BusinessMirror May 06, 2020

BSP sees lower ’20 inflation after April data T

HE prices of local goods and commodities will grow slower than earlier expected for the year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced a slowdown in inflation in April.

In a statement on the mediumterm inflation, the BSP said their latest models indicate that inflation could settle at the low end of the government’s target range at 2 percent on average for this year. This is lower than the earlier 2.2-percent forecast for 2020.

The statement was made after the PSA announced that inflation in April hit a five-month low to 2.2 percent.

CLAIMANTS of the government’s Social Amelioration Program line up for hours to sign forms at the Diosdado P. Macapagal Elementary School in Barangay Tayuman, Quezon City, to avail themselves of emergency cash subsidy as their livelihood has been most affected by the extended lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic. NONOY LACZA

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By Cai U. Ordinario

This is the slowest since November when inflation averaged 1.3 percent.

If realized, a 2-percent inflation average for the year will mean the growth of consumer prices can slip below the government’s 2 to 4 percent target in some months of the year.

Muted demand for various goods and services will likely keep inflation low, according to local economists.

The increase in the price of commodities has been slowing since February when inflation slowed to 2.6 percent from 2.9 percent in January.

“Contributing to the downtrend in the headline inflation in April 2020 was the further decrease in the annual rate of the transport index,” National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said.

“Specifically, annual decline was

observed in petroleum and fuels for personal transport equipment at -28.6 percent in April 2020, from -12.3 percent in March 2020,” he added.

Experts weigh in

ATENEO Center for Economic Research and Development (ACERD) Director Alvin P. Ang told the BusinessMirror that the 2.2-percent inflation rate was higher than his initial forecast.

However, Ang said inflation will remain low for the rest of the year given the extension of the lockdown and the general slow growth in the global economy.

University of Asia and the Pacific School of Economics Dean Cid Terosa told the BusinessMirror that if the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ)

is lifted and the spread of the virus is contained, only then can demand recover.

This recovery could allow inflation—an indicator of demand—to rise in June and peak at around 2.8 to 3 percent by the end of the first semester.

Terosa said the recovery of spending and “pent-up demand” will allow inflation to increase beyond 3 percent.

Unionbank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion agreed, but said the recovery in demand may still be muted immediately after the ECQ and the general community quarantine (GCQ) are lifted.

A true recovery in demand, Asuncion told this newspaper, would only See “Inflation,” A2

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

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VIRUS LEAVES DEEP CUTS ON PHL FACTORY OUTPUT www.businessmirror.com.ph

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Wednesday, May 6, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 209

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BOTTLES of liquor spill from a minivan as police investigators check on the vehicle, which crashed as it tried to evade a checkpoint in Barangay Bagong Bayan, Quezon City. Pasig City Police Chief Colonel Moises Villaceran said the police gave chase as the minivan sped toward C5 Road in Pasig City, where it hit a pursuing motorcycle cop before crashing into a tree.

Investigators said shots were fired when police saw the driver pull a gun. The driver, Joselito delos Santos, a retired policeman, died at the Rizal Medical Center. His companion, his son Jayson who survived the crash, was taken to the Quirino Memorial Medical Center for medicolegal examination. BERNARD TESTA

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By Cai U. Ordinario

HE country’s manufacturing output in March posted its sharpest decline since December 2019, according to the results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI).

Based on the latest data from think tank IHS Markit, the performance of Philippine factories likely deteriorated in April, when most manufacturers in Luzon were shuttered due to the enhanced community quarantine.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will release the April MISSI data in June.

The March MISSI data from the PSA indicated that the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) contracted 6.3 percent in March. Data showed this is the largest decline since December 2019, when it contracted 7.2 percent. The VoPI contracted 8.8 percent in March 2019.

“Fifteen major industry groups pulled down the VoPI with the following major industry groups exhibiting at least 25 percent decreases: petroleum products (-34.3 percent), tobacco products (-33.9 percent) and miscellaneous manufactures (-29 percent),” PSA said.

PSA data showed the Value of Production Index (VaPI) fell by 11.3 percent in March 2020, the largest drop since April 2019 when it contracted 11.8 percent.

IHS Markit economist Lewis Cooper: “With measures to restrict the spread of the virus likely to continue for some time, and demand both at home and abroad essentially frozen, firms need to prepare for a tough second quarter.”

The MISSI data showed VaPI dropped by 1 percent in February 2020 and 4.4 percent in March 2019.

Data also showed average capacity utilization increased to 84.5 percent in March 2020, from 84.4 percent in March 2019. However, this was lower than the 84.6 percent posted in February 2020.

PSA said firms that operated at full capacity or at 90 percent to 100 percent accounted for nearly a third of manufacturing firms at 28.6 percent.

“More than half (53.6 percent) operated at 70 to 89 percent capac-

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.5760

ity while almost one-fifth (17.9 percent) operated below 70 percent capacity,” it added.

MISSI is a report that monitors the production, net sales, inventories and capacity utilization of selected manufacturing establishments to provide flash indicators on the performance of the manufacturing sector.

April performance

AMID the deterioration in the performance of the manufacturing sector in April, the Philippines was still the third best in Southeast Asia even as the region continues to grapple with the ill effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

The IHS Markit Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which was at 31.6 in April, was a reflection of the region’s overall deterioration during the month.

However, the think tank said the PMI of the Philippines has the “most substantial deterioration in operating conditions in the series’ more than four-year history.”

“Output, new orders and exports all declined at unprecedented rates, while firms’ confidence with regards to output over the year ahead sank to a fresh series low,” said IHS Markit.

The PMI is a composite index aimed to gauge the health of the country’s manufacturing sector. It is calculated as a weighted average of five individual subcomponents. Readings above the 50 threshold signal a growth in the manufacturing sector, while readings below 50 show a deterioration in the industry.

Asean performance

FOR the month, the worst performing manufacturing sector was that of Indonesia’s, which saw a record low PMI of 27.5 followed

by Myanmar’s 29. Singapore’s PMI was the only one which showed improvement during the month, but was still the third worst performing at 29.3, followed by Malaysia.

The Philippines’ PMI of 31.6 was in the top three along with Vietnam’s 32.7 and Thailand’s 36.8.

On average, the Asean’s headline PMI dropped to an all-time low of 30.7 in April, down from a prior record low of 43.4 in March, to indicate by far the largest monthly deterioration in manufacturing conditions since the series began in July 2012.

“Central to the substantial deterioration were record rates of decline across all five components of the headline figure, with output, new orders, employment and pre-production inventories dropping markedly across the region to drag the PMI down further as the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak intensified. Meanwhile, firms’ output expectations for the year ahead sank to a fresh series low,” said IHS Markit economist Lewis Cooper.

“Overall, April data highlight the substantial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Asean manufacturers. With measures to restrict the spread of the virus likely to continue for some time, and demand both at home and abroad essentially frozen, firms need to prepare for a tough second quarter,” the economist added.

NTC STOPS ABS-CBN FROM AIRING RADIO AND TV PROGRAMS

AN employee lights candles in front of the headquarters of broadcast network ABSCBN on May 5, 2020, in Quezon City. AP/AARON FAVILA

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

ROADCASTING giant ABS-CBN Corp. was told to stop airing its television and radio programs immediately by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) after the company’s franchise expired on Monday.

In a cease-and-desist order (CDO) issued on Tuesday, the regulator directed the multimedia conglomerate to halt the operations of its television and radio broadcasting stations nationwide as it lacks a congressional franchise to do so, citing the Radio Control Law.

The regulator insisted the move was not a blow to press freedom, because “there are other platforms where they can air their content,” and the CDO covers only the physical infrastructure. The frequencies remain with the Lopez-led group, pending the period within which they are being given a chance to explain, it added.

The NTC order is a stunning reversal for those who had pinned their hopes on a provisional authority (PA) that several lawmakers and the Department of Justice (DOJ) had earlier indicated as a possible option for the broadcast giant. However, while Malacañang Palace in recent days insisted the NTC is an independent regulator, the agency’s officials were threatened with a graft case by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) should it proceed with issuing a PA.

ABS-CBN’s franchise, granted by Republic Act (RA) 7966, lapsed on Monday. It failed to secure a congressional franchise, as lawmakers decided to “prioritize” other laws.

Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4738 n UK 62.9469 n HK 6.5233 n CHINA 7.1470 n SINGAPORE 35.6999 n AUSTRALIA 32.4951 n EU 55.1380 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4654

Source: BSP (May 5, 2020)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, May 6, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

House panel: Pandemic to hurt 30-M Filipinos’ jobs, livelihood

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

HE coronavirus disease pandemic could result in the possible unemployment of at least 30 million Filipinos—half the labor force— without the necessary economic stimulus interventions, the chairman of the House Committee on Economic Affairs said on Tuesday.

At the hearing of the House Defeat Covid-19 Committee economic cluster, AAMBIS-OWA Rep. Sharon Garin said: “The effect of Covid-19 is possible unemployment of at least 30 million Filipinos,” as she cited the overall assessment of the panel. This umployment will affect workers with daily wage and informal workers.

According to Garin, other sectors that could be affected are overseas Filipino workers, those from micro, small and medium enterprises, from production and sale of goods, food preparation and delivery services, banks and financial services and utilities services involving power, energy, water and telecommunications.

Garin, an economist, said the House seeks to address this possible unemployment by passing the

proposed P485-billion Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA).

The proposed economic stimulus package is under deliberations of the Defeat Covid-19 special committee.

“With all the inputs from members, agencies and private sector, the interventions are grouped in four parts, all with the same purpose: maintain employment level and targeted assistance to industries so that they retain employment levels. Primarily, the interventions are not direct amelioration or doleouts, otherwise it won’t be sustainable and affordable,” said Garin, also the cochairman of the House Defeat Covid-19 Committee economic cluster.

The P485-billion economic stimulus package will include: P20 billion for test kits to build up con-

A POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) office in Tambo, Parañaque City, is closed temporarily during the coronavirus lockdown. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said the government should ensure that POGOs settle their existing tax liabilities before allowing them to resume operations. He said the monthly tax take from POGOs could reach as high as P2 billion. NONIE REYES

sumer and business confidence; P130-billion loans under Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, Small Business Corp., and Philippine Guarantee Corp.; P25-billion capitalization for National Development Corp.; P150 billion for individual subsidies under Department of Labor and Employment; and P160 billion for sectoral assistance of Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Tourism, Board of Investments, and Department of Transportation.

Earlier, Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, also a co-chairperson of House Defeat Covid-19 Committee economic cluster, said the country loses around P18 billion for each day of lockdown, as coronavirus fears could hinder an effective reopening of the economy.

She also pushed passage of an economic stimulus plan, citing the two main obstacles in reopening the economy—first, the liquidity concerns of firms, especially those that did not have revenues during the lockdown yet continued to pay

overhead costs, including payroll and interest expenses; and two, that so-called “fear factor” especially among workers, because the country has no mass testing. “[Of the P18 billion] P12.5 billion [are] in unearned wages— meaning value of output of daily wage and piece rate earners—and payroll costs shouldered by nonessential businesses during lockdown plus about P5.5 billion in unearned corporate income,” added Quimbo in a separate text message to the BusinessMirror.

Virus seen to erode banking sector capital

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

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HE coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic will likely hit the robust capitalization of the banking sector due to weakening asset quality and decline in profitability, Moody’s Investor Services said.

The debt watcher, in a report on Tuesday, said the pandemic will prompt the banks to expand buffer for potential increase in nonperforming loans (NPLs), putting their profitability at risk.

“For some banks this [loan loss provision] will expose profitability as a weak spot in their solvency profiles, and their limited means to absorb losses via the income

statement means that sustained pressure on asset quality will raise the risk to their capital, although with some variation in degree of severity globally,” Moody’s said.

Earlier, the International Monetary Fund said banks should be well capitalized to soften the economic blow of the pandemic.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, in its latest report, said that capitalization of local banks rose by 14 percent to P2.07 trillion in 2018 from P1.76 trillion the previous year. Moody’s, meanwhile, said that capitalization of the industry will remain stable given that rated local banks have an average common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 13.7 percent as of end-2019.

“While the coronavirus credit shock has not led to immediate or wholesale changes in the ratings of banks so far, the credit profiles of many will become increasingly vulnerable to the extent that the economic shock broadens and lengthens,” the credit-rating agency said.

Should this happen, more banks will be labeled with a negative outlook, Moody’s said, noting that capital will significantly decline without a return to pre-crisis levels within the next two to three years.

The debt watcher recently revised its outlook for the Philippine banking system to negative from stable as the pandemic is seen to drag its profitability this year.

As of April 2, Moody’s rated

the baseline credit assessment of BDO Unibank Inc., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and Bank of the Philippine Islands with baa2; Land Bank of the Philippines, ba1; Philippine National Bank, China Banking Corp., Security Bank Corp., Union Bank of the Philippines and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., baa3; and United Coconut Planters Bank, b2.

With the prolonged lockdown, government support to extend loan payment deadlines would only likely delay the recognition of loan problems instead of preventing hike in NPLs, Moody’s said.

The Philippine government has extended enhanced community quarantine in some areas until

May 15 to contain the virus.

“Alternatively, governments may find it difficult to time the withdrawal of support measures to match the pace of the economic recovery, triggering an earlier recognition of NPLs,” it said.

“Regardless, our forward view of capital will be informed by both the degree and sustainment of increases in NPLs and declines in pre-provision income, which together drive changes in capital levels,” it added.

The Bankers Association of the Philippines earlier said that local banks have been increasing their reserve for anticipated higher NPLs due to slowdown in economic activities amid the pandemic.

Inflation…

Continued from A1

be possible if a vaccine is discovered and be successfully administered.

“A vaccine discovered and its successful administration to the population will definitely turbo boost demand immediately,” Asuncion said.

Warning PHILIPPINE Economic Society (PES) President Emilio S. Neri told the BusinessMirror that risks abound. The slowdown in the increase in inflation may be faster if “oil prices collapsed to negative.”

The PSA’s data that showed food inflation increasing to 3.4 percent in April from 2.9 percent in April 2019 and 2.6 percent in March was a concern.

“Higher food prices is a concern considering that decline in demand should have translated to lower prices,” Neri said.

One possible explanation for the rising food prices is the agriculture sector’s failure to deliver goods due to checkpoints and other logistics issues at the start of the quarantine.

Neri hopes this situation will not continue, especially if the country encounters a new wave of infections.

Efforts to address this include ensuring that supply chains and logistics firms are “working smoothly” to enable the continuous flow of goods for the market.

“The risk of a new wave of infections is that we might have shortages, rationing. We must do everything to avoid that,” Neri said.

“[The recovery of demand] depends on a lot of things, including how well we provided those who lost their incomes during the lockdown,” he added.

PSA data DATA showed inflation in NCR eased to 1.2 percent in April 2020, from 1.7 percent in the previous month. The year-on-year inflation in the area in April 2019 was higher at 3.1 percent.

The slowdown in NCR inflation was traced to declines in the annual rates posted in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 1.7 percent; and transport at 6.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the annual inflation in areas outside NCR also slowed to 2.5 percent in April 2020, from 2.7 percent in March 2020. In April 2019, inflation in areas outside NCR was posted at 3 percent.

A further drop in the annual rate of transport index at 6 percent during the month primarily pushed down the inflation in areas outside NCR.

NTC stops ABS-CBN from airing radio and TV programs Continued from A1

“Upon the expiration of RA 7966, ABS-CBN no longer has a valid and subsisting congressional franchise,” the NTC order, signed

by Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, Deputy Commissioners Edgardo Cabarios and Delilah Deles, read.

In a phone interview, Cabarios said the regulator’s legal team found that ABS-CBN has “no valid reason to operate.”

“This is not influenced by any outside force. Our legal team studied it, and they found that ABS-CBN has no valid reason for them to continue to operate,” he said. “All authority granted by commission has always been based on a valid franchise. Without a franchise they really cannot operate.”

He noted that his group cannot also issue a provisional authority, as such “is predicated on a valid franchise, as provided by law.”

The order calls for the closure of 23 radio stations, 42 television stations, and 10 digital terrestrial television broadcast stations.

“What is being ordered to be stopped is the physical infrastructure, and not the content.

They may still air their shows on other platforms or they may air their shows at other broadcasters with a valid franchise and authority from the commission,” Cabarios explained.

The order may also essentially result in the confiscation of the frequencies used by ABS-CBN to air its programs.

ABS-CBN: bad timing

SOUGHT for comment, ABS-CBN Corp. lamented that shutting down its broadcast operations

will result in “millions of Filipinos” losing “their source of news and entertainment…when people need crucial and timely information as the nation deals with the Covid-19 pandemic.”

It also highlighted the hopes that were given by the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Department of Justice, and the sworn statement of NTC’s Cordoba, all of which assured that the franchise law will move forward and that a provisional authority may allow it to operate pending the bill’s extension.

ABS-CBN stressed that apart from its coverage of the pandemic, as well as its entertainment programs that help people stay at home, it delivered over P300 million worth of goods for over 600,000 families affected by the Covidinduced lockdowns.

“We trust that the government will decide on our franchise with the best interest of the Filipino people in mind, recognizing ABS-CBN’s role and efforts in providing the latest news and information during these challenging times,” the statement read.

And while it did not categorically say that it will exhaust all legal means to overturn the decision, ABS-CBN said it “will find ways to continue providing meaningful service” to its audiences.

‘Encroachment on Congress’

THE House Committee on Legislative Franchises on Tuesday said the NTC order is a clear encroachment of the constitutional power of Congress.

Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez, the panel chairman, said a show-cause order will be sent to NTC for officials to explain why they should

no be cited for contempt for disregarding a commitment they gave under oath to Congress to allow the TV giant’s operations to continue.

During the March hearing, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba said the NTC would heed the advice of the DOJ to allow the network to operate beyond its May 4 expiry pending its franchise renewal application in Congress.

The House had enjoined the NTC to grant ABS-CBN a provisional authority to continue its operations until Congress has made a decision on the network’s application.

“We are still studying with the House leadership the chamber’s next steps considering that the NTC’s move is a clear encroachment [of Congress’s power],” Alvarez said.

“They were under oath when they [NTC] said they would issue a PA,” he added.

Bring it to SC–Kiko

MINORITY Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan condemned the NTC order. “We condemn this arbitrary exercise of governmental power,” he said in a statement, noting the cruel timing of stopping the operations of a company employing thousands of workers. He cited its record in bringing news and timely information to the people, a task that becomes more crucial in a pandemic.

“Issuing a cease-and-desist order to ABS-CBN cripples our ability to disseminate information that can save lives.”

The senator said “ABS-CBN should bring the matter before the Supreme Court.”

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the NTC “must have a very good reason” for

issuing a cease-and-desist order following the expiration of their franchises.

Guevarra said it would be better for the concerned parties to wait for the NTC to explain the basis for its issuance of a CDO.

The CDO order was in contrast to the assurance made by NTC’s Cordoba at the House’s March 10 hearing that the agency will issue a PA allowing the network to operate pending its application.

But the DOJ secretary acknowledged that as a regulatory body, “the NTC has jurisdiction to determine whether it will issue a PA or not.”

While he agreed that the CDO is immediately executory in nature, Guevarra said ABS-CBN and its affiliate, ABS-CBN Convergence Inc., may still seek judicial review of the NTC order.

“Yes, a CDO is immediately executory but still appealable to the courts, either the regional trial court or the Court of Appeals. However, a judicial review is more appropriate than an appeal.”

On the legal implications if ABS-CBN would ignore the NTC order, Guevarra said “the NTC will have to enforce it if ABS-CBN will not voluntarily comply.”

Guevarra earlier said “there is sufficient equitable basis to allow broadcast entities to continue operating while the bills for the renewal of their franchise remain pending with Congress.”

He noted that in several similar situations in the past, Congress allowed the status quo, without urging the NTC to issue a temporary or provisional permit, “in consideration of the equities of the situation.”

“In the present case, the subject company had already been granted a franchise and license to operate, albeit subject to further deliberations for its renewal,” Guevarra added.

On the other hand, Solicitor General Jose Calida has warned NTC commissioners they could be charged with violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act if they issue PAs for ABS-CBN and its affiliate after their franchises expire on May 4, 2020.

Calida insisted only Congress has the exclusive power to grant franchises to public utilities, such as broadcasting companies, in order to operate in the country under the 1987 Constitution.

While this legislative power may be delegated to administrative agencies through a law, Calida said there is no law giving NTC or any agency the power to grant franchises to broadcasting firms.

Duterte’s gripe

PRESIDENT Duterte had in past months called out ABS-CBN, for what he deemed its bias against him. He slammed the network’s failure to air his 2016 campaign ad despite getting his money, and instead airing an ad unfavorable to him.

ABS-CBN top officials apologized in a Senate hearing, and Duterte said he accepted their apology.

Certain lawmakers were also open to their opposition against the news and media company, deciding to “prioritize” other laws.

Congress has since signified its intention to move forward with the franchise hearing after Duterte claimed he was not calling for

delaying grant of the franchise.

But with the imposition of lockdowns in various parts of the country, including Metro Manila, Congress again failed to renew the franchise law of the Lopez-led media conglomerate.

Content may be aired

THE regulator gave the company 10 days to explain why the frequencies assigned to it should not be recalled. After receipt of ABS-CBN’s response, the NTC shall schedule the case for hearing at the earliest time after the enhanced community quarantine is lifted in Metro Manila.

“The frequencies assigned to them are still with them. The frequencies are being recalled but they are given an opportunity to defend, because it’s part of due process,” Cabarios said.

He said the closure of ABS-CBN’s physical radio stations is “not an attack on the press.”

“There are other platforms where they can air their content. What is being stopped from operations are the physical infrastructure of ABS-CBN,” he said.

Cabarios added that there are still legal remedies that ABS-CBN can opt to exhaust.

“Their lawyers can check the best remedy available to them so that they file it immediately. I was informed by our legal team that a motion for reconsideration is not valid because the order is immediate and executory. What can stop the order is a temporary restraining order only,” he said.

ABS-CBN has yet to respond to the BusinessMirror’s request for comment.

With reports by Joel R. San Juan, Butch Fernandez, Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

DILG orders PNP to probe SAP mess

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

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HE Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday that it will dispatch dedicated teams of investigators that will gather evidence to support the filing of cases against local officials involved in anomalies in the distribution of the government’s Covid-19 assistance, including the social amelioration program (SAP).

PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the deployment of the police teams would be undertaken following the orders of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año and PNP chief General Archie Gamboa for the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to conduct case buildup against officials committing graft and corruption involving the cash assistance for the poor.

Banac said the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, under the supervision of the Administrative Support Task Force, will closely monitor the progress of investigation of cases in order to ensure the successful prosecution of erring officials.

Recently, President Duterte expressed his exasperation over reports that some local officials are committing various anomalies over the distribution of the SAP, specifically mentioning even one village official in Bulacan, whom he said has “shortchanged” some of the program’s beneficiaries in his barangay.

Banac said that CIDG teams will closely examine disbursement records, receipts and other paper trail evidence, as well as sworn statements of fund recipients in their effort to uncover alleged irregularities.

Meanwhile, returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are being barred entry into their hometowns can seek the as-

sistance of the Joint Task Force Covid Shield to ensure that they would not be discriminated upon on their way home.

“Like our medical frontliners, our OFWs do not deserve to be discriminated and unfairly treated in their own land. Our President, Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte, himself said that the sacrifices and contribution of the OFWs to our economy should not be repaid with these kinds of unfair treatment,” said Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, commander of the JTF Covid Shield.

In a televised public address, President Duterte also warned local officials against imposing their own guidelines on matters involving returning OFWs. The JTF Covid Shield is the enforcement arm of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATFMEID). It is composed of the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

Eleazar said that any of the four agencies under the JTF Covid Shield would be ready to assist and even escort returning OFWs to their hometowns in order to ensure that they could go home.

He said PNP chief Gen. Gamboa has also ordered all police commanders to extend all necessary assistance to the returning OFWs in order to protect them.

Eleazar said there are already existing protocols being implemented by the national government on returning OFWs such as 14-day quarantine and even testing for coronavirus.

“We understand the concerns of the local government units, especially on the safety of their constituents but if these protocols were already followed and the OFWs were already given a clearance to go home, there is no reason for the local officials to treat them unfairly,” Eleazar said.

DHSUD’s del Rosario taps homeowners’ groups in enforcing quarantine rules

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

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HE Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has directed all homeowner associations to help barangay officials in enforcing the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ).

In an advisory issued on May 1, DHSUD Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario said homeowner associations should close and disinfect all common areas in their communities and regulate the entry and exit points in their subdivisions/villages.

Del Rosario also said homeowner associations should also help barangay officials in the distribution of relief packs, cash assistance, ration cards, and contact tracing in their communities.

“Indeed, the government cannot, by itself, prevent or contain the spread of the virus. Now more than any other time, the homeowner associations, federations, confederations or umbrella organizations of associations, as partners of the government must answer to its call and do their part by assisting the city, municipality, or barangay in the implementation of the ECQ/ GCQ policies, rules, and regulations within the respective jurisdiction of their associations pursuant to RA 9904 [The Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowner Associations],” del Rosario said.

Homeowners associations were also tasked to ensure continuation of sanitation services like garbage collection and set up wash stations

in high foot traffic areas.

The associations should also encourage residents who are feeling symptoms to report to the barangay, as well as provide information on emergency numbers during lockdown.

