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Averting an ‘Infodemic’ The proliferation of ‘fake news’ in time of contagion
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By Roderick L. Abad | Contributor
THER than the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) that has brought the world to its knees, fake news related to this pandemic has been spreading so fast that experts have been prompted to raise an urgent red flag before it grows into a full-blown crisis dubbed an “infodemic.”
World Health Organization’s (WHO) Digital Business Solutions Manager Andrew Pattinson referred to it as the prevalence of false information regarding an ensuing health emergency of international scale. “There is no doubt that fake news is rampant [nowadays], and we need to address this effectively,” former Dean of Ateneo School of Government Tony La Viña said in a virtual session on “Trusted Content, Fake News, and the Law in the Time of Covid-19” held recently by Thomson Reuters Manila
and One Young World. Technological advancement in this digital era has facilitated the quick dissemination of fake news. With the emergence of the Internet and mobile communications, it’s so easy for people to share information with their family, friends and colleagues anytime, anywhere, especially in times of uncertainty like this. And where else can they effectively do this? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social platforms. These have become their “go-to” channels to get, or
pass on pieces of information at their fingertips. Wrong or maliciously done ones, however, can prey on fears and even push the people to act in a drastic way leading to unwanted, and sometimes tragic, results. It’s important, therefore, for the general public or ordinary netizens, particularly those who do not have any journalism background, to make sure that the information they receive or share online must come from a trusted source. “Otherwise, they will be victimized by fake news that will, even-
tually, make them have the wrong personal judgment or decision on anything related to Covid-19, or much worse contribute to the failure of national, or even global, strategy in combatting such pandemic,” Roselyn Tenorio, a former journalistturned-blogger, told the BusinessMirror in an interview.
On the news
SIMILAR to the virulent flu that has continued to infect millions around the world, various false reports on this issue have rapidly Continued on A2
China’s got a new plan to seize the world’s tech crown from the US
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By Bloomberg News
said Digital China Holdings Chief Operating Officer Maria Kwok, as she sat in a Hong Kong office surrounded by facial-recognition cameras and sensors. “Starting this year, we are really beginning to see the money flow through.”
EIJING is accelerating its bid for global leadership in key technologies, planning to pump more than a trillion dollars into the economy through the rollout of everything from wireless networks to artificial intelligence (AI). In the masterplan backed by President Xi Jinping himself, China will invest an estimated $1.4 trillion over six years to 2025, calling on urban governments and private tech giants like Huawei Technologies Co. to lay fifth-generation wireless networks, install cameras and sensors, and develop AI software that will underpin autonomous driving to automated factories and mass surveillance. The new infrastructure initiative is expected to drive mainly local giants from Alibaba and Huawei to
SenseTime Group Ltd. at the expense of US companies. As tech nationalism mounts, the investment drive will reduce China’s dependence on foreign technology, echoing objectives set forth previously in the Made in China 2025 program. Such initiatives have already drawn fierce criticism from the Trump administration, resulting in moves to block the rise of Chinese tech companies such as Huawei. “Nothing like this has happened before, this is China’s gambit to win the global tech race,”
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.5820
Big spend amid worst economic performance
AN employee wears a virtual reality (VR) headset while demonstrating a 4D cinema that can accommodate 23 people at the SoReal virtual reality park in Beijing, March 3, 2017. Sky Limit Entertainment Group’s SoReal, a startup co-founded by Zhang Yimou, the famed director of House of Flying Daggers and The Great Wall, is preparing to open this year what the company bills to be the world’s first virtual-reality park. GILLES SABRIE/BLOOMBERG
THE tech investment push is part of a fiscal package waiting to be signed off by China’s legislature, which convenes this week. The government is expected to announce infrastructure funding of as much as $563 billion this year, against the backdrop of the country’s worst economic performance since the Mao era. The nation’s biggest purveyors of cloud computing and data analysis Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. will be linchpins of the upcoming endeavor. China has already entrusted Huawei to galvanize 5G. Tech leaders including Pony Ma and Jack Ma are espousing the program. Continued on A2
n JAPAN 0.4699 n UK 61.8365 n HK 6.5232 n CHINA 7.1076 n SINGAPORE 35.7041 n AUSTRALIA 33.1717 n EU 55.3822 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4731
Source: BSP (May 22, 2020)
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Nearly 39M have lost jobs in US since virus took hold
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ASHINGTON—The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the two months since the coronavirus took hold in the US has swelled to nearly 39 million, the government reported Thursday, even as states from coast to coast gradually reopen their economies and let people go back to work. More than 2.4 million people filed for unemployment last week in the latest wave of layoffs from the business shutdowns that have brought the economy to its knees, the labor department said. That brings the running total to a staggering 38.6 million, a jobmarket collapse unprecedented in its speed. The number of weekly applications has slowed for seven straight weeks. Yet the figures remain breathtakingly high—10 times higher than normal before the crisis struck. It shows that even though all states have begun reopening over the past three weeks, employment has yet to snap back and the outbreak is still damaging businesses and destroying jobs. “While the steady decline in claims is good news, the labor market is still in terrible shape,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said over the weekend that US unemployment could peak in May or June at 20 percent to 25 percent, a level last seen during the depths of the Great Depression almost 90 years ago. Unemployment in April stood at 14.7 percent, a figure also unmatched since the 1930s. Over 5 million people worldwide have been confirmed infected by the virus, and more than 330,000 deaths have been record-
ed, including over 94,000 in the US and around 165,000 in Europe, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University and based on government data. Experts believe the true toll is significantly higher. In other developments: n President Donald J. Trump’s approval ratings have remained steady amid the crisis, underscoring the way Americans seem to have made up their minds about him. A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research says 41 percent approve of his job performance, while 58 percent disapprove. That’s consistent with opinions of him throughout his three years in office. n Whitmer has prevailed after Republican lawmakers sued over her authority to declare emergencies and order sweeping restrictions during the pandemic. The Republican-controlled Legislature didn’t extend her declaration in late April but she acted anyway. That means her stay-at-home decree stands, which has drawn anger from gun-toting protesters and is likely to be extended beyond May 28. Across the US, some companies have begun to rehire their laid-off employees as states have eased restrictions on movement and commerce. On Monday, more than 130,000 workers at the three major American automakers, plus Toyota and Honda, returned to
their factories for the first time in two months. Still, major employers keep cutting jobs. Uber said this week that it will lay off 3,000 more employees because demand for rides has plummeted. Digital publishers Vice, Quartz and BuzzFeed, magazine giant Condé Nast and the owner of The Economist magazine announced job cuts last week. Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont, said the latest layoffs may be particularly worrisome because they are happening even as states reopen. “There’s a high probability that those layoffs could persist for longer than those that were a function of [businesses] just being closed,” Stanley said. The latest figures do not mean 38.6 million people are out of work. Some have been called back, and others have landed new jobs. But the vast majority are still unemployed. An additional 1.2 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week under a federal program that makes self-employed, contractor and gig workers eligible for the first time. But those figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal variations, so the government doesn’t include them in the overall number of applications. A lexis Weber, laid off from her job as a bartender at an Atlanta restaurant, said it was a struggle to secure unemployment benef its — she f i led on April 1 and had to wait until early May to get her first payment. She is not sure when her employer will want her back, or if she will want to return. “Social distancing doesn’t really apply very well to the hospitality business,” Weber said. “I don’t feel safe returning right now.” One rehired worker, Norman Boughman, received an email last week from his boss at a secondhand clothing store in Richmond, Virginia, where he worked part time, asking him to return. But even with a mask, he worries about his health. “We’re having to sort through people’s things, and I feel like that
puts us at a higher risk,” he said. European countries also have seen heavy job losses, but robust government safety-net programs in places like Germany and France are subsidizing the wages of millions of workers and keeping them on the payroll. Meanwhile, doubts are growing over ambitious plans by European governments to use contact-tracing smartphone apps to fight the spread of the virus as they ease their lockdowns. The apps can help authorities determine whether people have crossed paths with those who are infected. British Security Minister James Brokenshire told the BBC that an app that was supposed to be introduced by mid-May is not ready, suggesting “technical issues” were to blame. Similarly, France delayed last week’s rollout of its app because of technical problems and privacy concerns. As for the search for a vaccine, drugmaker AstraZeneca said it has secured agreements to produce 400 million doses of a still experimental and unproven formulation that is being tested at the University of Oxford. It is one of the most advanced projects in the international race for a vaccine. AstraZeneca said it has received more than $1 billion from a US government research agency for the development, production and delivery of the vaccine. Around the world, the effort to get back to business is raising worries over the risk of new infections, from hard-hit Milan, Italy, to meatpacking plants in Colorado and garment factories in Bangladesh. China’s top economic official promised higher spending to revive the economy and curb job losses as the fight persists against the virus, which emerged in Wuhan late last year. The budget deficit will swell by 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion) this year to help meet targets that include creating 9 million jobs, Premier Li Keqiang said at the country’s ceremonial legislature. AP
Social distancing makes chat app tycoon $1.2 billion richer
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s a kid in South Korea, Brian Kim grew up with the opposite of social distancing: Coming from a humble background, he had to share a room with seven family members. Those days are gone, and measures keeping people apart are now helping his fortune. Kim, 54, is the founder of Kakao Corp., the maker of a mobile messenger app that has become almost ubiquitous in South Korea and increasingly used elsewhere in Asia. The firm, which started with a social-messaging app, has expanded its businesses over the past decade by purchasing a K-pop entertainment company and merging with the country’s second-largest portal site, while its mobilehailing and payment services are now daily necessities for many consumers. Kakao’s shares have surged 55 percent this year through Thursday, adding $1.2 billion to Kim’s net worth, which now stands at $3.7 billion. That puts him closer to inclusion in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. Hwang Seung-taek, an analyst at Hana Financial Investment Co., attributes the surge in communication on Kakao to the abrupt halt in person-to-person interactions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. While Korea managed to control infections without imposing a lockdown, or banning international travel, the government closed public places such as parks and libraries and encouraged people to stay home. Many companies asked their employees not to come to the office. “That has contributed to revenue growth for Kakao services despite reduced consumer spending,” Hwang wrote in a research note this month. Kim owns 26 percent of Kakao directly and through his wholly owned holding company. The calculation of his fortune excludes shares
The logo of KakaoTalk, a messaging app developed by Kakao Corp., is displayed on an Apple Inc. iPhone 5 in this arranged photograph taken in Seoul, South Korea, on December 30, 2013. SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
pledged as collateral for loans. A company spokesmann declined to comment on his net worth. Kakao reported revenue of 868 billion won ($705 million) for the first quar ter, with more than half coming from platforms including the messaging app, Web por tal and payments business, according to an earnings presentation. Commerce activity on its KakaoTalk messenger jumped 55 percent from the same period a year earlier. “When Covid-19 was at its peak, time spent on the KakaoTalk chatting tab recorded weekly highs,” co-Chief Executive Officer Mason Yeo said on a May 7 earnings conference call. “Voice-talk and face-talk call traffic recorded a sizable increase. We saw increases in gift deliveries and categories such as health care, hygiene and indoor activities.” The company’s other verticals, such as its payments and online-banking businesses, could grow fur ther as they are primarily operated with no physical contact, Ebest Investment & Securities Co. analyst Sung Jonghwa wrote in a May 21 research report.
KakaoTalk has 52 million users globally, including more than 45 million in South Korea— almost 90 percent of the total population. Hope Kang, who’s from Seoul but works at an art gallery in Hong Kong, has been using the app to keep in touch with her family back home. “It is prac tically the only way I can communicate with my family in Korea now,” she said. She hasn’t gone back since January because of Hong Kong’s quarantine and travel restrictions. “I can still talk to them and see their faces through video calls. I guess this will continue until I get to meet them again, but am not sure when that will be.”
Poker, pool
Global lockdowns have led to increased demand for services such as online streaming, gaming and e -commerce, boosting other fortunes. Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic Games Inc., now has a net worth of $9.6 billion, up 32 percent this year, thanks to the popularity of Fortnite, while that of Zoom Video Communications Inc. founder Eric Yuan has swelled to $9.1 billion, according to
Bloomberg’s wealth ranking. I t re m a i n s to b e s e e n w h e t h e r t h e pandemic-induced growth will be sustainable when life returns to normal. Kim was the first of his siblings to attend college, studying industrial engineering at Seoul National University, where he offered private tutoring to help pay tuition. Playing games like poker and pool provided an escape during those years, and that’s what led him to create his first business, online game portal Hangame Communications, in 1998, surmising that sleepless nights playing games would work online, too. The bet paid off. Hangame merged with Naver.com, now South Korea’s biggest Internet portal, in 2000. Kim led the combined company, HN Corp., before stepping down in 2007.
Renewed drive
It was a turning point for Kim, who contemplated what type of life he wanted to pursue after having already achieved some success. “I came across this quote saying: ‘A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for,’” Kim said in an interview released by Kakao last month. “It drove me to venture into the world again.” That pursuit took him to the US, where he spent time with his family. The introduction of the iPhone prompted his next move. Fascinated by the product, Kim returned to Korea to develop apps for it. The breakthrough for Iwilab, Kakao’s predecessor, came in 2010, when KakaoTalk was created and the company became Kakao. Four years later, Kim struck another deal, as his company merged with South Korea’s second-largest internet portal operator, Daum Communications Corp. He became the largest shareholder of the combined entity. Bloomberg News
Editor: Angel R. Calso
China sees slowest defense budget growth since 1991
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h i n a’s projec ted defense spending growth of 6.6 percent this year, the slowest increase since at least 1991, in a sign of the trade-offs the country’s leaders face in confronting unprecedented economic slowdown in the wake of the coronavirus. Defense spending was expected to increase to 1.268 trillion yuan ($178 billion) in the coming year, the Chinese Ministry of Finance said Friday. The figure, which was released at the start of the annual National People’s Congress session in Beijing, compares with a 7.5-percent increase last year. Overall central government expenditures we re p ro j e c te d to d e c l i n e 0 . 2 p e rce nt, down from an increase of 6.5 percent the previous year. “China seems to have come out of the pandemic rather quickly and with far smaller consequences than others, but its economy will definitely take a hit,” said Nan Tian, a researcher in the Arms and Military Expenditure Program at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. “Some form of scaling back is inevitable.” The military spending figure is closely watched by US and regional policy-makers as it represents one of the few pieces of official data available to gauge the development of the People’s Liberation Army. China was the second-largest military spender in the world in 2019, accounting for 14 percent of global military spending compared with 38 percent for the US, according to SIPRI. Even as B eijing’s leaders face fiscal constraints on military spending, they also
confront pressures to maintain spending from simmering regional tensions. China’s relationship with the US has declined to its worst state in decades as the two countries engage in an information war over the origins of the virus, which has swept around the world since first being discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December. China also reaffirmed its opposition to any moves toward independence in Taiwan following Tsai Ingwen’s inauguration to a second four-year term as the president. Beijing considers the democratically ruled island as part of its territory. The government is also bound by President Xi Jinping’s promise to make China a great military power in the coming decades. Xi pledged to complete the modernization of China’s armed forces by 2035, and to build a world-class military capable of winning wars across all theaters by 2050. His success will determine China’s ability to mount a serious challenge to US strategic interests in Asia over the coming decades. “The Chinese government has mentioned in their defense white paper that they want to compete with other top military forces,” said Nan Tian, of SIPRI. “Of course, this increased spending and modernization is subject to constraints.” While China’s official defense budget is closely scrutinized, most outside analysts agree that the country spends significantly more on defense than the official figures reveal. SIPRI estimated that China spent the equivalent of 1.9 percent of its gross domestic product on defense last year. Bloomberg News
Disease is ravaging $25-B banana industry I
n the banana plantations of the tropical lowlands of Ecuador, workers are being i s s u e d w i t h p ro te c t i ve c l o t h i n g a n d disinfectant is provided for their tools. The safety precautions implemented in the farms that stretch between the Andes and the Pacific coast are not simply to guard against the coronavirus. They’re a foretaste of what will be required to shield the valuable crop against another disease, one that poses an existential threat to a $25-billion industry. Bananas have a claim to be the modern world’s first globalized product and are still the most exported fruit on the planet. Yet the trade that began some 130 years ago is now a potent symbol of the underlying fragility of globalization. How it adapts and responds may suggest a path toward rebuilding international consensus in the post-pandemic era. The fiber and vitamin-rich fruit is such an everyday item that it’s easy to overlook the environmental, social and political issues inherent in where they come from, and the economic reality of what it takes to get them to supermarket shelves. Grown in the south and shipped to markets in the north, much of the supply chain put in place in the 19th century is still in use today.
