BusinessMirror May 21, 2021 by BusinessMirror

Govt infra spending up to ₧195.2B in Q1 By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

TATE infrastructure spending in the first quarter of this year hit P195.2 billion, up by 25.1 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed nationa l gover nment disbursements for infrastructure and capital outlays from January to March this year were P39.1 billion higher than last year’s P156.1 billion. In its latest assessment on the government’s disbursement performance, the DBM said the

increase was largely due to Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) road infrastructure program and direct payments made to suppliers by foreign creditors for foreign-assisted projects, such as the Metro Manila Subway Project of the Department of Transportation and the Davao City By-Pass Construction Project of the DPWH. “Although the growth in infrastructure and other capital outlays may be partly due to base effects, the increase in infrastructure disbursements for Q1 this year of P39.1 billion was enough to completely offset the P22.1 billion reduction recorded in Q1 last year,”

it said. “It also recovered from the negative growth recorded in the preceding two quarters of 33.0 percent in Q3 and 32.7 percent in Q4 2020.” The double-digit expansion in state infrastructure spending along with higher maintenance disbursements drove the growth in overall government spending for the first quarter of this year. For the three-month period, total government spending surged by nearly 20 percent to P1.018 trillion from last year’s P849.2 billion. “Government spending is one of the major sources of growth which helped temper the economic contraction recorded for Q1 of this

year. While the overall economic performance declined by 4.2 percent, government final consumption expenditure, which consists largely of the expenditures for various social programs, expanded by 16.1 percent,” the DBM said. For March alone, state infrastructure spending jumped by 41.1 percent to P87.8 billion this year from P62.2 billion in the same month last year. “This was largely propelled by the payment for completed and partially completed infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways nationwide such as construction, See “Govt,” A2

BSP: PHL DEBT WIELDY, RATINGS WILL BE KEPT

Friday, May 21, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 219

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 26 pages |

UDENNA BUYS SHELL STAKE IN MALAMPAYA GAS FIELD FOR $460M

The Philippine government has formally marked its ownership of the Philippine (Benham) Rise. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and M-NAV Solutions Inc. successfully installed three state-of-the-art lighted ocean buoys in the territory’s maritime waters from May 14 up to 16, an activity that followed earlier maritime training exercises that the Coast Guard held in the West Philippine Sea, including Scarborough Shoal. Story on page A3. PHOTOS COURTESY OF M-NAV SOLUTIONS INC.

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

ENNIS UY-LED Udenna Cor p. now controls 90 percent of the Malampaya gas-to-power project af ter Shel l Pet roleum N.V. sold its entire stake in the gas project for a total of $460 million. A Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) was signed Thursday with Malampaya Energy XP Pte Ltd. for the sale of Shell Petroleum’s 100-percent shareholding in Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX). SPEX holds a 45-percent operating interest in Service Contract 38 (SC38), which includes the producing Malampaya gas field. The other partners in SC38 are UC38 LLC, another subsidiary of UC (45 percent), and Philippine National Oil

By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno expressed confidence that the Philippines will retain its investment grade rating from all three major international credit watchers, as the BSP’s latest assessment shows the country’s debt profile will remain manageable amid increased foreign borrowings. See “BSP,” A2

PESO exchange rates n US 47.8300

Company Exploration Corporation (10 percent). “The base consideration for the sale is $380 million, with additional payments of up to $80 million between 2022 and 2024 contingent on asset performance and commodity prices,” a statement from Shell Philippines said. The deal is still subject to partner and regulatory approvals. The transaction is targeted to be completed by the end of 2021. “Since it began commercial operations in 2002, Malampaya has supplied a significant portion of the Philippines’s energy demand and it will continue powering the country with indigenous gas following a safe transition of the asset and its experienced work force,” said Wael Sawan, Shell’s Upstream See “Udenna,” A2

Exporters warned vs risks in pandemic By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

@TyronePiad

HILE the Philippines saw an uptick in first quarter trading, local exporters are still warned of potential continued exposure to vulnerability amid the pandemic. Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) Chairman George T. Barcelon told

the BusinessMirror the country’s rebound in trading is being threatened by the government’s Covid-19 response and supply chain concerns. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), exports grew by 7.6 percent to $17.56 billion in the first quarter. In March alone, export revenues improved

by 31.6 percent to $6.68 billion. “If there is any issue that may come into play [it] is...we are [a bit] behind the curve in having this mass inoculation,” Barcelon said. “We still have limitations in our mobility of the working class. Those are the factors that may constrain our export growth,” he added. See “Exporters,” A2

n japan 0.4381 n UK 67.5264 n HK 6.1599 n CHINA 7.4342 n singapore 35.8438 n australia 36.9343 n EU 58.2426 n SAUDI arabia 12.7540

Source: BSP (May 20, 2021)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, May 21, 2021

Duterte signs franchises for UP, Davao City govt

By Samuel P. Medenilla

sam_medenilla

RESIDENT Duterte signed five new laws granting to or extending the broadcast franchise of concerned government and private sector entities.

Among those he signed are Republic Act 11538, which granted franchise to construct, install,

Exporters... In addition, Barcelon lamented that manufacturers of electronics—which comprise bulk of the country’s exports—cannot maximize their capacity due to raw materials shortages. The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. earlier flagged the lack of imported semiconductor wafers, needed to produce integrated circuits.

and operate a radio broadcasting station to the city government of Davao; R A 11540, which extended

the franchise for the radio and television broadcast of the University of the Philippines by another 25 years; and R A 11541, which granted a nationwide television and radio broadcast franchise to Palawan Broadcasting Corporation. For the private sector, Duterte signed R A 11539 granting Instant Data Inc. the right to maintain telecommunication systems nationwide; and R A 11542, which g ives a franchise to Highland Broadcasting Network Corp. for

operation television and radio broadcast in Mindanao. The franchises shall be in effect for 25 years from the date of the effectivity of the laws unless sooner canceled. The renewal of the franchises may be done three years before expiration. All of the measures were signed on May 18, 2021, but were only released to the media on Thursday. These laws will only take effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

rush, which could affect the manufacturing sector and consumption of the country. According to the recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), the Philippines received a score of 0.11 for export volatility, among the highest in the Southeast Asian region. “Export volatility tracks export performance across the last six months to identify volatility

patterns. A greater score implies higher export vulnerability,” Unctad explained. Meanwhile, other neighbors with higher export volatility score are Thailand at 2.34; Myanmar, 0.38; and Laos, 0.23. Singapore has the least export vulnerability in the region at 0.01, followed by Vietnam (0.02), Indonesia (0.04), Malaysia (0.09) and Cambodia (0.1). No data was provided in the report for Brunei and Timor-Leste.

Continued from A1

The exporters have also been reeled from shipment delays— seen to reduce export revenues— amid the shortage of vessels due to conta iner imba lance. Phi lexport earlier said such delays, which started in the last quarter of 2020, range from two weeks to one month. The Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines said this constraint in supply chain is projected even after the Christmas

Export performance

Unctad gave the Philippines 0.51 in export performance for the fourth quarter of 2020, which is the median score among countries in the region. The report noted the score is a composite indicator including growth rates, performance against other countries and competitiveness. The Philippines scored higher than Cambodia (0.35), Myanmar (0.37), Thailand (0.43) and Singapore (0.46). Meanwhile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos outperformed most in the region with 0.56, 0.56, 0.59 and 0.69, respectively. The Philippines’s trade recovery is parallel with the global performance. Unctad noted that global trade was up by about 10 percent year-on-year in the first three months and improved by 4 percent from the previous quarter. Much of the trade resilience was due to East Asian economies, whose early success in pandemic mitigation allowed them to rebound faster and to capitalize on booming global demand for Covid-19 related products.

Trade outlook

Unctad expects further growth in global trading this year, to be driven by East Asian economies. It pegged the value of global trade in goods and services in the second quarter at $6.6 trillion. If realized, this will mark a “year-over-year increase of about 31 percent relative to the lowest point of 2020 and of about 3 percent to the prepandemic levels of 2019.” For its full-year forecast, Unctad predicts 16-percent increase from the lowest points of last year, which are 19 percent for goods and 8 percent for services. Still, the UN agency noted there are still uncertainties despite the upbeat outlook, which include “uneven economic recovery” and changes in consumer spending. For the Philippines, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said at a Laging Handa briefing on Thursday that the electronics and information technology-business process management are a “big dollar generator” driving export revenues. To boost the export industry, the Department of Trade and Industry chief said they continue to provide assistance and incentives to the local players. “ We continue to market our products abroad. We talk to international stakeholders,” he said, in addition to addressing concerns with cargo movements and availability of workers.

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BSP...

Continued from A1

In a press br ief ing on Thursday, Diokno told reporters the recent increase in foreign borrowings, as propelled by the pandemic-induced disruptions, is sustainable and manageable. Diokno noted that the loans taken up by the government are diversified with low interest rates. As such, they do not see the government debt-toGDP (gross domestic product) ratio exceeding the 60-percent threshold for the year. Asked whether the rising debt remains manageable enough for credit watchers to keep their ratings of the country this year, Diokno said, “definitely.” “ W hi le admitted ly the debt-to-GDP ratio is rising, it is still within the 60-percent threshold and we are very careful about that,” he said. According to Diokno, the current external debt as a percentage of GDP as of 2020 is at 27.2 percent. The total public external debt to GDP ratio, meanwhile, is at 54.6 percent. BSP data showed the country’s external debt stood at $98.5 billion as of end-December 2020, up from $83.6 billion recorded at end-December 2019. The end-2020 external debt figure represented 27.2 percent of the country’s GDP. The latest ratio indicates the country’s sustained strong position to

Udenna...

director. “Today’s announcement is consistent with Shell’s efforts to shift our Upstream portfolio to one that is focused on nine core positions.” This deal has no impact on other Shell businesses in country. The Philippines remains an important country for Shell after over a century of successful operations. Shell will continue to pursue opportunities in the Philippines where it can leverage its global expertise in line with its strategy. “Shell and the country leadership will always be grateful for the dedication, professionalism, and support that the entire SPEX organization has contributed to the wider SciP [Shell companies in the Philippines] family in particular, and to our country in general,” said SciP Country Chairman Cesar Romero. In April this year, the Department of Energy (DOE) has approved the transfer of Chevron Malampaya LLC’s 45-percent stake to UC Malampaya Pte. Ltd. “ We a re t remendou sly proud of Malampaya Energy for acquiring one of Shell’s most successful natural gas assets in Asia, which of course includes the world-class SPEX tea m cur rent ly operat ing Ma lampaya,” sa id Uy, UC chairman and CEO.

Govt...

service foreign borrowings. The maturity profile of the country’s external debt also remained predominantly medium and long term (MLT) in nature, with share to total at 85.6 percent. “This means that foreign exchange requirements for debt payments continued to be spread out and manageable,” Diokno said, adding that 60 percent of MLT borrowings have fixed interest rates, which minimizes risks from possible interest rate increases.

MB-approved loans

Meanwhile, Diokno said the Monetary Board approved $15.5 billion in foreign borrowings as of 7 May 2021 to support government efforts to ease the impact of the pandemic. Of these, $1.2 billion will be used for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines. T he b or ro w i n g s w e re sourced from bond issuances at $5.1 billion, the Asian Development Bank at $4.3 billion, World Bank-International Bank for Reconstruction and Development at $3.7 billion, Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank at $1.1 billion, Japan International Cooperation Agency at $942 million, Agence Francaise de Developpement Bank at $283 million and the ExportImport Bank of Korea at $100 million.

Continued from A1

Malampaya delivers a fifth of the Philippines’s growing electricity requirements through the supply of natural gas to five power plants in Luzon. The asset has been operating safely and reliably since 2002 and has contributed over $10 billion in revenues to the Philippine government to date. SPEX staff will be retained by Malampaya Energy. “The ongoing safety and reliability of Malampaya is our top priority and will be delivered by the same experienced team of upstream professionals from SPEX working with consistent practices. They will be strongly supported by our newly established Upstream Decision Review Board of industry leaders and the ex-Chevron and exShell upstream specialists in our Malampaya Energy business, who are already actively involved in managing the Malampaya consortium,” said Belinda Racela, top executive of Malampaya Energy. “We are excited about the future growth opportunities at Malampaya. Our teams are accelerating exploration and production plans to extend the life of the Malampaya field and expand supplies of affordable, safe, low-carbon and indigenous energy for the nation,” Racela added.

Continued from A1

repair and rehabilitation of access, by-pass, and diversion roads, bridges, and flood mitigation structures and drainage systems,” the DBM said. Overall government spending in March stood at P407.6 billion, up by 22.3 percent from P333.2 billion a year ago. For the rest of the year, the DBM said they still see disbursements in the second quarter to be driven by Covid-19 related expenditures, including the release of allotments for the procurement

of vaccines and the financial assistance to Metro Manila and four nearby provinces Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan and Rizal which were placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine to address the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases. It a lso ex pects overa ll government spending to be boosted by ongoing construction projects of DPWH and the downloading of program subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations based on submitted requests.

The Nation BusinessMirror

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PNP chief taps SAF and MG assets to ferry Covid vaccines

ATIONAL Police chief General Guillermo Eleazar assured on Thursday that all mechanisms are in place for the Philippine National Police (PNP) for the speedy transport of Covid-19 vaccines to provinces around the country. “We are ready to provide assistance so that Covid-19 vaccines will be delivered immediately to provinces and municipalities outside Metro Manila,” he said. The PNP chief said that part of the PNP preparation was to place the floating assets of the PNP Maritime Group (MG) and helicopters of the PNP Special Action Force on standby for possible use in the transportation of the vaccines. “In line with [Interior and Local Government] Secretary Eduardo Año’s directive, I have directed SAF and MG to prepare the speedboats and helicopters that may be used to transport the vaccines to far-flung areas for our countrymen,” Eleazar said in Filipino. “I have also directed all commanders to prepare all the vehicles that could be used and to prepare deployment and security plan for our personnel who would assist in the transportation of vaccines and in securing vaccination sites,” he added. The PNP MG has almost 200 floating assets under its disposal that could be readily deployed to transport the vaccines. The SAF, on the other hand, said that it is ready to use four of the seven helicopters for the delivery of vaccines. The three other PNP helicopters are currently under threeweek preventive maintenance. The PNP is among the agencies tasked by Año to ensure the speedy delivery of the vaccines after President Duterte directed the Department of the Interior and Local Government to supervise their safe transport and proper handling in view of reports of wastage. “Ang inyong [Your] PNP ay patuloy na nakikipag-ugnayan [is coordinating with the] Department of Health and Armed Forces of the Philippines at lahat ng [and all] concerned agencies for a well-coordinated and quick delivery of vaccines across the country. Makakaasa po kayo ng bente-kuwatro oras na serbisyo ng inyong PNP para mapabilis ang minimithing herd immunity [We assure 24/7 service so could attain herd immunity],” said Eleazar. He also assured that the PNP would be up to the task of safely transporting and distributing the Covid-19 jabs.

Govt stakes claim over Philippine Rise with installation of state-of-the-art buoys By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

HE government formally marked its ownership of the Philippine Rise as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and M-NAV Solutions Inc. successfully installed three state-of-the-art lighted ocean buoys in the territory’s maritime waters. A news statement said Coast

Guard and M-NAV Solutions Inc. personnel mounted the buoys from May 14 to 16, 2021, an activity that followed earlier maritime training exercises that the Coast Guard held in the West Philippine Sea, including the Scarborough Shoal. The buoys were transported by vessel MV MORNING LIGHT from the Uni-Orient Pearl Ventures Inc. shipyard in Mandaue, Cebu, to the Philippine Rise on

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

HE Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday said that international flight operations would likely “return to normal” before the year ends amid the intensified vaccination drive of the government. BI port operations chief, lawyer Carlos Capulong, said the bureau is operating at full capacity at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) so as not to compromise its service to the traveling public as the agency expects gradual increase in flights in the coming months as the country slowly reopens its borders. “We are anticipating new batches of immigration officers to be deployed to our

@joveemarie

HE chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development has asked the Department of Health (DOH) to place safeguard measures with the opening of the government’s P17-billion Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP) Program to private hospitals. Manila Rep. Manuel Luis T. Lo-

The buoys are equipped with modern marine aids to navigation lanterns, specialized mooring systems and a remote monitoring system that uses satellite technology to transmit data to the Coast Guard National Headquarters in Port Area, Manila. The Coast Guard’s Maritime Safety Services Command (MSSC) said seven more state-of-the-art lighted ocean buoys will arrive in

the country this year to mark other vicinity waters inside Philippines’s exclusive economic zone. The installation of the buoys was undertaken amid the swarming presence of Chinese vessels in some areas of the Kalayaan Island Group and West Philippine Sea. Some of these ships have earlier been challenged by the Coast Guard and forced them to leave, including at the Ayungin Shoal.

air ports to ensure we have the adequate personnel to cope with this anticipated increase in the volume of international passengers,” he said. Meanwhile, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente has advised the public that its offices in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces of Laguna, Rizal and Cavite would continue to operate with a skeleton work force. He said this is in compliance with the resolution of the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (I ATF) placing the Metro Manila Plus area bubble under general community quarantine “with heightened restrictions.” The IATF directed all

government offices in the said areas to maintain a skeleton work force of up to maximum of 50 percent of their operational capacity. BI’s main office in Intramuros, Manila and its satellite and extension offices in the NCR Plus will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The BI chief also advised the public that only those who have registered and secured slots via the bureau’s online appointment system could transact business in the bureau’s main offices in Intramuros. “We appeal to our clientele to bear with us as this appointment scheme is necessary to ensure strict social distancing and protect everyone from getting infected with the virus,” he said.

to conflict-ridden Israel By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

HE government has finally suspended the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to Israel on Thursday amid an escalating armed conflict in the West Asian country. The decision came a day after the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) assured that the departure of 400 Filipino caregivers to Israel would push through despite raging IsraelPalestine hostilities. In a news statement, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello clarified they will not impose a deployment ban for OFWs bound for Israel. However, the labor chief ordered a temporary suspension, which may last for a “few days,” in the deployment of OFWs to Jeru-

salem to ensure their safety. “I will be the one to answer to President Duterte if something will happen to them if they leave [for Israel amid]…the high tension there,” Bello said. “Our request to our caregivers and health-care workers is to defer by a few days their departure so they would not [place themselves] in danger,” he added. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said they support the decision of DOLE in deferring the deployment of OFWs to Israel. He said it was a “practical decision,” especially since the government is now considering evacuating or repatriating around 30,000 Filipinos in Israel. Tensions remain high in between Israel and the Gaza Strip over alleged Israeli rights abuses against Palestinians in Jerusalem.

DAR readies infra projects for Sultan Kudarat farmers

ARIOUS infrastructure projects are being readied for farmers in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said. Aside from farm-to-market roads, DAR said potable water systems and irrigation canal projects will be implemented in the town. The infrastructure projects have a combined cost of P45.6 million. The groundbreaking of seven projects was held simultaneously on May 18, 2021. DAR Secretary John R. Castriciones said the infrastructure projects are expected to boost the income, livelihood and farm pro-

I am a witness how this program helps our unfortunate kababayan in Tondo.

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

May 12, 2021, where the installation of the navigational aid subsequently followed. Coast Guard Commandant, Admiral George Ursabia Jr. said the presence of buoys in the Philippine Rise sends message that the “vicinity waters is considered a special protected zone. Hence, mining and oil exploration are strictly prohibited to preserve its rich natural resources.”

BI girds for resumption of ‘normal’ DOLE chief temporarily international flights by December halts OFW deployment

ductivity of the Tacurong agrarian reform community. “We provide these support to our agrarian reform beneficiaries [ARBs] to improve their agricultural yields and quality of lives, because the farmers are our frontliners in securing the country’s food supply,” Castriciones said in a news statement. DAR-Soccsksargen Regional Director Marion Abella said the projects are implemented through the Italian Agrarian Reform Community Development Support Program (IARCDSP). Specifically, these projects would benefit farmers and residents of Barangays Baras, and Up-

Solon seeks safeguard measures in disbursement of ₧17-billion fund for Metro indigent patients

Manila Rep. Manuel Luis T. Lopez

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, May 21, 2021 A3

pez issued the statement following a recent hearing by the Committee on Metro Manila Development on the DOH-Metro Manila Center for Health Development (DOH-MMCHD) on the MAIP Program for Metro Manila. “With Congress significantly raising the program’s allocation from P10.5 billion in 2020 to P17 billion for fiscal year 2021, MAIP stands to do a lot of good for a populace reeling from unemployment, rising prices, and the

effects of the pandemic,” said Lopez. “What is crucial and important is we ensure that this program is free from abuse. Safeguards must be put in place to ensure the integrity of the program,” Lopez said. In 2019, DOH reported a scheme utilizing the MAIP program fund. The agency also condemned the reported fixing/selling of guarantee letters by unscrupulous individuals at the expense of poor and indigent patients. “I am a witness how this program helps our unfortunate kababayan in Tondo,” Lopez said. “It is important that we have this program also available to private hospitals because there are times when it is necessary for highly complicated cases that require specialist physicians and equipment only available in some private hospitals and in cases for example, you get into a vehicular accident and where stabilizing the patient is time essential, it becomes imperative that you go to the nearest hospital,” the lawmaker added.

per Katungal of Tacurong City and other neighboring areas. Abella, who is also the IARCDSP national coordinator, said that of the seven projects, three are for Barangay Baras, which include the rehabilitation of the 344-meter farm-to-market road with 245-meter slope protection; concreting of 1,578-meter irrigation canal; and the construction of 6 units of potable water system (Level II), all

amounting to P21,799,739.06. “The other projects are for Barangay Upper Katungal, which include rehabilitation of 419-meter farm-tomarket road with 245-meter slope protection in Purok Silangan; rehabilitation of 567-meter farm-to-market road with 504-meter slope protection and 203-meter guard rail in the road going to Tacurong National High Schools Annex; rehabilitation of 604-meter farm-to-market road

with 244-meter concrete pavement in Purok Mauswagon; and construction of 6 units of potable water system [Level II], with a total cost of P23,833,433.37,” he added. The IARCDSP is a foreign-assisted project funded by the Italian government and is implemented in selected agrarian reform communities in the provinces of Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur in Mindanao. Jonathan L. Mayuga

A4 Friday, May 21, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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DTI: Economy to recoup some losses under GCQ By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @TyronePiad

HE recent easing of lockdown measures in the National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby provinces is seen to trim some losses the economy suffered after the imposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Thursday.