They are also tasked to cancel all elections, referenda, meetings, and all activities during the ECQ/ GCQ. If there are important meetings, del Rosario said, these should be done virtually.

“Directors and/or officers of homeowners associations whose scheduled assembly meeting and election had been canceled during the effectivity of this advisory and declared quarantine and lockdown shall continue to serve and perform their functions in holdover capacity until the election of directors had been cleared by this department,” del Rosario said.

T he gover nment, t hrough the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), has placed various provinces and municipalities under ECQ/GCQ. In Metro Manila, the ECQ will be in effect until May 15.

As of Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported that there are 9,485 Covid-19 cases nationwide. Of these cases, 7,547 are active cases.

The data also showed that some 623 Filipinos have already died due to the virus, while 1,315 patients have recovered.

Globally, 3.65 million people were infected by Covid-19. The virus has killed 252,393 people and around 1.19 million recovered from the disease.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, May 6, 2020 A3

Morales: PhilHealth ready to double P30-B ‘war chest’ in fight vs virus

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

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TATE health insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) stands ready to double its P30-billion war chest in the fight against Covid-19 “if necessary.”

This, as PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Morales said on Tuesday that its implementation of the suspension of increased premium rates for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the moratorium on the contributions of directly paying members will not significantly affect its reserves in the near term.

“No, it will not [be affected by the suspension] because we prepared a P30-billion budget for the Covid-19 pandemic and that has already been set aside and this will be taken from our reserves, which will not be so much affected by the shortfall in the short term from the missed collections from the OFWs and other directly paying members,” Morales said in an interview on CNN Philip-

pines’s The Source.

On Monday, President Duterte ordered PhilHealth to defer the implementation of its scheduled premium increase for OFWs, amid intense public outcry against the policy.

PhilHealth drew the ire of migrant advocates, as well as other concerned groups, after it issued PhilHealth Circular 2020-0014 on April 2, which required OFWs, who earn between P10,000 and P60,000, to pay premiums worth 3 percent of their monthly salaries.

This represented a .25-percent hike in their payments.

Last month, PhilHealth said it is extending the deadline on the payment of contributions for all direct contributors for February to April 2020. The payment of premiums for these applicable months shall be extended until May 31, 2020, without interest for all direct contributors.

Despite the increasing number of Covid-19 patients in the country, the PhilHealth chief said their current figures indicate that the P30 billion that they have allotted

for hospitals and other health-care institutions as part of their efforts against Covid-19 is enough.

Should this be “inadequate,” the PhilHealth assured the public that it has funds that it can utilized to augment its coffers.

“Well so far our figures indicate that we are still within the ballpark but it remains to be seen how long and how bad this Covid-19 pandemic will be in the Philippines but we are ready to augment this P30 billion should this be inadequate,” Morales said.

“PhilHealth has funds but it is not unlimited so we have to be very careful with our expenditures,” he added.

Sought to clarify how much funds are available should PhilHealth push through with the augmentation, Morales said: “Right now, our current accounts which can be converted into cash is also equivalent to about P30 billion so we are ready, if required, if needed, to double the Covid-19 war chest if necessary.”

In a separate interview in GMA’s

Unang Hirit, Morales also belied University of Santo Tomas (UST) Hospital’s claim that PhilHealth owes them more than P180 million in receivables.

“Ang masasabi ko walang katotohanan yun kasi ang binayad namin sa UST Hospital since 2015 ay umaabot na ng P2.1 billion e,” he said.

Last year, Morales argued that PhilHealth paid more than P300 million to the UST Hospital.

For this year, he said, they also gave P85 million to UST Hospital for Covid-19 response, which, he said, is on top of the regular benefit reimbursement.

“So di ko alam kung saan nanggagaling tong sinasabi na P180 million na sinasabi ng UST Hospital,” he added.

Morales also said PhilHealth also sent their people to coordinate with UST Hospital to reconcile the matter.

UST Hospital said in an earlier statement that reimbursement is delayed by an average of five to six months.

The hospital also said it has also retrenched “non-crucial” workers to cut its financial losses in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis.

SC to hold first-ever virtual retirement rites for associate justice

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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UTGOING Supreme Court Associate Justice Andres B. Reyes is set to make history as the first member of the High Court to bid goodbye to his fellow magistrates in a virtual retirement ceremony.

Reyes will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 on May 11.

“Yes, there will be a retirement ceremony on Friday, 08 May 2020 for Justice Andres B. Reyes Jr. through videoconferencing. It will be a private ceremony to be participated only by the justices of the Supreme Court,” Atty. Brian Keith Hosaka said.

Hosaka said the justices will also hold a special en banc session on Friday but said he has no idea what issues are listed in the agenda since

these are considered confidential.

The SC had conducted two en banc sessions through videoconferencing since the country was placed under a state of public health emergency last March 15 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which eventually led to a temporary halt of court operations nationwide.

The first virtual en banc session was held on April 17 when it acted on the petition of several persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), or prison inmates, who sought their release for fear of coronavirus disease infection in jails.

The second time was when the SC authorized the release of the results of the 2019 bar examinations. The third en banc session is on Friday.

Last April 20, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta issued a circular

NE local execs laud Army’s 703rd IB support in fight against Covid-19, peace and order drive

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OC AL officials in Nueva Ecija have cited the military for its effort in helping local government units (LGU) deal with the novel coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) that include the easing of the disease’s economic impact, especially among the poor residents of the province.

In the municipality of Bongabon, Mayor Xystus Gamilla lauded the Army’s 703rd Infantry Brigade (IB) under Col. Andrew Costelo for ensuring that peace and security prevails, while partnering with them in the effort to contain the spread of the Covid-19.

Gamilla said that aside from establishing and manning quarantine control points, the soldiers helped in the transportation, delivery and distribution of relief assistance, including sacks of rice to villagers in the municipality’s remotest areas.

“They were very active in disseminating information about the Covid-19, which allowed the community to learn more about the disease, how they could avoid it and how they could also help in the concerted effort to stop its spread,” the local chief executive said.

W hat touched Gamilla was when he learned that the soldiers provided food assistance to tricycle drivers and operators from Barangays Calaanan and Digmala who have been affected by the more than a month enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

He learned that the food assistance was bought out of the contribution and personal money of the soldiers.

“Since their arrival in our town, we have not heard any complaints against them and more people have partnered with them in their various projects for the community,” Gamilla said.

BIFF ‘treachery’

MEANWHILE, members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) fired upon troops who were supporting the implementation of the ECQ in Maguindanao, killing two soldiers and wounding another.

Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command spokesman Maj. Arvin Encinas said that BIFF members shot members of the 57th Infantry Battalion deployed at Barangay Talibadok, Datu Hoffer at past 8 p.m. on Monday, triggering a 45 minute firefight.

“We are deeply saddened by the report that two of our brave soldiers were killed in action while performing their duties for the good of the community,” said Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Western Mindanao Command.

“We will make sure that these terrorists, who are obviously desperate to strike back during this time when we are all working to defeat the coronavirus, will pay for their treacherous acts,” he added. Rene Acosta

ordering the immediate conduct of pilot testing of the use of videoconferencing to hear criminal cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other selected parts of the country during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) has started preparations for videoconferencing of court proceedings since May 4.

Reyes was a trial judge from 1987 until 1999 before he was appointed as Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals.

On February 10,2010, he was appointed Presiding Justice of the same court.

He was appointed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines on July 13, 2017.

Meanwhile, Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) regular member and Executive Committee chairman

former SC Associate Justice Jose Mendoza said they would soon be conducting online interviews of applicants to the post to be vacated by Associate Justice Reyes.

“As the lockdown has been extended, the members have agreed to online interviews. This will be set up soon. We have also resorted to teleconferencing for discussion through a platform made available to us by the SC,” Mendoza said.

“We are hopeful that we can start conducting the interviews soonest so that we can send the list of nominees to the Office of the President (OP) as early as possible. This will give the OP sufficient time to vet the candidates and appoint one,” he added.

The President has 90 days under the Constitution to fill up vacancies in the judiciary.

De Lima seeks grant of hazard pay for all disaster frontline workers

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MID the virus pandemic, Sen. Leila M. de Lima is urging the government to grant basic hazard allowances for essential workers for both public and private sectors, as well as an additional hazard pay for all public health workers.

On April 27, de Lima filed Senate Bill (SB) 1439 to amend Section 13 of Republic Act (RA) 10121, otherwise known as the Philippine Disaster Risk and Management Act of 2010, to extend the hazard pay grant to all essential workers in both public and private sectors that will be tasked to deliver or augment delivery of services during state of emergencies.

Existing laws, including RA 7305, or the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers, only grants hazard pay to health workers employed by the government in times of national emergency and similar situations.

“This bill therefore seeks to grant hazard allowance to employees of government and those belonging to the private sector who are mobilized to deliver or augment the delivery of disaster risk reduction programs and activities,” de Lima said.

“Together with our health workers are other members of the public and private sector who continuously work and serve our country despite the grave danger that this [Covid-19] pandemic pose to their safety and well-being,” she added.

De Lima noted that workers such as security guards, bank tellers,

cashiers, media workers, food service employees, traffic enforcers, police, and office clerks, to name a few, deserve to be given additional pay because of the additional risks that they go through in the performance of their duties during times of crisis.

The senator from Bicol explained that although the responsibilities of the abovementioned workers differ from health-care frontliners, they too “have the right to be protected and be assisted by the government.”

SB 1439 leaves it up to the secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and heads of other implementing agencies to recommend how much basic hazard pay the essential workers will receive.

In addition to the widened coverage of hazard pay for essential workers, SB 1439 also proposes compensatory benefits and individual personal accident insurance for all workers, in both public and private sectors, who will incur “illness, death or injury” in the performance of their duties during state of emergencies.

De Lima also urged the government to award public health workers (PHW) and temporary human resources for health (HRH) workers, an additional hazard allowance.

“Additional hazard allowances are likewise sought for public health workers and temporary human resources for health during a state of calamity,” de Lima said.

A4 Wednesday, May 6, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

AdMU economists suggest agri-driven economy for PHL to deal with pandemic

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE Philippines could rise from this pandemic stronger if the government would implement reforms that encourage the development of an agriculturedriven economy, according to economists from the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU).

In a news statement, Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (ACERD) and faculty members of the AdMU Department of Economics said this would mean shifting development efforts toward agricultural areas.

ACERD Director Alvin P. Ang told the BusinessMirror the first step would be to implement provisions in the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) of 1997 creating the Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zones (SAFDZ). “[These are areas] identified for production, agro-processing and

marketing activities to help develop and modernize, either the support of government, the agriculture and fisheries sectors in an environmentally and socio-cultural sound manner,” the AFMA stated.

Ang said given that this has been legislated already, the SAFDZ is a good first step toward realizing this new development path that will revive the farm sector and ensure the country’s food security.

For one, Ang said, rice prices in Thailand and Vietnam has been high.

Based on data from Thai rice exporters, the price of the food staple has increased by around $50 to $100 per

metric ton (MT).

Ang added that the agriculture sector also has the capacity to reignite the Philippine economy through higher productivity. The farm sector has been suffering from lackluster growth because of low productivity. “[We should] reprioritize agriculture for our own food security,” Ang said. “Thai and Vietnam rice prices are rising very fast.”

The AdMU economists also said restructuring the economy into an agriculture-driven one entails reforms in the whole supply chain, including the use of seaports.

They recommended that shipments should be moved away from the Port of Manila to Subic Bay Freeport and Batangas Port. This entails the creation of logistics infrastructure and trading facilities to boost agricultural production.

In so doing, the economists said, this will allow faster production lines since 80 percent of agriculture production comes from small farms in the countryside.

“Restructuring the economy means a transition from subsistence farming to surplus agriculture production. An example of short-run rural development strategy could be to increase the scale of householdbased intensive farming systems,”

the economists said.

“In the long run, however, the Departments of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform must promote a shift to cash crops and upscale farming to take advantage of scale economies,” they added.

This structural reforms would be feasible if the Philippine government will forego high economic growth, relax its deficit targets, and borrow funds to augment its financial capacity.

The economists said the Philippine government needs to implement a debt-financed economic growth strategy over the next two or three years.

If the government will pursue tax reform to generate funds to implement reforms, the move should be an institutional reform that will seek to correct incentives and help firms recover faster while improving revenue generation.

Further, the economists said government can also reassign a number of “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program projects to be financed through public-private partnerships to free up public funds for protection and recovery from Covid-19.

“As the threat of Covid-19 will most likely extend beyond this year, the Philippine government should not be constrained to spend whatever

is necessary to protect Filipinos, and take the opportunity to undertake structural reforms to shield the country from various shocks now and in the long term,” the economists said.

Apart from the revival of agriculture, the AdMU economists said the government should also invest heavily on mass testing, containment, and health systems.

They also said the government must prevent the closure of industries by extending them support.

These industries must include the travel and hospitality industries; entertainment and art; and retail stores and manufacturing firms.

The economists also said the recovery will also require the government to create efficient and safe mass transportation systems. This requires maximizing work from home arrangements to prevent congestion.

The government also needs to invest in improved communications through ICT, broadband access and coverage. This can also help improve supply chains for retail and delivery services and help even the education sector.

The economists also urged the upgrade of the social protection programs of the government and unifying the delivery process of different social protection programs.

Palay price surges to yearlong record high at ₧20/kg–DA

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE average farm-gate price of dry palay has surged to almost P20 per kilogram (kg), its highest level in over a year after quotations plunged due to higher imports, the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday said.

Citing latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data, the DA said the average farm-gate price of palay nationwide reached P19.91 per kg during the last week of April.

This is now the highest average quotation for dry palay in over one year since the P19.95 per kg recorded in the first week of January 2019, based on historical PSA data analyzed by the BusinessMirror.

The latest average farm-gate price of dry palay was almost 9 percent higher than the P18.28 per kg recorded in the second week of April as earlier disclosed by PSA. The DA said the latest quotation translates to an average farm-gate

price of P17.22 per kg for fresh palay.

“These farm-gate prices, duly verified by our DA regional field offices, are fairly competitive and give farmers a good return for their investments and hard work,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in a news statement.

The DA said it observed farmgate prices of over P20 per kilogram in seven regions during the reference period: Region 10 at P25.35 per kg; Region 5 (P20.25 per kg); Region 1 (P20.30 per kg); Region 2 (P20.65 per kg); Region 7 (P21 per kg); Region 12 (P21.5 per kg) and Region 11 (P22.93 per kg).

“Compared to the prices last season, the figures we are seeing now could be a manifestation of the normalization of the rice industry, after our transition from quantitative restriction to a tariffied trade regime,” Dar said.

“We recognize the birth pains of the RTL [rice trade liberalization] law implementation. That is exactly the reason why we set up and rolled out immediate sup-

port mechanisms to help small rice farmers adjust and eventually make them competitive,” Dar added.

The average farm-gate price of palay plunged last year to eight -year low levels due to higher rice imports following the deregulation of the rice industry due to the rice trade liberalization (RTL) law.

Dar said the increase in farmgate prices is a welcome development amid the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the farm sector, particularly to rice farmers, that has caused supply disruptions.

“We are happy that despite the challenges the industry is facing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our rice farmers remain hopeful as we continue to assist them in increasing their yields and reducing their cost of production, through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund [RCEF], complemented by the banner National Rice Program [NRP] and the new Rice Resiliency Project [RRP],” he said.

“Indeed, the current high prices

of palay are favorable to our farmers and their families, and we have instructed the National Food Authority to continue buying palay at P19/kg, and, at the same time, urge the local government units, particularly in major rice-producing provinces, to buy directly from their farmer-constituents,” he added.

However, Federation of Free Farmers National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor argued that the increase in farm-gate prices was caused by “restricted imports” and “surge in demand” for the staple due to Covid-19.

Montemayor pointed out it is “illogical” for the DA to say that the rice industry’s situation is already “normalizing” following the implementation of the RTL law.

“The increase was due to Covid which restricted imports and created a surge in demand for rice. If there was no Covid, palay prices would have remained low,” he said.

“Illogical to say this is the normalization of the tariffication program and the result of RCEF

interventions. Palay output [in first quarter may have declined] and the yield improvement—even after PSA revision—was insignificant,” he added.

The country’s palay output in the first quarter would likely fall by nearly 4 percent to 4.25 million metric tons from 4.42 MMT in the same period of last year, the PSA projected.

In its latest forecast report as of March 1, the PSA revised upward its February projection by 6.25 percent from an estimate of 4 MMT. However, despite the revision, first quarter palay harvest could fall to its lowest level in four years due to area contraction and yield reduction, PSA historical data showed.

“Harvest area may decrease by 4.8 percent, from 1.153 [million] hectares in 2019. Yield per hectare may rise slightly to 3.87 metric tons, from 3.83 metric tons in the previous year,” the PSA said in its report, titled Updates on January-March 2020 Palay and Corn Estimates.

Fitch revises PHL ’20 consumer spending outlook to 3.4 percent

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

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MID the financial stress induced by the coronavirus pandemic, Fitch Solutions has downgraded its household spending outlook for the Philippines to 3.4 percent this year—from 5.8 percent earlier—as consumers would likely to focus only on essentials like food and health-related expenses.

The Fitch unit, in its country risk and industry research on Tuesday, noted that this was markedly lower compared to 5.4-percent expansion in household spending last year.

Along with this revision, the debt watcher also projected lower economic growth of 4 percent from pre-pandemic forecast of 6.3 percent for 2020.

The enhanced community quarantine—which was extended until May 15 in some areas—has changed the consumer behavior and purchasing patterns of the

public, Fitch Solutions noted.

“For consumers in countries where a lockdown has been initiated, and for consumers who believe that their governments might implement this measure, the spending focus is narrowing further, with a concentration on priority purchases,” it explained, citing food, nonalcoholic drink and health-related expenses.

With this, the outlook for food and nonalcoholic drinks spending was increased to 9.35 percent from 6.15 percent. The Fitch unit said that while panic buying has eased, consumers would still likely to prioritize the said products.

Health spending is likely to expand by 10.24 percent due to pandemic, higher than 7.62 percent before, this year.

“We expect more over-thecounter medication sales, with consumers seeking medicine and health-related purchases during the pandemic,” Fitch Solutions said.

Spending for alcoholic drinks and tobacco will only grow by 4.56 percent—lower than 5.76 percent previously—amid temporary closure of bars and pubs because they are deemed nonessential services. The government has also imposed liquor ban during the lockdown as a health and safety measure.

For clothing and footwear, which is another nonessential business, spending outlook was brought down to 4.36 percent from 5.37 percent. E-commerce may not drive the sector’s sales either, Fitch Solutions noted, explaining that deliveries are prioritized for food still.

Outlook for housing and utilities spending slid to 6.16 percent from 7.35 percent. “Given that the Philippine government has announced land rental waivers as part of the stimulus program, we expect that at least some of these rental rebates will be passed on to consumers and result in them paying less rent,”

the Fitch unit said.

Furnishing and home spending forecast declined to 5.08 percent from 5.74 percent given that it is also nonessential.

Following the suspension of public transport in major cities, transport spending outlook was revised down to 5.97 percent from 6.8 percent for this year.

Filipino consumers are likely to cut down on smartphone, or electronics purchases this year, bringing the communication spending outlook to 6.28 percent from 7.03 percent.

Spending outlook for recreation and culture was changed to -0.91 percent from -0.30 percent because of unlikely possibility of any travel in the short term. Fitch Solutions, however, noted that demand for streaming services like Netflix was increasing.

Along with this, the research arm of the Fitch group shed outlook for restaurant and hotel spending to 4.83

percent from 6.80 percent. In the Philippines, while some restaurants were closed, many are still offering delivery services. Some of the hotels, meanwhile, are allocated as quarters for health workers.

Education expenses will likely expand by 5.78 percent this year, lower from previous forecast of 6.95 percent, as government encourages delay in tuition fee payment amid the pandemic. “While they have not asked for tuition fee waivers on behalf of the students, if this is encouraged, we will expect that school fees and education spending will fall,” it added.

Meanwhile, personal, insurance and other spending outlook was cut to 5.22 percent from 6.15 percent.

According to a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the country’s spending outlook index of household on basic goods and services slumped to 33.3 percent for the second quarter from 37.1 percent a quarter ago.

‘Three-gives’ payment of utility bills pushed

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

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EN. Francis Tolentino is pushing for early enactment of an enabling law allowing “three-gives” payment of consumers’ utility bills.

Tolentino on Tuesday confirmed filing Senate Bill 1473 providing for installment payments, during a state of calamity, of electricity, water and telephone bills.

To be known as the “ThreeGives Law” once enacted, the remedial legislation embodied in SB 1473 was conceived in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic, Tolentino said.

The senator said the measure provides for “three installment payments on all amounts which fall due in the midst of enhanced community quarantine and other times of disasters and emergencies.”

He asserted the need to frontload passage of the remedial legislation “to ease the burden of Filipinos who grappling to survive the daily challenges of life posed by the pandemic.”

The Tolentino bill affirmed “it is the intent of this measure to uphold the general welfare of the people and to assist their economic well-being immediately after the occurrence of natural, or man-made calamities, or health epidemic.

Moreover, Tolentino stressed the timely passage of the remedial legislation, saying it would be a big help for those in distress.

“Malaki ang maitutulong nito sa mga kababayan natin na lubhang naapektuhan ng Covid-19, lalo na iyong mga nawalan ng hanapbuhay at pagkakakitaan,” he said.

The Tolentino bill took the cue from the Duterte administration’s recent directive calling for the moratorium on payment of electric, water, telephone and other bills amid the declaration of enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.

Stimulus bill’s fate tackled next week ... continued from a8

In a television interview on Tuesday morning, Gatchalian said, “so far, when we were talking among ourselves through a Senate caucus yesterday, there was no news whether we will have another Bayanihan Act to be implemented, meaning we don’t have any news whether a supplemental budget is needed as of this point.”

Gatchalian said senators have yet to hear a firm proposal from the Palace. “We don’t have any news whether a new stimulus package will be needed as of this point.”

Right now, he said, “what we are monitoring is the implementation of the current Bayanihan Act,” which was passed by Congress on March 31.

Gatchalian expects that by next week, senators will then “have a better picture whether we will have a stimulus package or a succeeding Bayanihan Act to tackle this issue.

“So, next week will be very crucial because that will be the last week of this ECQ,” the senators added, referring to the enhanced community quarantine imposed for the third time in Metro Manila and other highrisk areas. Butch Fernandez

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

The World

As Trump blames China, Beijing directs fury at his top diplomat

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hinese state media unleashed a torrent of criticism against Secretary of State Michael Pompeo—calling him “evil” and a liar—as Beijing sought to push back against the US’s virus allegations without prompting a confrontation with President Donald J. Trump.

State media published a series of commentaries lashing out at Pompeo after he said there was “enormous evidence” that the coronavirus outbreak sprung from a high-security virology lab in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The official Xinhua News Agency said the top US diplomat was speaking “nonsense,” while a newscaster from China Central Television read a commentary accusing him of “spitting poison.”

“US Secretary of State Pompeo picked up his own lies in a May 3 interview with the media,” newscaster Li Zimeng said. “If the cheating behaviors from evil politicians like Pompeo continue, the US’s ‘Make America Great Again’ could become merely a joke.”

While the coverage included some of China’s harshest critiques of a Trump administration official since the height of the trade war last year, state media continued to steer clear of direct attacks on Trump. The same strategy allowed Chinese President Xi Jinping to satisfy nationalistic outrage at home throughout the trade war, without prompting the US president to counterpunch.

Chinese officials have instead focused their response on their biggest critics within the Trump administration, including Pompeo and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro. Such China hawks have shown a willingness to engage, with Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger delivering a speech in Mandarin on Monday that praised Chinese doctors who were reprimanded for sounding early warnings about the virus.

That balancing act is getting more difficult as the US president personally seeks to blame China for the pandemic ravaging America and undermining his prospects of securing reelection

in November. In recent days, Trump has accused Beijing of deliberately mishandling an outbreak that has killed more than 4,600 Chinese citizens to damage him politically and promised a “conclusive” report on the virus’s origins.

‘Like a fire’ “My opinion is they made a mistake. They tried to cover it. They tried to put it out, just like a fire,” Trump told Fox News on Sunday.

Although the Wuhan Institute of Virology was studying bat-borne coronaviruses like the one that causes Covid-19 at the time of the first known outbreak nearby, there has so far been no evidence showing it possessed the previously unknown strain. Yuan Zhiming, director of the facility’s high-security Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory, said last month that “there is absolutely no way that the virus originated from our institute.”

The closest China has come to criticizing Trump directly in recent days was a foreign ministry statement on Thursday attacking “certain US politicians.” Such officials “have attempted to shift their own responsibility for their poor handling of the epidemic to others,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters.

Tensions may only rise as new coronavirus outbreaks disrupt life across America and Republicans seek to deflect blame in a difficult election year. The crisis has undercut the chances that the “phase one” trade deal reached by both sides in January could help build a broader truce between the world’s two largest economies.

China has occasionally provoked Trump without criticizing him by name, such as when a foreign ministry spokesman circulated unsubstantiated allegations last month that US Army athletes introduced the virus to Wuhan.

Trump blamed that move for his decision to start referring to the pathogen as the “Chinese virus,” a term he has refrained from using in recent weeks. Bloomberg News

Turkey president says Hifter ‘regressing’ in Libya conflict

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NKARA, Turkey—Turkey’s president said on Monday that Libya’s eastern-based forces have entered a “regression” phase in the conflict with the UN-supported government in Tripoli, following a series of setbacks.