Most destructive
Just as coronavirus ravages the world in the absence of a vaccine, so the banana disease fusarium wilt is marching inexorably around the globe, leaving a trail of scorched plantations in its wake. A strain known as Tropical Race 4 (TR4) first identified in Taiwan some two decades ago has spread throughout Asia to the Middle East and Africa before its arrival in the banana heartlands of Latin America late last year, when it was detected in Colombia. It is considered among the most destructive of all plant diseases, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, or FAO. “Biosecurity measures” including “onfarm quarantine” are recommended to mitigate its spread, but as with Covid-19, there is no treatment. Once the soil is contaminated, there’s no hope of elimination; the only recourse is to abandon the land and move elsewhere. The industry was beginning to adapt to the fusarium threat, and the same biosecurity measures intended to protect against it are being used in the coronavirus response, said Juan José Pons, coordinator of the Banana Cluster of Ecuador that includes the industry’s guilds and associations. Ecuador’s 8,000 banana producers will all need to “become more productive, more efficient, with better biosecurity controls that can guarantee future sustainability,” he said. In reality, the banana trade was at a crossroads before TR4 arrived in Latin America, which together with the Caribbean accounts for more than three-quarters of world banana exports. Add in Covid-19, and “the industry is really at a turning point,” said Pascal Liu, a senior economist at the FAO in Rome and coordinator of the World Banana Forum, a stakeholder group for everyone from growers to retailers, NGOs and research institutes.
Under siege
Climate change, environmental degradation, the power of supermarkets to dictate prices and growing pressure to improve the lot of workers, the banana industry has been under siege on multiple fronts for some time now. As the world’s biggest exporter, Ecuador is at its epicenter. The country on Latin America’s Pacific coast accounted for around one third of the 20 million tons of bananas shipped globally last year. The fruit is worth more to Ecuador than the oil industry after the collapse
in crude prices—some $3.2 billion last year, the equivalent of 3 percent of the economy. It’s also been home to one of the worst outbreaks of coronavirus in Latin America, at one point with bodies lying in the streets of the port of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city. The epidemic caused logistical difficulties at the port, with staff shortages and a lack of temperature controlled containers resulting in temporary interruptions in shipments. There was little or no disruption to work on the plantations, however. Indeed, the banana looks like one of the winners of the crisis, with its reputation as a healthy snack helping to boost global demand during lockdowns. Anecdotally, sales are up in the European Union, the world’s largest importer. But that hasn’t translated into a boon for the banana growers or importers, whose costs have risen due to the logistical disruptions and the implementation of safety measures. Seasonal factors have also weighed in, driving down spot prices for an 18-kilogram box to as little as $2 or $3. “There is definitely pressure on those perhaps 30 percent of producers who are selling very cheaply because they have to sell,” said Kléber Sigüenza, president of banana producer Orodelti, which has close to 3,000 workers in two dozen Ecuadorian plantations, mostly in Guayas province, whose capital is Guayaquil. Sigüenza sells bananas to expor ters, including multinationals under fixed contracts. But the ranks of smaller producers that employ some 40,000 workers have no such guarantees. While the immediate impact may be limited, he doesn’t see a significant rebound any time soon. That has consequences for the industry’s capacity to handle its deeper issues.
Margins
Lower prices limit the ability of producers to respond to environmental concerns over the use of toxic pesticides, which pollute groundwater. They also reduce the possibility of adapting to climate change, whose effects are already being felt in the Caribbean. The Windward Islands have suffered repeat hurricane damage that hit production, while Jamaica has ceased exporting bananas altogether. “You cannot ask a producer to increase sustainable production systems, or to use more sustainable production techniques if at the same time you reduce their margin,” said Liu at the FAO. “And their margin is almost nothing.” The banana trade was traditionally lucrative. The relation between the fruit and money is clear from the position of the former Banana Docks in Manhattan, just below Wall Street. In London, bananas from Jamaica were landed at the Royal Docks, now the site of City Airport. It also has a dark history. In the early years of the 20th century, “banana wars” were fought to secure US interests over plantation land in Central and South America. The trade became synonymous with US corporate might flexed at the expense of workers and governments in the producer countries, the original “banana republics.” The so- called banana massacre of striking United Fruit Co. workers by army troops in 1928 was adapted by Gabriel Garcia Marquez for his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude . The world’s favorite fruit has also earned itself a place in popular culture. The Velvet Underground’s 1967 debut album featured a banana cover by Andy Warhol. In communist Eastern Europe they were a sign of affluence, with the privileged families of party officials in Poland nicknamed the banana youth. Even now, the most popular Halloween costume for American babies in 2019 was the banana, a Google Trends report found.
News
BusinessMirror
www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug
Saturday, May 23, 2020
A3
BSP: Upgraded ICT, modernized agri crucial for post-Covid PHL recovery A
NLex CARES. The MVP Group of Companies headed by PLDT-Smart Foundation President
Esther Santos, together with Metro Pacific Investment Corp. Foundation President Melody Del Rosario, Alagang Kapatid Executive Director Menchie Silvestre, North Luzon Expressway (NLex) Corp. corporate social responsibility Senior Manager Cherry Dela Rea, Nlex Road Warrior Coach Yeng Guiao, NRQ Players Mike Miranda, William McAloney and Kris Porter recently donated 200 sets of personal protective equipment and 3 boxes of surgical masks to the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) Health Office for National Government Administrative Center and Task Force Safe Haven Quarantine Facility in New Clark City. CDC Health and Sanitation Manager Dra. Clemencita Dobles received the donations. CDC-CD Photo
In Covid’s time
Taguig students graduate with robots as their proxies
By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco
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YBER-GR ADUATION ceremonies—with student-made robots—were held for Taguig City’s public elementary and secondary schools, as a symbolic send- off for Batch 2020 while ensuring their safety amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Mayor Lino Cayetano said they also gave cash incentives to the graduates and the achievers. The “Cyber-Graduation Ceremonies” were conducted at Senator Renato “Compañero” Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High School (SRCC) Auditorium and attended by officials of Taguig, the Department of Education and SRCC. All of them wore face masks and observed social distancing. And, in a clear signs of the times, robots made by SRCC’s very own whiz kids from Taguig Robotics Team served as the students’ proxies. The toga-wearing robots received the diplomas in behalf of the 179 SRCC graduates. The live videos of the graduates were projected on the heads of the robots as their names were called to claim their diplomas. Simultaneously, footage of the graduates’ families was displayed on the LED screen. The graduates themselves watched from home via Facebook Live with their families. In separate rites at Taguig’s 24 public elementary and 12 other public high schools later on Friday afternoon, the same robots will receive the diplomas in lieu of nearly 17,000 other graduates. “We know how deeply symbolic a graduation ceremony is for graduates and their parents. This is
why we came up with a program that can help them celebrate their accomplishment while respecting health standards and policies during the Covid-19 community quarantines,” Cayetano said. This cyber-graduation originated in the Taguig City Education Office and the Taguig Robotics Team, a group of SRCC students that had won for the city several gold medals at international tilts. The Taguig Robotics Team developed four remotecontrolled robots fully made with recycled materials. To further mark the graduation of the 16,923 graduates of Batch 2020, they will also receive incentives from the Taguig City government. “We wanted to incentivize their achievements. Thus, we decided to give them cash incentives that can be beneficial to their families in these difficult times,” Cayetano said. Under the cash incentive program, 12,931 Grade 6 graduates will receive P1,000 each. Meanwhile, P1,500 will go to 3,276 students graduating from Grade 12. Those who had displayed academic excellence will continue receiving the incentives given in the past school years. Top 1 students in the 24 public elementary schools and 13 public high schools in Taguig will receive P15,000 each. Those who came in second will get P12,500. The rest of the Top 10 will receive P5,000 in Grade 6 and P7,500 in Grade 12. Those who took first place in their sections will also get incentives of their own. Some 269 Grade 6 graduates will get P2,500 each and 77 Grade 12 graduates will get P5,000 each.
Clark warehouse raid yields stockpile of Chinese medicines, medical supplies
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By Ashley Manabat
LARK FREEPORT—Several boxes of assorted medicines and medical supplies bearing Chinese markings were seized by authorities at a warehouse inside the PhilExcel Business Park here last Thursday. The raid was an offshoot of an earlier raid conducted by authorities at No. 628 Florida Street, Fontana Leisure Parks (FLP) where a makeshift hospital was established as well as a pharmacy without any clearance, or permit, from the Department of Health (DOH), or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As a result, the 300-hectare FLP was closed and placed under full lockdown. In the PhilExcel raid, the contraband was taken to the FDA office in Manila for safekeeping and assessment. Th e r a i d i n g t e a m w a s c o m p o s e d o f representatives from the FDA, officials of the health department of the Clark Development Corp. (CDC), the police and CDC security guards. Police Colonel Amante Daro, chief of the 3rd Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit stationed at Camp Olivas, said the raiding team served a search warrant at Unit 17-C of the PhilExcel Business Park. Daro said further investigation is in progress to identify the lessees of the warehouse.
“Once we identify them, we’re going to file a criminal case against them,” Daro said. In the Fontana raid, two Chinese nationals identified as Ling Hu, 45, and Seung-Hyun Lee, 38, were arrested and taken to Police Regional Office 3 in Camp Olivas, City of San Fernando. Police said they would face charges for violation of RA 9711 or the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009 and violation of RA 2382 or the Medical Act of 1958 for operating a hospital without any permit. Two tons of seized medicines and meat products, meanwhile were rendered useless at a thermal decomposer facility at Trece Martires, Cavite on Thursday. The shipments that were destroyed also included some 350 kilograms of unregistered medicines that were previously seized because of the absence of clearance from the FDA “and thus unsafe for human consumption,” according to airport district collector Carmelita Talusan. “The condemnation of unregistered medicines is part of Bureau of Customs border protection to shield the public against unsafe medicines,” she said. Along with the medicines were expired foodstuff and meat products without health clearance. Talusan said the impounded goods were condemned using the thermal decomposer (Pyrolysis) facility of the Integrated Waste Management Inc. located in Trece Martires City. With Recto Mercene
D.P.W.H. aims May 25 completion of health facility in Biñan, Laguna
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h e D e p a r t m e nt o f Pu b l i c Wo r k s a n d Highways (DPWH) has quickly mobilized the conversion of the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna in response to the urgent and burgeoning need for health-care facilities. Citing a report from Undersecretary and DPWH Task Force for Augmentation of Health Facilities head Emil K. Sadain, Secretary Mark A. Villar said that the quarantine facility will have a total of 68 bed cubicles and will cater to patients from the province of Laguna and other areas from the Southern Tagalog region. To hasten the conversion process, Undersecretary Sadain together with Department of Health (DOH) Assistant Secretary Leonita P. Gorgolon, DPWH Region 4A Assistant Director Jovel Mendoza and other Region 4A District Engineers conducted on Thursday, May 21, 2020 the punch listing of tasks
and items that need to be fixed, or completed, before the ongoing “We Heal As One Center” at Alonte Sports Arena can be considered finished. The repurposing of Alonte Sports Arena into quarantine center under the supervision of DPWH Regional Office 4A is targeted to be turned over by Monday, May 25, 2020 to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID). The facility which will have nursing stations, sanitation chambers, and designated storage areas is in line with the government’s effort to make sure that additional makeshift hospitals are available for possible Covid-19 patients in other areas outside Metro Manila. Once completed, the Alonte Sports Arena will be the 10th mega quarantine facility to help ensure that the transmission of the Covid-19 disease can be better controlled.
MASSIVE upgrade of the country’s information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and the modernization of the Philippine agricultural systems should be among the pillars of the government’s reform agenda in the post-coronavirus disease (Covid-19) recovery, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) chief said. Addressing the Makati Business Club in an online conference on Friday, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said the government must focus on four critical structural reform imperatives in trying to recover from the global pandemic. These four key reforms are the modernization of the country’s health system, “massive” upgrade of ICT infrastructures, the modernization of Philippine agriculture and supply chains and the development of a highly skilled and resilient work force. “The structural reform imperatives I have outlined are outside the ambit of BSP. Yet they have a profound impact on the realization of the BSP’s policy thrusts,” Diokno said. The BSP’s primary mandates are keeping price growth stable,
promoting financial access and creating an environment for robust economic growth. Diokno said in post-pandemic, the country needs to modernize its health system to ensure efficient public health infrastructure and resilient crisis preparedness framework. Among his policy recommendations include giving incentives for the use of science and technology in health policy decision-making. “It would require overhauling of health-care supply chain management. The government must also initiate the formulation of a national preparedness and response framework for disease outbreaks and pandemics, taking into account coordination gaps across different levels of government,” he said. The governor also highlighted the need for a massive upgrading of the ICT infrastructure system and processes, saying technology will play a “pivotal role” in the production and delivery of goods and services in the post-Covid world. “Digital technology will also be critical in enabling simpler and more efficient transactions with government agencies. Business transactions
such as online retail, online banking, online medical consultations, and digital payments, will increasingly become a necessity. All these need to be supported by a safe and reliable digital infrastructure system with robust and dependable c ybersec u r it y protect ion,” t he governor said. “Digital technology is also key to strengthening the government’s monitoring and evaluation systems for policy responses and actions. Without these capacities, governments may not adequately assess how its policies affect the people and risk having the vulnerable bear a disproportionate burden of the consequences,” he added. In a recent press briefing, Diokno highlighted the BSP’s milestones in its digital payment initiatives including government electronic payments, the use of QR Codes through QR Ph, the disbursement of the Social Security System’s Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) through PesoNet, and the conversion of 4Ps accounts into interoperable transaction accounts. Digital innovations across the board are also expected to aid the
modernization of the Philippine agricultural system, the governor said. “For example, an efficient logistics system for agriculture facilitates the transport of agricultural inputs including farm equipment and machinery to farmers to keep food production uninterrupted. Consequently, it will ensure that farm produce reaches the markets and are made available to Filipino consumers and provide Filipino farmers their rightful share in the gains from production,” he said. The BSP chief also said it is crucial to “future-proof” the Filipino workforce by encouraging the development of a highly skilled and resilient work force through a stronger educational system, sustained upskilling and adequate health protection. According to the United Nations, the Philippines has one of the youngest labor forces relative to other Southeast Asian countries and the rest of the world. The median age of Filipinos is estimated to be 25.7 years old in 2020, younger than the expected median age of 30.9 years old globally. The Philippines’s favorable demographics has been a bright spot among global investors.
