BusinessMirror May 29, 2021

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‘BLESSING’ FOR THE FOREST

DENR issues new guidelines regulating the importation of timber, other wood products

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

N an apparent bid to augment the dwindling local wood supply and meet the increasing demand for this economically important commodity, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is pinning its hopes on imported wood.

To streamline the process of importing wood and other wood products, Secretary Roy A. Cimatu of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has issued new guidelines or policies regulating the entry and disposition of imported wood and timber products in the Philippines.

DENR Administrative Order 2021-06, or the Revised Regulations Governing the Entry and Disposition of Imported Wood Products signed by Cimatu on April 21, 2021, prescribes new guidelines that, among others, aim to “rationalize” the requirements and procedures of the commodity into the country.

It effectively replaces all DENR policies on wood importation under DAO 99-46.

‘Stop-gap’ measure

SPECIFICALLY, DAO 2021-06 aims to allow the importation of wood materials as a stop-gap measure to ensure a continuous supply of wood raw materials until such time that local supply from tree plantations can adequately meet local needs.

It also aims to augment local sources in order to utilize existing wood processing plant capacities and enable wood-based industries, including the furniture and other downstream wood industries, to generate employment and income.

During the 2019 Wood Summit, the DENR’s Forest Manage-

ASIAN Forest Cooperation Organization Executive Director Ricardo Calderon: “Per FMB records, we are still importing around 4 million cubic meters of round wood equivalent, as our local production can only provide a little less than 1 million cubic meters. We need around 42,000 hectares of mature plantation annually in order for us to be self-sufficient [in meeting our] wood requirements for the country.”

ment Bureau (FMB) estimates that the Philippines requires 6 million cubic meters of wood annually based on the average consumption of wood from 2006 to 2014.

The demand for wood is projected to increase in the ensuing years. Of the national demand for wood, only 25 percent comes from local sources, while a hefty 75 percent is imported, according to the FMB. Under the new guidelines, imported wood products now have corresponding tariff codes or Asean Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature or AHTN, a tariff code that

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.0910

classifies commodities being imported and exported.

The Philippines, both as an exporter and importer of wood and wood products, is becoming heavily dependent on imported wood because of its poor capacity to produce wood and wood products locally under existing forest policies.

This is mainly attributed to the country’s shrinking forest cover due to legal and illegal logging activities.

Biodiversity loss

BETWEEN 1990 and 2005, the Philippines had lost 32.3 percent of its forest cover or around 3.4 million hectares equivalent to about 262,500 hectares of forest lost every year during the period, according to urban planner Argean Guiaya, highlighting the serious threats to the country’s rich biodiversity during a lecture on May 21 as part of an online event in celebration of the International Day of Biological Diversity 2021.

Due to the unmet local demand in recent years, import volume has far outweighed the supply capacity of local wood producers.

Compounding the huge supply demand gap was the imposition of the total log ban policy by the past Aquino administration to allow the country’s forest to recover.

EO 23, signed on February 1, 2011, imposed a total log ban on natural and residual forests.

However, despite the all-out campaign against illegal logging activities, harvesting of wood even in so-called protected areas persists with illegal loggers targeting “good lumber” for the supply of the construction as well as furniture industry.

In Northern Luzon, for instance, the DENR’s Regional Offices there have come together to strengthen the campaign against illegal logging activities, starting with jointly conducting inter-provincial and regional checkpoints.

The Northern Luzon is still considered an illegal logging hot spot due to the rampant timber poaching in its forestlands.

Who may import and from where?

THE increasing demand for wood and the poor capacity of local wood producers have resulted in skyrocketing prices of wood products. Allowing the entry of imported wood and wood products is also meant to bring down the price of the valuable commodity.

Under the new guidelines, a holder of tenure instrument, Wood Processing Plant Permit or Certificate of Registration (COR) as Wood Furniture Manufacturer, Agent Contractor, Agent, Contractor or Dealer of logs/poles and Piles/ Lumber issued by the DENR may import wood materials.

However, before availing of the privilege to import, the holder of tenure and or Wood Processing Plant (WPP) Permit shall have his or her current logs, commercial Poles and Piles and/or Lumber Dealer’s Permit stamped by the Office of the Regional Executive Director of the DENR as a valid authority to imported wood materials.

The new guidelines also listed the authorized ports of entry for Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

For Luzon, the authorized ports of entry are Poro Point; San Fernando, La Union; Santa Ana, Cagayan; Mariveles, Bataan; Subic Bay Port; Legazpi City; South and North Harbor Manila, and Batangas City.

For the Visayas, the ports of entry are Iloilo City, Cebu City, Bacolod City and Dumaguete City.

For Mindanao, Cagayan de Oro City, Butuan City, Bislig, Surigao del Sur, Davao City, Parang Maguindanao and General Santos City have been identified as the authorized ports of entry.

Sources at the DENR-FMB said among the salient features of the revised guidelines are the “stream-

lined” procedures and requirements in the issuance of import authority or COR to import wood products, consistent with the Ease of Doing Business law.

“Examples of the requirements that were not included in the said DAO are certifications from Philippine Wood Producers’ Association (PWPA) and Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines or CFIP; and Supply Contracts and Authentication from the country of origin,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The source, a forestry expert, added that the wood products being regulated are already classified/categorized based on the AHTN Code, so that the importers/clients and the relevant agencies, particularly the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and DENR Field Offices, become aware of the kind of imported wood product being regulated by the DENR.

‘Gray areas’

HOWEVER, the kind of wood products or coverage is not specified, thereby resulting in confusion between and among the DENR and BOC, on whether or not the subject wood is covered by the AHTN. “Under the old guidelines [DAO 99-46], the kind of wood products or coverage is generic. As a result, there is confusion among the BOC and DENR Field Offices if a particular item is covered by the regulation. With the inclusion of AHTN, it will be much easier for the various agencies to determine if the items are regulated for import or not because all items for importation now have corresponding AHTN,” the source said.

DENR Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning and Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Marcial C. Amaro Jr., the concurrent FMB director, could not be reached for Continued on A2

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Source: BSP (May 28, 2021)

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A2 Saturday, May 29, 2021

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Study seeks origins of ghost nets that haunt Hawaii’s shores

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By Caleb Jones | The Associated Press

fish aggregation devices—or FADs— floating bundles of material fishing vessels leave in the ocean to attract fish.

The devices have receivers linked to satellites, but when they drift outside designated fishing areas, they’re usually abandoned.

Mike Conroy, president of West Coast Fisheries Consultants, works with purse seine and gillnet operators off California. He said FADs are prohibited in US waters and that fishers do everything they can to prevent loss of nets.

“An average one of those nets is going to run the operator somewhere between 150 and 250 grand,” he said.

ONOLULU—“Ghost nets” from unknown origins drift among the Pacific’s currents, threatening sea creatures and littering shorelines with the entangled remains of what they kill.

Lost or discarded at sea, sometimes decades ago, this fishing gear continues to wreak havoc on marine life and coral reefs in Hawaii.

Now, researchers are doing detective work to trace this harmful debris back to fisheries and manufacturers—and that takes extensive, in-depth analysis on tons of ghost nets.

The biggest concern is that derelict gear keeps killing fish and other wildlife such as endangered Hawaiian monk seals, seabirds and turtles long after it’s gone adrift, said Drew McWhirter, a graduate student at Hawaii Pacific University and one of the study’s lead researchers.

“These nets bulldoze over our reefs before they hit shore,” McWhirter added. “They leave a path of destruction, pulling coral heads out, and can cause a lot of ecological damage.”

A global problem

GHOST nets foul oceans throughout the world, but the Hawaiian Islands—with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the east and another gyre of floating trash to the west—are an epicenter for marine waste.

Past efforts to identify ori-

gins of nets have proven difficult because debris comes from so many countries and nets have few, if any, unique identifying marks or features.

Experts believe many nets are lost accidentally, but boats occasionally ditch nets to avoid prosecution when fishing illegally. Other fishermen cut away portions of damaged nets instead of returning them to shore.

The ghost net study is being supervised by Hawaii Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research co-director, Jennifer Lynch, a research biologist with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

“We’re going to have a very challenging time…trying to identify it back to its source,” said Lynch. “And if we fail, …that’s going to be increased evidence for policymakers to see the importance of gear marking and potentially bring those kinds of regulations to the front.”

For Lynch, it’s not about pointing fingers. Rather, she hopes the study, which will be presented to the fishing industry first, will help develop new ways to prevent damage to the marine environment.

“We’re doing this study in

HAWAII Pacific University graduate student Drew McWhirter, left, and Raquel Corniuk, a research technician at the university’s Center for Marine Debris Research, pull apart a massive entanglement of ghost nets on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 in Kaneohe, Hawaii. The two are part of a study that is attempting to trace derelict fishing gear that washes ashore in Hawaii back to the manufacturers and fisheries that it came from. AP

a very forensic way where we’re gathering as much evidence as we possibly can so that we can present the best, most accurate story,” Lynch said.

Main sources

THE crew gets ghost nets from three sources: The main Hawaiian Islands, the fishing grounds of the Hawaii longline tuna fleet that often snags nets—and the shores of the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which are part of Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument.

An April cleanup expedition to Papahanaumokuakea—the largest protected environment in the United States and a Unesco World Heritage Site—brought back nearly 50 tons (45 metric tons) of nets and other lost gear.

In a shed on the university’s campus, researchers pull apart bundles of fishing gear, noting the relationships between items.

Then samples are taken to a lab for analysis.

“We only really need a small sample here to really understand how it’s constructed,” said Raquel Corniuk, a research technician at the university.

Researchers look at about 70 different aspects of each piece of net, including its polymer types.

“We look at how it’s twisted. Is it twisted versus braided? We are trying to look at how many strands does it have, its twine diameter, mesh stretch size,” Corniuk said.

The information is entered into a database, which will help scientists find patterns that could lead to manufacturers and eventually individual fisheries or nations.

The researchers have spent about a year collecting data and hope to have findings peer reviewed and published this year.

Among the ghost gear are

Unnecessary kills

CONROY acknowledged ghost gear is a problem. “These types of research activities will point the finger in the right direction,” he said.

“I think what you’ll see is that West Coast fisheries probably aren’t contributing much.”

The researchers have already found debris from all corners of the Pacific, including Asian countries and the US West Coast.

Much of the ghost net problem lies with less developed nations that have few fishing regulations and sometimes buy or manufacture low-quality nets, according to a career fisherman who now works for a net manufacturer in Washington state.

“Their products tend to be weaker,” said Brian Fujimoto, a sales executive for NET Systems Inc., in Bainbridge Island. “And if you look at the poly netting and ropes that you’re finding, they’re all very inexpensive stuff.”

Fujimoto said his company uses technology, colors and other construction techniques unique to their prod-

ucts, so they’re easily identifiable.

Making that an industry standard, he said, is “only going to happen with the more industrialized nations, say for example, the US, Canada, Japan.”

Daniel Pauly, a marine biologist and professor at the University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, said, “We kill fish for fishing and for consumption, but these fish that are killed by lost gear are killed for no reason, not to mention the marine mammal and turtles and other animals that we like.”

“Clamping down on this loss, which is too easily accepted, …is a good thing,” added Pauly.

Jonathan Moore, principal assistant secretary of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs at the US State Department, said last year, “Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which is sometimes associated with ghost gear, is among the greatest threats to the sustainable use of our shared ocean resource.”

“Certainly, gear-marking guidelines and regulations should be a central pillar of all responsible fisheries management operations,” he said.

Although US and some international laws require identifying markers on some fishing gear, such as crab pots and buoys, nets are not required to be marked.

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division declined to be interviewed for this story, but said in an email: “NOAA Fisheries is unaware of any regulations that have been, or are being considered, with regard to ghost nets. We continue to work agency-wide on this international marine debris problem.”

‘BLESSING’ FOR THE FOREST Continued from A1

comment and had not responded at press time to the BusinessMirror’s request to discuss the salient features of the new wood importation guidelines.

Self-sufficiency goal

SOUGHT for his expert opinion, Executive Director Ricardo Calderon of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) lauded the new policy.

“In my personal view, this is a very good enhancement of the previous regulation regarding importation,” Calderon, a forestry expert, said. Calderon is a former DENR assistant secretary and former director of the DENR-FMB. Now the head of AFoCO, he observed that the objective of the guidelines is very clear and well-defined as the Philippines is still beefing up its local supply of wood.

“Per FMB records, we are still importing around 4 million cubic meters of round wood equivalent, as our local production can only provide a little less than 1 million cubic meters,” he said.

He added that the country needs to

expand its forest plantation if it is to fill the supply gap and possibly reverse the trade balance in favor of exports.

“We need around 42,000 hectares of mature plantation annually in order for us to be self-sufficient [in meeting] our wood requirements for the country,” he said.

Calderon noted that in the Asian Region, the current focus is to rehabilitate and conserve primary forests and encourage private-sector investment in forest plantations in order to sustain the wood industry requirements.

“Forest plantation development should be fully supported while we protect and conserve our natural forest, including secondary forest,” Calderon said.

“The forest areas designated and legislated as protected areas and conservation areas are increasing worldwide, according to the last United Nations Forum on Forests report, which is also the current trend in the Philippines. Hence we are on track as far as these priority areas of forest management are concerned,” he concluded.

News

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Saturday, May 29, 2021

A3

PHL halts deployment to Saudi; 500 OFWs barred from flying out

By Samuel P. Medenilla

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123rd national flag day Local officials led by Imus City Mayor Emmanuel

Maliksi, Vice Mayor Arnel Cantimbuhan and National Historical Commission Commissioner Dr. Manuel Calairo, Cavite Provincial Police Director Col. Marlon Santos and uniformed personnel of the Philippine Navy raise the national color in commemoration of 123rd anniversary of Battle of Alapan and National Flag Day on Friday, May 28, 2021, in Barangay Alapan. Katipuneros of General Emilio Aguinaldo first waved the national flag in this village May 28, 1898 in history. Dennis Abrina

CBCP calls on faithful to pray for Myanmar

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he Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has called on the faithful to pray for the peaceful resolution of rising political tension in Myanmar.

In a circular, CBCP President and Archbishop of Davao Romulo G. Valles issued the appeal following the violent attack last Sunday at the Sacred Heart Church in Kayanthayar in Eastern Myanmar, which was supposedly hit by military bombardment resulting to four fatalities.

T he incident prompted A rchbishop of Yangon, Myanmar Cardinal Charles Maung Bo to appeal for prayers from the CBCP. In response, Va l les ca l led for

cat hedra ls and par ishes to pray for t he suf fer ing people of Myanmar dur ing t he celebration of the Most Holy Trinity on May 30, 2021.

“Let us beg the Lord for an end to this violence and for all the people concerned to be led towards the forgoing of peace,” Valles said.

Tension in Myanmar remains high following the military coup in the Southeast Asian country on February 1.

Daily protests are currently being held by many people in Myanmar to oppose the military takeover.

O ver 8 0 0 people were k i l led because of t he ongoing conf lict.

Samuel P. Medenilla

ROUND 500 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) bound for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on Friday became the first to be affected by the sudden temporary deployment suspension imposed by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III ordered the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to impose the suspension after getting reports that some employers and foreign recruitment agencies in KSA were making OFWs pay for their health and safety protocol compliance as well as insurance coverage.

