BusinessMirror October 18, 2021

GOCC dividends swell coffers by ₧53.1B

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

D

I V IDENDS rem it ted by state-run firms to government coffers have reached P53.1 billion from January to September this year, the Department of Finance said.

Finance Assistant Secretary Soledad Emilia Cruz told reporters in an interview that Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) topped the list of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) that remitted the highest dividends, accounting for P15.9 billion. This is equivalent to almost 30 percent of the total amount of dividends remitted by all GOCCs during the period.

Under Republic Act 7656 or

the Dividends Law, GOCCs are requ ired to dec lare and remit at least 50 percent of their annual net earnings as cash, stock or proper t y d iv idend s to t he national government.

Trailing BSP on the list is the National Transmission Corporation with P8.32 billion in dividend remittances, followed by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (P7.1 billion), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (P6 billion), and Philippine Ports Authority (P3.76 billion).

Completing the top 10 GOCCs with highest dividend remittances are Bases Conversion and Development Authority (P1.72 billion), Philippine Reclamation Authority (P1.7 billion), Subic Bay Metropolitan Au-

thority (P1.21 billion), Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corporation (P1 billion), and National Power Corporation (P900 million).

Dividends remitted by 57 GOCCs last year reached P157 billion, the highest amount ever collected since the implementation of the Dividends Law in 1994.

Of t he P157 bi l l ion, t hreefourths or P119.1 billion partly funded the social amelioration prog ram t hat t he gover nment implemented to cushion the economic impact of the Cov id-19 pandemic on the country’s poorest household and other vulnerable sectors. This amount also contributed to the government’s unprogrammed revenues.

In April this year, Finance Sec-

retary Carlos G. Dominguez III proposed increasing the mandated dividend remittances of GOCCs to the national treasury from the current 50 percent to at least 75 percent of their net earnings in a bid to raise funds for a possible third economic stimulus bill or Bayanihan 3.

Dominguez, however, told senators in September this year that the government’s “healthy” tax collections and inflows from dividends of GOCCs are still “insufficient” to fund a deficit-neutral P175-billion Bayanihan 3 or the third stimulus package.

While they have yet to find counterpart funding for Bayanihan 3, Dominguez said having the third stimulus package is still “not out of the question.”

‘INFLATION DATA WON’T SPUR RATE-HIKE MOVE’

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Monday, October 18, 2021 Vol. 17 No. 10

P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 26 pages |

TRADE CONTROL INDEX: PHL IS ‘MOST IMPROVED’

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

@Tyronepiad

T

WOMEN workers on wheels ride with their respective deliveries —and precious cargo—on Quirino Avenue in Manila, in this recent photo. According to a UN report, a higher prevalence of Covid-19 correlated with a higher rate of female unemployment. As jobs disappeared with lockdowns, more women were forced to support themselves and their families on meager wages. NONIE REYES

C

By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

URRENT inflationary pressures will not force the Central Bank to hike monetary policy rates, as their latest assessment continues to confirm that the elevated price growth remains transitory, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said on Sunday.

See “Inflation,” A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.6090

HE Philippines is the most improved country in terms of strategic trade control implementation, jumping to 49th rank this year from 86th place in 2020 based on the 2021/2022 Peddling Peril Index (PPI).

In a statement on Sunday, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) noted that the country scored 482 points in the latest report, higher than 273 points it garnered previously.

“PPI rates 200 nations based on their strategic trade control adoption and implementation, with the goal of assisting countries in strengthening their systems by examining the degree of their implementation and enforcement, as well as tracking their progress over time,” DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said.

DTI defined strategic goods as “items with civilian and military applications,” noting that many of them “can be used as materials or parts of

weapons of mass destruction [WMD].”

Several nations are implementing strategic trade control laws in compliance with international pacts to prevent proliferation of WMDs. For its part, the DTI said the Philippines enacted the Strategic Trade Management Act. Among the five super criteria under the PPI, the Philippines saw the biggest improvement in ability to prevent proliferation financing. Score for this pillar rose to 113 from 29.

The trade department said the better performance was due to the issuance by the Strategic Trade Management Office of guidelines to comply with the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regarding the implementation of financing and brokering.

In addition, the DTI said the Anti-Money Laundering Council also released targeted financial sanctions related to the proliferation of WMD and proliferation financing earlier this year.

Continued on A10

In pandemic, govt tops people’s health spend

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

I

T took a pandemic for the government’s health expenses to exceed those made by households, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Data showed that Cur rent Health Expenditures (CHE) made

by the government reached P402.24 billion in 2020, half a percent higher than the P400.1 billion spent by households on health last year.

Last year, the country’s Total Health Expenditures (THE) breached the P1-trillion mark at P1.004 trillion for the first time since the Philippine National Health Accounts (PNHA) was collected.

“Yes, by financing scheme, this is the first [time] that government and compulsory social schemes combined [recorded a] larger share than households,” Gerald Clarin, PSA Division Chief in charge of the health accounts, told this newspaper.

The PNHA showed that government schemes and compulsory contributory health-care financing schemes accounted for 45.7

percent of the country’s CHE while Household out-of-pocket payment accounted for 44.7 percent.

Data provided to BusinessMirror by PSA Assistant National Statistician Vivian R. Ilarina also showed that government health expenditures in 2020 posted double- and triple-digit growth figures last year.

n JAPAN 0.4453 n UK 69.2179 n HK 6.5057 n CHINA 7.8581 n SINGAPORE 37.5326 n AUSTRALIA 37.5266 n EU 58.7115 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4932

See “Pandemic,” A2

Source: BSP (October 15, 2021)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, October 18, 2021

TUCP cries foul over firms’ delayed pay for unvaxxed

U

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

NVACCINATED workers are now not only at risk of losing their employment, some are now also being threatened with delayed wages by their employers, according to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

The country’s largest labor group immediately called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to impose harsh penalties on companies engaging in the socalled “no vaccine, no pay” scheme.

In a statement on Sunday, TUCP President Raymond Mendoza urged DOLE to come out with a new advisory “outlining the fines and im-

prisonment imposed on employers for withholding the salaries of unvaccinated employees.”

He said the advisory should include double indemnification for erring companies to deter others from implementing such illegal work arrangements.

Citing the provision of the Republic Act (RA) No. 8188 or the

Pandemic…

Ilarina said Department of Health (DOH) spending recorded an increase of 80.3 percent, while Government-Owned and -Con-

Continued from A1

trolled Corporations (GOCCs) such as Kidney Center, Lung Center, Heart Center, recorded a combined growth of 120.3 percent last year.