U.S. pushes $1.5-billion weapons sale to PHL By Recto Mercene
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h e US is pushing for the sale of an estimated $1.5 billion (P75 billion) worth of weapons, including combat helicopters, to the Philippines, a move that would expectedly draw opposition from local human rights groups. “This proposed sale will support the foreign polic y and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly countr y that continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in South-East Asia,” the State Department said. On April 30, the US State D epar tment announced the approval of a possible foreign military sale (FMS) to the Philippine government, which includes six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $1.5 billion. The Philippine Embassy in Washington on Friday defended the United States and accused certain groups criticizing the military deal of “advancing their own political agenda, even to the detriment of the long-standing alliance between the Philippines and the United States.” “It is unfortunate that certain groups seek
to take advantage of this issue,” the statement read, further explaining that the possible deal to buy defense materiel from Washington is part of an ongoing program to modernize the Philippine military. D e s p i t e P r e s i d e n t D u t e r t e’s a v o w e d friendship with China, Manila has turned to its long-standing ally, the US, Japan and other western allies in an ongoing effort to modernize its ill-equipped militar y and strengthen its capability to guard and defend its territory in the South China Sea, which is claimed nearly in its entirety by Beijing. “The countr y’s defense modernization program has been continuously pursued not only by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, but also by previous administrations,” the Philippine Embassy said, adding the program “is critical to national security and necessary to achieving a credible defense posture.” “The current arms sale also makes the Philippines a more robust, and effective security partner for countries in the Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia regions, especially at a time of traditional and emerging security challenges,” the statement read. The statement also pointed out that the
country’s bilateral relationship with the US is strong in many areas and anchored on mutual respect. “The defense modernization program of the Philippine Government will continue to be an important aspect of the bilateral relations between our two countries.” The US Department of Defense announced two proposed FMS to the Philippines, which were notified to Congress. As noted, the Philippines is considering either the AH-1Z, or the AH-64E, but not both. The State Depar tment has made a determination approving a possible FMS to the Government of the Philippines of six AH-64E
Apache attack helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $1.5 billion. The principal contractors will be Boeing, Mesa, Arizona, and Lockheed Mar tin. Implementation of this proposed sale will require US Government, or contractor representatives, to travel to the Philippines for a period of 6 weeks. Ac t i v i t i e s w i l l i n c l u d e d e - p ro ce s s i n g / f i e l d i n g, t ra i n i n g, a n d te c h n i ca l / l o gi s t i c s suppor t. There will be no adverse impact on US defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale. The notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.
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A2 Saturday, May 23, 2020
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Averting an ‘Infodemic’ Continued from A1
proliferated online, causing panic and confusion among people. Citing data from Google, broadcaster and parenting champion Niña Corpuz-Rodriguez revealed in a previous press event that fake news on social media, 25 percent of which tackles health, is so rampant nowadays. She said: “It’s really a cause of concern because it threatens lives and it costs lives.” Very viral of which is the unfortunate event involving the Lion Air West Wind 24 aircraft, a medical evacuation plane bound for Japan, that exploded at Runway 24 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) on the evening of March 29, killing all of its eight passengers. Karen Lema, deputy chief of Reuters Philippines Bureau, referred to a video that was uploaded online immediately after the news about the plane mishap broke that night. What the person behind this clip did, according to her, was merge the footage of a plane crash with the actual footage of the actual explosion. “By the time this video was being shared, all the facts were not yet available. So one could potentially be misled to believing that this is what actually happened,” she said of the video that was shared more than 300 times on Facebook.
Another coronavirus-related fake news that recently made headlines was the Facebook posting by Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Deputy Administrator Mocha Uson of an erroneous picture of donated personal protective equipment (PPE). In her post, she credited the government, using a photo she lifted from an article in a mainstream newspaper (The Philippine Star) about the Department of Health’s distribution of PPEs. These medical shielding gear, however, were actually donated by SM Foundation when later fact-checked. As soon as the publication replaced the photo, Uson issued an erratum while revealing that she just sourced it from the latter. The OWWA official later called it an “honest mistake” when she appeared before the National Bureau of Investigation on May 18. Another similar incident involved Cebu City-based writer and actor Maria Victoria “Bambi" Beltran, who was apprehended for her controversial Facebook statement on April 18 that said: “9,000+ new cases (all from Zapatera) of Covid-19 in Cebu City in one day. We are now the epicenter in the whole Solar System.” She was responding to Cebu Mayor Edgardo Labella’s move on April 17 to put Barangay Luz under lockdown given the surge in
confirmed cases in the entire community of Zapatera—population: 9,000 residents. Per Beltran’s camp, such post was satirical, without any intention to cause panic among the netizens. But for the local chief executive, it’s an example of “fake news” violative of the Bayanihan To Heal as One Act.
The Revised Penal Code (RPC) Article 154 punishes the dissemination of fake news. It also has provisions for criminal libel. “The Cyber Crime Law, which is a new law, provides that these crimes under the Revised Penal Code can now be committed on the Internet,” he added.
Understand, abide by the law
EVEN if there’s an urgent need to address fake news in the time of Covid-19, everyone’s right to express his feelings or thoughts must not be taken for granted, the former dean of the Ateneo School of Government asserted. “In a pandemic, more than ever, we actually need this freedom. Then we need, of course, information to be able to act in ways [that can] contribute to [the good of] each other or to the society.… We certainly need a functioning press to give us both alternative [and traditional way of disseminating the right] Covid-19 information and ideas,” La Viña said. The basic freedoms of speech, expression and the press—all prominent in a democratic country like the Philippines—have their limitations, however. They are regulated when there’s a clear and present danger of a threat, and is real, serious and imminent that the state has the right to prevent for the good of all.
THE advent of modern gadgets, notably smartphones, has opened the opportunity for everyone to become citizen patrollers. But whatever platform or channel they use in their “reporting,” they are advised to think as critically as journalists or media professionals if they like to join the process of gathering and distributing information to the public. Responsibility is a bedrock of their newfound vocation. Since they are involved in providing information, they must ensure accuracy, balance and fairness in everything they bring online. They should always bear in mind that disseminating fake news is punishable in the country. “In the Philippines, we have several laws that already applied even before the pandemic,” La Viña noted. “These laws are now being used by the government when they are charging people for spreading fake news in this time of pandemic.”
Respect basic freedoms
“That’s really the standard that we use. And let me be very clear that standard [about] the burden is on the state to prove the clear and present danger,” he explained. “The state should not even come in to get involved with that. It’s the judiciary that ultimately decides [on] that,” said La Vina. La Viña cited, for instance, fake news that leads to deaths, or views that are hateful. He said: “If we get hate against people, against our government, against [an] ethnic [group], for a particular case, then the state would have the right to come in to regulate that. And how do they do that? Through prior state laws, or censorship laws … or to subsequent punishment laws for libel.”
Starve fake news purveyors, trolls
UNLIKE concerns as to when the coronavirus will end—since there’s still no vaccine available to eliminate it—combating fake news has a more certain battlefield. “The best antidote to fake news is truthful news and great perspectives. You have to fight fake news with good news,” La Viña said. He stressed that criminalizing the distribution of false information will not be totally effective: “Criminalization is not the best way to deal with [fake news]. [It’s the] wrong way to go, very bad for society, doesn’t solve the problem.” La Viña noted that there is an
entire “political economy,” or wellfunded politics-driven machinery around fake news. He rather admonished users of social media and online sources of information to report such posts and block those who post them. For him, those who spread fake news may not be stopped quickly, but anyone who shares information should be responsible for passing on only what is accurate and factual. Taking a cue from his own experience with trolls actively attacking him on his social-media accounts, he encouraged netizens to follow the rule of Jesuit priest, Fr. James Martin: “If you attack me, or attack anyone else, you’re out. You can no longer be in my socialmedia world.” La Viña added that, “In my view, that’s what all the newspapers should have done at the beginning.” In allowing “the audience to curse us, attack us, say bad things about other people…we allow them to do that.” He concluded: “We have to keep on doing it. If we keep on purging [them], keep on going after people, and we ourselves as individuals and institutions, we should do that. And I think newspapers should do that. I think online media sites should do that. Don’t allow people to say bad things on your platform.”
China’s got a new plan to seize the world’s tech crown from the US Continued from A1
Maria Kwok’s company is a government-backed systems integration provider, among many that are jumping at the chance. In the southern city of Guangzhou, Digital China is bringing half a million units of project housing online, including a complex three quarters the size of Central Park. To find a home, a user just has to log on to an app, scan their face and verify their identity. Leases can be signed digitally via smartphone and the renting authority is automatically flagged if a tenant’s payment is late. China is no stranger to farreaching plans with massive price tags that appear to achieve little. There’s no guarantee this program will deliver the economic rejuvenation its proponents promise. Unlike previous efforts to resuscitate the economy with “dumb” bridges and highways, this newly laid digital infrastructure will help national champions develop cutting-edge technologies.
What BloombergNEF Says
China’s new stimulus plan will likely lead to a consolidation of industrial Internet providers, and could lead to the emergence of some larger companies able to compete with global leaders such as GE and Siemens. One bet is on industrial internet-of-things (IoT) platforms as China aims to cultivate three world leading companies in this area by 2025. —Nannan Kou, head of research China isn’t alone in pumping money into the tech sector as a way to get out of the post-virus economic slump. Earlier this month, South Korea said AI and wireless communications would be at the core of it its “New Deal” to create jobs and boost growth. According to the governmentbacked China Center for Information Industry Development, the 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) that China is estimated to spend from now until 2025 encompasses areas
typically considered leading edge such as AI and IoT as well as items such as ultra-high voltage lines and high-speed rail. Separate estimates by Morgan Stanley put new infrastructure at around $180 billion each year for the next 11 years—or $1.98 trillion in total. Those calculations also include power and rail lines. That annual figure would be almost double the past three-year average, the investment bank said in a March report that listed key stock beneficiaries including companies such as China Tower Corp., Alibaba, GDS Holdings, Quanta Computer Inc. and Advantech Co.
New ‘force’ to China’s economy
BEIJING’S half-formed vision is already stirring a plethora of stocks, a big reason why five of China’s 10 best-performing stocks this year are tech players like networking gear maker Dawning Information Industry Co. and Apple supplier GoerTek Inc. The bare outlines of the masterplan were enough to drive pundits toward everything from satellite operators to broadband providers. It’s unlikely that US companies will benefit much from the tech-led stimulus and in some cases they stand to lose existing business. Earlier this year when the country’s largest telecom carrier China Mobile awarded contracts for 37 billion yuan in 5G base stations, the lion’s share went to Huawei and other Chinese companies. Sweden’s Ericsson got only a little over 10 percent of the business in the first four months. In one of its projects, Digital China will help the northeastern city of Changchun swap out American cloud computing staples IBM, Oracle and EMC with home-grown technology. It’s in data centers that a considerable chunk of the new infrastructure development will take place. Over 20 provinces have launched policies to support enterprises utilizing cloud computing services, according to a March note from UBS Group AG. Tony Yu, chief executive officer of Chinese server
maker H3C, that his company was seeing a significant increase in demand for data center services from some of the country’s top Internet companies. “Rapid growth in up-andcoming sectors will bring a new force to China’s economy after the pandemic passes,” he told Bloomberg News. From there, more investment should flow. Bain Capital-backed data center operator Chindata Group estimated that for every one dollar spent on data centers another $5 to $10 in investment in related sectors would take place, including in networking, power grid and advanced equipment manufacturing. “A whole host of supply-chain companies will benefit,” the company said in a statement. There’s concern about whether this long-term strategy provides much in the way of stimulus now, and where the money will come from. “It’s impossible to prop up China’s economy with new infrastructure alone,” said Zhu Tian, professor of economics at China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. “If you are worried about the government’s added debt levels and their debt servicing abilities right now, of course you wouldn’t do it. But it’s a necessary thing to do at a time of crisis.” Digital China is confident that follow-up projects from its housing initiative in Guangzhou could generate 30 million yuan in revenue for the company. It’s also hoping to replicate those efforts with local governments in the northeastern province of Jilin, where it has 3.3 billion yuan worth of projects approved. These include building a so-called city brain that will for the first time connect databases including traffic, schools and civil matters such as marriage registry. “The concept of smart cities has been touted for years but now we are finally seeing the investment,” said Kwok.
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China abandons numerical GDP target amid ‘great uncertainty’
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hina has abandoned its usual practice of setting a numerical target for economic growth this year due to the turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the text of Premier Li Keqiang’s annual policy address on Friday. “I would like to point out that we have not set a specific target for economic growth this year,” the report said. “This is because our country will face some factors that are difficult to predict in its development due to the great uncertainty regarding the Covid-19 pandemic and the world economic and trade environment.” The shifting away from a hard target for output growth breaks with decades of Communist Party planning habits and is an admission of the deep rupture that the disease has caused in the world’s secondlargest economy. With the growth outlook depending also on the efforts of trading partners to rein in the pandemic, the government is shifting its focus to employment and maintaining stability. Li’s address also contained announcement of plans to impose a national security law in Hong Kong, a development that pushed stocks there lower. The yuan was steady while the details on bond issuance helped drive yields on benchmark Chinese 10-year government bonds down to 2.625 percent, heading for the lowest in two weeks. Li said the government is setting a target for urban job creation of over 9 million jobs, lower than the 2019 target of around 11 million, and a target for the urban surveyed unemployment rate of around 6 percent, higher than 2019’s goal, according to the document. Reflecting recent controversy over the “phase one” trade deal with the US signed earlier this year before the pandemic broke out, Li said China will
work with the US to implement the agreement. The budget deficit target was widened to more than 3.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), implying a significantly larger shortfall than 2019’s target of 2.8 percent. Greater spending on efforts to restart the economy and control the spread of the coronavirus will be funded by the issuance of 1 trillion yuan ($141 billion) in sovereign debt. To help finance infrastructure investment, local governments will issue 3.75 trillion yuan in local special bonds this year. That is an increase from 2019’s quota of 2.15 trillion. Economists had forecast an issuance of up to 4 trillion yuan. The government’s language on monetary policy was kept basically unchanged, with the stance remaining “prudent,” as well as “flexible” and “appropriate.” The English language report also said that new monetary policy tools would be developed to “directly stimulate the real economy.” “It is crucial that we take steps to ensure enterprises can secure loans more easily and promote steady reduction of interest rates,” according to the report. Key leaders sat in two rows behind Li’s podium, well spaced and without face masks. Officials behind were more closely packed and wearing masks, as were the hundreds listening in the hall. W hat Bloomberg’s economists say... “Setting a target in such an uncertain economic environment would have been risky. Abandoning the decades-long tradition relieves the government of the straight jacket the annual target placed on economic policy. The challenge now will be to effectively guide expectations in the absence of the GDP target.” Chang Shu and David Qu, Bloomberg Economics. Bloomberg News
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ong Kong’s financial markets look set for an extended period of turbulent trading after Beijing announced its intention to impose a national security law on the city, with potentially dramatic consequences. Democracy advocates, meanwhile, called for protests against sweeping national security legislation China introduced on Friday, as authorities in Beijing vowed to end what they called a “defenseless” posture due to “those trying to sow trouble.” Legislation slated for passage in the National People’s Congress in Beijing would help complete Hong Kong’s obligation to pass laws curbing acts of treason, secession, sedition and subversion, NPC Vice Chairman Wang Chen told lawmakers Friday. The measure would also seek to counter terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong, Wang said. The announcement on national security legislation prompted calls for protests and a spike in Hong Kong residents downloading VPN software that helps mask internet usage. US President Donald Trump, when asked about China’s moves, pledged he would respond “very strongly.” P ro - democ rac y l aw m a kers planned to march to the Chinese government’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong to express opposition to the measure, which was expected pass the rubber-stamp parliament by May 28. Activists urged additional protests against Beijing-backed legislation, including a bill that would criminalize disrespecting China’s national anthem, on Sunday
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President Donald J. Trump holds a face mask in his left hand as speaks during a tour of Ford’s Rawsonville Components Plant that has been converted to making personal protection and medical equipment, on May 21, in Ypsilanti, Michigan. AP/Alex Brandon
The UAW also noted Trump’s statement that he had just been tested for the virus and said it wanted to make sure he understood the wider “need for an economical instant test that can be administered daily to further protect our members—and all Americans.” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Trump’s decision “wasn’t surprising but it was disappointing.” Speaking to MSNBC, she added that anyone with a public platform “has a responsibility to make sure that they model precisely what we’re asking everyone else to do.” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said mask wearing isn’t just Ford’s policy—it’s also the law in a state that’s among those hardest hit by the virus. Nessel said that if Trump refused to wear a mask Thursday “he’s going to be asked not to return to any enclosed facilities inside our state” and “we’re going to have to take action” against any company that allows it in the future. Trump has refused to wear a face mask in public, telling aides he believes it makes him look weak, though it is a practice that federal health authorities say all Americans should adopt to help slow the spread of the virus.