He noted the report violated the POEA policy requiring recruitment

agencies and employers to shoulder the Cov id-related expenses of their OFWs. In compliance with the new policy, POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia issued Advisory No. 66 (s. 2021) suspending the deployment of all OFWs to KSA. The deployment suspension took effect on Friday (May 28) and stranded 464 OFWs, according to DOLE spokesman Rolly Francia.

Stakeholder positions

Members of t he rec r u it ment i ndu st r y quest ioned t he lega l it y of t he su spension order si nce it d id not f i rst go t h rough t he POE A Gover n i ng Boa rd.

“Under Republic Act 10022, suspension or ban on deployment is the prerogative of the POEA Governing

Board through a Board Resolution, not of the DOLE Secretary acting alone, even if he is the chairman thereof,” LBS E-Recruitment Solutions Lito Soriano said in a statement, Meanwhile, mig rant advocate group Blas F. Ople Policy Center (BFOPC) urged DOLE to exempt OFWs whose employers are willing to pay for the Covid-19 protocols compliance.

BFOPC head Susan Ople noted some Saudi employers are still willing to shell out the additional US$900 to hire skilled OFWs. “We are referring here to skilled workers, who are the breadwinners of the family. It would be so unfortunate if they lose the chance to earn a good salar y despite having an employer w illing to defray the costs of Cov id-19 health protocols in Saudi A rabia because of

this blanket temporar y ban, Ople said in a statement.

Ongoing talks

Olalia said POEA will lift the policy once the KSA issue clear guidelines on the payment of Covid-relates expenses of OFW in line with their policy.

Labor attache in Riyadh Fidel A. Macauyag said they already coordinated with the Saudi officials to address the matter.

“In fact, I already talked w ith officials from the [Saudi] Ministr y of Labor officials last night (May 27) and I explained to them that the order of the Secretar y is only temporar y, Macauyag said.

He said the Saudi official committed to submit their response on Bello’s appeal on the protocols for OFWs during the weekend.

Senator urges Palace to allow flights to land in Cebu, ease travelers’ woes

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he Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19 pandemic should “mobilize all resources to ease the pain” of thousands of Cebu-bound overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and other travelers whose flights from abroad will be diverted to Manila upon the government’s order.

The call was issued by Senator Joel Villanueva who stressed that, “The massive inconvenience this will cause must be addressed by the government.”

W hatever expenses the OFWs will have to incur during “this travel disruption not of their own making” must be shouldered by the government, said Villanueva, chairman of the Senate labor committee.

“Many of the returning OFWs are financially hard up, especially those who have just lost their jobs amid the pandemic. Where do we expect to raise money for their journey back home? The move may just add up to their expenses,”

the senator said in Filipino.

Malacañang has ordered all international flights bound for the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) to be redirected to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from May 29 to June 5, 2021.

“Although it will only last for a week, it will surely set off a domino effect of inconveniences to be felt by all parties, from passengers to carriers, to government agencies who must be

ready with room accommodations and other contingencies,” Villanueva said.

Latest data from MCIA show that about 13 to 15 flights will be affected by the redirection, but “this will still give added burden to the government’s reception system,” Villanueva explained.

He suggested that for affected OFWs bound for the Visayas and Mindanao, the government should charter “reliever” flights instead.

A4 Saturday, May 29, 2021

ExportUnlimited BusinessMirror

Pandemic shrinks Taiwan machinery export to PHL by 20 percent in 2020

BUSH HSIEH (middle), vice chairman of Plastic and Rubber Machinery Committee at Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry, listens to Mark Wu (right), executive director of Strategic Marketing Department at Taiwan External Trade Development Council, fielding questions from participants during their recent webinar, dubbed “Shaping Tomorrow, Discovering Taiwan Plastic & Rubber Machinery.” Joining them is David Wu (left), general manager, Multiplas Enginery Co. Ltd.

E

By Roderick L. Abad | Contributor

VEN though Taiwan is among the least affected countries by the ensuing Covid-19 pandemic, the closure of some economies abroad due to the impacts of the health crisis has taken its toll on its export results, like in the Philippines wherein the total value of plastic and rubber machineries shipped to the country has declined by 20 percent from $17 million in 2019 to $12 million in 2020.

“Before the [outbreak] of [the] pandemic, the average total value of plastic and rubber machineries exported by Taiwan to the Philippines was $20 million and [it accounted for] 2 percent in total Taiwan’s plastic and

rubber machineries export value,” Bush Hsieh, vice chairman of the Plastics and Rubber Machinery Committee of the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI), told the BusinessMirror in a social-media

interview. “[Last year,] it’s about 1.7 percent.”

The Southeast Asian market, according to him, is an important market for Taiwan’s plastic and rubber machinery industry.

In the Philippines alone, this sector is capable of meeting the diversified requirements, including the blown film extrusion machine for shopping, garbage, and industrial bags, as well as agriculture films and food packaging film application.

These equipment are also used in bottled water production line and recycling business, among others.

The injection molding machine, on the other hand, caters to various industries, such as computer, communication and consumer electronics, food packaging and even in households.

Manufacturing such products, however, was disrupted when economic activities were restricted by the national government-imposed lockdowns in Metro Manila and nearby areas starting mid-March of last year to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

As a result, the value of Taiwan’s machinery export to the Philippines, like the Injection molding machine shrank by over 40 percent from $6.9 million to $4.0 million during the two periods in review.

“It shows the Covid-19 pandemic did affect the trade relations between the two countries,” Fu Chun Shin Machinery Manufacture Co., Ltd. Sales Manager Hank Wu said.

ChumPower Machinery Corp.

Sales Support Engineer Tony Wu recalled some instances that industry players like them had experienced when transacting with their clients here at the height of the health crisis.

“Not only customers can not visit Taiwan, [but] local banks in [the] Philippines [were] also [shuttered] causing payment issues, therefore, disrupting shipping as

well,” he shared.

With the resourcefulness of some, however, “most of the companies still find out the alternative way to continue the trade relations,” Polystar Machinery Co. Ltd. Chief Manufacturing Officer David Lo pointed out.

He noted that both the customers and suppliers are using the online conference meeting and social media to proceed with the closer contact and cooperation.

“Taiwanese machinery manufacturers keep expressing the core value and benefit to the global market via sustained innovation and advanced technology development,” Lo said.

The ripple effects from the pandemic may still be in progress since it impacts the global supply chain, but the Taiwanese machinery industry is bullish that trade and commerce worldwide will soon bounce back given the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in most countries.

Proof that the tide is now changing for the better, Wu cited that statistics on the value of Taiwan-made injection molding machine delivered to the Philippines has so far increased by 37 percent from $592,700 in January to February 2020 compared to $814,200 during the first two months of this year.

“We can see the value of plastic and rubber machineries that Taiwan will export to the Philippines this year will be increased considerably,” he said.

Seeing that it will take two to three more years before the global trade could recover from the damage of the pandemic, Hsieh emphasized the need to create new technology and product for plastics machinery industry.

“Nowadays, the industry starts to connect with high-technology, medical and semiconductor industry. We believe the Taiwan’s plastics machinery industry will be getting to better and better in the future,” he stressed.

Project boosts MSME digital capacity in age of coronavirus

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HE private sector aims for more micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to use digital technology to help their business operations amid the pandemic.

In a news statement on Tuesday, the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) and the Aboitiz Foundation said they launched new projects that will facilitate MSMEs’ digital transformation.

PDRF’s SIKAP project, or Synergizing Recovery Initiatives, Knowledge, and Adaptation Practices for MSMEs, is a digital hub that provides information of latest available loans, programs, and online events for local MSMEs. Interested MSMEs can utilize this platform through sikap.com.ph.

On the other hand, Biyaheng Digiskarte: Digitalization of Small Businesses for Recovery and Competitiveness is Aboitiz Foundation’s mentoring program to equip MSMEs with knowledge and skills in using digital tools and technologies.

Biyaheng Digiskarte aims to teach MSMEs to use digital tools for their innovations in doing business, as well as incorporating gadgets, Internet, social media, and online

platforms in business strategies.

“The use of digital technology is not the only solution, but it is a powerful tool to help MSMEs deal with different problems.

At the Aboitiz Foundation, we understand that many MSMEs and cooperatives, particularly agri-enterprises, still cannot see the potential of using this to help their businesses recover,” Aboitiz Foundation President and Chief Operating Officer Maribeth Marasigan said.

Aboitiz Foundation also partnered with the Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development, Cooperative Development Authority, and PDRF SIKAP for the Biyaheng Digiskarte project.

The project will also develop learning modules and materials for MSMEs that can be conducted through webinars, mentoring, self-directed exercises, and experience co-sharing opportunities with co-mentees.

It will gather expert mentors and will also establish partnership with other organizations with existing MSME development programs, such as Go Negosyo and the Philippine Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture, among others. PNA

Zimbabwe’s tobacco crop export booms, but Black growers complain of piling debt

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ARARE, Zimbabwe—Zimbabwe’s tobacco is flourishing again. And so are the auctions where premium prices are being paid for the “golden leaf” that is exported around the world.

Most of the growers are Black, a historic change from when tobacco was largely produced by white farmers. But many of the small-scale farmers complain they are being impoverished by middlemen merchants who are luring them into a debt trap.

Rosemar y Dzodza recently

traveled 200 kilometers to the capital, Harare, with her tobacco crop for what she hoped would be a good payday.

The 60-year-old farmer ended up sleeping in the open for two weeks awaiting payment. When the money eventually came, it was just a tiny fraction of what her tobacco had actually fetched at the auction.

“My tobacco sold for $7,000, but I am only going home with less than $400,” she said, trembling with anger. The rest of the money went to

the merchant who had given her a loan to pay for fertilizer, seed, labor, firewood for curing, and even household food items under a contract growing scheme.

In addition to repaying the loan with interest, Dzodza was obligated to sell her crop to the merchant, at the price he set. The merchant then sold the tobacco to the highest bidders at the auction or to wealthier merchants, mostly buyers who will export the crop to China.

For more than 60 years, tobacco

was a lucrative export crop from which white farmers profited. But after the year 2000 when Robert Mugabe’s supporters began seizing white-owned farms, often violently, tobacco production plummeted. The flue-cured tobacco crop dropped from a 1998 peak of 260 million kilograms to just 50 million kilograms in 2008.

Since then tobacco production

by Black farmers has grown. A few thousand white farmers produced the bulk of the tobacco crop before

the land reform but now the number of Black growers, mainly small-scale, has risen to more than 145,000. The recovery has been stunning in recent years with Zimbabwe’s tobacco crop estimated to be 200 million kilograms this year, up from 180 million kilograms in last year.

Zimbabwe’s commercial banks used to give loans to white farmers so they could purchase inputs for their crops. But the banks pulled out years ago because the government has not issued transferable ownership deeds

to the Black farmers resettled on the formerly white-owned land.

The contract growing scheme helped Black farmers desperate to get in on the tobacco bonanza.

It was initiated mainly by Chinese buyers but is now so lucrative that it attracts dozens of Zimbabwean merchants.

According to the regulatory body, the Tobacco Marketing Industry Board, 96 percent of tobacco farmers have been financed under the contract growing scheme. AP

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Editor: Angel R. Calso • Saturday, May 29, 2021 A5

Muntinlupa rolls out house-to-house vaccination for bedridden residents

By Roderick L. Abad

launched a raffle campaign for vaccinated residents to win 25 kilos of rice. A total of 20 lucky winners will be drawn randomly among those who have taken the jab.

This activity, said Barangay Sucat Captain Raffy Sevilla, is their own way to thank the residents for their cooperation in the government’s vaccination program.

Muntinlupa City has 12,695 confirmed cases with 11,703 recoveries, 651 active cases, 341 reported deaths, 119 suspected cases, and 1,971 probable cases as of May 25.

According to Fresnedi, they are targeting to complete the vaccination of 385,000 eligible residents by November to achieve herd immunity.

As of May 24, a total of 41,443 residents got their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine; in addition, 15,394 residents have received their second shot.

Among the first dose recipients, 22,011 were inoculated with Sinovac; 12,994, AstraZeneca; 2,979, Gamaleya’s Sputnik V; and 3,507, Pfizer-BioNTech.

The LGU is urging the public to register online in the city’s Covid-19 Vaccination Registration System via www.vaccine.muntinlupacity.gov.ph/muncovac.

For inquiries, residents may contact MunCoVac hot lines at 0956358-9228, 0915-805-5932, 0915806-7419, 0960-588-5935, 0960588-5937, or 0998-249-4580.

Contributor

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N its desire to give virus protection to more senior citizens especially the bedridden, the local government unit (LGU) of Muntinlupa City has started extending Covid-19 vaccination service right at the residences of bedridden individuals—most of them senior citizens—to serve a sector in the community that is not capable of traveling to the city’s major vaccination sites.

Records from Muntinlupa City Health Office (CHO) show that 84 individuals from Barangays Sucat, Putatan, and Tunasan have benefited from the initial rollout of the house-to-house vaccination service as of May 26.

The local health office expects more requests for at-home jab service in the coming days.

To accommodate more jab-takers and decongest local major inoculation sites, it also launched a pilot drive-thru vaccination service.

These initiatives serve as the LGU’s way, through the CHO and its partnership with the local communities, to constantly expand its immunization program, said Mayor Jaime Fresnedi.

At the barangay level, community leaders have also become creative to encourage more of their constituents to get vaccinated.

Barangay Sucat, for instance, has

Pampanga capital ramps up vaccination for senior citizens

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AN elderly bedridden resident of Muntinlupa gets a dose of Covid-19 vaccine during the house-to-house inoculation drive led by the Muntinlupa City Health Office.

36,000 of Manila’s senior citizens already vaccinated

By Marita Moaje

AstraZeneca jabs were also given to the A2 and A3 (with comorbidities) groups this week.

Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, in his Facebook live update, said that based on his commitment to his constituents, vaccines received from the national government are immediately deployed through the MHD and the six district hospitals.

As of Thursday, 151,659 vaccine doses for the A1 (medical frontliners), A2, and A3 priority groups have

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ANILA—Morethan36,000 senior citizens in the city of Manila have received their Covid-19 vaccines as of Friday.

The total accounts for 24.15 percent of the city’s estimated 150,000 senior citizen residents.

The Manila Health Department (MHD) noted that since March 28, a total of 36,231 in the A2 priority group got their first doses, with 13,815 of them now fully vaccinated.

The other Murphy’s Laws

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH ANYTHING that can go wrong, will go wrong or its shorter version: whatever can go wrong, will. This is best known as Murphy’s Law. It is in fact the First Law because there are other Murphy’s Laws.

Looking back at my seven decades of life on Earth, I can attest that this principle has mostly been proven true for me. From experience, I know that things hardly ever go quite according to plan. There was always a glitch somewhere waiting to happen. It occurred many times in my life, too many to enumerate here. Even when things seem too be going smoothly, part of my brain tells me that something is bound to go askew and derail our best laid plans.

That’s because of Murphy’s Fifth Law: If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway. Murphy’s 14th law: If anything can’t go wrong on its own, someone will make it go wrong.

That’s why I don’t get my confidence level too high. I have learned to temper my expectations. I have two working mantras in life to keep me grounded: Expect the unexpected. Expect to be disappointed.

When I am in a rush to accomplish an activity, and I want to get to it done as quickly as possible, at the back of my head is another motto to rein me in: Festina lente.

Make haste slowly. A shortcut is often not the shortest but rather the longest distance between two points. If you rush anything, you tend to skip important steps towards doing things right, and that negligence could be your undoing.