Double Indemnity Law, Mendoza said the concerned companies should be made to pay double the unpaid benefits they owed to their employees.

“The DOLE must act immediately before this practice spreads and becomes a norm,” Mendoza said.

Getting rampant

TUCP issued the statement after some workers had the release of their salaries withheld by their supervisors until they could present vaccination cards indicating they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

It noted that the practice is against the provisions of DOLE Labor Advisory No. 03-21 and Republic Act 11525 or the “Act Establishing the Covid-19 Vaccination Program Expediting the Vaccine Procurement and Administration Process,” which states that vaccine cards “shall not be considered as an She noted that local government spending for health also increased given the pandemic. “All Covid cases were covered by the government,” Ilarina said in the vernacular.

In terms of disease, data showed 30.9 percent of the health expenses were spent on infectious and para-

additional mandatory requirement for education, employment, and other similar government transaction purposes.”

TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay lamented that the number of workers who reported salaries being delayed were outnumbered by those who lost their jobs because of their vaccine status.

“So far, no vaccine, no work is getting rampant compared to ‘no vaccine, no salary,” Tanjusay told BusinessMirror in a SMS. He noted most of the said cases were immediately settled, but he said TUCP is currently still handling one of each violation.

Those with withheld salaries, Tanjusay said, involve a group of workers in the service sector and are pending at a DOLE regional office.

TUCP urged DOLE to intensify its workplace inspections to prevent companies from implementing anti-labor vaccine policies.

sitic diseases in 2020, followed by spending for non-communicable diseases which accounted for 30.5 percent of CHE. Total expenses for infectious and parasitic diseases reached P276.66 billion in 2020 while spending for non-communicable diseases reached P273.51 billion last year.

Under the expenses for infectious and parasitic diseases, the highest was spending for respiratory diseases, which increased 6.34 percent to P84.87 billion in 2020 from P79.8 billion in 2019.

“By disease group, Covid-19 falls under respiratory infection, which grew 6.3 percent in 2020. Kindly note also that Covid-19 expenses of those in hospital are shared among the households, social and private insurance, PhilHealth, and government,” Clarin said.

Meanwhile, the country’s THE, which comprises CHE accounting for 89.2 percent and Health Capital Formation Expenditure with a 10.8-percent share, was recorded P1.003 trillion in 2020.

It grew by 10.4 percent from P909.50 billion in 2019. The share of THE to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current prices was 5.6 percent, up from 4.7 percent in 2019.

The country’s health spending or CHE reached P895.88 billion in 2020, 12.6 percent higher compared with P795.64 billion in 2019.

Health Capital Formation Expenditure decreased to P108.09 billion in 2020, down 5.1 percent from P113.86 billion in 2019.

Among health-care providers, the bulk of spending was spent on hospitals at 43.8 percent, followed by pharmacies at 28.2 percent, and providers of preventive care at 9 percent.

Inflation...

Continued from A1

Speaking to reporters via Viber on Sunday, Diokno said while central bankers and policy-makers seem divided on the path of inflation, the BSP’s assessment continues to show inflation retreating to within target levels in the coming months.

“The BSP staff forecasts that average inflation this year will be about 4.5 percent, slightly above the upper range of the target 2 to 4 percent. Inflation is expected to settle at an average of 3.3 percent in 2020,” Diokno said.

“What’s the implication on monetary policy? Since the inflation pressures are coming

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KIDS, SENIORS STILL NOT ALLOWED IN RESTOS, BUT…

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

A

GE restrictions will continue to be implemented whether dining indoors or outdoors under Alert Level 3 in the National Capital Region (NCR), but there may be room for local government units (LGUs) to ease them.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez told the BusinessMirror, “Only allowed [to dine in restaurants] are APORs (authorized persons outside of residences) and those with essential errands, including medical reasons. So yes, [age restrictions in dining establishments] are same as Alert Level 4 [where] children below 18 and those above 65 are not allowed.”

to eat before going home,” explained the chief of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Lopez also clarified that under Alert Level 3, managed buffets will continue: “Yes. With servers and all safety protocols.”

New dining guidelines

UNDER Alert Level 3, restaurants are allowed to offer more seats to guests, whether for those vaccinated or the unvaccinated. “Dine-in services in food preparation establishments such as kiosks, commissaries, restaurants, and eateries, subject to DTI sector-specif ic protocols” are allowed to operate at a “maximum of 30-percent indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals only, and 50 percent for outdoor venue capacity,” according

“Only allowed [to dine in restaurants] are APORs (authorized persons outside of residences) and those with essential errands, including medical reasons.”

RAMON M. LOPEZ

BM

SECRETARY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Under the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ (IATF) Guidelines on the Implementation of Alert Levels System for Covid-19 Response in Pilot Areas dated October 13, 2021 for Alert Level-3: “Intrazonal and interzonal travel shall be allowed subject to reasonable restrictions based on age and comorbidities, as may be determined by the LGUs, which should not be stricter as those prescribed under Alert Level 4 and subject to the oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of their respective RIATF (Regional IATF). Provided, that those below 18 years of age, and those belonging to the vulnerable population, shall be allowed access to obtain essential goods and services….”

While there are no longer age restrictions for staycations in Metro Manila hotels certified by the Department of Tourism to offer staycations, in the case of dining in restaurants, “There should be a special reason for children and those over 65 years old for being out. That’s why it just depends on LGUs if they will allow [those aged below 18 and above 65 years] to pass by al fresco dining

from the supply side, there appears to be no justification for monetary intervention. For example, would an interest rate hike bring about higher world crude supply? Of course not,” Diokno said.

The BSP has been keeping its record-low monetary policy rates for the entire year in an effort to support the country’s recovery.

However, some market analysts raised concerns on how long the BSP can keep its accommodative monetary policy stance, especially as inflation remains elevated.

Diokno said risks to the inflation outlook may appear to be on the upside over the near term, but broadly balanced for 2022 and 2023.

“A s a result of increasing inf lation pressures, a number

to the IATF guidelines. This means restaurants and other dining establishments with a Safety Seal issued by the DTI are entitled to another 10 percent additional seating capacity, such that it will be 40 percent of total capacity for indoor dining, and 60 percent for outdoor or al fresco dining.