A5
HK traders brace for renewed turmoil on security law risk
and Wednesday. The MSCI Hong Kong Index slumped as much as 4.2 percent on Friday, heading for its worst loss in two months, with property developers leading declines. The Hong Kong dollar, which slid the most in six weeks late Thursday after local media reported the news, trimmed some of its losses. Concern over the scope of the measures, which would target secession, sedition, foreign interference and terrorism, threaten to end the relative calm that’s endured in the city of 7.5 million since the coronavirus outbreak was reported in January. The uncertainty may also spur residents and investors to park their money outside the city, a trend that was seen last year, as well as heighten tensions between the US and China. “We could have new protests,” said Kenny Wen, strategist at Everbright Sun Hung Kai Co. Ltd. “Local tensions could trigger SinoUS tensions and the latter is much more stressful for market sentiment and the macro economy.” China will improve national security in Hong Kong, Premier Li Keqiang said, a day after China announced dramatic plans to rein in dissent by writing a new law into the city’s charter. The law was expected to pass China’s
Pandemic politics: Maskless Trump tours Michigan Ford Motor Co. plant P S I L A N T I TOW N S H I P, M i c h i g a n — Pandemic politics shadowed President Donald J. Trump’s trip to Michigan on Thursday as he highlighted life-saving medical devices, with the president and officials from the electoral battleground state clashing over federal aid, mail-in ballots and face masks. Trump visited Ypsilanti, outside Detroit, to tour a Ford Motor Co. factory that had been repurposed to manufacture ventilators, the medical breathing machines governors begged for during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. But his visit came amid a long-running feud with the state’s Democratic governor and a day after the president threatened to withhold federal funds over the state’s expanded vote-by-mail effort. And, again, the president did not publicly wear a face covering despite a warning from the state’s top law-enforcement officer that a refusal to do so might lead to a ban on his return. All of the Ford executives giving Trump the tour were wearings masks, the President standing alone without one. At one point, he did take a White House-branded mask from his pocket and tell reporters he had worn it elsewhere on the tour, out of public view. “I did not want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,” Trump said. For a moment, he also teasingly held up a clear shield in front of his face. A statement from Ford said that Bill Ford, the company’s executive chairman, “encouraged President Trump to wear a mask when he arrived” and said the president wore it during “a private viewing of three Ford GTs from over the years” before removing it. The United Auto Workers (UAW) union noted in a statement that “some in his entourage’” declined face masks and said “it is vitally important that our members continue to follow the protocols that have been put in place to safeguard them, their families and their communities.”
Saturday, May 23, 2020
Fo rd s a i d e ve r yo n e i n i t s f a c to r i e s must wear personal protective equipment, including masks, and that its policy had been communicated to the White House. At least two people who work in the White House and had been physically close to Trump recently tested positive for the virus. The Republican president and Whitmer have clashed during the coronavirus outbreak over her criticism of the federal response to the state’s needs for medical equipment, like ventilators, and personal protective gear, such as gloves, masks and gowns. Trump on Thursday criticized Democratic governors, suggesting they were proceeding too slowly in reopening their states’ economies. “You have a lot of, unfortunately, in this case Democrat governors [who] think it’s good politics to keep it closed,” Trump said. “I think they’re being forced to open, frankly, the people want to get out. You’ll break the country if you don’t.” The day before, Trump threatened to withhold federal funds from Michigan after its secretary of state mailed absentee ballot
applications to millions of voters. Trump first tweeted—falsely—that the Democratic state official had mailed absentee ballots to Michigan voters. He later sent a corrected tweet specifying that applications to request absentee ballots had been mailed and seemed to back off his funding threat. Trump narrowly won Michigan in 2016. He insists mail-in voting is ripe for fraud, although there is scant evidence of wrongdoing. “We don’t want them to do mail in ballots because it’s going to lead to total election fraud,” Trump said Thursday. But then he allowed for some exceptions, including for himself. “Now, if somebody has to mail it in because they’re sick, or by the way because they live in the White House and they have to vote in Florida and they won’t be in Florida. But there’s a reason for it, that’s OK.” Trying to signal to the nation that life is returning to normal, the President has begun traveling again, with all of his initial trips to states that will be hotly contested in this November’s election. Campaign advisers have grown increasingly worried about Michigan, believing that the president’s attacks on Whitmer have not worked and that the toll the virus has taken in the Detroit area, particularly among African Americans, will prove costly politically. Trump, at a roundtable with African American supporters in front of a sign with h i s s l o g a n f o r re o p e n i n g t h e e co n o my, “Transition to Greatness,” noted low minority unemployment numbers before the pandemic and also pointed to his administration’s work on criminal justice reform. The president’s advisers have become convinced that of the three Rust Belt states that Trump took from Democrats in 2016, Michigan would be much more difficult to win again than Pennsylvania and, especially, Wisconsin. AP
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers the government work report during the opening session of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 22. AP/Ng Han Guan, Pool
rubber-stamp parliament—delayed from March by the coronavirus outbreak—before the end of its annual session on May 28. Wharf Real Estate Investment Co., Swire Properties Ltd. and New World Development Co. plunged more than 7 percent. The city’s pegged currency, which has been near the strongest it can trade versus the greenback since late March due to relatively tight liquidity, weakened to 7.7551 overnight and last traded at 7.7532. US P resident Don a ld J. Trump said T hursday that the US w ill “address ver y strongly” any Hong Kong crackdown. Two US senators also proposed a bipartisan bill that would sanction enforcers of the proposed law. Secretar y of State Michael Pompeo has delayed an annual report on whether Hong Kong still enjoys a “ high degree of autonomy” from Beijing, telling reporters this week that he was “closely watching what’s going on there.” Hong Kong’s economy has struggled under the double blow of anti-government protests and the virus epidemic, with the latter prompting the shuttering of borders to non-residents. Gross
domestic product contracted by a record 8.9 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, and the unemployment rate has risen to the highest since 2009. One in four retailers could disappear by December if sales don’t improve, according to an industry association. Social distancing laws still restrict gatherings to no more than eight people, making a return to the massive protests of 2019 hard to achieve for now. The current rules were recently extended to June 4, when tens of thousands typically gather to mark the military crushing of the 1989 protests in Beijing. Outflows may also pose a significant threat to the global financial center. The Bank of England said in a financial stability report last year that protests led to billions of dollars being pulled from investment funds in Hong Kong, an assessment disputed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. “Investors, especially foreign funds, will be cautious about parking their money in the Hong Kong market,” said Ronald Wan, chief executive officer of Partners Capital International Ltd. Bloomberg News
New Zealand National Party dumps leader after poll slump
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e w Zealand’s main opposition party elected a new leader after a slump in opinion polls spooked its members of parliament (MP) four months out from a general election. National Party MPs backed agriculture spokesman Todd Muller to replace Simon Bridges in a caucus vote Friday in Wellington. Muller challenged for the leadership after two disastrous polls this week showed support for National plummeting to as low as 29 percent from 46 percent three months ago. Muller now faces the daunting task of trying to dethrone Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, whose master class in crisis management during the coronavirus pandemic has seen her popularity soar. Suppor t for Ardern’s Labour Party surged to 59 pecent in a 1News/ Colmar Brunton poll published on Thursday, 30 percentage points ahead of National. The election will be held on September 19. “I don’t believe the right values and management skills are guiding this country at this time as it confronts the greatest challenge since the end of Second World War,” Muller told a news conference after the leadership vote. “If we continue on this track of talking a big game but failing to deliver, we simply won’t recognize the New Zealand we’re a part of in a few years’ time.” Bridges, who had been leader since early 2018, never rated highly in public opinion but fought off previous speculation about his position by keeping support for National above 40 percent. That changed with the pandemic. Ardern put the country into one of the strictest lockdowns in the world and fronted media conferences on an almost daily basis. The approach appears to have succeeded in stamping out the virus and the lockdown was
lifted last week. Still, the economic fallout will be severe, with unemployment expected to jump as many businesses go under. That may give Muller an opportunity to rebuild suppor t for National, which is on the center-right of the political spectrum and has a reputation for sound economic management.
Low profile
Muller, 51, entered parliament in 2014 as the MP for Bay of Plenty, a rural seat on New Zealand’s North Island. Prior to that he had a successful career in agri-business, working for kiwifruit marketer Zespri International and Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s biggest dairy exporter. He had an interest in politics from a young age and once worked in the office of former prime minister Jim Bolger, who has endorsed him as a future National Party leader. Muller is relatively unknown but his choice of deputy leader may bolster his chances. Nikki Kaye, who replaces Paula Bennett, brings a wealth of experience and strong connections in Auckland, home to about a third of New Zealand’s 5 million people. Kaye, 40, entered parliament in 2008 while still in her 20s by becoming the first National Par ty candidate to ever win the urban electorate of Auckland Central. She has retained the seat since, including two narrow victories over Ardern in 2011 and 2014. After winning promotion to Cabinet in 2013, her promising career went on hold in 2016 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. However, she returned a year later after surgery and eventually became the nation’s youngest-ever Minister of Education. Bloomberg News
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Shrimp producers and exporters cut costs through good growing practices By Roderick L. Abad
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Contributor
OOD practices have enabled local shrimp growers to decrease costs by 38.5 percent, thus helping them achieve the maximum revenue potential of exporting such aquatic resource. Confronted by various diseases and increased mortality of their produce, farmers have utilized a package of technology, including a water treatment probiotic of Bayer Philippines Inc., that has cut the value of shrimps they grow from P180 for 1 kilogram to P130 per kg while efficiently feeding them. The said water treatment increases aeration and water exchange in ponds, cleans the water, and maximizes the feeding capacity of shrimps. Feeds, together with power consumption, top the production cost indicators in aquaculture growing. Feed conversion ratio determines the cost of food for shrimps. It’s computed by dividing total feeds consumed by total harvest biomass. The lower the FCR, the more efficient the production is, leading to cost savings and higher returns. Using Bayer’s products, shrimp farmers saw a decline in the FCR from 1.3 to 1.1. The price of feeds dropped from P78/kg to P66/kg. Power cost went down from P40/kg to P20/kg. As a result, they brought additional savings, for instance, around P220,000 to a medium-scale farmer with 5,000 square meters for shrimp production, that went straight to the bottom line (net profit). Also, they covered a surge in health product cost from P5/kg to - 3/5 - P10/kg, according to Bayer Philippines Public Affairs and Sustainability Head Rex Bryan B. Rivera. Among the cost-effective practices
employed by shrimp growers is the use of a microbial solution called the PondPlus, which balances well the presence of phytoplankton and beneficial microbes in the waters of the pond. It keeps natural health conditions of water required to optimize yield. Bayer aquaculture experts agree that PondPlus, when used along with good farm management practices, “ensures good algal balance and pond color.” They said that this, eventually, will lead to “reduced stress and improved shrimp yields.” In April 2018, farm trials of PondPlus was conducted in Bohol. It was tested together with PondDtox, a unique bacteria, Paracoccus pantotrophus. PondDtox allows anaerobic conversion of toxic hydrogen sulphide into sulphate in pond sediments. Hydrogen sulphide comes from decomposed organic material, including leftover feed, dead vegetation, microalgae, and cyanobacteria. Its presence in pond water results in reduced growth and mortality in shrimp up to 100 percent. Consequently, it diminishes feed conversion efficiency. PondPlus and PondDtox address water pollution problems. The result of their farm tests, per aquaculture specialists of Bayer, “is an improvement in the oxygenation and nutrition level of shrimp and other crops.” They are proven effective in lessening mortality rate from diseases owing to toxic pond water.
On top of their field trials, fora on test results have been conducted to educate farmers in Bacolod, Cebu, General Santos City, Batangas, Butuan City and Zambales. Academicians, chemists, public and private researchers, as well as business partner suppliers have been also involved in these activities. “Majority of Filipino shrimp farmers still adopt old, traditional practices and generally perceive health products as unnecessary add-on costs. Despite largescale operations by some, farmers don’t realize that they can be more efficient and profitable,” Rivera said. “The value of using these health solutions far outweigh the investment.” Bayer has, likewise, trained shrimp growers on using Virkon Aquatic, a disinfectant used in sanitizing water (continuous water sterilization) and disinfecting equipment. Also introduced are Deocare Aqua, which likely solves concerns on death rate due to illnesses and toxic gases; and Stomi, which addresses low minerals to help harden the shells of shrimps and increase their immunity. All these initiatives form part of the “Be in Control” program introduced by the company. Chris Mitchum Ganancial, animal health aquaculture portfolio and key account manager of Bayer Philippines, said that it aims to assist farmers resolve issues on survival rate and high prices of feeds arising from toxic pond water. The company has prioritized helping solve local growers’ problems on aquaculture, shrimp in particular, with its huge export value reaching to $600 million annually. Such locally grown marine product is being supplied to Japan, the US, Korea and Europe. Based on Industry.ph report, the Philippines registered a $558-million shrimp export as of 2013. Exported are frozen, head-on or headless, and un-shelled or shelled shrimps. Volume-wise, the International Trade Centre bared that the Philippines’s shrimp export rose from 8,278 metric tons in 2013 to 10,124 MT in 2017.