During the Laging Handa briefing on Thursday, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said that loosening the mobility restrictions may allow the economy to recover “somewhere between about to P2 billion to P30 billion,” which is the estimated loss earlier this year. The trade chief based the figures from the estimates of the National Economic and Development Authority, which previously said that the

two-week ECQ beginning March 29 resulted in P30-billion income loss. Last week, the NCR Plus, comprising Metro Manila, Laguna, Bulacan, Rizal and Cavite, was placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) “with heightened restrictions” from May 15 to 31. “Definitely, the movement towards the GCQ...though with heightened restrictions, this in a way will still help us on the way back to re-

covery,” Lopez said. “There are other sectors that were reopened. These are leading to bringing back more jobs,” he added. Based on the DTI Memorandum Circular 21-19, restaurants in NCR Plus under GCQ will be allowed to have 20-percent capacity for indoor dine-in services and 50-percent capacity for outdoor dining. Personal care services, including beauty salons, barbershops, medical aest het ic clinics, nail spa and other similar establishments, may accommodate up to 30 percent of their capacity.

At 10-percent seating capacity, limited social events at accredited establishments of the Department of Tourism (DOT) will be allowed under GCQ. These events should be “only ceremonial proceedings consistent with the rules on religious gatherings shall be conducted, subject to the applicable DOT/DTI guidelines,” the circular reads. With strict adherence to minimum health protocols, outdoor tourist attractions may also operate at 30 percent. Meanwhile, the order still prohibits venues for meetings, incentives, conference and exhibition (MICE), indoor sports venues and indoor tourist attractions under GCQ. The Trade department said it will continue to monitor the strict compliance of the establishments with the circular. Inspection can also be

done by the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Health and the local government units. “Violations of this circular shall be subject to corresponding penalties under relevant rules and guidelines including the temporary suspension of business operations as may be necessary and applicable,” it added. Currently, Lopez said that the application for the Safety Seal Certification Program is ongoing. Securing a Safety Seal, he explained, signifies that an establishment follows the health protocols and uses digital contact-tracing application. “Through the Safety Seal certification, the government aims to increase public confidence in businesses at this time of the pandemic,” the Trade chief said during its launch last month.

POEA may hike deployment cap for HCWs

EVERAL countries have indicated their interest to hire additional Filipino health-care workers (HCW) amid the pandemic, prompting the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to consider raising its 5,000 deployment cap for such workers. POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia said “traditional markets” of Filipino HCWs, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have signified interest to hire more Filipino HCWs. However, currently only UK has formalized it request to be exempted from the deployment cap, which was granted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Olalia said they would still be conduct-

ing consultations with other concerned government agencies and stakeholders to determine if they would recommend raise the deployment cap. “We still have no exact figure to recommend [for a higher cap]...We have to first review our needs here and the demand abroad,” Olalia said in an online news briefing on Wednesday. POEA imposed the 5,000 deployment cap last January to ensure the country could have sufficient pool of HCWs to help in the government’s response to the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. “We have yet to reach the [5,000] cap. Our [HCW] deployment is only at 3,000 from January up to now,” Olalia said. Samuel P. Medenilla

Most returning OFWs still jobless after 3 mos continued from a12 The government and partners are helping repatriated migrant workers on a best-effort basis, to the ability that civil servants’ human strengths and powers can go further,” Opiniano, however, said. Based on data presented by Dooley, three months after their return, some 48 percent of the respondents planned to remigrate abroad while 35 percent preferred to stay home. Around 15 percent of them remained undecided on what they will do next while 2 percent wanted to migrate internally. IOM said the report, based on interviews with over 8,000 returned OFWs, aims to better understand the challenges, as well as the needs of migrant workers. “The ongoing global Covid-19 crisis and border restrictions continue to have an adverse impact on human mobility with migrant workers and their remittancedependent communities being some of the most vulnerable groups,” said Kristin Dadey, IOM Philippines Chief of Mission. “Understanding the impacts of Covid-19 on OFWs and their families is critical to identify emerging gaps in migration governance and international cooperation adhering to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. Findings of the report could support key stakeholders in developing migrant-centered policies and programs with the most recent and relevant information,” continued Dadey. As Coordinator and Secretariat of the United Nations Network on Migration in the Philippines, IOM has conducted various studies on the impact of Covid-19 on migration to support policy-makers and

has provided direct assistance to the government’s repatriation efforts. The report seeks to further complement this initiative by informing future programs on international recruitment, migrant worker protection in times of crises, and reintegration of returned OFWs. Collected data is also used to map out returning OFW mobility flows and identify sociodemographic patterns of migration and needs, preferences, skills and experiences of returned OFWs. “Covid-19 pandemic has presented new challenges for OFWs and highlighted their existing vulnerabilities. There is a particular need to leverage data and analysis collected into policies that will fill existing gaps in migrants’ welfare and safety,” said Gustavo Gonzalez, the UN’s Resident Coordinator and Chair of the UN Network on Migration in the Philippines, echoing the significance of the report. Hans Cacdac, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator, expressed his appreciation to IOM and the UN Network on Migration in the Philippines for its efforts; and said the report is useful especially in responding to unforeseen crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. “The Covid-19 Impact Assessment on Returned Overseas Filipino Workers will be a key tool in the government’s formulation of future policies and programs for OFWs,” he said. The assessment and report were supported with funding from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and produced in partnership with the OWWA.

Duterte may invite former presidents to WPS meeting continued from a12 Biazon, a former Armed Forces chief of staff before joining the Senate, prodded Duterte to take the lead in addressing the issue. He voiced concern that officials from the civilian and uniformed sectors seen to be conveying different positions. “The different pronouncements of the President, Cabinet members, lawmakers and ex-lawmakers and experts on the issue spawns danger and confusion,” he said, adding that even China may get confused and take aggressive action against the Philippines. Biazon added that even other allies of the Philippines are likely to get confused

and uncertain and be reluctant to help the Philippines counter China’s intrusions in its exclusive economic zone. The former AFP chief-turned senator stressed that the President alone cannot decide what actions the government will take on the policy concerning the West Philippine Sea as the issue involves “national security and food security.” He noted that the NSC, presided by Duterte as chairman, is composed of top officials of the Executive branch, including the Departments of National Defense and of Foreign Affairs, leaders of Congress and heads of the AFP and PNP. Butch Fernandez

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Government dangles perks to awaited vaccine makers By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @TyronePiad

HE processing period for local vaccine manufacturing applicants should not be more than 20 days to allow them to put up facilities within 10 months, the Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta) said. The anti-red tape watchdog, the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), Health, Science and Technology, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and National Task Force Against Covid-19 recently inked a joint memorandum circular (JMC) establishing a greenlane for local vaccine manufacturers. The circular is titled “Establishment of a Green Lane for Securing Permits, Licenses and Authorizations for the Establishment and Operation of a Bulk Import, Fill and Finish Local Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine Manufacturing Facility and For the Registration for Availment of Incentives.” “Bulk supplies of vaccines will be imported from abroad and the local companies will fill and package vials locally for distribution,” the JMC noted.

The FDA, under this circular, is mandated to follow the guidelines in using a facilitated registration and evaluation pathway for permits, licenses and authorizations, including Emergency Use Authorization applications. The JMC clarified that interaction with the applicant during the processing of applications, if the inspection or meeting is necessary, should not be considered a violation of the zero-contact policy. The local vaccine manufacturers, Arta noted, may also be able to avail of the incentives under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act and other related laws. The trade department “shall provide assistance to the applicant by facilitating the immediate resolution of issues and concerns relating to the establishment and operation of a Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing facility including those related to applicable administrative processes of the Bureau of Customs [BOC] and other concerned government institutions, agencies, and LGUs,” the JMC states. The signatories of the JMC, along with the Office of the Presidential

Adviser on Streamlining of Government Processes, comprise the joint oversight committee tasked with monitoring the implementation of the circular. Apart from establishing greenlane, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez earlier said that assuring a procurement deal with the potential vaccine manufacturers can also encourage more applicants. Arta said that the advanced market commitment for the Covid-19 vaccine will be tackled in a separate memorandum of agreement with the vaccine manufacturers and concerned agencies. Meanwhile, Arta launched on Thursday an inter-agency task force tasked with streamlining the processing of the claims of uniformed personnel and their legal beneficiaries. The group aims to automate the death benefit claims and other entitlements of the beneficiaries and to open one-stop shops in regions and localities. “We look forward to regionalizing and localizing the claims processing,” said Carlos Quita, Arta deputy director general for Administration, Finance and Special Programs.

Palace creates body to upgrade BOC procedures By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

RESIDENT Duterte has created the Philippine Trade Facilitation Committee to represent the country before the World Trade Organization (WTO) to streamline and improve Customs procedures in the country. In issuing Executive Order (EO) 136, President Duterte explained that the formation of the committee is in compliance with the provision of the WTO-Trade Facilitation Agreement (WTO-TFA), which was signed by the country in 2016 and entered into force in 2017. The accord mandates its signa-

tories to have such a committee to “facilitate both domestic coordination and implementation” of its provisions. The body would be headed jointly by the Department of Finance and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The Bureau of Customs will serve as the vice chair of the committee, and its members would include the Departments of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Environment and Natural Resources, Transportation, National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), Tariff Commission, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, DTI-Bureau of International Trade Relations, DTI-Bureau of Import Services, Food

and Drug Administration (FDA), and Philippine Economic Zone Authority. The initial funding for the operation of the committee will be charged to current appropriations of the member-agencies, but for succeeding years its budget should be incorporated in the annual outlay of each member-agencies. Among the responsibilities of the committee is to present proposals on trade regulations and assurance to the Neda Board. It will also enable micro, small, and medium enterprise to participate more actively. EO 136 took effect after it was signed by the President last Tuesday, but the EO was only made public on Thursday.

MSF not too upbeat on Covid jab voluntary licensing

ECURING voluntary license to produce Covid-19 vaccine is not enough to boost the production of much-needed doses amid the pandemic, a humanitarian medical group said. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, said in a virtual briefing on Thursday that intellectual property (IP) holders could put in place some restrictions preventing the grant of voluntary license. In securing a voluntar y license, the patent holder is authorizing a generic drug company to produce patented articles, such as the Covid-19 doses. “Voluntary licensing is inherently limited because, again, the decision-making power is up to the company,” MSF Legal Advisor Yuan Qiong Hu said. Hu said that the IP-holding company can dictate who they want to work with, set the terms and conditions for the licensing, choose which countries are allowed to supply and decide which IP are only allowed for production at certain price tag. “All of these controlling power remains with originator. But in a pandemic, we want to open up this space...” she said. She shared that MSF has been reaching out to the pharmaceutical industry since the onset of pandemic to support the initiative on open sharing of technology and voluntary licensing. But she lamented that major players expressed some reluctance. “[W]e see very little progress, especially lacking of willingness and action from major multinational pharmaceutical industry who are

now holding the essential technologies that are critical to scale up production and diversify supply of vaccines and other essential medical tools, including treatment and diagnostics,” Hu explained. With this, Hu said that the group has called for the temporary waiver of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has been negotiating on the matter for over seven months now. It is a multilateral accord on IP covering copyright and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs and patents, among others. The said agreement sets the minimum standards of IP protection, enumerates enforcement procedures and covers dispute settlement. Waiving the TRIPS agreement, she said, could prevent the exclusivity and monopoly of the Covid-19 vaccine. “[There’s] a lot of...available capacity in developing countries who can help with the expanding global production and diversify supply so that we wouldn’t need to wait for the vertical control of production supply from big industry to make sure access at global level would be equitable and timely,” Hu said. While over 100 countries have expressed support towards the waiver proposal, the MSF official noted that major economies such as Switzerland, European Union, Japan and the United Kingdom have yet to “come forward to really sit down and talk about this option.”

Still, Hu welcomed the recent changing of stance by the United States who backed the IP waiver on Covid-19 vaccines recently. This led to more countries showing willingness to join the call, she added. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez earlier told the BusinessMirror that other big economies are likely to join the US in supporting the proposal to scrap the patent protection on the Covid-19 doses. “US has set a good example and it can influence others as well, in the spirit of saving humanity from the tragedy of this pandemic,” he said, noting this could address the global shortage of vaccines. The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), meanwhile, warned that other economies, like Germany, will flag the potential damage of doing so to the health innovation and point out that supply chain should be the concern instead. “New supporters even acknowledged that the waiver will not be a ticket that guarantees supplies to developing countries and that setting patent-waiving measures in place and seeing results would take time that might not be with the times of the Covid-19 pandemic,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel Barba told this newspaper. South Africa and India earlier submitted the IP waiver proposal to the WTO requesting to remove the copy right, industrial designs, patents and undisclosed information under the TRIPS agreement until majority of the world population has immunity. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Friday, May 21, 2021 A5

Friday, May 21, 2021

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

Israel unleashes wave of strikes after vowing to press on in Gaza B

Putin, Xi initiate projects in show of warming ties

AZA CITY, Gaza Strip— Israel unleashed a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Thursday, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding several others. The latest strikes came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against US pressure to wind down the offensive against Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers, who have fired thousands of rockets at Israel.

Explosions shook Gaza City and orange flares lit up the night sky, with airstrikes also reported in the central town of Deir alBalah and the southern town of Khan Younis. As the sun rose, residents surveyed the rubble from at least five family homes destroyed in Khan Younis. There were also heavy airstrikes on al-Saftawi Street, a commercial thoroughfare in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it struck at least four homes of Hamas commanders, targeting “m i l it a r y inf ra st r uct u re,” a s well as a weapons storage unit at the home of a Hamas fighter in Gaza City. An Israeli airstrike smashed into the Khawaldi family’s twostory house in Khan Younis, destroying it. The 11 residents, who were sleeping in a separate area out of fear, were all wounded and hospitalized, said Shaker alKhozondar, a neighbor.

Shrapnel hit his family home next door, killing Hoda al-Khozondar, his aunt, and wounding her daughter and two cousins, he said. Weam Fares, a spokesman for a nearby hospital, confirmed her death and said at least 10 people were wounded in strikes overnight. Netanyahu has pushed back against calls from the Biden administration to wrap up the operation that has left hundreds dead. It marks the first public rift between the two close allies since the fighting began last week and could complicate international efforts to reach a cease-fire. His pushback also poses a difficult early test of the US-Israel relationship. After visiting military headquarters, Netanyahu said Wednesday he appreciated “the support of the American president,” but that Israel would push ahead to return “calm and security” to its citizens. He said he was “determined to

continue this operation until its aim is met.” US President Joe Biden had earlier told Netanyahu that he expected “a significant de-escalation today on the path to a cease-fire,” the White House said. Biden had previously avoided pressing Israel more directly and publicly for a cease-fire with Gaza’s Hamas militant rulers. But pressure has been building for Biden to intervene more forcefully as other diplomatic efforts gather strength. Eg y ptian negotiators have also been working to halt the fighting, and an Egyptian diplomat said top officials were waiting for Israel’s response to a cease-fire offer. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Moussa Abu Marzouk, a top Hamas official, told the Lebanese Mayadeen TV that he expected a cease-fire in a day or two. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was expected in the region Thursday for talks with Israelis and Palestinians. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the foreign ministers of Slovakia and the Czech Republic would join him after being invited “to express their solidarity and support” for Israel. The current round of fighting between Israel and Hamas began May 10, when the militant group fired long-range rockets toward Jerusalem after days of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint site sacred to Jews and Muslims. Heavy-handed police tactics at the compound and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian

families by Jewish settlers had inflamed tensions. Since then, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes that it says have targeted Hamas’ infrastructure, including a vast tunnel network it refers to as the “Metro.” Hamas and other militant groups embedded in residential areas have fired over 4,000 rockets at Israeli cities, with hundreds falling short and most of the rest intercepted or landing in open areas. At least 227 Palestinians have been killed, including 64 children and 38 women, with 1,620 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not break the numbers down into fighters and civilians. Hamas and Islamic Jihad say at least 20 of their fighters have been killed, while Israel says the number is at least 130. Some 58,000 Palestinians have fled their homes. Twelve people in Israel, inc lu d i n g a 5 - y e a r - ol d b o y, a 16 -year-old girl and a soldier, have been killed. Since the fighting began, Gaza’s infrastructure, already weakened by a 14-year blockade, has rapidly deteriorated. Medical supplies, water and fuel for electricity are running low in the territory, on which Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after Hamas seized power in 2007. Israeli attacks have damaged at least 18 hospitals and clinics and destroyed one health facility, the World Health Organization said. Nearly half of all essential drugs have run out. The fighting, the worst since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, has ig nited protests around the world. AP

Angry French police hold huge, emotional rally at parliament

A R I S —T h o u s a n d s o f Fre nc h p ol ic e of f i c e r s took part in a huge demonstration outside parliament Wednesday to press for a law that protects the protectors who are feel ing v u l nerable to at t ac k s, a ng r y a nd useless. The rally by security forces represented a bold and unusual move for members of an institution that stresses duty and discretion. The protest drew civilian supporters and morphed into what looked like a campaign stop for politicians ahead of regional elections next month and a presidential race next year, with security a top concern. Hard-line Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin showed up at the start, squeezing through a packed crowd of hundreds waving labor union flags. Representatives from

the far-right National Rally and a multitude of other parties were expected to attend. The politicians clearly hope to send a message that security matters and police officers, a considerable voting pool, are their friends. “You must help us, Mr. Minister,” an officer said with emotion to Darmanin. “Every morning when I awake, every night when I sleep, I think of you,” Darmanin said, adding that his presence at the protest was “normal” given his role as France’s top cop. Police unions gave notice ahead of the rally that politicians would not be allowed to make speeches. “No one will confiscate the words of police or citizens,” said a statement by 10 unions holding the demonstration.

Organizers said about 35,000 people, both officers and members of the public, attended the rally, which spilled across a main boulevard to the Seine River. With two officers killed in recent weeks—one in a terrorist attack and another by a suspected 19-year-old delinquent—and constant encounters with young people who throw objects and fireworks, police are angry. “Paid to Serve, Not to Die,” read a giant banner in front of the National Assembly, the lower chamber of parliament. “We hope this is the starting point for real political action,” a ranking officer who belongs to the police chiefs’ union, SCPN, said. Rallying in front of the French parliament is “to concentrate our anger where the laws are made. We’ve reached a point of no return,” said the officer, who identified himself only as Olivier B. because union officials, not the rank-and-file, typically make public statements. Police are calling for a law that guarantees jail time for those who assault them and for a justice system that punishes the small-time offenders they arrest and re-arrest after courts set them free.

Polls show broad support for police, but critics cite instances of brutality, including a man who died this year after a beating. A group of organizations filed a lawsuit in January contending systemic racism in France’s security forces. Officers reject what they label as “police bashing,” saying that it undermines their work. President Emmanuel Macron, who is expected to run for reelection in 2022, has put security high on his agenda. However, police want more than a list of promises, such as guaranteeing a 30-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of killing an officer. A minute of silence was observed to honor police officers killed in the line of duty. A drug squad officer, Eric Masson, was fatally shot two weeks ago while making a quick check at a dealers’ corner in Avignon at the end of his shift. The suspect is 19 years old. A police official was knifed to death April 23 by a suspected radical at her station’s entrance in the town of Rambouillet. Police complain that laws have not kept up with changes in society, and existing laws are often not applied by judges. AP

EIJING—Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin joined Wednesday in a videoconference to initiate a series of nuclear energy projects, an event intended to display warming ties between two nations that have paired up as the chief geopolitical rivals to the United States. C h i nese st ate broadc a ster CCTV showed Xi and Putin greeting each other via video link and announcing the start of construction of Russia-designed reactors at China’s Tianwan and Xudapu nuclear power plants. “Russian and Chinese professionals are setting in motion a truly signature, f lagship joint project,” Putin said during the ceremony, describing the technolog y as “powerful state-ofthe-art Russian-made nuclear reactors compliant with all the safety regulations and the highest of ecological standards.” The projects are due to be completed by 2026 and 2028, thus “making a great contribution.... to maintaining [China’s] energy security,” Putin said. China has being seeking to reduce its overwhelming reliance

on coal for electricity, but the political aspects of the event were at least as important as the economic implications. Putin and Xi have developed increasingly close ties, based in part on their shared identities as autocratic leaders who repress all political opposition and demand total loyalty from those who have benefited economically from their rule. At the same time, Moscow and Beijing have closely aligned their foreign policies, particularly when it comes to opposing US calls for political liberalization and humanitarian interventions. Both have been highly critical of American foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East, and are the leading voices in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that seeks to restrain US influence in Central Asia. China is also a key market for Russian oil and gas, and has in the past made major purchases of Russian warplanes and other military technology. Russia is a major customer for Chinese machinery and consumer goods, although its sanctions-hit economy has limited its purchases. AP

Top US, Russia diplomats spar firmly but politely in Iceland

EYKJAVIK, Iceland—Top diplomats from the United States and Russia sparred politely in Iceland during their first face-to-face encounter, which came as ties between the nations have deteriorated sharply in recent months. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia’s longtime Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke frankly but calmly of their differences as they held talks on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting Wednesday in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, a city with deep history in US-Russian relations. “We seek a predictable, stable relationship with Russia,” Blinken told Lavrov, echoing comments made by President Joe Biden, who has proposed a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin next month. “We think that’s good for our people, good for Russian people and indeed good for the world.” “It’s also no secret that we have our differences and when it comes to those differences, as President Biden has also shared with President Putin, if Russia acts aggressively against us, our partners, and our allies, we’ll respond—and President Biden has demonstrated that in both word and deed, not for purposes of escalation, not to seek out conflict, but to defend our interests,” Blinken said. The meeting took place just as the Biden administration notified Congress of new sanctions on Russia over a controversial European pipeline. The administration hit eight Russian companies and vessels with penalties for their involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, while sparing two German entities from similar penalties, which would have a more significant effect on the project. “We have serious differences in the assessment of the international situation, we have serious differences in the approaches to the tasks which have to be solved for its normalization,” Lavrov said. “Our position is very simple: We are ready to discuss all the issues without exception, but under perception that the discussion will be honest, with the facts on the table, and of course on the basis of mutual respect.”