A l so, workers/employees of these establishments have to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and minimum public health and safety standards should be strictly maintained. “Provided further, that there is no objection from the LGU where these activities may take place,” the IATF underscored.

Metro Manila was put under Alert Level 3 on October 16 with health experts seeing a reduction in Covid-19 cases especially of the Delta variant. As of said date, the Department of Health recorded 7,772 new Covid cases, raising the total recorded Covid cases to some 2.71 million. In the NCR, 62 percent of the 1,500 Intensive Care Unit beds have been utilized, 39 percent of 4,900 isolation beds have been used, 44 percent of 4,300 ward beds, and 46 percent of 1,000 ventilators.

of centra l banks in the world have started to raise interest rates. Many have decided to wait.

To me, the harm that tightening monetary policy too soon exceeds the harm of moving too late, given that the Philippine economy is at its nascent state of economic recovery,” Diokno said.

“In any event, based on the evidence at the time of its decision, the Monetary Board will decide on the appropriate timing of its policy change. It won’t be influenced by opinion makers, market analysts or twitters,” he added.

The monetary board is scheduled to meet for their monetary policy setting meeting on November 18. This will be the seventh monetary policy meeting of the BSP for the year.

Economy BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, October 18, 2021 A3

QC LGU slams mayoral bet on property tax hike T

HE Quezon City government has criticized Anakalusugan Rep. Michael T. Defensor, who has eyes on the mayoral seat in the 2022 elections, for “misleading the public on an alleged forthcoming tax hike.”

“He is lying,” City Attorney Orlando Paolo F. Casimiro was quoted in a statement as saying. “The ordinance mentioned by the lawmaker has nothing to do with increasing the land tax rate, but refers to the increasing assessed value of properties in Quezon City.”

Casimiro was referring to Ordinance SP-2556, which was passed in 2016 when Mayor Josefina Tanya “Joy” G. Belmonte was still vice mayor and presiding officer of the Quezon City Council.

According to the lawyer, the ordinance was passed in compliance with the mandate of Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991 (as amended) that all local government units (LGUs) must conduct real property assessment every three years.

Casimiro noted that the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the implementation of the ordinance after it was questioned before the High Court in 2017.

The SC junked the petition in 2018.

“It was never enforced as the fulfillment of Belmonte’s promise during the 2019 campaign that her administration won’t increase real property taxes,” the statement said.

Taxes not hiked

ACCORDING to Casimiro, “it is primarily a legislative measure where then-Vice Mayor Belmonte’s role was the presiding officer.”

“As Mayor, she never enforced any increase in real property tax,” Casimiro stressed. “Further, consistent with her policy and in consideration of the plight of the public during this pandemic, no public auction due to real property tax delinquency was ever conducted during her term.”

The official further clarified that the ordinance won’t lead to an increase in land tax as it only correctly adjusts land values so landowners may realize higher returns on their lands.

“The taxes are not to be increased,” Casimiro stressed.

While the city government plans to adhere to the increased land values as mandated by law, the official said that enforcement “is not even near the horizon” as the same has been suspended by the City Council.

Casimiro also pointed out that Defensor’s promise not to increase land

taxes in Quezon City is not actually new as Belmonte has been doing it for the past three years.

“Please note that during the [mayor’s] administration, taxes did not increase in the last three years,” Casimiro was quoted in the statement as saying. “So Defensor’s promise is moot and old news already.”

2021 and 2022.

Sotto called on his colleagues in Tagalog, especially elected officials, to be careful with their statements.

“Tayo po ay patuloy na nananawagan sa ating mga kasamahan sa Lungsod [lalo na at sila ay naturingang mga halal ng taumbayan] namagingmaingatsakanilang mga inilalabas na pahayag sa publiko.”

include other revenue coming from the national government, such as internal revenue allotment (IRA), the statement said.

The tax income came from real property tax, business tax, and other taxes, such as amusement, transfer, contractors and non-revenues such as slaughterhouses.

Roots of issue

Author of ordinance

Promised discount

THE statement from the QC LGU also quoted Vice Mayor Gian Carlo G. Sotto as having declared in a previous statement that there are no new taxes in Quezon City.

Sotto, also the presiding officer of the Quezon City Council, was quoted in the statement as saying that Ordinance SP-2556, S-2016 was passed during the term of former Mayor Herbert Constantine M. Bautista in compliance with RA 7160.

But under Belmonte as vice mayor, the ordinance has been suspended and continues to be not collected on the power of SP-2778, series of 2018, (suspending collection for 2018 and 2019) and SP-8888, series of 2019 (suspending for 2020), Sotto said in Tagalog.

He added that the City Council also passed two more ordinances— SP-2986 and SP-2996—suspending the implementation of SP-2556 in

MAJORITY Leader Franz S. Pumaren as well as Councilor Victor V. “Jun” Ferrer Jr., who authored the ordinance on the suspension of the increase in land valuation, echoed Sotto’s point.

“The alleged tax hike is nothing but fake news. It will remain suspended until Mayor Belmonte is holding office. The truth is, no decent politician will take advantage of the pandemic and the suffering public to sow fear and confusion,” Pumaren and Ferrer was quoted in the statement as saying.

Earlier, City Treasurer Edgar T. Villanueva said the city government continues to “hit and even surpass its own tax collection target” even without additional revenue sources.

The Quezon City government said the LGU collected P22 billion in taxes from local sources in 2020, surpassing its 2019 collection of P19.33 billion. The number did not

THE day the Quezon City LGU issued its statement, Defensor also issued his own, promising to grant all 74,750 enterprises operating in Quezon City a 5-percent discount in their local business taxes “so that they can start hiring back laid-off workers.”

“The tax discount is just one of our highly aggressive strategies to swiftly revive all employment-generating economic activities in the city to their pre-pandemic levels,” Defensor was quoted in a statement as saying. “We are counting on the discount to help businesses, especially small and medium enterprises with less than 200 workers, get back on their feet.”

According to the mayoral-hopeful, “with the discount, the city will be putting a total of P625 million in cash back in the pockets of business owners, mostly single proprietorship shops.”

Defensor has filed his certificate of candidacy for Quezon City

mayor in the 2022 elections, along with his vice mayoral running mate, former 3-term Representative and now Councilor Winston T. “Winnie” Castelo.

Opening opportunity

ACCORDING to Defensor, registered enterprises in Quezon City paid a total of P12.5 billion in local business taxes in 2020.