Exports to the US increased from 2,793 MT to 3,273 MT over the same periods in review in the form of various shrimp species. It supplied up to 300 MT of shrimp to Europe, mostly in France, during such times. “With the recently awarded GSP+ [Generalized System of Preference, a tariff reduction program] status, exports to the European Union are likely to increase even further,” reported Seafood-tip.com. This portal revealed that the Philippines is a pioneer in culturing several prawn and shrimp species. In the 1990s, however, disease had broadly devastated cultured shrimp growing in the country with the use of the species Penaus monodon (black tiger shrimp). Despite this, plus the fact that many farmers overseas have successfully shifted to the use of Litopenaus vannamei (whiteleg shrimp), it remains to be one of the most cultured seafood species domestically. Approximately, there are 1,500 aquaculture operators nationwide, including small and medium enterprises and large companies, per Seafood-tip.com. Filipino shrimp manufacturers are located in Manila, Bohol, Butuan and General Santos City. Other processed export shrimp are pasteurized bottled sautéed shrimp, fresh frozen black tiger or white shrimp, shrimp powder, and frozen block shrimp. “By controlling the supply chain, these [large, export-oriented] companies are able ensure traceability and quality standards needed to export to demanding markets like the European Union. This is important because [shrimp ponds close to urban areas may be contaminated] with pathogens,” the portal said. Under the Board of Investments’ Investments Priority Program, shrimp is a priority sector that enjoys tax holidays and other incentives. Production of this marine resource meant for sale abroad requires food safety certification, Good Manufacturing Practice, to ensure quality of the product.
Asean told to ease trade and boost connectivity amid Covid-19 pandemic
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SEAN members need to enhance connectivity and further liberalize trade and investments to ride out the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis and withstand similar shocks in the future. A policy brief released by the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA) said these important policies can improve the attractiveness of the Asean region as an investment destination, as the current disruption in the global value chains (GVCs) raises concerns about reshoring by multinational enterprises (MNEs) that so far have invested in the region. “Therefore, Asean needs to embark on policy actions to mitigate such concerns, by further opening up investment regimes and by encouraging MNEs to balance their investment portfolios [in the post-pandemic era],” it said. The paper said trade liberalization is focused on nontariff measures and the service sector, with the aim of minimizing restrictions from NTMs and providing sufficient services to support GVCs within domestic economies. Countries, it said, could start raising the bar for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) food safety measures amid the pandemic. Citing the Global Trade Alert report, the ERIA policy brief said some Asean members have imposed other forms of NTMs, such as export prohibitions on essential goods like medical equipment and masks, in response to concerns about supply shortages. “The uncertainty caused by the pandemic could force additional countries to apply more restrictive NTMs, which could become permanent if regional efforts do not monitor and control it. More restrictive NTMs increase the cost of inputs in the value chains for manufacturers,” it added. The paper said the pandemic affects manufacturers operating in various sectors, especially those that are part of GVCs, and it may induce them to implement new strategies as they learn how to deal with the pandemic. “The adoption of the technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution [IR 4.0]—such as artificial intelligence, IoT [Internet of Things], automation, and robotics— gives manufacturing firms a better chance of rapidly increasing production when the economy recovers,” it said. The paper further underscored the importance for Asean to have sustained connectivity within East and Southeast Asia to maintain the competitiveness of regional production networks. “There is also an urgent need for workable mechanisms to facilitate public-private partnerships, as many countries are still in recovery mode after huge stimulus packages during the pandemic,” it said.
Philexport welcomes 25% CIT proposal to help business, exports recover
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HE head of the country's umbrella organization of exporters welcomes government calls to reduce the corporate income tax rate to 25 percent and swiftly pass the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (Citira) to provide relief to “overburdened ” businesses, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in this pandemic. Reacting to the presentation of acting chief of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Secretary Karl
Chua during the Sulong Pilipinas online forum on Thursday, Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) said that the 5-percent drastic reduction in CIT is consistent with the Philexport Citira position. The drop in CIT is seen to attract investors, increase the country's competitiveness and help address particularly the cash flow issue of MSMEs. But in this crisis, this tax reform will particularly be relevant especially to small and medium-sized businesses bleed-
ing from the impacts of the lockdowns and Covid-19 pandemic, said Ortiz-Luis. Philexport also supports the Citira recommendation of the electronics industry, the country’s leading export performer. Philex port Trustee for the Electronics sector Ferdinand A. Ferrer separately raised the need for the status quo for the existing incentives for the next two to three years, allow indirect exporters to avail of the same incentives such as value-added tax exemption as direct export-
ers, and incentivize training, especially in the light of the shift to digital operations. Citira, the second package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program of the government, seeks to rationalize tax incentives for businesses by reducing CIT rate from the current 30 percent, the highest in Southeast Asia, to 20 percent over a period of 10 years. Prior to the announcement of Secretary Chua, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, also chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and one of the principal authors of
Citira, this week also renewed his call for a speedy enactment of the bill, with the immediate 5-percent one-time reduction in the CIT. Media outlets have, likewise, reported that Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III recently sought the passage of Citira before Congress adjourns on June 3 to attract investors relocating from other countries. Meanwhile, Philexport unveiled on May 11 the New Normal Export Road map, developed with inputs from the organization’s local chapters nationwide and affiliated in-
dustry associations. The road map proposes measures anchored on the three pillars of recovery, resilience, and resurgence (3Rs) to help businesses, especially MSMEs and exporters, get back on their feet, restart and sustain their operations and create jobs. Among other priorities toward recovery, the road map calls for the immediate reduction of the CIT to 25 percent and the removal, or reduction to 50 percent of the export threshold so that more companies will be able to enjoy incentives.
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15,333 indigent senior citizens to receive pension in Iloilo City By Perla Lena
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LOILO CITY—The Iloilo City local government will start releasing next week the social pension of 15,333 indigent senior citizens who qualified for the national government’s social pension program. “We are going to give this out next week because it is needed by our senior citizens,” said Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas during his regular press conference on Tuesday. The fund covers the pension of the remaining 2,143 beneficiaries who were unable to claim last year and the first quarter pension for 13,190 pensioners in 2020. The regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) has downloaded to the city government P52.080 million composed of P12. 51 million for the 2019 pension and P39.57 million for the first six months of 2020. Each recipient is entitled to P500 pension per month. Treñas said the fund will be released either on Thursday or Friday next week by district. The venue will not be far from where they reside in consideration of the guidelines imposed during the general community quarantine (GCQ ). Under the GCQ, the movement of elderly is restricted and is limited only to buying medicines and other essentials and seeking medical consultation.
“At least they know that we will be releasing this through our CSWDO [City Social Welfare and Development Office],” he said. Meanwhile, the city government is confident that it can complete the distribution of assistance under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) by Thursday. On Monday, some 11,000 beneficiaries are pending with the City Accountant Office and once the funds are released, only 2,000 beneficiaries will be left. The mayor said that around 80 to 85 percent of the target recipients have received the funds, which amount to P6,000 per recipient. DSWD has transferred to the city government P475,290,000 for 79,215 target beneficiaries. PNA
Adopt a grandparent: Young help the old in Bolivian pandemic
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A PAZ, Bolivia—Sergio Royuela lived far from his parents in Bolivia and was concerned how they were faring in the quarantine imposed by interim President Jeanine Áñez to stop the spread of the coronavirus. “So, I looked for a neighbor to help me and I did the same in my condominium and adopted another grandfather,” Royuela said. Thus, a volunteer campaign was born. “Adopt a Grandparent” urges volunteers to help senior citizens if they need safe support. So far, about 20 young people have volunteered to help, said Royuela, who serves as the campaign coordinator. For most people, the global pandemic causes mild or moderate symptoms but older adults and people with existing health problems have been particularly vulnerable. In Bolivia, more than half of the 76 people confirmed to have been killed by the virus as of May 3 were elderly, according to health ministry data. For many elderly Bolivians, particularly those who are ill, it is difficult to shop for the basics and they are often far from their families. That’s where the volunteers come in. Royuela has been delivering food and words of encouragement to 97-yearold Oscar Gemio and 62-year-old Inés Urrelo, who live in a makeshift tent in a small wooded area of La Paz after losing their home in a landslide last year. He has advised them on following the health precautions, including keeping a safe distance from other people.
IN this May 11, 2020, photo, “Adopt a Grandparent” volunteer Wilmer Gutiérrez visits with his “adopted” grandmother, 80-year-old Dominga Aduviri, at her home in La Paz, Bolivia. Gutiérrez not only makes sure she has enough to eat but also helps her work through the bureaucracy of getting an identity card. AP PHOTO/JUAN KARITA
Word of the campaign is spreading. In a neighborhood south of La Paz, a 70-year-old woman knew that volunteer Ana Rosa Guzmán was helping her neighbor and called to donate rice, flour and other food so the younger woman could better support the grandfather who lives in a small room with his two daughters and a granddaughter. “I was raised by my grandparents, who have already died,” said 30-yearold Guzmán. “For me, it is essential to have a grandfather in our lives and give them a better quality of life at these times when they need him.” For some, the volunteer work hasn’t been about getting the elderly food, but helping them work through
the bureaucracy. About 1 million Bolivians, or nearly 10 percent of the population, are elderly. The government has arranged for aid packages for the elderly, but many poor Bolivians cannot collect them for various reasons. They include Dominga Aduviri, a La Paz resident who needs an identity document to collect the package. Fortunately, 31-year-old architect Wilmer Gutiérrez has adopted Aduviri and he is determined to sort out her problems. “Can you imagine getting old and nobody worries or even knows if you have an identity card?” Gutiérrez said. Paola Flores/AP
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The indigenous heart and soul By Nick Tayag
MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH
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HERE is a street in Quezon City where right smack in the middle is an old tree. In paving the road, nobody had dared uproot it. Not the road builders, not the city engineers, least of all the people in the neighborhood. The tree has stayed there, right in the middle, for the longest time. It is thought to harbor spirits. When you point it out to residents, they just shrug their shoulders. It’s nothing unusual to them. It’s just the way it is. Ganyan ang Pinoy. What makes the Filipinos do what they do? Much of their way of thinking and doing seems contradictory or illogical but if you understand the wellspring of the Filipino, you will come to understand this paradox and self-contradiction in their strange behavior. But who will pave the way to deeper understanding? Through no fault of their own, older generations have not done enough to make the past interesting, riveting and entrancing for their offsprings. I started uncovering this heritage on my own years ago. The more I read and dug into the past, the more my mind got opened to the past and the more greatly my understanding found itself enriched about the kind of culture that the Filipinos had before the Spanish colonizers came to our shores and stayed for good. Today we look at ethnic communities as relics of the past, sort of relegated to the margin of civilized contemporary Filipino society, nothing to do with us. They’re a thing of the past, good to look at or read about but irrelevant to our lives today and tomorrow. We cannot be more wrong. The values they have can also be found in the most modern Filipino who resides in the most modern city. Many are as ingrained in us as in the Bagobo kid in Mindanao down South or as in the Ifugao farmer up in the mountains of Northern Philippines. They are not obsolete or dead values. They are part of what defines us as a people. They give us clues as to why we act the way we do now. They can tell us what seems to be not right, wayward, distorted or dysfunctional about our contemporary Filipino society. For many of these values are the basic building blocks that have formed our cultural
DNA and to dismiss them outright as garbage is to cut off the root of our tree we call the Filipino race. The struggle to bridge my old identity with an emerging one has caused me to go back to the bone piles of our ancestors’ wisdom, a constant basis for inspiration. In some ways, I believe we are all being tested. The big question seems to be, what can we learn from each other? Westerners can learn from their Filipino sisters and brothers how to use rituals, sacred spaces and the power of the ancestors, as well as how to build trust among themselves and the importance of creating strong motherhood and brotherhood and bayanihan. FilAmericans or Fil-Canadians can learn from their Filipino brothers the importance of nurturing and preserving their ancestry and culture. In our attempt to reach out to each other, it is crucial to note several factors that continue to keep us apart: the media, colonialism, and an absence of facts about each other. So many misconceptions about the average Filipinos are brought on by the mainstream media, and we, in turn, perpetuate them. The colonial brainwashing of Asian peoples to believe that the white race is superior has led many of us, even today, to choose to think of ourselves as white and, therefore, better than native Filipinos. We need to learn to grieve together and learn about each other, and discover each other’s world. We need to cultivate awareness of ourselves, of each other and of the world. We need to take pride in our history and stand tall on the shoulders of our ancestors. I want to go back to the primordial stream of our culture as far as I can go. Then I will do my best to make my discovery of the past not only fascinating and engaging but also vividly relevant to us. Make a connection between what we were and what we are and in street speak, make the past “come alive.” To explain how they have shaped the facets of our world and will continue to inform the future; to understand the basics of our behavior; to provide an ancient window. Take a journey back into the wellspring of rich cultural heritage upon which to draw some refreshing insights. To deepen our
understanding of the resources our tradition provides, as well as fail to provide—for enabling us to think and to cope about problems we are currently facing. Why we respond the way we do to our problems. Filipinos pride themselves in being able to blend into any culture, wherever they may work or reside. The Filipino culture is a mixable and receiving culture. There is a vulnerable side to this, though. Filipino youngsters, growing up in foreign countries and easily making friends in their polyglot communities, are dressing in hip-hop clothing and shedding Tagalog, the leading dialect in the Philippines. As one Filipino father rues, “Our kids have nothing to hold on to. We blend in so well with other groups, we forget we’re Filipino.” Helping them look at the world from a native viewpoint, and adding native perspective should help Fil-Ams or Fil-Canadians make connections between their world and the mother country. We must not allow our children born in foreign lands to be completely whitewashed. We cannot allow the West to break down their Filipino identity and assimilate them into Anglo-Saxon culture 100 percent. We need to lead them back and drink from the wellspring of our culture. Learn our story. Find our power. Understanding that Filipino native wisdom can hold its own next to western world canon can foster a sense of pride and help ensure that traditional ancient wisdom will always be fresh and contemporary and passed down to future generations. There is new interest in the plight of people who have left their homes in Asia and are now seeking to return to their roots. They strive to renew their ties with their homeland that is caught between the islands of Asian diaspora and the circuits of globalism. Going back to that old tree in the middle of a paved street, that’s the Filipino culture, with deep roots that can’t be uprooted. Right in the middle of the modern, scientific, and progressive world. I hope that people would stop saying: “Why can’t Filipinos be like the rest of the world.” I look forward to the day when I would hear: Why can’t the rest of the world be like the Filipinos?
Popcom chief eyes long-term care policy interventions for the elderly By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes
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OCAL government units, particularly the barangays, must take a more proactive approach to ensure the safety, health and protection of the elderly during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Department of Health Undersecretary and concurrent Executive Director Juan Antonio Perez III of the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom). Although the family is recognized as the first-line provider for the health and well-being of the elderly, the Popcom chief pointed out that elderly and senior citizens who are living alone have become doubly vulnerable without the presence of the usual support system supposedly provided by their close kin. The demographic data of Covid-19 infections, particularly in terms of mortality level, has identified older persons as the most vulnerable segment of the population. Moreover, with the limitations on the mobility of
people during enhanced quarantine situations and the prohibition of older persons to go outside their homes, ensuring welfare conditions of those living alone becomes more difficult. Perez underscored the role of the State in protecting this segment of population as Covid-19 cases continue to soar: “Based on the latest population census in 2015, there are about 444,392 older Filipinos aged 65 years and above who are living alone. We consider this segment of our population to be the most vulnerable because they are, by choice or circumstance, without the support of their families,” Perez said. Perez said the elderly are also the most susceptible to Covid-19 infections because of their weaker health conditions, which is why they are prohibited to leave their homes. “As such, their barangays and community leaders should be able to locate these people so that they can be provided with appropriate support,” Perez said.