Even before Wednesday’s talks the two diplomats had laid down near diametrically opposed positions for the meeting, previewing what was likely to be a difficult and contentious exchange over myriad issues including Ukraine, the Arctic, Russia’s treatment of opposition figure Alexey Navalny and accusations of cyber malfeasance, including claims that Russia-based hackers were responsible for a ransomware attack on a key US pipeline. The meeting also followed a spate of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions as US-Russian relations threaten a return to Cold War lows. After the meeting, which ran for a longer-than-expected hour and 45 minutes, the State Department said Blinken had called for Russia to release two Americans it holds, Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed. He also raised “deep concerns” about Russia’s military buildup on the Ukraine border and its actions against the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the department said. Lavrov, meanwhile, told Russian reporters after the meeting that the talks had been “constructive” and that Russia has proposed starting a new and broad strategic dialogue. “There is a lot of rubble, it’s not easy to rake it up, but I felt that Antony Blinken and his team were determined to do this. It will not be a matter for us,” he said, according to the news agency Tass. A senior US official called the meeting “a good start” with “no polemics” that had allowed both sides to “tee-up a lot of the issues that the two presidents may have the opportunity to discuss.” But, neither side offered any update on progress toward a Biden-Putin summit, say ing on ly t hat d iscussions about its logistics continue. Perhaps anticipating Blinken’s position and the expected sanctions announcement, Lavrov had offered a prebuttal at a news conference Monday in Moscow. “Apparently, a [US] decision was made to promote stable, predictable relations with Russia,” he said. “However, if this includes constant and predictable sanctions, that’s not what we need.” AP

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Friday, May 21, 2021

UN urges more Covid vaccines for Africa to speed up recovery

NITED NATIONS—The UN Security Council called for accelerated availability of coronavirus vaccines for Africa on Wednesday, expressing concern that the continent has received only about 2 percent of all doses administered globally. The call came in a presidential statement approved by all 15 members at a council meeting on promoting post-pandemic recovery in Africa and addressing the root causes of conflict on the continent. It reiterated the need for “equitable access to quality, safe, efficacious, and affordable Covid-19 diagnostics, therapeutics, medicines and vaccinations to all.” The statement urged “increased and accelerated donation of safe and effective vaccine doses from developed economies” and others

with supplies to African countries in need, especially through the World Health Organization’s ACT-Accelerator program, which includes the COVAX facility to buy and deliver vaccines for the world’s poorest countries. The council also acknowledged that discussions are underway on waiving intellectual property protections for coronavirus vaccines aimed at providing vaccinations to Africans and all others in need. UN Secretary-General Antonio

Guterres told the council meeting, organized by China, that the limited supply and access to vaccines is hampering and delaying Africa’s recovery from the pandemic. “Out of 1.4 billion doses administered around the world today, only 24 million have reached Africa—less than two percent,” he said. Guterres said that “equitable and sustainable vaccine roll-out worldwide is the quickest path towards a fast and fair recovery.” Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, told the virtual meeting that “today the biggest challenge Africa is facing is the vaccine issue.” He said the trend continues to show a rising number of Africans infected with the coronavirus and an increase in fatalities from Covid-19, the disease that can be caused by the virus. “There is an urgent need to put an end to the vaccine protectionism and vaccine nationalism” threatening vaccinations in low-income and fragile countries, he said. Mahamat said the pandemic

will continue to have “a profound impact” on economic and social development in Africa, especially in conflict-affected countries and those in political turmoil. “It is a very big mistake to think that the world will be secure [while] the African continent is still lacking protection against the virus and its variants,” he said. Achim Steiner, administrator of the UN Development Program, said African countries currently account for “a small fraction of the world ’s reported Covid-19 cases and fatalities relative to its population.” This is partly due to early efforts by many African governments and institutions in tackling the pandemic, he said. “However, the small percentages mask the crippling financial, social, and political implications of Covid-19 on the continent,” Steiner said. He noted some 40 million Africans have been pushed back into extreme poverty and said UNDP research this year indicates that Africans will account for approximately six out of every 10

Chinese authorities order video denials by Uyghurs of abuses

RUMQI, China—China has highlighted an unlikely series of videos this year in which Uyghur men and women deny US charges that Beijing is committing human rights violations against their ethnic group. In fact, a text obtained by the AP shows that the videos are part of a government campaign that raises questions about the willingness of those filmed. C h inese st ate med i a h ave published dozens of the videos praising the Communist Party and showing Uyghurs angrily denouncing former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for declaring a genocide in the far west Xinjiang region. The videos, which officials have insisted are spontaneous outpourings of emotion, have also featured prominently in a series of government news conferences held for foreign media. But the text obtained by AP is the first concrete confirmation that the videos are anything but grassroots. Sent in January to government offices in the northern city of Karamay, the text told each office to find one Uyghur fluent in Mandarin to film a one-minute video in response to Pompeo’s “anti-China remarks.” “Express a clear position on Pompeo’s remarks, for example: I firmly oppose Pompeo’s anti-Chinese remarks, and I am very angry about them,” the text said. “Express your feelings of loving the party, the country and Xinjiang [I am Chinese, I love my motherland, I am happy at work and in life, and so on].” While it’s not impossible officials were able to find Uyghurs willing to be in such a public relations campaign, China’s track record in Xinjiang and its documented abuses of Uyghurs have led many experts to conclude it’s more likely those in the videos were forced to take part. “There’s something instinctive about these videos which feels ingenuine, but the significance is that there’s hard evidence here that the Chinese government is requesting these kinds of videos,” said Albert Zhang, a researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute who recently coauthored a report on Beijing’s disinformation campaign on Xinjiang. Xinjiang spokesman Xu Guixiang did not directly deny the authenticity of the text, but said it didn’t follow the usual format of state orders and that his understanding was that “the govern-

A webpage with the title “Pompeo stop your slanders! Only We Xinjiang people have a say!” and videos of ethnic Uyghurs responding to former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is seen on a computer screen in Beijing on May 19. China has highlighted an unlikely series of videos this year in which Uyghur men and women deny US charges that Beijing is committing human rights violations against their ethnic group. In fact, a text obtained by the AP shows that the videos are part of a government campaign that raises questions about the willingness of those filmed. AP/Ng Han Guan

ment has never issued this kind of notice or made this kind of request.” He suggested the videos were made voluntarily. “This didn’t require government organization. Many among the masses made this totally spontaneously,” Xu said in a recent interview. “Pompeo’s anti-China remarks arose the intense resentment of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang.” Beijing is increasingly under fire for its campaign of mass detention, cultural destruction and forced assimilation of Uyghurs and other largely Muslim minorities native to Xinjiang. Western governments have levied sanctions against top Chinese officials, while the US government has banned imports of cotton and tomatoes from Xinjiang, citing concerns over forced labor. Tahir Imin, a Uyghur activist who fled China in 2017, said the videos are almost certainly stateorchestrated and coerced, given that information in Xinjiang is heavily censored. “People don’t know who Pompeo is or what he’s saying,” Imin said. “How would they know what Mike Pompeo is saying about the Uyghurs?” The AP was unable to authenticate the text independently. However, friends of Firdavs Drinov, the man who sent a screenshot of the text to the AP, said he had obtained it from a friend with family working for the Karamay government. Three days after he sent it, police detained Drinov and the friend, holding a special meeting on how to punish him, two other friends said.

In a fax, the Xinjiang government confirmed that Drinov had been arrested, saying he was suspected of “fabricating and posting fake information” and “poisoning and bewitching ignorant groups and instigating splittism.” Referring to Drinov by his legal Mandarin name, Chen Haoyu, it said he is awaiting trial in a detention center and that his “rights will be protected according to the law.” The fax did not answer a question about whether Drinov’s detention was linked to the screenshot. His friend Vincent Gao called the charges nonsense, saying Drinov, who is biracial, opposed Xinjiang independence and believed in friendship between Uyghurs and Han Chinese, the country’s dominant ethnic group. Gao added that Drinov was very wary of fanatic extremism. “He’s never said or done anything to split the country,” said Gao, a PhD student in Italian at Yale University in the US. “He was very proud of his Han heritage. There is no rational reason why he would support separatism.” Drinov is a linguist who harbored dreams of obtaining a doctorate in the United States despite never having gone to college. Fluent in Mandarin, English, Uzbek, Uyghur, Russian, and French, he had at one point trained to represent China at the International Linguistics Olympiad in 2015. Drinov maintained an open presence on Western social media platforms banned in China such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. He had run into trouble with authorities before.

In December 2019, he was put in a detention center for 15 days for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a vague charge often used against people the ruling Communist Party sees as threatening. Police grilled him after he posted internal documents about the government’ crackdown in Xinjiang from a New York Times story on one of his Chinese social media accounts, according to texts he sent to Wang Tonghe, a computational linguist who befriended Drinov online. Experts say the videos of supportive Uyghurs ordered up by authorities are part of a broader state-coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at whitewashing their policies in Xinjiang. Dozens of new Twitter and Tiktok accounts promoting those policies have cropped up. Some purport to be run by Uyghurs from Xinjiang, even though merely downloading those apps has landed others in detention. The accounts share videos promoting Xinjiang’s lush landscapes and snow-capped mountains, depicting an idyllic, carefree life at total odds with accounts from hundreds of Uyghurs and Kazakhs who have fled the region in recent years. Zhang’s Australian Strategic Policy Institute report traced some of the social media videos to a company funded by the Xinjiang government. It found that many of the accounts were likely to be inauthentic and state-linked, though it could not prove so definitively. “I think it’s interesting, the amount of resources the Chinese government is willing to use to produce this content and disseminate it,” Zhang said. “The scale and the persistence of it is new and sort of concerning.” Many of the glowing Uyghur social media posts have been shared by a slew of new accounts opened by Chinese officials and state media outlets in recent years. China has had a much different reaction to scholars and activists using social media to research or speak out against the situation in Xinjiang. Nyrola Elimä, a Uyghur living in Sweden, said that after she started tweeting about the detention of her cousin, police pounded on her mother’s door in Xinjiang clutching printouts of her tweets. “Make your daughter delete these,” they said, threatening to detain her if Elimä didn’t comply. AP

people around the globe who will become poor. Steiner called Africa “a continent of unparalleled promise”— home to a third of global mineral reserves, nearly two-thirds of the world’s arable land and the second-largest rainforest. He said 40 percent of the world’s solar energy potential is in Africa and it is the continent of youth, with 70 percent of the population in many countries under age 30. “Yet much of this immense potential has yet to be realized,” Steiner said. He urged relief from debts crippling recovery in many African countries, building back both better and “greener” from the pandemic, and focusing on promoting jobs, trade and good governance. The African Union’s Mahamat also called for debt relief, saying that slowing economic growth, lower levels of inter nationa l

trade, lower demand for Africa’s primary exports and rising inflation are hurting many African countries. “In this regard, 20 African countries are facing the risk of collapse because of the burden of debt,” he said. Guterres said economic growth in African has slowed to an estimated 3.4 percent in 2021, compared to 6 percent globally, while remittances from overseas workers are drying up and debt is mounting. “In the name of fighting the crisis, some governments have restricted democratic processes and civic space,” Guterres said. “In several countries, the pandemic has gone hand in hand with divisive rhetoric, hate speech, incitements to violence and harmful misinformation, which has exacerbated divisions and further eroded trust.” AP

A10 Friday, May 21, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

On retail trade liberalization

ooking back on the academic studies and literature of the 1990s, we find an increasing push towards trade protectionism around the world. Perhaps in part a result of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, countries became more concerned about not losing economic growth and strength to other exporting nations. Actually, it was a situation of being between a rock and a hard spot. Most nations had the same refrain: “You should buy our exports but we don’t have to buy your exports.” Further was the question of what kind of foreign investment should be allowed. Foreign capital investment was good for factories since the workers would be local. The US was happy to see Japanese car manufacturers set up and hire American workers. But two things happened. The first was that the profits went back to Japan. Then American car manufacturers were losing business to the Japanese cars that could be more cheaply made in the US than imported from Japan. The annual trade deficit of the US in 1990 was about $78 billion and $375 billion in 2000. The US trade deficit widened to about $680 billion in 2020. It is not a coincidence that China joined the World Trade Organization on December 11, 2001. A good portion of the growth in the US deficit from 1990 to 2000 was that more countries geared their economies to tap into the US consumer market. Also, Americans wanted less expensive foreign goods. But the most important numbers are these: The global Chinese trade surplus was $29 billion in 2000 and hit $358 billion in 2015. When President Trump imposed trade sanctions, that amount dropped by 60 percent. After China joined the WTO, foreign direct investment into China went up by 350 percent from 2001 to 2020. The move towards more protectionism by the developed economies was finished. Western consumers wanted less expensive Chinese manufactured products. Western—and Asian—companies moved into China with investment to build factories to at least gain some profit from the “Made in China” goods being sold in their home countries. Latest news in the Philippines: “The Senate unanimously passed the bill updating the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000, lowering the required paid-up capital for foreign retail enterprises. With 20 affirmative votes, zero objection and no abstention, the Senate approved on second and third reading in one sitting Senate Bill 1840 amending the existing Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000.” Senate Bill 1840 lowers the existing $2.5-million paid-up capital investment required for foreigners putting up retail business, such as convenience stores, down to $1 million. Countries like the Philippines have been struggling with this issue of foreigners in the retail sector for some time. Perhaps a lesson can be learned from Indonesia. This year, Indonesia revised its 2016 “Negative List.” Basically, all department stores and supermarkets can now be 100 percent foreign owned. However, The New Investment List has further opened up the retail business to 100 percent foreign ownership for most self-service stores with a floor space of more than 400 square meters and most non-Food & Beverage products. Those sectors, which are reserved for Indonesians, are expressly allocated for cooperatives and micro, small and medium enterprises under the New Investment List. It is time our laws protect the small retailer and not the supermalls. This might be a first step. Since 2005

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The case for artificial intelligence Sonny M. Angara

Better Days

magine this: On your next grocery trip (wearing a face mask, of course), you pick up an item listed on your shopping list. You put it in your bag. And then you walk out of the store to accomplish the rest of your day’s errands. In this instance, no crime was committed because the product you picked up was automatically identified by in-store sensors and algorithms of deep learning machines, and charged to your account through an app in your smartphone. What appears to be science fiction is, in fact, a reality in many US cities where Amazon Go stores are located. And this reality is increasingly powered by artificial intelligence (AI). AI is opening up infinite possibilities and profoundly transforming how we live from day-to-day. In recent years, novel applications have emerged—some even with life-saving potential. For instance, a Japanese firm called Brain found a novel way to tap AI to identify pastries for the convenience of bakeries across Japan. The tech company’s BakeryScan was so fascinating that one doctor from the Kyoto-based Louis Pasteur Center for Medical Research launched a whole new study of the technology to be used in diagnosing cancer cells in human beings.

More businesses today are leveraging AI to help with their bottom line and create value. Half of the roughly 2,400 respondents to McKinsey’s 2020 State of AI survey said their organizations adopted this technology in at least one function as it increased revenues and savings due to automation. More than 20 percent said that at least 5 percent of their profits in 2020 could be attributed to the introduction of AI in their operations. The case could then be made that promoting the use of AI—not just on a firm level, but on a national

level—is one decisive step on the path to economic development and prosperity. In 2017, PwC estimated that AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. US consultancy firm Kearney and Singapore’s EDBI projected that in the same period a shift to AI could propel Asean’s GDP by $1 trillion (P48 trillion). However, it appears there’s a long way to go before the region realizes this benefit as the research indicated that AI investment per capita in Southeast Asia is only $2 (P96), which is way less than what more developed countries spend, such as the US at $155 (P7,400) and China at $21 (P1,000). That could soon change. Recently, the Department of Trade and Industry launched the National AI Strategy Roadmap. This document envisions that the Philippines could one day become a big data processing hub and emerge as a global center of excellence in AI. In line with this objective, the Roadmap calls for the establishment of the National Center for AI Research by 2024 that will study scientific advances in AI, actively develop algorithms for various use-cases and, more importantly, deploy the same in addressing various socioeconomic needs of our society. During the Roadmap’s launch,

Dr. Erika Legara and Dr. Christopher Monterola of the Asian Institute of Management enumerated AI’s many applications across different sectors. For example, the Balik-Scientists shared how AI was instrumental in helping an agricultural company prevent spoilage of its feeds and reduce its cost by P100 million. Another is how AI helped the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in substantially reducing the processing time of tasks related to supervising institutions. Moreover, AI was utilized by the Aboitiz School of Innovation to help a manufacturing company develop more efficient processes through an optimized machine-to-human interface, saving over P75 million in the process. Now that we are equipped with a roadmap, we must pick up the pace in harnessing AI’s potentials to be one of the key drivers of the country’s recovery—even more so that we have already made respectable strides in this field, and that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation across the country’s various sectors. Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service

for 16 years. He has authored and sponsored more than 200 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate. E-mail: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara

Taiwan’s strong economy battered from all sides

By Miaojung Lin | Bloomberg Opinion

aiwan is facing major threats from a surge in coronavirus cases and drought-triggered power outages, potentially derailing one of Asia’s economic success stories this year.

The island has gone from zero local cases earlier this month to recording 1,226 domestic infections in the past five days alone, and stocks fell Thursday after a soft lockdown was extended to the entire island. Schools were already closed, but the new rules mean masks are mandatory outdoors, with limits on social gatherings and the closure of many public facilities. If cases remain high, Taiwan may be forced into a full lockdown, which would spread the pain from the retail sector to exports in an economy heavily reliant on trade. On top of that, a drought has left hydroelectric plants operating at limited capacity, contributing to power outages in major cities across the island, including locations where the world’s biggest computer chip businesses operate. “The economy will be hit now and in the near future, there will be scars from Covid on economic growth,” said Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING Bank NV. The power shortages

mean “even a short blackout slows down the production line. So the chip shortage will be under even more pressure.” Pang sees a downgrade in economic growth this year depending on how long a lockdown lasts. Gross domestic product rose at a blistering pace of 8.16 percent in the first quarter, underpinned by factory output and surging export growth, with the government predicting a full-year expansion of 4.64 percent.

Power outages

The hit to GDP growth from the latest virus curbs could be as low as 0.16 percentage points if the outbreak ends by June 30 or as high as 0.53 points if it extends into the third quarter, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin said at a briefing in Taipei Tuesday. Power shortages are another complication. The drought has left hydroelectric plants operating at limited capacity. A dual coal- and gas-fired plant went offline last Thursday due to a technical error,

and consumers across the island on Monday got mobile phone alerts ahead of yet another round of rolling blackouts. Authorities announced new restrictions on water access Wednesday. There’s unlikely to be any let-up in the drought: traditional “plum rains” in May and June will likely bring less precipitation than in previous years, Economics Affairs Minister Wang Mei-hua warned in a video Tuesday, urging the public to limit their electricity and water use. The main reason for the repeated blackouts over the past week has been surging electricity use as factories run non-stop around the clock to keep up with overseas demand, Wang said. “The water shortage is unprecedented: that means it is difficult to predict the effect,” said Sam Chang, a bond trader at Hua Nan Securities Ltd. “While there is not much talk on this issue on the trading floors so far, it will definitely trigger the panic on the local bond markets.”

Market slump

Stocks have taken the biggest knock so far, with the TWSE Index down more than 8 percent this month despite a 5 percent rebound Tuesday, which was driven by gains in chipmakers. The Taiwan Stock Ex-

change Weighted Index fell as much as 0.7 percent in early trade, while the local dollar was little changed. Taiwan is the world’s main supplier of advanced computer chips, with the island hosting the highestend facilities of industry linchpins Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and ASE Technology Holding Co.—a key supplier to an auto industry already struggling with shortages. While retail and consumption will bear the brunt of the latest virus curbs, exports and industrial production are expected to sustain double-digit growth in the second quarter, according to DBS Group Holdings Ltd. economist Ma Tieying. Semiconductor production is largely automated and factory disruption could be limited, she said. DBS is maintaining its full-year GDP growth forecast of 5 percent. Still, manufacturers have to deal with virus-related supply chain issues, including for high-value exports shipped by plane. China Airlines Ltd. this month said its airfreight capacity will be cut by 10 percent as a result of new Covid-related rules, imposed after its pilots were linked to the rapidly growing outbreak. The resurgence in virus cases See “Taiwan,” A11

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Opinion

Gordon redux

Contemplating our generations

BusinessMirror

Manny F. Dooc

Tito Genova Valiente

TELLTALES

en. Richard Gordon was born to be a presidential contender. He is gifted with personal attributes and leadership qualities that destined him to lead people. He has exceptional administrative and organizational skills, which he has amply demonstrated when he was the city mayor of Olongapo City for several terms, Chairman and Administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, and now as Chairman & CEO of the Philippine Red Cross. Gordon wowed us all when he served in President Gloria Arroyo’s cabinet as the Secretary of Tourism. He launched many successful programs to promote the wonderful spots and natural heritage sites in our country.

He successfully placed the Philippines in the tourism map of the world. SBMA during his term had saved thousands of jobs and kept business and economy in the region afloat. The SBMA experience also promoted the spirit of volunteerism, which is a model in promoting resiliency and self-sufficiency in a struggling economy. His marvelous work at the Philippine Red Cross is a show window of how a private and non-profit organization can be an effective partner of the government in providing relief assistance and extending valuable public service. PRC under his leadership during this time of the pandemic has shown that it could be as effective, if not more, than the government agencies run by paid government functionaries and fully supported by government resources. Gordon first entered the public consciousness when he was elected to represent the First District of Zambales to the 1971 Constitutional Convention. He was still a student in UP when he forayed into public office and at the age of 25 became the youngest delegate to the ConCon. He was the Benjamin of the 1973 Constitutional Convention, just like his political idol, fellow Upsilonian and hero, Wenceslao Q. Vinzons. Vinzons had been elected as the youngest delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention and voted Governor and Congressman of Camarines Norte before he was 30 years old. Gordon first served in the Senate in 2004 to 2010 and returned to that august body in 2016. He has held important committees, including the powerful Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, which he still currently chairs. He also heads the Senate Government Corporations and Public Enterprises Committee. Among many other important pieces of legislations that he principally authored or co-sponsored is the new SSS Charter, which was signed into law by the President on March 4, 2019. As then the PCEO of SSS, I had personally witnessed how he worked assiduously to get the bill enacted into law. We all know that the Senate is a body of colossal egos and clashing personalities, but he successfully navigated the perilous course and successfully steered the proposed measure to its passage. Getting the critical support of the minority led by Senator Franklin Drilon and overcoming the meticulous review by his peers particularly by Senator Ralph Recto had assured the bill’s approval. Gordon’s term in the Senate is set to expire next year and he is still eligible to run for reelection. But he may have other plans, and occupying Malacañang may not be remote. He unsuccessfully run for president in

Taiwan. . .

continued from A10

increases the likelihood of more government support. Taiwan’s cabinet said last week it will increase the Covid-19 relief spending cap to NT$630 billion ($22.6 billion) from NT$210 billion. DBS’s Ma said there’s sufficient room for fiscal policy to be expanded, though limited scope for monetary easing from the central bank. Authorities are racing to contain

the 2010 elections as the standard bearer of a party he set up to be his vehicle for his bid for the presidency. With a strong field consisting of Benigno Aquino III, former President Erap Estrada, and former Senate President Manny Villar, Gordon’s quixotic bid that year did not go far. But one setback should not end one’s genuine desire to serve our people. When recently asked if he would join the presidential race in 2022, Gordon replied candidly: “If God gives me strength and the people give me the greatest gift if I run or when I run, I know what I’m gonna do, I can sit down today and become president, and I know what to do. I will not miss a beat.” No question that Gordon has amassed an extensive executive and legislative experience that will serve him in good stead if he gets elected to the Presidency of our Republic. Not many contenders, or pretenders, have the same wealth of exposure in public service to confront the complex issues and stresses that hound every Malacañang tenant. If nominated, he is ready to run; if elected he is ready to serve. There are only few looming in the political horizon who can honestly claim that they are as prepared as Gordon to take the reins of government and manage the affairs of the state. He has proven his worth in every role that our people have entrusted to him, and he has not failed them. We have elected all sorts of people to the most exalted office in our land—the greatest gift within the power of our people to give. We have voted into the office of the presidency a housewife widow of a martyr, a soldier, an actor, an economist, a son who carries an illustrious name and a mayor. Maybe the time has come to choose someone who has earned his worth serving the Filipinos effectively and well. Competence is the name of the game. With all the woes and ills plaguing our country, including the ravaging pandemic, we cannot afford to engage in another political experiment and install an untried and untested candidate at the helm of our government. At no time in our history do we need a truly qualified President to lead our country than during this critical period. We need the few good men and women to come out and offer their services to our country. Time is running out. In the next five months, candidates will be queuing at the Comelec to file their certificates of candidacy. We cannot afford to commit another grievous mistake. We cannot allow our sins of the past to revisit us. Gordon deserves another look. He is older, wiser and definitely better than last time and 2022 may be his year. the outbreak, hoping they can duplicate last year’s success in restricting its spread and the total death toll, which now stands at 14. Shaun Roache, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at S&P Global Ratings, said the virus outbreak will “dent rather than derail growth,” partly because of the robust outlook for exports and investment. However, the “surprise outbreak and tighter restrictions are likely to knock confidence more than in its regional peers experiencing a surge in cases, such as Singapore,” he said.

