowly return to work so that the country’s economic wheel can turn again and provide a hint of normalcy.

Just recently, the government issued a directive for workers, particularly those in the businessprocess outsourcing (BPO) industry, to return to on-site work by April 1. This was slammed by the majority of BPO workers as lacking in empathy, “unreasonable and unconscionable.” The BPO sector claimed they still managed to find ways for employees to remain productive even if working from home just so they’d remain healthy and safe. Health was perhaps the primary concern, with the fear that working again on site may increase the possibility of another Covid-19 surge. However, Covid-19 may not be the only health threat to workers. Take Tuberculosis or “TB,” for example.

Turn off the TB, the world’s top infectious killer

Like Covid-19, TB is also infec-

tious. Despite being preventable and curable through antibiotics, TB kills 1.5 million people a year to claim the title of world ’s top infectious killer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). How is it created? The bacter ia Mycobacter ium tubercu lo sis causes tuberculosis, usually targeting the lungs. It spreads through the air when someone with lung TB coughs, sneezes or spits, and then another one inhales the germs to get infected, the WHO adds. Sounds familiar? The WHO continued by saying that most people affected by tuberculosis live in low- and middleincome countries, and where half of all people aff licted with it are mostly found in eight countries, and the Philippines is one of them, together with Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa. Tuberculosis continues to be a

threat to people around the world and yes, the Philippines, with an annual mortality rate higher than those with HIV and malaria combined. In the Philippines alone, there are over 539 active cases of tuberculosis for every 100,000 Filipinos, which makes it a major public health problem in the country.

Concerted efforts in fighting TB

Sever al stakeholders, including government, nongovernment organizations and private companies, are now joining hands to end the TB menace in the country. Together, their efforts are aimed at raising awareness about tuberculosis and that more Filipinos take a proactive approach in battling the disease. “Our enhanced case finding st rateg y ma kes us opt im ist ic that we can end tuberculosis in the countr y. Together with our par tners, we continue to r un nationwide programs aimed at getting potential patients to seek professional consult and receive proper care,” says Dr. Winston Palasi, Medical Officer I V of the Department of Health ’s (DOH) Infectious Disease Division during the event “Sama Sama TB ay Labanan, Para sa Ligtas na Buhay at K alusugan,” a webinar joined in by the DOH, the Philippine Coalition Against Tuberculosis (PhilC AT) and Johnson & Johnson (Phi lippines), Inc. (J&J Philippines). The activity is part of the group’s collaborative

efforts to find and treat about 2.5 million Filipinos by the end of the year. Aside from the improved access to diagnostic services and treatment, Dr. Camilo Roa, President of the Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc., said they are also educating people with TB on how they can properly care for themselves so that they do not become active cases again in the future. “We are also teaching them how to help contain its spread through simple yet effective measures such as working from home and avoiding public transportation, restricting travel among patients who can quickly become non-infectious provided they take the drugs.” With regards to working on site for most employees, Dr. Roa said that with lower Covid-19 transmissions, working in the office with multiple employees should be safe provided the minimum public health standards are followed. There is no need to test for Covid-19 unless with symptoms or with close contact. “For TB, after the mask mandate for Covid granting that the pandemic has been declared to be over, symptoms monitoring [cough of over two weeks, weight loss, night sweats, prolonged fever] and for the asymptomatic, a yearly chest X-ray should be enough. Of course, any one with exposure to active tuberculosis must undergo contact tracing immediately. The office space must also follow standards

like distancing.” Eliminating tuberculosis is a challenge, but with the aggressive program that actively looks for patients, provision of free medication and with the search of those infected but not feeling sick (and treating them), Dr. Roa said the TB Elimination target is achievable by 2035. “Medical management is important where a minimum treatment of six months should be followed to attain over 95 percent cure, and medicines should be accessible in government centers because they are provided free,” Dr. Roa pointed out. For D r. R ont ge ne S ol a nte, Chairman of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Fellowship Program of San Lazaro Hospital, tuberculosis can be deadly but definitely curable and preventable. “Maintaining good persona l hyg iene and lead ing a healthy lifestyle are surefire ways to avoid contracting the disease.” A s for M a . E loi s a “ L ou ie ” Zepeda-Teng, Founder and President of TBpeople Philippines Organization Inc., access to information is the key so that many Filipinos will be more aware about this communicable disease and they can be encouraged to become tuberculosis advocates as well. “Our group has been successfully rolling out projects such as TB literacy trainings so that more people will take part in this movement to end TB in our country soon.”