“To energize household consumption spending, we will also provide P3 billion worth of direct financial aid to the jobless, informal workers, health staff, teachers, police officers and public-sector employees,” the solon said. “We will stimulate not only the supply side of the local economy by helping industries produce more goods and services, but also the demand side by giving extra-buying power to consumers.”

Defensor said his team previously unveiled their 3-point economic roadmap, worth some P17 billion, to enable Quezon City to recover quickly from the Covid-19 crisis.

Besides the P3 billion in direct financial subsidy to consumers, the plan includes P5 billion in incentives to businesses and P9 billion in new local infrastructure-spending to provide jobs and livelihood support to low-income families.

The Nation BusinessMirror

A4 Monday, October 18, 2021 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Typhoon Maring’s damage to life, farms further swells

By Jasper Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

& Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

T

HE number of reported casualties as well as damage to farmlands from Severe Tropical Storm Maring has swelled, government officials reported last Sunday.

According to the latest government report released on October 17, the damage caused by the onslaught of Maring to farms in eight regions is nearing P2 billion with over 60,000 farmers affected.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said farm losses due to the typhoon have reached P1.87 billion with 60,195 farmers affected.

The losses were recorded from 69,868 hectares of agricultural areas damaged in Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Western Visayas and Soccsksargen. Maring caused a production volume loss of about 91,407 metric tons (MT).

“Affected commodities include rice, corn, high value crops, livestock and fisheries, and irrigation and agri-facilities. These values are subject to validation,” the DA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center said in its Bulletin 9 released on Sunday morning.

It added that the DA’s regional field offices (RFOs) are conducting assessment and validation of dam-

age and losses brought by the storm in the agri-fisheries sector.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said its data revealed the storm’s damage to agriculture products has hit P2.173 billion.

Casualties increased

THE NDRRMC also reported an increase in casualties and damage to infrastructure after Maring made landfall six days ago.

Casualties climbed to 40 people as of Sunday while several areas in Northern and Central Luzon remained flooded.

Of t he 40 casu a lt ies, t he NDRRMC said 23 have been validated while 17 are undergoing official confirmation. At least 16 people are still missing while three others were injured.

The province of Ilocos Sur, which recorded its worse and widest flooding in years, recorded 14 deaths, followed by Pangasinan with seven and Benguet with nine.

While it has been days since Maring left the country, at least 25 areas in Regions 1 and 3 are still flooded while four areas, still in Region 1 are still without communication.

At least 27 cities and municipalities and eight other cities and towns have remained without power and water respectively, but maintenance personnel are working to restore them.

The NDRRMC said Maring’s damage to government projects has reached P1.056 billion aside from a

total of 7, 399 houses that were totally and partially damaged in Southern, Northern and Central Luzon and in Caraga, which covers the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Butuan City.

According to the NDRRMC, Maring affected 155, 156 families or 611, 705 individuals in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4-A, 4-B and 6 and in Caraga and the National Capital Region.

Projects, production

THE DA’s latest assessment showed the rice sector remained the worst hit sector as it accounted for 72.26 percent of the total estimated damage and losses.

The rice sector has recorded P1.4 billion in losses to date with 60,154 hectares of farms affected and an estimated volume loss of 77,258 MT, according to the DA. T h e DA s a i d t h e s t o r m’s damage to the corn sector has reached P144.9 million with a volume loss of 8,624 MT from 7,830 hectares affected.

The DA added that the fisheries sector has recorded P110.1million worth of losses with 1,736 fishermen affected. The DA said it has also recorded P140.6-million worth of damage to various irrigation and agriculture facilities, including diversion dams, small water irrigation projects and communal irrigation.

High value crops (HVC) farmers, on the other hand, have reported an income loss of nearly P80 million as

‘Efficient logistics required with holiday orders’ surge’

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @TyronePiad

5,526 MT of their produce were damaged from 1,883 hectares of land.

The ty phoon’s damage and losses to the livestock and poultry sector has reached P42.4 million as Maring affected 19,515 heads of chicken, cattle, swine ,carabao, horse, goat, duck, sheep, turkey, rabbit and geese.

Program response

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THE DA said it will provide P1.5billion worth of interventions and assistance to the affected farmers and fishermen by Typhoon Maring.

The interventions include the following: P172-million worth of quick response fund to rehabilitate affected areas; P296-million worth of free seeds (rice, corn, assorted vegetables); P19-million worth of fingerlings; and, P1-million worth of drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry.

The DA added that the affected farmers may tap the P650-million worth of emergency loan credit offered by the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC). Furthermore, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) will indemnify the 44,208 affected farmers in CAR, Regions I, II, III and Mimaropa worth P370 million, according to the DA. “The DA will continue to coordinate with concerned NGAs, LGUs and other DRRM-related offices for the impact of “MARING,” as well as available resources for interventions and assistance,” it said.

W

ITH Christmas spending and holiday sales just around the corner, an ecommerce solutions provider said online retailers need to have an efficient and technology-backed logistics system to handle the upcoming surge of orders.

Anchanto Pte. Ltd. Founder and CEO Vaibhav Dabhade, in an interview with the BusinessMirror, said that order volumes are expected to increase in the fourth quarter as online shipping has become the norm.

“Obviously, all the brands, retailers and eDistributors are expecting their logistics providers to focus on improving lead timelines, delivery frequency,” Dabhade said.

He explained that a surge in order volumes will test the “efficiency, speed and accuracy” of the logistics of the e-commerce firms, in addition to keeping a sizable buffer stock.

“Another challenge faced by seller businesses is the demand for continuous updates or communications from customers,” Dabhade said.

“Today, once they shop for a product, they like to keep a track of the entire delivery process.”

The Anchanto official said that among the systems an e-commerce seller should have must include inventory management, accounting tool and last-mile carriers.

As such, a unified full suite eWarehouse Management System (WMS) is helpful because it does not only address the logistics needs of the retailers, but it also connects them to multiple industry systems, he explained.

“Having a WMS helps manage orders, inventory and warehouse

processes with clear visibility,” Dabhade said. “With real-time customizable reports, eCommerce actors can inspect function-specific data for orders, shipment carriers, manage return order processing all the while enabling customized reports as per user preference.”

Inefficiency in logistics for the ecommerce industry may translate to revenue losses, he warned.