Friday, May 21, 2021 A11

annotations

here is a long note that has been circulating online. It has different versions, having reincarnated from a defense to a nostalgic recollection of what type of generations have brought about the present dispensation. I have ignored it for a while in the same way I would turn away quickly from chain letters. This document I am talking about has the feel of that kind of message passed around as if the act of it being read or touched will make an impact on one’s destiny. But, as with any of these messages floating like some celestial intellectual debris in the milky way galaxy of our big bang existence, that message is bound to be caught by a friend. Thus, one day, in our small chat room, comes this heading from dear friend, Lulu C.: THOUGHT I’LL SHARE THIS. The first sentence to arrive is almost a preamble: This is about the seniors in this group we should be proud of... Good opening. The thought about being a senior citizen has always been presented either in a smart-alecky way, which is not a good air to put on when one is old-er. Or, parsed in a smug way, the smugness passing off as a matured (take note of the past tense) template of coolness. But the note declares our period as the “Best era ever!” Why not! Why not indeed. The wit of the missive follows: Born in the 40s/50s. Grew up in the 60s. Educated in the 70s. Ventured out in the 80s. Messed around in the 90s. Stabilized a bit in the 2000s. Got a bit wiser in 2010s. I look at that procession of ages and think if I need to follow them in that sequence. Sad. Rigid. Then I realize that while the specific ages cannot be juggled here and there, they can be appropriated depending on one’s level of maturity, sense of decency, and wildness quotient.

More articulations follow—we have been, at this point, through eight different decades, two different centuries, and two different millennia. That is not only breathtaking; those years must have taken the breath from thousands of people. Looking back at those years: If we were artistic forms, we would have evolved already from figurative to abstract. If we were cinema, we would have gone from black and white to Technicolor or Eastman. And, if we were TV sets, we would be active participants of the transition from boob-tube to smart TV. Our generations lived through lines of communications that had us rooted to the ground: when you responded to a phone call, the person at the other end of the line knew where you were. When our generations shifted to mobile phone, we did not only become mobile, we and our calls could not be placed anymore in any point in geography unless you allowed the device to track your whereabouts. But who would do that? We had only one kind of film in our lifetime or so we thought until technologies allowed narratives to be streamed. Our youth was marked by moviehouses, those imperial structures that pretended to be palaces of pleasures until they were given away by popcorns and soda. We understood the meaning of values even if we did not consider as significant those actions our societies upheld as sterling; we discussed vociferously notions of good manners and right conduct and yet we spent a greater part of our growing up breaking rules, breaching barriers we felt limited

our grasp of pure freedom. As early as the age of 40 and up to the golden anniversary of our human existence, we slowly lost our graceful penmanship. This was followed by that word—penmanship—going extinct. Except for the signatures that we kept intact, many things about us began to bend to the law of gravity. There were more trips to certain offices that always asked, politely most of the time, if we had altered our official signature. No worries, our generations would soon confront the age of e-signatures, of e-commerce, of e-medical consultation, and even e-wakes and e-burials. The greatest upheaval arrived via e-mails, which caused us to stop writing with pens or fountain pens. Another generation would give ours a puzzled look when we fastidiously differentiated between ballpoint pens and sign pens. Then letters altogether stopped because for us e-mails are not letters. Letters are those written on special sheet of paper, which are then placed in envelopes, sealed and de-

livered. The trips to the Post Office, a mark of well-placed ladies and gentlemen, came almost to a full stop. My utmost concern when I felt I could not stop anymore from reaching beyond the age of 50 was that I pitied our generations—those born in the 50s and grew to senior years in the 2010s—because we never had the rare encounter with a world war. Surprised by my bravado, I felt I was deprived of a first-class world-class angst. Or a chance to develop personal anguish and make it into an intellectual code. But, looking back at that document, the same material that propelled me to write braggadocio in this essay, I see this line toward the end: Made it to... 2020. We did not only make it to that year; we made it to the age of lockdown, to the era when the entire world—not a single nation nor an isolated village—had to grapple with a first-class, world-class, global pandemic.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

What does new criminal inquiry mean for Trump?

By MICHAEL R. SISAK | Associated Press

EW YORK—Donald J. Trump is facing a one-two punch of criminal investigations in New York, with the state attorney general’s office saying its ongoing civil inquiry into the former president and his businesses is now a criminal matter. The attorney general’s office is conducting the probe, confirmed late Tuesday, in tandem with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which has been scrutinizing Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, for about two years. The DA’s office has been scouring Trump’s tax records, hired a former mafia prosecutor to help run its investigation and has been interviewing witnesses including Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. So far, there’s no indication that charges are looming. Trump has continued to decry the whole thing as a “witch hunt.” Here’s a look at where things stand: Who is investigating Trump? New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., both Democrats, have been running parallel investigations into Trump and his businesses for more than two years. Vance’s office has been investigating whether the Republican ex-president, his company or people connected to them committed crimes relating to matters including hush-money payments for women who say they slept with Trump, property valuations and employee compensation. James’ probe began as a civil matter, looking at possible violations of state laws punishable with penalties

such as fines, and centered on some of the same issues. Her investigation now also pertains to possible criminal conduct. Why is the AG’s probe now criminal? James’ office said it recently informed the Trump Organization that its investigation into the company had expanded into a criminal matter. The attorney general’s office publicly disclosed the change Tuesday night. “We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the company is no longer purely civil in nature,” James’ office said in a statement. “We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA.” James’ office offered no explanation for what prompted the shift in its approach to the investigation or why it chose to announce it publicly. Andrew G. Celli Jr., a high-ranking official in the attorney general’s office from 1999 to 2003, said you don’t typically see a public announcement when an investigation changes from civil to criminal. He said the statement could be an indication “something else public is coming soon,” or could be a way of “sending a message to witnesses and targets.” Another possibility, not as dramatic, is someone else tipped off media outlets about the change and

James’ office was compelled to respond publicly when asked about it. “No doubt, there is some strategic or tactical reason for this announcement,” Celli said. “Statements like this have meaning. They don’t come out of nowhere.” How did Trump take the news? Trump issued a 900-word statement Wednesday filled with familiar complaints about the investigations and digs at Vance and James. Trump complained that he’s being “unfairly attacked and abused by a corrupt political system” and contends the criminal probes are part of a Democratic plot to silence his voters and block him from running for president again. Trump also repeated his oft-uttered claim that the investigations are “a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of the United States.” “There is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime,” Trump said. “But, make no mistake, that is exactly what is happening here.” What else are they investigating? Vance’s office has not publicly said what it is looking at, citing grand jury secrecy rules, but some details came out during the legal battle to get access to Trump’s tax records. Vance’s investigation includes scrutiny of Trump’s relationship with his lenders; a land donation he made to qualify for an income tax deduction; and tax write-offs his company claimed on millions of dollars in consulting fees it paid. Some of that money went to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, who has denied any wrongdoing. In a tweet last November, she called the investi-

gation “harassment pure and simple” and said it was “100% motivated by politics, publicity and rage.” James’ office has also been looking at the land donation and scrutinizing records relating to a Trump office building in New York City, a hotel in Chicago and a golf course near Los Angeles. Vance’s investigation has appeared to focus in recent weeks on Trump’s longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg. His former daughter-in-law, Jen Weisselberg, is cooperating with both inquiries. She’s given investigators reams of tax records and other documents as they look into whether some Trump employees were given off-the-books compensation, such as apartments or school tuition. Weisselberg was subpoenaed in James’ civil investigation and testified twice last year. Trump’s son, Eric, was also subpoenaed as part of that probe and testified before the November 2020 election. Does this mean Trump will be charged? James’ disclosure of a widening investigation is not necessarily an indication that she is planning to bring criminal charges. If that were to happen, under state law, she’d need authorization from a county district attorney, like Vance, or the governor or a state agency. Celli says it’s not unheard of that a civil investigation conducted by the attorney general’s office will turn up evidence of criminal wrongdoing. In such cases, he said, attorney general’s office lawyers will sometimes be specially designated to work as criminal prosecutors with a local district attorney’s office.

A12 Friday, May 21, 2021

Most returning OFWs still jobless after 3 mos

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

AJORITY of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who returned to the Philippines because of the pandemic found themselves jobless three months after their arrival, according to a report by International Organization for Migration (IOM) Philippines. In a presentation on Thursday, IOM Programmes Head Troy Dooley said some 83 percent of OFWs said they are still out of work three months after arrival. In 2020, IOM estimated that a total of 791,623 OFWs returned to the Philippines. Further, there was a 75-percent decline in OFW deployment last year to only 549,841 Filipinos from 2.16 million in 2019. This constituted the lowest deployment number in over three decades. “The jobless rate [was at] 83 percent of OFWs [who said] they’re unemployed three months post arrival on average. That’s a lot,” Dooley said on Thursday.

Income challenge

THIS is why 78 percent of those surveyed identified income generation as their primary challenge. In fact, based on the data, some 48 percent of them experienced a 60-percent decline in their incomes. Further, Dooley said the report noted that some 17 percent did not receive their salaries before they returned to the Philippines. At least 78 percent of OFWs who participated in the study said the primary challenge of OFWs when they returned was finding a job or some income-generating activity.

The secondary challenge for 24 percent of respondents was repaying their debts. Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Y. Arriola admitted that this is a concern and that while there are agencies that are focused on reintegration, more work needs to be done. “[This] tells us to work harder in the government to do more programs so that we will be able to accommodate returning Filipino workers so that they can be integrated in the Philippine domestic labor,” Arriola said. “The statistics show that we have to work harder in this part of the migration cycle.” IOM d at a showed , Dooley said, some 45 percent of OFWs wanted to put up their own business. However, 69 percent did not have the capital to bankroll these ventures. Over a third or 35 percent of OFWs who want to go into business want a business in service and sales, followed by the food industry at 27 percent and agriculture, forest and fisheries at 14 percent.

Ople: Many aspiring entreps

BLAS F. OPLE Policy Center and Training Institute President Susan

Ople said that while the lack of capital is a problem, the data remains a story of hope because many OFWs want to become entrepreneurs. Ople said the creation of an opportunity task force to help OFWs find the right opportunities, especially when they come home, might be worth studying. “Those who have returned are still thinking and planning about their future. We just need to tell them ‘you know this will pass and you have to prepare yourself you have to prepare your families. These are hard times but we’ve all gone through hard times. Generation upon generation went through hard times,’” she explained.

Unregistered with portal

MEANWHILE, Institute for Migration and Development Issues Executive Director Jeremaiah Opiniano cited another interesting data from the IOM report: nearly half, or 46 percent of OFWs did not register or access reintegration assistance from the government. Opiniano said this was difficult to understand given that arriving OFWs can easily register with the OFW Assistance Information System (OASIS). This is an online platform that aims to facilitate the return of OFWs. The data shared by Dooley also showed that 47 percent of those who did not register with the OASIS are land-based OFWs and 43 percent were sea-based workers. The data showed the assistance preferred by 75 percent of OFWs was cash, while 14 percent said they preferred livelihood assistance. “The Philippines being a global model on managing migration among countries of origin showed during the pandemic. Continued on A4

Cusi asks business to help Duterte may DOE with RE investments invite former By Lenie Lectura @llectura

NERGY Secretary Alfonso Cusi said Thursday energy policies crafted by his office are not enough to make the country a haven for energy investments, particularly in Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Security. He urged investors to work closely together to help the Philippines attain energy security, equity, and sustainability. Speaking at the virtual 5th Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) General Membership Meeting for 2021, Cusi highlighted the country’s energy profile and the strategies of the DOE in attaining its energy goals. “The government can introduce policies and laws to make the country a haven for investments and even out the playing field for stakeholders. Most of all, we need to ensure that the sector is equitable for both businesses and our consumers. Ultimately, however, we can only achieve our aspirations if the titans of the industry—both local and foreign—will stand with us side by side,” Cusi said. Still, the agency will continue to craft proactive policies. “Way before this pandemic even came into play, the Philippines has always been aspiring for power supply sufficiency as a pre-requisite for an effective competitive spot market, and for bridging the logistics requirements of the country’s archipelagic layout,” Cusi noted. The DOE chief underscored

the crafting of proactive policies as sustainable growth strategies that the business community may take into consideration. Among these are Executive Order No. 116 (EO 116) which created the Nuclear Energy Program InterAgency Committee (NEP-IAC) to study the adaptation of a national position on a Nuclear Energy Program; Republic Act No. 11285, particularly in transforming EE&C as a national way of life; Moratorium on Endorsement of New Greenfield Coal-fired Power Plants in improving the Sustainability of the Philippines’ Electric Power Industry; Department Circular (DC) No. 2018-01-0001 as a guide for energy stakeholders in making the sector resilient to disasters; Renewable Energy (RE) Act of 2008 which promotes the development of the country’s renewable resources; and the 3rd Open and Competitive Selection Process (OCSP3) which allows 100-percent foreign participation in large-scale geothermal exploration, development, and utilization projects. To realize the success of these policies, Cusi also called for the support of industry titans to take advantage of the government’s existing policies and consider the Philippines as their gateway to the Asia-Pacific region. Among those present in the virtual event were Finex President Francis ED. Lim, Energy Development Corporation President Richard Tantoco, members of the Finex board of directors and executives of financial institutions.

presidents to WPS meeting

NCUMBENT and former senators have pressed President Duterte to convene the National Security Council to tackle the brewing West Philippine Sea issue amid increasing incidents of China’s intrusions in Philippine territory. In response, Palace officials said on Thursday the President was considering inviting former presidents of the country to a meeting on the issues in WPS. “It is high time that the whole of government comes up with a clear and united stand on the West Philippine Sea issue,” said Senator Grace Poe in a statement, adding that “convening of the National Security Council ASAP would be a timely intervention.” She reminded Malacañang Palace, “we cannot be divided as a nation when we talk about our sovereignty,” asserting that “protecting territorial integrity is so vital to a country’s survival that we must not confuse it with friendship or utang na loob.” Poe stressed that, “this is the country’s resources we are talking about. There shouldn’t be any debate as to whether we should protect it or not. There is only one constitutional answer—we should. The only thing left for us to discuss now is how.” At the same time, former Senator Rodolfo Biazon, urged the Executive to convene the NSC to craft a unified position on the West Philippine Sea. Continued on A4

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SMIC redeems ₧3.33-B bond

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

M Investments Corp. (SMIC), the holding firm of the Sy family, on Thursday said it has redeemed early P3.33 billion of its series F bonds listed at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. “Trading of the Bonds ceased on May 17, 2021 (the record date) and its listing with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. has been terminated upon the full payment of the Bonds on May 19, 2021,” the

company said in its disclosure. The said paper had a fixed rate of 5.6125 percent which should have fallen due in 2024. The company said it informed Philippine National Bank-Trust

Banking Group in April of its intention to exercise its option for the early redemption of the said paper at a price of 102 percent of the principal amount. SMIC earlier said its income for the first quarter fell 5 percent to P9.5 billion from P9 billion last year, partly as a result of its cost-reduction measures. Consolidated revenues in the first quarter stood at P96.9 billion, lower by 13 percent from P111.2 billion in the same period last year, due to the retail slump. Banking accounted for 54 percent of SMIC’s reported net earnings from core businesses, followed by property at 33 percent and retail at 13 percent. “As our businesses adapt to a

challenging operating environment and broader economic uncertainties, we continue to innovate and find new ways to service our customers’ needs. We have reduced our operating costs and are benefiting from the high levels of cost efficiency that we focused on during the last twelve months,” SMIC President and CEO Frederic C. DyBuncio said. “We continue to invest in the well-being of our employees with our upcoming free vaccination initiative and provide critical support to our business partners, who are mostly small and medium enterprises. We strongly support health recovery efforts and remain optimistic about a strong recovery in due course.”

Nlex starts rehab work on Bulacan bridges

lex Corp. said on Thursday it has started the rehabilitation of two bridges in Bulacan to give motorists a more efficient travel experience. Luigi L. Bautista, the company’s president, said the Meycauayan Bridge and Bigaa Bridge, both built around 70 years ago, are already due for rehabilitation works. “We always look after the safety and convenience of our motorists. Both bridges were built in the 1960s

and it is high time that we replace the girders and slabs to strengthen the structures,” he said. T he reh abi l it at ion of t he 45-meter Meycauayan bridge is targeted for completion by September, while the rehabilitation of the 64-meter Bigaa bridge in Balagtas area is expected to be finished by August. Bautista noted that work on both bridges is undertaken in stages to reduce the impact of the rehabilita-

tion works on traffic. Rehabilitation works will start at the southbound portion of the bridge. Once completed, the northbound portion will be up for rehabilitation. Three lanes remain passable to motorists while works are ongoing. With the rehab works underway, motorists may expect “temporary delays since lane closures and counterflow are being implemented in the said areas,” Bautista said, appealing to motorists for patience.

He assured, though, that the group is implementing measures to minimize traffic disruption. For the duration of the rehabilitation, the tollway company will field patrol officers and marshals to manage the flow of vehicles and will place traffic signs and other warning devices at strategic locations to better guide motorists. Traffic updates and lane closure schedules will likewise be announced on the social media accounts of Nlex. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Friday, May 21, 2021

AboitizPower to build solar power plant in Pangasinan By Lenie Lectura @llectura

boitiz P o w e r C o r p . (AboitizPower) will start t he con st r uc t ion of a 74-megawatt (MW) solar power facility in Pangasinan within the second half of the year. The solar project, to be built in Cayanga in the town of Bugallon, about 13 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital of Lingayen, recently received board approval and is now in the development stage. “We are very excited about this because this is another step towards achieving our 10-year strategy with regard to significantly increasing our RE [renewable energy] capacity and aiming for a 50:50 balance between our Cleanergy and thermal portfolios,” Aboitiz Power President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel V. Rubio said. The company is targeting commercial operations by the fourth quarter of 2022. The Cayanga project will be the company’s second solar power venture after its 59-MW-peak facility in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, which was inaugurated in 2016. “Majority of the solar facility’s capacity will be contracted for retail electricity supply, which we hope can help bring more sustain-

able energy to homes and businesses in the country,” Rubio added. The company said this will give contestable customers another option to go green, in line with AboitizPower’s commitment to being an effective partner for progress and driving change for the people today as well as for generations to come. The Office of Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino III communicated that they fully support the proposed solar project as this reinforces the provincial government’s thrust to transform Pangasinan into the best place to invest, work, live, and raise a family. “Aboitiz has our full support. We are glad that they have chosen our province and the town of Bugallon as the site for this venture, which will definitely empower our mission of making Pangasinan number one,” Espino told the AboitizPower team during a recent courtesy visit. AboitizPower said it continues to invest in other RE projects, such as geothermal, large hydro, and wind facilities across the Philippines. The company is committed to supporting the government’s thrust to promote renewable energy in the country and its growth aspirations over the years, as well as backing the global movement for clean energy.