Empowering the youth as the generation to end TB

J&J Philippines thinks that the youth can be valuable assets to help in the fight against tuberculosis since they comprise above 40 percent of the Philippine population. Harnessing the youth’s potential as agents of change can help pave the way for a safer, healthier and tuberculosis-free Philippines, a goal the company set out to do this year together with local and global partners. “Our vision is to be able to turn the youth from targets into advocates or what we call #TuberculosisWarriors,” said Stephanie Lao, Global Public Health Manager at J&J Philippines. “We are excited to roll out a series of initiatives that will empower the youth to take charge of the country’s TB trajectory. The first phase will be headlined by #TuberculosisWarriors game filters on social media, which they can use to learn more about TB and spread awareness on the disease with their family and friends in a fun and engaging way.” For Dr. Erwin Benedicto, Head of Medical Affairs at J&J Philippines, enabling the youth’s access to tuberculosis care and equipping them with the right tools to inf luence others to act will help accelerate the progress towards curbing the statistics on this deadly epidemic. “Their meaningful participation in efforts to combat it will also contribute greatly to achieving the larger, global goal of ending tuberculosis by 2030.”

Oral health also contributes to overall well-being, say execs Pandemic caused delays in colorectal By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

r al health is a fundamental factor in overall health and well-being since the oral cavity acts as the main passageway of food, water, and air, making it a powerhouse that has millions of microorganisms essentially improving one’s quality of life. Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, Director of the Department of Health’s Health Promotion Bureau and Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, said that oral health can be considered as the first line of defense to reduce the burden of diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, lung disease, and low birth weight, among others. “Thus, its importance is emphasized in both the Universal Health Care Act and a World Health Assembly Resolution last May 2021,” Dr. Ho said. In celebration of the National Oral Health Month last February, the DOH, together with the University of the Philippines College of Public Health (UP-CPH), Philippine Dental Association (PDA), and Johnson & Johnson (Philippines) Inc. (J&J Philippines), conducted a forum titled “Sama-sama, Tulong-

tulong para sa Orally Fit Pinoy” to educate the public about the value of maintaining good oral health while preventing diseases linked to it, including Covid-19. “We emphasize the significance of oral and dental care during the month of February, but we wish it is given the same attention all year round, as it is really one of the most overlooked aspects of overall health,” said Dr. Vicente Belizario Jr., Dean and Center Director of UP-CPH.

Entitlement

The Universal Health Care Act reaffirms that oral health is part of the entitlement of every Filipino and ensures that each person is guaranteed equitable access to quality and affordable health care goods and services while being protected against financial risk. Meanwhile, WHA No. 74 or the resolution EB148.R1 urges memberstates to address key risk factors of oral diseases shared with other noncommunicable diseases to enhance the capabilities of oral health professionals and recommend a shift from the traditional curative approach to a preventive approach using the primary health-care system.

“Creating prog rams t hat w i l l generate greater public awareness on oral health is easy. The bigger challenge is in integrated service delivery during the implementation of these programs. However, this will not hinder us and our partner organizations in continuously innovating our programs and approach in promoting the importance of oral health,” underscored PDA President Dr. Jose Militante. Meanwhile, J&J Philippines has been at the forefront of inter-sectoral collaboration, working alongside government agencies and other stakeholders to promote oral health as primary care. Following a successful collaboration last year, the company continues to partner with DOH, UP-CPH, and PDA in making every Filipino an Orally Fit Pinoy. “Our involvement began with the company’s Covid-19 advocacy which also focused on educating the public on how they can improve their personal well-being through better oral health. Together with DOH and our other partners, we are making oral health a priority for every Filipino family,” expressed J&J Philippines Inc. Head of Medical Affairs, Dr. Erwin Benedicto.