“While delays or errors in order fulfillment directly impact the image of the brand, inefficiencies lead to issues like overselling and underselling causing revenue losses,” he explained.

In addition, Dabhade said that lack of constant updates or communication with customers can affect customer experience and satisfaction.

Seamless platforms

THE Anchanto founder said the customers no longer differentiate between online and offline channels when shopping.

Dabhade explained that the consuming public wants to to have all the information, all the perks, and benefits available to them uniformly across all sales channels.

“This makes it imperative for the brands and retailers to take the omnichannel approach and establish processes that allow sync and manage all their operations in one place,” Dabhade said. “And such high experience demands also mean that the brands must leverage technology at every single touch point of their entire supply chain.”

Having the right technology that can unify the processes and operations in one system will allow the online retailers to access crucial customer data and understand shopping behaviors across channels.

SC finds elected Abra mayor a Filipino, junks poll protest

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

T

HE Supreme Court has upheld the election of Rovelyn Villamor as mayor of Lagangilang, Abra after establishing that she was able to reacquire her Filipino citizenship prior to her candidacy in 2019.

In a vote of 11-2, the Court granted the petition of Villamor assailing the two resolutions dated April 26, 2019 and November 27, 2019, issued by the Second Division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Comelec En Banc, respectively, which granted

the election protest filed by Antonio Bello Viernes, her only rival in the 2019 mayoralty race. The Court said that its resolution is “immediately executory.”

Viernes earlier filed before the Comelec a petition under Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) seeking the denial/cancellation of Villamor’s certificate of candidacy (COC) on the ground that she allegedly falsely claimed that she was eligible to run for mayor when she was reportedly a naturalized American citizen.

But the SC declared that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion when it ruled in favor of Viernes

and disqualified Villamor from the post without any prior determination of whether or not she had intended to deceive or mislead the electorate.

The SC said the Comelec the poll body was unable to determine Villamor’s intent to deceive or mislead the electorate.

In fact, the SC stressed that Villamor never kept it from the public her status as a naturalized American citizen and the date when she renounced it.

This shows lack of bad faith on the part of the mayor, according to the SC. The High Tribunal also found sufficient proof supporting Villamor’s claim that she had reestablished residence in

the Philippines after her naturalization as an American citizen in 2009.

The Court noted that Villamor also acquired properties in Lagangilang Municipality, paid taxes and registered and voted in the May 2018 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections; and that these were never used to question her residence qualification.

Aside from these, the High Tribunal concluded that she had complied with the 6-month minimum residency requirement for voters during the May 2018 elections; thus satisfied the 1-year residency requirement for a mayoralty candidate in 2019.

Govt lowers quarantine levels in three provinces

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

P

ROMPTED by the declining number of new novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and other developments in Bulacan, Apayao and Capiz this month, the government decided to lower the quarantine restrictions in the three provinces.

In a brief statement last Sunday, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) opted to place the three areas under general community quarantine (GCQ).

“Bulacan and Apayao were initially placed under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) while Capiz was initially placed under GCQ with heightened restrictions,” Roque said.

The new qualification will be in effect from October 18 to October 31.

Based on the Covid-19 tracker website of the Department of Health (DOH), the 2,106 weekly average Covid-19 cases in Bulacan from September 30 to October 6, 2021 dropped to 1,452 the following week.

In Apayao, it was 227 to 73 and in Capiz it was 260 to 244.

Likewise, bed occupancy levels in the

health facilities in the three provinces are also around 50 percent per area.

Both Covid-19 cases and available health care facilities are among the usual considerations used by the IATF in deciding the quarantine classification of a specific area.

Last Thursday, it was also reported that Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando will appeal to the IATF to lower the community quarantine restriction in his province.

Bulacan, Apayao and Capiz will now be included in other areas to be placed under GCQ until the end of the month.

The list includes: Ilocos Norte; Dagupan City; Ifugao; Benguet; Tarlac; Lucena City; Occidental Mindoro; Oriental Mindoro; Puerto Princesa; Marinduque; Albay; and Camarines Norte for Luzon; Aklan; Antique; Guimaras; Negros Occidental; Iloilo City; Iloilo Province; Cebu City; Cebu Province; Mandaue City; Siquijor; and, Tacloban City for the Visayas.

In Mindanao, the GCQ areas are: Zamboanga Sibugay; Misamis Occidental; Iligan City; Davao City; Davao Oriental; Davao del Sur; General Santos City; Sultan Kudarat; Sarangani; North Cotabato; South Cotabato; Agusan del Norte; Agusan del Sur; Surigao del Norte; Dinagat Islands; Cotabato City; and, Lanao del Sur for Mindanao.

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Monday, October 18, 2021 A5

Imports beef up pork inventory in Oct–NMIS

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE country’s frozen pork inventory in the first week of October reached a record 83,469.53 metric tons (MT) due to the influx of imports.

As the nationwide frozen pork inventory continues to expand, industry players urged the government to allow the sale of certain imported pork products outside Mega Manila.

Latest National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) data showed that nationwide frozen pork inventory as of October 4 was 2.5 percent higher than the 81,435.87 MT recorded on September 27.

On a monthly basis, the latest inventory volume was almost 10 percent higher than the 76,046.43 MT recorded on September 6. The frozen pork inventory as of October 4 was also 72.62 percent higher than the 48,354.09 MT recorded a year ago.

NMIS data also showed that about 97 percent, or 81,168.72

MT, of the latest nationwide frozen pork inventory were imported while locally-produced pork accounted for the remaining volume of 2,300.81 MT. The Cold Chain Association of the Philippines (CCAP) attributed the increase in frozen pork inventory to the influx of imported pork.

The group said pork inventory build-up in cold storage facilities was also due to the recent lockdowns.

CCAP President Anthony S. Dizon said a lot of pork imports, which were held up by shipping delays and logistical problems, have arrived in recent months.

To decongest cold storage facilities, Dizon told the BusinessMirror that the government must consider lifting the restriction on selling imported pork outside Mega Manila under the government’s minimum access volume plus (MAV+) program.

This will also allow other regions to enjoy cheaper pork.

Under the MAV+ program, which was implemented to boost domestic

CCC bats for improved access to affordable, healthy food

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

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HE Climate Change Commission (CCC) on Sunday called for improved access to healthy, affordable, and sustainable food amid the era of a global pandemic.

The CCC issued the call as the global community observes World Food Day, with the theme: “Our actions are our future.”