Based on the 2015 Census of Population data, out of the total number of older persons aged 65 years and above, there were about 9.3 percent who are living alone. More than half (53 percent) of them are residing in Luzon, with the largest population (51,324) in Calabarzon region. Region 6 (Western Visayas) and Region 7 (Central Visayas) also have a significant number of seniors of the same age range, with 47,707 and 45,201, respectively. A significant proportion of older persons are also living by themselves in Metro Manila and Central Luzon. “Without their family members to take care of them, the State should be able to proactively establish mechanisms to pinpoint and correspondingly address senior citizens’ welfare concerns during this crisis,” Popcom’s executive director added. “In this regard, it is paramount for LGUs to have their respective databases on household population so that they can have more reliable and population-specific interven-
JUAN ANTONIO PEREZ III
tions. Locating vulnerable members of the population is the function of an efficient demographic and socioeconomic database at the community level.” Perez also urged barangays to put up a registry of households,
noting that with the ongoing health crisis, the family should be the first-line provider for the care and well-being of its members. Furthermore, Perez said Popcom has been promoting at the community level the estab-
lishment of a basis for development interventions, especially during crisis situations. The Popcom chief has requested barangays to be more conscious and efficient in understanding the demographic situation of their community so they can identify more appropriate interventions to ensure no one is left behind. “More than ever, the challenge for inclusivity during these trying times calls for the establishment of efficient mechanisms to easily locate vulnerable population such as the older persons who are living alone. This requires both immediate and broader policy solutions,” Perez said. “Toward this end, it is high time for the State to enact policies that provide broader protection framework for the most vulnerable segment of population, particularly the elderly, through long-term care policy interventions.” As of May 20, 2020, the Philippines has a population of 108.6 million, the 13th biggest in the world.
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TikTok app violating children’s privacy BY TALI ARBEL The Associated Press
PRIVACY watchdogs say that the popular TikTok video app is violating a children’s privacy law and putting kids at risk. A coalition of 20 groups, including Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and the Center for Digital Democracy, filed a complaint Thursday with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) saying that TikTok is collecting personal information of kids under 13 without their parents’ consent. TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance,
has exploded in popularity with young people thanks to its goofy, lighthearted feel and ease of use. At the same time, it’s drawn scrutiny from US officials concerned about national-security risks due to its Chinese ownership and its popularity with kids. TikTok paid a $5.7 million fine to the FTC in 2019 over collecting personal information from kids under 13, a violation of the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. It revamped its app with a restricted mode for younger users. But the privacy groups say it’s easy for kids to use TikTok without parental consent. Kids can sign up with a fake birth date to use the full, adult version
GOOGLE says it won’t build custom artificial intelligence tools for speeding up oil and gas extraction, taking an environmental stance that distinguishes it from cloud computing rivals Microsoft and Amazon. The announcement followed a Greenpeace report on May 19, that documents how the three tech giants are using AI and, computing power to help oil companies find and access oil and gas deposits in the US and around the world. AP
The perfect balance of work and play AS we slowly transition into the new normal, working from home has been touted as one of the best ways to both flatten the curve and keep the economy afloat. Working remotely has always had its fair share of supporters, but the Covid-19 pandemic expedited what was seeen as a gradual process of transition. The biggest fear with a work-from-home setup is the loss of productivity but that’s not necessarily the case. By having a home office setup in a conducive, clean work environment, productivity shouldn’t be hampered. One of the best tools to have during this unprecedented time is LG’s UltraWide Monitors. The 21:9 UltraWide Full HD resolution (2560X1080) offers 33 percent more screen space compared to 16:9 Full HD resolution display, which makes multitasking a cinch, ensuring video calls are the next best thing to being with your team in person thanks to its large screen space and high resolution. With its extra wide field of view, you don’t need to get confused over alt-tabbing between Excel sheets and other documents. Thanks to the extra screen space, you get to work with reports at a glance with data sheets and slides side by side without repeating alt-tab. Learning also comes easy with LG’s UltraWide Monitors. When attending Webinars, you can easily manage textbooks, lectures, conversations and searches in a single view and turn the wide screen into your favorite online classroom. For design work, the wide screen becomes a blank canvas where you can unleash your creativity. As the day winds down, the LG UltraWide Monitor becomes the perfect gaming companion so you can let loose, unwind and take some time for yourself. With AMD Radeon FreeSync Technology, gamers can experience seamless, fluid movement during fast-paced high-resolution games. The Freesync innovation virtually eliminates screen tearing and stuttering. Optimized settings are also available for all games. Game Mode includes three sub-modes (FPS, RTS, Custom) for personalizing your gaming experience or optimizing your favorite game genres. LG’s UltraWide Monitors start at P12,699 and come in four different sizes. More information is available at www.lg.com/ph.
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of the app, “putting them at risk for both TikTok’s commercial data uses and inappropriate contact from adults,” the groups said in a joint news release. TikTok uses the data it collects from users, like their location, what’s in their messages and what videos they watch, to figure out what new videos to show them and for targeted advertising. The privacy groups asked the FTC to investigate and fine TikTok. The commission said it received the complaint but had no comment on it. In an emailed statement, TikTok said it takes privacy seriously and is committed to ensuring the app is a safe and entertaining community for users.
Google says it won’t build AI tools for oil and gas drillers
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BY MATT O’BRIEN The Associated Press
OOGLE says it will no longer build custom artificial intelligence tools for speeding up oil and gas extraction, separating itself from cloud computing rivals Microsoft and Amazon. A statement from the company on Tuesday followed a Greenpeace report that documents how the three tech giants are using AI and, computing power to help oil companies find and access oil and gas deposits in the US and around the world. The environmentalist group says Amazon, Microsoft and Google have been undermining their own climate change pledges by partnering with major oil companies including Shell, BP, Chevron and
ExxonMobil that have looked for new technology to get more oil and gas out of the ground. But the group applauded Google on Tuesday for taking a step away from those deals. “While Google still has a few legacy contracts with oil and gas firms, we welcome this indication from Google that it will no longer build custom solutions for upstream oil and gas extraction,” said Elizabeth Jardim, senior corporate campaigner for Greenpeace USA. Google said it will honor all existing contracts with its customers, but didn’t specify what companies. A Google cloud executive had earlier in May revealed the new policy during a video interview. Greenpeace’s report says Microsoft appears to be leading the way with the most oil and contracts, “offering AI capabilities in all phases of oil
production.” Amazon’s contracts are more focused on pipelines, shipping and fuel storage, according to the report. Their tools have been deployed to speed up shale extraction, especially from the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico. Some of the contracts have led to internal protests by employees who are pushing their companies to do more to combat climate change. Amazon declined to comment on the Greenpeace report, but pointed to wording on its website that said “the energy industry should have access to the same technologies as other industries.” Microsoft published a blog statement Tuesday that didn’t address Greenpeace’s claims but emphasized the company’s commitment to remove from the air all the carbon it has ever emitted by 2050. ■
Online concerts are our new form of live entertainment
SUPERM staged an online concert on April 26 that was aired on the V LIVE app. SM
ENTERTAINMENT
THE world being under a lockdown because of Covid-19 has resulted in our entertainment all being online. There are no more concerts, plays and musicals. Instead, what we have are events on Instagram, Facebook and other platforms. K-pop group SuperM live streamed a concert on April 26 via a new concert streaming service, Beyond LIVE, in partnership with SM Entertainment, which was hosted on the V LIVE app. V LIVE is a popular app owned by Naver Corp., which is considered the Google of Korea. V LIVE is used by K-pop stars to interact with their fans. Thanks to technology, SuperM, WayV, NCT Dream
and NCT 127 have been able to communicate one-onone with fans from all over the world by answering some questions. There were awesome AR graphics and enhanced 3D graphics. The technology also connected to lights sticks that fans have at home so they change in color and pattern according to the song. However, there were also lags, which I attribute to my poor Internet connection, so there were things I didn’t fully enjoy. The concerts were not free. There was a charge for each, which I found fair enough. It was P1,500 for the SuperM show. I didn’t watch the others so I didn’t know how much they were. I wish Beyond LIVE had introduced a package where, for a higher amount, you could watch three concerts. It has been announced that TVXQ and Super Junior would be the next artists to be featured by SM Entertainment and Beyond LIVE. TVXQ’s performance will be on May 24 at 3 pm KST, and Super Junior’s will be on May 31 at 3 pm KST. On the local front, Sharon Cuneta helped raise over P2 million through her online Mother’s Day concert, and the proceeds will be used for Covid-19 relief. Regine Velasquez also had an online show to benefit Bantay Bata 163, a social welfare program for
disadvantaged children. Last month, Gary Valenciano held a two-day online concert to entertain his fans. In March, GMA Artist Center had a Healing Hearts concert series to help raise funds for GMA Kapuso Foundation’s Covid-19 relief operations. The featured artists, included Julie Anne San Jose, Gabbi Garcia, Ruru Madrid, Aicelle Santos, Sanya Lopez, Maricris Garcia, Betong Sumaya, Garrett Bolden, Golden Cañedo, Ken Chan and Rita Daniela. Online concerts will be here for a while, I think.
The safest time we can go to physical concerts again is probably in late 2021 or early 2022. The last concert I attended physically was the NCT Dream Tour “The Dream Show” in Manila on February 29. After that, I went to SM City North Edsa for another fan event. That was just less than three months ago but it already seems like ages. Online concerts will be part of our new normal, along with Zoom meetings and working and studying from home. It’s not what we signed up for when we welcomed 2020 but it is what it is.
BusinessMirror
A10 Saturday, May 23, 2020
www.businessmirror.com.ph
GLOBE LAUNCHES BETTER VOICE CALL EXPERIENCE WITH VOLTE, VOWIFI GLOBE is launching its Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) service along with Voice Over WiFi (VoWiFi) that aims to improve voice call experience for its customers. These services became initially available in NCR and to selected customers on May 14. With the VoLTE technology in place, Globe customers, instead of relying on the older 3G to handle their calls, can now enjoy the advantages of a 4G LTE network. Calls made over VoLTE are clearer because of high-definition voice quality, especially if both parties are on VoLTE. VoLTE also allows for faster time to connect compared to the usual calls via 2G and 3G. The time it takes to set up a call is faster by one to five seconds, which can be vital during emergency situations. Another benefit of VoLTE is the simultaneous use of voice and data. As both can now run on the LTE network, multitasking becomes a breeze and sharing information from the Web or apps while on a call is now made possible. VoWiFi or Wi-Fi calling, on the other hand, extends network coverage in areas with poor signal quality allowing calls to be routed over Wi-Fi instead of a 2G/3G/LTE network, without the need for any app. Subscribers can use Wi-Fi calling to make and receive important calls as long as they have good Wi-Fi connection. Similarly, overall voice call experience is better with WiFi calling with customers also enjoying the benefits of highdefinition quality calls and faster call connection time. “The VoLTE service will allow us to maximize our LTE network resources providing our customers with a seamless and better communication experience. We understand that the people’s need to be constantly connected have heightened, especially during this period of community quarantine, and Globe is steadfast in its commitment to continuously improve our services,” said Albert de Larrazabal, Globe chief commercial officer. When making a VoLTE or a WiFi call, customers’ mobile data will not be consumed. A subscriber only needs an LTE signal to make a VoLTE call while Wi-Fi calling only needs a Wi-Fi network. More important, no additional charges will be made on top of regular voice call rates or subscriptions when using the VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling. VoLTE and WiFi calling will initially be available to selected Globe Postpaid customers including business customers, with supported devices from Samsung, Huawei and some Nokia models. VoWiFi, on the other hand, is available to Samsung mobile devices. More information about VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling is available at www.globe.com.ph/help/postpaid/volte.html.
Apple, Google release technology for pandemic apps
A
BY MATT O’BRIEN The Associated Press
PPLE and Google on Wednesday released long-awaited smartphone technology to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus. The companies said 22 countries and several US states are already planning to build voluntary phone apps using their software. It relies on Bluetooth wireless technology to detect when someone who downloaded the app has spent time near another app user who later tests positive for the virus. Many governments have already tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to roll out their own phone apps to fight the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of those apps have encountered technical problems on Apple and Android phones and haven’t been widely adopted. They often use GPS to track people’s location, which Apple and Google are banning from their new tool because of privacy and accuracy concerns. Public health agencies from Germany to the states of Alabama and South Carolina have been waiting to use the Apple-Google model, while other governments have said the tech giants’ privacy restrictions will be a hindrance because public health workers will have no access to the data. The companies said they’re not trying to replace contact tracing, a pillar of infection control that involves trained public health workers reaching out
to people who may have been exposed to an infected person. But they said their automatic “exposure notification” system can augment that process and slow the spread of Covid-19 by virus carriers who are interacting with strangers and aren’t yet showing symptoms. The identity of app users will be protected by encryption and anonymous identifier beacons that change frequently. “User adoption is key to success and we believe that these strong privacy protections are also the best way to encourage use of these apps,” the companies said in a joint statement Wednesday. The companies said the new technology—the product of a rare partnership between the rival tech giants—solves some of the main technical challenges that governments have had in building Bluetoothbased apps. It will make it easier for iPhones and Android phones to detect each other, work across national and regional borders and fix some of the problems that led previous apps to quickly drain a phone’s battery. The statement on Wednesday also included remarks from state officials in North Dakota, Alabama and South Carolina signaling that they plan to use it. “We invite other states to join us in leveraging smartphone technologies to strengthen existing contact tracing efforts, which are critical to getting communities and economies back up and running,”
said North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican. North Dakota had already launched a locationtracking app that about 4 percent of state residents are using, higher than other US states with similar apps but falling far short of the participation rate that experts say is needed to make such technology useful. Tim Brookins, the CEO of ProudCrowd, a start-up that developed North Dakota’s app, said Wednesday that North Dakotans will now be asked to download two complementary apps—his model, to help public health workers track where Covid-19 patients have been, and the Apple-Google model, to privately notify people who might have been exposed to the virus. Some privacy advocates have favored the GoogleApple approach because it offers more privacy and security. But others, including Ryan Calo, a law professor who co-directs the University of Washington’s Tech Policy Lab, said he is concerned about its effectiveness if people get too many false alerts asking them to quarantine themselves. He said public health agencies would be better off being able to track location with careful safeguards. Calo said Google and Apple have been more upfront about the limitations of their model, but he said he’s still worried some governments will treat it as a substitute for crucial investments in free, widespread testing and hiring an army of human contact tracers. “We’re just not going to get out of this global pandemic with a clever app,” he said. ■
PayMaya speeds up cash distribution to Manila’s senior citizens BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor FINANCIAL technology provider PayMaya has enabled the City of Manila to disburse more than P13 million in financial assistance to eligible senior citizen beneficiaries during the ongoing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis. Some 9,000 elderly recently received their three months’ worth of stipend from January to March directly to their accounts. Another 8,000 senior citizens have already received the financial aid for the same period earlier this year. “Our partnership with PayMaya has enabled us to deliver fast and transparent financial assistance to our senior citizens at this time of great need, allowing them to receive their benefits from the safety of their own homes. Digital financial services help us to continue serving our constituency despite our current public health challenges,” said Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko
Moreno” Domagoso. “Disbursing cash assistance via e-wallets is a safer and more transparent means in providing financial aid to citizens, since it minimizes cash handling and provides a record of money transfer. We are happy to see our services being utilized during this enhanced community
quarantine for the benefit of one of the the most vulnerable segments of Manila’s population,” noted Orlando Vea, founder and chief executive officer of PayMaya. The issuance of citizen ID cards powered by PayMaya kicked off late last year as part of the City of Manila’s benefit program for senior citizens, persons
with disabilities and solo parents. Over 17,000 citizen ID cards have so far been distributed. This initiave will continue once the ECQ is lifted. Senior citizens yet to be equipped with PayMaya-powered ID cards will get their cash assistance through their barangay captains. The funds deposited in their PayMaya accounts can be used to pay bills, buy load, purchase groceries online, or send money to other users. The amount can also be transferred or encashed to the nearest Smart Padala agent, or can be withdrawn via any of the Bancnet ATMs. “Mobile wallets and other digital financial services are proving to be essential tools in helping national and local governments deliver better public service to the people,” Vea said. Because of a digitally empowered system, not only can the government efficiently and immediately disburse financial aid to intended beneficiaries but this also can guarantee transparency, as well as red tape and corruption mitigation.