St. Luke’s completes Phase 1 redevelopment plan of QC hospital

he improvement of facilities w it h i n St. Lu ke’s Med ic a l Center (SLMC)-Quezon City is under way with the completion of Phase 1 under its redevelopment plan, an initiative that is aimed at further enhancing the hospital ’s facilities to provide better healthcare to patients. SLMC is pursuing a three-phase redevelopment plan aimed at providing better services to stakeholders. The topping off ceremony held March 29, Tuesday officially marked the completion of the first phase. This phase involved the creation of a 5-story multi-level parking building with a roofdeck, which provides more than 300 parking slots to augment existing parking facilities within the compound. Overall, the parking building has about 14,078.75 square meters to increase the available operational capacity in serving patients. “The Phase 1 of the redevelopment plan a ims to improve t he

quality of healthcare to SLMC-QC pat ients by add ressing areas of improvement and building on our strengths,” Dr. Arturo S. De La Peña, President of SLMC, said. “Through this initiative, our patients will benefit from new and enhanced facilities that will cater to their needs.” The completion of the Phase 1 Redevelopment Project is focused on addressing the need for additional parking spaces. More importantly, it also provides new clinics within the building. The new facilities within the multi-level parking include outpatient department (OPD) clinics, a hemodialysis unit, and outpatient operating rooms. SLMC is set to implement two more phases of its redevelopment plans of its hospital in Quezon City to continue meeting the ever-evolving needs of its patients. Phase 2 of this plan, scheduled for completion in 2023, will house all facilities that will be moved in preparation for the new St. Luke’s QC hospital building

under the Phase 3 plan—which is scheduled for completion in 2025. The new hospital building under the Phase 3 plan will house healthcare facilities for various specialties, such as nuclear medicine, oncology, and cardiology. SLMC’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and Main Operating Room Complex will also be located in the new hospital building. To provide convenience to patients, ancillary and diagnostic services will be within the vicinity as well. “While we celebrate this milestone in SLMC- QC ’s histor y, we know we can do much better through implementing our upcoming two redevelopment plans,” Dr. De La Peña said. “This is why we ask for support from all our stakeholders as we create a better patient-centered experience that SLMC-QC can provide.” “We are confident that the initiatives we are pursuing will contribute to a healthcare system that works for all Filipinos,” Dr. De La Peña added.

cancer diagnosis, poorer outcomes By Jun R. Ruiz Jr., M.D.

olor ectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the Philippines. It is the second cancer-killer worldwide. In 2020, an estimated 17,364 new patients were reported to be diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer in the country. The Covid-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented global health crisis that has severely challenged the provision of routine health care, including screening for colorectal cancer (CRC). The interruption of CRC screening in many countries, including in the Philippines, has resulted in the delayed diagnosis of colon and rectal cancer, increasing the chances for advanced stage progression and poorer outcomes. Even before the pandemic, there has been an increasing incidence of colorectal cancer in persons younger than 50, especially among American patients. After a systematic analysis, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that the age for screening average-risk persons for colorectal cancer be lowered from 50 to 45. The applicability of these guidelines on Philippine patients remained unanswered.

What’s in store for Filipinos in the Universal Health Care Era?

For these socially relevant issues, the Augusto P. Sarmiento Cancer Institute (APSCI) of The Medical City organized a very successful virtual forum, in collaboration with the Department of Health, titled “Colorectal Cancer Screening 2022: What’s in Store for Filipinos in the Universal Health Care and Post-Pandemic Era” on March 4. This webinar is in support of the hospital’s Colon Cancer Awareness Advocacy in connection with the SCRAP Cancer Program of the Cancer Institute. The symposium was moderated by yours truly, the Lead for the Colon Cancer Screening Advocacy Program. The speakers included Professor Jose D. Sollano, Dr. Mark Anthony De Lusong, and Dr. Clarito Cairo Jr.

The impact of the pandemic in patient outcomes

In his talk, Dr. De Lusong noted a drop of 58 percent in the number

of colonoscopies performed at The Medical City in 2020. In 2021, a 48 percent drop was recorded as compared to the 2019 census. Both the National K idney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) and the Philippine General Hospital also had comparable reductions in the number of colonoscopies performed, especially those done for screening, during the pandemic as compared to pre-pandemic times. This is understandably so, as both physicians and patients were anxious to be infected with Covid-19, as numerous endoscopic procedures (considered as are aerosolizing procedures) were deemed to be elective, and not urgent. Du r ing t he pa ndem ic, sy mp tomatic patients were prioritized, and procedures for asymptomatic patients were deferred. Last year, the patients tended to wait than go to hospitals, and telemedicine consultations were increasingly availed of. This patient behavior, however, resulted in delay in seeing colon cancer patients, leading to more cancer in later stages being diagnosed, Dr. De Lusong added.