Remember always, the devil is in the details.

Notice that when a problem seems to get better it makes a turn for the worse? Take as an example our long lockdown. By the end of 2020, we thought we were able to contain it and many thought the

been deployed.

“I’m very proud of the Manila Health Department for doing an effective vaccination deployment. If I may borrow the statement of Health Undersecretary [Myrna] Cabotaje, she said the vaccine delivery is not slow. Manila is fast. Isn’t that good news? So we can proceed to the A4 category because it’s been some time that we’ve been vaccinating the A1, A2, and A3 groups. We need effective, efficient, fast deployment of the vaccine,” the mayor said. PNA

worst was over and we would just coast along until the arrival of the vaccines. But I knew in my gut, it was illusionary. True enough, the surge started again, back with vengeance. Again our health-care system was tested to the limit. We are still scrambling, trying to stay on top of the surge.

Like I was telling a friend, the operative word should always be “abundance of caution.” Praning, in the colloquial lingo.

I have been involved in many live events that turned to fiascos, ruined by a small unforeseen glitch even after doing several run-throughs. A two- or three-second voltage surge or somebody tripping on a cable can trigger a domino of foul-ups in the technical set-up. Once that happens, there goes your bravado of promise to client to deliver a flawless seamless show.

Colleagues say I am too pessimistic. No I am not, I am just being pragmatic, or anticipative. It is my antidote or my way of building immunity against Murphy’s Law. But there are other Murphy’s Laws, which I have encountered that have been proven to be true.

Here are a few of them.

Murphy’s Second and Third Law. Nothing is as easy as it looks. Everything takes longer than you think.

There’s a Paul Simon song that says: The more you get near your destination the more it keeps sliding away.

Whenever we get something

ITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga—The City Health Office (CHO) here is ramping up efforts to inoculate more than 40,000 senior citizens against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

A total of 8,479 seniors, who belong to the A2 priority group, have already received vaccines from March 25 to May 25. Of this figure, a total of 1,605 are fully vaccinated.

Dr. Iris Rose Muñoz, National Immunization Program (NIP) manager, said Thursday since they started to go full blast by deploying 12 vaccinators and more than a hundred staff, the CHO recorded on May 24 the highest number of inoculated seniors, reaching 1,260 in eight hours.

Meanwhile, the CHO urged the elderly to comply with the pre-registration and registration process to avoid conflict and further delays in the vaccination site.

“For our seniors, let’s not come when we are not scheduled. Please wait for the text or call of your schedule to avoid the influx of people. Secondly, let us still follow the minimum health standards, especially the physical distancing while queuing. And before going to the vaccination site, eat first and take medicine,” Muñoz said. Zorayda Tecson/PNA

111-year-old Australian’s longevity secrets include eating chicken brains

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ANBERRA, Australia—Australia’s oldest-ever man has included eating chicken brains among his secrets to living more than 111 years.

Retired cattle rancher Dexter Kruger on Monday marked 124 days since he turned 111, a day older than World War I veteran Jack Lockett was when he died in 2002.

Kruger told Australian Broadcasting Corp. in an interview at his nursing home in the rural Queensland state town of Roma days before the milestone that a weekly poultry delicacy had contributed to his longevity. fixed at home, it always takes longer than what the contractor or master carpenter has estimated.

Firstly, because when we estimate how long something’s going to take (or how much of other limited resources, such as money and energy, it will consume), our conclusion is based on a rough guesstimate of the costs of that particular task or project. Not surprisingly, the more variables involved in completing the task or project, the more likely it is that an unexpected event will delay the project.

What seems to be a no-brainer often becomes more complicated than you thought. Let me tell you what happened to me just a week ago. I brought our car for a simple oil change. I thought nothing to it since I have it done every year and it usually takes just a few minutes.

Guess what the mechanic found?

A leak and a faulty gasket. Then he said I needed to change my spark plugs. And then he found something wrong with the breaks.

And that leisurely visit to the mechanic for a simple oil change ruined my Sunday and made a big dent on my wallet.

There are other laws that do not necessarily belong to the canon of Murphy’s Laws but I have seen them happen to me so many times that they have become part of my cynic’s code.

The other line always moves faster. When wife and I get to line up to pay our groceries, we look for a

DEXTER KRUGER

“Chicken brains. You know, chickens have a head. And in there, there’s a brain. And they are delicious little things,” Kruger said. “There’s only one little bite.” queue that seems to have carts with fewer items. And no exaggeration, our line gets stalled. We seem to always get to follow someone who has an obscure item without a price tag or which the machine can’t read, so the cashier has to get a bagger to check the price tag. If not, the lady ahead pays with her credit card, and then there’s a problem with her card, and after checking the card and some discussion with the cashier our line finally moves forward. Or it could be a senior citizen who suddenly remembers an item she also needs and has to double-back to get it. Meanwhile, the other lines have moved ahead by two or three carts.

The same thing about lining up at the fast-food counter. Why do I always end up in a queue that’s slow to move because the person ahead of us is spending minutes trying to make up her mind whether to choose chicken original or spicy, with side orders or none.

Whatever hits the fan is not evenly distributed. This is also known as the law of non-proportional distribution. I am reminded of that old saying that the five fingers are brothers of the same hand but are not equal. The impact of the current pandemic on people is a clear example of this principle at work. While I hear people say that the Covid-19 is an equal opportunity virus because it does not discriminate, what do you make of the reports that say the billionaires are getting even richer during the pandemic? Where’s the

Kruger’s 74-year-old son Greg credits his father’s simple Outback lifestyle for his long life.

Nursing home manager Melanie Calvert said Kruger, who is writing his autobiography, was “probably one of the sharpest residents here.”

“His memory is amazing for a 111-year-old,” Calvert said.

John Taylor, a founder of The Australian Book of Records, confirmed that Kruger had become the oldestever Australian man.

The oldest-ever verified Australian was Christina Cook, who died in 2002 aged 114 years and 148 days. AP

equality of suffering when you find out that the net worth of the world’s billionaires jumped by half a trillion dollars during the pandemic?

Indeed, for Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Tesla’s Elon Musk, the pandemic has been good for business.

Of course, many would dismiss these Murphy’s Laws as just hogwash. I must say these are not immutable laws that are meant to control or govern our lives. Otherwise, we would go nuts. We would probably never drive a car, ride a bus or train, ride on a plane or undertake a task, knowing something will go wrong.

But they can be useful. They serve as a precautionary advice to teach us to be prepared for anything and to expect the unexpected in our lives. They are intended to keep our eyes wide open and avoid getting caught off guard. Murphy's Law teaches you to be forward thinking in your planning process and to always have a contingency plan in place to deal with any setbacks that you will encounter.

More importantly, these principles enable us to be philosophical about the world around us.

When the traffic lights turn red at the last second to stop me from going across, I just shrug it off, saying to myself: It’s OK, maybe I am being protected from something bad.

Having said that, there is an undeclared law you might want to keep in mind: If Murphy’s Law can go wrong, it will.

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Education BusinessMirror

A8 Saturday, May 29, 2021

Tesda kicks off training program for OF workers

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By Roderick L. Abad

UTBOUND overseas Filipino workers may source their needed learning prerequisites within a shorter period with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s (Tesda) compressed 12-day blended training program for Domestic Work National Certificate (NC) II. Though shortened, the program still contains basic, common and core competencies vital for passing the proficiency assessment in the said work category.

D u r i n g it s re ce nt v i r t u a l launch, Tesda Chief Isidro S. Lapeña welcomed the first batch

of the pilot program’s trainees composed of 20 workers bound for Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

“This program has been conceptualized with the situation of our outbound household workers in mind. We recognize their need

to be deployed immediately, but Tesda would like to make sure they are properly trained before deployment,” said Lapeña. “We want to prevent situations where domestic workers are abused by their employers because of alleged incompetence.”

Supported by and in partnership with the International Labor Organization (ILO), the pilot training program will be conducted by the Fair Training Center in Parañaque City.

“We hope that effective online training will translate to lower training cost, without sacrificing the quality of training,” remarked ILO Country Director Khalid Hassan. “I would like to congratulate Tesda on this important pilot initiative… showcasing relevant and safe practices to address training [during the] pandemic.”

The blended training will com-

bine a 10-day online training, as well as a two-day face-to-face training and familiarization with related equipment.

The specialized program will run for six months, with a minimum of 60 trainees. It will be monitored by Tesda offices in Muntinlupa City, Parañaque City, Las Piñas City, Taguig City, and Pateros.

This will be evaluated based on the certification rate of the trainees who completed the pilot program and their acceptance by prospective employers.

If proven effective, Lapeña said that it will be immediately recommended for adoption by other training centers offering domestic work.

Meanwhile, the regular training program on Domestic Work NC II with a nominal training duration of 218 hours is still being implemented.

Archivist highlights rich collection of Archivo at Dominican webinar

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N archivist recently discoursed on the centuriesold collection of the Archivo de la Universidad de Santo Tomás (AUST).

Professor Regalado Trota José’s lecture, “What did the Dominicans hoard in the Archives of the University of Santo Tomas for 400 years,” commenced the nineday webinar series on history and heritage: “BARCADA: The Legacy of the Order of Preachers in the Philippine Church.”

In his lecture, Prof. José emphasized that the “‘Archivo…’ was a major resource for the heritage of the Philippines—not just for the Church, but the entire history of the country.”

Up to now, the museum maintains its full classic name primarily because most of its collection of old tomes and various incunabula—books published around the 15th Century—are written in Spanish.

Presently located on the fifth floor of the University of Santo Tomas’ Miguel de Benavides Library, the “Archivo” is the official repository of original documents and records relevant to UST since its establishment. Included in the collection is the UST Foundation Act, dated April 28, 1611. On the same date in 2021, UST commemorated its 410th anniversary.

José also showed the participants “the only tangible souvenir” of UST’s founder, Archbishop Miguel de Benavides, OP: a document with his signature from a prior post, when he was still the

PROFESSOR Regalado Trota José (right) unveils the only remaining “souvenir” of Miguel de Benavides, UST’s founder.

bishop of Nueva Segovia in 1598.

Among the many gems of the AUST collection showcased were the baybayin documents, declared by the National Museum as a “national cultural treasure” in 2014; the handwritten Libro de Piques for Philosophy on the works of Aristotle bearing the oldest seal of UST, dated 1636; and the Libro de Piques for Theology on the sentences of Peter Lombard, from 1564. A libro is an examination book containing certain passages or ideas candidates must explain or defend to earn a tertiary degree.

The AUST also houses one of only three surviving copies in the world of a catechism book for Japanese Catholics by Juan Rueda de los Angeles, OP. Printed by Tomas Pinpin in 1623, it offers the earliest depictions of the mysteries of the rosary in the Philippines,and a manual for confessions from a handwritten summary of the Manila Synod of 1582. It is also a repository of the Dictionario His-

panico Sinicum: the largest and earliest Spanish-Chinese dictionary written during the Spanish occupation of Taiwan from 1624 to 1642.

José is the first lay archivist of the Archivo. He also shared some of the preservation procedures observed by AUST: “First, we have to know the collection and go through the materials, [then find out which are the most fragile ones. From the examples…], we have them in acid-free boxes,” the professor explained. “We maintain a constant temperature in the vault. We also minimize the humidity.”

He continued: “It is a continuous process of monitoring the collection to ensure that the proper coolness and humidity levels are observed, so...molds will not grow.”

A specialist on Philippine sacred art, architecture and history, José is a former commissioner for cultural heritage of the National

Commission for Culture and the Arts prior to his stint in UST. He received the National Research Council of the Philippines Achievement Award for Research in Philippine Art History in 2010.

Earlier this year, José published his book Simbahán: An Illustrated Guide to 50 of the Philippines’ MustVisit Catholic Churches, two decades after his National Book Award winner Simbahán: Church Art in Colonial Philippines, 1565-1898.

“BARCADA: The Legacy of the Order of Preachers in the Philippine Church” was organized by the Dominican Studentate in Quezon City, in collaboration with the UST Graduate School Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics. The series brought together various resource persons who lectured on a variety of topics: from priceless archival materials and built heritages, to histories and intangible expressions.

The term “barcada” refers to the chronicles of the arrival of the first Dominicans in the country on July 22, 1587. The historian wrote that “this [was] the arrival of the first barcada, [as] the missionaries were on a barca [boat]. The word barkada later came to the Filipino language to mean ‘a group of close friends.’”

Or ig ina l ly broadcast f rom March 8 to 16, the lectures from the webinar series may be viewed for free through BARCADA’s Facebook page, accessible through https://www.facebook.com/Barcada1587/.

SOS condemns spokesperson, calls for NTF-ELCAC scrapping

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HE Save Our Schools Network (SOS) continued its call for the abolition of the National Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), after its spokesperson Lorraine Badoy launched what the group said was “another threat to pursue the case against the recently released Cebu ‘Bakwit School 7.’”

In the task force’s press conference, SOS claimed Badoy’s statement to the Lumad schools saying “don’t celebrate yet” shows malice and vindictiveness to persecute the Bakwit School 7, following the dismissal of “trumped-up charges” against them.

“Finding insufficient evidence, lack of probable cause, and lack of territorial jurisdiction, the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in their resolution dated May 5 junked the trumped-up cases against teachers Chad Booc, Roshelle Porcadilla, Talaingod chieftains Benito Bayao, Segundo Milong, [as well as] students Jomar Benag, Esmelito Oribawan, and Moddie Mansimuy-at,” SOS said in a statement.

“They were arrested by the Philippine National Police [PNP] with the vile elements of the NTFELCAC without a warrant in a raid last February 15 in the [University of San Carlos] campus in Cebu, where the Lumad sought refuge

as part of their Bakwit School program. Nineteen Lumad students and minors were taken in custody by the [Department of Social Welfare and Development]-7.”

While indigenous peoples and human-rights activists across the country celebrated the release of the seven, SOS believes that Badoy and the NTF-ELCAC find happiness in the victims’ “unjust suffering, as they considered filing a motion of reconsideration.”

Such motion, it said, only continues their harassment of the people the PNP already unjustly detained.

“We condemn the NTF-ELCAC, as they have destroyed the students’ rights to education through

red-tagging and militarizing the [Department of Education] that led to the closure of Lumad schools in Mindanao,” the SOS statement contained. “They will not stop at nothing to silence the Lumad who are fighting for their ancestral domain against state and corporate intervention.”

It continued: “The machinery that is the NTF-ELCAC is nothing but lies and evil that destroys the spirit of solidarity that it has done to the Lumad, to the community pantry, to rights advocates. They don’t deserve a single peso from us taxpayers already burdened by the pandemic. They don’t deserve to operate amid our struggles.”

Editor: Mike Policarpio

US launches school-based drug-prevention curriculum

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HE United States Embassy’s Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) has collaborated with the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Program to launch a unique, 10-day training series for law enforcers with drug-prevention education responsibilities.

The ultimate goal of the program is to reduce the likelihood of initiation of substance use in schools. A total of 30 officers with drug-prevention education responsibilities from the Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) completed the first training from April 26 to May 7. This will be followed by a series of 10-day sessions that will train additional law enforcement entities over the course of two years.

PDEA Deputy Director General Randy Pedroso said the training was “very relevant,” and reflects “collaboration and teamwork in the fight against drugs.” DDB Undersecretary Benjamin Reyes likewise thanked INL for its strong support for drug-demand reduction programs in the country.