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PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

May 20, 2021

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

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL IREMIT MEDCO HLDG NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH

43.2 102.6 80.25 24 9.39 45.2 21.05 54.95 17.5 117.5 75 1.23 4 1.27 0.375 0.71 152.6

44.7 103 80.7 24.3 9.4 45.3 21.1 57.3 17.98 117.7 75.15 1.36 4.15 1.32 0.385 0.72 161.6

43.2 103 81.6 24 9.4 45 20.5 54.9 17.3 116.7 74.8 1.27 3.95 1.32 0.375 0.72 161.5

43.2 103.3 81.6 24.35 9.48 45.2 21.45 57.35 17.98 117.8 75 1.28 4.15 1.33 0.41 0.72 162

43.2 102.6 80.25 24 9.4 44.3 20.5 54.9 17.3 116.4 74.5 1.22 3.9 1.32 0.375 0.71 160.9

43.2 102.6 80.25 24 9.4 45.2 21.05 54.95 17.98 117.5 75 1.22 4.15 1.32 0.41 0.71 161.6

1,500 3,610,070 1,739,800 35,800 335,700 2,953,000 1,580,200 1,530 112,900 344,690 52,710 109,000 712,000 12,000 50,000 17,000 910

64,800 371,169,813 139,833,293 859,445 3,156,591 132,659,175 33,221,100 84,882.50 1,968,856 40,404,868 3,949,699.50 135,610 2,880,090 15,850 19,100 12,130 147,126

-22,155,062 -25,281,317.50 2,400 -28,212 -29,219,195 -3,244,355 -1,045,326 -1,978,851 1,165,868 -31,540 -4,970 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 7.03 7.05 6.99 7.06 6.96 7.05 20,542,600 144,374,521 1.32 1.33 1.33 1.34 1.32 1.33 74,000 98,310 ALSONS CONS 21.6 22 22.25 22.6 21.6 21.6 3,261,200 71,981,785 ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY 0.8 0.81 0.78 0.8 0.77 0.8 23,096,000 18,304,570 FIRST GEN 30.25 30.95 30.5 30.95 30.25 30.95 1,177,300 36,030,825 70 71 70 71 70 70 15,960 1,117,501 FIRST PHIL HLDG 274 274.2 274 274 272.6 274 187,810 51,425,976 MERALCO MANILA WATER 14.4 14.44 14.72 14.82 14.4 14.4 1,635,000 23,645,798 PETRON 3.1 3.15 3.15 3.16 3.1 3.1 6,893,000 21,412,120 3.84 3.99 4 4 3.99 3.99 6,000 23,960 PETROENERGY 12.94 13.4 13.5 13.5 12.86 13.44 1,323,600 17,475,460 PHX PETROLEUM 20.65 20.95 21.4 21.4 20.5 20.65 121,000 2,492,400 PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER 10.4 10.44 10.46 10.46 10.4 10.44 61,200 637,648 6.22 6.33 6.4 6.4 6.2 6.33 2,225,200 14,002,038 AGRINURTURE 2.99 3.02 3 3.05 2.99 2.99 212,000 636,080 AXELUM 12.96 13.2 13.46 13.5 13.46 13.5 15,600 210,476 CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD 23 23.3 22 23.5 21.95 23 3,830,200 87,542,520 DEL MONTE 12.3 12.34 12.32 12.4 12.1 12.3 65,000 791,800 7.45 7.48 7.5 7.59 7.4 7.48 702,700 5,253,955 DNL INDUS 9.31 9.32 9.48 9.48 9.3 9.32 4,403,100 41,037,323 EMPERADOR 69.6 69.8 69.5 69.8 69 69.8 270,150 18,835,794 SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT 0.61 0.63 0.63 0.63 0.63 0.63 1,000 630 1.35 1.37 1.35 1.38 1.33 1.37 7,617,000 10,260,890 FRUITAS HLDG 67.95 68 66 68 65.1 67.95 191,340 12,860,322 GINEBRA 177 177.4 175.4 177.5 174.8 177 676,580 119,464,440 JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR 28.5 29 28.5 29 28.5 29 900 25,930 5.82 5.85 5.9 5.9 5.82 5.82 104,500 611,204 MAXS GROUP 0.25 0.26 0.245 0.27 0.24 0.26 9,380,000 2,375,890 MG HLDG 7.91 7.94 7.93 7.96 7.91 7.94 197,600 1,565,381 SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO 1.03 1.05 1.03 1.06 1.03 1.05 84,000 87,000 SWIFT FOODS 0.129 0.13 0.128 0.133 0.128 0.13 720,000 92,520 130 130.2 133 133 129.1 130 941,130 122,361,141 UNIV ROBINA 0.83 0.84 0.81 0.84 0.81 0.84 1,059,000 885,780 VITARICH 2.37 2.55 2.44 2.44 2.4 2.4 22,000 53,190 VICTORIAS CEMEX HLDG 1.17 1.18 1.17 1.18 1.16 1.18 341,000 398,970 DAVINCI CAPITAL 2.63 2.64 2.45 2.67 2.45 2.63 1,525,000 3,969,220 12.26 12.3 12.12 12.4 12.12 12.3 251,700 3,090,042 EAGLE CEMENT 6.81 6.96 6.7 6.97 6.7 6.97 19,200 133,539 EEI CORP HOLCIM 5.39 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.35 5.39 22,900 123,142 MEGAWIDE 6.08 6.09 6.19 6.2 6.05 6.08 1,086,100 6,620,824 PHINMA 12.1 12.3 12.3 12.3 12.3 12.3 105,000 1,291,500 1.02 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.02 1.02 39,000 40,120 TKC METALS 2.18 2.19 2.17 2.21 2.15 2.18 1,821,000 3,962,540 VULCAN INDL CHEMPHIL 144.1 184.9 185 185 185 185 30 5,550 1.8 1.81 1.79 1.81 1.75 1.81 144,000 255,480 CROWN ASIA 1.88 1.9 1.92 1.93 1.85 1.92 27,000 51,310 EUROMED 4.61 4.69 4.67 4.67 4.67 4.67 2,000 9,340 MABUHAY VINYL PRYCE CORP 5.5 5.6 5.46 5.5 5.46 5.5 173,000 950,805 CONCEPCION 20.1 20.4 20.5 20.5 20.1 20.1 53,000 1,070,320 4.06 4.08 3.97 4.12 3.88 4.08 9,075,000 36,857,760 GREENERGY 9.06 9.09 8.86 9.15 8.86 9.06 303,100 2,738,606 INTEGRATED MICR 1.04 1.05 1.09 1.09 1.04 1.05 101,000 106,090 IONICS PANASONIC 6.65 6.67 5.82 6.65 5.82 6.65 377,000 2,409,511 1.26 1.27 1.29 1.32 1.2 1.26 791,000 974,740 SFA SEMICON 5.51 5.52 5.39 5.55 5.39 5.51 685,900 3,749,839 CIRTEK HLDG

6,237,265 -23,629,725 -153,350 3,758,725 -53,901 -13,349,294 -14,333,488 -18,591,380 3,990 82,136 312,825 378,628 30,000 2,075,660 -2,011,847 -967,231 901,213 714,410 2,769,132.50 -27,513,194 131,092 23,000 404,212 -30,900 -49,421,390 -6,870 182,690 1,362,500 -67,234 -1,679,378 -615,000 27,300 -606,520 382,640 -1,817,278.00 15,750 -56,012

HOLDING & FRIMS

ABACORE CAPITAL ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA REPUBLIC GLASS SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

1.03 6.9 710.5 34.5 10.3 3.02 0.71 0.66 0.67 5.05 5.39 8 0.275 538 49.55 4.54 0.81 3.18 13.1 0.435 3.7 3.51 2.97 2.37 399 900 112.1 129.2 0.236 0.214

1.04 7.3 711 34.85 10.4 3.04 0.72 0.67 0.73 5.08 5.4 8.18 0.28 539.5 49.7 5.45 0.82 3.23 13.16 0.465 3.72 3.55 2.98 2.49 400 909 115 131.5 0.255 0.216

1.03 7.3 719 35 10.42 3 0.72 0.68 0.65 4.96 5.46 8 0.265 526 50 4.52 0.82 3.09 13.26 0.46 3.65 3.55 2.83 2.36 370 924 113 132 0.235 0.219

1.07 7.32 719 35.15 10.42 3.06 0.72 0.68 0.71 5.08 5.46 8 0.28 540 50.3 4.54 0.83 3.28 13.26 0.46 3.72 3.55 2.97 2.5 400 924 115 132 0.249 0.219

1 7.3 709.5 34.5 10.2 3 0.7 0.65 0.65 4.94 5.4 8 0.26 526 49.5 4.52 0.78 3.09 13.08 0.46 3.62 3.51 2.8 2.36 370 900 112 131.5 0.235 0.2

1.04 7.32 711 34.5 10.4 3.04 0.72 0.67 0.66 5.07 5.4 8 0.275 539.5 49.55 4.54 0.81 3.28 13.16 0.46 3.7 3.55 2.97 2.5 400 900 115 131.5 0.249 0.214

11,467,000 1,200 371,840 1,122,000 1,284,300 1,394,000 835,000 181,000 81,000 812,000 2,818,600 1,600 440,000 105,080 2,266,600 2,000 1,683,000 32,000 920,100 1,290,000 20,199,000 12,000 1,938,000 13,000 170 241,130 205,080 1,560 220,000 730,000

11,926,970 8,762 264,583,990 38,802,090 13,277,542 4,224,630 587,260 119,620 53,580 4,061,620 15,288,147 12,800 118,750 56,567,795 112,523,715 9,060 1,348,520 100,460 12,091,544 593,400 74,705,920 42,520 5,661,380 32,080 63,224 218,252,870 23,101,489 205,860 51,980 155,910

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.61 0.64 0.62 0.63 0.6 0.61 1,771,000 1,082,210 7.49 7.72 7.48 7.48 7.48 7.48 100 748 ANCHOR LAND 32 32.2 31.6 32.2 31.3 32.2 7,416,700 236,966,780 AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP 1.16 1.26 1.15 1.15 1.13 1.13 44,000 50,090 AREIT RT 35.5 35.65 36.3 36.3 35.5 35.5 935,000 33,368,515 1.35 1.36 1.42 1.42 1.36 1.36 29,000 39,500 BELLE CORP 0.91 0.93 0.93 0.94 0.91 0.94 151,000 139,900 A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT 0.85 0.87 0.84 0.87 0.84 0.87 678,000 576,900 CROWN EQUITIES 0.121 0.125 0.122 0.129 0.121 0.128 1,020,000 128,520 6 6.35 6.35 6.35 6.35 6.35 900 5,715 CEBU HLDG 5.99 6 5.99 6.05 5.93 5.99 1,079,100 6,473,221 CEB LANDMASTERS 0.39 0.395 0.4 0.405 0.385 0.39 20,070,000 7,817,150 CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY 0.32 0.325 0.315 0.33 0.315 0.325 150,000 47,500 11.84 12.04 12.2 12.2 11.8 12.04 522,200 6,203,988 DOUBLEDRAGON 1.96 1.97 1.96 1.97 1.94 1.97 4,265,000 8,352,510 DDMP RT 6.85 6.88 6.9 6.9 6.85 6.88 46,500 319,859 DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST 0.265 0.27 0.265 0.27 0.265 0.27 240,000 64,250 0.153 0.154 0.14 0.162 0.14 0.154 32,300,000 4,964,670 EVER GOTESCO 1.09 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.08 1.1 3,545,000 3,872,780 FILINVEST LAND 0.84 0.85 0.82 0.84 0.82 0.84 79,000 66,180 GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG 7.17 7.29 7.29 7.29 7.29 7.29 11,000 80,190 1.33 1.34 1.34 1.36 1.32 1.34 294,000 391,350 PHIL INFRADEV CITY AND LAND 1.55 1.57 1.5 1.6 1.47 1.55 2,669,000 4,146,630 2.88 2.89 2.85 2.92 2.82 2.88 34,756,000 100,025,250 MEGAWORLD 0.365 0.37 0.36 0.365 0.36 0.365 10,790,000 3,914,900 MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES 0.49 0.5 0.49 0.5 0.455 0.49 4,650,000 2,241,200 PRIMEX CORP 3.2 3.23 3.2 3.24 3.16 3.2 722,000 2,313,020 15.98 16 16.1 16.18 15.92 16 2,480,500 39,711,308 ROBINSONS LAND 1.49 1.5 1.5 1.52 1.5 1.5 43,000 64,520 ROCKWELL SHANG PROP 2.59 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 3,000 8,010 2.42 2.49 2.35 2.5 2.35 2.49 330,000 814,550 STA LUCIA LAND 32.85 33 33.75 33.75 32.85 32.85 5,699,500 187,891,545 SM PRIME HLDG 3.67 3.73 3.65 3.65 3.65 3.65 6,000 21,900 VISTAMALLS 1.5 1.51 1.4 1.51 1.4 1.5 3,200,000 4,775,100 SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND 3.43 3.57 3.46 3.57 3.43 3.57 552,000 1,926,140 SERVICES ABS CBN 10.9 11.06 11.06 11.06 10.9 10.9 37,900 416,030 9.12 9.15 8.9 9.16 8.73 9.15 2,313,800 20,707,699 GMA NETWORK 0.42 0.445 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 10,000 4,200 MANILA BULLETIN GLOBE TELECOM 1,850 1,855 1,867 1,867 1,850 1,850 26,970 50,007,975 PLDT 1,271 1,272 1,275 1,275 1,268 1,272 71,575 91,008,895 0.187 0.188 0.181 0.191 0.181 0.187 313,190,000 58,152,520 APOLLO GLOBAL 19.9 19.96 19.5 19.96 19.5 19.96 11,653,200 230,484,990 CONVERGE DFNN INC 4 4.05 3.98 4.09 3.81 4.05 767,000 2,998,420 DITO CME HLDG 9.35 9.36 10 10.34 9.2 9.35 71,321,600 695,280,811 2.03 2.14 2.08 2.14 2.08 2.14 19,000 39,580 JACKSTONES 2.26 2.28 2.32 2.39 2.25 2.26 1,482,000 3,415,400 NOW CORP 0.365 0.37 0.375 0.38 0.365 0.37 4,440,000 1,649,600 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 2.47 2.5 2.47 2.51 2.47 2.5 50,000 124,620 8.03 8.19 8.29 8.55 8 8.19 120,700 979,124 2GO GROUP 14.72 15 15.1 15.1 15 15 4,300 64,520 ASIAN TERMINALS 2.86 2.9 2.9 2.94 2.75 2.86 564,000 1,621,380 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 44.95 45.2 45.35 45.6 44.75 44.95 208,100 9,386,350 INTL CONTAINER 139.6 139.8 140 140 138.6 139.8 643,830 90,008,094 16 16.78 16.78 16.78 15.84 15.84 1,500 23,854 LBC EXPRESS 0.96 1 0.96 1.03 0.96 1 142,000 137,200 LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA 4.34 4.35 4.36 4.36 4.2 4.34 288,000 1,241,550 METROALLIANCE A 2.03 2.08 2.03 2.1 2.03 2.06 26,000 53,080 5.55 5.59 5.54 5.75 5.54 5.55 37,000 205,884 PAL HLDG 1.17 1.2 1.22 1.23 1.17 1.17 131,000 154,670 HARBOR STAR 1.52 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1,000 1,600 ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG 0.091 0.092 0.079 0.092 0.079 0.092 417,130,000 36,505,420 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.55 2.7 2.75 2.75 2.65 2.7 20,000 53,800 0.52 0.53 0.51 0.53 0.51 0.53 390,000 201,250 WATERFRONT 570 590 575 575 570 570 650 371,150 FAR EASTERN U STI HLDG 0.335 0.345 0.345 0.345 0.335 0.335 830,000 283,700 4.66 4.9 4.61 4.8 4.61 4.8 4,000 18,820 BERJAYA 6.28 6.29 6.35 6.35 6.27 6.29 3,366,900 21,190,822 BLOOMBERRY 1.45 1.5 1.5 1.55 1.5 1.5 4,806,000 7,432,200 LEISURE AND RES 2.03 2.08 2.02 2.07 2.02 2.07 632,000 1,276,840 MANILA JOCKEY PH RESORTS GRP 1.78 1.79 1.82 1.82 1.78 1.79 505,000 905,520 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.395 0.405 0.4 0.405 0.39 0.405 940,000 372,300 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 5,000 29,000 PHIL RACING 7.36 7.4 7.8 7.8 7.11 7.4 277,200 2,058,077 ALLHOME METRO RETAIL 1.24 1.25 1.23 1.26 1.2 1.25 2,430,000 2,973,790 PUREGOLD 35 35.05 35 35.4 34.6 35 7,110,100 248,916,190 ROBINSONS RTL 48.8 48.9 49 49.5 48.6 48.9 568,300 27,815,030 107.4 109.5 108 109.5 107.4 107.4 2,090 226,902 PHIL SEVEN CORP 1.14 1.15 1.14 1.15 1.13 1.14 901,000 1,025,470 SSI GROUP WILCON DEPOT 17.62 17.88 17.62 17.9 17.6 17.88 968,900 17,149,734 APC GROUP 0.35 0.355 0.35 0.35 0.345 0.35 1,770,000 614,500 5.8 6.1 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.8 7,300 42,410 EASYCALL 1.64 1.65 1.75 1.78 1.6 1.65 28,516,000 47,977,760 PRMIERE HORIZON

401,800 -80,567,390 -10,701,940 983,406 -1,381,440 2,460,180 -6,793,500 -12,800 -2,662,980 -25,160,185 32,000 35,300 -2,754,330 -37,529,500 -18,630 -59,530,480 3,538,555 -13,150 8,540 -29,676,540 -29,470 -963,065.00 8,400 -356,729 70,400 592,400 1,860 -293,088 -48,050 73,500 -39,780 274,590 -9,857,040 200,450 220,500 507,180 -19,360,626 -53,570,195 -71,960 -213,090 -17,301,300 -25,308,705 -572,950 13,058,566 120,890 -8,332,538 -6,040.00 -34,200 -519,166 45,000 14,450 -3,148,705 36,123,880 102,150 -23,570 -337,650 -5,610 -14,991,972 3,100,000 16,380 -23,750 -1,190,394 236,450 4,661,555 -2,666,710 -32,910 -451,280.00 -10,767,004 -154,150.00 3,480 211,140

MINING & OIL ATOK 8.71 8.88 8.51 8.98 8.51 8.88 121,500 1,079,411 27,194 1.7 1.71 1.69 1.73 1.66 1.7 4,210,000 7,185,620 -159,050 APEX MINING ATLAS MINING 7.72 7.75 7.5 7.75 7.4 7.74 2,012,400 15,362,988 933,494 BENGUET A 2.95 3 3.05 3.05 2.95 3 35,000 104,800 2.81 2.9 2.75 2.9 2.75 2.9 104,000 293,300 BENGUET B 0.295 0.31 0.31 0.315 0.285 0.31 2,010,000 601,400 30,000 COAL ASIA HLDG CENTURY PEAK 2.81 2.85 2.85 2.85 2.85 2.85 16,000 45,600 42,750 DIZON MINES 6.87 7 7 7 6.84 7 10,900 76,188 2.52 2.54 2.6 2.6 2.52 2.52 1,857,000 4,716,120 -351,670 FERRONICKEL 0.31 0.32 0.305 0.335 0.3 0.32 1,850,000 580,250 92,950 GEOGRACE 0.165 0.166 0.16 0.167 0.157 0.165 80,810,000 13,083,020 LEPANTO A LEPANTO B 0.168 0.169 0.161 0.17 0.161 0.168 4,940,000 814,430 3,570 MANILA MINING A 0.014 0.015 0.013 0.015 0.013 0.015 598,400,000 8,377,400 0.015 0.016 0.014 0.016 0.014 0.016 51,100,000 760,000 134,600 MANILA MINING B 1.25 1.27 1.29 1.3 1.24 1.28 997,000 1,254,150 -25,120 MARCVENTURES NIHAO 1.41 1.44 1.49 1.49 1.4 1.45 46,000 64,910 5.35 5.37 5.38 5.38 5.21 5.35 2,322,400 12,326,030 497,394 NICKEL ASIA 0.92 0.94 0.91 0.95 0.91 0.95 276,000 253,820 ORNTL PENINSULA 7.11 7.12 6.62 7.11 6.62 7.11 9,972,700 69,676,187 112,347 PX MINING SEMIRARA MINING 12.7 12.72 12.8 12.8 12.68 12.72 449,200 5,713,606 -2,459,022 UNITED PARAGON 0.0099 0.01 0.009 0.01 0.009 0.0099 221,000,000 2,160,400 16.9 17 16.5 17.46 16.5 17 94,600 1,620,254 -188,864 ACE ENEXOR 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 88,800,000 1,058,300 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 674,200,000 8,091,300 -1,840,800 ORNTL PETROL B PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 14,100,000 160,800 6.3 6.32 6.24 6.39 6.24 6.31 736,700 4,654,927 -461,522 PXP ENERGY PREFFERED HOUSE PREF B 100 101.2 101.2 101.2 101 101 3,940 397,986 99.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 99.5 99.5 3,430 342,623 HOUSE PREF A 520.5 534 532 532 532 532 400 212,800 212,800 AC PREF B1 ALCO PREF B 100.6 102.4 100.6 100.6 100.6 100.6 1,500 150,900 42.8 42.95 43.1 43.15 42.8 42.8 45,900 1,974,995 -172,370 CEB PREF 100.9 101.4 101.4 101.4 101.4 101.4 19,220 1,948,908 DD PREF 993 1,005 990 990 990 990 180 178,200 GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B 1,030 1,045 1,035 1,035 1,030 1,030 2,000 2,068,500 100.5 101 101 101 101 101 310 31,310 MWIDE PREF 100 101 100 100 100 100 500 50,000 MWIDE PREF 2A 100.1 101 101 101 101 101 1,530 154,530 MWIDE PREF 2B 104 107.5 104 108 104 107.5 25,730 2,760,195 -10,700 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 1,002 1,007 1,000 1,007 1,000 1,007 185 185,295 1,020 1,037 1,020 1,037 1,018 1,037 310 315,970 PCOR PREF 2B 1,090 1,095 1,098 1,098 1,090 1,095 3,390 3,719,165 PCOR PREF 3A 1,145 1,157 1,157 1,157 1,157 1,157 50 57,850 PCOR PREF 3B SMC PREF 2C 79 79.9 78.8 79.9 78.6 79 3,220 255,462 77 77.35 77 77 77 77 40,000 3,080,000 SMC PREF 2E 78.75 79 79 79 78.75 78.75 78,940 6,222,612.50 SMC PREF 2F 77 77.25 77 77 77 77 100 7,700 SMC PREF 2J SMC PREF 2K 75.9 75.95 75.95 75.95 75.9 75.95 27,640 2,099,222 -45,570 PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 10.1 10.78 10.1 10.1 10.1 10.1 10,000 101,000 -101,000 8.52 8.7 8.74 8.74 8.4 8.7 167,500 1,413,723 442,888 GMA HLDG PDR WARRANTS LR WARRANT 1.57 1.6 1.43 1.61 1.43 1.57 973,000 1,492,690 - SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 16.5 16.7 16.04 16.84 16.04 16.7 171,200 2,836,718 -1,067,410 2.3 2.32 2.39 2.39 2.28 2.3 250,000 576,080 193,200 ITALPINAS 5.06 5.34 5.07 5.07 5.01 5.05 10,900 55,111 KEPWEALTH MAKATI FINANCE 2.53 2.66 2.53 2.53 2.53 2.53 25,000 63,250 4.13 4.14 4.27 4.34 4.11 4.14 10,475,000 44,009,970 1,615,680 MERRYMART EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF 94.1 95 95 96.5 94.1 94.1 43,550 4,140,078.50 234,560.50

www.businessmirror.com.ph

AGI Q1 income drops by 20% as restrictions weaken units By VG Cabuag

@villygc

lliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), the holding firm of businessman Andrew Tan, on Thursday said its income for the three months ending March 31 fell 20 percent to P3.2 billion, from last year’s P4 billion, as the economic downturn took a toll on its operations. Consolidated revenues dropped 16 percent to P31.8 billion from last year’s P38 billion, the company said. “During the first two months of the year, most of our businesses have already rebounded, sustaining the momentum achieved during the holiday season. However, the momentum has been halted temporarily due to new restrictions imposed as a result of surges in new cases at the end of March,” Kevin Andrew L.

Tan, the company’s CEO, said. “Thankfully, our international liquor operations continued to deliver strong results, supported by the reopening of the various economies across the globe and the improving traction of its brands in the international market.” Property developer Megaworld Corp.’s income dropped 31 percent to P2.4 billion from last year’s P3.5 billion as sales continued to fall across

its businesses with rental income from the offices and shopping malls it operates came in flat. Consolidated revenues fell 30 percent to P10.1 billion from last year’s P14.39 billion. Income of Emperador Inc., the liquor maker, grew 43 percent to P2.1 billion from the previous year’s P1.45 billion, still as a result of its strong overseas sales. Domestic sales, however, declined due to the implementation of liquor bans in many areas under lockdown. The company that sells cheap brandy and whiskey brands to expensive ones said its revenues rose 13 percent to P12.1 billion from last year’s P10.53 billion. Gambling firm Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., owner and operator of Resorts World Manila, posted a net loss of P1.1 billion in the first quarter, or almost the same as last year’s figure. Total gross revenues fell 24 percent to P5.2 billion. Its gaming segment delivered gross revenues of P4.6 billion driven largely by its mass and VIP operations. Its nongam-

ing revenues stood at P633 million, steady from the previous quarter, as its hotel operations saw further improvement in occupancy rates to 65 percent versus 54 percent during the fourth quarter. Golden Arches Development Corp., a company where Tan owns 49 percent and is being operated by the Yang family who still owns 51 percent, had a net income of P73 million, a 32-percent fall from last year’s P108 million. Consolidated revenues of the McDonald’s Philippines operator declined 16 percent to P5.7 billion from the previous year’s P6.8 billion. The company ended the quarter with 655 McDonald’s stores, down from last year’s 669 stores. “We are very optimistic for the next three quarters as we look forward to an accelerated vaccine rollout that would allow business activities to pick up. This pandemic taught our Group to be relentlessly creative and innovative in executing and modifying some of our strategies to help our various businesses recover fast and strong,” Tan said.