Is “45 the new 50 in CRC” in the Philippines?

The recommendation of lowering the screening age in the US was based on more recent American patient data and the government’s capacity to respond to these added needs. Americans have a much higher risk to colon cancer than Filipinos, owing to their genetics, Western diet and lifestyle, like obesity. In contrast, the Philippines is a low-resource countr y without even a national screening program in CRC. Do we automatically adopt these American guidelines, despite the big difference in genetics, environmental factors, and national government resources? Prof. Sollano analyzed the data on whether to lower CRC screening age to 45. However, there is no data available yet in the Philippines to support this unlike in Western medical literature. The screening guidelines of other Asia-Pacific countries are still recommending the start of screening at the age of 50. Moreover, some of these developed countries have already established colorectal cancer screening prog rams. T he cost-effectivity of lowering the age to 45 has not yet been demonstrated

in the East. In building a colorectal cancer screening program, the government needs data, infrastructure, personnel, and funds. An efficient system of screening millions of Filipinos and the needed recall of those who tested positive in their Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) must be in place in order for the program to be successful. Prof. Sollano also underscored that “there are only more than 500 board-certified gastroenterologists for 104 million Filipinos in the whole country.” Expanding the screening to lower-aged patients will likely overwhelm the program and medical professionals. Without any data, infrastructure or funds from the national government, lowering the age of screening average-risk Filipinos for colorectal cancer may not yet be feasible in the Philippines.

CDC screening program

It has been three years since the successful passage of the Universal Health Care Act and the National Integrated Cancer Control Act (NICCA). The good news about NICCA is that PhilHealth is expanding its benefit packages to include primary care screening, detection, diagnosis, treatment, supportive care, and endof-life care for all types and stages of cancer in both adults and children. Dr. Clarito Cairo Jr. of the Depar tment of Hea lth (DOH) said his office will be launching the National Organized Colorectal Cancer Screening this year by using the automated and quantitative FIT and colonoscopy in selected access sites or hospitals nationwide. The Cancer Assistance Fund will be used to procure the initial 50,000 FIT test kits to be given away for free to the eligible population. This annual DOH initiative is good news to Filipinos as it will help address the preventable and treatable aspect of colorectal cancer as a public health problem. Healthy lifestyle and appropriate screening will help us beat colorectal cancer. Dr. Jun R. Ruiz is a Philippine and American board certified gastroenterologist at The Medical City. He is also the Lead for Colorectal Cancer Screening Program and the Programs and Advocacy of the APSCI of The Medical City.

Sports BusinessMirror

| Thursday, March 31, 2022 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

CES MOLINA will again spearhead Cignal’s bid.

TATISTICS won’t matter in the semifinals that are tipped to go down to the last spike, block or ace with all four teams putting premium on chemistry and execution in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference on Friday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan. Cignal and Creamline stake their unbeaten run against Petro Gazz and Choco Mucho, respectively, with the HD Spikers and Cool Smashers confident of sustaining their hot form but wary of their rivals’ potential to pull off reversals. “We are optimistic,” said Petro Gazz coach Jerry Yee, whose Angels will be facing the league’s surprise package—Cignal HD Spikers—at the start of the best-of-three semifinals series. “I know they have a stellar record this season. They have good rotation and they’ve been playing well,” he said. “But we’re prepared to face them and let’s see how far can we go.” The HD Spikers have come so far in just five games and are looking good and ready for another run. “We still have a lot more to improve but we’re ready,” Cignal coach Shaq delos Santos said. “It’s a different thing in the semis, pressure will be a lot more intense.” Ces Molina will again spearhead Cignal’s bid, along with Rachel Anne Daquis and Angeli Araneta with top setter Gel Cayuna and