It’s also an ideal mode of transaction during this time as it promotes lesser cash handling and consequently helps in containing the spread of Covid-19. With mobile wallets, people can easily transact at home or with limited contact at local neighborhood merchants through QR or card payments. PayMaya is the sole end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the country with platforms and services that cuts across consumers, merchants and government. Apart from providing payments solution for e-commerce, food, retail and gas merchants, it is also enabling national and social services agencies, as well as local government units with digital payments and disbursement services. Through its PayMaya app and wallet, millions of Filipinos can now own a financial account with its more than 40,000 Add Money touchpoints nationwide. Its Smart Padala by PayMaya network of over 30,000 partner agents nationwide serves as last mile digital financial hubs in communities.
BusinessMirror
A10 Saturday, May 23, 2020
www.businessmirror.com.ph
GLOBE LAUNCHES BETTER VOICE CALL EXPERIENCE WITH VOLTE, VOWIFI GLOBE is launching its Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) service along with Voice Over WiFi (VoWiFi) that aims to improve voice call experience for its customers. These services became initially available in NCR and to selected customers on May 14. With the VoLTE technology in place, Globe customers, instead of relying on the older 3G to handle their calls, can now enjoy the advantages of a 4G LTE network. Calls made over VoLTE are clearer because of high-definition voice quality, especially if both parties are on VoLTE. VoLTE also allows for faster time to connect compared to the usual calls via 2G and 3G. The time it takes to set up a call is faster by one to five seconds, which can be vital during emergency situations. Another benefit of VoLTE is the simultaneous use of voice and data. As both can now run on the LTE network, multitasking becomes a breeze and sharing information from the Web or apps while on a call is now made possible. VoWiFi or Wi-Fi calling, on the other hand, extends network coverage in areas with poor signal quality allowing calls to be routed over Wi-Fi instead of a 2G/3G/LTE network, without the need for any app. Subscribers can use Wi-Fi calling to make and receive important calls as long as they have good Wi-Fi connection. Similarly, overall voice call experience is better with WiFi calling with customers also enjoying the benefits of highdefinition quality calls and faster call connection time. “The VoLTE service will allow us to maximize our LTE network resources providing our customers with a seamless and better communication experience. We understand that the people’s need to be constantly connected have heightened, especially during this period of community quarantine, and Globe is steadfast in its commitment to continuously improve our services,” said Albert de Larrazabal, Globe chief commercial officer. When making a VoLTE or a WiFi call, customers’ mobile data will not be consumed. A subscriber only needs an LTE signal to make a VoLTE call while Wi-Fi calling only needs a Wi-Fi network. More important, no additional charges will be made on top of regular voice call rates or subscriptions when using the VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling. VoLTE and WiFi calling will initially be available to selected Globe Postpaid customers including business customers, with supported devices from Samsung, Huawei and some Nokia models. VoWiFi, on the other hand, is available to Samsung mobile devices. More information about VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling is available at www.globe.com.ph/help/postpaid/volte.html.
Apple, Google release technology for pandemic apps
A
BY MATT O’BRIEN The Associated Press
PPLE and Google on Wednesday released long-awaited smartphone technology to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus. The companies said 22 countries and several US states are already planning to build voluntary phone apps using their software. It relies on Bluetooth wireless technology to detect when someone who downloaded the app has spent time near another app user who later tests positive for the virus. Many governments have already tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to roll out their own phone apps to fight the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of those apps have encountered technical problems on Apple and Android phones and haven’t been widely adopted. They often use GPS to track people’s location, which Apple and Google are banning from their new tool because of privacy and accuracy concerns. Public health agencies from Germany to the states of Alabama and South Carolina have been waiting to use the Apple-Google model, while other governments have said the tech giants’ privacy restrictions will be a hindrance because public health workers will have no access to the data. The companies said they’re not trying to replace contact tracing, a pillar of infection control that involves trained public health workers reaching out
to people who may have been exposed to an infected person. But they said their automatic “exposure notification” system can augment that process and slow the spread of Covid-19 by virus carriers who are interacting with strangers and aren’t yet showing symptoms. The identity of app users will be protected by encryption and anonymous identifier beacons that change frequently. “User adoption is key to success and we believe that these strong privacy protections are also the best way to encourage use of these apps,” the companies said in a joint statement Wednesday. The companies said the new technology—the product of a rare partnership between the rival tech giants—solves some of the main technical challenges that governments have had in building Bluetoothbased apps. It will make it easier for iPhones and Android phones to detect each other, work across national and regional borders and fix some of the problems that led previous apps to quickly drain a phone’s battery. The statement on Wednesday also included remarks from state officials in North Dakota, Alabama and South Carolina signaling that they plan to use it. “We invite other states to join us in leveraging smartphone technologies to strengthen existing contact tracing efforts, which are critical to getting communities and economies back up and running,”
said North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican. North Dakota had already launched a locationtracking app that about 4 percent of state residents are using, higher than other US states with similar apps but falling far short of the participation rate that experts say is needed to make such technology useful. Tim Brookins, the CEO of ProudCrowd, a start-up that developed North Dakota’s app, said Wednesday that North Dakotans will now be asked to download two complementary apps—his model, to help public health workers track where Covid-19 patients have been, and the Apple-Google model, to privately notify people who might have been exposed to the virus. Some privacy advocates have favored the GoogleApple approach because it offers more privacy and security. But others, including Ryan Calo, a law professor who co-directs the University of Washington’s Tech Policy Lab, said he is concerned about its effectiveness if people get too many false alerts asking them to quarantine themselves. He said public health agencies would be better off being able to track location with careful safeguards. Calo said Google and Apple have been more upfront about the limitations of their model, but he said he’s still worried some governments will treat it as a substitute for crucial investments in free, widespread testing and hiring an army of human contact tracers. “We’re just not going to get out of this global pandemic with a clever app,” he said. ■
PayMaya speeds up cash distribution to Manila’s senior citizens BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor FINANCIAL technology provider PayMaya has enabled the City of Manila to disburse more than P13 million in financial assistance to eligible senior citizen beneficiaries during the ongoing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis. Some 9,000 elderly recently received their three months’ worth of stipend from January to March directly to their accounts. Another 8,000 senior citizens have already received the financial aid for the same period earlier this year. “Our partnership with PayMaya has enabled us to deliver fast and transparent financial assistance to our senior citizens at this time of great need, allowing them to receive their benefits from the safety of their own homes. Digital financial services help us to continue serving our constituency despite our current public health challenges,” said Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko
Moreno” Domagoso. “Disbursing cash assistance via e-wallets is a safer and more transparent means in providing financial aid to citizens, since it minimizes cash handling and provides a record of money transfer. We are happy to see our services being utilized during this enhanced community
quarantine for the benefit of one of the the most vulnerable segments of Manila’s population,” noted Orlando Vea, founder and chief executive officer of PayMaya. The issuance of citizen ID cards powered by PayMaya kicked off late last year as part of the City of Manila’s benefit program for senior citizens, persons
with disabilities and solo parents. Over 17,000 citizen ID cards have so far been distributed. This initiave will continue once the ECQ is lifted. Senior citizens yet to be equipped with PayMaya-powered ID cards will get their cash assistance through their barangay captains. The funds deposited in their PayMaya accounts can be used to pay bills, buy load, purchase groceries online, or send money to other users. The amount can also be transferred or encashed to the nearest Smart Padala agent, or can be withdrawn via any of the Bancnet ATMs. “Mobile wallets and other digital financial services are proving to be essential tools in helping national and local governments deliver better public service to the people,” Vea said. Because of a digitally empowered system, not only can the government efficiently and immediately disburse financial aid to intended beneficiaries but this also can guarantee transparency, as well as red tape and corruption mitigation.
It’s also an ideal mode of transaction during this time as it promotes lesser cash handling and consequently helps in containing the spread of Covid-19. With mobile wallets, people can easily transact at home or with limited contact at local neighborhood merchants through QR or card payments. PayMaya is the sole end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the country with platforms and services that cuts across consumers, merchants and government. Apart from providing payments solution for e-commerce, food, retail and gas merchants, it is also enabling national and social services agencies, as well as local government units with digital payments and disbursement services. Through its PayMaya app and wallet, millions of Filipinos can now own a financial account with its more than 40,000 Add Money touchpoints nationwide. Its Smart Padala by PayMaya network of over 30,000 partner agents nationwide serves as last mile digital financial hubs in communities.
BusinessMirror
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Saturday, May 23, 2020 A11
GCash is top finance app for Android, iOS
Samsung S20 Ultra: The boss’ baby ■ Superb design and build DISLIKE ■ Too big for most Pinoys ■ It can be quite slippery to hold ■ Camera hump ■ In-display fingerprint could be faster ■ Storage should have started at 256GB
LOOK WHO’S BOSS
W
HEN I was just starting out as a researcher, I had a boss who had quite a fascination for cellphones. This was way back during the days of LCD backlights, crazy frog midi ringtones and the game Snake—and I was using a Philips Savvy. He always had the latest (and often most expensive) phone, which he graciously let me try out. The most memorable of these was the Nokia 7110—with its “naviroller” (a clickable scroll wheel), tennis game, and The Matrix-inspired spring-loaded keypad cover. Answering the phone by sliding the keypad cover was the coolest thing I ever saw. So I saved up several month’s salary and got one myself but by that time, he had already moved on to the 8210, followed by the 9110i Communicator. I would continue to work for him on several projects over the next few years, and asking what phone he was currently using was our way of catching up. He was actually the one who sparked my interest in tech and my own fascination for phones and other gadgets. He, likewise, showed me how a phone could be more than a reflection of your personality and a way to make a statement. And making a statement is exactly what the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is all about.
BEYOND PRO
THERE was a reason why Samsung called it the Galaxy S20 instead of the S11, and just as other smartphone manufacturers were busy with their “Pro,” “Plus” and “Max” naming conventions, Samsung slapped “Ultra” on its most premium flagship device to put everyone on notice. It was clear that the world’s No. 1 smartphone maker was done playing catch-up with Apple and its Android competitors when it comes to specs and new features, and the S20 Ultra was their answer. Samsung went all-out with the Galaxy S20 Ultra, and it’s easily the “-est” of flagship smartphones, embodying all the superlatives. You get a glorious display on the biggest and clearest screen, the fastest processor, highest-end specs and the newest camera system from Samsung. It’s a statement phone alright, size and price be damned, but is it also the best phone Samsung’s ever made? DEVOUR ■ Best display on a smartphone ■ Once you go 120Hz, you’ll never go back ■ Specs and performance are incredible ■ Great all-around cameras ■ Single take mode ■ One UI 2.0
“MASSIVE” and “imposing” are probably the best words to describe the Samsung S20 Ultra. It measures 166.9 x 76.0 x 8.8mm and weighs 222g making it bigger, thicker and heavier than Samsung’s other flagship, the Galaxy Note 10+. It’s an elegant glass monolith that only comes in Cosmic Black and Cosmic Gray colors. Its actually refreshing to see such subdued color options amid the sea of dizzying gradient finishes, but a little shimmer would have been nice. I would also have liked a couple of other colors (Cloud White is a China and Germany exclusive), but its obvious that the S20 Ultra is targeting specific highend users. There’s nothing flashy or terribly exciting about the design, but the feel of the phone is outstanding. The S20 Ultra 5G is an exquisite piece of hardware that exudes quality and craftsmanship. The metal and glass build feels exceptionally solid and expensive to hold. It also has this certain heft you can only sense from premium smartphones. I’m not a fan of those curved (or waterfall) screens (makes it a pain to find a tempered glass that fits) but I do like the subtle curves on the back of the S20 Ultra that allows a more comfortable hold. It has Gorilla Glass 6 panels wrapped in a metal frame and although it doesn’t scratch easily, I still keep mine in a pouch before putting it in my pocket or bag. My only complaint is that it can get very slippery and if you’re someone who’s prone to dropping things, I suggest you get a very good protective case because while it might survive an accidental dunk in the water (it has an IP68 rating), I seriously doubt it could survive a drop on the concrete floor. Exploring the phone a bit more, you have the volume and power keys on the right side of the frame. Up top, there is a secondary noisecanceling microphone and hybrid card tray that can accommodate either two nano-sized SIM cards or one nano SIM plus a microSD card up to 1TB. At the bottom is the main microphone, downward-firing loudspeaker and a USB-C port which supports fast charging. The smartphone supports up to 45W fast charging but you only get a 25W charger out of the box. The dedicated Bixby button is gone as well as the 3.5 mm jack (thankfully, the included AKG Type-C earphones make up for it). On its back is the behemoth camera panel that’s proven to be quite divisive. Personally though, I prefer over-the-top camera modules as it adds character and distinctiveness to the phone. The camera module still makes it standout and identifiable as a Galaxy S20 Ultra even beneath a case. What I didn’t like is chunky camera bump, as the protrusion makes it wobble when placed on a flat surface and it breaks the otherwise seamless feeling of the glass back—again another reason to get a protective case to even things out. The sheer size and heft will get some time getting used to, and one-
handed use is quite challenging or even impossible for those with smaller hands.
BEST DISPLAY
THE display of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is fantastic. In fact, it’s the best screen I’ve seen on a smartphone—period. The moment you turn on the phone, you’ll be amazed at the S20 Ultra’s beautiful edge-to-edge display. The only thing breaking up this otherwise all-screen aesthetic is a small hole-punch notch in the middle of the top edge which houses the front camera. It packs a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen with a maximum resolution of WQHD+ 3200 x 1440 and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, twice than the usual 60hz. For non-techies, this means the screen now refreshes twice as many times each second making everything look smoother. Movement is more fluid, swiping is quicker and less jittery, making the phone feel even faster. It’s hard to describe it in words and you really have to try it out to appreciate the improvement. It was the first time I’ve experienced a 120Hz refresh rate and despite warnings that it’ll the drain battery faster, I’ve never switched back. After all, it’s the ECQ and I could just plug it whenever I want. Using the 120Hz on Web browsing, social media and e-mail felt so much better as objects on the screen move smoothly. The screen size is also perfect for people who consume a lot of video content. It’s reason why I finally subscribed to Netflix, HBO Go, and even VIU. Those HDR-enabled shows on Netflix look way better than when compared to watching it on my iPhone 11 Pro Max. I’ve watched more movies on the S20 Ultra than on my 55-inch TV, which gives you an idea of just how good it is. The built-in loud speakers also sound amazing by the way. I mentioned I’m not a big fan of curved displays, and since the S20 Ultra is “flatter” it helps cut down accidental palm touches. I hate it when the text bleeds to the edge of the screen in certain web sites.
EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE
THE S20 Ultra we have is running the new Exynos 990, and we haven’t had any problems with it in the past couple of months. Granted that my workload is a lot less than usual since there are less events, but I still subjected it to a fair amount of app abuse. Performance is blazing fast and as expected the S20 Ultra can handle everything I could throw at it with its chipset. The unit we have has 12GB of RAM, which is way more than what my current laptop has, and multitasking with several open apps has never been a problem. Playing games, watching videos, multitasking, or even just scrolling through social media is a breeze. I didn’t once notice any slowdown or lag while testing it; everything was snappy, responsive and smooth, even with the most graphically intensive games like Asphalt 9, Tekken, PUBG and NBA 2K20. It did warm up a bit but not to the point of being unusable. A minor complaint is that the S20 Ultra only has 128GB internal storage. A 256GB would have been a lot better especially with the option to record 8K videos. But more on that when we review the S20 Ultra 108MP cameras. ■
MORE Filipinos have gone cashless during the pandemic with GCash, the leading mobile wallet in the Philippines which has emerged as the top finance app for both Android and iOS devices, reflecting the growing reliance of people on digital finance for the management of their personal finances. As of May 15, GCash (www.gcash.com) was the only finance app in the top 10 list of free apps for Android. It also ranked fourth on the overall list of free mobile apps in Google Play Store. For iOS, GCash topped the finance division in the App Store and ranked second after Zoom Cloud Meetings on its free apps list. This shows how GCash has transformed from a convenient mobile wallet to a lifestyle app that enables Filipinos to do more with less, as they embrace the new normal. “The national health situation has caused more Filipinos to be mindful of their personal finances. As a powerful tool that provides financial services to the masses, GCash is enabling its users to manage their personal finance better than traditional means,” GCash Chief Technology and Operating Officer Pebbles Sy said. A white paper released by AdSpark Inc., a portfolio company under Globe Telecom’s 917Ventures, showed that consumption of Personal Finances as a topic grew by 800 percent from January 2020 to end of March 2020 when most Filipinos were required to stay at home. Global Web Index, which surveyed people on how they foresee the impact of the situation on their personal finances, found that 65 percent of Filipinos surveyed believed that the pandemic will have a huge impact on their personal finances, while 15.7 percent believe that the effect could be even greater. “Due to uncertainties brought about by the national health situation and the limitations set by the government to help curb the spread of the virus, Filipinos are looking for various ways to address their personal finance concerns. GCash is here to provide them with the necessary financial tools and services that will help them in managing their finances,” Sy said. As a mobile wallet, GCash allows users to pay for their digital and physical transactions through the GCash app. GCash also allows users to pay their bills, buy airtime load, and transfer funds to any GCash account or to other banks. Users may also avail of GCash’s savings service, GSave, which offers better-than-industry interest rates; GCredit, which allows them to tap into a credit line for emergencies; invest in money market funds; and GCash Insurance, which allows them to avail of very affordable insurance plans. “We have seen a huge growth in terms of volumes of transactions in our platform during the community quarantine. We saw people transacting with merchants physically through QR and Barcode and digitally through money transfers. We also saw a lot of people donating to causes, one of which is our native fund-raising drive called #FightCOVID19. Our platform has empowered more people in taking care of their personal finances,” Sy said. GCash saw app installations grow by 2x during the community quarantine, while registrations rose by 2.5x and app referrals increased by another 2x. “This is a reflection of how Filipinos are growing more trusting of digital finance, which we believe will be a huge player in implementing the so-called new normal. Financial technology will serve as the bedrock of digital services—those that will empower Filipinos to do more with less,” Sy said.
A12 Saturday, May 23, 2020
Sports BusinessMirror
Editor: Jun Lomibao | mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph
NBA ON CUSP OF COMEBACK? S A SILVER lining seems to appear for Commissioner Adam Silver and the league. AP
Countermeasures necessary for Olympics, but what are they?
T
OKYO—Tokyo Olympic organizing committee CEO Toshiro Muto spoke Thursday about the need to take “countermeasures” to combat the coronavirus at next year’s postponed games. But what measures, exactly? Muto acknowledged there is talk about holding next year’s Tokyo Olympics without fans, but he did not indicate this was going to happen. The Tokyo official was responding to a BBC interview in which International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said an Olympics without fans “is not what we want.” But Bach did not rule it out and said any such decision would take more time. “Regarding President Bach’s remarks,” said Muto, speaking through an interpreter in an online news conference, “there are other people in Japan, as well that [believe the Olympics] need to take place behind closed doors. However, our point of view is that we have more than one year until the games take place. And we think it’s too early at this point in time to have that discussion.” The Tokyo Olympics were postponed two months ago and are now scheduled to open on July 23, 2021. With 14 months to go, neither the IOC nor local organizers have explained how the games can be held amid a pandemic with world travel curtailed. Will 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,400 Paralympians face quarantines? What about thousands of staff members, technical officials, broadcasters and other media? Or fans from around the world that have bought millions of tickets? There are hopeful signs about vaccines, but will one be ready in time? And should young, healthy athletes be a priority? “Obviously, we are aware that it will be inevitable to have some sort of countermeasures for Covid-19 when we hold the Tokyo Olympic Games and Paralympic Games next year,” Muto said. “This is all we can say at this point in time. For detailed questions about specific countermeasures for us to take, it may not be the right timing to answer.”
THERE are hopeful signs about vaccines, but will one be ready in time? And should young, healthy athletes be a priority?
By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press
OMETHING is finally clear in the uncertain National Basketball Association (NBA): Players believe they’re going to play games again this season. The obvious questions—How? Where? When?—remain unanswered. Testing, part of the new normal of this coronavirus era, will be a major component to any return-to-play plan that the NBA comes up with. The Disney campus near Orlando, Florida, makes so much sense, given its massive size, multiple courts and its ties to league broadcast partner ESPN. And the sooner games begin, the sooner the process of figuring out next season can start as well. Several people familiar with the details of the conversations have told The Associated Press this week that players around the league are being urged to start getting mentally and physically ready for training camps that could be just a few weeks away. It might not be a unanimously approved notion, but two-anda-half months into this pandemic-caused
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of David Stern and Kobe Bryant in January, and now a pandemic that will almost certainly affect the league’s financial health for the next several years—is listening to any and all ideas. “The direction that the league office has received from our teams is, again, all rules are off at this point given the situation we find ourselves in, that the country is in,” Silver said last month. “If there is an opportunity to resume play, even if it looks different than what we’ve done historically, we should be modeling it.” The calendar dictates that those decisions are going to come soon, backed up by the fact that Silver told players two weeks ago that he wants to be able to bring forward a return-to-play plan in “two to four weeks.” By that timeframe, the window is about to open. “I’m really excited about the possibility of coming back,” Cleveland forward Kevin Love said in remarks broadcast on the NBA’s Twitter channel this week. “I think there’s so much good that can come from it.... People need that escape and as athletes too, we want to get back to what we love most.” It’s going to be different. Fans won’t be at games, barring some seismic shift in thinking. Home-court advantage won’t exist since games
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According to the lawsuit, the woman made sexual advances, reached inside the man’s jacket to caress his chest, then grabbed his crotch and ripped off his mask. The player said he and a man flying with him had complained several times to two flight attendants, who gave the woman one verbal warning but ignored other requests to intervene when the harassment continued, according to the lawsuit. Lawyers for the player and the second man
will almost certainly all be at neutral sites. Even the Orlando Magic won’t have the home-court edge; they might be able to use their own homes if the NBA comes to Central Florida, but it’s not like the games will be in their arena. And someone is probably going to test positive when play resumes. If that happens, he’ll almost certainly have to sit out a minimum of two weeks. If a playoff series is held on an every-other-day basis, that means once someone is positive there’s no way he can return to that series. Imagine if LeBron James or Giannis Antetokounmpo tests positive; the title chances for the Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks would basically be gone in an instant. But in a season where the NBA is certainly going to lose money, quite possibly $1 billion or more, there is an obvious appetite for getting back to work if safety can be assured. “This has been like being an anxious kid that wants to do something but can’t, or an anxious dog where you tell him to sit and he looks at you like ‘C’mon bro’ and his tail starts wagging because he’s so excited,” All-Star Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat said. “It’s been a whole spectrum of the unknown.”
BOXING RETURNS IN JUNE IN VEGAS
NFL PLAYER SEXUALLY HARASSED AT 35,000 FT
OS ANGELES—A National Football League (NFL) player is suing United Airlines, saying he was harassed and sexually assaulted by an intoxicated female passenger on a red-eye flight in February. The player said in a lawsuit that soon after boarding the cross-country flight, a woman sitting in the same row confronted him over a face mask that he was wearing as protection against the coronavirus.
shutdown, the NBA finally seems on the cusp of being able to move forward. “I have faith in Adam Silver and the NBA, and the NBA teams...they’re not going to have us come back if it’s even a question of us getting hurt,” Jared Dudley of the Los Angeles Lakers said this week. “And that’s where the testing, being clean, and doing everything that I feel that they’ll do to keep us safe.” Pick a scenario for the return-to-play plan, and someone has surely heard it already. Bringing back all 30 teams and resuming the regular season is an option. So is bringing back something like 20 teams and having an expanded playoff of sorts, a notion that essentially mirrors what the NHL is talking about these days. A condensed playoff has also been discussed. The latest sign of momentum: Milwaukee owner Marc Lasry, speaking Thursday on CNBC, said the NBA’s board of governors will meet again next week and that he believes “within the next six to eight weeks we should be playing.” Silver, the commissioner who has had to deal with a series of turbulent matters from the strained China relationship in the preseason, to the deaths
filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The men were not named in the lawsuit. The football player lives in Essex County, New Jersey, and the second man lives in Philadelphia, according to the lawsuit. They are seeking unspecified damages from the airline. United confirmed that an incident occurred on the flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Los Angeles, but gave few details. “The safety and well-being of our customers
is always our top priority. In this instance, the customer involved was moved to a different seat,” airline spokeswoman Leigh Schramm said in a statement. “Because litigation is now pending, we’re unable to provide further comment.” The lawsuit said the woman was white and the two men are black. During the incident, it said, the football player pleaded with the woman to stop because he was fearful “of the perception of being a male victim and the racial stigma of being a young African American male.” The men said United gave them each a $150 travel voucher for their trouble. AP
Baseball players respond to league on virus protocols
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EW YORK—The baseball players’ association gave management a wideranging response Thursday to a 67-page proposed set of protocols for a season to be played during the coronavirus pandemic. Management had presented the union and the 30 teams the proposed draft last Friday. The union said Thursday it addressed: protections for high-risk players, access to pre- and postgame therapies, testing frequency, protocols for positive tests, in-stadium medical personnel and sanitization procedures.
Players viewed many of the concepts in the original draft as over-the-top, such as arriving in uniform at the ballparks, a prohibition on them leaving without team permission and a ban on guests other than immediate family members. Players also objected to a ban on the use of showers and hydrotherapy. The union wants more frequent testing than management’s proposed “multiple times per week.” Major League Baseball (MLB) is expected to make an economic proposal to the union within a few days. MLB hopes to start the season by early July. AP
PIT STOP Kyle Busch makes a pit stop during the Nascar Xfinity series race on Thursday in
Darlington, South Carolina. Denny Hamlin wins Nascar’s first Wednesday race since 1984 when rain stopped the event with 20 laps remaining. AP
AS VEGAS—Add boxing to the list of sports on the comeback trail. Promoter Bob Arum said Thursday he plans to stage a card of five fights on June 9 at the MGM Grand, the first of a series of fights over the next two months at the Las Vegas hotel. A second fight card will be held two nights later, with ESPN televising both cards, kicking off twice weekly shows at the hotel in June and July. No fans will be allowed, and Arum said fighters and everyone else will be tested at least twice during fight week for the new coronavirus. The fights are pending approval of the Nevada Athletic Commission, which meets next week to consider the events, along with two cards that the UFC plans to stage at its facility in Las Vegas. They are also pending the reopening of the MGM and other Las Vegas hotels, something that is widely expected to happen the first week of June, though no dates for a second phase of easing virus restrictions have been announced by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak. “Once we get those fights in and UFC gets its initial fights in, both of us will ask for additional dates,” Arum told The Associated Press. “The key was getting enough testing, and we’ve got plenty of testing in Nevada to hold our events.” In addition to Arum’s fights, British promoter Eddie Hearn said this week he plans to hold fights beginning sometime in July from the backyard garden of the family mansion outside London where he was raised. Hearn told The Athletic that the first fight card is tentatively set for July 15. Golden Boy promoter Oscar de la Hoya has also talked about returning with a July 4 card, though he has offered no details. UFC returned to action earlier this month with cards in Florida, including a pay-per-view event, that took place without fans. Arum declined to say who would be fighting on June 9, saying ESPN wanted to make the announcement after the fights are approved. But he said the cards would feature the same quality of fighters who were on ESPN before the shutdown of sports around the world. The cards would be expanded to three-hour shows, Arum said, and feature a main event, a co-main and three supporting fights. “These will be the same guys we were going to have before to the extent possible,” he said. “Guys like [Olympic medalist] Shakur Stevenson and others who would have been fighting on our cards.” Stevenson was set to headline a Top Rank card in March at Madison Square Garden when it was called off at the last minute because of the pandemic. Another Top Rank fighter, Ireland’s Michael Conlan, was to fight in New York on St. Patrick’s Day, but Arum said Conlan won’t be on the upcoming cards because he’s unable to
travel from Ireland. Arum said fighters and cornermen will be tested when they arrive in Las Vegas the week of the fight and will be housed on a “bubble” floor at the MGM Grand. They will be allowed out only to eat at an approved restaurant in the hotel or to train at the Top Rank gym. Fighters will also be tested the night before they fight. The double tests should eliminate the issue the UFC had when a fighter tested positive and was removed from the UFC 249 card, Arum said. “Our protocols will be much more stringent than UFC had in Florida,” Arum said. “In ours you wouldn’t have a fighter testing positive the day of the fight or the day before.” Arum credited Jim Murren, the former MGM CEO who leads a state task force dealing with the virus, with making sure there are enough tests available for fighters, judges, commissioners and anyone else involved on site. He said 60-70 people may be tested on fight day alone, using tests that can give results in a couple hours. While pre-pandemic fights were held in the 16,000-seat MGM Grand Garden, Arum said the fights will be held in a convention area or ballroom at the hotel. There will be no media allowed, at least at the beginning, he said, because of the logistical difficulty of testing more people. Arum’s Top Rank has a long-term deal with ESPN for fights that before the pandemic hit were on the main network and streaming service ESPN+. The network also combined with Fox to televise the pay-per-view of the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder heavyweight title card in February that was Top Rank’s last card. Arum said he talked to Fury on Thursday and that plans are under way to hold the rematch— probably somewhere outside the US—late this year. He said there are also still plans for a highly anticipated lightweight title unification fight between Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez by the end of the year. AP PROMOTER Bob Arum plans to stage a card of five fights on June 9 at the MGM Grand. AP