Through INL funding, the Colombo Plan worked with Philippine drug-demand reduction experts, a

technical-expert advisory working group on prevention science, as well as master trainers, to tailor the universally recognized curriculum on prevention known as the Universal Prevention Curriculum for Filipino professionals.

The Universal Prevention Curriculum includes a series designed to help ensure that national- and regional-based prevention workers obtain consistent, accurate and up-to-date, science-based information and skills training.

Specifically, the School-Based Prevention Intervention module provides participants with an overview of such interventions, and the application of similar evidence-based approaches in school settings.

This project is a component of the embassy’s comprehensive program on drug demand reduction covering prevention, treatment, recovery, and policy development.

The Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Program is a regional intergovernmental program which builds capacity for drug demand-reduction efforts in the Asia-Pacific region.

Learn more about the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, as well as its global Drug Demand Reduction programs at www.state.gov/j/inl.

EDUCATORS SPEAK What’s right, wrong about being ‘woke’?

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HE term “woke” has become popular among millennials and those who belong to “Generation Z.” Furthermore, it has become a cool thing for these groups to act like such, especially in these times of uncertainty.

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, “‘woke’ is a slang term that is easing into the mainstream from some varieties of a dialect called African-American Vernacular English [sometimes called AAVE]. In AAVE, ‘awake’ is often rendered as ‘woke,’ as in: ‘I was sleeping, but now I’m woke.’” Likewise, it said that the word crept into the mainstream “likely in 2008, with the release of Erykah Badu’s song Master Teacher.”

History professor Charleston “Xiao” Chua of De La Salle University said the “woke” concept became popular, because being on the right side was appealing to youngsters, serving as a “badge of honor” for them. Nonetheless, the educator urged the “wokes” to use the term for themselves.

Although he shares the same beliefs and causes of the “wokes,” Chua does not agree when the “wokes” proclaim themselves as such.

“If they don’t agree with you, there is a certain entitlement on their part,” the professor explained in a recent phone interview. “[They also presume] that if you don’t share their beliefs, they will call you stupid and regard their critics as intellectually inferior, when you don’t agree with their views.”

“Here lies the problem,” he pointed out. “You want people to believe in yourself, but you call them ‘stupid’ if they don’t agree.”

Chua said the growth of this trend should not be encouraged, because this will lead to the growth of extremism from both sides of the political spectrum. Instead of fomenting hate, he urged “wokes” to educate their opponents by engaging them in a civilized manner.

As a historian, Chua explains that contradictions exist in a society, because people’s minds are shaped by historical forces they are familiar with. According to Chua, it is not as simple as classifying people as “wokes” and the “stupid.”

Moreover, Chua said the issue becomes more challenging because Philippine society, particularly

CHUA

the masses, hate elitism and arrogance. Such traits will discourage those from the other side to interact, regarding wokes as elitists.

“When we speak about truth and power, you attack the power or people at the top,” Chua explained.

He went on to say there is no need to develop nomenclatures in discussing the issues and challenges in Philippine society.

Being a foreign concept, Chua warned that the “wokes” can alienate and divide Filipinos. He said the problem is exacerbated as social media provides a venue for engagement, especially during extreme situations which leads to brutal verbal tussles.

“C iv i l d i scou rse h a s been thrown out of the window in social media,” the professor lamented.

“If you want to enlighten the ‘unaware,’ do it in a civilized manner.”

Asked about the difference between the “wokes” of the current generation and the youth during the First Quarter Storm and the Edsa People Power, Chua said the messaging was focused on empowering the people.

“During the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, one of the slogans of causeoriented organizations was: ‘People make history and uplift the welfare of the people belonging to the lower strata of society.’ Meanwhile, the historic 1986 uprising stressed on glorifying the power of the people.”

Today’s “woke” is focused on elitism, opined Chua. Because of this, he urged the youth to “get over the woke tag,” because it doesn’t help the cause. “ I k now you mea n we l l— but let’s stop calling ourselves ‘wokes,’” he concluded.

Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

Tourism&Entertainment In Praise of the Abaca BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Saturday, May 29, 2021 A9

By Bernard L. Supetran

Photos from Catanduanes Tourism Promotion Facebook page

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his island province may be often used as a typhoon observation point, but unknown to many, this tourism frontier helped put the country in the world’s fiber trade with its sturdy product—the abaca.

Situated on the archipelago’s Pacific seaboard, Catanduanes has some 36,744 hectares dedicated to abaca farms, and employing 13,795 workers. Last year, it produced 18,003 metric tons, which make up for almost one-third of the national output, thus making it the country’s abaca capital.

According to the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority, the future of the abaca industry is very promising, as the Philippines supplies 85 percent of the world’s requirements, and the province stands to gain from the processing plants planned for construction and mechanization of the harvest.

It is for this reason that the province recently held the Fifth Abaca Festival to showcase its valuable indigenous fiber, a proverbial gold mine, which has been the pride of the province since the Spanish-era galleon trade.

This year’s festivities consisted of a blend of physical and online events, included a trade and tourism fair showcasing home furnishings, decorative accessories, and novelty by-products.

Trad it iona l crowd-d rawers which were streamed online were the competitions on abaca arch and façade design, spoken word poetry, the Festival Queen tilt, and the Virtual Dance Showdown of municipal contingents garbed in abaca costumes.

“We will not let the Covid-19 pandemic stop us from celebrating this year’s Abaca Festival. Together, we shall honor the abaca and its importance not only to our industry and economy, but also our culture,” says Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua. He said that this year’s theme emphasizes the strength and resilience of the abaca, where Catandunganons can be compared as

they battle life’s trials.

Cua added that the festival highlights the province as a family oriented and nature-themed destination of choice, away from the madding tourist crowd.

He noted that the virtual celebration is part of the long-range preparation for the restart of the local tourism industry, along with the current efforts in ensuring compliance to government health and safety protocols.

But beyond the festival, its iconic destinations beckon travelers to explore the off-the-beaten path.

With the tagline “The Happy Island,” Catanduanes aims to bring happy memories to guests with its diverse natural, adventure and cultural wonders which can be easily reached through its circumferential coastal road.

A top must-see is the “Majestic Waves,” a popular surfing spot which is so-called because of its long magnificent barrel which has lured national tournaments. Once an obscure, secluded beach in Puraran, Baras, it boasts of powdery sand, crystalline water and quaint resorts offering delectable regional specialties and ice-cold drinks.

Much like a crude diamond due to its isolation from mainland Luzon and the lack of luxe facilities, the province more than compensates with its natural endowment of breathtaking capes, jagged cliffs, charming coves, and sleepy shores where one can gaze at the mesmerizing sunrise or sunset.

It is also home to quaint resorts with water sports equipment where guests can kayak, do stand-up paddle, and snorkel in the crystalline waters. Catanduanes Halfway Resort Hotel in Pandan and Twin Rock Beach Resort in Virac have comfy lodging facilities and amenities which are among the best places to

ABACA Festival street dancing and other activities were livestreamed alongside other events.

A sturdy material for making ropes, cloth, and fishing implements, abaca can also be made into novelty items and decorative products.

ABACA is the main produce of farmers in Catanduanes.

PALUMBANES Islands is called Parumpong or Parongpong by the locals.

HIYOP Highlands in Pandan has the best spots for camping and stargazing.

stay in the province’s northern and southern part, respectively.

With a rugged terrain, province abounds in waterfalls tucked within the lush vegetations, whose icy water is a refreshing respite from heat and humidity. The most popular is Maribina Falls in Bato because of its accessibility and shallow multi-layered basins, while Nahulugan Falls in Gigmoto is an exciting trek with its three-tiered drop which welcomes hikers.

these is baroque St. John the Baptist Church in Bato, a monument of faith and refuge against calamities.

An equally historic religious spot is the Diocesan Shrine of the Holy Cross in Batalay, the final resting place of Augustinian priest Diego de Herrera, the first Catholic missionary to the island.

The town of Virac is dotted with colonial-period ancestral homes which have been repurposed as commercial shops, restaurants and

Despite being an unpolished gem, Catanduanes is already glittering with its natural attractions wonders which evoke a rustic allure—Tuwad-Tuwadan Blue Lagoon, Cagnipa Rolling Hills, and Hiyop Highlands in Pandan, Binurong View Point in Baras, and the San Miguel River Park.

Its rich cultural heritage is reflected on the edifices which have withstood super typhoons and the ravages of time. Most notable among

tourism-oriented establishments.

Not to missed is the Old Provincial Capitol Building, which houses the Museo de Catanduanes, a repository of memorabilia, archaeological finds and vintage photographs of a genteel past.

With a warm population drawing strength from the strong fiber, and an inimitable natural landscape, the Happy Island can undoubtedly give you a happy ending at the end of the journey.

Mindanao beach haven is now a dive spot

F Belimac Resort reef Ferds Sol

Glan dive tourism launch.

or countless beach bums in Mindanao, the town of Glan, Sarangani is their own version of “Boracay” with its numerous white-sand coves and crystalclear water.

The mile-long Gumasa Beach is the most popular among these sandy shores because of the concentration of cozy tropical themed resorts and restaurants. It is also the site of the summer-time Sarangani Bay (SarBay Festival), the country’s biggest beach party which integrates environmental education, physical wellness and family recreation.

Lovers of the sun, sea and sand in these parts would have more options to enjoy this beach hideaway with the recent launch of the municipality’s dive tourism program. “ There are so many things that Glan can be proud of that we have kept for so long, and it is high time for us now to discover all those and show it off to the world as one of the most beautiful municipalities in the Soccsksargen region and the country,” says Mayor Vivien Yap. Also launched during the event

BINUNI Reef

was the coffeetable book and dive directory, titled “Discover Glan’s other Paradise: It’s Underwater.”

She said that the program launch is timed for the 25th anniversary of Sarangani Bay’s declaration as a Protected Seascape by then-president Fidel Ramos to showcase its lush marine world.

The bay is also recognized as a Key Marine Biodiversity Area by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Formally introduced to the dive industry during the town’s

annual Mahin Festival were Sumbang Point and Binuni Reef, which have been validated by dive professionals.

Sumbang Point, situated near Belimac Beach Resort is habitat to 16 genera of hard corals and five soft corals, and about 100 distinct marine species, including hawksbill turtles, giant clams, marble shrimps and rare nudibranchs.

Binuni Reef, with a maximum depth of 12 meters, has a vertically zoned intertidal area with patchy seagrass. The subtidal

area is characterized by colonies of hard corals of massive, breaching and encrusting life forms. It also has 12 hard corals and four soft coral genera, and 62 distinct fish species.

The dive tourism program is supported by the DENR, the Department of Tourism, and the Provincial Government. Sarangani Bay was declared by the DOT as Soccsksargen’s diving haven during a dive safari in 2017.

The bay, which covers 215,950 hectares, is also home to yellow fin tuna, sperm whales, pilot whales, dolphins, clown fishes, lion fishes, sergeant fishes, and sea turtles. Its coral resources cover more than 2,293 hectares spread in 20 coral reef areas with about 60 important live hard coral genera, and 411 reef species.

Whale sharks, cheilinus undulatos (Mameng), and dugongs (sea cows), are also occasionally sighted, particularly on the western side of the bay.

Dives in Glan should be coursed through Sarangani Divers in General Santos City, the accredited dive center for proper documentation.

BusinessMirror

A10 Saturday, May 29, 2021 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

www.businessmirror.com.ph

China authorities name 105 apps for improper data practices

BY ZEN SOO The Associated Press HONG KONG—China’s Internet watchdog said Friday it had found Bytedance’s Douyin, Microsoft Bing, LinkedIn and 102 other apps were engaged in improper collection and use of data and ordered them to fix the problem.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said that the 105 apps violated laws by excessively collecting and illegally accessing users’ personal information, according to a statement posted on its site on Friday.

Other companies it named included short video app Kuaishou, search engine Sogou and Baidu. The

watchdog said companies had to fix the problems within 15 working days or face legal consequences.

The CAC has stepped up scrutiny of Chinese apps as authorities beef up protection of personal information protection and seek to prevent breaches of online privacy. One concern in China and elsewhere is that many Internet companies have collected excessive user information to target consumers with advertisements.

The crackdown comes even as the Chinese government itself collects information about its citizens on a massive scale.

Critics accuse the authorities of using facial recognition to profile

and track Uyghurs in Xinjiang, where over a million have been detained in “reeducation” camps.

Provisions outlining how apps should collect personal information came into effect May 1.

They hold app makers accountable for excessive data collection and collection of information without users’ consent.

The Internet watchdog earlier ordered security apps developed by Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding to stop gathering information from users without their consent.

Technology companies in China are facing increasingly harsh scrutiny as authorities seek to counter the influence of giant companies like

Alibaba and Tencent.

The broad range of services they provide, from payments and e-commerce to gaming and messaging has made them ubiquitous in everyday life.

Earlier this year, authorities imposed a record $2.8 billion fine on Alibaba for violations of antimonopoly rules. Food delivery company Meituan is currently under investigation for alleged anticompetitive behavior.

Dozens of other Internet companies including Baidu, Tencent and ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing have also been fined for not properly disclosing investments or acquisitions.

Japanese beauty brand enters into joint venture with tech firm

FRANCISCO “PACO” MAGSAYSAY

E-commerce helps Carmen’s Best to thrive during pandemic

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES

M

ULTINATIONAL professional technology services company Accenture and Japanese beauty brand Shiseido have formed a joint venture, called Shiseido Interactive Beauty. One of the joint venture’s goals is to accelerate Shiseido’s digital transformation.

Taking part in Shiseido Interactive Beauty are 250 digital, information technology and other skilled resources from Shiseido and Accenture. The latter will also provide training to help the venture’s employees enhance their digital skills.

The joint venture will provide the beauty brand with digital and innovation capabilities more quickly than Shiseido could develop on its own, and will also help the Japanese company migrate its information technology infrastructure to the cloud, enabling them to increase the efficiency of its IT capabilities while reducing maintenance costs.

The digital transformation is part of Shiseido’s new “Win 2023 and Beyond” corporate strategy, which is focused on promoting structural reforms and strengthening its financial base while continuing to aggressively invest in areas that will become the foundation for long-term growth, including branding, innovation, supply chain and the future work force.

“As Shiseido strives to realize a better world through the power of beauty, digital transformation has become an essential element for Shiseido to respond quickly to ever-changing customers and markets. I believe that working with Accenture, a company with a proven track record in delivering global digital services and, above all, one that shares our corporate philosophy and values, will create a great opportunity for Shiseido to make a leap forward.

I am confident that together with Accenture, we can create new beauty experiences that customers have never experienced before and transform the beauty industry,” said Masahiko Uotani, Shiseido’s representative director, president and CEO. The joint venture will use data and advanced technology to create new beauty experiences through enhanced digital marketing. Key to this effort will be leveraging consumers’ browsing and purchase histories—whether via their interactions on Shiseido’s digital platforms or in stores—as well as other activity such as skin or makeup diagnoses, using augmented reality and other digital technologies to propose new products and services, including personalized consultations.

“We are honored to help Shiseido accelerate its bold mission to deliver ‘Beauty Innovations for a Better World’ and meet the holistic needs of consumers,” said Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture.

Shiseido Interactive Beauty, which is majorityowned by Shiseido, is expected to begin operations in

PHOTO BY KELLY SIKKEMA ON UNSPLASH

July. Via Shiseido Interactive Beauty, the company will offer “unprecedented beauty experiences.”