ACR hydro plant to start operations in 2022 By Lenie Lectura @llectura

lcantar a-led Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) said Thursday its P4.5billion run-of-river hydroelectric power plant would commence operating next year. The 14.5 megawatt (MW) Siguil Hydro power project is currently under construction at the Siguil River basin in Maasim, Sarangani Province. “Work is ongoing as we speak and Siguil Hydro is on track to commence commercial operations in early 2022 to provide a source of renewable, reliable and affordable power to key areas of Mindanao,” said ACR Executive Vice President Tirso G. Santillan, Jr. said. It plans to put up 7 more run-of river hydroelectric power facilities to follow Siguil Hydro, the company’s foray into renewable energy (RE). Two more hydro plants—the 22 MW Siayan (Sindangan) Hydro

Power Plant in Zamboanga del Norte and the 42 MW Bago Hydro Power Plant in Negros Occidental—are in the immediate pipeline. “Both projects are now in the process of completing the development phase and we expect to be able to update you on their status towards the end of this year,” Santillan said. Funding will be sourced from a combination of internal funds and borrowings. Aside from RE, the company’s prospective 105 MW San Ramon Power, Inc. baseload thermal plant in Zamboanga City is expected to begin operating in early 2024. ACR Chief Financial Officer Alexander Benhur said the company will continue to pursue its diesel power investments. “We believe there will be a continued need for these assets as far as providing ancillary service in the Mindanao grid. And secondly, [given] the prospects of declining solar power systems, as well as energy storage, ACR is also looking into hy-

brid solutions, as well as relocation of those facilities in other areas within the country that will require energy from these types of facilities,” he said during the company’s stockholders’ meeting. ACR currently has a portfolio of 4 power facilities in Mindanao with an aggregate capacity of 468 MW serving over 8 million people in 14 cities and 11 provinces in the island.

The company foresees stable energy demand in Mindanao for the rest of 2021. “Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, energy demand in Mindanao has recovered as most commercial and industrial customers have started to resume normal operations. These customers include shopping malls, canneries, and manufacturers of essential commodities.”

mutual funds

May 20, 2021

NAV

One Year Three Year Five Year

per share

Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

201.84

9.98%

-8.49%

-4.81%

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.2406

32.76%

-6.78%

0.03%

-5.51%

11.8%

-13.04%

-7.28%

-11.93%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.7591

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7115 11.4%

-11.17%

-8.26% n.a.

-11.49%

First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6789 1.48%

-7.43% n.a.

-8.45%

First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a

11.06%

-6.36%

-3.55%

-9.67%

0.6343

2.41%

-10.42%

-8.47%

-6.5% n.a.

-8.07%

4.4634

First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

93.71

26.24%

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

41.1985

12.4%

-6.82%

-3.8%

-12.06%

9.84%

-6.71%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

-4.15%

-11.22%

Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5

0.9982

18.47% n.a. n.a.

-9.03%

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.073

13.71%

434.14

-5.58%

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

31.0812

12.42%

-2.83%

-8.15%

-6%

-2.66%

-10.61%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.8018

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.2231

13.1%

-6.22%

-3.02%

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

706.16

13.14%

-6.15%

-3.15%

-11.91%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.6403

11.28%

-10.25%

-6.46%

-10.93%

9.65%

-8.22%

-4.44%

-11.12%

-6.52%

-3.31%

-12.15%

-1.85%

-10.09%

-5.98%

-2.53%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.2208

10.26% n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8062 12.58% United Fund, Inc. -a

2.9841

11.29%

-6.09%

-16.52%

-12.18% -11.86%

Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c

SM taps solar power for mall in Bacoor

M Supermalls and solar power provider Green Heat announced the completion of the 1.3-megawatt (MW) solar rooftop system of the SM City Bacoor, the 11th solar-powered SM mall since 2013. Green Heat, the renewable energy unit of ship maker Propmech Corp, said it has successfully installed and switched on 3,114 solar panels on 6,230 square meters of rooftop space of the mall which can generate a monthly average of 128,000-kilowatt hours of electricity. Producing a daily average of 1.13 MW of power, the solar rooftop system can save the SM City Bacoor an estimated P10.3 million in electricity cost each year, Green Heat said in a statement. The mall will also help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 8,493 metric tons (MT) in its first year. Opened in 1997 with a gross floor area of 120,202 square meters, SM City Bacoor was the first SM mall in Luzon outside of Metro Manila and the first of 6 SM malls to operate in

the province of Cavite. As SM malls continue to hold regular operations during the pandemic, solar power is a welcome addition to its sustainability effort to use clean and affordable energy. “We are eager to work with companies that want to make a lasting impact on the environment by turning to sustainable energy sources,” Green Heat Director Glenn Tong said. Since 2009, Green Heat has installed a total of 14 megawatt-peak solar power rooftops that continue to provide an aggregate of 228-gigawatt hours. Each rooftop provides a savings return of between 30 percent and 40 percent. These installations have helped reduce about 1,139 MT of carbon dioxide emissions, which can be the equivalent of planting 1,140 virtual trees. “We guarantee that our partners get top-quality systems that will perform for many years as our history of successful projects with prominent establishments speaks for itself,” Tong added. Jonathan L. Mayuga

94.7374

13.18%

-11.92%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities $1.2405

36.77%

3.83%

8.97%

3.13%

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.7183

ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

34.83%

9.88%

11.56%

2.72%

Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a

1.6108

7.59%

-2.12%

-1.93%

-3.46%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.1143

8.45%

-3.02%

-1.44%

-7.49%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4642

6.14%

-2.1%

-1.66%

-6.2%

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1846

1.54% n.a. n.a.

NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a

1.8862

6.03%

0.32%

0.16%

-3.96%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.4806

5.47%

-1.56%

-1.37%

-8.12%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

15.6121

5.77%

-1.43%

-1.39%

-7.82%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

1.9516

6.74%

-2.44%

-1.18%

-6.8%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.3102 6.34%

-3.8%

-2.42%

-7.36%

5.82% n.a. n.a.

-7.66%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8411

7.45% n.a. n.a.

-11.39%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.822

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9443

8.43% n.a. n.a.

-11.91%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

6.05%

0.8138

-4.98%

-3.06%

-7.05%

-8.32%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a

$0.03793

3.03%

1.24%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.1308

21.24%

2.49%

5.39%

-3.04% -1.69%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.5907 26.02%

7.71%

8.35%

1.72%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1947 13.93%

4.35%

4.64%

-0.62%

Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

371.32

2.23%

3.15%

2.48%

0.07%

ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.9152

-0.9%

0.95%

0.17%

0.78%

Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.2243

1.55%

3.89%

4.4%

Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a

2.2578

-0.91%

2.24%

1.49%

-1.66%

First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4344 0.42%

3.19%

1.76%

-0.77%

Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a

0.3%

4.4746

-1.05%

4.16%

1.61%

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6

1.3231

3.15%

4.3%

2.77%

0.14%

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.9758

2.3%

4.44%

2.53%

-0.63%

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.0268

0.56%

4.25%

1.7%

-1.46%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1967

2.04%

5.25%

2.83%

-0.29%

Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

0.84%

4.53%

2.15%

-0.66%

1.7434

-3.45%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$484.07

ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a

Є219.55

2.45%

1.07%

1.2%

0.17%

$1.175

-2.07%

1.88%

1.07%

-8.23%

First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0259 0.39%

1.59%

0.95%

-2.63%

0.7%

ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b

$1.0487

-0.36%

3.13%

2.34%

0.04%

-0.65%

-4.03%

Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$2.4834

3.34%

5.16%

2.18%

-2.06%

Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a

$0.0627478

4.94%

3.51%

2.21%

0.69%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1353 -0.66%

2.86%

0.97%

-2.74%

2.53%

0.22%

Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

130.09

1.94%

3.1%

First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0515 1.25% n.a. n.a.

0.32%

Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

0.54%

1.3036

1.88%

2.89%

2.57%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0568

1.39%

1.71% n.a.

0.42%

Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.2189 n.a. n.a. n.a.

7.91%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2

$0.99

8.79% n.a. n.a.

1.02%

a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU). 1 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 2 - Launch date is November 15, 2019. 3 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019. 4 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 5 - Launch date is December 09, 2019. 6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund).

7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020.

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

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Banking&Finance

EastWest sees Q1 income drop 10% on lower NII, trading gains

OTIANUN-led EastWest Bank Corp. reported a net income of P2.0 billion in the first three months of 2021, 10 percent lower from last year’s P2.3 billion. EastWest said in a statement the lower income was primarily driven by net interest income (NII), lower trading gains and higher taxes. NII, the difference between interest income and interest expense, was lower due to lower volume of loans and fixed income securities, the bank said. “This is consistent with the pandemic driven 4.2-percent drop in Q1 [first quarter] national output,” the bank said. “Lower GDP [gross domestic product] typically means lower loan growth. The banking system registered a 4 percent decrease in loans in the first quarter.” The bank said the interest rate cap on credit cards also contributed to the 11-percent drop in its NII. The bank noted that the maximum rate of 24 percent for credit cards and similar loans set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BPS) in November last year significantly affected its net interest margin. EastWest’ NIM dropped to 7.5 percent from 8.1 percent in the first quarter of 2020. While its trading gains at P854.1 million was still higher than normal levels, this was 52-percent lower than the first quarter of 2020. “The bank expects trading gains to normalize moving forward due to the steady level of interest rates,” EastWest said. “Last year, there was a sharp increase in trading gains because of the significant drop in interest rates as the BSP loosened monetary policy in response to the pandemic.” Taxes, on the other hand, increased primarily from the one-time adjustment as a result of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises bill that cut the corporate income tax rate from 30 percent to 25 percent. Banks like EastWest have significant deferred tax assets from their accumulated provisions booked under the old tax rate of 30 percent, which have to be adjusted to 25 percent with the implementation of the new law. The lower loan volumes across loan products, higher taxes and lower trading gains were offset by the improvement in the deposit mix in favor of low-cost current and savings account and the 70-percent drop in provisions for loan losses. Typically, when interest rates go lower, many bank customers tend to leave higher balances in their Casa accounts instead of investing in time deposits. Return on equity was at 14.4 percent. Total assets ended at P385.7 billion,

almost flat from the first quarter of 2020’s P384.1 billion. “Most of the pandemic induced provisions have been booked in 2020. Unless the virus takes a turn for the worse and significantly infects more Filipinos, provisions for loan losses should be lower in 2021,” EastWest Chief Lending Officer Jacqueline S. Fernandez was quoted in the statement as saying. “In the first quarter of last year, [the bank] significantly boosted its ‘preemptive provisions’ for loan losses to P2.4 billion in anticipation of the economic impact of the pandemic.” Net revenues were lower by 18 percent to P7.8 billion. Excluding trading, core revenues dropped by 11 percent to P7.0 billion. Meanwhile, operating expenses excluding provisions for loan losses, decreased by 7 percent to P4.2 billion. Cost-to-income ratio stood at 53.9 percent. Net income before tax amounted to P2.8 billion or 14 percent higher from last year mainly from the drop in provisions for losses despite the lower net revenues. Net income after tax however, amounted to P2.0 billion or 10 percent lower from last year due to the aforementioned impact of the Create Law. Excluding the adjustments from the new tax rate, net income after tax would have been P2.2 billion or only 5 percent lower from last year. EastWest’s total loans and receivables were down 11 percent to P232.1 billion, mainly due to maturities and lower overall demand as businesses and households held off borrowing. Deposits on the other hand increased by 5 percent to P308.3 billion, with low-cost Casa increasing by 9 percent to P215.8 billion. The Casa ratio improved to 70 percent, from the previous year’s 67 percent. The bank’s capital adequacy ratio and common equity Tier 1 ratio improved to 14.4 percent and 13.2 percent, from 12.5 percent and 11.3 percent respectively in the previous year. This year “seems to be the reversal of the 2020 trend as the economy continues to move to the beat of the coronavirus.” “In 2020, banks were beset by higher provisions and substantial drop in loan growth; this was offset by higher net interest margins and higher trading gains. For 2021, it seems that it will be lower provisions which will offset the drop in net interest margins and lower trading gains,” EastWest President Antonio C. Moncupa Jr. was quoted in the statement as saying. “Fortunately, EastWest, as with the rest of the banks, have growing capital buffers which should allow the industry to remain resilient and help the economy recover once the virus is subdued.”

The many roles of an association CEO

ment and balancing strategic was invited by the Australand operational aspects of the asian Society of Associaorganization. tion Executives (AuSAE) Relationship with the to the second run of its “AsBoard. A right governance sociation Insiders” webinar Association World structure that delineates series entitled, “The Many clearly the roles and functions Roles of an Association CEO.” Octavio Peralta of the Board and the CEO sets AuSAE is the premier not-forthe tone for a healthy relationprofit professional society repship and effective governance. Understanding resenting over 10,000 individual leaders working the diversity of Board members in terms of their in associations in Australia and New Zealand. varied professional disciplines and experiences The new series features monthly interviews is key to harnessing enthusiasm and unity. A with association leaders who share their insights, more personal, conversational and open comexperiences and real-world stories from their own munication approach to relating with the Board organizations. The first webinar was a CEO panel is likewise important. Governance training, ondiscussion on the “State of Associations,” which boarding and a “director pipeline” project are also I wrote about in this column on March 26, 2021. essential elements to consider. For the second run, the high-level panel Growth and development prospects. was composed of David McKeon, CEO of Grain Turning challenges into opportunities, annual Growers and Kirsty Kelly, CEO of the Australian work planning, professional and talent developInstitute of Traffic Planning and Management ment, mentorship, and engaging with peers and (AITPM). They shared their experiences on the with the association community are actions with often complex role of an association CEO and long-term benefits. their insights on what they have learned along What 2020 taught you: Thriving in a chalthe way. Toni Brearley, CEO of AuSAE, moderlenging environment, building stronger relaated the discussion. tionships and communities, work-from-home Here are my takeaways from the panel discus(productivity versus flexibility) and being there sion, which resonate with local associations here: with the members when needed, virtual or otherRole of the CEO. Being in a leadership posiwise, are some of the things we learned last year. tion in the organization, the CEO’s role is nonDespite the many roles of an association CEO, linear, not at all top-down and more complicated they are essentially the “fulcrum” of the organizaas perceived, due to the intricacies and dynamtion, a support which provides the capability for ics of the various relationships involved among action. The steadier the fulcrum is, the steadier stakeholders—i.e., Board, members, staff and the organization will also be. volunteers. The CEO’s role is also about representing the association and the industry or profession, noting that the more modern and The column contributor, Octavio ‘Bobby’ Peralta, is concurprogressive the industry or profession is, the rently the secretary-general of the Association of Development more modern and progressive the association Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific, Founder & CEO of is as well. Another critical role of the CEO is the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executhat of keeping the association financially sustives and President of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association tainable to be able to undertake services that Organizations. The purpose of PCAAE—the “association of members need. associations”—is to advance the association management The skills of the CEO. Among the skills profession and to make associations well-governed and needed by the CEO to adapt quickly to the issues sustainable. PCAAE enjoys the support of Adfiap, the Tourism at hand and to make a difference include mental Promotions Board, and the Philippine International Convention toughness and ability to focus, time manageCenter. E-mail: obp@adfiap.org.

BusinessMirror

Friday, May 21, 2021

PHL cigarette tax policy best in SEA–think tank

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Philippines received the highest score among countries in Southeast Asia for its cigarette tax policy performance over a sixyear period from 2012 to 2018 owing to continued improvements in the taxation of tobacco products as well as significant reduction in cigarette affordability.

The results of the study by the Institute for Health Research and Policy (IHRP) of the University of Chicago revealed the Philippines got an overall score of 3.75 out of 5, the highest in Southeast Asia. The Philippines was cited as among the countries “with the greatest improvement in cigarette tax policy” resulting from “the simplification of previously complicated tiered cigarette excise tax structures, accompanied by large tax increases,” the IHRP’ said citing results of its “Tobacconomics Cigarette Tax Scorecard.” The scorecard rated cigarette tax policy performance of more than 170 countries. “This was mainly due to our cigarette tax reforms—Republic Act (RA) 10351 (first Sin Tax Reform Law) and RA 10963 (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act or Train)— that removed the inherent weaknesses of the excise tax system like the multi-tiered structure, price classification fees and the lack of

automatic indexation,” Finance Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresa S. Habitan said in her presentation at a Department of Finance (DOF) executive committee meeting. The Tobacconomics Scorecard’s 5-point grading system is derived from the data in the tax/price-related appendices of the biennial Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic of the World Health Organization. The WHO report monitors the status of the tobacco epidemic and the most effective and cost-effective government interventions—both price and non-price measures—for reducing tobacco consumption. Habitan said the study used the WHO data and focused on four aspects of cigarette tax systems. These aspects are: cigarette prices; changes in cigarette affordability over time; share of taxes in retail cigarette prices; and, cigarette tax structure. The country received the perfect score of 5 in two of aspects: cigarette affordability and

cigarette tax structure. Habitan said the Philippines scored the highest on cigarette affordability due to the implementation of significant tax increases during the 6-year period. In terms of cigarette tax structure, the country was the only country in Southeast Asia to get the highest score of 5 because of its unitary tax system with an annual indexation rate for tobacco products. On the aspect of share of taxes in retail cigarette prices, Habitan said the Philippines scored 4—the same with Singapore and Thailand—because their excise tax is at least 65 percent but less than 75 percent of the cigarette retail price. The Philippines, meanwhile, got its lowest score of 1 on cigarette prices because the cost of cigarettes per pack in 2018 was still relatively cheap compared to those in other Association of Southeast Asian Nation-member countries. Implemented beginning 2013, RA 10351, which was signed by then President Benigno S. Aquino III, imposed an increase in the excise or “sin” taxes on tobacco products and mandated an across-the-board uniform tax rate of P30 per pack beginning 2017. Excise tax rates on tobacco products were further increased via the Train law, which was enacted in 2017 and implemented starting January 2018. Two other “sin” tax reform laws—RA 11346 and RA 11467—that imposed additional increases in excise tax of tobacco products and, later, on electronic cigarettes, were excluded from the Tobacconomics study as these were passed beyond the period under the study’s scope.

Friday, May 21, 2021 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Relationships BusinessMirror

The waiting game

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Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Fairuza Balk, 47; Nick Cassavetes, 62; Mr. T, 69; Judge Reinhold, 64.

PHOTO BY DANIEL SCHLUDI ON UNSPLASH

Happy Birthday: Ease into whatever you want to accomplish this year to avoid taking on too much or underestimating the cost. Play it safe, focus on details and what’s important to you, and leave nothing to chance. You’ll get the results you want—and more. Verify information, and say no to temptation. Everything will turn in your favor. Your numbers are 7, 15, 22, 31, 34, 40, 49.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Follow a path that interests you, and you will find it easier to reach your goal. Discipline and hard work will get you where you want to go. Don’t fixate on what’s happening at the moment; focus on your long-term aspiration. HHH

OVERNMENT estimates about 3 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered to Filipinos, nationwide. That’s just about 2.7 percent of the country’s population, or perhaps even less, considering that individuals below 18 years old are not eligible for the jabs. In the National Capital Region, where most of the Covid cases are concentrated, the population is close to 13 million to 14 million. According to the Department of Health, 937,824 first doses have already been administered, or just 7.2 percent of the total NCR population. From this, we can confirm that the pace of vaccination is extremely slow. And it cannot be attributed just to vaccine hesitancy, but because government also took its sweet time in purchasing the vaccines for us. (Recall that Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin pointed to a fellow Cabinet secretary as the cause of why Pfizer vaccines didn’t arrive in January 2021, despite his negotiations with the pharmaceutical company.) Filipinos weren’t wary about getting Covid vaccinations due to our previous experience with Dengvaxia, but because they didn’t want to get Sinovac. And while there were AstraZeneca doses that arrived as well, these were limited and initially allocated to senior citizens. So when news broke that the Pfizer vaccines have arrived, it was as if everyone went nuts. In many local government units, people who had no vaccine schedules suddenly showed up, cramming venues like the Ayala Malls Manila Bay, hoping for a chance at getting a Pfizer jab. Government talking heads have called these super-spreader events. But, frankly, if anyone is to blame, it’s certainly not the people who were eager to get vaccinated. It is worth noting, dear readers, that the vaccines already in the country are still donations courtesy of other countries, not purchased by the government with our money from the taxes we pay. Sinovac was a donation from China, while AstraZeneca and Pfizer were donated by their respective pharma firms via the Covax facility of the World Health Organization. By the end of July, government will hopefully be distributing Moderna vaccines, but that would also be a donation, this time from the ICTSI Foundation that purchased them. (By the way, many private companies like the Ayala Group, San Miguel Corp., the MVP Group, the Phinma Group, GMA Network, among others, had ordered Moderna vaccines for their employees. That seems to be one part of the Nayong Pilipino “forest” issue that has not been emphasized. These private companies and their thousands upon thousands of employees are key to reopening the economy, especially here in the NCR. That mega-vaccination center to be temporarily built on government property, would be the main hub to get the temperature-sensitive vaccine out to these employees. Other vaccine brands will also be made available via the facility.) It’s unfortunate this is what the Philippines has been reduced to, a beggar nation. If the administration needs anything to fight this Covid-19 horror, our salvation will come from donations. The bazillions of funds government borrowed (from us and from foreign institutions) is basically just for keeping

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Take on as much as possible, and show everyone what you are capable of doing. Put your energy where it counts and leave nothing to chance. Be honest, and demand the same in return. Question anyone confusing or misleading. HHHHH

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Be careful when dealing with sensitive issues. Someone will use information you share against you. Keep personal matters to yourself, and focus on taking care of your responsibilities. Emotional manipulation is apparent if you let down your guard or trust too freely. HH

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Too much time to think or worry will lead to an emotional outburst. If you focus on what you want to accomplish, you will develop a plan that will help you turn your space into a productive workplace. HHHH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Talk to someone you enjoy collaborating with, and solutions that help you improve your position, status or reputation will transpire. A serious talk with someone you love will lead to personal stability and a better future. HHH

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Emotions will be difficult to control. Refrain from getting into a debate with someone who will never see things your way. Concentrate on making changes that will improve your life and the way you live. Make personal growth a priority. HHH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Someone will offer you suggestions to help you get ahead. An online course or networking opportunity will introduce you to something or someone who will give you inside information. Make plans with someone you love, and it will bring you closer. HHH

government operations afloat, since it can’t reopen the economy fast enough to collect more taxes from us. Many economists even argue that the government needs to borrow more to finance its pandemic action plan—we assume it does have one—more efficiently. (Amid this, several government agencies are wastefully spending their budgets on extravagant, unnecessary, and downright dumb projects, with no economic benefit to the people and the country.) Other than the hesitancy over vaccine brands, another factor that discourages more people from getting their jabs is the inconsistency of LGUs in their pronouncements. When an LGU says vaccination slots have to be reserved, then only those with reservations should be served. In our case in Quezon City, it’s not that the reserved slots aren’t respected; it’s that the LGU doesn’t have an orderly system for residents to reserve a vaxx schedule in the first place. First, it announced that residents should get registered to the QC E-services. Then it rolled out the EZConsult app for us to get a vaxx schedule. Next thing we know, there is now a barangay-assisted vaccination registration. Yet when I checked, our barangay wasn’t even on the registration schedules list. What a clusterf*ck. Meanwhile, those who registered via their barangays were lucky to get the Pfizer vaccine. Good for them. On Wednesday, the Department of Health told

LGUs to no longer announce what vaccine brands they are administering to prevent chaos, such as what happened at the Parañaque mall. Not only does this directly contradict President Duterte’s order for government agencies and personnel to be transparent in all transactions, it also negates our human right to be properly informed of the vaccine that we will consume. (DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje should re-read government’s own national deployment and vaccination plan, which cites: “For consent to be valid, it must be informed, understood and voluntary, and the person consenting must have the capacity to do so.”) Instead of being super-secretive about vaccine brands, DOH can speed up the distribution of vaccines, especially those that are not temperaturesensitive, via drugstores. In the US, Target is doing just that by distributing the vaccines through CVS Pharmacy (which took over the department store’s network of pharmacies). In Metro Manila, SM has about 240 Watsons branches, while Mercury Drug probably has even more. This will help declog the vaccine pipeline and get these out to the people quicker. And so while thousands continue to perish from Covid, and a majority of us still await for our precious jabs, government continues to twiddle its thumbs, seemingly unable to move past its inefficiencies. n

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Touch base with someone you find inspiring. Exchange thoughts and feelings, and it will help you put things in perspective. Don’t jeopardize a friendship, regardless of the offer. Don’t make a change or move if it will put you into debt. HHHHH

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Promise only what’s possible. If you say something, be prepared to back your claims. Discipline will pay off when it comes to your health and relationships. Stick to the truth, abide by the rules and live within your means. HH

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Put everything in its place, and finish what you start. Don’t leave anything to chance or allow anyone to take advantage of you. Anger is a waste of time, and regret will lead to stress. Do things right the first time. HHHHH

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Stop worrying about what others are doing. Don’t feel you have to tag along or follow someone’s lead. Concentrate on your happiness and doing the things you enjoy most. Spend time with someone who brings out the best in you. HHH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Refuse to let someone annoy you. Spend time getting back to the basics and activities you enjoy doing most. A creative outlet will inspire you to make time in your daily routine for things that make you happy. HHH Birthday Baby: You are outspoken, persuasive and relentless. You are intelligent and vexing.