Celebrated every year around the world on October 16 in honor of the date of the founding of the FAO in 1945, World Food Day aims to tackle global hunger and eradicate it across the world. It also aims to bring awareness on the important global issues, such as poverty, conflict and climate change that impact the world’s food supply and distribution.

The CCC noted that as per the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), more than 3 billion people, or almost 40 pecent of the world’s population cannot afford a healthy diet, while almost 2 billion people are overweight or obese due to poor diet and sedentary lifestyle.

Moreover, about 14 percent of the world’s food is lost due to inadequate harvesting, handling, storage, and transit, and 17 percent is wasted at the consumer level, and in turn, emits greenhouse gas.

With Covid-19, intensifying impacts of climate change, and unsustainable management of food, nutrition, and food security are expected to worsen, and the vulnerable and marginalized sectors like smallholder farmers and indigenous peoples

will be severely affected, CCC said.

With this, the CCC urges all sectors—national and governments, businesses, civil society groups, academe, the youth, and individuals—to unite and play more positive roles to end hunger by raising awareness and by adopting a more sustainable food system that shall ensure the production and availability of affordable and nutritious food for every Filipino. These must be done while changing consumption behaviors.

The CCC said existing good practices like the “Plant, Plant, Plant” and the Adaptation and Mitigation Initiatives in Agriculture (AMIA) programs of the Department of Agriculture should continue and be strengthened; the Gulayan sa Paaralan of the Department of Education should be supported at the local level; and climate-resilient farming practices should be scaled up to keep a steady supply of healthy food within communities.

The agency also points to the harmful effects of food waste, and presented easy steps to avoid it:

Shop smart by making a list and sticking to it;

Get only what you can eat;

Bring home leftovers;

Store your food correctly;

Save your seeds and either plant or share; and • Compost as much as you can.

“The food we produce, purchase, cook, eat, and store impacts the entire food cycle. It is crucial to be mindful of our actions to secure brighter future of the environment and human beings,” CCC said.

READY FOR DISTRIBUTION Truckloads of relief packs sent by Partido Federal ng

Pilipinas standard-bearer Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. that were turned over to the provincial governments of La Union and Benguet are now ready for distribution. The relief packs, consisting of food and other supplies including face masks and Vitamin C for the families affected by the recent Typhoon Maring in the provinces of La Union and Benguet were turned over to Gov. Pacoy Ortega and Gov. Melchor Diclas, respectively. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

supply, the government allowed traders to bring in some 200,000 MT of imported pork at lower tariffs. However, imports under the MAV+ program can only be sold in Mega Manila including the National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby provinces like Bulacan and Laguna.

NMIS data showed that cold storage facilities in NCR, Regions 3 and 4-A have about 68,324.38 MT of imported pork, or 83.86 percent of the total imported pork inventory nationwide.

The BusinessMirror earlier reported that the Philippines approved the importation of 1.717 million MT of meat products as of end-August— more than double the previous year’s volume—driven by the country’s dire need for pork supply.

The volume was based on the total number of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPS-ICs) approved and issued by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) for meat imports from January to August.

The volume, based on latest BAI

Govt starts construction of SPIS in San

Miguel, Bulacan

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GRARIAN reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in San Miguel, Bulacan will soon have their own solar-powered irrigation system (SPIS), according to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

DA R a n nou nce d t h at t he agency held the groundbreaking ceremony for the SPIS, signaling the start of its construction.

Once completed, the project is expected to boost the income of small farmers in the area.

DA R-Bu l ac a n P rov i nc i a l Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Abdullah Linog said the installation of two off-grid and on-grid inverters powered by 32 units solar panels with 24 pcs 12 volts batteries for 24 hours operation will be a big help to 102 members of the Balaong Vegetable Farmers MPC in Balaong, San Miguel, Bulacan.

The SPIS is currently the most appropriate modern farming technique needed in the area, which is considered an off-the-grid farming community, according to DAR. “Through SPIS, we hope that all of you ARBs will be inspired to make the lands awarded to you by the DAR become more productive. We hope that you will take care of all the projects provided by DAR and other government agencies,” Linog said in a statement.

He said the SPIS project is part of a whole-of-government approach as a continuing effort of the DAR to help and support the ARBs to increase their yield and income.

The YCC Enterprise will deliver the materials for the installation of the SPIS, with the members of agrarian reform beneficiary organizations assigned to do the construction of the irrigation system. The project will be regularly inspected by SPIS technical personnel during the period of its installation which is within the next 14 days.

The solar-powered irrigation system worth P1 million will be turned over to the Balaong Vegetable Farmers MPC within the year to increase the farm productivity of its members.

“We would like to thank the DAR for the irrigation project and farm implements they have provided, it would be of great help to our organization,” Balaong Vegetable Farmers MPC Chairman Catalino Santiago said.

The irrigation system will irrigate a minimum of 5 hectares of farmland and a maximum of 7 hectares benefitting the 102 members of the cooperative, who are all identified as ARBs. Jonathan L. Mayuga

data, was 107 percent higher than the 828,892.915 MT approved for importation last year.

BAI data showed that pork imports accounted for half of the approved SPS-ICs during the eight-

month period or about 837,955.337 MT, which was triple the 276,424.228 MT approved a year ago.

A6

Monday, October 18, 2021

The World BusinessMirror

Russia’s daily Covid deaths exceed 1,000 for first time

Medical workers carry a patient suspected of having coronavirus on a stretcher at a hospital in Kommunarka, outside Moscow, Russia on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. Russia’s daily death toll from Covid-19 has exceeded 1,000 for the first time as the country faces a sustained wave of rising infections. AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko

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OSCOW—Russia’s daily death toll from Covid-19 has exceeded 1,000 for the first time as the country faces a sustained wave of rising infections.

T he national coronav irus task force on Saturday reported 1,002 deaths in the previous day, up from 999 on Friday, along with 33,208 new confirmed Covid-19 cases, more than 1,000 higher than the day before.

Russian aut hor ities have tried to speed up the pace of vaccinations with lotteries, bonuses and other incentives, but

widespread vaccine skepticism and conf licting signals from officials stymied the efforts.

The government said this week that about 43 million Russians, or about 29% of the country’s nearly 146 million people, are fully vaccinated.

Despite the mounting toll, the Kremlin has ruled out a new nationwide lockdown like the

one early on in the pandemic that badly hurt the economy, eroding President Vladimir Putin’s popularity. Instead, it has delegated the power to enforce coronavirus restrictions to regional authorities.