Brownlee explodes with 47 pts, lifts Ginebra to Governors Cup Finals

USTIN BROWNLEE exploded for a playoff career-high 47 points to power Barangay Ginebra San Miguel past NLEX, 112-93, and into the Finals of the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Brownlee started slow with only eight points in the opening quarter, but 18, 11 and 10 points in the next three periods to help bring the Gin Kings back to the Governors Cup Finals they won, 4-1, over the Meralco Bolts in pre-pandemic 2019. “What a phenomenal performance Justin Brownlee was,” Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said. “I was amazed when he had that big performance at half time with 26 points, almost half of our points, and then he just went phenomenal in the fourth quarter doing Justin Brownlee things.” Brownlee, the 2017 Best Import, shot 17 of 24 from the field with six three-pointers and also grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out six assists, got three steals and three blocks in 44 minutes of play. “Life is a lot easier when you have Justin Brownlee around,” Cone said. Jeff Chan knocked down five triples for 20 points, LA Tenorio added 14 points, Nards Pinto posted 12 points and Christian Standhardinger had 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists also for the Gin Kings, who wrapped up the semifinals series, 3-1. Thompson only had four points on 2 of 9 shooting but had eight rebounds and five assists. Cameron Clark, who replaced KJ McDaniels at the start of playoffs, scattered 34 points and hauled down 12 rebounds for the Road Warriors. Ginebra will make a seventh Governors’ Cup Finals appearance and 28th overall since joining the league in 1979. Cone, on the other hand, will be eyeing a league-high 24 championships. Brownlee, meanwhile, will be in his fifth finals in seven years as resident import since 2016 of the Gin Kings, who continued to miss Japeth Aguilar because of a calf injury. Ahead by only three, 53-50 at the half, the Gin Kings broke away to 77-66 on Nards Pinto’s layup with 3:38 left in third period. They continued the assault for an 84-69 cushion entering the payoff quarter. Josef Ramos

ERNEST JOHN “EJ” OBIENA runs with the Philippine flag after winning gold in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games at the New Clark City. He can repeat that victory run in Hanoi now that his rift with his sports association has been resolved.

HE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) deferred on Wednesday the 90-day suspension of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) during its General Assembly at the Knights Templar Hotel in Tagaytay City. But the Olympic body didn’t spare the Philippine Lawn Tennis Association (PHILTA) from a 90-day suspension following its failure to comply with a requirement from the International Tennis Federation to amend its charter and elect a representative set of officers. POC President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino told BUSINESSMIRROR that 42 out of the 55 voting national sports associations (NSAs) agreed to suspend the PHILTA. “PHILTA is suspended for 90 days and we deferred the voting of PATAFA’s suspension

INALLY, all’s well between Ernest John “EJ” Obiena and the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa). The ugly rift that started in November when a supposedly confidential internal memo was leaked to media by a Patafa insider enumerating Obiena’s “sins” as to the disbursement of Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov’s salaries is now over. The Philippine Sports Commission-led mediation proceedings on the row reached its fifth session late afternoon on Wednesday with both sides, represented by a battery of lawyers and conflict experts, coming to a middle ground. “It is with much joy that we announce that both parties have agreed to a settlement and the proceedings ended successfully,” the PSC said in a

statement. “The PATAFA …. has agreed to endorse Mr. EJ Obiena to the Southeast Asian Games and the World Outdoor Athletics.” “Both parties have also agreed that endorsement for participation of Mr. Obiena to other competitions will be subject to the usual rules and regulations of the PATAFA, as observed for the participation of all national athletes,” the statement furthered. PSC Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez, who served as the sole mediator in the proceedings, expressed his happiness that the first-ever sport mediation conducted by the PSC successfully assisted both parties to arrive at a settlement. “The Office of the Solicitor General tnrough Assistant Solicitor General Bernard Hernandez, and the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. through its Executive Director Atty. Arleo Magtibay and member Atty. Charlie Ho, lent their expertise, guidance, and support to the historic mediation proceedings,” Ramirez said in the statement. The PSC Mediation team was led by Atty. Guillermo

because of the ongoing mediation procedure and in the spirit of sportsmanship and the Lenten season as well,” Tolentino said. The POC Executive Board, in its meeting last March 17, voted to suspend PHILTA and PATAFA for “failing to serve its purpose as an NSA” when it denied Asian pole vault record holder EJ Obiena’s request to be endorsed to to four major international competitions. Tolentino, however, said they would still ask the GA to suspend the PATAFA if it won’t endorse Obiena’s participation in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in May. The Patafa, Tolentino said, also need to endorse Obiena for the Hangzhou 19th Asian Games, whose organizers set a May 31 deadline for the submission of entries by names. “This serves as a warning to PATAFA. We’ll implement the suspension in next month’s GA it still won’t endorse EJ [Obiena],”