‘eye-opening’ by adam wagner The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Chicago paper’s nickname, with The 5 Military trainee 10 Recover 14 Improve, as skills 15 ___ and kicking 16 TwitchCon, for one 17 Disney queen voiced by Idina Menzel 18 Like Mandarin Chinese 19 Summit 20 Muster enough courage 23 Palindromic cookware brand 24 Provoke 25 Check time 28 Pain-relieving patch maker 30 Situated on 32 ___ B. Wells (civil rights icon) 33 “Makes sense” 34 Suffering from cabin fever 36 Lyft offering 39 Projections on the wall at LAX? 40 You may balance on one in the water 44 Like 1-Down

8 Horror director Roth 4 49 Simplicity 50 More than more than enough? 52 Bright fish in aquariums 54 Purina competitor 56 Cost of applying 57 Reaching an agreement...or, parsed differently, what the starts of 20-, 34and 40-Across are? 60 “LOL” 62 Mister, in Mexico 63 Bothersome person 64 Express lane unit 65 Madison Square Garden, for one 66 One with many followers 67 Cubs’ homes 68 Peak performance? 69 “Classic” soda DOWN 1 Desert in Mongolia, casually 2 Some swanky watches 3 How some rules are set 4 Actor Bridges 5 Squeaky mouse, perhaps 6 Hi, in Hawaii

7 Patronized, as a restaurant 8 Westworld star ___ Rachel Wood 9 Travel, in sci-fi 10 Like an elephant 11 Travel site since 1996 12 Chimpanzee or bonobo 13 Schmear go-with 21 Org. that recognizes the rarity of eagles? 22 1990s hip-hop purchase 26 Woodworking tool: Var. 27 “Wahoo!” 29 Richard of Chicago 31 How the teams start in most games 34 Word after “high” or “seven” 35 Invitation initials 37 Vowel-shaped girder 38 “Obey me!” 40 Like a dog’s nose, typically 41 Draft pick? 42 Chef’s workplace 43 Sat on the throne 45 Creamy pasta sauce 46 Has no obvious flaws 47 Certain table’s support

50 Without ethics 51 December hrs. in Denver 53 Uses one’s cellphone while abroad 55 What to do on Yom Kippur 58 Infamous Roman tyrant 59 “Beyond cool!” 60 Prepared for a surprise party, say 61 Broke a fast Solution to Wednesday’s puzzle:

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Show BusinessMirror

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Friday, May 21, 2021

Nora NORA AUNOR, the most acclaimed Filipino actor bar none.

T is tempting, but facile, to use the wine as metaphor for Nora Aunor, with another year added to her gilded age. But she deserves more than metaphors and modifiers. You know, the cliché of mellowing through the years, and being more superior over any in our memory of her excellence. How she is the greatest, or how she rose from being a social zero to a breathtaking phenomenon—those things have been said and need not be uttered anymore. If there is an element about the persona of Nora that has to be reviewed, it is her rise from a personality, a box-office sensation, a star of those early silly, giddy plots who, in one film, stunned a new group of critics to declare her the discovery of the decade of what then became the beginning of the golden age of Philippine cinema: a thespian of the first order. That Nora stayed on for more decades—and up to now—honing her gift, doing film after film, seemingly in search of more stories to tell not only by herself but with other actors who share her vision, exploring and allowing herself to be used in all kinds of screenplays and scenarios, in varied attempts of filmmakers to find that supreme strand of the human experience. Nora Aunor is at the center and core of the new cinema. She gladly and, most of the time, intriguingly continues to haunt the imagination of new filmmakers and new and young actors. Not all of these collaborative events are triumphant; there are still filmmakers who come upon Aunor with the mission to overhaul her genius, impose on her their techniques and strategies instead of looking into the heart and art of this individual and finding there the many dimensions of one who have travelled far and wide, up and down, in the valley of tears and hopes of this existence. Nora Aunor has been there and done that. She has contributed mightily as an actor by way of characterizations unforgettable because they have been seared in the collective unconscious of this nation. She has done so much as a producer in the development of our cinema by supporting films made both for commerce and consummate craft. She was not a mere observer, not a putty in some filmmaker’s sweaty hand and rabid delusion. Once a filmmaker gets over this realization, without despairing then, she or he can proceed and chart a fresh direction, navigate threads of reactions and responses, and show the actor that she is being given a new road to tread upon, a new role to try, a grand highway from which she can sally forth to battle good and evil and thus continue to tell what she as a true actor was created to achieve—TRUTH. And while this wonderful, irascible, unpredictable, loveable enigma is celebrating her birthday on the 21st of May, we might as well ask truthfully this: what is Nora Aunor’s singular contribution to Philippine society at large, and this industry of illusion and artifice called cinema in biting particular? Nora Aunor was the original, supreme

contravida. Allow me to rephrase that: Nora provided a new way of looking at flawed, imperfect characters. Before Nora, actresses and actors were defined by their appearances alone, leaving motivations suspect, painting characters who had no human agency. Lacking control over destiny and class structure, the woman had only two options—to be bad or to be good. Rendered bad, she was to wear tight skirts that threatened to hoist up anytime for the meek leading man. The bad woman had eyebrows so thin they could be manipulated to go west and east in order to manifest disgust over the leading lady’s easy tears. The bad man, in reverse, had a mustache and was always inches away from ravishing the pretty, hapless lady. All this changed in the hands—and eyes—of Nora Aunor. She enabled the creation of a being that was imperfect because she was human. She convinced us there was more to a weakness of spirit than gestures. In the small universe of slow twists and turns, in her gripping understanding of lines or in the absence of dialogues, she told stories about how difficult and given it was to be human and moral, how it was not easy to read quickly the good in an action when too many options were there presented each day, each hour to a woman struggling to be a woman, lover, mother, enemy. Think of Nora Aunor in her magnificent films. Think of her as the title caharcter in Bona. She leaves her family to be with an idol, a stuntman. She is found out by her father who dies because of broken heart. She comes home, avoids the rage of a brother for the moment, is ushered in by her mother but her presence is soon discovered. She is brutally manhandled,

pushed out of the house. We applaud that virtuoso scene not because we approve of Bona’s conduct but because Nora as Bona has demonstrated to us the virtue of veritas, of truth. She has performed for us a web of emotions of a young woman who has to see the dead father even if it is at the cost of personal violence. Think of her as Lorna in Mga Tinik sa Dibdib. An ordinary tale of a woman charting her own life becomes a mirror for us to look at and find there the dregs of our society. Her Lorna has the capacity to deliver speeches that are strident but fluent that, upon first hearing, we agree with all that she says. Then we look back and realize it is the daughter now cursing her own parent. We praise the acting and we suspend our moralizing. And we are troubled and tasked to review our value system. Think of her as Ester, daughter to Lolita Rodriguez’s Renata in Ina ka Ng Anak Mo. Against the backdrop of Nora Aunor as Elsa in Himala, the inestimable film scholar and historian Nick Deocampo, in an interview conducted years back, conspiratorially glowers at an unseen audience: “How can you call your own mother hayup?” Half-mocking, half-pontificating, all the while the instructive film educator, Deocampo whispers, “Ohmygod!” Earlier, Deocampo, summarizing the plot of Lino Brocka’s Ina ka ng Anak Mo, thinks back about the film and how it “destroys all morals.” The point is Nora Aunor’s films and her delineation of the characters in those films are never safe grounds of entertainment but daring spaces for recriminations, introspections, analysis and judgment. Viewing these films, we are learners in these shrines to the moral imaginary; we are consumers of courageous literature; we are the diggers unafraid to see, hold and spit at the artefacts of

false manners and pretentious conducts. In the book Centennial Anniversary of the Philippine Cinema: Cinema as a Response to the Nation, released during the 23rd Busan International Film Festival in 2018, I wrote in my essay “Lost Archives, Found Regrets, Photographs of Guilt: Critiquing the Filipino Cinema” how the film Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos tested the waters by dealing with the unsaid and the taboos during the war. Remember the story: a Japanese official falls in love with a Filipina whose family becomes comfortable while the rest of the village—or the country—remains hungry and suffering. The woman also betrays her boyfriend who is a guerilla. Returning to her woman, the Filipino man finds her in the arms of the enemy who has stopped being enemy. Nora plays this woman, Rosario, an outing which I described as “the beginning of a criticism where her very self [her persona] impinges on the delineation— and acceptance—of the character she seems fated to play on-screen.” I wrote further: “It is the power of this actor that she had been able to play roles that could be considered, to use a local term, kontrabida or contravida, the counter-life on-screen. She [Nora Aunor] can play any role so long as she plays it well.” The loyal fans are preparing many little things for Nora, their Ate Guy. I believe, however, the nation should also do that—thank her for her legacy, for those celebrations and subversions of life and death on-screen, for giving us cinemas whose power and virtue are not only embedded in the taboos they portray but also the unsaid we sense after watching them, and in her performances that, long after the noise of the work of other stars has subsided, will be remembered for their incomparable sincerity and silences. ■

‘The Road to NCAA Season 96’ airs beginning May 23 GET to know the athletes, coaches, teams, and what to expect this season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, as GMA Network via GMA Synergy unveils Rise Up Stronger: 96, airing everyday beginning this The Road to NCAA Season 96 Sunday, May 23, on GTV. The Road to NCAA Season 96 will keep sports fans entertained and warmed up in preparation for the country’s first athletic league’s return to the spotlight. Every day, they will get a chance to know the athletes joining this season along with the other faces of the NCAA such as the coaches, sports luminaries and outstanding alumni who started their sports journey in the said league. Giving viewers their daily dose of everything and anything NCAA are hosts Martin Javier and Sophia Senoron. A familiar face in Philippine sportscasting, Martin has under his belt years of experience, determination and hard work. Always courteous, he shines as a host with his adventurous personality, boyish charm, and natural wit. Like any athlete, actress, model, and entrepreneur Sophia

knows how to endure and triumph over pressure. A champion debater and a beauty queen, Sophia became the first winner of Miss Multinational in 2018, besting 34 candidates from around the world. Sophia is set to win the viewers’ hearts with her outgoing and charming demeanor as cohost of the show. During the hosts’ reveal on 24 Oras on May 14, Martin and Sophia expressed their excitement on headlining the latest sports program about the country’s first collegiate athletic league. “Napakagandang liga nito, napakaraming magagaling na players na nanggaling dito. Ako ay natutuwa na narito rin ako sa bagong tahanan ng NCAA,” shared Martin. Meanwhile Sophia is no newbie when it comes to NCAA as she is an alumna of San Beda University. “It’s really close to my heart and I’m so grateful to be given this opportunity [to host],” she said. Rise Up Stronger: The Road to NCAA Season 96 promises to give sports fans the excitement of watching NCAA again soon on GTV. For its pilot week, joining Martin and Sophia as well are GMA stars and personalities Derek Ramsay, Kyline Alcantara, Boobay, Kim de Leon, Chef

JR Royol, Yasser Marta, Faye Lorenzo and Elle Villanueva, among others. “As the NCAA’s new home, GMA is excited to show to our viewers here and abroad the world-class talent of our Filipino student athletes. And we at the network, especially the GMA Synergy team, are looking forward to sharing with our viewers our newest offering on GTV. Following health and safety protocols, Rise Up Stronger: The Road to NCAA Season 96 serves as our warm-up to the very unique and special NCAA Season 96 and we hope NCAA fans will also look forward to the episodes we have prepared for them every day,” said GMA Regional TV and Synergy first vice president and head Oliver Victor Amoroso. Rise Up Stronger: The Road to NCAA Season 96 airs Sundays starting May 23 at 5:05 pm, Saturdays at 4:30 pm, and Mondays to Fridays at 2:45 pm on GTV. Fans abroad can also watch via GMA Pinoy TV and GMA News TV. More information is available at www.gmapinoytv. com/subscribe.

MARTIN JAVIER (left) and Sophia Senoron host The Road to NCAA.

B6 Friday, May 21, 2021

LCS Group takes lead in DICT’s common tower initiative

HE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) issued guidelines for the construction of Independent Common Towers in June 2020 in a bid to improve telco services nationwide. Many have heeded the call to build. Common Towers serve as carrier-neutral relay stations that telecommunications companies can share to reach more areas with more consistent signals. These towers are not built and owned by the telcos but by independent companies. Rather like a tollway, telcos will pay the Common Tower Providers a fee in order to utilize the towers. One of these providers is the LCS Group, which has just built their 30th

Common Tower, the latest of which is in Alicia, Isabella, among hundreds more currently being constructed throughout the country. “We fully support the DICT’s directive in allowing independent providers to construct towers that will create opportunities for all three telcos to expand their service to more areas, ultimately improving Last Mile services through collaboration with our carrier-neutral towers,” said LCS Group Vice Chairman Architect Richelle Singson-Michael. “What is known as the ‘sharing economy’ has disrupted tech markets, and the same principles can be applied in the telco industry saving them from having to invest and operate the towers themselves”.

LCS’ CEO (ICT) Aaron H Tan added: “With our shared infrastructure, we have effectively shortened the network roll out and expansion periods of all the current and future service providers, hence expediting their go-to-themarket strategies.”. According to reports from the DICT, the two major telcos, PLDT and Globe, operate a combined total of over 16,000 cell sites nationwide. New telco player DITO Telecommunity is poised to complete 3,200 sites by July 2021 with 1,920 towers already built as of April 30. Currently, the Philippines is trailing behind neighbors Vietnam and Indonesia in terms of tower construction, each of whom have around 70,000 to 90,000 towers respectively. Catching up to them would mean not only faster internet connectivity, but better services, safer transactions, and clearer communication for the millions of Filipinos who are still working from home due to the global pandemic. Architect Richelle also sees the Common Towers as economic invigorators, because the development and construction of these is very laborintensive, and providers like LCS are mindful of the communities where the towers are located. “We always make it a point to prioritize hiring local experts and labor because our job is not done if only the telcos and the Last Mile are happy. We at LCS bring it upon ourselves to add value to every single community our towers are located in.” The LCS Group is gearing up to complete its 100th tower by the end of May 2021 and to build over 5,000 towers in the next four years.

A salute to frontline lamp bearers

THE excellence and tireless efforts of our nurses translate to commitment towards compassionate and patient-centered service. Happy International Nurses Year and International Year of Health and Care Workers to all medical health workers!

OMPASSIONATE, empathetic, selfless, and brave — at times when it is precautionary to avoid exposure and protect ourselves from the virus, our nurses choose to go out and be of service to others. St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) Chief Nursing Officer Ma. Martina Geraldine “Gigi” Q. Dimalibot, PhD., RN shared stories of the plight of nurses during the pandemic. At the onset of the pandemic, Nurse Gigi shared that as the Chief Nursing Officer, she struggled in dealing with the invisible enemy — the novel coronavirus disease or COVID-19. “When it started, I was contemplating on how we can prepare and be ready for it. What do we communicate to our nurses and the rest of our associates? How do we protect them while they will be taking care of our patients?” She said that despite the fear of the uncertainty of COVID-19 last year, her passion to serve is stronger. “We all felt fear of what’s going to happen but passionate that whatever happens, we will never turn our backs on patients who need us.” Nurse Gigi shared that it is not easy to wear bunny suit PPEs, but nurses have to wear them throughout their shift to protect themselves from the virus even if it is difficult to breathe and make them sweat a lot. After their shift, nurses even experience discrimination outside when people avoid them because they are healthcare workers who are exposed to

COVID-19 patients. “Some of the nurses were asked to leave their dormitories because they work in a hospital. It hurts our feelings because they feel like we have a disease even if we fulfill our oath to take care of patients,” Nurse Gigi added. Despite these experiences, there are moments that allow nurses to feel recognized for their sacrifices. Nurse Gigi shared that some patients and their families express their gratitude by sending them food, basic necessities, and thank you cards with heartfelt messages. “We are grateful for you extending your hand to my father. You went the extra mile in your job,” said Joana Montojo, whose father, Antonio Montojo, was admitted for COVID-19. “It’s not your duty to, but you showed care and love to my father, and our family was also able to experience it as well.” As Chief Nursing Officer, Nurse Gigi ensures that her fellow nurses are taken care of. “I make sure that I am updated with what is happening. I keep my lines open 24/7 with the Nursing Team and partners. I always check if there are enough PPEs, if they have meals on time, proper accommodations, and transportation. I take care of their basic needs because they are busy taking care of the overall health of patients,” she said. From the moment they wake up, prepare for their shift, and wear their scrub suits, to the moment they start their shift, conduct daily rounds, check for their patient's vitals, and administer care, nurses manifest their commitment

MA. MARTINA Geraldine “Gigi” Q. Dimalibot, SLMC SVP and Chief Nursing Officer to their vocation. The devotion nurses show each patient is easily appreciated by those under their care. “The care they give is world-class — it’s no longer customer driven but now more emphasized on giving patient care,” said Ana Marie Torrenueva, a patient who will be undergoing an outpatient procedure in May 2021. “Nursing is not just a career, but a vocation. You have to have with you the concern to take care of others in order to be a good nurse. I salute our frontline nurses, whether it be in a pandemic or not.” “I’m very grateful for their service. Without hesitation, they come into our rooms with a smile—as if they aren’t stressed from all the day’s work they have,” said Carla Bautista, a patient who gave birth to her son in 2020. “My family could really feel how hardworking the nurses and aides are despite the scary and challenging the times we are in.” When asked what keeps her going, Nurse Gigi shared that it is her passion for the vocation. “Making a difference in one’s life is so rewarding, it is a privilege. It is fulfilling to bring hope and compassion to those who are suffering and to dedicate yourself to making people feel better.” Much like Florence Nightingale, the modern nurse will continue to hold up their lamp and care for their patients dutifully. This International Nurses Week, express gratitude to the nurses who continuously serve and show determination in saving lives, especially in our fight against the pandemic.

EDSA BUSWAY CONCOURSES AT SM MALLS. Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Art Tugade and SM Prime President Jeffrey Lim lead the virtual groundbreaking ceremony of the EDSA Busway Concourses located at SM North Edsa, SM Megamall, and SM Mall of Asia. Commuters can look forward to a more comfortable, safe, and convenient travel experience with state-of-the-art facilities, including a concierge, ticketing booths, and turnstiles for the Automatic Fare Collection System. The concourses, as shown in the background, will complement the DOTr’s innovative EDSA Busway project to provide safe and convenient access for commuters to the EDSA Busway Stations and for pedestrians crossing EDSA.

CSC revises rules on sexual harassment

IVIL Service Commission (CSC) Resolution No. 2100064 amends certain provisions in the 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service (RACCS), specifically those pertaining to the administrative proceedings for sexual harassment complaints where the offender is a government employee. The changes were primarily made to further deter sexual harassment in the public sector as well as to harmonize said rules with Republic Act No. 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations. Under the said resolution, the definition of the term “sexual harassment” is expanded into the following categories: sexual harassment in the workplace, sexual harassment in educational and training institution, sexual harassment in streets and public spaces, and online sexual harassment. Sexual harassment in the workplace is defined as one that is “done verbally, physically, or through the use of technology such as text messaging or email… that has or could have a detrimental effect on the conditions of an individuals’ employment or education, job performance or opportunities”. It could also be a “conduct of sexual nature affecting the dignity of a person, which is unwelcome, unreasonable and offensive to the recipient”, or one that is “unwelcome and pervasive and creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating environment for the recipient”. Consistent with the Safe Spaces Act, the amended rules consider as sexual harassment in streets and public spaces those acts such as

catcalling, wolf-whistling, and misogynistic, transphobic or sexist slurs committed in alleys, roads, and similar types of public spaces. Moreover, it defines gender-based online sexual harassment as “acts that use information and communication technology in terrorizing and intimidating victims” and includes “physical, psychological, and emotional threats, unwanted sexual misogynistic, transphobic, homophobic and sexist remarks and comments online whether publicly or through direct and private messages, invasion of victim’s privacy through cyberstalking and incessant messaging, uploading and sharing without the consent of the victim, any form of media that contains photos, voice, or video with sexual content, any unauthorized recording and sharing of any of the victim’s photos, videos, or any information online, impersonating identities of victims online or posting lies about the victims to harm their reputation, or filing false abuse reports to online platforms to silence victims.” CSC Resolution No. 2100064 strengthens the role of the Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI) in a government agency and averts possible delays in their investigation of complaints of sexual harassment. Notably, the policy also requires that the CODI “be headed by a woman and not less than half of its members shall be women.” Among the duties of the CODI is to ensure that the complainant does not suffer from retaliation or any disadvantage in terms of benefits or security of tenure, as well as to guarantee the observance of due process, gender-sensitive handling of the cases, and confidentiality of the identity of the parties involved. Sexual harassment may be classified as light offense, less grave offense, or grave offense depending on the act committed, and may be meted a penalty ranging from a reprimand to outright dismissal from the service. CSC Resolution No. 2100064 was published in a newspaper of general circulation on 17 May 2021 and will take effect on 1 June 2021.