Tu r ke y h e a v i l y b a c k s, i n c l u d i n g w i t h military aid, the Tripoli government against eastern-based Libyan forces led by commander Khalifa Hifter.

President Recep Tay yip Erdogan vowed continued support for the UN backed government in Libya, speaking after a Cabinet meeting.

“The pro-coup Hifter has entered a period of regression,” Erdogan said. “The efforts of the countries that have provided him with endless financial suppor t and weapons will not be enough to save him.”

Hifter’s forces are backed by the United

Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia. For months his forces, bolstered by shipments of powerful missiles, jets and drones, held an advantage over the coalition of fractious militias while besieging the UN-suppor ted government in Tripoli. But Turkey’s escalating military support for its Libyan allies has shifted momentum of the conflict.

We s te r n L i b ya n f o rce s h ave t hwa r te d Hifter’s advances, recaptured coastal cities near the Tunisian border, attacked Hifter’s key western airbase and tightened their siege on his stronghold of Tarhuna.

Last week, the UN-supported government rejected a unilateral cease-fire declared by Hifter’s forces for the Muslim holy month o f R a m a d a n , c i t i n g t h e co l l a p s e o f p a s t agreements. AP

Billions projected to suffer nearly unlivable heat in 2070

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ENSINGTON, Maryland—In just 50 years, 2 billion to 3.5 billion people, mostly the poor who can’t afford air conditioning, will be living in a climate that historically has been too hot to handle, a new study said.

With every 1.8 degree (1 degree Celsius) increase in global average annual temperature from ma n - m a d e c l i m ate c h a n g e, a b o u t a billion or so people will end up in areas too warm day-in, day-out to be habitable without cooling technology, according to ecologist Marten Scheffer of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, coauthor of the study.

How many people will end up at risk depends on how much heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions are reduced and how fast the world population grows.

Under the worst-case scenarios for population growth and for carbon pollution— which many climate scientists say is looking less likely these days—the study in Monday’s journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences predicts about 3.5 billion people will live in extremely hot areas. That’s a third of the projected 2070 population.

But even scenarios considered more likely and less severe project that in 50 years a couple of billion people will be living in places too hot without air conditioning, the study said.

“It’s a huge amount and it’s a short-time.

This is why we’re worried,’’ said Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald, who wasn’t part of the study. She and other outside scientists

said the new study makes sense and conveys the urgency of the man-made climate change differently than past research.

In an unusual way to look at climate change, a team of international scientists studied humans like they do bears, birds and bees to find the “climate niche” where people and civilizations flourish.

They looked back 6,000 years to come up with a sweet spot of temperatures for humanity: Average annual temperatures between 52 and 59 degrees (11 to 15 degrees Celsius).

We can—and do—live in warmer and colder places than that, but the farther from the sweet spot, the harder it gets.

The scientists looked at places projected to get uncomfortably and considerably hotter than the sweet spot and calculated at least 2 billion people will be living in those conditions by 2070.

Currently about 20 million people live in places with an annual average temperature greater than 84 degrees (29 degrees Celsius)—far beyond the temperature sweet spot. That area is less than 1 percent of the Earth’s land, and it is mostly near the Sahara Desert and includes Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

But as the world gets more crowded and warmer, the study concluded large swaths of Africa, Asia, South America and Australia will likely be in this same temperature range. Well over 1 billion people, and up to 3.5 billion people, will be affected depending on the climate altering choices humanity makes over the next half century, according to lead author Chi Xu of Nanjing University in China. AP

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

A5

Italy lets millions back to work; global infections hit 3.5 million

R

OME—Italy started stirring on Monday, with millions allowed back to work as Europe’s longest coronavirus lockdown started easing, while the US took halting steps to lift some restrictions even as tens of thousands of new cases were reported daily.

Governments around the world have reported 3.5 million infections and more than 253,000 deaths as of Monday, including more than 68,000 dead in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins Universit y. Deliberately concea led outbreaks, low testing rates and the severe strain the disease has placed on health care systems mean the true scale of the pandemic is undoubtedly much greater.

In Washington, the Senate convened for the first time since March.

The Supreme Court heard arguments by telephone and allowed the world to listen in live—for the first time ever.

Dozens in Florida waited before sunrise for the 7 a.m. opening of Clearwater Beach. And a shuttered pork processing plant in South Dakota took its first steps toward reopening after more than 800 employees were infected with the coronavirus.

In Louisiana, state lawmakers were restarting their legislature— but feuded over whether they should return at all.

Political battles have become increasingly embedded in US coronavirus policy. Republican Louisiana legislators irritated by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ decision to extend the state’s stay-at-home order through May 15 were eager to return to work.

Democrats saw things differently: “It could be a devastating blow to the strides made and to the safety of our residents, our staff and members if we returned to business as usual prematurely,” Democratic leaders wrote in a letter.

The moves to open US states came even as the country’s one-day death toll stood at 1,313 with more than 25,500 confirmed new infections, according to a Sunday count by Johns Hopkins University. The real numbers are likely significantly higher.

With pressure growing in many countries for more measures to restart the economy, politicians were trying to boost funding for research into a vaccine for Covid-19. There

are hopes one could be available in months, but many scientists warn it could take much longer.

Developing a vaccine will be the key to returning to less restricted everyday life. On Monday, an alliance of world leaders hosted by the European Union held a virtual summit on vaccine research, pledging to give 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion).

The US, along with Russia, was notably absent. T he leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Norway and top European Union officials said that money raised will be channeled mostly through recognized global health organizations.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who donated 500 million euros on behalf of France, noted that the US was currently “on the sidelines,” but said he had discussed the issue with President Donald Trump and was convinced the US would at some point join the initiative.

Italy, the first European country hit by the pandemic and a nation with one of the world’s highest death tolls, began opening up cautiously after its two-month shutdown—allowing 4.4 million Italians to return to work.

Traffic in downtown Rome picked up, construction sites and manufacturing operations resumed, parks reopened and flower vendors returned to the Campo dei Fiori market for the first time since March 11.

“It’s something that brings happiness and joy, and people have been missing that these days,” vendor Stefano Fulvi said. He doesn’t expect to break even anytime soon, “but you have to take the risk at some point.”

But Europeans’ newfound freedoms are limited as officials are wary of setting off a second wave of infections. In Italy, mourners were allowed to attend funerals, with services limited to 15 people. Restaurants scrubbed floors in preparation for take-out service. Sit-down service is several weeks away.

In Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis said restaurants and retail shops could open at 25 percent

A worker of the Calzaturificio MGT shoe factory in Castelnuovo Vomano, central Italy, has her temperature checked at the entrance of the factory when she returns to work on Monday, May 4, 2020. Italy began stirring again after a two-month coronavirus shutdown, with 4.4 million Italians able to return to work and restrictions on movement eased in the first European country to lock down in a bid to stem Covid-19 infections. AP/Domenico Stinellis

capacity beginning Monday, some business owners were unsure how to see things.

Tony Loeffler, the owner of Atlas Body and Home, a men’s apparel and lifestyle shop in downtown St. Petersburg, said he was both apprehensive and excited.

“We feel like we have to do this, even though we feel a little conflicted,” he said. “But we’re practicing all the common sense and CDC requirements so I feel like on our end we’re safe. But it’s so hard to know how everyone else is, how seriously they’re taking it.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and one of the first US governors to impose a statewide stay-home order, announced that some businesses in the state will receive permission to reopen as early as Friday, with restrictions.

Newsom’s phased-in plan allows clothing stores, sporting goods, florists and other retailers to resume operations with curbside pickup.

Dining in at restaurants and office reopenings are still prohibited.

California’s state Assembly restarted its legislative session on Monday, though the Senate will not bring members back until May 11.

California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said members should participate in person at committee hearings and floor sessions, based on legal advice that votes taken remotely “would likely be challenged in the courts and thrown out.”

He said uncomfortable state lawmakers are “encouraged to stay home.

We are definitely not forcing anybody to come to work.”

Often, it was unclear just what would reopen.

In the Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw, the giant Town Center at Cobb

mall reopened on Monday but many stores remained closed, with dark interiors and locked gates at Starbucks, Victoria’s Secret and other shops.

A maze of one-way paths wound through the eating area, marked off with signs and blue electrical tape stuck to the floor. But policies were inconsistent.

The four workers at the Chickfil-A counter all wore masks, and customers stood on black X’s about 6 feet (1.8 meters) apart as they waited to order. Next door at the American Deli, workers on Monday morning did not wear masks and there were no marks for customers to stand apart.

By afternoon some employees were wearing masks.

In Early County, Georgia, which has one of the highest death rates for Covid-19 in the US, a hospital official said it worries her that Georgia has been so aggressive about reopening businesses.

“I’m very concerned,” said Ginger Cushing from LifeBrite Community Hospital, noting that over the weekend it was “like back to normal just looking at the amount of cars on the road and people in food places.

They’re still standing outside and maintaining social distance, but it’s just a lot busier.”

Meanwhile, the city of Miami Beach closed seaside South Pointe Park after too many people refused to wear facemasks or remain socially distanced over the weekend.

Carnival Cruise Line, which saw a series of high-profile outbreaks on its ships, announced on Monday it will start cruises again in August, leaving from Florida and Texas. The Caribbean trips will be the company’s first since the pandemic forced a near-total pause in the global cruise industry. AP

‘US has not shared evidence on alleged coronavirus origin’

G

ENEVA—The World Health Organization’s emergencies chief said on Monday that it has received no evidence from the US government to back up allegations by President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the coronavirus could have originated at a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

“From our perspective, this remains speculative,” Dr. Michael Ryan told reporters in Geneva. “We have not received any data or specific evidence from the US government relating to the purported origin of the virus.”

He said WHO would be “very willing” to receive any such information the US has.

The comments come as the Trump administration has denounced both China and the UN health agency for alleged missteps in handling the outbreak that first emerged in the

city of Wuhan and has now infected millions and killed at least 239,000 people. Trump on Friday said WHO was “like the public relations agency for China.”

Ryan reiterated that the evidence and advice that the UN health agency has received suggest that the novel coronavirus is of natural origin, even if Pompeo and Trump have alleged evidence they have seen suggests it could be from the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab.

“If that data and evidence is available, then it will be for the United States government to decide whether and when it can be shared,” Ryan said. “But it’s difficult for WHO to operate in an information vacuum in that specific regard.”

On Sunday, Pompeo told ABC’s “This Week” program that there was “a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan.”

Ryan and Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead on the WHO emergencies program, put their focus on the hunt for the animal host that is believed to have relayed the coronavirus from bats. Such a determination could help drive public health policies, like advising people to keep away from some types of wildlife or livestock.

They said Chinese scientists continued to work with the world against the pandemic, and suggested such collaboration remained crucial—and that efforts to “investigate” possible wrongdoing by Chinese officials could derail such scientific cooperation.

“We need to understand that we can learn from Chinese scientists, we can learn from each other, we can exchange knowledge and we can find the answers together,” Ryan said.

“If this is projected as aggressive investigation of wrongdoing, then

I believe that’s much more difficult to deal with. That’s a political issue.

That is not a science issue.”

“Science will find the answers,” he added. “The implications of those answers can be dealt with from a policy and political perspective.”

WHO heaped praise on China from early on in the outbreak.

On Jan. 30, moments before announcing that the coronavirus was a global health emergency, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said China was “setting a new standard for outbreak response.” He praised the speed with which China detected the outbreak, sequenced the genome and shared that information with WHO. He said its “commitment to transparency” was “beyond words.”

The joint team said at the time that it was not probing any allegations that China may have mishandled the outbreak. AP

A6 Wednesday, May 6, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

When the specter of famine is just a cough away

A

paradox of global hunger, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is that smallholder farmers in rural areas of developing countries are at risk of food insecurity themselves. The Covid-19 pandemic is magnifying this risk particularly since smallholder farmers, especially in far-flung areas, have a hard time accessing markets due to the restrictions to mobility. This is difficult for smallholder farmers, who are compelled to immediately sell their produce because they lack the requisite knowledge to add value to their crops, or due to the absence of a facility where they can store food.

In the Philippines, the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which remains in effect in the National Capital Region (NCR), is making it difficult for producers to deliver fresh produce to the nation’s major cities. Entering and leaving the region is made more challenging by the divergent regulations imposed by local governments where food-carrying trucks will pass. This happens despite the directive given by the national government to allow the unhampered movement of trucks and other vehicles delivering food.

While this phenomenon is not unique to the Philippines, it is problematic for the nation’s food producers, as the failure to deliver their crops would mean lost income. And income loss could mean hunger for smallholder farmers and their families, at a time when the nation needs them most to ensure food security. The pandemic has simply made it more challenging to source food and other essential items from other countries.

The national government has already taken steps to minimize the disruption to food production and help producers stay afloat, including classifying farmers and fishermen as frontliners, so they may be allowed to leave their homes. A cash assistance of P5,000 was also given to planters and fishermen affected by the ECQ. To encourage them to increase their output, the government is offering planters and fishermen a zero-interest loan of P15,000.

The government can take a cue from FAO if it wants to prop up the income of farmers. FAO had recommended the purchase of agricultural products from poor farmers to establish strategic emergency reserves for humanitarian purposes. This is sound advice considering the possibility that the lifting of the ECQ will not necessarily mean that everything will go back to the pre-Covid-19 days, when food was more accessible to city residents.

Local experts are in agreement that the agriculture sector will play a crucial role in rebooting the economy following the ECQ, which has paralyzed a number of economic sectors. This is why it is imperative for the government to continue delivering the support needed by farmers to feed themselves and the nation. FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero Cullen said poor farmers must be given temporary cash handouts as well as grants to restart production. Government should also continue injecting capital into the sector to prevent workers in small and medium-sized agribusinesses from losing their jobs.

After the pandemic, Manila should rethink its food security strategies and agricultural policies because “business as usual” will only spell doom for smallholder farmers and the entire country. Policy-makers must look beyond exigencies and think of the future, when pandemics and climate change would increase competition for food and the specter of famine is just a cough away.

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SSS membership, an added layer of protection for OFWs Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

I

have come across several Facebook posts, which I want to share with you to give you a clear picture of what our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are experiencing amid this global pandemic.

One post said: “Ang laki ng tulong ng mga OFWs sa Pilipinas, pero sa panahon ng Covid-19, ang pamilya ng OFWs ay hindi kasama sa financial assistance.” Another one shared: “Magulang sa Pilipinas: Hindi qualified sa assistance dahil ang anak ay nasa abroad. Anak sa abroad: Apektado ng lockdown at no work, no pay din.”

This is the sad reality among our OFWs today. While some of them continue to receive income for working in what are considered “essential industries,” some have lost their jobs and are already seeking help to survive. The thought of their families in the Philippines receiving little to no financial assistance at all because of the belief that they are well-off since a family member is working abroad, adds emotional toll to the financial battle that they are already experiencing.

Based on reports by Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), a total of 89,436 OFWs were already affected by the Covid-19 crisis. These

OFWs were either displaced or on a no-work-no-pay status due to lockdowns and slowdown of operations of businesses in host countries.

More and more OFWs continue to be repatriated because of job losses, while some preferred to stay in their host countries, with high hopes that things would get back to normal soon. According to data from the Department of Labor and Employment, some 21,000 sea-based and 15,000 land-based OFWs have already been repatriated as of April 24 due to the effects of the global health crisis.

The situation we are currently experiencing teaches us a lot of lessons, particularly on the importance of saving. Several months ago, who would have thought that we would experience this global pandemic?

Nobody saw it coming. But if saving were a habit each of us had developed over the years, even with the smallest amount possible, enduring this pandemic would have been, at least, bearable.

This is what the Social Security System always emphasizes during our info coverage drives. Saving for the future is an investment and not an expense. Your SSS membership is your investment that you can rely on during emergencies, such as this pandemic. If you are an actively paying OFW member, you may be qualified to avail yourself of the programs that the SSS has implemented since the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) took effect in mid-March.

One of these is the Calamity Loan Assistance Program. An actively paying OFW with at least 36 months contributions, six of which are posted within the 12-month period before the month of filing of application, with registered address in the Philippines, has not been granted any final benefit and with no existing loan under the Loan Restructuring Program (LRP) or previous Calamity Loan, may apply for CLAP that is equivalent to the member’s one Monthly Salary Credit or the amount applied for, whichever is lower. We shall open the CLAP for online applications in the coming weeks. However, OFW members are required to register via My.SSS Facility to qualify for the online applications.

OFWs who lost their jobs due to the pandemic may also apply for Unemployment Benefit, and if qualified, they can get cash assistance equivalent to 50 percent of their monthly salary credit, which they will receive for two consecutive

months. However, application to this benefit may have to wait until the ECQ is lifted since the computer program for online application is still under process.

OFWs with existing Salary, Calamity, or Emergency Loan, Restructured Loan under the LRP and Educational Assistance Loan are also granted a three-month moratorium from February to April 2020, subject to other qualifying conditions.

The national government, on the other hand, has also extended help to our OFWs through the Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong Program, wherein OFWs who lost their jobs due to the pandemic will receive financial assistance amounting to P10,000.

Times may be hard for everyone at the moment, but rest in the thought that this, too, shall pass.

We shall overcome this crisis soon, and when it happens, let us take the necessary steps to prepare ourselves for the coming “new normal.”

We encourage everyone, especially our OFWs, to add another layer of protection for themselves by applying for SSS membership.

Decide to choose an investment that will become more meaningful as it grows. Opt for an investment that will not only benefit you and your family, but your country as well.

Stay safe, mga kababayan!

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

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

Dealing with pandemic debt will mean breaking some taboos

By Vince Cable | Bloomberg Opinion

D

efeating the coronavirus could result in public debt approaching that of the two world wars and certainly comparable to the financial crisis. At the same time, the traditional routes out of that debt hole are closed off. A different strategy is required now.

The robust economic growth that powered the Western world after World War II is now highly unlikely.

But battered societies won’t tolerate the austerity measures they accepted after the financial crisis, despite protests to the contrary from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank that new measures don’t amount to debt monetization. And yet today’s crisis calls for questioning old taboos.

The UK government’s present rescue measures involve subsidies for employment, financial support for the unemployed and self-employed, and loan guarantees and other funds for business. By mid-April, various government pledges amounted to 6 percent of gross domestic product, while the US package was already

around 9 percent of GDP. The cost to governments could far exceed these figures depending on how long the pandemic rescue lasts, how many of the guarantees are called upon because of defaults, how much revenue is lost from recession and the scale of any necessary further government assistance.

Even when shops, restaurants, offices and factories are allowed to reopen and hire staff, business will be slow as apprehension about social mixing and fears for the future diminish consumer demand.

Continued support—buttressed by government debt—will be needed for the unemployed and to keep ailing firms going. We may also need a big injection of demand like that provided by the 2009, coordinated,

fiscal expansion and later the Chinese investment boom.

Meanwhile, those companies that survive the lockdown will be loaded with debt and will want to improve their balance sheets rather than invest. This could lead to what has been called a balance-sheet recession—a phenomenon first recognized in Japan, which seemed to be trapped in an endless process of stagnation and deflation as a result of corporate debt accumulated in the financial crisis of 1989 to 1990.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sought to break out of the cycle by using highly expansionary fiscal and monetary policy. That combination—now referred to as Abenomics—could yet be called upon in Western countries as other means of escape prove elusive. Postwar debt— rising to 250 percent of GDP for the UK following World War II—ceased to be an issue because strong economic growth brought down the debt-toGDP ratio. Global conditions make a comparable growth spurt unlikely.

Japan’s high debt-to-GDP ratio (234 percent) is sustainable in part

because the borrowings are financed primarily by patriotic domestic savers. But public debt in the West is now largely financed by market borrowing and depends on the “kindness of strangers.”

The attention of these strangers will inevitably be drawn to countries with levels of debt that are already high and could soon seem unsustainable, even with the cost of borrowing at an all-time low. Not all countries are in the same position. The US can borrow in its own currency from creditors, the most important of which, China, has a strong self-interest in maintaining the value of the dollar. And the UK, with debt at 86 percent of GDP, is in a slightly stronger position than members of the euro zone because it can, if necessary, let its currency devalue. Greece already has a debt ratio of 188 percent, while Italy is at 133 percent, France 99 percent and Spain 96 percent.

Japan pioneered quantitative easing, even before Abe, with largescale purchases of government See “Cable,” A7

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Dumb conspiracy theories aren’t the only 5G headwinds

By Alex Webb | Bloomberg Opinion

D

O you remember 5G? Before the coronavirus consumed all of our attention, the fifth-generation mobile networks were supposed to be the panacea for lagging economies, telecoms firms, keeping pace with China, autonomous cars, smart factories and plenty more besides.

Overhyped? Maybe. But 5G will still be an economic boon. And perhaps inevitably, Covid-19 has collided with the rollout of the new technology, which ultimately depends on four ingredients: popular acceptance and adoption; the ability to install the equipment; access to capital; and the availability of spectrum—the radio frequencies used to transmit the signal that will allow vast gobs of data to be transmitted at lightning speeds.

For now, telecoms companies insist the pandemic will only delay the rollout by several months. That may be optimistic. Problems with any one of the four factors above could throw things off course, and the current environment has elevated that likelihood. Given their role in dividing up the spectrum and auctioning it, governments have a particular responsibility to ensure they don’t hold up the process any more than is necessary.

Much has been made of the conspiracy theories falsely suggesting 5G contributed to, or even caused, the virus’s spread. They prompted the gloriously terse response from the UK’s telecommunications regulator Ofcom: “This is wrong. There is no scientific basis or credible evidence for these claims.”

The falsehoods may still permeate public opinion. Research suggests that even if people don’t believe conspiracy theories per se, they can nonetheless influence their views. So an underlying fear, however unwarranted, could persist that 5G is somehow detrimental to one’s health. That could perpetuate popular opposition to the necessary proliferation of new antennas.

The virus has already disrupted the global supply chain, making it harder to source gear from China in particular. Telecoms equipment maker Nokia Oyj said that such interruptions shaved 200 million euros ($218 million) from revenue in the first quarter, and they continue to be a risk. Lockdowns are also making it harder to install that equipment.

Orange SA Chief Financial Officer Ramon Fernandez said last week that fiber deployment—whose wires connect not just homes but the antennas—will be delayed by the virus.

Telecoms operators are changing how they spend their money, too. The surge in people working from home has put huge pressure on their existing setup. That means operators

Cable. . .

continued from A6

bonds by the central bank with the aim of driving down bond yields.

The Japanese central bank finances government deficits directly by buying up new debt, with no expectation that it will be repaid. Japan’s strong overall economic performance and dedicated armies of savers mean this unorthodox system works. But will it travel?

Some fear that the use of QE by the ECB in particular, but also by other central banks, already amounts to monetization since they suspect that the QE will never be reversed by the sale of bonds back into the market. Although this deliberate blurring of the line between monetary and fiscal policy isn’t to be taken lightly, the two traditional arguments against monetization— that it will lead to hyperinflation and that it raises the risk of “moral hazard”—no longer seem relevant to today’s monetary environment.

Japan (and now other countries) is

Economists generally classify networks as “productive” government investments, because they contribute positively to long-term economic output. It would be better for states to foster their new 5G networks by not overcharging for them. Otherwise they risk ceding more ground to China in the race for adoption. have to reallocate capital in the short term toward making sure their fixed networks are reliable, rather than working to upgrade and install everything that’s needed for the next generation of mobile services.

Even with all that, Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri told me that he expects the delay will probably only be a “couple of months,” echoing comments from his peer at rival Ericsson AB, Borje Ekholm. Perhaps the biggest risk to a fast rollout is the availability of spectrum, which is where governments come in. They dedicate a particular tranche of frequencies to 5G and then auction it off. A slew of those sales have been put on the back burner by the pandemic. While Germany and Italy have all but finished theirs, other countries, including France, the UK and Spain, are unlikely to auction frequencies until later this year.

With national budgets stretched by efforts to counter the impact of the virus, there will be a temptation to milk those auctions for all they’re worth. That could create a pinch on companies’ finances that makes rolling out the new networks even harder. Italy managed to squeeze 6.2 billion euros out of its telecoms firms back in 2018; Germany wrung 6.6 billion euros from Deutsche Telekom AG, Vodafone Group Plc., Telefonica Deutschland AG and 1&1 Drillisch AG. Economists generally classify networks as “productive” government investments, because they contribute positively to long-term economic output. It would be better for states to foster their new 5G networks by not overcharging for them. Otherwise they risk ceding more ground to China in the race for adoption. In return for more generous auction terms, it would be fair for governments to request an accelerated rollout.

The virus is already wreaking havoc on vast tracts of the economy. Best not to let it damage any more growth. more worried about deflation than inflation. And moral hazard is more easily navigated in a crisis, since electorates can tell the difference between the world finding its way out of a global rut, and individual governments which are just repeatedly careless with money.

The BOE and ECB governors continue to insist that monetization of debt even in today’s circumstances would be a breach of monetary orthodoxy and a dangerous precedent.

Yet for different reasons both may have little choice but to follow Japan’s example.