Some of Russia’s 85 regions have restricted attendance at large public events and limited access to theaters, restaurants and other venues. However, daily life is going on largely as normal in Moscow, St. Petersburg and many other Russian cities.

Health Minister Mikhail Murashko acknowledged this week that medical facilities have come under growing strains and said authorities have offered retired medics who have gotten vaccinated the option of returning

to work.

O vera l l, t he coronav ir us task force has registered more t h a n 7, 9 5 8 ,0 0 0 con f i r me d cases and 222,315 deaths—Europe’s highest death toll. The official record ranks Russia as having the fifth-most pandemic deaths in the world following the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico.

However, state statistics agenc y Rosstat, which a lso counts deaths in which the virus wasn’t considered the main cause, has reported a much higher pandemic death toll — about 418,000 people with Covid-19 as of August. Based on that number, Russia would rank as the fourth hardest-hit nation in the world, ahead of Mexico. AP

Asean ministers downgrade Myanmar presence in summit in major rebuke

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UALA LUMPUR, Malaysi a— Sout hea st A si a n foreign ministers have agreed to downgrade Myanmar’s participation in an upcoming summit in their sharpest rebuke yet of its leaders following a February 1 military takeover.

Myanmar objected to the decision by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to invite a non-political representative instead of Myanmar’s militar y leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the grouping’s chair Brunei said Saturday.

The 10-member bloc has been under intense international pressure to do more to force member state Myanmar to halt the violence that has left more than 1,100 civilians dead and to free scores of political figures, including ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Asean foreign ministers held an emergency meeting late Friday after Myanmar refused to cooperate with the bloc’s crisis envoy, Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof. He was appointed in August to mediate in the crisis but abruptly can-

celed a trip to Myanmar last week after he was told he would not be able to meet with Suu Kyi and others, as he wanted.

In a swift response, Myanmar’s foreign ministry said it was “extremely disappointed and strongly objected” to the group’s decision, which was made without the usual consensus required by Asean in its decision making.

“Linking the matter of Myanmar’s representation at the Asean summit with the visit of the special envoy would be counterproductive as it is merely putting pressure on Myanmar,” the statement said.

Myanmar contends Erywan could not meet with people facing legal proceedings such as Suu Kyi and deposed President Win Myint or with entities that have been declared illegal, Brunei said in a statement.

Suu Kyi and other top civilian leaders were detained in the army takeover. She faces various charges that her supporters and independent analysts say are designed to legitimize the military action.

The statement from Brunei said the Asean ministers were concerned about the impact of the Myanmar crisis on regional security and about the “unity, credibility and centrality of Asean as a rules-based organization.”

The bloc’s envoy must have access to all concerned parties, it said.

Members of the political opposition’s National Unity Government, which views itself as a shadow government, have asked to attend the October 26 to 28 summit, it said.

T here wa s no consensu s among the Asean foreign ministers about having a political representative from Myanmar at the summit, so the ministers decided to instead invite a nonpolitical representative to give Myanmar “space to restore its internal affairs and return to normalcy,” it added. “ T his was a difficult but necessary decision to uphold Asean’s credibility given the unsatisfactory and highly limited progress” to resolve the crisis, Singapore’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Officials did not say who would be invited instead.

In handling Myanmar, Asean has been hamstrung by its bedrock policy of noninterference in the domestic affairs of member nations and its consensus approach. Some members such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines feel action is justified because major unrest in Myanmar could trigger regional instability.

Myanmar is widely seen as doing very little to honor its commitments, though it claims to have helped facilitate humanitarian assistance.

Letting Min Aung Hlaing attend the summit, which will take place by video, might be seen as recognition of the military takeover, which halted one of Asia’s most phenomenal democratic transitions after decades of military rule.

Among world leaders due to participate is President Joe Biden, who has condemned the takeover and authorized sanctions against Myanmar’s generals, their family members and associates. AP

Editor: Angel R. Calso

US religious group sends alert: 17 missionaries seized in Haiti

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A N JUA N, Puerto R ico—A group of 17 US missionaries including children was kidnapped by a gang in Haiti on Saturday, according to a voice message sent to various religious missions by an organization with direct knowledge of the incident.

The missionaries were on their way home from building an orphanage, according to a message from Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries.

“This is a special prayer alert,” the one-minute message said. “Pray that the gang members would come to repentance.”

The message says the mission’s field director is working with the US Embassy, and that the field director’s family and one other unidentified man who stayed at the ministry’s base while everyone else visiting the orphanage, was abducted.

No other details were immediately available.

A US government spokesperson said they were aware of the reports on the kidnapping.

“The welfare and safety of US citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the Department of State,” the spokesperson said, declining further comment.

Haiti is once again struggling with a spike in gang-related kidnappings that had diminished after President Jovenel Moïse was fatally shot at his private residence on July 7, and following a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck southwest Haiti in August and killed more than 2,200 people.

Gangs have demanded ransoms ranging from a couple hundred dollars to more than $1 million, according to authorities.

Last month, a deacon was killed in front of a church in the capital of Portau-Prince and his wife kidnapped, one of dozens of people who have been

abducted in recent months.

At least 328 kidnapping victims were reported to Haiti’s National Police in the first eight months of 2021, compared with a total of 234 for all of 2020, according to a report issued last month by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti known as BINUH. Gangs have been accused of kidnapping schoolchildren, doctors, police officers, busloads of passengers and others as they grow more powerful. In April, one gang kidnapped five priests and two nuns, a move that prompted a protest similar to the one organized for this Monday to decry the lack of security in the impoverished country.

“Political turmoil, the surge in gang violence, deteriorating socioeconomic conditions—including food insecurity and malnutrition—all contribute to the worsening of the humanitarian situation,” BINUH said in its report. “An overstretched and under-resourced police force alone cannot address the security ills of Haiti.”

On Friday, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend the UN political mission in Haiti.

The kidnapping of the missionaries comes just days after high-level US officials visited Haiti and promised more resources for Haiti’s National Police, including another $15 million to help reduce gang violence, which this year has displaced thousands of Haitians who now live in temporary shelters in increasingly unhygienic conditions.

Among those who met with Haiti’s police chief was Uzra Zeya, US under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy, and human rights.