For instance, as consumers try virtual makeup and skin diagnostic tests online or in stores, their history can be analyzed in digital database.

“By applying the data of purchasing, and research and innovation together, it becomes possible to propose the best in counseling, products and makeup lessons at a place and time of their choice. In addition, we will use the latest beauty technology to seamlessly provide life-long, personalized services to consumers through various points of contact, both digital and real,” said Shiseido in its web site.

CELEBRITY MOMS TALK ABOUT THEIR FEARS BEING a mom is one of the toughest yet most rewarding jobs in the world. Aside from taking charge of the growth and development of their children, mothers have a lot of responsibilities in the household. They’re coordinator, cook, counselor, among other roles they play to make the household run smoothly.

PLDT Home tackles these parenting concerns in a new video series showcasing the real stories of parents. who continue to conquer parenting fears.

Celebrity moms took to social media to speak up on their own concerns.

Model and entrepreneur Tweetie de LeonGonzalez realized that it’s OK if things don’t work out because what’s important is that kids “see the generous manner, connection and exchange happening in the family.”

Influencer Camille Co, meanwhile, is dealing with the issue of postpartum depression, being a new mom.

“I’m fully aware of postpartum depression. It’s something a lot of people are talking about but I feel like we are not showing this more. So even though you know in your head it’s possible to have postpartum depression, that it’s possible to feel sad about what you’re doing, it’s possible to feel bad about yourself as a mom, it doesn’t really feel real because people just talk about it but they don’t really show it,” she said.

As a new mother to newborn Sienna, Co’s experience with postpartum depression made her braver.

“I feel like my priorities have shifted to not entirely just focusing on my baby but to make room for my baby. Don’t forget to do things for yourself because when you’re happy, the baby is happy, and when you give love to yourself, then you’re also able to give more love to your baby,” she said.

The digital video series can be viewed at pldthome. info/3xSeS8I. ■

IN these challenging times, social media emerged as an important tool in making a business survive and thrive. Francisco “Paco” Magsaysay, owner of Carmen’s Best, told BUSINESSMIRRO� in an e-mail interview that using the tools of social media has boosted growth of the brand. Inspired by its initial success, Magsaysay said he is now using it in promoting Arctic Ice Cream, a “value” brand that is their latest product.

“We grew Carmen’s Best ice cream using social media. We can do the same with Arctic. In fact, it will be easier for us as our company is known to make excellent ice cream. We feel that we have created an excellent ice cream in the category of Arctic Ice Cream,” Magsaysay said.

With Arctic, Magsaysay said there was no way they could compete with the big ice cream manufacturers. “This is why we decided to offer our ice cream to the public through the e-commerce site of Carmen’s Best.”

Despite the drastic shift on buying patterns of consumers, Magsaysay is confident that Carmen’s Best will flourish in the new normal as it fits quite well with their plan to sell more using its e-commerce platform.

Magsaysay said there are definitely opportunities for a handful of industries to succeed in the current environment. “The question is: If you build your business to cater within the existing situation, what will happen when things return to normal?”

Magsaysay pointed out.

Since Carmen’s Best started its ice cream business as a business-to-business (B2B) food manufacturer, Magsaysay said their clients were travel and hospitality players such as restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, resorts and airlines. When the pandemic hit, demand for Carmen’s Best declined as the business of their customers also experienced a slowdown.

“Fortunately, at the end of 2019, we had started to develop a ‘value’ line ice cream that could be sold to our B2B accounts that were buying mass-market ice cream brands for their a la mode desserts, milk shakes and that ‘free’ scoop of ice cream packaged with their set lunch promotions. This was a business I had always been keen to enter,” he said.

“Call it serendipity, but this business decision coincided with the rough times we were entering due to the unprecedented effects of the Covid-19 virus.

Artic fit perfectly a market that was reeling from the slowdown in the economy,” he added.

In closing, Magsaysay said the current environment is a humbling experience for Filipinos: “Now is not the time to brag about thriving and shining or getting ahead of others. The important thing is to help out and pull together to survive.”

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Cle�t care technology Smile Train,” said Veronica Yu, a speech pathologist and the lead content creator of the app.

The app is available for download on the App Store and Google Play.

A

FOR those who haven’t heard of Infinix Mobile, it is a Hong Kong-based company that was established in 2013. Its part of the Transsion Holdings Group, which also owns Tecno Mobile and Itel Mobile. The smartphone brand has research and development centers in France and Korea, and the devices are manufactured in France, Bangladesh, Korea, Hong Kong, China, India and Pakistan. It currently has a presence in 70 countries worldwide, covering Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.

THE It was only a few years ago when it began Infinix Hot marketing its phones in the Philippines, but 10 Play it has gained quite a loyal following because of its affordability and features. The onlinedriven smartphone brand currently has five product lines—Zero, Note, Hot, S, and Smart and targets millennials as its main market.

Earlier this week, the brand launched an upgrade to its Infinix Hot 10 Play with a bigger memory and internal storage while retaining all its best features.

The new Infinix Hot 10 Play now has 4GB RAM and 64GB storage (from 3GB+32GB), a MediaTek Helio G35 chipset, and a monstrous 6000mAh battery.

Build quality is satisfactory and though its made out of plastic, the glasstic finish combined with its gem cut texture design which looks like “flowing pipelines,” does make it look a bit more premium. The one we have is in Obsidian Black, the safest color choice, but you can also get it in Aegean Blue, Morandi Green, or 7° Purple.

The Infinix Hot connections, and enhanced power 10 Play is a pretty lanky efficiency over its predecessor. In daily device sporting a 6.82-inch IPS use, however, its not the fastest and smoothest, LCD display with a resolution of 720 and you’ll likely experience some slowdown when a x 1640; a 90.66 percent screen-to-body ratio, number of apps are open. As for gaming, I’d stick with and 20.5:9 full view offering a worthwhile mobile casual games with fairly simple graphics. cinematic experience. As a budget device, the screen is Other extra features include a face unlock and good enough with nice color temperature, but it’s best fingerprint security, XOS 7.0 system, an image suited for indoor viewing. compressor for more storage, and a convenient splitWhile Infinix identified its main 13MP rear screen mode for multitasking. shooter and 8MP AI Front Camera, it didn’t specify Perhaps the biggest reason to get the Infinix Hot 10 the secondary AI rear camera. As per our initial tests, Play is its battery. With a huge 6000mAh battery and the cameras do produce acceptable results in good its Power Marathon Technology, the brand says it can lighting, and is passable enough for social-media last a whopping 55.7 days on standby mode, with 53.4 posting. The front camera does take decent selfies and hours of call time, 13.8 hours of continuous gameplay, quality is comparable to other cameras in its price 155 hours of non-stop music playback. point.

The Infinix Hot 10 Play does live up to its cost-toThe Infinix Hot 10 Play tries to make its mark in performance ratio, and it’s a capable device as long as the affordable gaming smartphone category, hence you are aware of its limitations. The upgraded Infinix the MediaTek Helio G35 processor that is further Hot 10 Play is available for P4,990 but you could get it enhanced by Infinix’s HyperEngine technology. The for even less during sale events and by using discount Hot 10 Play is said to provide smoother performance, vouchers. ■ faster response, more reliable Wi-Fi and LTE

/

Viber teams up in effort to help Filipinos register to vote TWENTY-TWENTY two isn’t just any other year. It’s a national elections year that could spell the future of the Philippines’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic that impacted the lives of many. It’s a must that the recovery plans should be all-encompassing; no one should be left behind.

But to secure a people-first postpandemic recovery, every citizen should let their voices be heard. You should exercise your right to vote.

This why Viber, one of the world’s leading messaging apps, is joining over 29 organizations from the private sector, academe and youth-oriented civic groups, religious associations, welfare advocacy groups, community organizers, election protection groups, thought leaders and influencers to support “Eleksyon 2022 Koalisyon: Magparehistro. Bumoto. Para Sa Bukas Natin.”

Eleksyon 2022 Koalisyon is a nonpartisan and multisectoral coalition that aims to inspire 7 million prospective voters to register or reactivate their voting status with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) by September 30, 2021, the last day of registration for the upcoming national elections in 2022. Comelec previously revealed that 7 million voter accounts have been deactivated, with only around 700,000 reactivated.

“We can’t emphasize enough how important the 2022 national elections are in our future as a nation as we transition to a new normal. The Koalisyon wants to empower as many Filipinos as possible to register and vote next year and make their opinions matter, their voices heard,” says Christian Monsod, former Comelec Chair and the coalition’s Lead Convenor. “More than anything, it is our duty as citizens to help in paving the way for a better future for the Philippines.

And it begins by simply casting your votes in the national elections.”

To help promote voter registration and education, Viber has rolled out a series of in-app activities in time for the official launch of the Koalisyon’s campaign “Regi To Vote: Love Kita, Pinas.” Eleksyon 2022 Koalisyon has started its own Viber Community (vb.me/eleksyon2022koalisyon), where members can receive reminders and guidelines for voter registration, details on various voter registration initiatives

• Saturday, May 29, 2021 A11

N.G.O. GAINS OVER 2 MILLION FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS

BY RODERICK L. ABAD | Contributor

A HOT UPGRADE FOR INFINIX

CCORDING to statistics, it is estimated that worldwide a child is born with cleft every 3 minutes—or about one in every 500 to 750 births. Depending on the type and severity, a cleft can create serious health and social issues if not corrected early. Some could have difficulty with feeding that could lead to malnutrition, while others might experience recurring ear infections that could lead to hearing loss. Speech and language development can also be impaired making children more susceptible to bullying and social isolation.

This is why for children born with a cleft, speech therapy is an essential need. Unfortunately, because of the the Covid-19 pandemic, access to speech therapy services has been disrupted and almost inaccessible.

Smile Train, the world’s leading cleft charity recently introduced a new Speech Therapy app that aims to help parents, guardians and children access speech therapy services online. The app, developed in partnership with Nifty Hero, features a wide array of educational videos and speech therapy sessions, all in Filipino, with kid-friendly features and lively graphics. The app teaches kids how to properly pronounce words through fun and engaging exercises. It also aims to serve as a platform for cleft patients and their families to connect with healthcare professionals. Smile Train, however, advised that the app should only be used for kids with cleft and is not designed to help kids with different other speech impairments.

Smile Train envisions the app to be more than just a platform for learning, seeing it as a way to bring more smiles to cleft-affected families in the Philippines.

Since the start of the pandemic, Smile Train’s speech telehealth program in the Philippines has treated over 200 patients, providing them with more than 1,000 cleft care-related sessions—including speech therapy, nutritional support, breastfeeding guidance for mothers of babies with clefts, presurgical consultations, and psychosocial care.

“Technology has allowed us at Smile Train to deliver the speech therapy needs of children with cleft throughout this pandemic. Safety is our foremost priority, and I am glad that this app allows us to safely serve the needs of these kids in the comfort and safety of their own homes,” said Smile Train South East Asia Director Kimmy Flaviano.

The Smile Train app also addresses a glaring gap in reaching kids with cleft. “With the app, distance is no longer a problem. Kids may start their speech therapy sessions which they otherwise would not have started without the app. Furthermore, the app encourages more speech pathologists to partner with

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

in the country, updates on the upcoming elections, and exclusive content from celebrities and personalities who have lent their voices for this important cause. A fun sticker pack on voter registration that’s also linked to the community is also available for download.

A Viber Chatbot will also be set up to help users register to vote. With this chatbot, you can access resources, download needed forms before heading to Comelec, get all the information you need to register, and even volunteer for the Koalisyon. After September 30, the community and chatbot will be updated to focus on voter education, including sharing vetted information on the upcoming elections, which can help voters cut through election-related misinformation.

“Viber has always been supportive of the causes that matter most to our users. This partnership with Eleksyon 2022 Koalisyon comes at the most opportune time. Now that the national elections are getting closer, our users will be able to turn to Viber to get accurate information on voter registration, the platforms of the candidates, and other election matters,” says David Tse, the APAC senior director at Rakuten Viber.

“We hope that this easy access to verified information will further entice our users to register to vote and make informed decisions come May 9, 2022, and also inspire those within their circles to do the same.”

GO Negosyo continues to gain ground here and abroad digitally—enough reason for it to celebrate and reach out to more Filipinos to help them realize their entrepreneurial dreams. The nonstock, nonprofit advocacy has attained a social media milestone for officially becoming the No. 1 nongovernment organization (NGO) page in the Philippines.

Its Facebook page followers has reached 2,002,909 and earned 1,914,176 likes as of May 17.

Following this are the World Health Organization Philippines (1,792,567) and Philippine Red Cross (1,225,259) being the second and third most popular pages, respectively.

Internationally, Go Negosyo is also among the top 100 in the world and the only NGO that made it from the Philippines.

“As we reach this milestone, I want to show my utmost appreciation to our partners for their untiring support.

Without them, none of this would be possible. More importantly, I would like to thank our 2 million followers for believing in our vision of an enterprising Philippines. We have been doing this for 15 years already. And we saw the opportunity to scale up. Go Negosyo will continue to provide Filipinos access to mentorship, money and market through its programs,” said Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo Founder Joey Concepcion.

To give back to them, the organization has vowed to continue to help them in their businesses by giving away a total of P2 million as additional capital for them. Since May 10, Go Negosyo has extended P5,000 to each 10 lucky entrepreneurs daily.

This ongoing contest, which forms part its “Manalo at Mag-Negosyo” program, keeps rewarding business owners who take a winning selfie in their place of business until July 10. The winners are selected during Mentor Me Online (MMO), which airs live weeknights at 6 pm.

To date, MMO has already produced 600 episodes and featured 2,000 guests/entrepreneurs. A total of P12 million additional capital has been awarded to over 1,500 winners, and around 300 online sellers have been given a free marketing platform for their products.

Concepcion wanted to strengthen its online programs despite the limited on-the-ground presence amid the pandemic. These web-based training sessions include the Kapatid Mentor Micro Entrepreneurs Program (KMME) and Kapatid Agri Mentor Me Program (KAMMP).

KMME has so far produced 8,823 mentee graduates, with more than 1,400 additional mentees set to graduate this year. KAMMP programs have benefited 1,600 plus graduate mentees from over 1,200 associations and cooperatives, benefiting more than 130,000 members nationwide.

PLDT, SMART BEGIN BLOCKING ON CONTENT LEVEL, UPPING WAR VS ONLINE CHILD ABUSE

THE war against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) kicked up a notch, as PLDT and Smart start to block on the more difficult content-level.

The companies’ recent membership in the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has so far given them access to 5,800 URLs with child sex abuse materials, which they have blocked over the past week. This goes on top of at least 3,000 domains they have cut access to prior to their IWF membership.

As of this moment, PLDT, the country’s largest, fully integrated telco, and its wireless unit Smart are the only telco firms in the Philippines with the ability to block up to the content level, keeping children safe, and preventing abusers from taking advantage of children online.

The membership into the UK-based IWF is a vital element in PLDT and Smart’s child protection platform. Employing different technologies, the platform references the illicit content that customers are trying to access against the companies’ database. It can block access to a specific file without cutting off an entire web site.

This is particularly useful in blocking sexually explicit materials featuring children that have been posted on legitimate domains.

“When our customers try to open offensive content, they are immediately brought to a landing page telling them that the material violates Republic Act 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Law,” explained Angel Redoble, chief information security officer at PLDT and Smart.