The euro zone is in a particularly weak position, as it shoulders the burden of some already vulnerable economies and lacks a binding federal government to make fiscal union work alongside monetary union. It is difficult to imagine that its weaker economies will now submit to the euro zone disciplines imposed on Greece, while remaining under democratic government. Patience has worn thin across Europe, with populist movements winning significant electoral support.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020 A7

A data-driven revolution for a better future

By Titon Mitra

I

n a matter of months, over 3 million people have been infected, hundreds of thousands have died, health systems have been overwhelmed, economies decimated, and the social fabric of countries stretched to the point of tearing. But this crisis also presents an unprecedented choice for development—a return to business as usual or a fundamentally alternative future?

The response to this pandemic is arguably the most digitally enabled in history, with innovations supporting disease surveillance, providing information to citizenry, enabling teleworking, facilitating online collaboration and learning, and making social relief payments at immense scale possible. Financial resources are being made available in volumes that dwarf the response to the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008.

Lockdowns have taken vehicles off the streets, allowed people to work from home and at the same time care for families, and given people a glimpse of mountains and blue skies they have never been able to see through persistent smog. Some leaders are talking more enthusiastically about planetary health and social well-being as an equal, if not greater, measure of national success than GDP. Covid-19 is leading to unprecedented speed and global

collaboration in vaccine and antibody development. Within the span of the last 90 days, nearly 1,700 economic policy announcements on Covid-19 have been made by governments and institutions to ameliorate the worst of the impacts.

Perhaps like no time before we are seeing experimentation at scale and speed. But what works? What are the opportunity costs? What are the differentiated impacts across income groups, the marginalized, the vulnerable, and across different geographic areas? Where do you invest your financial resources—knowing that for each debt dollar spent will be for future generations to repay—to obtain the highest returns measured by planetary health and social wellbeing as much as growth in GDP? When do you ease lockdowns? Certainly in the Philippines, and likely in most developing countries, existing approaches for monitoring

Covid-19, for all its deleterious effects, can provide the stimulus for data collaborations to chart the way forward to the “new normal.”

Now is the time to bring together government, industry, social media, nonprofits, data scientists and researchers (national and international) under a common platform to collect (and with due regard to data privacy and civil rights), ingest, synthesize, visualize, and analyze, with the aid of artificial intelligence and predictive software, a wide array of data and translate these into evidence-based policies and programs.

impact and efficacy are piecemeal and certainly not at the scale and granularity required to enable wellinformed systemic change. It does not have to be this way. There is an immense amount of administrative and high frequency data available that can be used. There are also honed methods for scraping this data and mature frameworks for structuring it in meaningful ways. We need to converge these frameworks, data streams, data standards, to make

better sense and guide an effective response and shape our desired future.

Covid-19, for all its deleterious effects, can provide the stimulus for data collaborations to chart the way forward to the “new normal.” Now is the time to bring together government, industry, social media, nonprofits, data scientists and researchers (national and international) under a common platform to collect (and with due regard to data privacy and civil rights), ingest, synthesize, visualize, and analyze, with the aid of artificial intelligence and predictive software, a wide array of data and translate these into evidence-based policies and programs.

Covid-19 is showing us that revolutionary change is possible. We are seeing a tsunami of innovation engulfing us. The sheer magnitude of the crisis is also providing us with the impetus for reflection on the future we need.

Data collaborations, enabled by technology can help us accelerate toward a dramatically different, equitable, and sustainable world. If there is indeed a “Covid-19 Dividend,” it is perhaps the opportunity for a data driven revolution for a better future.

Titon Mitra is the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in the Philippines.

Let’s make a deal with our robot overlords

By Cathy O’Neil | Bloomberg Opinion

I

F you worry that robots will render human workers obsolete, the coronavirus pandemic offers ample reason to worry more: Surely companies will take the opportunity to replace demanding, imperfect people with machines or artificial intelligence wherever possible.

That said, I’m hoping the crisis will also create an opportunity to negotiate better terms with our algorithmic overlords.

The pandemic has made me reconsider the sanctity of work. Just look at the situation at America’s meat processing plants, where hundreds of mostly immigrant workers are getting sick. Workers have been brutally divided into two classes: those whose employers protect them from the virus, and those who lose their jobs or their unemployment insurance if they refuse to labor under dangerous conditions.

If certain businesses—say, the next generation of meat plants— can’t reopen safely and profitably with humans, they can and should do so with robots. Some jobs just aren’t good enough to protect. Until now, among the biggest obstacles

was the transition cost of going from badly paid humans to machines. But if companies disrupt their workflow by actually shutting down production to save lives (as they should), then they will have paid much of the cost. They can train the robots using data gleaned by thoroughly surveilling some model workers.

It’s not just meat packing plants.

Robots run by algorithms will do a lot of jobs, replacing the human workers who in many cases will have trained them. People will probably welcome the brave new world, particularly if it’s more hygienic. They’ll buy their groceries by simply taking them and leaving the store (now available from Amazon), they’ll let robots vacuum their floors (already quite popular) and deliver their purchases (not quite yet). I confess I’d prefer a self-

cleaning, self-driving car so I don’t have to share space with a human driver, for both our sakes.

Accepting such a transformation, however, means subjecting ourselves to the companies that make the algorithms, such as Amazon and Google? They will essentially hold all the data, control the supply chain, and have more direct power over our consumer and even political behavior than ever before. And a lot of people seem to be OK with that: Surveys suggest that they trust the tech companies more than the federal government.

The question, then, is what will happen to the enormous jobless underclass that such an accelerated shift to automation will create. This is where I think the sheer magnitude of the coronavirus crisis might actually help, for three reasons.

First, when so many people are suddenly and violently thrown out of work at the same time, it creates a sense of solidarity that a slow, insidious process such as offshoring does not.

Second, the jobless are not perceived, and do not perceive themselves, as at fault for their

predicament. This is a natural disaster, beyond their control. They will be more likely to claim a political voice, because they will feel entitled to one.

Third, and perhaps most important, real change will look newly possible in light of the unprecedented measures the government has already taken to combat the crisis.

Congress conjured trillions of dollars to bail out mostly businesses, which means it could do the same for people.

Granted, that’s not what happened in the 2008 financial crisis, when the government primarily rescued the banks—but that experience could also be invoked to demand a better deal this time around.

So this crisis brings with it an opening for collective action. How it will work remains to be seen. Pitchforks aren’t effective against socialmedia algorithms, and Amazon might not care if some large fraction of the population can’t buy its stuff, as long as the rest keeps buying more.

But if the winners of the AI revolution want to avoid the business disruption of an actual revolution, they should be prepared to negotiate a new and very different deal.

Video meetings can be superior meetings

By Sarah Green Carmichael Bloomberg Opinion

T

he inevitable video-call backlash is well under way. Videoconferencing is exhausting, people complain. Our brains have to work harder than they do in face-to-face interactions. And so we give each other advice on how to combat Zoom fatigue and speculate whether it’s worse for extroverts.

However, some people have been having the opposite experience.

Since they got the hang of video software, they’ve found virtual meetings to be better than expected—maybe even an upgrade over the in-office variety.

One big reason they’re having such a fine time is that, for many organizations, remote working has meant a decline in the total number of meetings, says John Hollenbeck, a professor at the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. We don’t go to the trouble to set up video meetings unless there’s something important to discuss, and that’s revealed how many of our inperson meetings weren’t essential.

The meetings we have now tend to be higher quality.

Virtual meetings also often have fewer attendees. “You may think harder about who needs to be there, and who doesn’t,” says Hollenbeck.

It’s also possible that people who

don’t feel they have something valuable to contribute find it easier to skip a meeting that’s not in person.

After all, if meetings are recorded, they can always catch up on what was said later on.

Video meetings are more likely to start on time; there’s no wandering around the building to find the right room. Nor do you have to lurk outside said room, shooting impatient glances at the people running overtime.

There’s less chit-chat. You’re more likely to get down to business right away, and if you run out of things to talk about, the video meeting ends early. No one feels pressured to use the full block of time.

Meeting organizers, perhaps aware of how awkward they look staring silently into the camera, take more responsibility for providing a clear agenda. Attendees’ roles may be clearer, too, whether they’re speaking or listening.

Video meetings also create a level playing field. In the old days, it wasn’t uncommon to have hybrid meetings—with some people sitting together in a conference room, and remote colleagues dialing in—which often felt unbalanced.

Video meetings also create a level playing field. In the old days, it wasn’t uncommon to have hybrid meetings—with some people sitting together in a conference room, and remote colleagues dialing in—which often felt unbalanced. Remote colleagues either couldn’t get a word in, or they got the floor and droned on too long. When everyone’s dialed in, everyone’s on Hollywood Squares, and everyone’s equal.

This may subtly deter meeting dominators from filibustering, says Hollenbeck. We’re more selfconscious when we’re on camera, so super-talkers may be more aware of how long they speak.

Some things that can make video calls tiring—looking at so many faces at once, being distracted by the tiny image of yourself in the corner of your screen—might also stop you from blathering. The result is that quieter people finally get a chance to speak.

But say this doesn’t sound like your experience at all. Say you’re living in a video meeting hellscape.

There’s little point in blaming the technology; in our current environment, you’re stuck with it. Instead, reconsider meeting frequency, size and structure.

Are colleagues still calling too many meetings? “Any organization that creates eight hours of Zoom meetings has really got that balance wrong,” Hollenbeck says. Collaboration can be a good thing, but people also need time to concentrate.

Are meeting organizers inviting too many people? It’s a natural impulse for anyone who’s ever forgotten to invite someone important, or had to deal with a slighted colleague.

It doesn’t help that virtual meetings aren’t restricted by the size of the conference table. But anyone who invites more than six people to a meeting should make it clear who is expected to attend, who will have a speaking role, and whose participation is optional.

If too much socializing is pulling your meetings off-track—hey, we’re all a little lonely right now— schedule a purely social call with colleagues for shooting the breeze.

Just let them know that anyone suffering from Zoom fatigue is free to opt out.

A8 Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Stimulus bill’s fate tackled next week

S

EN. Sher w in Gatcha lian said Monday the Senate can only deliberate on a possible stimulus bill—or even a sequel to the “Bayanihan” law by way of a supplemental budget—by next week when the Covid-19 situation becomes clearer, or just before the end of the third extended quarantine. “ We a re s t i l l mo n it or i n g t he re por t of t he P reside nt [Duterte]; yesterday we received the sixth report,” said Gatchalian, referring to the Palace updates on the Covid-19 contagion, which the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act requires the President to submit to Congress during the national emergency.

The first Bayanihan law gave the President spending authority to deal with the public health emergency by authorizing the realignment of at least P250 billion in the 2020 budget.

Lawmakers, however, are this early also crafting a possible stimulus bill—initially estimated to range from between P500 billion and a trillion pesos—to help reboot the economy and support businesses gouged by the lockdowns forced by the pandemic.

Continued on A4

GOCCs remit ₧129B to govt to boost anti-Covid response S

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

TATE-OWNED and -controlled corporations have so far remitted a total of P129.45 billion as of April 27 to the Bureau of the Treasury to sustain government’s coffers as it cushions the economic and financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Of the total amount, the Department of Finance said on Tuesday P91.62 billion was remitted following the effectivity of Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act on March 24 to April 29. This was also the largest sum ever collected from government-owned and

-controlled corporations in a span of only five weeks, according to Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tionko, head of the department’s Corporate Affairs Group.

Prior to the effectivity of the Bayanihan law, GOCCs had remitted P37.83 billion to the Treasury from January 1 to March 23.

On top of P121.75-billion cash dividends remitted by GOCCs under the GOCC Dividend Law or Republic Act 7656, the remittances also included unutilized subsidies and payment of guarantee fees and national government advances.

Under GOCC Dividend law, GOCCs are required to declare and remit at least half of their annual net earnings as cash, stock or property dividends to the national government to help meet its financial needs.

Topping the list of GOCCs with the highest dividend contributions was Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) which remitted P37.48 billion. It was followed by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) with P17.9 billion, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pag-

cor) and Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) with P12 billion each.

With respective remittances of P6 billion each, GOCCs under the Department of Transportation came next, particularly the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap).

They were followed by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) which handed P5.05 billion.

The Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) remitted P5 billion; National Power Corp. (NPC), P4 billion; Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), P3.8 billion; Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), P2.69 billion; Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), P2.27 billion; PNOC

Exploration Corp., P2 billion; and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), P2 billion.

Other GOCCs that remitted to the BTr include the National Electrification Administration (NEA), P1.55 billion; Metropolitan Waterworks & Sewerage System (MWSS), P1.43 billion; Clark Development Corp. (CDC), P1.13 billion; Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), P1 billion and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), P1 billion.

The Philippine Sugar Corp. (Philsucor) remitted P875 million; Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), P659.55 million; National Housing Authority (NHA), P513.24 million; Cebu Port Authority (CPA), P500 million; and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), P500 million, among others.

Neda chief: Good chance of V-shaped recovery in 3rd qtr

By Cai U. Ordinario

T

@caiordinario

HE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the country

has a good chance of seeing a “Vshaped” economic recovery in the third quarter of the year.

In a TV interview on Tuesday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said given the

efforts exerted by the government, economic recovery could be felt by July or August, as some economists had projected.

Chua had explained that a “Vshaped” economy recovery is characterized by a sharp decline in growth, followed by a sharp recovery.

Imposing the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ), according to Chua, was a step in the right direction as this allowed the government to buy time and boost the health=care system’s capacity to fight coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). “[These investments are] significantly helping in the heath outcomes instead of 100,000 deaths, the deaths are very limited. Our hospitals are not very overcrowded, you don’t see people and sick people in the street, lining up, or dying,” Chua said.

“So we are taking a very proactive stance today by ensuring we have our fiscal and monetary policy in sync and ready to support the economy,” he added.

Part of these efforts, Chua said, is increasing testing to 10,000 daily instead of only 8,000. However, the initial target of 8,000 has not yet been met as testing has only reached 6,000 to date.

Nonetheless, Chua said the recent investments of the government, such as the social amelioration program and improvements in health=care system, will go a long way in ensuring economic growth.

Assisting specific industries, such as construction and tourism, will also help ensure that they will continue to operate and allow workers to keep their jobs.

Government assistance to affected industries include extending credit guarantees to firms and direct subsidies to workers and the P51-billion wage subsidy, according to Chua.

The Neda chief also said government may consider tweaking provisions in the tax reform packages, such as those involving incentives, to enable firms to recover from the pandemic.

For instance, the proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (Citira) calls for time-bound incentives.

T hese, howe ver, wou ld t a ke around seven year before they are set to expire.

“I think we can chart our trajectory, we will do this on a day-today basis because we will have to be adaptive to do it in a paced approach,” Chua said. “There’s a good chance and we will use our policies today and proactively chart it.”

Chua also said the economy will benefit from efforts to restart the “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program, but this is contingent on maintaining minimum health standards in construction sites.

The Neda chief said the government is open to increasing private-sector participation in these infrastructure projects to ensure enough fiscal space to re-

boot the economy.

The government, he said, is carefully weighing its options in raising public funds to finance recovery efforts. The government can raise money via taxes and borrowings.

Chua said government understands that when it borrows money, it is practically “asking our grandchildren to pay for this.”

P1.1-trillion loss

EARLIER, Chua said the Philippine economy may lose around P1.1 trillion due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chua told reporters this estimate assumes that GDP growth will be zero this year. He also took into consideration the revised and rebased estimates for GDP released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) which pegged GDP at around P18.6 trillion in 2019.

Optimism on the country’s GDP growth numbers have been running low and Chua said it would not be a surprise if GDP growth in the first quarter will be disappointing.

Chua said the economy was hit hard by three exogenous factors in the first three months of the year and this may have undermined growth prospects.

These factors are the Taal Vtolcano eruption; the decline in Chinese tourist arrivals and trade which also affected the local tourism industry and trade sector; and the implementation of the ECQ. The PSA is set to release the official first quarter GDP growth estimates on May 7.

More businesses see recession—global poll

F

IRMS from around the world expect the world economy to be in recession for the whole of this year, as business pessimism rises on concerns of extended lockdowns and a possible second wave of infections, according to an Oxford survey.

The Oxford Economics Global Risk Survey for the second quarter reported a surge in business concerns on short-term risks to the global economy. At least 73 percent of firms worldwide are projecting either a slight or heavy downturn in global growth brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, which compelled many states to impose movement restrictions.

This figure is higher than the 49 percent of firms in the first quarter who judged that the world economy is in for a bloodbath this year.

Further, the Oxford survey

showed that firms now anticipate the global economy to post negative this year, attaching an average of 88 percent probability to this outcome. Worse, they put an average of 70 percent probability to global growth in 2020 going below the negative 1.1 percent seen in 2009, even forecasting it to be negative 2.9 percent.

As much as firms expect some rebound in activity next year, they expect the world economy to expand by just 2.9 percent on average, less than half the rate envisaged in the Oxford Economics baseline forecast.

According to the survey, 39 percent of firms are preparing for a recession that will last for three quarters at the minimum.

However, 31 percent argued that it will linger longer than that, and 15 percent even said it will go on

for until next year.

“Over two thirds—70 percent— of businesses expect the global recession, defined as quarterly declines in world GDP per capita, to last longer than our baseline view of two quarters,” Oxford explained in its survey.

On risks, four in every five respondents of the survey said they are most concerned about the possibility of a renewed wave of infections once restrictions are eased. At the same time, they are cautious about the economic impact of prolonging the lockdowns.

Likewise, roughly 17 percent of firms worry about a financial crisis that will be triggered by the ongoing recession, although just a few are concerned about inflation shooting through the roof once the global economy begins its recovery.

Elijah Felice Rosales

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

B1

Ayala, MVP vow to keep helping Work on LRT 1 fight virus as Duterte says sorry Cavite Extension

C

By VG Cabuag & Lorenz Marasigan

@villygc @lorenzmarasigan

ONGLOMERATES led by the Ayala family and the firms led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan said on Tuesday they will cooperate with the government in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, hours after President Duterte struck a conciliatory tone with them in a public address before midnight.

(MPIC) and telco titan PLDT Inc., both of which had seen its subsidiaries and affiliates as hot topics in Duterte’s previous speaking engagements.

Pangilinan added: “I wish to assure him that our group is fully committed to being a partner of government in addressing the heartbreaking moments of Covid 19 on our people, in building a better tomorrow for them. We are, and have always been here, for the country.”

The two conglomerates had been at the other end of Duterte’s harsh words a few months ago, as he bristled over reports that an international arbitration panel ruled in favor of the Ayalas’ Manila Water, concessionaire of the East Zone. The MVP Group’s Maynilad Water Services Inc., which handles the West Zone, earlier won another arbitral award. The two awards ordered the government to pay the two firms a total P10.8 billion.

In one of his rants, Duterte threatened to have their top executives jailed.

Both water firms subsequently decided to waive their combined P10.8-billion claims from the government that they won in an international tribunal court in Singapore.

Before the second arbitral award angered him, the two utility firms got the ire of the President when a water crisis struck mostly the Manila Water area in 2019, prompting

Duterte to order the scuttling of their contracts by late 2019, sending their stock prices to plummet.

In February 2020, Ayala allowed the group of Enrique K. Razon Jr. to own a quarter of Manila Water and also gave the billionaire majority voting rights.

‘Covid humbled me’

In an edited video recorded speech aired late Monday, Duterte apologized for his hurting words against both businessmen and acknowledged their quick response to the pandemic. “I am ready to talk and I will be reasonable. And for the hurting words to the Ayalas and the Pangilinan, I apologize,” Duterte said.

“Covid humbled me. With the kind of response you gave and showed to the public, it is a humbling experience and also for me. You know, I might still need them one day,” Duterte said.

Since day one of the lockdowns, various companies under Pangilinan’s leadership have been helping the country fight Covid-19.

For instance, MPIC provided personal protective equipment (PPEs) such as nitrile gloves, goggles, and coveralls, as well as boxes of vitamins to the various hospitals and healthcare facilities in the country. PLDT, Meralco, MPTC, and Maynilad have also extended food packs and other medical gears to those who were severely hit by the virus.

“We are grateful for President Duterte’s statement at the briefing last night [Monday]. We have always believed in building a strong partnership between the private and public sectors in addressing our country’s problems and in investing in the country to create jobs and improve the lives of Filipinos. We appreciate the recognition of the Ayala Group’s efforts in supporting the administration as it faces the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic,” a joint statement of Jaime Augusto Zobel and brother Fernando said.

“We are committed to help the President tackle the many challenges he has to deal with and are

confident that by working together, our country can overcome each challenge, save lives and gradually put the country back on a path of growth,” they said.

First Pacific Co. Ltd. Managing Director Pangilinan also thanked Duterte for his apology, noting that the entire group will continue on with its efforts to help the whole country fight Covid-19.

“I would like to thank the President for his remarks tonight, most especially for his sincerity and kindness,” he said.

First Pacific is the holding company of infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

Caloocan students to get aid via PayMaya

Suntrust, Westside City forge O&M deal

F

inancial technology (fintech) player PayMaya will handle the disbursement of financial aid worth some P14 million to the students of the University of Caloocan City.

Caloocan City Mayor Oscar Malapitan said roughly 14,000 students will benefit from this program, which intends to help the students cope with the lockdowns.

He added that using digital finance is safer and faster versus traditional cash aid processes. “Many of these students belong in households whose parents have temporarily lost their livelihood due to the quarantine, so every bit of assistance helps. By partnering with PayMaya, we are able to provide this cash aid quickly and safely to all our beneficiaries,” he said.

Through PayMaya’s digital voucher system, the beneficiaries will receive a text message informing them that have received cash assistance from the City of Caloocan. They have to click on the claim button and will receive the funds through their PayMaya accounts.

Students may cash the money out through the 800 Smart Padala centers in Caloocan or the “several hundreds more in adjacent cities.” They may also opt to use their PayMaya wallets to pay bills, buy load, send money, or buy supplies.

“Cities like Caloocan are already realizing the immense benefits of mobile wallets in providing assistance to their citizens at this time where it is needed the most. Because it is easy to open a PayMaya account using only a mobile phone and there are Smart Padala agents in every neighborhood, national government agencies and local government units can conveniently and safely provide assistance through these e-money channels,” said PayMaya Founder and CEO Orlando Vea. He added that distributing financial aid through mobile wallets is a “safer, more convenient, and more efficient means for local governments since the recipients” as it removes the need for queuing at claim areas, keeping with the social distancing protocols demanded by the coronavirus disease 2019 situation.

“Digital wallets also help make the process more transparent since every disbursement comes with a transaction log, ensuring that the funds go to their intended recipients,” Vea added.

Due to limitations on people’s movement and activities during lockdowns, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recently highlighted the need to push for the “shifting of consumer behavior towards e-payments.” Lorenz S. Marasigan

S

untrust Home Developers Inc., now majority-owned by Hong Kong's Suncity Group Holdings Ltd., has entered into an operation and management (O&M) agreement with Andrew Tan-led Westside City Resorts World Inc. In its disclosure, the company said Suntrust will operate and manage the Westside's main hotel casino, a five-star hotel and casino project to be developed at Manila Bayshore Integrated City in Parañaque.

“The O and M Agreement takes effect upon its execution on May 4, 2020, and has a term of until July 11, 2033, and shall be automatically extended or renewed, unless terminated earlier in accordance with the provisions of the O and M

agreement,” it said.

The said deal is part of the series of transactions that it signed October last year between Suntrust and Westside.

Westside, as co-licensee of Tan's Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., holds the the license issued by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. for the operation of at least $1 billion worth of integrated resort and casino. It may enter into any agreement or contract for the operation and management of the main hotel casino.

Suntrust is now 51 percent-owned

by Fortune Noble Ltd., a whollyowned subsidiary of Suncity Group.

Fortune acquired Suntrust shares in the open market during October

23 to 28 and by private sale with Tan’s Townsquare Development Inc. involving 200 million shares and with First Centro Inc. involving 100 million shares. It also subscribed to more than half of the 5 billion new shares issued by the company's increase in capital stock.

“Post the capital hike, Fortune Noble will continue to own and maintain its majority controlling interest in Suntrust, while Megaworld will have at least 34-percent stake,” Suntrust said in its previous statement.

Megaworld’s ownership is down from the previous 42.48 percent.

Tan's other firms hold less than 1 percent while the public owns the rest of the over 14 percent. VG Cabuag

‘LGUs need reliable Internet connection’

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

he Department of Information and Communications Technology’s (DICT) temporary procurement of the services of Internet service providers (ISPs) for local government units (LGUs) would improve connectivity especially in far-flung areas, civil society groups said on Tuesday.

Action for Economic Reform (AER) said this would help boost the Internet connection of LGUs. AER said stable and reliable Internet connection is needed now more than ever.

This was part of the recommendations made by AER and over 60 other organizations and 38 individuals to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

“We cannot succeed in our fight against Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] unless we address the issues surrounding the country’s Internet coverage and quality of service,” said AER. “As we establish the ‘new normal,’ pervasive, secure, and affordable Internet will be vital to keep everyone connected with their family, work, school, business, and the rest of the world,”

it added. AER said the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ) has exposed the “gaps in the country’s digital infrastructure.”

By using the ISPs, the government can provide Internet services using any type of technology to establishments such as hospitals, quarantine/isolation facilities, health centers, city/municipal halls, and barangay halls.

The groups said this can be done through an Executive Order allowing ISPs and value-added service providers to connect directly to international satellites for broadband connectivity, and mandates tower and passive infrastructure sharing.

“This must be implemented especially for the unserved and underserved areas in the country,” AER said.

AER coordinator Filomeno Sta. Ana III said the Internet is important for policy-makers and citizens because it can provide real-time information for decision-making to fight Covid-19, and allows people to work from home (WFH).