Tolentino said. “If there’s no action or they do not endorse Obiena, the suspension will be decided on the floor. We just deferred action as a gesture of respect to the mediation.” The POC GA meets again in the last week of April, some two weeks before the May 12 opening ceremony of the Vietnam SEA Games. PHILTA President Antonio Cablitas, according to Tolentino, heeded the POC GA’s decision. “He [Cablitas] was thankful to us despite the suspension and he promised to cooperate,” Tolentino said. The POC appointed Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) President Ramon “Tats” Suzara, Philippine Table Tennis Federation head Ting Ledesma and Philippine Soft Tennis Association chief Capt. Robert Joseph Moran to form a task force on the PHILTA issue.

Knights make Chiefs eat dust

ETRAN capitalized on the absence of big man Justin Arana to overwhelm Arellano University, 96-67, for its second straight win in the National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball tournament Wednesday at the La Salle-Greenhills Gym. Arana is out with a right knee sprain he suffered in the Chiefs' 65-63 win over San Sebastian last Sunday. He will undergo therapy and is expected to return later in the season. "We have to take advantage," Knights coach Bonnie Tan said. "People are looking at us. How we can respond on the absence of Arana, the league’s top center—not simple victories, but convincing ones.”

top blockers Ria Meneses and Roselyn Doria completing the starting crew of the team which swept the fancied Chery Tiggo, Choco Mucho and F2 Logistics sides in the prelims and hurdled Army before beating BaliPure in the quarters. That guarantees a slam-bang match at 3 p.m. with the Angels, the 2019 Reinforced champions, also out to ride on the momentum of their four-set victory over the Cargo Movers last Tuesday that capped the twice-to-beat teams’ romp in the quarters. Seasoned Grethcel Soltones and Aiza Pontillas are also raring to crank up their respective games along with MJ Phillips, Nicole Tiamzon, Remy Palma and the everimproving Jonah Sabete, whose 18-point exploit against F2 helped power the Angels to the morale-boosting win. The Creamline-Choco Mucho duel at 6 p.m. also promises to be a toss-up with Alyssa Valdez expecting a friendly but highly charged duel with their sister team for the other finals berth in the second pro season of the league organized by Sports Vision. “We belong to one family but when we get to the court, it’s all business,” said Valdez of her upcoming clash with the likes of Kat Tolentino, the leading scorer after the quarters, Bea de Leon, Aduke Ogunsanya, Isa Molde, Des Cheng, Ponggay Gaston and playmaker Deanna Wong.

ALL’S WELL, FINALLY, BETWEEN EJ, PATAFA F

POC DEFERS SUSPENDING PATAFA By Josef Ramos

Chemistry, execution key factors in PVL Open semifinals matches

Letran pounced on Arellano University's lack of size in the middle as Jeo Ambohot had 20 points and eight rebounds and Louie Sangalang produced a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Knights outscored the Chiefs, 21-9, in the second period to build a 41-26 lead and led by as many as 32 points late in the game. Tommy Olivario added 15 points, including a buzzer-beating heave from midcourt that gave Letran a 66-51 advantage at the end of third period. Rhenz Abando added 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks for the Knights. Having been with Tan only last February,

Marikina sweeps BPBL pre-season

Globe, AcadArena renew partnership for Filipino gamers

IGITAL solutions provider Globe and campus esports and gaming organizer AcadArena have renewed their partnership to further support the growth of student gamers in the Philippines. As an enabler of a seamless digital lifestyle, Globe is committed to empowering future gaming champions and content creators. Working with AcadArena is one way to achieve Globe’s goal of solidifying the country’s position among regional and global esports giants. The partnership encompasses esports and education content in AcadArena for students to #OwnTheWorld. Students can develop essential skills needed around the growing esports industry through various programs, modules, and access to industry professionals. AcadArena also delivers the best collegiate level tournaments across varying skill sets and titles. “Globe is proud to renew our commitment to support AcadArena and its projects. We are one in the belief that the esports scene starts with the youth,” said Ralph Aligada, Head of Globe Games and Esports. “We aim to develop and pioneer more programs, more competitive events, and more engagement for our esports stakeholders in the collegiate esports scene,”