Launched in the first quarter of this year, the child protection platform has allowed PLDT and Smart to block child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) in two ways: domain level and, now with the IWF membership, at content level.

“When a child abuse content finds its way into a legitimate domain like socialmedia platforms or video-sharing sites, we can’t block the entire web page because that will prevent all our customers from accessing materials on that domain that are not related to OSAEC,” said Redoble.

The challenge comes in blocking illicit files that have filtered their way into legitimate domains. Because the law does not allow Internet service providers in the Philippines to actively sift through information that pass through their network, PLDT and Smart employ open-source threat intelligence gathering, purchase available commercial threat intelligence, and rely on law enforcement agencies to share the links of child abuse materials that have been posted on the Internet.

This is where the value of a membership with IWF comes in. Backed by the global Internet industry and the European Commission, the IWF is a nonprofit organization that works closely with law enforcement agencies of national governments, Internet service providers and platforms, and charitable organizations in taking down web pages, keywords, hash lists, and digital fingerprints that contain child abuse materials.

Sports BusinessMirror

A12

| Saturday, May 29, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

BAMBOL: DOSE 1 DONE

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By Josef Ramos

OKYO Olympics-bound rower Cris Nievarez led the early bird athletes and coaches who got their first dose of anti-Covid-19 vaccines on Friday at the Prince Hotel-turned-vaccine center in Malate, Manila.

“I can now train with protection and more confidence,” said the 21-year-old Nievarez, whose Coach Edgardo Maerina also got vaccinated. “I didn’t hesitate to get vaccinated because I believe it’s for my safety and the safety of everyone.

A total of 730 athletes and para athletes and coaches registered for the vaccination campaign sought by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), approved by the InterAgency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and in cooperation with the City of Manila.

As of noon, close to half of those who registered were inoculated with Sinovac vaccines. They will get their second dose after 28 days.

“We are very thankful to the national government for allowing our national athletes to get vaccinated,” POC President

Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said. “It’s a sigh of relief for all of us.”

The government’s response to Tolentino’s call to prioritize athletes for vaccination was swift. He wrote the IATF through Health Secretary Francisco Duque III Tuesday last week and exactly a week after that only last Tuesday, the IATF gave its approval and scheduled Friday’s mass inoculation.

On Friday, the Malate hotel was a bevy of vaccination activity.

Athletes bound for the Hanoi 31st Southeast Asian Games set in November came one after the other. Those in canoe kayak, badminton, shooting, golf, sepak takraw, triathlon, athletics, fin swimming, skateboarding, handball, tennis, cycling, archery and rowing got their shots before noon.

In the afternoon, it was the turn of athletes in pencak silat, muay, judo, bodybuilding, wrestling, eSports, fencing, chess, billiards, kickboxing, jiu jitsu, table tennis, wushu, bowling, dancesports, gymnastics, karate, kurash and para athletes.

Members of the men’s basketball team under the Gilas cadet program traveled from

TOKYO Olympics-bound rower Cris Nievarez takes his first dose of the Sinovac vaccine as POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno looks on. ROY DOMINGO

their training camp in Calamba to also get their shots.

The inoculations were swift and systematic, proof that the City of Manila has mastered the procedure.

Taekwondo qualifier Kurt Bryan Barbosa didn’t get his first dose as he was still completing his quarantine at a Taguig City hotel.

Covid-19 testing czar Vince Dizon and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno graced the proceedings, along with Philippine Sports Commission Commissioner Charles Maxey and gymnastics association head Cynthia Carrion-Norton.

“We are thankful to the City of Manila, to Mayor Isko [Moreno], for allowing us to use the Manila Prince Hotel [under Manila’s Barangay 719] for the inoculation of our national athletes,” Dizon told the well-

attended press conference.

Carrion-Norton told the press conference that Olympic gymnast Carlos Yulo won’t be vaccinated with an anti-Covid-19 shot.

But Tolentino was unperturbed.

“As long as his performance in the Olympics will not be affected and he can win the gold, that’s not a problem,” Tolentino said.

Jaja Santiago and the national women’s volleyball team members—all clad in either red or blue PPE-like training suits—also got their first dose of the vaccine.

Formal face-to-face training for the SEA Games where Vietnam will be enforcing a “no vaccine, no participation policy,” is expected to go full swing on July 1.

The Olympics are set from July 23 to August 8, while the SEA Games are set from November 21 to December 2.

Donaire goes after Frenchman Oubaali’s crown N

ONITO “THE FILIPINO FLASH” DONAIRE goes after Nordine Oubaali’s World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight belt on Sunday in a world title bout organized by the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Donaire said he would exploit his shorter French opponent with his longer reach and vast experience to rebounds from a previous unanimous decision loss to Japanese International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue of Japan in November 2019.

“I trained so hard for such the longest time and I have all the experience and style to win,” Donaire (40-6 win-loss record with 26 knockouts) told BusinessMirror on Friday. “I am very, very confident that this fight is mine.”

The 38-year-old four-division world champion said he is ready to give the 34-year-old Oubaali

his first lost in 18 fights.

“He [Oubaali] is shorter than I am so I know his style, movement and power. I know how to gauge his overall performance,” Donaire said.

“I’m very well prepared and well aware with about anything so I am really working with my killer instinct all the time.”

Oubaali, who also last fought in November 2019 beating Inoue’s brother Takuma via unanimous decision, is known for his bravery. He likes to stand and fight all the time, thus knocking out 12 of the 17 opponents he previously fought.

Donaire has been training at the Givans Taekwondo Academy in Las Vegas with MMA star Tony Diaz, Michael Bassel and wife Rachel in his corner since pandemic year 2020.

He is hoping to join current Filipino world champions IBF super flyweight Jerwin Ancajas and minimumweight Rene Cuarto and World Boxing Organization bantamweight titlist Johnriel Casimero on the elite stage. Josef Ramos

Italian rises to occasion in Stage 18

S

TRADELLA, Italy—Italian cyclist Alberto Bettiol timed his attack perfectly to win the 18th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday for his first victory in a Grand Tour, and Egan Bernal kept the leader’s pink jersey at the end of the race’s longest leg.

Bettiol, who rides for EF Education–Nippo, had plenty of time to sit up on his bicycle and repeatedly lift up his hands to encourage the home fans that lined the route to cheer louder as he approached the finish line.

“It means really, really a lot for me, for my team, and for the people that always believe in me,” the 27-year-old Bettiol said. “It’s a gift that I want to go to my former agent, Mauro Battaglini, that passed away last year, and was like a second father for me, so this victory is for him that for sure he looks on me from the sky.”

The 231-kilometer route from Rovereto to Stradella was mainly flat but ended with a series of short climbs through the rolling Pavia winelands.

Rémi Cavagna appeared to be heading for the win after attacking on the approach to the

fourth-category Castana climb and crossing with a 28-second advantage, but Bettiol had set off in pursuit and caught and passed the French time-trial champion with about 7 kilometers remaining. AP THIS video grab from Youtube shows there’s definitely a Filipino in the crowd waving the country’s colors as Italian Alberto Bettiol crosses the finish line solo to win Stage 18 on Friday. Incidentally, Friday was Philippine National Flag Day.

Gabuco surrenders gold to Uzbek rival

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OSIE GABUCO yielded her women’s light flyweight gold medal to a younger opponent from Uzbekistan in the Asian Boxing Confederation Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championship on Thursday in Dubai.

Gabuco, 34, couldn’t get 21-yearold Gulasal Sultonalieva’s numbers in their semifinal fight and bowed out, 1-4, in the competition being held in a bubble setup at the Le Meridien Hotel Grand Ballroom.

But the Uzbek had to employ wily tactics against Gabuco, who couldn’t shake off Sultonalieva’s constant pushing and hugging.

The five-time Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist Gabuco settled for a bronze and the $2,500 prize money that went with the medal.

Sultonalieva, 21, will meet Alua Balkybekova of Kazakhstan in the final.

Men’s middleweight top seed and Tokyo Olympics-bound Eumir Felix Marcial fought Uzbekistan’s Jafarov Saidjamshid, along with light flyweight Mark Lester Durens and bantamweight Junmilardo Ogayre, who faced Kazakhstan’s Daniyal Sabit and Uzbekistan’s No. 1 seed Mirazizbek Mirzahalilov, respectively, in the semifinals late Friday.

Gabuco, lightweight Jere Samuel Dela Cruz, flyweight Marvin Tabamo, light welterweight John Paul Panuayan and women’s lightweight Maricel dela Torre exited from the tournament early in the week.

The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines, meanwhile, will send Marcial to the United States Olympic Boxing Training Center in Colorado Springs for the last stage of his preparations for Tokyo. Josef Ramos

Japan to extend virus emergency with safe Tokyo Olympics at stake

T

OKYO—Japan is set to extend a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas with infections not yet slowing to levels it can safely host the Olympics opening in just over 50 days.

The extension is needed as people are increasingly roaming in public, especially in Tokyo and Osaka, when they should be doing the opposite, and it’s feared that lifting the emergency would cause an instant rebound in infections, Economy Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said.

The current emergency in the capital and eight other metropolitan areas was to end next Monday, but hospitals in some areas are still overflowing with Covid-19 patients and serious cases hit new highs recently.

Nishimura told reporters the government proposal of a 20day extension to June 20 in the nine areas received preliminary approval from experts ahead of an official announcement later Friday. The southern island prefecture of Okinawa is already under emergency status through June 20.

Olympic organizers have to decide around that date whether to allow any fans at all, after overseas spectators were banned months ago. A plan to prioritize vaccinations for Japanese athletes also is being delayed to around that time, according to media reports. AP

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DOH says it’s yet to receive WHO report on Metro ‘community transmissions’ as virus cases rise to 8,748

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

T

he Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said that they are yet to receive an official notice following the pronouncement of World Health Organization (WHO) country representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe that there is “some degree of community transmission” of the Covid-19 variants in Metro Manila and other provinces.

In an online media forum, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said there is still no official statement from the WHO that has been received by the DOH. “But of course there has been this assumption already even before dahil nakikita natin tumataas ang bilang ng mga taong nai-identify natin with these variants [because there is an increase in the number of people detected with these variants],” Vergeire said referring to the B117 (United Kingdom) and B135 (South Africa) variants which was mentioned by WHO official.

However, Vergeire allayed fears of the public, saying whatever variant there is, the public should

observe the minimum public health standards to protect themselves.

“We protect ourselves by complying with health protocols and having ourselves vaccinated,” Vergeire stressed.

Covid daily cases rise on Friday Meanwhile, after recording low number of cases in the past days, the DOH on Friday logged 8,748 additional infections. The country’s Covid -19 cases stood at 1,209,154.

There were also 3,017 recoveries and 187 deaths.

Of the total number of cases, 4.4 percent (53,770) are active, 93.9 percent (1,134,818) have recovered, and 1.70 percent (20,566) have died.

Moreover, 122 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.

All laboratories were operational on May 26, 2021 but 4 were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System.

Based on data in the last 14 days, the 4 non-reporting labs contribute, on average, 1.1 percent of samples tested and 2.8 percent of positive individuals.

Saturday, May 29, 2021 A13

Frontline hotel workers are now included in A1 Priority vaxx list

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

Special to the BusinessMirror

F

RONTLINE workers of hotels used as temporary isolation or quarantine accommodations for Covid-19 positive but asymptomatic individuals and arriving international passengers, respectively, can now get vaccinated immediately, after they were included in the A1 Priority List of the government.

This decision was contained in a letter to Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat dated May 15, 2021, from National Task Force against Covid-19 Chief Implementer (Ret.) Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., who said: “We are very pleased to inform you that the request for inclusion of frontline employees in accommodation establishments used as isolation or quarantine hotels in the Priority Population Group A1, has been favorably acted upon, as can be gleaned from the National Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment Program Prioritization Framework, Workers in Frontline Health Services: ‘Isolation and quarantine facilities such as temporary treatment and monitoring facilities and converted facilities [e.g. hotels, schools, etc.] that cater to Covid-19 suspect, probable, and confirmed cases, close contacts, travelers in quarantine;’ under A1.3.” (Emphasis Galvez’s) In a news statement, Romulo Puyat hailed the decision, saying, “We express our deepest grati-

tude to Secretary Galvez and the NTF. Most of our tourism workers were reporting for work even at the onset of the pandemic while most of the cities and municipalities were still under an enhanced community quarantine. It is high time that we protect our tourism frontliners knowing that they are risking their lives each time they show up in the designated quarantine and isolation hotels. This move shows the government’s commitment to protect them.

Not only will this decision help ensure the survival of the tourism industry; this will also hasten the country’s economic recovery.”

The Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases last April 14 also approved the inclusion of other tourism frontliners, like workers from the transport sector and the food, restaurant and accommodation enterprises in the A4 Priority Group for vaccination.

A total of 2,507 employees of quarantine hotels nationwide have been successfully inoculated against the Covid-19, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

he added, DOT-accredited hotels in general community quarantine (GCQ) areas are now allowed to “accommodate guests until 30 percent of their venue capacity subject to DOT guidelines and other conditions, like they have to belong to one household only.”

Romulo Puyat explained, “In Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, etc. they have DOT-accredited hotels that were open only for leisure guests under modified GCQ. But since GCQ, they aren’t supposed to accept leisure guests. The IATF now decided they can accept, but up to 30-percent capacity only.” This rule doesn’t apply to hotels in the National Capital Region because “there are only quarantine hotels and staycation hotels.”

She added, staycation hotels in GCQ areas “can now accept up to 100 percent” of their capacity.

As this developed, President Duterte on Thursday ordered the diversion of inbound flights arriving at the Mactan Cebu International Airport to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, from May 29 to June 5, 2021.

100% capacity for staycation hotels

‘Cebu is not defying IATF rules’

M eanwhile , P r e s i d e n t i a l spokesman Harr y Roque said staycation hotels are now allowed to accept guests without administering Covid-19 tests, “as long as they are between the ages of 18 and 65 years old.”

In a press briefing on Friday,

In a memorandum from Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea to the heads of all government agencies, government-owned and -controlled corporations, and local government units also ordered the “nationwide enforcement of testing and quarantine protocols for inbound travels.”

The IATF, in its Resolution 116-A, has implemented a 14-day quarantine for inbound passengers, 10 days at a hotel and four days at home. However, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia recently ordered a three-day hotel quarantine for returning overseas Filipinos and overseas contract workers, who are non-Cebu residents, as they wait for the result of their RT-PCR tests upon arrival. (See, “Returning Pinoys land in Cebu to avoid Manila’s strict protocols,” in the BusinessMirror, May 23, 2021.)

But Roque in his news briefing said, “There was likely no defiance.

What happened in Cebu was, they ran out of hotels and the DOT only approved now that you could mix guests in these hotels.”

He added, “So while we are fixing the arrival protocols and before [Medialdea’s] memorandum, the Cebu International Airport closed for two days because they ran out of hotels for the arriving OFWs and overseas Filipinos. So while they are fixing that, the flights will be rerouted. It is temporary and we hope that the system will be fixed so there will be adequate rooms in Cebu.”

The cap on arriving international passengers at the MCIA is only 300, compared to 2,000 at the Naia. The Civil Aeronautics Board failed to comment on BusinessMirror’s inquiries if the cap at the Naia had been increased because of the flight diversions from Cebu.