The Internet, Sta. Ana said, also allows citizens to use e-commerce platforms, avail of telehealth services, and communicate with friends and family, among other things.

“For both the government and the general public, access to the Internet means access to applications and technological solutions for mobile banking and digital payments, making social protection program transfers quick, costless, traceable, and transparent,” Sta. Ana said.

AER suggested that micro, small, and medium-sized ISPs, especially those that wish to rollout data networks in the underserved and unserved areas, must be provided with a loan facility.

The groups said the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) should be authorized to review and recommend revisions to the licensing and permitting requirements of LGUs and national government agencies that are delaying the deployment of Internet facilities, especially during an emergency.

The organizations also urged the government to focus on policy reforms that will sustainably promote the development and propagation of ICT infrastructure.

“This is the most opportune time for the government to legislate the proposed Open Access in Data Transmission Act, and work on amendments to the Public Telecoms Policy Act that are pending in Congress,” they said.

resumes–LRMC

L

ight R ail Manila Cor p.

(LRMC) has resumed limited works on the Cavite Extension of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1, after it received the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infections Diseases (IATF-EID) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

Enrico Benipayo, the company’s COO, said the two government agencies have agreed to allow the company to “carry on with select repair and infrastructure works while the enhanced community quarantine is still in place.”

He noted that scheduled test pit works, including bridge and pipe inspection, will start on Thursday and will last until May 22. This will necessitate the temporary closure of the innermost lane of the Cavitex-Parañaque bridge.

Benipayo added that design works, assembly works and select tasks at the precast yard area are also ongoing for the Cavite

extension.

“Rest assured that we are taking ever y opportunity during this time to come back better for Filipino commuters. We are taking great efforts to make sure our workers remain safe and healthy by following the proper guidelines and precautions set by the government,” he said.

LRMC has complied with the IATF’s health and safety measures, including the deployment of a skeleton work force, the provision of accommodations and shuttle services for employees, regular disinfection of surfaces, monitoring of personnel, and keeping with social distancing and proper hygiene protocols.

To recall, coronavirus disease 2019 has forced infrastructure companies to temporarily halt work due to the risk of spreading the virus. But the IATF recently announced that construction activities are necessary to economic growth, especially once the situation improves. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Solar energy firms eye modified work scheme

A

group of solar power providers are now focusing efforts to arrive at a “modified work arrangement” in preparation for the lifting of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance (PSSEA) Chairman Tetchi Capellan said solar energy companies are now preparing their employees on the needed adjustments that are expected to happen in the new normal workplace as they report for work soon. “ The social distancing discipline which forms the core of the [coronavirus disease 2019 or Covid-19] prevention, now preoccupies the mindset of most solar companies in an effort to protect workers and employees post-lockdown,” said Capellan.

In a survey done by the group, majority of its members prefer the work rotation and workfrom-home scheme until June in order to provide the needed space that effectively lessens employees’ contact during work period especially at lunch and coffee breaks.

Also, most solar companies plan to reconfigure their office spaces so that the recommended 2-meter distance from one another can be strictly implemented.

On top of this, all companies are committed to follow the government directive requiring employees to wear masks and face shields for protection from virus infection.

Some solar power firms wold

conduct conducting rapid testing among their employees fo free.

According to Karen Capellan, the business development manager and safety coordinator of SunAsia Energy, “the tests are intended for all employees and freeof-charge. It will be administered by a medical professional on Day One of the post-lockdown.”

The frequency of testing is still to be finalized, she added.

Miko de Vera of First Gen Corp. said the Covid-19 tests shall also be conducted to the families of company employees.

PSSEA’s technology partners in China, it said, have extended assistance to the country’s solar industry. It cited inverter manufacturer SunGrow which donated N95 masks.

Capellan said the industry appealed to the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to accelerate their virtual permitting and approval platform.

In a letter sent to the DOE and ERC, Capellan echoed the industry’s need to sustain productivity amidst the anticipated economic slowdown.

“This may be the perfect time to put up the online system and process applications without the need for face-to-face interaction.

Such system will effectively allow government and private sector to achieve its mutual interest of project completion of all energy infrastructure projects without risking public health,” Capellan said. Lenie Lectura

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

April 30, 2020

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

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

45.65 100 58.5 19.74 7.84 39.05 8.54 16.4 23.65 43.95 105.1 16.6 103.4 53.8 15.5 2.73 0.94 0.34 511 0.57 165.5

48.7 101 58.95 19.8 7.85 39.1 8.79 17.9 23.8 44 116 17.1 104.4 53.9 15.88 2.8 0.95 0.35 639 0.64 168.9

48.7 100.1 59 19.82 7.63 38.15 8.5 16.7 23.5 42.5 98 17 105.9 54.6 15.42 2.74 0.95 0.345 639 0.64 165

48.7 101 59.15 19.82 7.85 39.1 8.5 16.7 24 43.9 116.4 17.1 105.9 54.7 15.5 2.74 0.95 0.36 639 0.64 168.9

48.7 98.6 58.5 19.72 7.63 37.65 8.5 16.7 23.5 42.5 98 16.5 103.1 53.6 15.42 2.73 0.95 0.33 639 0.64 165

48.7 101 58.5 19.74 7.85 39.05 8.5 16.7 23.8 43.9 105.1 16.6 103.4 53.9 15.5 2.73 0.95 0.34 639 0.64 168.9

2000 2716910 2638530 87500 130300 7605700 10700 200 152900 14400 630 45200 306480 1900 3300 32000 4000 2030000 10 20000 1230

97400 271723034.5 155180668.5 1730350 1012808 291702180 90950 3340 3641100 621890 68596 758198 31830289 102510.5 51070 87480 3800 705100 6390 12800 207225

INDUSTRIAL

AC ENERGY ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO MANILA WATER PETRON PETROENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER AGRINURTURE AXELUM BOGO MEDELLIN CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT FRUITAS HLDG GINEBRA JOLLIBEE MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP PEPSI COLA SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH CONCRETE A CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP HOLCIM MEGAWIDE PHINMA TKC METALS VULCAN INDL CHEMPHIL CROWN ASIA EUROMED MABUHAY VINYL CONCEPCION GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS PANASONIC SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

2.29 0.93 27.4 0.171 18.82 57.35 254.4 10.64 3.18 2.38 11.5 18.46 7.89 8.38 2.96 74 13 14.3 3.63 5.29 7.9 58.95 0.55 1.43 32 143.1 6.5 6.6 1.9 6.74 1.67 4.35 1.38 0.116 125.8 0.85 58.85 60 1.11 8.17 5.37 11.22 6.55 8.52 0.83 0.72 162.1 1.74 2.79 3.53 23.75 1.29 5.91 1.17 3.87 1.22 9

2.3 0.98 27.6 0.179 19 57.7 258 10.68 3.19 2.45 11.58 18.5 7.98 8.43 2.97 86 13.46 14.32 3.72 5.5 7.91 59 0.56 1.44 32.35 143.2 6.65 6.61 1.91 6.78 1.68 4.49 1.45 0.118 125.9 0.86 60 65.3 1.12 8.21 5.38 11.5 6.6 8.88 0.85 0.73 180 1.79 2.8 3.66 24 1.3 5.92 1.19 4.93 1.23 9.03

2.32 0.93 27.4 0.18 18.54 57.15 264.2 10.9 3.2 2.44 11.16 18.4 7.88 8.24 3.02 87 11 14.5 3.74 5.56 7.9 59.05 0.55 1.47 32.4 148 6.15 6.75 1.91 6.96 1.64 4.4 1.42 0.118 122.2 0.86 60 62.95 1.13 8.16 5.44 11.2 6.64 8.5 0.86 0.74 180 1.75 2.86 3.6 26.5 1.34 5.85 1.2 4.3 1.26 8.9

2.33 0.93 27.85 0.18 19 58 266 11.04 3.22 2.47 11.8 18.68 7.98 8.6 3.06 87 13.48 14.56 3.74 5.56 7.94 61 0.56 1.49 32.4 149 6.65 6.9 1.91 6.99 1.69 4.49 1.42 0.118 126 0.86 60 68.65 1.14 8.22 5.44 11.5 6.71 8.88 0.88 0.74 180 1.75 2.9 3.6 26.5 1.34 5.92 1.2 4.3 1.29 9.15

2.26 0.92 27.2 0.171 18.44 57.15 254.4 10.64 3.15 2.38 11.14 18.32 7.88 8.21 2.93 87 11 14.3 3.61 5.29 7.86 58.95 0.54 1.43 31.05 143 6.15 6.4 1.9 6.71 1.61 4.35 1.42 0.109 122.2 0.83 55 62.95 1.11 8.05 5.3 11.2 6.5 8.5 0.85 0.71 180 1.74 2.75 3.6 24 1.28 5.78 1.17 3.81 1.2 8.5

2.3 0.92 27.4 0.179 19 57.35 254.4 10.64 3.19 2.45 11.58 18.5 7.98 8.43 2.96 87 13 14.3 3.74 5.29 7.9 59 0.56 1.44 32.35 143.1 6.5 6.61 1.91 6.78 1.68 4.49 1.42 0.118 125.9 0.86 60 68.65 1.11 8.17 5.37 11.5 6.55 8.88 0.85 0.73 180 1.74 2.79 3.6 24 1.3 5.91 1.19 4.3 1.22 9

3975000 7000 1605400 50000 740300 2610 344280 5678500 1492000 27000 273700 781500 36600 399300 1706000 40 3300 303300 11000 2187200 1029700 190540 239000 11703000 3400 1930300 9400 1791800 128000 1059900 1377000 14000 17000 790000 1907400 8018000 310 190 7190000 425800 1097900 578300 2090800 6300 241000 653000 270 97000 1312000 13000 15100 2872000 164700 8153000 8000 1954000 3424900

97400 -66787594 -77297244.5 -245344 -166215 -17403940 -1875255 48215 -126120 -15145613 -74404.5 -

9115840 6450 44168515 8720 13,945,306( 149994.5 89554478 60886890 4753920 64730 3132340 14,464,076( 290241 3359895 5070540 3480 41894 4348414 40670 11,754,598( 8134725 11261932.5 131610 16939190 107835 278959709 60910 11983088 244220 7287932 2294750 61490 24140 91180 238123566 6850010 18450 12017.5 8071170 3469706 5899528 6572410 13793373 54774 205230 473030 48600 169690 3675740 46800 364005 3742750 964713 9699600 32930 2410240 30548473

123450 -2326865 1,245,090.0004) -54428.5 -44672460 -49651592 1959210 4,781,031.9999) 188720 -206700 3435692 -3610 9,611,040.9996) -7900000 1284300 -86400 9600 -54518287 -8610 -442180 17170 2561828 57000 -51167917 91790 3777 -448740 -1435219 -361265 -2141880 -2793479 161950 -358955 92540 -12260 167592.9999

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.58 0.59 0.59 0.6 0.58 0.58 3232000 1892060 ASIABEST GROUP 7.7 7.8 7.8 7.98 7.63 7.7 26200 205503 AYALA CORP 582 582.5 582.5 586.5 580.5 582 342060 199386850 ABOITIZ EQUITY 41.5 41.95 41.5 43 41.5 41.5 1125100 47124850 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 6.4 6.46 6.36 6.5 6.28 6.46 5550300 35416203 AYALA LAND LOG 1.96 1.97 1.81 1.96 1.81 1.96 3448000 6542330 ANSCOR 5.97 6.1 6.09 6.1 5.97 6.1 2100 12730 0.53 0.55 0.54 0.54 0.54 0.54 1000 540 ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A 0.56 0.57 0.54 0.59 0.53 0.57 9738000 5486380 ATN HLDG B 0.56 0.6 0.55 0.61 0.55 0.56 116000 65530 COSCO CAPITAL 4.98 5.08 5 5.15 4.98 4.98 1742000 8770050 4.12 4.14 4.18 4.2 4.12 4.12 10548000 43669580 DMCI HLDG 8.59 8.6 8.6 8.6 8.26 8.6 10800 92512 FILINVEST DEV 453 453.8 464 469 447 453 173940 78917472 GT CAPITAL JG SUMMIT 50.85 50.9 51 51.8 50.8 50.9 3001690 153329129.5 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 4.51 6.24 6.24 6.24 6.24 6.24 1000 6240 LODESTAR 0.48 0.485 0.49 0.495 0.48 0.48 40000 19500 LOPEZ HLDG 2.61 2.62 2.67 2.68 2.62 2.62 4070000 10735930 LT GROUP 7.73 7.75 7.81 7.89 7.72 7.75 1309600 10149537 MABUHAY HLDG 0.49 0.54 0.475 0.54 0.475 0.54 220000 110250 METRO PAC INV 2.57 2.58 2.56 2.61 2.56 2.57 46462000 119755470 0.82 0.83 0.8 0.83 0.8 0.82 110000 88970 PRIME MEDIA SOLID GROUP 0.99 1.03 1.01 1.03 1 1.01 15000 15050 SYNERGY GRID 170 174.5 160.1 170 160 170 510 84460 845 845.5 843 846 834.5 845 242720 204843605 SM INVESTMENTS 97 97.5 97.9 97.9 97 97 305520 29715196.5 SAN MIGUEL CORP 0.63 0.65 0.63 0.65 0.63 0.65 26000 16560 SOC RESOURCES TOP FRONTIER 141 142 142 142 142 142 800 113600 WELLEX INDUS 0.176 0.188 0.189 0.189 0.188 0.188 60000 11290 ZEUS HLDG 0.159 0.162 0.145 0.163 0.14 0.162 9990000 1607180

-434660.0001 54600 -44059190 -8822800 -3018251 -61050 -923240 -17823780 10318 -41991488 -91371996.5 -5728370 2160445 -10200 -20393080 -5100 35196045 -19198838 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.56 0.57 0.56 0.57 0.55 0.57 953000 529940 AYALA LAND 31.95 32 31.8 32.2 31.3 31.95 18012900 574228090 ARANETA PROP 1.05 1.07 1.04 1.05 1.04 1.05 268000 280820 BELLE CORP 1.37 1.44 1.35 1.44 1.35 1.37 194000 263940 A BROWN 0.57 0.58 0.58 0.59 0.56 0.58 1622000 916650 CITYLAND DEVT 0.74 0.77 0.73 0.77 0.73 0.77 3000 2270 CROWN EQUITIES 0.13 0.133 0.133 0.133 0.12 0.133 470000 58590 5.9 5.98 5.9 5.9 5.9 5.9 2000 11800 CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS 4.06 4.08 3.98 4.06 3.98 4.06 3216000 12929760 0.36 0.365 0.355 0.365 0.355 0.365 2240000 804550 CENTURY PROP 0.29 0.31 0.295 0.295 0.29 0.29 1460000 423450 CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON 16.14 16.16 16.18 16.2 16.04 16.16 260100 4202432 6.9 6.98 6.96 6.99 6.9 6.9 127700 886179 DM WENCESLAO 0.95 0.96 0.96 0.97 0.94 0.95 7155000 6836350 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.82 0.85 0.8 0.85 0.8 0.82 62000 50720 8990 HLDG 10.9 11.06 10.7 10.9 10.68 10.9 7700 82884 PHIL INFRADEV 0.86 0.87 0.84 0.87 0.84 0.87 462000 395290 CITY AND LAND 0.69 0.73 0.74 0.74 0.74 0.74 2000 1480 MEGAWORLD 2.58 2.59 2.63 2.66 2.58 2.58 20779000 54234960 MRC ALLIED 0.167 0.168 0.166 0.169 0.164 0.168 5910000 979400 PHIL ESTATES 0.31 0.325 0.325 0.325 0.3 0.31 230000 69800 1.49 1.51 1.51 1.51 1.49 1.51 9000 13510 PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND 15.04 15.1 15.5 15.82 15.02 15.04 4544900 68665726 1.51 1.52 1.5 1.54 1.5 1.52 109000 165080 ROCKWELL SHANG PROP 2.7 2.71 2.73 2.74 2.7 2.71 169000 457000 1.86 1.94 1.9 1.97 1.85 1.94 152000 292600 STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG 30.7 31 31 31.05 30.05 31 13148900 404748825 4.02 4.04 3.95 4.1 3.95 4.04 124000 501350 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 1.28 1.29 1.27 1.3 1.26 1.28 3756000 4810080 VISTA LAND 4.31 4.39 4.13 4.41 4.08 4.31 4178000 17951150

139522700 63000 -172820 -2957530 -7200 -1304868 -147597 717760 1072 -10440 -1915350 -16600 -26714356 -129510 -7529790 1851460

SERVICES ABS CBN 17.96 18 17.1 18.2 17.1 18 1087400 19273438 GMA NETWORK 4.83 4.87 4.8 4.89 4.78 4.87 240000 1153260 MLA BRDCASTING 8.12 10.22 10.22 10.22 10.22 10.22 2000 20440 GLOBE TELECOM 2196 2222 2250 2256 2196 2196 64440 142429590 PLDT 1288 1299 1269 1305 1263 1299 362915 467545715 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.041 0.043 0.043 0.044 0.041 0.043 31200000 1308500 DITO CME HLDG 2.2 2.21 2.24 2.27 2.18 2.2 44179000 98054670 0.081 0.083 0.083 0.083 0.083 0.083 70000 5810 ISLAND INFO NOW CORP 1.91 1.92 1.9 1.98 1.88 1.92 7696000 14850670 0.197 0.199 0.192 0.2 0.185 0.199 4030000 788010 TRANSPACIFIC BR 2.36 2.38 2.38 2.44 2.35 2.36 1937000 4604210 PHILWEB 10.56 10.66 10.7 12.2 10.5 10.6 1850500 20993480 2GO GROUP 3.34 3.35 3.35 3.35 3.3 3.34 549000 1830530 CHELSEA 48.3 48.35 50 50.05 47.35 48.35 406500 19754825 CEBU AIR INTL CONTAINER 89.55 89.6 88 92.8 87.55 89.6 3754000 336732318.5 LBC EXPRESS 13.5 13.7 13.7 13.7 13.6 13.6 4900 66780 MACROASIA 5.05 5.06 5.3 5.38 5.01 5.05 17353800 90050593 METROALLIANCE A 2.72 2.76 2.75 2.87 2.6 2.76 7268000 19862860 METROALLIANCE B 2.55 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 38000 104500 PAL HLDG 7.2 7.25 7.3 7.3 7.25 7.25 6100 44367 HARBOR STAR 0.89 0.9 0.89 0.91 0.88 0.89 364000 325160 1.13 1.19 1.13 1.13 1.13 1.13 1000 1130 ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG 0.027 0.029 0.029 0.029 0.028 0.029 12500000 354700 DISCOVERY WORLD 1.52 1.77 1.55 1.55 1.54 1.54 17000 26260 WATERFRONT 0.4 0.415 0.4 0.415 0.4 0.415 340000 137550 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.13 6.48 6.25 6.26 6.25 6.26 2000 12510 7.03 8.38 7.8 8.39 7.8 8.39 62300 486117 IPEOPLE STI HLDG 0.345 0.35 0.345 0.35 0.34 0.345 5710000 1975500 BERJAYA 2.32 2.38 2.41 2.42 2.32 2.32 365000 851910 BLOOMBERRY 5.51 5.6 5.6 5.65 5.36 5.6 5239800 28717231 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.73 1.74 1.74 1.75 1.7 1.73 60000 103890 LEISURE AND RES 1.49 1.54 1.44 1.55 1.44 1.54 434000 651010 PH RESORTS GRP 2.81 2.89 2.94 2.94 2.81 2.91 7000 20130 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.31 0.315 0.31 0.32 0.31 0.315 4460000 1396950 ALLHOME 6.18 6.2 5.8 6.35 5.8 6.18 6339700 39515995 1.88 1.89 1.95 1.95 1.88 1.89 2612000 4961790 METRO RETAIL 46.25 46.3 46.85 46.85 45.8 46.3 4469100 206763050 PUREGOLD 67 67.05 65.55 69.5 65.55 67 709490 47573889 ROBINSONS RTL 123.5 127.9 125 125 123 123.5 53640 6626576 PHIL SEVEN CORP 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.39 1.33 1.35 15019000 20371120 SSI GROUP 14.58 14.7 14 14.7 14 14.7 2334700 33643662 WILCON DEPOT 0.315 0.32 0.31 0.34 0.31 0.32 2890000 937250 APC GROUP EASYCALL 7.9 8 8.13 8.64 7.8 7.91 302900 2472348 GOLDEN BRIA 312.4 338.2 339.8 339.8 312.4 312.4 320 106992 IPM HLDG 4.21 5 4.5 5 4.5 5 2200 10750 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.25 0.255 0.255 0.26 0.25 0.255 7490000 1920550 SBS PHIL CORP 5.5 5.83 5.14 5.14 5.14 5.14 100 514

-27729910 26574705 853410 -243220 -750 193250 -8430 -167000 -8261965 24333427.5 -16568410 900 6250 -98999.9999 93557 -5340 -10500 -1950186 -356010 -130943975 220840 -552317 -374780 6904960 -18744 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 10.1 10.3 10.9 10.9 10.3 10.88 1500 16040 APEX MINING 0.94 0.96 0.95 0.96 0.94 0.95 726000 689950 ABRA MINING 0.001 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.001 0.001 21000000 22100 ATLAS MINING 1.85 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 2000 3800 BENGUET A 1.02 1.09 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.02 40000 40800 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.197 0.204 0.193 0.204 0.193 0.204 160000 31100 2.7 2.74 2.73 2.74 2.73 2.73 200000 546900 CENTURY PEAK DIZON MINES 6.71 6.88 6.72 7 6.72 6.87 1700 11620 FERRONICKEL 0.89 0.9 0.9 0.91 0.87 0.9 3210000 2865480 GEOGRACE 0.203 0.207 0.2 0.207 0.2 0.203 440000 89990 47150 0.081 0.082 0.082 0.083 0.081 0.081 9620000 781230 LEPANTO A LEPANTO B 0.083 0.09 0.085 0.09 0.083 0.084 6280000 529130 9400 0.57 0.59 0.58 0.59 0.56 0.59 62000 35910 MARCVENTURES NIHAO 0.91 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.91 0.91 154000 144460 NICKEL ASIA 1.7 1.73 1.72 1.74 1.67 1.7 8291000 14165400 -3193420 OMICO CORP 0.395 0.44 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 20000 8000 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.495 0.5 0.495 0.5 0.495 0.5 20000 9950 PX MINING 2.29 2.32 2.31 2.31 2.29 2.29 454000 1044310 -207030 SEMIRARA MINING 12.08 12.1 12.18 12.18 12.08 12.1 1365700 16570168 4534228 UNITED PARAGON 0.0042 0.0044 0.0042 0.0042 0.0041 0.0041 4000000 16500 6.79 6.94 6.95 6.99 6.79 6.94 25500 175381 ACE ENEXOR ORNTL PETROL A 0.0084 0.0086 0.0085 0.0085 0.0085 0.0085 8000000 68000 PHILODRILL 0.0083 0.0085 0.0084 0.0084 0.0084 0.0084 1000000 8400 PXP ENERGY 4.34 4.35 4.32 4.48 4.32 4.35 884000 3885800 -498280

PREFFERED AC PREF B1 496 500 500 500 500 500 30 15000 ALCO PREF B 99.1 101 100 100 99 99 7520 750530 AC PREF B2R 490 504 504 504 504 504 100 50400 CPG PREF A 99 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 1250 124375 DD PREF 99 100 99 99.95 99 99.95 510 50965 FPH PREF C 490 504 495 495 495 495 500 247500 970.5 980 981 981 970.5 970.5 26900 26383650 GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF 100 100.1 100 100.1 99.8 99.8 2940 293996 PNX PREF 3A 98.9 99.4 99.5 99.5 99.4 99.4 4890 486225 PNX PREF 3B 103.4 104.5 101 103.4 100.1 103.4 5000 501434 PNX PREF 4 997 1000 999 1000 998 998 1040 1038900 PCOR PREF 3A 1005 1012 1012 1012 1012 1012 110 111320 PCOR PREF 3B 1022 1039 1020 1020 1020 1020 100 102000 SMC PREF 2D 74.4 74.9 74.9 74.9 74.9 74.9 600000 44940000 SMC PREF 2E 75 75.1 75 75.1 75 75.1 2570 192907 75000 SMC PREF 2F 75.25 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 77380 5842190 SMC PREF 2G 75.2 75.3 75.3 75.35 75.25 75.25 17400 1310001 SMC PREF 2H 75 75.15 75.1 75.15 75.1 75.15 5000 375625 SMC PREF 2I 74.7 75 75 75 75 75 4900 367500 15000

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 15.7 16.36 15.58 16.5 15.58 15.7 1060800 16832122 -13580600 GMA HLDG PDR 4.64 4.89 4.83 4.83 4.83 4.83 13000 62790

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.78 0.79 0.78 0.82 0.78 0.8 99000 79900

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 2.15 2.16 2.29 2.32 2.11 2.15 9703000 21132500 657280 KEPWEALTH 7.79 7.8 7.7 7.87 7.51 7.79 231200 1787747 76750 XURPAS 0.62 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.61 0.63 674000 418550

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 86.6 87.2 86.25 88 86.25 86.6 17630 1534671.5 18220

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Virus forces Pilipinas Shell to shutter Batangas refinery

By Lenie Lectura

P

@llectura

ilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. said it will temporarily close down its refinery in Tabangao, Batangas to shield the oil company from declining margins due to low fuel demand.