Tennis program unfurls

Abando is trying his best to repay the Knights who sought him during the off season. “We can’t say nothing less about Coach Bonnie [Tan]. If we had shortcomings during the bubble, he always had his ways,” Abando said. Axel Doromal and John Carandang each had 11 points for the Chiefs, who fell into a tie with idle College of Saint Benilde Blazers at 1-1 won-lost.

Iroy, Jr., the sports agency’s Executive Director. The PSC statement said that after Wednesday’s fifth session, Patafa president Philip Ella Juico, Obiena and Ramirez met in a private virtual room for discussion. “Mr. Obiena expressed his apologies to PATAFA, its board members and his teammates, and both have assured each other of forgiveness, to start anew and move on,” Ramirez said. Ramirez added: “Humility really played a big part in this process. Their decision to enter into this process was their first step towards a successful resolution.” Earlier in the day, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino deferred actions on Patafa’s impending suspension during the body’s General Assembly in Tagaytay City (See related story). The Patafa previously refused to endorse Obiena’s participation in the world indoors which he already missed early this month in Belgrade, Vietnam SEA Games in May, world championships in July in Oregon and the Hangzhou 19th Asian Games in September.

EBUANA Lhuillier unfurls its summer tennis program with 14 junior age-group tournaments nationwide beginning with the first leg from April 6 to 10 at the Santa Rosa Complex in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna. The company renamed its tennis program to Cebuana Lhuillier Tennis Tour, which also organizes tournaments for professionals and legends. The tour will migrate to the tournament platform of Universal Tennis, the company behind Universal Tennis Rating (UTR), a global rating system that promotes fair and competitive play across the tennis world. “I am elated that we are now able to hold tennis tournaments once again, which is a core part of our program to support the establishment of grassroots tennis development in the country,” said Jean Henri Lhuillier, Cebuana Lhuillier president and CEO. Negros Oriental, Bulacan, Leyte, Bohol, Zamboanga, La Union, Metro Manila, Misamis Occidental, Lanao del Norte, Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Cebu City will host the other legs of the tour. The tour is sanctioned by Unified Tennis Philippines and only fully-vaccinated players can participate and minimum health and safety protocols will be strictly observed.

TEAM Marikina’s Artison Arboleda eludes Sam Reyes of Batang Cainta.

EAM Marikina ruled the Batang Pilipino Basketball League in style by blasting Batang Cainta, 87-72, in the finals to complete a sweep of the pre-season tournament at the Palaruang Batang Lambak in Sta. Elena, Marikina City, over the weekend. Artison Arboleda fired 13 points and finished with two rebounds, three assists and three steals to power the hosts to the lopsided triumph that came on the heels of the team’s equally imposing 113-62 romp over Makati Pembo Pecas in the semifinals of the inaugural 18-and-under tournament. Team Marikina also dominated the elims of the eight-team, three-weekend, community-based tournament staged to identify talents, including those in the outof-school youth sector. Arboleda ran away with Most Valuable Player honors with the organizing BPBL naming a separate Mythical 5 made up of Luke Felipe, JL San Juan, Draco Bugarin, Daux Paraiso and Dexter Lugmay. The Core values awardees were Morris Teodoro (character), Sam Reyes (discipline), John Guarino (sportsmanship) and Vic Rosca (brotherhood). Team Marikina’s Udrih Robosa and John Moldera also topped the two-player two-point shootout to underscore the hosts’ domination of the tournament. Batang Cainta earlier trounced Mandaluyong Megaworks, 65-55, in their side of the semis of the tournament put up by BPBL, led by league commissioner Ron Camara. Makati Pembo repulsed Mandaluyong to clinch third place honors. For details on the next undertaking, visit the league’s FB page @teamBPBL, IG and website www.batangpilipinobasketball.ph.