BusinessMirror

A14 Saturday, May 29, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

EASTERN GOLD CORPORATION 503 Nueva St Binondo Manila

AI, QIANG Marketing And Sales Agent 1.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and work to meet sales quota.

CAI, JIAWU Marketing And Sales Agent 2.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and work to meet sales quota.

CHEN, ZHUHUI Marketing And Sales Agent 3.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and work to meet sales quota.

HAO, WENJING Marketing And Sales Agent 4.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and work to meet sales quota.

HU, YINGWEI Marketing And Sales Agent 5.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and work to meet sales quota.

LI, WEIKANG Marketing And Sales Agent 6.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and work to meet sales quota.

LYU, SUNDONG Marketing And Sales Agent 7.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and work to meet sales quota.

TRAN THI NGA Marketing And Sales Agent 8.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and work to meet sales quota.

Basic Qualification: Can contributes information’s, ideas and research to help develop marketing strategies. Can help to detail, design and implement marketing plans for each product or service offered.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Can contributes information’s, ideas and research to help develop marketing strategies. Can help to detail, design and implement marketing plans for each product or service offered.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Can contributes information’s, ideas and research to help develop marketing strategies. Can help to detail, design and implement marketing plans for each product or service offered.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Can contributes information’s, ideas and research to help develop marketing strategies. Can help to detail, design and implement marketing plans for each product or service offered.

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

NI, SHAOSHUI Customer Service Representative 12.

Basic Qualification: Can contributes information’s, ideas and research to help develop marketing strategies. Can help to detail, design and implement marketing plans for each product or service offered.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Can contributes information’s, ideas and research to help develop marketing strategies. Can help to detail, design and implement marketing plans for each product or service offered.

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

13.

9.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative support customers by providing helpful information, answering questions and responding to complaints. They are the front line of support for clients and customers and they help to ensure that the customers are satisfied with products services and features.

Basic Qualification: Must be a college graduate, can prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer’s information, can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; can manage large amount of incoming calls.

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

14.

LI, HAO Customer Service Representative 10.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative support customers by providing helpful information, answering questions and responding to complaints. They are the front line of support for clients and customers and they help to ensure that the customers are satisfied with products services and features.

LIN, SUE Customer Service Representative 11.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative support customers by providing helpful information, answering questions and responding to complaints. They are the front line of support for clients and customers and they help to ensure that the customers are satisfied with products services and features.

Basic Qualification: Must be a college graduate, can prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer’s information, can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; can manage large amount of incoming calls.

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

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative support customers by providing helpful information, answering questions and responding to complaints. They are the front line of support for clients and customers and they help to ensure that the customers are satisfied with products services and features.

YUAN, MINGXUE Customer Service Representative 15.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative support customers by providing helpful information, answering questions and responding to complaints. They are the front line of support for clients and customers and they help to ensure that the customers are satisfied with products services and features.

ZHANG, GUOQIANG Customer Service Representative 16.

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative support customers by providing helpful information, answering questions and responding to complaints. They are the front line of support for clients and customers and they help to ensure that the customers are satisfied with products services and features.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Must be a college graduate, can prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer’s information, can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; can manage large amount of incoming calls.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be a college graduate, can prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer’s information, can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; can manage large amount of incoming calls.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be a college graduate, can prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer’s information, can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; can manage large amount of incoming calls.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be a college graduate, can prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer’s information, can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; can manage large amount of incoming calls.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Must be a college graduate, can prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer’s information, can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; can manage large amount of incoming calls.

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

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 4th-11th Flr. Nexgen Tower C4 Rd. Edsa Ext. Brgy. 076 Pasay City

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

Basic Qualification: Must be a college graduate, can prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer’s information, can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; can manage large amount of incoming calls.

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

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative support customers by providing helpful information, answering questions and responding to complaints. They are the front line of support for clients and customers and they help to ensure that the customers are satisfied with products services and features.

XIE, QINGQI Customer Service Representative

GATEWAYSOLUTIONS CORP. Unit 2306 Antel Global Corporate Center Julia Vargas Ave. Ortigas Center, San Antonio Pasig City

HUANG, CHI-MING Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: A customer service representative support customers by providing helpful information, answering questions and responding to complaints. They are the front line of support for clients and customers and they help to ensure that the customers are satisfied with products services and features.

SHAO, XIN Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Can contributes information’s, ideas and research to help develop marketing strategies. Can help to detail, design and implement marketing plans for each product or service offered.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Can contributes information’s, ideas and research to help develop marketing strategies. Can help to detail, design and implement marketing plans for each product or service offered.

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

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

24.

25.

26.

27.

CHEN, FENGZHI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service GUAN, YANAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service KE, LIQIANG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service LAU THI DAU Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service LEONG POI YIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service MA, GUOMING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service NGUYEN QUANG HUNG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service NGUYEN THI THANH HUONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service TANG NGUYET NGA Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service WANG, KE Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service WANG, XIAOLAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

www.businessmirror.com.ph

No.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent mandarin/basic english Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

WANG, MUNAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service WEI, MIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service XIE, PINGBIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service XIONG, WEI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service XU, YONGHU Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service YANG, SHUNLIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service ZHANG, DEJING Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer Service LIU, YONGHUI Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer service

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent mandarin/basic english Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent mandarin/basic english Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent in Mandarin/basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College graduate/level and fluent mandarin/basic english Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION Sky Garage Bldg. Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City Tambo Parañaque City 1331 Pearl Plaza Bldg. Quirino Ave. Tambo Parañaque City 8/f Ecoplaza 2305 Don Chino Roces Ave. Magallanes Makati City

36.

37.

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

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

CHEN, QINGJIAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

DAI, ZUCI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

GAO, ZILI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

JIANG, FAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

KE, JIANPING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LIU, CHAOHONG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LIU, YONGCHAO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LU, MINGGUI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LUO, BI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

MA, SHUANGSHENG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

PENG, HAO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications and with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications and with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications and with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications and with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications and with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledge in computer applications and with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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

The World

HK tycoon gets 14-month jail term over 2019 protest

BusinessMirror

Senate eyes R&D bill to counter China, bolster manufacturing W

In this February 9, file photo, democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, center, leaves the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong. Lai was sentenced to more jail time on Friday, May 28, 2021, over his role in an anti-government protest in 2019, as authorities crack down on dissent in the city. AP

H

ONG KONG—Hong Kong media tycoon and outspoken pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai was sentenced to more jail time Friday over his role in an anti-government protest in 2019, as authorities crack down on dissent in the city.

L a i a nd n i ne ot hers were charged with incitement to take part in an unauthorized assembly, for their roles in a protest on October 1, 2019, when they walked down a road with thousands of others.

Lai, 73, was sentenced to 14 months in prison. He is currently serving a separate 14-month jail term for other convictions earlier this year also related to unauthorized rallies in 2019, when Hong Kong residents took to the streets in the biggest challenge to Beijing

since the city was handed from British to Chinese control in 1997.

With the two sentences combined, Lai will serve a total of 20 months behind bars.

He is also being investigated under the city’s sweeping national security law, imposed last year, for colluding with foreign powers to intervene in the Hong Kong affairs.

Authorities have arrested and charged most of the city’s prodemocracy advocates, who also include Joshua Wong, a student leader during 2014 protests.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a news statement, called on Hong Kong authorities to drop charges filed against people “merely for standing for election or for expressing dissenting views.” AP

Saturday, May 29, 2021 A15

ASHINGTON—W hat started as a pragmatic effort to boost scientific research and development has morphed into sweeping Senate bill aimed at making the US more competitive with China and other countries, including $50 billion in emergency funds to shore up domestic computer chip manufacturing.

The American Innovation and Competition Act is key to President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plans and was headed toward final passage as debate dragged into early Friday morning. It’s also a test of whether the split 50-50 Senate can accomplish bipartisan achievements at a time when there’s pressure on Democrats to change the rules to push past obstruction and gridlock.

Senators slogged through days of debates and amendments, but proceedings came to a standstill late Thursday. One Republican, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, protested the rush to finish and insisted on more changes to the sprawling package.

A few other Republicans joined him.

By midnight senators huddled in the chamber to discuss next steps.

Passage was still expected, but debate dragged into early Friday.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, Democrat-Washington., the Commerce Committee chairwoman managing the action for Democrats, reminded colleagues that the bill has been through lengthy committee hearings with input and changes from all sides.

“I actually think we have gotten more mindshare with people

about why this is important, right, because we had an open debate process,” she said earlier in the week.

The emerging final product has enjoyed broad, bipartisan support and would be one of the more comprehensive investments in US research and development in recent years as the country tries to bolster and rebuild home-state industries that have shifted overseas during the era of globalization.

A top Republican author, Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, characterized his underlying proposal—the Endless Frontier Act he co-authored with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer—as part of the country’s history of innovation, like the moon landing or launch of the Internet, that Washington needs to foster if America is to remain competitive.

“It’s not about beating China,” Young said in a speech Thursday.

He said it’s about rising to the challenge posed by China “to be a better version of ourselves.”

Biden had included elements of the legislation as part of his big infrastructure plan, the American Jobs Act, making a similar case that the US needs to increase its investments to stay competitive with rivals, particularly China.

During a virtual meeting with CEOs last month over the global computer chip shortage that has been disrupting supplies and sales of everyday goods—from cell phones to new cars—Biden explained his plan to “build the infrastructure of today.”

But the bill became weighted down by the sheer scope of the effort. Actually a collection of bills,

it swelled to more than 2,400 pages and a final package of some three dozen amendments from senators of both parties submitted late Thursday caused the opponents to hit the brakes.

Johnson stacked up the bill at his desk bemoaning the towering size, even as he said the legislative process to bring the bill to this point had been better than most over the past decade.

“We haven’t had time to read this—no one has,” said Sen. Rick Scott, Republican-Florida, joining Johnson’s protest.

Cantwell withdrew the last round of amendments, but Johnson seized the floor to push other priorities, including his concerns over another topic—illegal immigration and his interest in secure fencing along the southern border with Mexico.

Votes on passage were expected early Friday.

The centerpiece of the bill is a $50-billion emergency allotment to the Commerce Department to stand up semiconductor development and manufacturing through research and development and incentive programs previously authorized by Congress.

They focus on the military, automakers and other critical industries reliant on computer chips.

The US once manufactured far more chips than today, which some senators said put the US at risk of fluctuations in the global supply chain, as happened over the past year with shortages.

The Endless Frontier provision would authorize funding for the National Science Foundation,

including the establishment of a Directorate for Technology and Innovation, as well as research and development funds and scholarships for students focused on science, technology, engineering and math programs.

Senators have tried to strike a balance in raising awareness about China’s growing influence without fanning divisive antiAsian rhetoric, mindful that hate crimes against Asian Americans have spiked during the coronavirus pandemic.

Other measures spell out national security concerns and target money-laundering schemes or cyber attacks by entities on behalf of the government of China.

There are also “buy America” provisions for infrastructure projects in the US. At the same time, senators agreed to tack on amendments showing shifting attitudes over China’s handling of the Covid-19 outbreak. One would prevent federal funds for the Wuhan Institute of Virology amid fresh investigation into the origins of the virus and possible connections to the lab’s research. The city registered some of the first virus cases.

Taken together, the innovation act has been a priority for Schumer, the Democratic leader who has long advocated a tougher approach to China. He and Young struck up a conversation about teaming up on a bill during workouts at the Senate gym, lawmakers said.

It’s unclear whether the measure would find support in the Democratic-led House. AP

A16 Saturday, May 29, 2021

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Saturday, May 29, 2021 A17

Survivor: California shooter was ‘outsider’ in workplace S AN JOSE, California—First, there were gunshots. Then came the screams. And then—silence.

“Hey, what’s going on? A nybody all right?

W hat’s happening? ” K irk Bertolet called out to his coworkers at a Northern California rail yard on Wednesday morning. “It was just eerie.”

Cautiously, Bertolet left his barricaded office at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in San Jose, hoping he could offer first aid to anyone who needed help. But all he found were bodies.

“There wasn’t helping anybody,” the 64-yearold said, choking up. “He made sure they were all dead. I watched some of my coworkers breathe their last breath. And they were all gone.”

The massacre was the worst mass shooting in the San Francisco Bay Area in decades. Gunman Samuel James Cassidy, a 57-year-old V TA employee, opened fire Wednesday morning at the San Jose rail yard, killing eight people before shooting himself. A ninth v ictim died hours later in the hospital.

Bertolet, who works in the signals department, said he had a polite relationship with Cassidy when they would pass in the locker room or hallway. He described “Sam” as an outsider at the facility, a loner who sat by himself, never talked to anyone and never fit in. He appeared to target specific coworkers, Bertolet said.

“I understand what pushed him. Sam was always on the outside. He was never in the group.

He was never accepted by anybody,” Bertolet said Thursday during an interview with The Associated Press. “You look back and you go, ‘yeah, it fits.’”

In the hours after the violence, more pieces began to fit together: Cassidy’s ex-wife said he used to come home from work resentful and angry over what he perceived as unfair assignments more than a decade ago.

A Biden administration official, speaking on the condition of authority, said Cassidy spoke of hating his workplace when Customs officers detained him after a 2016 trip to the Philippines.

He had even talked about killing people at work, his ex-wife Cecilia Nelms told The Associated Press.

“I never believed him, and it never happened.

Until now,” she said tearfully.

Friends and relatives remembered the victims as a loving, kind-hearted and heroic group, and VTA officials have called the work force of more than 2,100 a family.

While Bertolet criticized the facility’s lax security and said he wished he had had his own gun to stop Cassidy, he also told a different story of men who had worked together every day.

“I know some of those guys, they’ll keep joking with you and they’ll keep hammering you about stuff,” he said, adding that anyone “thin-skinned” might not have been able to handle it.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said Cassidy appeared to choose his targets. He told at least one person “I’m not going to shoot you” and opened fire on others.

Bertolet told of a similar scenario.

“He was pissed off at certain people. He was angr y, and he took his vengeance out on ver y specific people.

He shot people. He let others live,” he said. “It was ver y personal. Ver y targeted.”

Authorities have not speculated on a motive beyond characterizing Cassidy on Thursday as a “ highly disgruntled V TA employee for many years, which may have contributed to why he targeted V TA employees.”

Glenn Hendricks, chair of the VTA’s Board of Directors, said Thursday that he had no information about any tensions between Cassidy and the coworkers he shot.

“VTA is a close family,” Hendricks said. “I would let the investigation work itself out.”

The investigation is complicated. It spans two crime scenes— Cassidy apparently had a device that would set his home on fire almost simultaneously to when he began shooting—and has 100 potential witnesses who were working at the rail yard at the time.

Cassidy arrived at the rail yard around 6 a.m., carrying a duffel bag filled with three semi-automatic handguns and 32 high-capacity magazines. It’s not clear exactly when the bloodshed began, but the first 911 call reporting an active shooter came at 6:34 a.m.

“We were sitting in the front of our office and we started hearing the pops,” Bertolet said. “BANG. BANG. BANG, BANG, BANG.” He and his coworkers threw a table in front of the door as Bertolet called the facility’s control center while the shooting continued.

The gunshots caused Rochelle Hawkins, a VTA mechanic, to drop her cell phone in the tumult. “I was running so fast, I just ran for my life,” she said.

One of the victims, Taptejdeep Singh, tried to save his friend before Cassidy turned the guns on him.

“Taptejdeep called me to warn me that there was an active shooter in Building B and to go hide or get out immediately,” Sukhvir Singh said.