“In response to the drastic decline in local product demand and the significant deterioration of regional refining margins brought about the Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, the company will temporarily shut down its refinery operations for approximately one month starting mid-May 2020,” Pilipinas Shell said Tuesday.

It said the spread of Covid-19 pandemic led to the implementation of enhanced community quarantine

(ECQ) in Luzon and selected provinces nationwide. As a result, Pilipinas Shell said this has impacted the country’s economic activity due to limited mobility resulting in lower demand for fuel.

“The temporary shutdown will help insulate the company from further potential drops in refining margins and will also aid in its cash conservation initiatives,” it said, adding that proactive maintenance activities in the refinery would also

be conducted during the shutdown.

Once market and demand conditions improve and stabilize, Pilipinas Shell said it would immediately start-up its refinery, which has a rated capacity of 110,000 barrels per day.

The oil firm distributes the refined products produced at the facility and imported petroleum products, including lubricants and bitumen, through its 25 fuel distribution terminals and supply points, 10 lubricants warehouses and two bitumen production and import facilities spread throughout the Philippines.

Even on shutdown, Pilipinas Shell said there would still be enough supply and that it would comply with the minimum inventory requirements of the government.

The minimum required inventory is 30 days for manufacturer and 45 days for importer.

Pilipinas Shell said it has prepared itself by building the flexibility to

switch from refinery production to full import of petroleum products, and therefore safeguard the continuous and cost-effective supply of high-quality fuels to the country.

It would also continue to reinforce its financial resilience through cash conservation measures to position itself for the subsequent economic recovery of the Philippines from the crisis.

The oil firm posted a net income of P5.6 billion last year, from P5.1 billion in 2018 due to strong marketing delivery and refinery cost savings, which helped temper the suppressed regional refining margins and higher excise taxes.

The oil firm’s retail segment recorded a 1.2-percent growth in sales volume despite higher excise taxes as premium fuel penetration remained high at 27 percent.

Pilipinas Shell ended 2019 with a retail network of 1,126 sites in key locations, adding 53 new stations in key areas across the country.

DNL income declines by 31% in Q1

By VG Cabuag @villygc

C

hemical firm D and L Industries Inc. said its earnings fell 31 percent during the first three months of the year to P515 million, from the previous year’s P748 million.

However, D and L President and CEO Alvin Lao said he believes that the country has seen the worst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Quarter-on-quarter, Lao said the company’s income fell by 13 percent from P590 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Lao explained in an online briefing to reporters that the company had a relatively higher income in the first quarter last year due to the mid-term elections and also the growth of its high-margin products.

Sales slid by 3 percent to P5.67 billion, from the previous year’s P5.87 billion, but its volumes, on which the company measures growth, increased 5 percent.

Lao said its low-margin products grew 21 percent during the period, compared with the 9 percent fall in its higher margin items, as the pandemic pushed its customers to take on basic items, such as food ingredients.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of our daily lives and how businesses operate,” said Lao. “Just like any other crisis that we’ve gone through in the past, this is also an opportunity for our business to build long-term resilience.”

During the period, sales volume for food ingredients rose 22 percent, mostly for commodities, such as edible oils, as consumers cooked more at home instead of buying from restaurants.

Aerosol volumes also rose 12 percent due to higher sales for disinfectants and other cleaners while exports rose 12 percent to P1.3 billion, from P1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2019 due to higher demand for coconut oil-based products after experts noted the anti-viral properties of coconut oil.

Lao said the company’s investments in research and development will “allow us to reinvent ourselves and pursue opportunities that may have high value-added potential in the current situation.”

He said the worst may be over as supply chains have been restored while its customers, such as restaurant chains and manufacturers, have already adapted to the changed environment and have already begun to reboot their businesses.

Lao also said some of the company’s capital expenditures of about P3 billion this year, may have to be used next year or the following year. Most of the amount was earmarked for the expansion of the company’s plant in Batangas.

“We are committed to our Batangas expansion, as we see its long-term investment merits remaining intact,” he said, adding that its opening will be moved by about three months to the third or fourth quarter next year as work has been suspended during the enhanced community quarantine.

CDC, Widus, Pagcor share ‘bayanihan spirit’ to Metro Clark LGUs

C

lark Freeport—Highlighting the spirit of bayanihan amid the pandemic, Clark Development Corp. (CDC) in partnership with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), Widus Foundation Inc. (WFI), and Clark CSR Association Inc. (CCAI) recently donated packs and boxes of relief goods to various communities near this free port.

In a simple turnover ceremony at the Clark Skills and Training Center, local government executives under the Metro Clark Advisory Council (MCAC) received various canned goods, rice, noodles and other food items. MCAC includes Mabalacat City, Angeles City, Municipalities of Porac, Pampanga; Capas, and Bamban, Tarlac.

The donations were prepared by employees of CDC-Corporate Social Responsibility and Placement Division (CSRPD), CDC- Estate Preservation and Recovery Division (EPRD), and volunteers from the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

CDC President and CEO Noel F.

Manankil in his brief remarks cited the local government units belonging to MCAC members LGUs for their cooperation and support to CDC and Clark locators amid the enhanced community lockdown.

He also thanked Widus and Pagcor for their CSR programs that are “much needed in these difficult times.”

Manankil was joined by CDC Director Nestor Villaroman Jr., CDC Director Ana Liza Peralta, Widus International Leisure Inc. (WILI) Assistant Vice President for Corporate Planning and Compliance Agnes Liwanag, WFI Manager and CCAI President Ronnel Golimlim, CDC Assistant Vice President for External Affairs Rommel Narciso, CDC Assistant Vice President for Administration Zoraida Camello and Noel Tulabut, head of CDC Communications.

Also present during the event were Mayors Crisostomo Garbo of Mabalacat City, Jaime Capil of Porac, Jose Antonio Feliciano of Bamban and representatives of Capas, Angeles City and Pagcor.

mutual funds

May 5, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 184.1 -30.63% -11.97% -8.21% -26.91% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 0.9489 -41.81% -14.67% -9.1% -31.34% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.4751 -40.48% -16.59% -10.88% -32.71% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.6337 -32.68% n.a. n.a. -29.36% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6545 -25.73% n.a. n.a. -22.94% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.013 -27.72% -9.14% -7.3% -24.69% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6218 -29.95% -13.08% n.a.

-27.16% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 74.72 -40.73% n.a. n.a. -27.69% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 36.7781 -30.29% -10.64% n.a. -28.28% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 395.73 -27.89% -9.93% -7.2% -25.72% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.842 n.a. n.a. n.a. -18.26% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 0.9465 -28.76% -9.82% -6.37% -26.45% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 27.6968 -29.3% -9.29% -6.32% -26.92% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7294 -30.78% n.a. n.a. -28.36% -28.3% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 3.7453 -29.92% -10.08% -6.24% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 626.14 -29.8% -10.06% -6.44% -28.2% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.5735 -39.38% -13.89% -10.31% -32.64% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 2.9398 -32.73% -10.86% -7.4% -30.16% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7186 -29.93% -10.21% n.a.

-28.2% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.6752 -29.28% -8.01% -5.24% -26.77% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 83.941 -29.66% -9.59% -5.62% -28.23% ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $0.8935 -13.55% -2.04% -3.83% -13.12% 3.15% n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.2414 -4.71% -9.96% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.4868 -14.25% -5.61% -5.14% -4.86% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 1.9464 -16.39% -6.02% -3.76% -10.76% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.3164 -12.82% -3.4% -4.63% -11.97% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1836 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-19.65% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.7795 -7.78% -1.95% -1.67% -9.35% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.2926 -10.83% -3.85% -3.24% -13.1% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 14.72 -11.86% -4.05% -3.37% -13.21% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.8245 -15.12% -5.11% -3.21% -14.17% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.1055 -19.95% -5.95% -4.41% -19.63% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.8931 -11.48% n.a. n.a. -12.07% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.7832 -22.15% n.a. n.a.

-21.4% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.7593 -24.44% n.a. n.a. -23.55% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.7654 -22.31% -7.02% -5.99% -21.48% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03799 4.63% 2.28% 1.37% -0.63% -1.97% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $0.9369 -5.52% -0.47% -9.73% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.5963 -3.92% 2.34% 1.6% -8.04% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.0628 -2.59% 0.98% n.a.

-5.85% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 362.61 4.18% 3.03% 2.48% 1.34% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9297 2.31% 1.12% -0.12% 1.46% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.1692 4.9% 5.16% 5.11% 1.7% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2725 5.11% 2.83% 2.26% 2.13% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4193 7.21% 2.97% 1.8% 2.55% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.494 11.08% 2.27% 2.77% 3.62% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.2776 6.61% 3.64% 1.96% 1.66% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.8843 7.33% 3.8% 1.98% 2.54% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0193 10.77% 3.4% 1.69% 5.7% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.117 7.72% 4.5% 3.01% 1.34% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7244 7.52% 4.04% 2.58% 1.37% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $467.99 2.9% 2.25% 2.4% -0.05% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є214.03 -0.93% 0.5% 0.6% -2.59% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.1908 1.92% 2.13% 1.9% -1.36% 1.06% 0.96% -0.39% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0257 1.58% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.052 -1.24% -0.54% -0.88% -3.94% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.389 5.21% 2.67% 2.27% -0.62% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.059558 2.24% 1.47% 1.4% -1.25% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.155 5.93% 2.1% 2.16% -0.64% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 127.37 3.83% 3.09% 2.33% 1.26% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0373 2.73% n.a. n.a.

1.07% 3.37% 3% 2.53% 1.05% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2779 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0415 1.67% n.a. n.a.

0.41% Feeder Fund Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.9 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-9.09% a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU).

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

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

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

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

BSP eases rules to boost MSMEs’ access to credit

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he Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced on Tuesday it has approved relief measures for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) amid the disruption caused by the pandemic.

The BSP said in a statement it has amended the regulatory capital treatment of banks’ exposures to MSMEs. This is expected to free up capital and enable supervised financial institutions to extend more credit to the MSME sector.

The amendment includes the temporary reduction in the credit riskweights of loans granted to MSMEs that are “current” in status and the assignment of a lower risk-weight for MSME exposures that are covered by guarantees.

According to the BSP, the credit risk-weight of loans granted to MSMEs that are in “current” status has now been reduced to 50 percent from 75 percent for diversified MSME portfolio with at least 500 borrowers over a number of industries. The reduction also applied to non-diversified MSME portfolio whose credit risk-weight was originally at a hundred percent.

The BSP approved the assignment of a zero-percent risk weight to loans that are guaranteed by the Agricultural Guarantee Fund Pool and the Agricultural Credit Policy

Council. The BSP said this move complements programs of the National Government that support financing to MSMEs as well as small farmers and fishermen.

“The MSME sector is a vital component of the Philippine economy owing to its capacity to generate employment and contribute to economic activity across a wide range of industry sectors,” the Central Bank said.

Based on 2018 statistics, MSMEs accounted for 99.5 percent of the total business establishments operating in the country and generated 5.7 million jobs, equivalent to 63.2 percent of the country’s total employment. The MSME sector also contributed 35.7 percent in terms of value added and accounted for 25 percent of the total export revenue of the country.

“These policy issuances reinforce earlier pronouncements of the BSP [that] recognize MSME loans as alternative compliance with the reserve requirement as well as relax the ‘know-your-customer’ requirements for retail clients to facilitate their access to formal financing channels,” the BSP statement read.

“Overall, these measures are expected to channel liquidity directly to the MSME sector while ensuring the health and safety of the financial system.”

Gokongwei-led bank boosts digital offering

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obinsons Bank Corp. announced it is enhancing its digital services amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic to offer ease and convenience in banking for its customers.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Gokongwei-owned bank said that it introduced last month a mobile application (app) that allows potential customers to open new bank account online and free of charge.

The app only requires one government identification (ID) card, uses facial recognition and real-time ID detection.

With online bank account, customers may view their credit card transaction in real time, transfer funds via QR code and settle payments.

Amid the lockdown, Robinsons Bank said it has been striving to deliver the same quality of services, with majority of 62 percent of its branch network operating. Nearly all or 92 percent of its automated teller machines are also

being replenished consistently.

Its corporate online banking platform remains operational for corporate and small and medium enterprise customers, allowing them to have online access of their balances and transaction history.

The ban k extended grace period for corporate loans, consumer loans and credit card payments with due dates falling within March 16 to May 15 to ease the burden. It also waived penalties and fees on returned checks. This, in addition to lowering transaction fees for online fund transfer via PesoNet and InstaPay to P1 from P25 before.

“We will navigate through these uncertain times and find new ways to deepen our relationship with you by providing services that will help strengthen your financial position in the coming months,” the bank said. “In all our endeavors, we are determined to put you, our valued customer, at the heart of our service.” Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Govt sells ₧15-B T-bills as April inflation slows

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

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@BNicolasBM

he Bureau of the Treasury fully awarded P15 billion in 35day Treasury Bills (T-bills) on Tuesday at a lower rate following the announcement of slower inflation in April at 2.2 percent.

The Treasury also took advantage of the strong demand by opening the tap facility window for an additional P15 billion offering.

“Full award at average of 2.042 percent, much lower than previous auction as April inflation clocked in at 2.2 [percent] versus March’s 2.5

[percent] providing more space for BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] to cut policy rates,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters following the auction.

The 35-day T-bills capped an average rate, lower by 67.2 basis points from 2.714 percent.

The auction ended up oversubscribed by nearly five times as tenders reached P73.252 billion, way above the P15-billion offering.

The April inflation rate was also the slowest since November’s 1.3 percent. Inflation in April last year was at 3 percent.

On Monday, the Treasury also awarded another P10 billion in 364day T-bills through the tap facility

window. Bids amounted to P31.705 billion.

The additional P10 billion is on top of the upsized volume it awarded earlier in the day wherein the Treasury raised a total of P24 billion from the initial P20 billion offering for 91-day, 182-day and 364-day T-bills.

As of press time, the Treasury awarded P49 billion in T-bills for Monday and Tuesday’s auctions, excluding the tap facility auction result on Tuesday.

After bouts of aggressive easing measures, the BSP earlier said they may have to “wait and see” before pulling the trigger on another rate cut.

Policy rate, forecast distance may prompt BSP cut–analyst

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

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N analyst believes the distance between policy rates and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) inflation forecast would determine the aggressiveness of monetary authorities in protecting the economy from the ill effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

“Despite the slower inflation print, we do not expect the central bank to resort to additional aggressive policy rate cuts in the near term,” ING Bank Manila Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said in a state-

ment after inflation slumped to 2.2 percent in April.

“We expect only a 25 bps policy cut if ever BSP opts to ease further as the policy rate edges closer to BSP’s own inflation forecast of 2.2 percent for the year,” Mapa added.

Headline inflation in April was lower than 2.5 percent in the previous month and 3 percent a year ago, due to lower transport cost, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Tuesday.

The April inflation falls between the forecast of the BSP for the month ranging from 1.9 percent to 2.7 percent. It was also at the same level for the Central Bank’s full-year goal of

2.2 percent.

“We expect inflation to be subdued for a month after the end of the lockdown but we also foresee a steady acceleration in price pressures in the second half of the year as supply side pressures outweigh the demand side pull,” Mapa said.

Apart from this, Mapa also considered that the Central Bank was hinting a wait-and-see mode before making another cut.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno recently said that easing inflation does not necessarily mean that key policy rates will be trimmed further.

“Clearly, the more benign inflation provides the Monetary Board

greater room for easing. However, since monetary policy works with a lag, it would be prudent on the part of the Monetary Board to see how the aggressive policy measures it has adopted have been absorbed by the financial system,” Diokno explained.

The Central Bank also brought down the reserve requirement ratio on reservable liabilities of universal and commercial banks by 200 bps to 12 percent.

The BSP, likewise, earlier trimmed the overnight reverse repurchase facility by a total of 125 bps to 2.75 percent, bringing overnight lending and deposit facilities to 3.25 percent and 2.25 percent, respectively.

LandBank opens ₧3B education-loan window

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and Bank of the Philippines announced it is allocating P3 billion in credit support to private academic institutions under its new lending program, implementing a “study now, pay later” scheme for students.

LandBank said the lending facility can be availed by private high schools, private technical and vocational education training institutions, as well as higher education institutions such as colleges and universities.

The loan has a fixed interest

rate of 3 percent per annum and is payable based on the maturity of the sub-promissory notes within three years.

“Given the financial constraints brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, Landbank is financing interventions to ensure that students will be able to enroll in school when classes finally resume,” LandBank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo said.

The lending program “supports the education sector in providing students greater access to quality

Solution for ATMs with poor Internet launched

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ussian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky JLC announced the rollout of its product it said provides advanced protection for ATMs (automated teller machines) and PoS (point of sale) systems, as well as other Windows-based embedded devices.

The company said the new version of its Embedded Systems Security (ESS) solution can be remotely managed and updated “without hassle on devices located in areas with a 2G [secondgeneration] Internet connection.”

The company said in a statement issued on April 28, this update “enables the solution to effectively protect ATMs, payment terminals and other similar appliances in remote areas without affecting their productivity and service availability.”

Last year, the company said the amount of malware targeting embedded systems grew by 40 percent compared to figures from 2018.

“This suggests that ATMs, PoS and other similar systems are a tempting target for cybercriminals,” the cybersecurity firm said. “Nonetheless, their protection can be a challenging task for devices residing in remote locations where a wireless modem is the only option for internet connection, but the area has poor cellular coverage or is not covered by modern wireless standards (such as 3G and above).”

The company added that “weak communication channels may lead to a conflict between traffic flows responsible for the execution of transactions, banking software updates and management tasks, including the delivery of updates.”

“When a channel is overloaded with traffic

Wednesday, May 6, 2020 B3

between the security solution and its management server, it leads to unstable operation or even a partial loss of control over the device,” Kaspersky JLC said.

“In addition, in smaller communities there are only a few cash machines, or just one, avail-

able to citizens. If the community is remote enough, a scenario where an ATM goes down because of an overload in traffic or malicious actions would mean serious trouble. For instance, citizens would be left unable to withdraw cash from their accounts until the issue is fixed.”

has distributed more than P308 million to over 61,000 farmerbeneficiaries across 26 provinces listed under a government subsidy program.

LandBank said it provided P5,000 each to small rice farmers tilling farms with one hectare or less land area.

The government-owned bank added it is also preparing to release cash grants to more rice farmers in 34 provinces. The cash assistance can be claimed via designated branches, the bank said. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Insurer launches product to prepare vs critical illness

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Kaspersky JLC launched a security solution for ATMs in areas with poor Internet connection.

education amid the health crisis we are all facing,” Borromeo added.

The lending program allows refinancing or rediscounting of promissory notes issued by the parents or benefactors of students for school loans.

The borrowing will be released via lump sum or staggered basis per semester. It will be directly credited to the deposit account maintained by the school with the bank.

The lending support is available until June 30 next year.

LandBank also announced it

nsular Life Assurance Co. Ltd. announced it has launched a yearly renewable term insurance policy targeting a market segment preparing against critical illness.

Insular Life said its product gives a lump-sum amount and pays monthly cash allowance for 30 months if the insured is diagnosed with any of the covered critical illness.

An additional lump-sum amount would also be given on top of cash allowances, in case of total and permanent disability.

Should the insured pass away while receiving the monthly cash allowances, all unpaid cash allowances are given to the beneficiaries, the insurer said.

Insular Life President Mona Lisa B. de la Cruz said in a statement they consider their new product “unique compared to the usual term life insurance plans offered in the market because it is a health plan and a practical solution for those who want to be protected against critical illness for a fraction of the price they would spend on it.”

“Instead of worrying how to pay for the costs of treatment, or for lost income while one is receiving treatments,” we provide a lump-sum amount to help with the initial bulk expense of addressing the critical illness, de la Cruz explained.

The insured also receives a monthly cash allowance up to 30 months, to help the insured and the family cope with the changes critical illnesses bring, she added.

What makes the product appealing is it does not need extensive medical examinations and one needs to only answer three simple questions to get protection, de la Cruz said.

The insurer said it is positioning the product it dubs “Prime Care” among young professionals and married individuals who are raising their own families.

To illustrate, a 35-year-old may be protected for up to P1.8 million for one year with less than a P1,700 monthly premium.

With Prime Care being a term insurance plan, policyholders 18 years old to 60 years old may renew their plan every year until they reach the age of 69, if there is no diagnosis of a critical illness.

Aside from these, the product also gives access to a global network of expert physicians for medical device and help on the best source of treatments available.

The insurer said it would also launch a new product solution to Covid-related contingencies before the end of the month.

Meanwhile, its subsidiary—Insular Health Care Inc.—continues to provide coverage for Covid-related emergency hospital confinements through prepaid cards. Bernadette D. Nicolas

B4

Show BusinessMirror

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Gabourey Sidibe, 37; George Clooney, 59; Tom Bergeron, 65; Willie Mays, 89.

Happy Birthday: Refuse to let uncertainty take over.

Look at every angle and talk to an expert, but don’t miss out or give up. Get the lowdown, and do whatever you can to keep up and pull ahead. Stay in control, and finish what you start. Anger and disappointment are a waste of time. Seize the moment, and make things happen. Your lucky numbers are 8, 16, 21, 25, 33, 39, 47.

PERSISTENCE

SO this persistent girl, upon learning of the breakup of a popular love team, made a move to pounce on the male star who has long been the object of her desire. Miss Persistent reportedly called the actor personally and asked him whether he still wanted to work with her. The male star, at this point, would rather get back with his former partner who, however, wants nothing to do with him. One thing he seems sure of is that he wouldn’t want to work with Miss Persistent in a love team. He’s actually shocked that after all this time, she still wants to be with him. He thought that she’d have outgrown him by now. Well, apparently she has not.

SHE LOVES HER FAMILY

MANY people are surprised that the singer has turned to being an escort because times are difficult and bookings are few and far between. This isn’t the first time that she’s turned to this profession to make ends meet. She did this first when she was still married to help her family and she did it again after that. It’s not that the singer is money-hungry.

She really is someone devoted to her family, especially to her parents and siblings. She’s always been very talented and that talent has brought her to many places and resulted in her meeting so many people. Here is hoping that the singer will receive recognition for her talent and accomplishment, and may that recognition translate to steady work in the entertainment industry.

BLAND PERSONALITY

THE actress is also an it-girl and she deserves that title.

She’s a favorite influencer of many brands because she is friendly and easy to work with. There’s really no reason why she isn’t a bigger star than she is now with actual brand ambassadorships and bigger roles instead of decorative leading lady roles and influencer gigs. Or is there? Brands say she isn’t effective as an endorser because she doesn’t have a substantial fan base. That and her online persona seems uninteresting, they say. Everything she shows on her social-media accounts seem staged. You really can’t see her personality. She seems to have a very glamorous life—or does she? It’s even weird that she hardly posts her boyfriend’s picture on social media, and they’ve been together for quite some time.

TRUE LOVE

WHEN two people love each other, there’s really nothing you can do to stop them. The young actress and the actor were quite controversial just last year and the public had expected that they’d have split by now. But recent sightings have confirmed that they are still together. The actress has even gone against the request of her mother to stay away from the actor because he is bad news. She has disregarded the advice of her friends about him: that if he cheated on her, he will again do so eventually. She is in love and so is he actually.

Perhaps the womanizer has finally met his true love. Who knows? Let’s just hope this love doesn’t end their careers.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Curiosity, coupled with the desire to get something done, will enable you to accomplish twice as much in a shorter period. Don’t let an opportunity pass by unnoticed. Take physical action, and finish what you start. Romance will enhance your life. HHH

IN this September 2019 file photo, Adam Lambert (left) and Brian May, of Queen, perform at the Global Citizen Festival in New York. AP

Queen and Adam Lambert honor global Covid-19 ‘Champions’

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By Louise Dixon The Associated Press

ONDON—Queen and singer Adam Lambert have a message for workers on the frontline of the Covid-19 fight: “You Are the Champions.”

Brian May, Roger Taylor and Lambert recently gathered virtually to record a new version of the Queen classic, “We Are the Champions.”

“You Are the Champions” was released early Friday on all streaming and download services, with proceeds going to the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

“I thought, this is a great way to use the legacy that we have to do some good in the world,” May said.

“You know, we don’t really need to make money anymore. We don’t need to be any more famous. We need to use what we have in the best possible way.”

For May the release comes at a time of great sadness. The guitarist earlier this week lost to the virus a friend, who he likened was like a brother to him. “That’s the closest it’s come to me physically,” he said, adding it’s given real meaning to the death tolls broadcast daily on television.

“Each one of those is a family tragedy,” May said.

“Each one of those people lose a loved one.

“I think psychologically the human race is going to be very damaged.”

For Taylor, the song also has personal significance

CCP SHOWS IN HD PREMIERES ONLINE THE shows will go on at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Despite the enhanced community quarantine, the CCP continues to make arts matter to every Filipino as it brings HD and archival recordings in theater, dance, visual arts, film, literary and workshop events from its Cultural Content Digital Archives.

For its third and fourth week of digital programming, catch these shows premiering at CCP Online (bit.ly/CCPOnlineYT).

Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady, written by Carlo Vergara and directed by Chris Martinez for Virgin Labfest 9, will take the spotlight on May 7 at 3 pm.

Actress-singer Bituin Escalante belts out wellloved Filipino songs in Triple Threats: Everything in Bituin, premiering online on May 9 at 3 pm.