These 5 beauties are queens on TikTok, too!

ILIPINOS are big on beauty pageants. Much like sporting events, on coronation nights, Filipinos unite to support the country's representative, cheering her on together with the entire nation. The Philippines is also considered a beauty pageant powerhouse, currently the second most crowned country in international beauty pageants. We are also one of only 5 countries who have won each of the Big Four international pageants - Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth - at least once. Here are our homegrown beauty queens that you can follow on TikTok: 1. Rabiya Mateo: https://www.tiktok. com/@rabiyamateo, 2. Catriona Gray: https://www.tiktok.com/@catriona_gray, 3. Maxine Medina: https://www.tiktok.com/@ maxinemedina, 4.Pia Wurtzbach: https:// www.tiktok.com/@piawurtzbach, and 5. MJ Lastimosa: https://www.tiktok.com/@ mjl.23. Check out these amazing beauty queens, and discover even more inspiring women to follow on TikTok. Download the app on your iOS and Android devices today to get started.

Sports BusinessMirror

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

Friday, May 21, 2021 B7

HEART OF A CHAMPION By Josef Ramos

OSIE GABUCO will be bringing her veteran smarts to Dubai when she defends the light flyweight gold medal in the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships. Gabuco and the rest of the national boxers attending the Dubai slugfest didn’t have the luxury of a boxing ring and punching bags at the Teachers’ Camp training facility in Baguio City where they were based for the past month. But for Gabuco, “no ring, no bags, no problem.” “We trained on the track oval without a boxing ring and

punching bags since we arrived here in Baguio City last month,” the 34-year-old single mom told the BusinessMirror on Thursday. “It’s more on running, mitts training under my coaches, and rotational sparring. No gym.” Other athletes, even the successful ones, could already be ranting about the absence of adequate training equipment. But not Gabuco, owner of five Southeast Asian Games gold medals. “It’s okay for me, maybe there’s a reason behind it,” the pride of Puerto Princesa City said. “I don’t complain about my situation, life goes on, I just keep training with whatever we

Swiss claims 1st pro victory

MAURO SCHMID, only 21, makes a statement. AP

August 8. He hasn’t fought in an amateur contest since the Amman (Jordan) qualifiers in February last year, but debuted as a professional in a four-rounder in Los Angeles last December. Also competing in Dubai are lightweight Maricel dela Torre, flyweight Marvin Tabamo, light flyweight Mark Lester Durens, bantamweight Junmilardo Ogayre, lightweight Jere Samuel dela Cruz and light welterweight John Panuayan. The team will take an Emirates flight from Clark on Friday. NO ring? No bags? Five-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Josie Gabuco isn’t complaining.

Lachica PSA president

Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez (bottom right), Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Cirilito Sobejana, Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and Philippine Paralympic Committee head Michael Barredo participate in a virtual signing ceremony on Thursday on the Memorandum of Understanding that officially places on detailed service 117 military athletes and coaches to the national team.

Visa woes frustrate ‘Chooks’ 3x3 team

Schmid, who rides for Qhubeka Assos, was part of an early breakaway on the 162-kilometer route from Perugia to Montalcino. He and Alessandro Covi attacked from the break with 10 kilometers remaining and the 21-year-old Schmid won a sprint finish, edging the UAE Team Emirates rider by one second. AP

Frayna, Bersamina bound for World Cup HE National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) nominated Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna and International Master (IM) Paulo Bersamina to represent the country in the men and women FIDE World Chess Cup. NCFP chief executive officer Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales said they have decided to nominate Frayna and Bersamina for the two slots allotted to the country because they have no more time to hold tryouts. Frayna, who turned 24 on Wednesday, will be the country’s lone bet in the women’s World Cup slated July 10 to August 6 in Sochi, Russia, while Bersamina will join IMs Daniel Quizon and Michael Concio Jr. in the men’s edition of the same event from

But for Gabuco, nothing is comparable to a gold medal hanging from her neck. “They put a prize money now, but that doesn’t matter to me,” she said. “What matters is that I again will bring home the gold medal to our country. It’s our pride that matters.” Too bad for Gabuco, her light flyweight class is not on the Olympic program, although the gold she won in the 2019 edition of the tournament earned her a P500,000 incentive from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). “I’m very grateful for the incentive, thank you PSC,” she said. Marcial is also competing in Dubai to test his readiness for the games that are set from July 23 to

DETAILED SERVICE MOU SIGNING

ONTALCINO, Italy— Swiss cyclist Mauro Schmid won the 11th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Wednesday for the first victory of his professional career, and Egan Bernal extended his overall lead on the tricky gravel roads. There were four unpaved sections that made up half of the final 70 kilometers of the Wine Stage of this year’s race and Remco Evenepoel—one of the Giro favorites—struggled. Evenepoel had been second overall, 14 seconds behind Bernal. But he was dropped on the third gravel section and Bernal took the opportunity to up the pace in the peloton. Evenepoel crossed the line more than two minutes behind Bernal. Bernal, a former Tour de France champion, now holds a 45-second lead over Aleksandr Vlasov. Nobody else is within a minute of him, with third-place Damiano Caruso 1:12 behind. “Today we rode well and I increased my lead in the GC but the Giro is still long, all the big climbs are still to be ridden,” Bernal said. “I’m confident but I have to keep my feet firmly on the ground.”

have here.” “My focus is to defend my title,” said Gabuco, who hasn’t seen his son, 14-year-old Mack Joseph, since February. “I always trust my coaches.” Gabuco was also at the Inspire Sports Institute bubble earlier this year in Calamba where she helped train Tokyo Olympicsbound Eumir Felix Marcial, Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Irish Magno. She got to play some basketball while inside the bubble. The Dubai tournament will formally open on Friday and end on June 1. The International Amateur Boxing Association offered cash incentives of $10,000 for a gold medal, $5,000 for a silver and $2,500 for a bronze.

August 1 to 28 in Minsk, Belarus. Quizon, 16, and Concio, 15, clinched their spots by topping the Asian Zonal 3.3 Championships two weeks ago. Frayna was actually in the final month of her Army training but had to cut it short after she was called upon for the World Cup and the Hanoi Southeast Asian Games in November. Gonzales thanked Rep. Abraham Tolentino, Philippine Sports Commission chairman William Ramirez, NCFP president Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr. and Undersecretay Arthur Tabaquero for helping Frayna train. Besides being the country’s first and only WGM so far, Frayna will also make history as the first Filipina to see action in the World Cup.

HE Manila Chooks TM will no longer participate in the 2021 Fiba 3x3 Lipik Challenger in Croatia. Chooks 3x3 owner Ronald Mascariñas made the harsh and frustrating decision after the players—Chico Lanete, Mac Tallo, Zach Huang and Dennis Santos— didn’t receive their Croatian visas early enough to fly to Lipik, a town located in northeastern Croatia. “There are things that we have no control of and this is one of them,” Mascariñas lamented. “Since 2019, this is the first time that we had to pull out from a Fiba 3x3 tournament and the players were really looking forward to it.”

Croatia doesn’t maintain an embassy in Manila, obliging the team management to send the players’ visa applications to Jakarta. The visa applications were sent in earnest on May 7 but no visas were received as of Thursday. Manila Chooks TM, which was supposed to compete in the qualifying draw, had been training hard for the tournament in a bubble set-up at the Lucena Convention Center in Quezon. “The boys have been raring to bounce back after Doha but there are things that we couldn’t control,” Manila Chooks TM head trainer Aldin Ayo said. “Let’s move on and look forward to the next competition.”

The Manila Chooks TM will compete in domestic leagues, among them the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, VisMin Super Cup and National Basketball League-Pilipinas. Officials of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3, meanwhile, will begin planning for the first conference this year. “We are looking to have a bigger tournament this year and our team is already looking at possible locations to host our first conference which will be the President’s Cup,” Mascariñas said. “A lot will be at stake in the tournament, which will include slots in the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Fiba 3x3 Manila Masters,” added Mascariñas, who is also planning to stage another Super Quest this year.

Duplantis wins gold at Golden Spike

STRAVA, Czech Republic—Worldrecord holder Armand Duplantis cleared 5.90 meters to win the men’s pole vault at the Golden

WORLD-RECORD holder Armand Duplantis is pacing himself for the Olympics.

Spike meet on Wednesday. In his first event in Europe this season, the Swede beat world champion Sam Kendricks of the United States at the 60th edition of the meet. Kendricks cleared 5.85 in cold condition in front of about 1,500 fans who were allowed to attend

amid the coronavirus restrictions. Nicknamed “Mondo,” Duplantis—who was born and raised in the United States— was named the track and field athlete of 2020 after breaking indoor and outdoor records in the discipline. Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, the world-record holder in the men’s 5,000 and 10,000 meters, dominated the 3,000 in 7 minutes, 33.26 seconds. Britain’s Max Burgin won the men’s 800 in a world-leading 1:44.14, a personal best for the 18-year-old. AP

IRGILIO LACHICA heads the new set of officers of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA). Lachica, 54, was unanimously voted as president of the country’s oldest media organization during its virtual general assembly, a first in the history of the PSA, held recently. He succeeded Tito Talao of the Manila Bulletin who served as president the past two years. A product of University of the East where he once served as sports editor of The Dawn, the school’s official student publication, Lachica of Marbel, South Cotabato, carries with him a vast wealth of experience in sportswriting that spans more than three decades working for Malaya, Riyadh Daily, Manila Bulletin and Tempo. Named by Lachica as his First and Second Vice Presidents are Nelson Beltran of the Philippine Star and Francis Ochoa of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, respectively. Appointed secretary was Jasmine Payo of Rappler, longtime People’s Journal sports editor Joe Antonio was retained as treasurer, Gerry Ramos of SPIN. ph as assistant treasurer and the Philippine Star’s Abac Cordero as auditor. Talao heads the PSA Board whose members include Jimmy Cantor (Malaya), Dodo Catacutan (SPIN.ph), Lorenzo Lomibao Jr. (BusinessMirror), Riera Mallari (Manila Standard), Ed Andaya (People’s Tonight), Mae Villena (PM), Ramil Cruz (Abante Tonite), Emil Noguera (Manila Times), Julius Manicad (Daily Tribune) and Ferdz Delos Santos (Abante). Former PSA president and current Daily Tribune Managing Editor Aldrin Cardona was named as group adviser.

Cordova still unbeaten in Wesley So Cup

By Rick Olivares

HE Cordova Dagami Warriors caught the last bus to the playoffs of the All-Filipino Conference of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) as the eighth seed in the southern division with a 12-22 record. Although still very early in the Wesley So Cup—the reinforced conference of the season—Cordova is trying to make sure they are in the upper tier of the standings. On Wednesday, Cordova defeated southern power Negros Kingsmen 2-1, in Armageddon after drawing 10.5-all in blitz and rapid play. The Dagami Warriors capped the day’s double header with a

13.5-7.5 win over neighboring Cebu for a 3-0 slate, joining the Iloilo Kisela Knights and the Camarines Soaring Eagles as the teams with unblemished records. Cordova’s Israeli import, Grandmaster Nitzan Steinberg made up for his lackluster showing thus far—he took only 0.5 out of a possible three points in his team’s 17-4 win over Surigao in the tourney opener—by Negros International Master Joel Pimentel in Armageddon. Pimentel tried to open up the match but Steinberg was able checkmate the former’s king in the center of the board. Coupled with teammate Brylle Arellano’s victory over American Fide Master Steven Breckenridge,

it was good enough to upset the Kingsmen, who finished third in the division last conference with a 28-6 record. Cordova blasted fellow Cebuano squad Lapu Lapu City, 13.5-7.5, in the nightcap. “I am happy so far with our showing,” noted Cordova team manager Ariel Potot despite his team’s not yet firing on all cylinders. “We lost a lot of games last conference and with our build-up, we hope to strive for something much better.” After two playdates in the Wesley So Cup, only the San Juan Predators in the northern division, and the southern squads of Iloilo, Camarines and Cordova have yet to drop a match.

FINALLY! The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings hold their first full practice and scrimmage session on Thursday at the Lyceum International Maritime Academy gym in Batangas as the reigning Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup champions start preparation for the coming 46th season.

B8 Friday, May 21, 2021

Motoring BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Honda brings in the All-New City Hatchback

Story by Randy S. Peregrino

FTER bidding farewell to the well-received Jazz, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) bounced back by filling the gap with the introduction of the All-New City Hatchback. Recently launched via a streamed virtual event at the company’s Facebook page, the introduction of the All-New City Hatchback expands the renowned model’s line-up. Further, it serves as the brand’s newest offering in the B-Segment hatchback category.

Grand concept design

While the sedan edition stemmed from the grand concept of “Ambitious Sedan”, the All-New City Hatchback was conceived from the grand concept of “Energetic hatchback”. It aims to exude a more active and energetic character while sharing values in terms of comfort, premium, and high quality with the sedan. The All-New City Hatchback also targets to provide a sporty yet versatile and cool vehicle that would complement the diverse needs of customers based on their active lifestyle. Exterior-wise, the grand concept of “Energetic” added strength and the activeness of the sedan resulting in a “cutting edge” and “sporty” combination. Given this concept, the All-New City Hatchback further emphasizes its sportiness by embodying a sleek exterior design combined with a low height and widened width presenting an energetic feel with solid power. In terms of dimensions, the AllNew City Hatchback retains the same 2600mm wheelbase similar to that of the City sedan. However, given its hatchback body style, the new hatchback is 21mm taller and 204mm shorter than its sedan counterpart. Due to the removal of its rear overhang, it gives it a sporty

exterior look while maintaining the capability of diverse cargo capacity. The interior, meantime, also has its share of the “Energetic” concept. It features generous space complemented by high-quality materials similar to the sedan. The suede and leather seats combined material matching the black interior trims with red stitching and accents. The steering wheel with audio controls, front and rear center armrests, and shift knob are also leather-wrapped. Plus, there’s the sports pedals. Even better, there’s a Multi-information Display with red illumination. Indeed, the All-New City Hatchback embodies an overall premium interior complementing its sporty RS design exterior. On top of its premium yet sporty and versatile interior, the All-New City Hatchback also boasts many technology features. These are an eight-inch Advanced Touchscreen Display Audio with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto & WebLink connectivity, an eight (four + four Tweeters) Speaker system, and a new air conditioning system with rotary knobs, digital display, and illumination. Moreover, there’s the One Push Start System with Smart Entry Keyless Entry System and Remote Engine Start for ease of access.

Versatile seating configuration

Meanwhile, given its hatchback styling and configuration, the AllNew City Hatchback comes equipped with Honda’s signature Ultra Seats (ULTR). It allows to fold flat or flip the rear seats to easily and quickly

The all-new City Hatchback lone 1.5 RS CVT variant.

adapt to a wide variety of passenger lifestyle and cargo hauling needs. One of the modes is “Utility”, which allows folding both the rear seats flat to accommodate large cargo items in the back storage area. Another is the “Long Mode”. It will enable the front passenger seat fully reclined and the rear passenger seat folded flat so that the vehicle can carry two passengers and accommodate long cargo items such as surfboards. The “Tall Mode”, on the other hand, allows the rear seats folded upward so that the vehicle can accommodate tall items that need to remain upright, such as a large plant or tall luggage. Last is the “Refresh Mode” by removing the front-seat head restraints, moving the seats all the way forward, and tilting the seatbacks back. It allows the front and rear seats to be connected, providing a comfortable place for two people to relax.

Exclusively RS

HCPI only offers the All-New City Hatchback in RS variant alone. As such, the vehicles share a myriad of RS design elements, providing a stronger impression of its sporty characteristics, like the front end’s RS Design front bumper and Gloss

Honda Philippines

Redesigned interior with exclusive RS Design accents.

Black front grille with RS Emblem. These are complemented by full LED headlights and LED Daytime Running Lights, emphasizing an integrated solid wing face similar to that of the RS sedan. There are also the High Gloss Black power-folding mirrors, RS Design rear bumper with a sophisticated diffuser, High Gloss Black tailgate spoiler, and Full LED taillights. Completing the exclusive look are the 16-inch Two-Tone Berlina Black aluminum alloy wheels. Overall, the All-New City Hatchback has that impression of being more active and younger, complementing

Honda Philippines

its distinct sporty hatchback look.

Powertrain and safety features

Motivation comes from a 1.5-Liter four-cylinder DOHC with an iVTEC petrol engine. Power output is rated 119 hp at 6,600 rpm and 145 N-m of maximum torque at 4,300 rpm. The engine is mated to Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) with paddle shifters. There’s also Honda’s Eco Assist System, which consists of the ECON mode and Eco-Coaching Ambient Light to help promote fuel-efficient driving. As for safety, of course, there’s the standard G-Force Control (G-

Road to recovery shaping up; Lexus RX 350L

T’S increasingly becoming obvious that a robust rebound is peering through the clouds. Meaning, the industry is now transforming from road to perdition to road to recovery. As the saying goes whenever a calamity strikes, “There is no way but up.” Take it from Campi (Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc.) and (Truck Manufacturers of the Philippines). In their latest report, April recorded an amazing 17,843 units sold. Can you believe that in that same period last year, the industry sold only a measly 133 units? An increase of 13,315 units this year is simply incredibly unbelievable. “This is a record year-on-year sales increase since the advent of the pandemic,” said Campi president Atty. Rommel “Barry Gibb” Gutierrez, eerily noting that the nosedive in 2020 sales “was the sharpest decline in the history of Philippine automotive.” Also, Gutierrez rued the sales decline of 13.8 percent as a result of “the re-imposition of stricter quarantine restrictions.” “Tighter bank lending schemes likewise added to the dampening of customer demand for big-ticket items like steady auto purchases,” Gutierrez said. “Additionally, the safeguard deposit dues are burdensome in itself to consumers and industry alike.” But with 88,155 units sold a while back— an astonishing 36.3-percent increase to last year’s figures—is “an inspiring indication of recovery amid the pandemic.” Indeed, there’s no way but up, podner.

Lexus RX 350L

HERE is Jade B. Sison once again, highlighting the five reasons why you will fall in love with the new Lexus RX 350L. Jade, of course, is the lead person of Lexus Manila president

Raymond T. Rodriguez in information dissemination about Lexus in the Philippines. “Lexus is known for its luxury crossover SUVs since its introduction of the RX in 1998. It is now easily the best-selling model in the Lexus lineup. Read on:

Space for seven “One of the most recent additions to the RX lineup is the RX 350L which features an extended body length at 110 mm (4.3 inches), ensuring good headroom for passengers in the spacious third row and greater cargo room behind the third row than competitors offer. Details that enhance three-row versatility in the RX L models include a flat load floor behind the folded third-row, a pair of third-row cupholders, and an easily stowable tonneau and covered slide rails. For convenience, a powerfolding third-row seat and power tailgate with hands-free operation are both standard on the RX 350L.

Safety utmost priority “Your vehicle boasts of a high-strength, collision-absorbing body structure and is equipped with 10 sensor-controlled SRS airbags that line the entire cabin. On the road, wide-angle LED cornering lamps provide additional illumination when you take corners, ensuring excellent pedestrian visibility. Lighting is handled by bi-beam LED auto-leveling headlamps. “Standard in the RX 350L is Hill-Start Assist Control; Electric Power Steering (EPS); Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD); Rain-Sensing Wipers; and Clearance and Reverse Sensors, as well as a parking assist monitor which helps in maneuvering in tighter areas.

CON) body structure that helps to protect the vehicle’s cabin during collisions from any direction. Other functions are Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with Agile Handling Assist (AHA), Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Hill Start Assist (HSA), and Multi-view Rear Camera with dynamic guidelines. Standard features include Six Airbags (dual front airbags, front driver and passenger side, and side curtain). Best of all, the All-New City Hatchback boasts a 5-star ASEAN NCAP safety rating, thus giving customers better safety and peace of mind on the road. The All-New City Hatchback is now available at all 38 Honda dealerships nationwide with a suggested retail price (SRP) of P1.115 million (Exclusive of Php 13,000 Safeguard Duty Cash deposit). Available colors are Ignite Red Metallic, Meteoroid Gray Metallic (New Color), Platinum White Pearl (Additional Php 20,000), Brilliant Sporty Blue Metallic. To know more about the All-New City Hatchback, visit the nearest Honda Cars dealership or access HCPI’s virtual showroom at www.hondaphil.com.

Fuel-efficient “The Lexus RX 350L’s 3.5-liter V6 engine employs the advanced D-4S fuel injection system, which combines direct and port fuel injection systems. To maximize efficiency, it uses Variable Valve Timing with intelligence Wide (VVT-iW) along with VVT-i, allowing the engine to switch between Otto and Atkinson combustion cycles. The result is 296hp and 370Nm of torque, with performance and efficiency optimized by an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Takumi technology “The significant enhancements on the RX 350L that contribute to driving pleasure are the result of changes to the suspension and increased body rigidity. Lexus Chief Engineer Takeaki Kato was determined to deliver a pleasurable driving experience through agile handling and exhilarating driving pleasure, and his engineering team worked closely with the production team to achieve this goal.

Heritage, provenance “Did you know the RX is the very first luxury crossover SUV to ever wear the Lexus badge? This provenance also explains why the RX is a core model in the Lexus lineup. The constant improvements throughout each iteration reflect the latest design themes of the brand with a balance between sophistication and strength. Visit https://www.lexus.com.ph/en/lexusremote.html.

PEE STOPRamon S. Ang, the owner of

BMW-SMC Greenhills Motors, has deployed San Miguel Corp.’s doctors and nurses to LGUs—for free, mind you—to boost the country’s vaccination drive. So heart-warming indeed as SMC’s 70,000 or so employees await their own inoculation, tentatively set in June with the arrival of SMC’s P1-billion worth of vaccines. “We will help anytime because vaccination is the best way to protect our people from Covid-19,” he said. What a guy!