Sukhvir Singh survived. His friend did not. AP

Shoppers go back to stores, but retailers face challenges

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EW YORK—Americans are going back to one of their favorite pastimes: store shopping.

With more people getting vaccinated and dropping their face masks, retailers from Walmart to Macy’s are seeing an eager return to their stores after more than a year of their customers migrating online during the pandemic.

Marcia Williams, who lives in a Philadelphia suburb and who stuck to online shopping only during the height of Covid-19, went back to her local mall right after she was fully vaccinated last month. That was her first time in more than a year.

“I am definitely getting out,” said Williams, a hair and makeup artist who spent nearly $1,000 on clothing for herself and her three children during several buying trips. “I do feel more comfortable. I like the experience of trying on clothes. I love grocery shopping. It’s my outlet.”

The return to store shopping, highlighted in many retailers’ earnings reports in recent days, offers a big relief in part because fewer shoppers ask for their money back after making a purchase at the store—8 percent compared with 25 percent for online, according to Forrester Research. And store customers tend to do more impulse buying.

For clothing, for instance, 25 percent of purchases are done on a whim versus 16 percent online, says market research firm NPD Group Inc. “Retailers want you in the store,” said Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry advisor. “They need you to be in the store so you generate more traffic. Crowds bring more crowds.

[Shoppers] buy more product.”

Still, retailers—particularly mall-based stores and other specialty stores that were struggling even before the pandemic— face plenty of challenges to keep customers coming back. They face stepped up competition online and from discounters that thrived in the last year.

Experts also say that post-pandemic shoppers will be even more demanding: After being forced to stay close to home, they’re looking for better and convenient services and experiences.

Many retailers like Macy’s are still recovering from the pandemic, which forced them to temporarily close early last year, driving more traffic to big box stores that were allowed to stay open. And overall store traffic, while rebounding, is still not back to where it was two years ago.

Customer counts at overall stores surged 43.2 percent for the week starting May 10 compared to the year-ago period, but that number was still down 5.6 percent for that same period in 2019, says mobile-device location data from foottraffic analytics firm Placer.ai.

In clothing, customer counts soared more than two-fold for the same timeframe, but it was down 11.2 percent on a two-year basis. For big-box stores like Target, customer counts were up 5.3 percent for the same period but down 4.9 percent on a two-year basis. AP

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Traders contend with grief as India’s markets keep rising

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s Covid-19 continues to ravage India, financial professionals across the country are grappling with an increasingly surreal disconnect between the epidemic’s devastation and a record-breaking boom in local markets.

The world’s worst coronavirus outbreak has battered India’s economy and lifted its official Covid death toll to more than 318,000— a figure that experts say is likely a significant undercount.

And yet investors continue to snap up Indian assets, fueling a 65 percent rally in the Nifty 50 Index over the past 12 months that has outpaced every other major equity benchmark worldwide.

The measure’s surge to a record on Thursday has coincided with the fastest rate of Indian initial public offerings since 2017 and an unprecedented flood of foreigncurrency bond issuance by local companies.

While the combination of pandemic pain and financial-market euphoria is hardly unique to India, nowhere else has the contrast been so extreme.

Bulls say the gains are justified by central bank stimulus at home and abroad, along with signs that the current virus wave may be peaking and optimism that India’s long-term economic growth potential will emerge from the crisis intact. Skeptics point to overly rosy earnings estimates and the risk of further outbreaks in a country where vaccination rates remain stubbornly low. India’s central bank weighed in on Thursday,

warning in its annual report that the surge in stocks “poses the risk of a bubble.”

What’s clear is that financiers on all sides of the debate are stretched thin. Booming markets have left the industry swamped with work at a time when many employees have been sickened by the virus. Some have had to franticly search for medical help after hospitals were overrun and oxygen supplies fell short. Almost everyone has at least one friend or family member who has died.

“You feel numb, as if we are in the midst of a war and are losing people one after the other,” said Vikaas Sachdeva, the Mumbai-based chief executive officer of Emkay Investment Managers Ltd., who lost four members of his extended family to the virus.

Sachdeva expects Indian markets to be volatile in the near term as investors weigh uncertainties around the vaccination program and the possibility of a third wave.

His firm has been buying shares of Indian companies with “high quality” management, betting that the country’s long-term investment case remains intact.

India’s $2.9-trillion stock market has been buoyed in part by resilient demand from international investors, who’ve purchased a net $34.9 billion of shares over the past 12 months. While they pared holdings in April and early May, buying by local mutual funds and insurance companies has helped fill the gap. A steady decline in reported Covid cases since midMay—along with Prime Minister

Narendra Modi’s decision to avoid another nationwide lockdown— have added weight to calls for further market gains.

Indian companies have taken advantage of the exuberance in markets to raise about $4 billion via public offerings since the start of the year, on track for the busiest first-half since 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“The IPO boom is being driven

by Indian technology companies coming of age with businesses doing better than expected,” said Sunil Khaitan, India head of global capital markets at Bank of America. “Tech companies are advancing their fund-raising plans and financial sponsors also believe this is a good time to bring in public market investors in these companies amidst ample global liquidity.”

Khaitan expects India IPO volumes to more than double in 2021 from the previous year.

The surge in activity has left some financial firms scrambling to complete deals after employees were sidelined by the virus. The head of equity capital markets at a Mumbai-based investment bank, who asked not be named discussing private matters, said that at one point 25 percent of his 40-person group was infected.

A bout 20 0,0 0 0 Ind i a n ba n k employees have been infected a nd 1,20 0 have d ied since t he pa ndem ic bega n, t he i ndu s t r y ’s l a rgest u nion est imated t h is mont h.

Among the biggest risks for India market optimists is another virus wave. Just 3.2 percent of

the population has been fully vaccinated, versus 39.7 percent in the US and 10.1 percent in Brazil, according to Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Tracker.

The Indian economy’s recovery from last year’s recession is already showing signs of sputtering. The country lost 10 million jobs in May, according to private research firm Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt. Among the 40 companies in the Nifty 50 index that have posted quarterly results so far, more than half have missed analysts’ estimates. While India’s central bank predicts the economy will grow at a 10.5-percent pace this fiscal year, other forecasters including S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service have recently cut their estimates to below 10 percent.

“If this Covid situation keeps affecting newer areas and new strains keep emerging, then there is a problem for the near term,” said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities Ltd. Sachdeva, the Emkay CEO, said Covid will impact him and his colleagues in ways that go far beyond their work in finance.

He’s reading The Difficulty of Being Good by Gurcharan Das, who writes about his search for a meaningful life.

“The pandemic has brought about a change in many of us and we are more aware of things that matter most in life,” Sachdeva said. “We would though have to see if this is indeed a permanent change when life comes back normal.” Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Plague of ravenous, destructive mice tormenting Australians

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OGAN GATE, Australia—At night, the floors of sheds vanish beneath carpets of scampering mice. Ceilings come alive with the sounds of scratching. One family blamed mice chewing electrical wires for their house burning down.

Vast tracts of land in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) state are being threatened by a mouse plague that the state government describes as “absolutely unprecedented.” Just how many millions of rodents have infested the agricultural plains across the state is guesswork.

“We’re at a critical point now where if we don’t significantly reduce the number of mice that are in plague proportions by spring, we are facing an absolute economic and social crisis in rural and regional New South Wales,” Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said this month.

Bruce Barnes said he is taking a gamble by planting crops on his family farm near the central New South Wales town of Bogan Gate.

“We just sow and hope,” he said.

The risk is that the mice will maintain their numbers through the Southern Hemisphere winter and devour the wheat, barley and canola before it can be harvested.

NSW Farmers, the state’s top agricultural association, predicts the plague will wipe more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($775 million) from the value of the winter crop.

The state government has ordered 5,000 liters of the banned poison Bromadiolone from India.

The federal government regulator has yet to approve emergency applications to use the poison on the perimeters of crops. Critics fear the poison will kill not only mice but also animals that feed on them, including wedge-tail eagles and family pets.

“We’re having to go down this path because we need something that is super strength, the equivalent of napalm to just blast these mice into oblivion,” Marshall said.

The plague is a cruel blow to farmers in Australia’s most populous state who have been battered by fires, f loods and pandemic disruptions in recent years, only to face the new scourge of the introduced house mouse, or Mus musculus.

The same government-commissioned advisers who have helped farmers cope with the drought, fire and floods are returning to help people deal with the stresses of mice.

The worst comes after dark, when millions of mice that had been hiding and dormant during the day become active.

By day, the crisis is less apparent. Patches of road are dotted with squashed mice from the previous night, but birds soon take the carcasses away. Haystacks are disintegrating due to ravenous rodents that have burrowed deep inside.

Upending a sheet of scrap metal lying in a paddock will send a dozen mice scurrying. The sidewalks are strewn with dead mice that have eaten poisonous bait. AP

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DOH explores option to lift wearing of mask for fully vaccinated Pinoys

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By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

n official of the Department of Health (DOH) on Friday revealed they are now studying the recommendation of possible lifting of the mandatory use of face masks for fully vaccinated individuals.

“W hat we are doing now is that, we are studying such recommendation if we can a lso apply this in specific bubbles,”

Health Undersecretar y Maria Rosario Vergeire said. She, however, did not say who gave the recommendation.

Vergeire said that “ex perts,” toget her w it h t he Inter-A genc y Task Force for t he Ma nage ment of Emerg ing Infect ious Diseases a re a l ready st udy ing t he recommend at ion.

“Magbibigay po tayo ng impormasyon [We will give an information on this matter later],” she said.

However, in lifting of such restriction, she stressed, that the status of the health-care utilization rate should also be considered.

In the US , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that fully vaccinated individuals no longer need

Pasay mayor in talks with private firms to fast-track city’s inoculation program

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ayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano said Pasay City is working out a partnership with several big private companies based in the city to fasttrack the Covid-19 vaccine rollout of the national government.

The move, she said, aims to raise the trust level of majority of the population on the importance of being inoculated with Covid-19 vaccines.

“We have already talked to the private companies so that the local government can help them implement their own vaccination programs for their employees,” she said in a television interview.

Under t he De pa r t ment of Health (DOH) guidelines, private

companies that wish to inoculate their employees must comply with all the guidelines and submit them to the local health office for verification and actual inspection.

Some of the items that have to be checked by the city health office are location and actual space of the planned vaccination site, as well as equipment needed during the inoculation.

Rubiano said that they will also extend the technical assistance that they need.

A mong t he big compa n ies based in the city that have reportedly applied for their vaccination program are Resorts World Manila, LBC and many

others. But Rubiano has yet to confirm this report.

However, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have already manifested their intention of implementing their respective vaccination programs for their employees.

In the same interview, the mayor also said that she would welcome any investigation that would be held relative to the reported vaccination of some Chinese nationals in the city.

She also reiterated that all the Chinese patients underwent careful evaluation when they presented their documents prior to the vaccination.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

School closures should be last recourse amid Covid-19 pandemic–ADB experts

By Cai U. Ordinario

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overnments should not be too quick to close schools to minimize the spread of Covid-19 as these could lead to higher costs for the future the labor force, according to experts from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

In an Asian Development Blog, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Associate Professor Hyuncheol Bryant Kim, as well as ADB Human and Social Development Division Director Sungsup Ra and Social Sector Specialist Ryotaro Hayashi said closing schools should only be an option of last resort.

Nonetheless, the experts said if school closures are lifted, situations must be closely monitored, particularly the effect of Covid-19 variants on students and teachers.

“We must keep in mind that school closure should not be a first option. The school reopening decision should adopt a risk-based approach and school closure be used as a last resort,” they said.

The authors noted the recent Asian Development Outlook (ADO) estimates that school closures will lead

to $1.25 trillion in future earnings losses in Asia and the Pacific. This assumes that every student loses $180 every year from their expected future annual earnings.

In the same study, ADB estimated that the loss in lifetime earnings of Filipino children could be as high as $36.138 billion under the “pessimistic” scenario. The loss in lifetime earnings could reach $26.904 billion under the optimistic scenario and $30.696 billion in the intermediate scenario.

Despite these estimates, the authors said some policy-makers want to keep schools closed until largescale vaccination is achieved in a given population to contribute to herd immunity.

However, they said, this may take a lot of time.

The authors noted that there is limited availability of vaccines, logistics complications, phased approaches in vaccination, and that vaccination for school-aged children have not yet been developed.

“It makes sense to introduce strict lockdowns, including school closure when Covid-19 variants are increasing exponentially as we have seen in some developing countries for the last few weeks. For those

countries with relatively less risk, however, it is reasonable to question whether school closure is the best option to save children’s lives,” the authors said.

They noted that schools have been fully or partially closed for more than a year in many developing countries.

The world’s longest full closure as of 29 March 2021 was Bangladesh, at 47 weeks, according to Unesco.

They added that Myanmar was close behind at 43 weeks followed by the Philippines at 33 weeks. When partial school closure is included, Nepal is highest at 53 weeks in the world and schools in South Asia continue especially long school closures among developing Asian regions.

Earlier, Commission on Higher Education Chairman Prospero de Vera was quoted as saying that there was “no going back to the traditional, full-packed, face-to-face classrooms.” He noted that flexible learning would be the norm in 2021 onward.

De Vera noted that allowing students to go back to classrooms will be a waste of investments made by the government and private institutions on technology, teacher training, and retrofits that were needed in the new normal.

to wear a mask, at least in most situations.

Earlier, Vergeire said there is still no enough evidence to prove that it is already safe to remove face masks for inoculated individuals.

“So we retain our position, hindi pa rin ho kami magrirekomenda ng ganitong pagtatanggal ng mask kung kayo ay bakunado na [We still don’t recommend the removal of masks for those who already received their shots],” she then said.

As compared to the Philippines, Vergeire said that US and other nations already inoculated a large portion of their population.

Govt prepares IRR for coco farmers trust fund proposal

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he government is curre nt ly sol ic it i ng com ments for the draft implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act. The comments will be submitted to the Trust Fund Management Committee, which is composed of the authorized representatives of the Departments of Finance (DOF), Budget and Management (DBM) and of Justice (DOJ) on or before May 31, Monday.

The Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act, or Republic Act (RA) 11524, was signed into law by President Duterte on February 26, 2021 and became effective on March 13, 2021.

“This law will set in motion reforms in the coconut industry and provide efficient utilization of the trust fund in accordance with the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan for the benefit of 2.5 million coconut farmers and their families, and the coconut industry in general,” the DOF said in a news statement issued on Thursday.

The coconut levy fund was derived from fees collected by former President Ferdinand Marcos from coconuts farmers, which was later declared as public funds by the Supreme Court.

Under R A 11521, the estimated P100-billion fund will be used for the development of hybrid coconut seed farms; training of farmers and their families under the coconut registry; research and marketing and promotions for coconut farmers; and crop insurance; far m investments through diversification and/or intercropping.

It will also be used to establish shared facilities for proces s i n g co conut ; org a n i z i n g and empowerment of coconut farmers; credit programs from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Land Bank of the Philippines; infrastructure development; scholarship program; and health and medical programs.

T he said programs w ill be contained in the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP) to be crafted by the “ r e c o n s t i t u t e d a n d t h e strengthened ” Philippine C o c o n u t A u t h o r i t y ( P C A ).

The PCA was also tasked to complete the Coconut Farmer Registry, who will include the beneficiaries of the CFIDP programs.

Cai U. Ordinario