Don't miss these shows and the public can watch them as many times in the week the show are live.

as his daughter Rory Eleanor Taylor works as a doctor in a London hospital.

“She’s actually in the video with her little cards, displaying advice about isolating, etc.”

The music video shows caregivers and frontline workers from across the world as well as empty city scenes and the band performing in their homes.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe or fatal illnesses, including pneumonia.

Lambert, who joined the track from his Los Angeles home, thinks the song really hits a positive note that everyone is in this together.

“There’s a sense of unity that’s happening around the world, even though it’s, you know, in a negative, scary time,” Lambert said. “I think that we’re all understanding each other a little bit more right now.

And it’s sort of leveling everything out a bit.”

“It’s only through our connection and our love for each other are we going to get through it together,” he said. The band hopes the charity single will provide some consolation after the pandemic forced them to cancel the 27-show UK and European leg of their biggest ever tour.

“It was pretty heartbreaking to have to let it go. We have rescheduled for next year and we’re all crossing our fingers. We don’t know, do we? We don’t know if it’s going to be appropriate to get thousands of people in one room, even in 12 months from now,” May said.

Taylor remains optimistic that live music will survive. “I can’t believe that festivals and live music won’t come back. It’s part of our...DNA really now.”

In the meantime, Taylor and May remain in lockdown in their respective homes in the UK. Like many, May is struggling with the loss of freedom.

“It doesn’t get any easier as time gets on. It’s getting worse if anything. I feel like everything that I worked for in my life has been kind of taken away and put somewhere where I can’t reach it,” he said.

It’s not all bad, as Taylor noted.

“I think people have found lots of good things to do,” he said. “I think there’s been a lot more contact within families and friends.” n

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Confidence will play a role when dealing with people who can influence your future. Stand tall, embrace opportunities and channel your energy into your accomplishments, not negativity or disturbance.

Choose to be a savior, not a problem. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Be secretive about what you plan to do next. Put everything in place before you make broad statements or promises.

Uncertainty will set in if you haven’t thought through your plans thoroughly. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Look at your options, and choose the best path. Embrace change instead of being forced into a position where it’s too little, too late. Be proactive and open about the way you feel, and you’ll accomplish what you set out to do. HHHHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Find a way to relax.

A physical outlet will help you distance yourself from complicated matters. Keep your emotions in check and your actions reserved until you have a workable plan in place. HH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Speak up, offer suggestions, gather information and be ready to make adjustments. How you proceed will make a difference in the way others view you. The right move will enhance your chance to advance. Social media, online educational courses and communication are favored. Promote positive change. HHHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Consider money, legal and health issues carefully. Don’t feel pressured to make a hasty decision if you feel uncertain. A physical challenge will help take your mind off pressing matters and give you a chance to rethink your next move. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Refuse to let your emotions slow you down or push you in a direction that leads to negativity or poor decisions. Embrace positive change and opportunities that will improve meaningful relationships. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Listen to complaints, but don’t be too eager to take on tasks that don’t belong to you. Offer suggestions, but get back to fulfilling your duties. Make plans to spend time with someone you love or who shares your desire for adventure. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Keep life simple. If you or someone else overreacts, it will ruin your plans and your day. Focus on how you can make life better for you, as well as the people around you. Positive change begins within. HHHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take your time. Don’t feel pressured to do what everyone else is doing. Concentrate on personal gain, health, and looking and feeling your best. HH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Channel your energy into something that matters and makes a difference. Look over your finances, budget for something you want, negotiate contracts and take better care of yourself physically, financially and emotionally. HHHHH Birthday Baby: You are sensitive, caring and protective.

You are ambitious and proactive.

‘initial part’ by greg johnson The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Cream of Wheat cooker 4 Warship-related 9 Uses a stopwatch 14 Wall Street debut 15 Remark to an audience 16 Caught on, as a nickname 17 Not react to something (note each starred answer’s “initials”!)

19 “Same here” 20 Speak to an audience 21 Spaghetti ___ (thin dress support) 23 Powdery mineral 24 A seller may counter one 27 Twilight time 30 Well-wisher’s words 33 Clumsy character 36 Like a film about a film 37 Couldn’t help but 38 In the dark 40 “Tell me already!”

42 Ancient Peruvian 43 Was shy 44 Brian of ambient music 45 Simple drink mix direction

9 Came to Earth 4 50 Sty cries 51 “I goofed!”

55 Coffee ___ (break room appliance) 57 Bird on Mexico’s flag 58 Friend, in Panama 60 Take off after a quick meal 64 Cotton-compressing machine 65 Guitarist’s combo 66 Lion’s tail?

67 Pungent salad green 68 Old boom boxes played them 69 “___ sells seashells...”

DOWN 1 Amelia Earhart, e.g.

2 Performance often viewed through special glasses 3 Complete 4 Statistician Silver 5 Egyptian snake 6 By way of 7 Magazine revenue sources 8 Diminish 9 Bygone Russian bigwig 10 “You’re on!”

1 Small, dirty pool 1 12 Environmental prefix 13 Type of winter boot 18 Tough-to-ignore feeling 22 Quadri- minus one 24 End of a walkie-talkie message 25 Big bash 26 Org. that regulates airports 28 Luxurious sheet fabric 29 City whose name anagrams to “Tokyo” 31 Refrigerator brand 32 Say “No, no, no!” to 33 Spiritual board 34 Make void 35 Word that “fax” derives from 39 Lightbulb figures 40 Love letter acronym 41 Cats and dogs 43 “Mind your ___ business!”

46 Buck’s mate 47 Lead in a movie?

48 Part of a city grid 52 Shrek and the like 53 Like some soft toys

4 Word after “common” or “sixth” 5 56 Fashion designer Michael 57 Finish lines, e.g.

58 Mixed-ish network 59 Damage 61 “I solved the mystery!”

62 Bunk that may require a ladder 63 “How ___ you?”

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Image BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Grab immunityboosting foods on your next grocery run WHEN it comes to protecting yourself from Covid-19, a strong immune system is like having a good insurance plan. While staying at home and practicing hygiene is a must, being smart with your food choices and keeping a healthy diet give your body the edge it needs to fight the disease.

Produced by Unilab’s natural products company, Synnovate Pharma Corp., Sekaya is a brand that’s committed to prescribing nature by doing scientific research to develop pharma-grade health products, such as food supplements and botanic infusions— all of which are from plant-based ingredients that have long been backed by tradition and undergone exacting measures to ensure purity and potency. With a mission to educate and help Filipinos come up with informed decisions about the food they consume, Sekaya underlines that there’s no better source of immune system boosters than natural foods.

Dr. Oyie Balburias, who takes a holistic approach to wellness as one of the functional medicine pioneers in the Philippines, further explains that eating nutrient rich foods is vital in making sure the immune system functions properly. “A healthy immune system will be able to perform its role of defending and repairing our body,” he says.

Here are immunity-boosting foods that Balburias recommends for your next trip to the grocery to protect you and your household in these uncertain times. n FRUITS AND LEAFY GREENS. Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is a superhero when it comes to boosting the immune system. Because ascorbic acid inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome activation, clinical trials have found that vitamin C shortens the frequency, duration and severity of the common cold and the incidence of pneumonia. Oranges, kiwi, strawberries, red bell peppers, broccoli, malunggay or moringa, and kale are rich in vitamin C, giving your body the antioxidants it needs to renew itself and fight free radicals, the molecules that damage the immune system. If you’re under stress, these foods are helpful in protecting your immune system from becoming susceptible to viruses. n SEAFOOD. Vitamin D is another must-have when living through a global pandemic. It helps activate your body’s immune system defenses with its antiinflammatory and immunoregulatory properties.

Vitamin D is so important in immune function that low levels of this have been associated with increased susceptibility to infections, diseases, and immunerelated disorders. You can find vitamin D in several kinds of seafood, particularly sardines, salmon, tuna, mackerel or tanigue, halibut, and swordfish.

Eggs, beans, avocado and lettuce are also rich in vitamin D. However, there are studies that show that vitamin D should be taken with caution and perhaps discontinued if you already have symptoms of infection. n MEATS AND NUTS. Now is a good time to load up on your protein, because it promotes the growth of new cells. Protein has arginine, which is an amino acid that heals damaged tissues. So make sure to include chicken, pork and fish in your cart, as well as nuts, seeds and legumes like monggo or mung beans, for plant-based sources. n FERMENTED FRUITS AND VEGGIES. Probiotics and prebiotics stimulate the immune system by inhibiting toxins and stopping bad bacteria from infesting your body. You can get your daily dose of probiotics from fermented vegetables or fruits like kimchi, kombucha, miso, natto and atchara or papaya relish, while prebiotic food sources include eggplant, asparagus, bananas, garlic, onions and nuts.

“Let’s proactively find ways to support how our immune system can induce, enhance, suppress, regulate and, if needed, strengthen its responses to viruses and infections,” Balburias says.

More science-based health tips and information is available at www.sekaya.com.ph.

Detangling the Web I

GREW up on the Dewey Decimal System. For those who do not know what that is, it is the precursor to MAELISA, a system software which made it easier to find library books. But even with that, I would still go to the card catalog to look up what I needed. And the librarians from the schools I attended can tell you, I was a familiar face in their area. I thought before that research as a discipline will only be used in the academe. Little did I know, it would become a necessary discipline in my work—past and present. And with the availability of information at our fingertips, it has become more and more important to filter what is fact from opinion.

In the past few weeks, I did plenty of online research and read through so many articles because I was working on a project which required me to understand an unfamiliar subject. I needed to read up so I could make significant recommendations and, at the same time, follow the roundtable discussion with my peers and clients.

And with little access to books, I had to research and read online materials. Even during regular workdays, you still need to do research to keep abreast of the latest innovations and trends to make your work better and easier. With the overabundance of information on the Internet, it is easy to fall prey to clickbaits and go down rabbit holes that you end up being more confused than enlightened. And since most of us stay at home and do most of our work research online these days, here are some tips to help you find the right sources and avoid being caught in the Web’s entanglements.

Ask from your manager or your peers the significant authors or framework in understanding what you are researching on. In fields where you are not an expert, it would be best if you ask your peers for recommendations on where to start, or ask a person in a department who would know where you can start. In my previous work, I had to understand what a learning management system (LMS) is and how the organization could actually benefit from it. I started by asking our administrators what we used and the different functions of our LMS, and I also asked the help of people I knew in IT who were familiar with how it worked. It became easier for us to compare the different LMS available in the market and helped us decide which was the best LMS for the organization. So, before you go online, ask around and narrow what you are researching so that you know what you are looking for and you can avoid unnecessary topics.

A common resource available online is Wikipedia. While it

With the overabundance of information on the Internet, it is easy to fall prey to clickbaits and go down rabbit holes that you end up being more confused than enlightened. And since most of us stay at home and do most of our work research online these days, here are some tips to help you find the right sources and avoid being caught in the Web’s entanglements. provides an overview of what you are researching, Wikipedia is prone to errors primarily because anybody can edit entries in the articles there. But it is helpful in providing a starting point for research because it shows you the breadth of your topic and at the same time, it has a bibliography at the end of each article which can lead you to credible and verifiable sources.

It would do you good to create an outline as a guide so you can keep focused on what you are researching on. After the preliminary review of available online materials, you already have a good idea of what topics are essential to your research and which topics you need more details on. Write a draft outline so you can group your online materials. As a guide, this will also keep you on track and help you filter which are necessary information for your research.

Another way of looking at work research is to look and compare what similar organizations are doing to what you can do. You can gain insight from best practices used by other organizations by understanding how other organizations do functional work. An example is stakeholder communication which cuts through different industries. Based on your experience and how your organization works, you can filter which practices are applicable to your industry.

When you use a search engine for research, refine your keyword searches. You can start with a general topic and if you do not see what you are looking for in the search list, add other keywords. Remember also that the top article in your search list is not necessarily the best article for what you need. Some search engines display ads in their first two search results and the topmost article might just be full of the keywords you typed in the search box. Search engine

optimization (SEO) helps web sites rank high on a search result page by the way the web site is written, designed, and the links it uses so they can increase traffic to their site.

So before you click the topmost result, look at the web site address to determine if it is worth checking out.

Learn also to distinguish primary from secondary sources. Commercial sites promote a particular product or service. Be wary of their information especially since companies do content marketing where their services are carefully and creatively written into their articles, promoting how you can leverage their services. Primary sources are those published by the authors themselves or by an organization. Secondary sources are those who talk about the original source, and provide you a context of how they used a particular idea into their organization. Primary sources are the originators of the idea. Both are helpful in fully understanding how you can use an idea in your organization.

Most important, cite your sources. Make sure you properly accredit the idea you are using. This is especially true if you use the idea for profit. Some management and leadership concepts cannot be used for corporate training because organizations have proprietary rights over those concepts. So before you implement a program based on an idea you found on the Internet, make sure you cite the source and, when necessary, you have sought and obtained permission to use the idea.

Now is actually the best time to do research on what can work well for your organization—especially for those whose work involves planning and developing strategies. While the Internet may often be a confusing cacophony of information, you can manageably navigate it using these tips. n

DOTr issues guidelines for road transport sector in areas under GCQ PUBLIC transportation in moderate and low-risk areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) have resumed operations at reduced capacity to ensure compliance with strict safety measures against Covid-19 transmission, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

“Public transportation in the road sector will be available in areas declared under GCQ but we will strictly impose health safety standards at all times to ensure the safety of our drivers and passengers,” said Transportation Assistant Secretary for the Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark Richmund de Leon.

All permitted public utility vehicles (PUVs) and transport terminals and operators must adhere to all three essential components dictated in the protocol/guidelines: safety, capacity and coverage/scope.

As for private vehicle owners, private cars

and motorcycles will be allowed to operate for the purpose of essential travels as defined by the Inter-Agency Task Force. Cars will only be allowed one passenger to occupy

the front passenger seat, while front-facing seats shall not exceed two passengers per row. Motorcycles are prohibited from having backride passengers. The use of bicycles and

similar devices are also highly encouraged, and local government units are also encouraged to identify bike-lanes, or bike-only roads.

According to Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairman Martin Delgra III, the official guidelines state that the mode of PUV that will operate in each route in the GCQ areas will be guided by the number of passengers that will be transported.

“PUV modes with higher passenger capacity, such as buses will be prioritized consistent with the Department Order 2017-011 or the Omnibus Guidelines on the Planning and Identification of Public Road Transportation Services and Franchise Issuance. In areas where buses are not enough to serve the actual passenger demand, or the road characteristics will not permit their operations, Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program compliant PUVs are the next priority. In areas with unavailable buses and modern PUVs,

public utility jeepneys and UV Express may operate. In areas were no other mode of public transportation is available, tricycles may be permitted to operate as determined by the LTFRB in coordination with the corresponding LGUs,” Delgra said.

The LTFRB has already finalized the mechanism for issuing of special permits to allow PUVs to operate. Drivers and operators may apply for the permit, free of charge, through LTFRB offices or by e-mail through LTFRB’s online channels.

Transportation Assistant Secretary for Road Mark Steven Pastor said the guidelines are well thought of, and that it is aligned with the policies set by the IATF and the Department of Health on social distancing.

Meanwhile, any mode of public transportation in areas under the extended enhanced community quarantine, including Metro Manila, are still prohibited.

B5

B6 Wednesday, May 6, 2020

DOT mounts sweeper flights, brings home 1000 stranded domestic tourists

O

VER 1,000 domestic tourists who were stranded in various tourist destinations in the country have returned home, mostly in Metro Manila, with the assistance of the Department of Tourism (DOT).

Tourism Secretary Bernadette RomuloPuyat said the groups of domestic tourists arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from various local airports on seven (7) sweeper flights arranged by the DOT and its attached agency, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) from May 1 to 2.

Last April 28, the DOT was given approval by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATFEID) to charter and fund sweeper flights for qualified stranded local tourists from other regions to the National Capital Region (NCR).

“We are thankful for the opportunity to respond alongside the front-liners who persevere to attend to the needs of the public under these difficult circumstances.

The DOT prioritizes the safety and security of stranded international and local tourists as they return home,” said Secretary Puyat.

A total of 1,049 distressed travelers reached Manila in succeeding schedules.

On Friday, 180 tourists arrived from Puerto Princesa, 60 from El Nido and 144 from Boracay.

On Saturday, 136 tourists from Region 13 flew in from Butuan, including

stranded visitors in Siargao, Surigao City and Cagayan de Oro City. 150 tourists who returned from Region 6 arrived from Iloilo City, including travelers from Bacolod, Antique and Capiz, and from Region 7, while 177 arrived from Mactan-Cebu.

The biggest chunk came from the combined groups from Region 11 and Region 12. A total of 202 stranded domestic tourists in Davao and Soccsksargen Regions boarded the Davao-Manila sweeper flight sponsored by the DOT. The 169 passengers from all over Davao Region and 33 passengers from Soccsksargen Region had been stranded in Mindanao for a total of 48 days since the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was enforced in Manila and in Mindanao, said Director Tanya Rabat-Tan of Region 11.

DOT-NCR Regional Director Woodrow C. Maquiling, Jr., added that the returning travelers were subjected to rapid anti-body testing at the airport. None of them tested positive for the Coronavirus.

Meanwhile, seven (7) buses, complete with DOT-accredited tour guides on board, chartered by the regional office brought home those residing in Metro Manila areas.

Complementing the chartered buses were three (3) buses from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and five (5) e-jeepneys from the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

Sec. Puyat assured that the domestic

tourists were given the Unimpeded Pass to use all the way to their respective residential communities, in coordination with the different local government units (LGUs) of Metro Manila through the NCR-Tourism Officers Association (NCR-TOA), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Office of the Civil Defense-NCR (OCD-NCR).

Bus stops were designated as dropoff points including: Manila City Hall, for those residing in Manila; SM Hypermarket (formerly Gotesco) in Caloocan; Centris, Quezon City; Makati Ave. corner Paseo de Roxas, Makati; Mandaluyong City Hall; and Muntinlupa City Hall.

Buses bound for SM Clark shuttled all Northbound passengers, with the following bus stops: Balintawak toll gate; NLEX Shell gas station in Balagtas, Bulacan; and Dau exit.

Meanwhile, non-NCR residents were transported by their respective local government units’ services.

To date, the DOT has assisted some 22,264 foreign visitors and 2,505 local tourists stranded in the past month-andhalf under ECQ, by arranging sweeper flights from various domestic gateways and facilitating repatriation flights mounted by foreign governments.

SM Foundation teams up with SM EDD to establish emergency quarantine facilities

Inside rhe ECF in V. Luna General Hospital

I

N a bid to bolster the country’s response in curbing the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), SM Foundation (SMFI) and SM Engineering Design and Development (SM EDD) recently constructed and turned over three emergency quarantine facilities (EQF) in Metro Manila.

Two EQFs were built at the V. Luna General Hospital in Quezon City and one EQF at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City. These insulated EQFs are set to house COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.

The two EQFs in V. Luna General Hospital have 21 beds

in total, complete with air conditioning units, ceiling fans, exhaust fans, toilets and shower area. While the EQF in Villamor Air Base has 15 beds, complete with fans, exhaust fans, toilets and a nurse lounge.

Funded by SMFI, the construction of the EQFs led by the SM EDD took six to ten days to complete. SM EDD volunteers partnered with Architect William Ti and his friends who have begun setting up quarantine facilities to help hospitals in Metro Manila that have become overcrowded with patients due to the spread of COVID-19.

Spreading social good through volunteeriSM, Aside from contributing to the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, this social good initiative also boosted the volunteeriSM spirit of SM employees, especially those from SM EDD. Through the program, SM EDD employees were able to volunteer their time and expertise during the ECQ in order to fight the spread of COVID-19 – and this initiative was strongly supported and championed by Hans ‘Chico’ Sy Jr, President of SM EDD. Arch. Lyndon Araña, Project Manager of SM EDD, one of the employee volunteers shared that his passion of helping others emanated from their family values, “I always wanted to help, not just during this pandemic, but even before. It has been our tradition and passion in the family to reach out to those who are in need.”

“Every ounce of effort is worth it to help others.

Other than the monetary aid, I can give more with my expertise as a professional. It’s amazing SM EDD has the same breed of professionals who are willing to help,” Araña said.

“We built these facilities to support and take care of the frontliners. This is our expertise, our contribution in the fight against COVID-19. We are here to help you get better, no one is alone in this fight,” he further shared.

SMFI extended its gratitude to SM EDD volunteers for carrying out its purpose and commitment to provide emergency quarantine facilities to its partners in the uniformed service. “We’re immensely grateful to every health care professional fighting this pandemic, caring for those affected and saving lives nationwide” said Chito Macapagal, Board of Trustee of SM Foundation.

“We have courageous employee volunteers from SM EDD, sharing their expertise and time amidst COVID-19. We’re proud to support their contribution during this time of incredible need,” he added.

It can be recalled that SMFI previously renovated and refurbished V. Luna General Hospital wards in Quezon City and the Philippine Air Force medical facility in Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

Moreno, Concepcion join forces for project ARK mass rapid testing in Manila

P

RESIDENTIAL Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion announced with Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno that Project ARK has officially started its pilot run in Manila.

Launched last April 24, Project Ark’s massive rapid testing initiative in Sampaloc, Manila successfully conducted 854 tests out of the target 1,500 sampling size, and had consequently identified 31 persons as presumptive positive for COVID-19.

Those who were identified as positive were immediately directed to the appropriate hospital facilities for treatment.

Project ARK rolls out another massive rapid testing effort in District 1, Tondo, while the community goes under hard lockdown today, May 3 to May 5, 2020 (5am). A total of 1409 successful tests were done that utilized antibody rapid test kits donated by Angkas.

Out of the tests conducted, 109 tests were presumptive positive.

The containment measure ordered by Mayor Moreno will be done “for purposes of disease surveillance, verification or testing and rapid risk assessment in relation to COVID-19.”

“On behalf of Manila City people, thank you very much for your efforts. Malaking bagay ito sa amin. When Project ARK was introduced to us, it’s very timely because we had to address two districts of Manila. In this case, District 4 which is Sampaloc, and District 1 which is Tondo. Kaya ang ginawa namin, and we are very grateful to Angkas, our donor, PA Joey Concepcion and all groups who are part of this project kasi we took that opportunity to do mass testing by rapid tests. With mass testing, we’re not going to stop. With Project ARK this will continue. This is just the beginning,” says Moreno.

Barangay implementation is part of Project ARK’s bayanihan initiative. In addition to encouraging the screening of employees to ensure safety at work, Project

ARK supports companies to lead the voluntary testing of barangay citizens.

Concepcion emphasizes that in order for the economy to safely reopen and restart, mass testing must be done. “Buhay o kabuhayan? We must value life above all. But at this time, these two are equally important. Because without livelihood, how do our kababayans survive? Reopening the economy is of utmost urgency, through this we could also reinstate public confidence.

But, of course, we must be cautious and prevent a second wave of infectious spread.

The solution to this is to test, test, test!

Massive rapid testing is the key.”

“We’re on four resets, sa tingin ko okay na ‘yan eh. I believe we have done much to really bring down the level of infection.

Yung test, test, test, dapat talagang i-accelerate yan. Makikita natin sa Manila, yung ginagawa ni Mayor Isko, ‘yun ang tamang approach,” Concepcion added.

Moreno also agreed with balancing both life and livelihood. “Binabalanse talaga namin. If we are to lock it down, magugutom ang lahat... I-address ang COVID-19, iaddress ang kabuhayan ng tao pero we should impose and follow regulations... We have to move on, we have to move forward to survive.”

Project ARK - an initiative led by Concepcion that bands together the biggest economic players and business conglomerates in the country - aims to ramp up mass testing in order to safely reopen the economy. With the data collected from the massive testing of Project Ark, the government and different industries can gain a better visibility of the enemy and formulate better strategies to combat the virus.

As of date, Project ARK is working with LGUs such as Pasig, Taguig, Quezon City, Makati, and Antipolo to bring mass testing down to the community level. It has also secured close to 1 million Antibody Rapid Test kits.

Bayanihan in the time of COVID

D

R. Cesar Ramon G. Espiritu, President/ CEO of The Medical City South Luzon (TMCSL) in Santa Rosa, Laguna, was faced with a dilemma. Because of the Luzonwide lockdown, virtually all hospital operations ceased, except those handling COVID-19 patients. Non-COVID patients were not admitted to the hospital depriving them of medical care. Heads of hospitals in the area and Mayor Arlene B. Arcillas, quickly decided to build a separate facility especially for COVID cases.

Engr. Rynor G. Jamandre, President/CEO of Quantity Solutions Inc., offered prefabricated container vans that can easily be installed and can isolate COVID patients. Along with Arch.

Michael Ray J. Infante of Orion Group, they designed the special hospital.

Despite the challenges of budget, lockdown and time, Dr. Espiritu and Engr. Jamandre contacted their network of contractors, suppliers and manufacturers. Instead of cash, the team requested for readily usable materials.

Within 48 hours, the group had donations to complete 70% of the project. Through everyone’s generosity, the total capacity of the complex would now be a 28-room hospital for COVID patients.

The project is a solid testament of the Bayanihan spirit, showing what we can do as a community when we are united by a common goal for the greater good.

We salute everyone who was instrumental in seeing this project to its fruition. Your spirit of altruism is a shining beacon of hope amidst this crisis.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Wednesday, May 6, 2020 B7

Buying property in The Velaris Residences the time of Covid-19 Unrivaled distinction on every level

By Roderick L. Abad

W

HILE the whole world, not only the Philippines, has ground to a halt due to the ensuing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis, property buyers are advised now is the right time to buy one.

“There’s no better time for [people to realize] the need to have a home or a condo unit than now,” Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jose Soberano III said during the third episode of developer webinar series recenty hosted by property portal Lamudi.

The top executive pointed out that many people are now staying in their family homes, perhaps cramped with siblings and other relatives, due to the ongoing enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and other areas badly hit by the virulent pneumonia.

Given this situation, he noted that some may be considering moving out and finding their own place as they avoid mass gathering or subscribe to the practice of physical distancing so as not to contract the lethal virus.

This holds true to younger adults even before this unprecedented health emergency occurred.

In fact, most of the property seekers in this age group part ways with their family early on to live independently on their own, according to Torre Lorenzo Development Corp.

(TLDC) CEO Tomas Lorenzo.

“The demographics have changed.

Young people now leave their homes

[during] college. They have to be near where they study or work. They don’t wait anymore for marriage before they leave. They already move out,” he explained.

Whether looking for a place to dwell for the first time or seeking to move to another one, Soberano advised potential buyers to look into the performance of the developer they’re doing business with before proceeding with the purchase.

Encouraging them to be more inquisitive, the CLI’s top honcho said that this is the right time to inquire how the developer and the property management maintains the safety in premises and engages with the community.

The TLDC CEO couldn’t agree more with him. Lorenzo said: “Property management, even now during Covid, is very important. We always post in our social-media pages about how we clean, how we sanitize our hallways, our common areas, how we take care of people who are isolating.”

Emphasizing the property management role of developers, Soberano advised them to be open on the likelihood of strengthening healthrelated efforts in communities.

“Is it the right time to put in nurses in your villages or condos? Can you ‘culturize’ being health or sanitaryconscious?” he asked.

Whatever their decision may be, he emphasized the need for them to step up to the challenge of being proactive in creating healthy communities, with or without crisis like Covid-19.

Alabang office condo earns the first LEED v4 Certification

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arkway Corporate Center lives up to its promise to be world class, sustainable and green-oriented with its v4 Core and Shell rating, the first office development in the Philippines to have the latest version of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

The LEED Certification is an outline that ensures a building’s sustainable goals and green strategies are successfully met.

Parkway achieved the prestigious certification by adopting strict and comprehensive green building practices. Among other things, it uses low-e glass to reduce the “heat island effect.” This lessens the impact on the environment and lowers the cost of cooling the building all-year round.

The whole office development is energyefficient—from the lighting system that uses LEDfixtures to minimize significantly energy consumption to indoor air-quality management. An integrated pest management was adopted as soon as construction started to avoid the growth and settlement of potential contaminants in the building and protect the environment and the occupants’ well-being.

The building also has a safe HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) system, which reduces by 7.5-percent total energy consumption with zero-ozone-depleting and low-global-warming potential. Parkway has water efficient plumbing fixtures to reduce greatly water consumption by 41.04 percent.

Complementing these sustainable features was the use of regional materials like concrete and steel sourced from local suppliers to support the Philippine economy and reduce the environmental impact of transporting materials from distant suppliers. About 37 percent of

the total building materials content that had been manufactured were recycled.

Parkway’s location was also carefully and deliberately chosen. Its sustainable goals dovetailed with those of Filinvest City, touted as the garden business district in Metro South and, which had also adopted green living practices and it’s also a LEED registered neighborhood first in the Philippines. Filinvest City boasts of highly walker-friendly streets and pathways, improving public health by encouraging community members to walk or bike around the city. The system reduces traffic and carbon emissions from motor vehicles. Filinvest has plenty of open spaces and lush landscapes for an overall refreshing environment for surrounding developments.

Parkway is a winning investment for businessmen and investors. With its energy-saving practices, it is efficiently and consciously cutting back on expense for utilities and reduces carbon footprints to help slow climate change.

Businesses are also providing healthy working environments for their employees: easy and stress-free travel to and from the office, and open and lush spaces that let them enjoy a refreshing environment.

With the LEED v4 Core and Shell Certification, property owners can adapt and adhere to best sustainable practices with the help and guidance of its property management team.

Parkway Corporate Center, as the first Philippine development project to earn the highest LEED Certification in Core and Shell, has established itself as a leader in green office spaces.

To know more about Parkway Corporate Center, visit http://www.parkwaycorporate. com/ or contact (02) 8284-5595.

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or those who have emerged victorious from life’s challenges, the successful few whose experience and expertise have given them a certain discernment, only the masterful will do.

Whatever they see, hear, taste, touch, and possess must be in the realm of excellence and beyond.

Their expectations are set high— in the careful curation of what they choose to experience, in their intention and confidence to accept only the outstanding—and they inspire us to do the same. They show a path to exceptional living for many to follow: operate at your best and expect nothing but the extraordinary.

The Velaris Residences V2

A powerhouse partnership For this group of discerning individuals comes an unrivaled destination residence—The Velaris Residences

by RHK Land Corp., a joint venture of international property leader Hongkong Land (HKL) and Philippine real estate giant Robinsons Land (RLC).

The pilot project of a noteworthy collaboration, it joins international design with local expertise to become a veritable masterpiece. Along the C-5 corridor and near the private estates of Valle Verde, Wack Wack, and Corinthian Gardens, the 45-story testament to human progress and inspiration rises. From its unique façade to every careful choice of fixture and fitting, it is built to serve as a beacon of opulence, meant to represent the very best of us and the best in us. With access points through C-5 Road, Ortigas Avenue, and Amang Rodriguez Avenue, it is at the center of Metro Manila and, for those who do not compromise on location, never too far from any section of the city. The Velaris Residences is an incomparable investment for those who steward success.

“The Philippine property market is one of the most exciting markets in Asia, and we are delighted to be part of it and to bring the innovations and design excellence that Hongkong Land is known for. Through our partnership with Robinsons Land, we have no doubt that we can duplicate our global successes in the Philippines through The Velaris Residences,” says Robert Wong, chief executive of Hongkong Land.

Peerless design and aesthetic There is a two-way test of true elegance: Is it felt and is it effortless? For those who are winning at the game of life and know what it is like to have and enjoy excellence at every turn, true elegance feels like home. And in the home, true elegance makes them feel peaceful and sincerely at ease—ideals that The Velaris Residences holds up like a torch.

The distinct design vision for The Velaris Residences was brought to life under the eye of Hongkong Land, whose expertise and aesthetic impact can be felt across Asia’s most influential cities. A member of the Jardine Matheson Group, HKL currently owns and manages more than 850,000 square meters of premier commercial and corporate spaces, luxury residential and mixed-use properties across Singapore, Jakarta, Greater China (Beijing and Hong Kong), and other

The grand lobby countries in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, its most notable projects are premium properties One Roxas Triangle and Two Roxas Triangle in Makati City, Mandani Bay in Cebu, and its latest, The Velaris Residences.

The development is situated in Bridgetowne’s choicest location, rising next to a beautiful bridge, a victor statue, and a verdant central park.

Bridgetowne quite literally represents the winning spirit and connecting to success, with a 200-meter bridge structure over the historic Marikina river, which was designed using stateof-the-art technology and indigenous ingenuity by Mañosa and Company.

Beside it, a 60-meter sculpture of a victor stands proudly and stirs rapt admiration. These elements come together to demonstrate that Bridgetowne is Robinsons Land’s 31-hectare ode to urban prosperity.

Ta k i n g f r o m t h e s p i r i t o f Bridgetowne, the structure of The Velaris Residences itself invites onlookers to take a powerful breath—an intake of inspiration. A concrete-andglass structure resembling a sunbeam amid the greens, the structure presents an elegant shard of disruption in the city—an architectural tour de force directing viewers’ vision and spirit toward light, grace and ease. The classic contemporary masterpiece can be credited to both international and Filipino influences. The Velaris Residences springs from the stylings of modernist architecture pioneer Ludwig van der Rohe, and turned into reality by W.V Coscolluela & Associates.

Stepping into the building and the residences, one immediately sees the marriage of ease and sophistication.

The Velaris Residences’ intentional design philosophy reveals itself. Artfully considered in the layout is people’s natural movement within the spaces— a mark of truly elegant places. Every inch and detail is meticulously designed with the residents’ experience at the heart of every architectural and interior design choice.

Whether it’s a one-bedroom, twobedroom, three-bedroom, or a penthouse unit, each residence is a study in complements and contrasts. Earth tones do not feel neutral here. Combined with rich browns, grays, and cream, the effect surprisingly manages to feel new, textured, and interesting.

Premium finishing accents and fixtures

follow the stylings of the affluent in Hong Kong, catching the discerning eye with metallic tones of bronze and rose gold.

Smart home connectivity and highend appliances complete every savvy unit purchase and assure buyers of future-ready convenience at the tap of a finger. Biometric fingerprint scanning, PIN code, RFID card access, and Smart digital locks offer state-of-the-art security; air-conditioning and lights can be controlled remotely from the phone; and three-bedroom and penthouse residences have Smart Mirrors for users’ discretion.

PTang Studio Limited, which serves global commercial and residential clients in Hong Kong, China, Japan, and the UK, are the minds behind the interior planning and design.

“We don’t just design spaces. We design experiences. And in order to stage an experience that is memorable and unique for our residents, we always design with intention in mind,” says Stanley Ng, head of Design, South Asia Development Properties, Hongkong Land.

Location beyond compare The Velaris Residences residents are the masters of cosmopolitan living, navigating social occasions and career pursuits with confidence and efficiency. The development’s spot at the heart of Bridgetowne’s urban sprawl places it within easy reach of establishments and offices, giving residents numerous options for life and work integration. Premium commercial centers, residential towers, hotels, exclusive schools, medical institutions, and Peza-accredited office buildings are mere minutes away. With Bridgetowne also straddling progressive Pasig and Quezon cities, getting to and from the established lifestyle and career districts of Ortigas and Bonifacio Global City is a breeze, making the leaps between socializing and working effortless.

Inimitable features and services Privacy and the sense of distinction are of utmost importance. It is part of The Velaris Residences trademark— offering unexpected delight because every resident deserves nothing less.

It begins as soon as one arrives at the tower. Alighting the car and getting home feels like a momentous occa-

sion with the lavish arrival plaza welcoming residents to where they are meant to be.

Exclusive lift lobbies used to be the domain of penthouse owners, but at The Velaris Residences, the luxury of penthouse living is felt all throughout. Two-bedroom, three-bedroom, and penthouse unit owners enjoy the benefit of their own private lift lobbies bringing them straight to their doors.

The spacious and well-appointed central lobby provides access to exclusive amenities and one-bedroom units through high-speed elevators.

At the very top of the elevators is the crowning glory of The Velaris Residences—the SkyClub, an exclusive rooftop suite of entertainment establishments: The SkyDeck offers up a panoramic backdrop of stars and city lights for stimulating conversations.

Enjoy a drink or two at the SkyBar or fine cuisine served in the gourmet dining halls. Mere steps away are the game room and the wine room.

The Events Pavilion, with an openplan concept and floor-to-ceiling windows is another exclusive space designed to satisfy the entertaining and special occasion requests of residents and their guests.

When it comes to wellness and fitness, The Velaris Residences offers options in a class of their own. The onsen on the third floor has indoor and outdoor hot pools providing an invigorating bathhouse experience enveloped in spartan Japanese aesthetic. An Olympic-length pool inspires relaxation amid a green landscape, spacious cabanas, and soothing lights.

On the fifth floor is a state-of-the-art gym, dance studio, yoga room and outdoor yoga deck. The building also has a large and well-equipped playroom, as well as a karaoke room.

An exquisite show gallery Is there any other high rise in Metro Manila offering the same discerning attention to every detail? The Velaris Residences stands on its own, surprising and delighting at every turn. This distinctiveness is perfectly encapsulated in the property’s newly opened showroom in Bridgetowne, Quezon City. Upon entering the premises, The Velaris Residences Show Gallery aims to impress and succeeds at this effortlessly. The gorgeous interiors make it very clear that it is more than a showroom—it is a masterpiece in its own right and a clear demonstration of the property it represents. Three beautifully designed show units are available for viewing. Hongkong Land’s intentional design philosophy is apparent in every room, beckoning guests to experience unrivaled distinction.

To own a piece of one of the city’s most coveted addresses, visit The Velaris Residences Show Gallery in Bridgetowne in QC, beside The Blue Leaf Cosmopolitan. Or go to their web site, thevelarisresidences.com.

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Wednesday, May 6, 2020

JENNY THOMPSON is an anesthesiologist at the VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina.

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

BASEBALL SEASON OPENS IN S.KOREA

SWIM LEGEND THOMPSON ON THE FRONT LINE

J

ENNY THOMPSON still loves speed.

Only now, she performs in an operating room rather than the pool.

One of America’s greatest Olympic swimmers, Thompson is on the front line of the fight against coronavirus as an anesthesiologist at the VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina.

“I like things that happen fast,” she said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “In the operating room, things happen fast.”

Thompson competed in four Olympics, winning eight golds and 12 medals overall before she retired after the 2004 Athens Games. Then she turned to her other passion.

Health care.

The Massachusetts native chose anesthesiology because it fit the persona of a swimmer who specialized in shorter races.

“I loved the acute nature of helping patients during surgery,” Thompson said. “As a sprinter, I really appreciated the fast changes you see in physiology. You’re giving drugs and seeing immediate results.”

After working in a private practice in Maine for seven years, she moved to Charleston in 2018 along with her husband and their two young sons, now 4 and 7.

The coronavirus outbreak added a whole new element to her job.

“When I saw it coming our way, I had a lot of fear about being protected,” the 47-year-old Thompson conceded. “Once we had adequate PPE [personal protective equipment], I felt like I was ready.”

The virus has yet to have a major impact in South Carolina, which has recorded about 6,500 cases and less than 300 deaths.

The VA hospital in Charleston has dealt with only one serious case of Covid-19, according to Thompson, and a handful of other patients who were stricken milder symptoms.

But aging veterans are an especially vulnerable group.

Thompson knows the numbers could get worse, especially with South Carolina joining a growing list of states that are taking steps to reopen even as the death toll in the United States climbs toward 70,000.

A mandatory “work-or-home” order was lifted Monday

by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who also eased other restrictions on daily life.

“The end is not anywhere in sight. I know we will see more patients,”Thompson said. “We’re prepared and we’re ready.”

She has mixed feelings about lifting restrictions that have helped curb the spread of the highly infectious virus, but have sent the economy into a record-setting plunge.

“I’m worried there’s going to be another surge of cases,” Thompson said. “I also think it’s a delicate balance of what people can handle, and what the economy can handle.

Unemployment is the worst it’s been in history, but people need to be accountable for their actions.”

This past weekend, there were scenes around the country of people gathering in large numbers, many of them not wearing masks or staying the recommended 6 feet apart. Some headed to the beach. Others congregated in city parks. There were even reports of people lining up at an Atlanta mall to purchase a newly released Air Jordan sneaker from Nike.

That is troubling to health-care workers such as Thompson.

“We have to take social distancing seriously,” she said, “We have to wear masks. We have to stay 6 feet apart. We can’t have parties. We need social responsibility. I know we need to open up, but we need to do it smartly, based on data. We can’t just have a date in mind to do it. We need to do it only when it’s appropriate for that region based on the data.” AP

A TV cameraman walks through the spectators’ seating which are covered with pictures of fans in Incheon on Tuesday. AP

By Kim Tong-Hyung

S

The Associated Press

EOUL, South Korea—Cheerleaders danced beneath rows of empty seats and umpires wore protective masks as a new baseball season began in South Korea.

After a weeks-long delay because of the coronavirus pandemic, a hushed atmosphere allowed for sounds like the ball hitting the catcher’s mitt and bats smacking the ball for a single or double to echo around the stadium.

There were faces in the stands at a game on Tuesday— pictures placed in the seating—because fans aren’t allowed into the venues, at least for now.

Instead, it was easy to hear players cheering and shouting from dugouts. And it was a relief to fans watching from home in a country that’s now attempting a slow return

PRACTICE SHOOTING

USA Olympic modern pentathlon team member Isabella Isaksen practices shooting at targets with Pike’s Peak in the background in a park in Colorado Springs, Colorado. AP

Tennis plans virus-related financial fund

T

HE governing bodies of tennis plan to announce as soon as this week they are launching a fund of more than $6 million aimed at lessening the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic for about 800 singles and doubles players.

According to an email obtained by The Associated Press on Monday, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) professional tours, the groups that run the four Grand Slam tournaments and the International Tennis Federation are expected to establish eligibility rules that will factor in the players’ rankings and past prize money earnings.

If $6 million were evenly distributed to 800 players, each would get $7,500.

The seven entities involved in the initiative are contributing to what the email refers to as the “Player Relief Programme,” and the money will be divided equally among men and women. The hope is additional funding will come via other sources, including donations from higher-earning players and auctions.

The email also confirms the WTA and ATP would oversee the distribution of the financial aid, something mentioned when word emerged last month of some sort of tennis fund in the works. Like most sports around the world, tennis has

been on hold since March because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

More than 30 tournaments have been postponed or canceled—Wimbledon was scrapped for the first time in 75 years, for example—and no sanctioned events are on the calendar until mid-July at the earliest.

That has left many players ranked outside the top 100, along with coaches and others in the industry, trying to figure out how to deal with economic issues. Some exhibitions are being organized without fans, including an eight-man event in Germany that began Friday and wrapped up Monday.

Most lower-ranked players depend on participating in tournaments to make their income; if they can’t compete, they can’t earn.

“It’s obviously very unprecedented. Most tennis players... most of their income is basically 100 percent prize money.

Not everyone has endorsement deals that have guaranteed money. So it’s obviously a really big struggle when there’s no tournaments,” Mitchell Krueger, a 26-year-old American currently ranked 195th, said in an interview last month.

“Outside of maybe getting injured—where you’re maybe laid off for a month, two months, three months, depending on however bad your injury might be—you’re kind of in a situation right now that most players have never been in.” AP

to pre-Covid-19 normalcy amid a waning caseload.

The country’s professional soccer leagues will kick off Friday, also without spectators in the stadiums.

As one of the world’s first major professional sports competitions to return to action amid the pandemic, the Korea Baseball Organization has employed various preventive measures aimed at creating safe playing environments.

Players and coaches will go through fever screenings before entering stadiums, while umpires and first- and third-base coaches must wear masks during games. Players are prohibited from high-fiving teammates or signing autographs. Chewing tobacco was banned to prevent spitting. Masks and latex gloves will be required at training facilities.

Fans will be barred from games until the KBO is convinced the risks of infections have been minimized. If any member of a team tests positive for the coronavirus at any point of the season, the league will be shut down for at least three weeks.

On Tuesday, teams tried to create a festive atmosphere in the empty stadiums.

In a game in the

capital, Seoul-based LG Twins opened against crosstown rival and defending champion Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium, where the outfield seats were decked with huge banners of the Twins’ cheering slogans.

At Incheon, SK Wyverns imitated a home crowd by covering their outfield seats with rows of horizontal banners showing faces of fans wearing Wyverns caps and masks as they hosted the Daejeon-based Hanwha Eagles.

In Daegu, the city worst hit by the virus, the home team Samsung Lions used their huge scoreboard to play video messages from players, celebrities and fans thanking doctors and medical staff fighting the outbreak, which overwhelmed the city’s hospital capacities in late February and March before slowing in recent weeks. The Lions’ game against the Changwon-based NC Dinos was scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN. A full season of baseball seemed doubtful in early March when South Korea was reporting around 500 new virus infections a day, forcing the KBO to postpone its March 28 season openers.

But South Korea reported just three new cases on Tuesday, its lowest daily jump since infections surged in late February. Experts credit the downward trend to tightened border controls and active efforts to test and isolate virus carriers and trace their contacts, using medical, banking and immigration records and location information provided by police and telecommunications companies.

Officials have started relaxing social distancing guidelines and are preparing to reopen schools, starting with high-school seniors on May 13.

Barring any virus-related suspension, the KBO plans to maintain a 144-game regular season schedule. But it decided to scrap its all-star game and shorten the first round of the playoffs from a best-of-five to best-of-three series.

Al Mendoza alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL

Missing Maui, Tour of Luzon I MISS the Tour of Luzon, the long-gone cycling marathon known famously as the spectacle on wheels. Held yearly in summer, usually in the merry month of May, the bikathon overshadowed all sporting events as its exploits hogged headlines daily for a minimum of two weeks.

It started as a four-day road race from Manila-to-Vigan in 1955 as part of the tobacco festival in Ilocandia, with Antonio Arzala of Biñan, Laguna, the winner.

The late Geruncio Lacuesta, from Bayambang, Pangasinan, fathered the bikefest, naming it the Tour of Luzon in 1956. Arzala prevailed anew, making it a “threepeat” in 1959.

Arzala winning it a third time in five years foiled a third straight win by a Pangasinan rider in 1959, following victories by Rufino Gabot in 1957 and Mamerto Eden in 1958.

But Pangasinan would proceed to produce the most number of Tour of Luzon champions with a total of 10 from 1957 to 1982.

After Eden’s 1958 win, Edmundo de Guzman of Lingayen, Pangasinan, would triumph in 1962 to snap the back-to-back wins by Cebuanos Rodrigo Abaquita in 1960 and Jose Moring Jr. in 1961.

Another Pangasinense in Gonzalo Recodos took the crown in 1963, becoming the first to win the Tour without pocketing a single lap/stage. Consistency did the trick.

After Recodos came the first official successive winner in Bicol’s Jose Sumalde in 1964 and l965, with Cornelio Padilla Jr. of Tarlac duplicating the back-to-back feats in 1966 and 1967.

There were no Tours in 1968, 1970, 1971 and 1972, with Nueva Vizcaya’s Domingo Quilban ruling the 1969 edition by unleashing his mountain-climbing prowess in the Baguio stages.

But with the revival of the Tour in 1973, Jesus Garcia Jr. discarded his perennial bridesmaid role by lacing his win with showbiz pomp and human touch.

Garcia became an instant celebrity as his victory helped make his dream of becoming a recording artist a reality. His “Buhay Siklista,” rich in yodeling, remains the anthem of cyclists.

His rise to stardom also keyed Garcia’s reunion with his Texas-based father, an American soldier in the PhilippineJapan war. After his victory, Garcia flew to the US to meet his Dad, whom he hasn’t seen since his birth in Mangaldan, Pangasinan.

“Meeting him in person was the happiest moment of my life,” Garcia said to me upon his return from Texas.

But if there was one cyclist that left an indelible mark in the sport, it was Manuel “Maui” Reynante, whose legend is equaled in part by Pangasinan’s Jacinto Sicam (+), the two-time champ in 1981 and 1982.

After Garcia’s win sparked a four-year winning streak by Pangasinenses Teodorico Rimarim in 1974, Samson Etrata in 1975 and Romeo Bonzo in 1976, Reynante broke the Pangasinan dominance with his smashing victory in the 1977 Tour ng Pilipinas.

With his win, Reynante captured the longest bikathon ever, a 24-day ordeal on all kinds of roads conquered under all the cruelest of elements.

After winning again in 1980, Reynante would drift away and tried his luck in the US. But the warmth of home saw him come back in no time.

In 2012, biking at around 1 p.m. along the Service Road in Sucat Road, Muntinlupa City, Reynante collapsed after a heart attack. He was dead on arrival at the hospital. He was 67.

Like Garcia, Reynante was also my compadre. Their sons being my baptismal godsons makes me proud.

THAT’S IT Michael Jordan’s timeless NBA magic is the current toast at Netflix. His The Last Dance documentary shown every Monday, beginning 3 p.m., will prove to be a sporting classic too hard to surpass, even equal.

Djokovic appears to break confinement rules in Spain

M

ADRID—Novak Djokovic apparently broke confinement rules in Spain by going back to a tennis court on Monday.

Djokovic posted a video on Instagram showing him exchanging shots with another man at a tennis club in the coastal city of Marbella, where the Serb has reportedly stayed.

Djokovic filmed the video while hitting shots and wrote he was “so happy to play on clay...well, just for a bit with my phone in the hands.”

Spain on Monday loosened some of the lockdown measures that had been in place since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic, allowing professional athletes to return to practice. But sports facilities are supposed to remain closed at least until next week in most parts of the country, with the exception of training centers for teams in professional leagues in sports such as soccer.

The Spanish tennis federation said in a statement on Monday that professional players in Spain were allowed to exercize by themselves or with a coach, but not yet on

a tennis court. It said it would work on a set of guidelines to inform players and clubs about what they would be permitted to do beginning next week.

The federation’s statement did not appear to be related to Djokovic’s appearance on the court in Marbella.

Requests for comment made to the federation and to Djokovic’s staff late on Monday were not immediately answered.

It was not clear if Djokovic, the reigning AustraliA would be subjected to fines or sanctions if it was confirmed he broke the lockdown rules.

The No. 1-ranked Djokovic recently said he was against taking an anti-coronavirus vaccination if it became mandatory to travel once the pandemic subsides, though he later said he was open to changing his mind.

Spain was one of the hardest hit countries by the pandemic but it started loosening some of its restrictions on movement as the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 started to go down in recent weeks. The country went into a lockdown on March 14. AP NOVAK DJOKOVIC: So happy to play on clay...well, just for a bit with my phone in the hands.