“Dismantling violent gangs is vital to Haitian stability and citizen security,” she recently tweeted. AP

Japan’s Kishida sends offering to controversial Tokyo shrine

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OKYO—Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida donated ritual offerings Sunday to a Tokyo shrine viewed by Chinese and Koreans as a symbol of Japanese wartime aggression, though he did not make a visit in person.

Kishida donated “masakaki” religious ornaments to mark Yasukuni Shrine’s autumn festival. It was the first such observance by Kishida since he took office on Oct. 4.

Victims of Japanese aggression during the first half of the 20th century, especially Chinese and Koreans, see the shrine as a symbol of Japan’s militarism because it honors convicted World War II criminals among about 2.5 million war dead.

Such observances are seen by critics as a sign of a lack of remorse over the country’s wartime atrocities.

Kishida was visiting the 2011 tsunami-hit areas in northern Japan over the weekend and stayed away from the shrine.

His predecessor, Yoshihide Suga,

also only made offerings during his one-year leadership. He stepped down in September and visited the shrine on Sunday, dressed in a formal morning coat.

Suga told reporters that he visited as a former prime minister to “offer my respect to the sacred spirits of those who sacrificed their precious lives for the country and to pray that their souls may rest in peace.”

After China and the Koreas reacted with outrage to a visit to Yasukuni by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2013, Japanese leaders have avoided visiting the shrine while in office.

Many South Koreans deeply resent Japan for its 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have soured in recent years amid disputes over compensation for Korean wartime laborers and over the systematic abuses of “comfort women” used for sex by the Japanese military before its World War II defeat in 1945. AP

China tested an Earth-circling hypersonic missile, FT reports

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hina tested a nuclear-capable hy person ic m i ssi le that circled the globe before speeding toward its target, the Financial Times reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the event.

The test in August showed China has made more progress on hypersonic weapons than US officials realized, according to the report, which didn’t identify the people familiar with the test.

The missile missed its target,

and the test doesn’t necessarily mean China w ill deploy such a weapon, the Financial Times said.

The newspaper said the US Department of Defense declined to comment on its report.

News of the reported test comes a s C h i n a r at c he t s u p t e n s io n around Taiwan, sending scores of warplanes on f lights near the island. At the same time, the US and several allies have been conducting naval drills in nearby waters.

Bloomberg News

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Port gridlock stretches supply lines thin in blow for economies

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lobal ports are growing more gridlocked as the pandemic era’s supply shocks intensify, threatening to spoil the holiday shopping season, erode corporate profits and drive up consumer prices.

Bloomberg’s Port Congestion Tracker shows a typhoon in Asia spawned another wild week for shipping in a year with multiple challenges—a vessel wedged in the Suez Canal, a dozen major storms, rolling Covid lockdowns disrupting key manufacturing hubs in China and Vietnam, a shortage of truckers and dockworkers, and a resurgence of consumer demand.

As of Friday, at least 107 container ships were waiting off Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the data show.

The pileup worsened when the storm brushed past Hong Kong around midweek, shutting down its stock exchange and idling its ports. Globally, RBC Capital Markets reckons 77% of ports are experiencing abnormally long times to turnaround traffic.

The latest congestion won’t be isolated to Asia for long, as delayed ships loaded with merchandise soon start sailing for the US and Europe.

As the Big Crunch of 2021 has repeatedly demonstrated, a bottleneck in one corner of the globe eventually exacerbates a logjam or compounds shortages in another.

Even if shipping strains ease in China, that “could still mean new surges of vessels arriving at congested ports like Los AngelesLong Beach, shifting the backlog to the destination ports,” said Judah Levine, head of research at Hong Kong-based Freightos.com, an online shipping marketplace.

President Joe Biden last week urged the LA port to run a 24/7 operation. In the UK, containers filled with goods and outbound empties were piling up so high at

the key port of Felixstowe that at least one container carrier had reroute cargo through ports in mainland Europe.

That all spells trouble for the world economy. Concern is already mounting that holiday shoppers won’t be able to buy the gifts they want, dealing a blow to retail sales.

Companies are worried about their bottom line with executives at Tesla Inc., Target Corp. and other S&P 500 companies mentioning “supply chain” a record 3,000 times during presentations as of Tuesday. And a lack of goods and costlier shipping mean further upward pressure on already heady inflation.

“Data on sea and air shipping costs, container throughput and transport utilization point to an ongoing supply shock for the global economy,” Michael Hanson, senior global economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., told clients in a report on Thursday.

Friday’s queue of ships around Hong Kong and Shenzhen was the largest recorded there since Bloomberg News began tracking the area in April. The current count surpasses highs reached in May when the Shenzhen port of Lantian was gripped by a Covid-19 outbreak.

The fallout from the storm was felt all the way to Singapore, a crossroads for goods transiting from East to West. Waiting container ships off that port reached their highest since July 21, when another storm, Typhoon In-fa slammed into Shanghai, further north of Hong Kong.

Typhoons in Asia have tested an already-strained port infrastructure in US and the effects are rippling to logistics on land like

trucking, rail and warehousing.

US ports have some of the highest congestion rates in the world, the data show.

The Port of Savannah, Georgia, on the East Coast had 25 waiting ships versus just six in port late Thursday, leading all major ports with an 81% congestion rate. On the West Coast, the adjacent ports of LA and Long Beach had a combined congestion rate of 56% Friday, as ships waiting outnumbered the ships in port.

In Europe, ports in Rotterdam and Antwerp had blockage rates about half that level.

Ports are overwhelmed because they sit at the junctions of global trade where ocean freight gets transferred to some mode of landbased transportation. The supply snags are colliding with a demand surge—peak season for retailers to stock up before holiday shopping kicks off.

Consumer purchases of goods have stayed elevated in advanced economies and labor shortages

have stretched trucking, rail and shipping liner capacity to their limits, creating bottlenecks of containers between the factory loading docks and store shelves.

San Francisco-based freight forwarder Flexport Inc. developed an indicator to help anticipate when the share of US consumer purchases on goods versus services will return to pre-Covid levels. According to the latest reading released on Friday, there’s no sign yet that it’s easing up, so pressure on supply chains will continue at least to year end, Flexport said.

“Port congestion, equipment shortages and extreme container freight rates are just the symptoms of a deeper problem that includes trucking shortages and limited warehousing space,” said Simon Heaney, senior manager for container research at Drewry in London. “Covid has stressed all links in the chain and these issues take time to resolve as there is no latent capacity that can be turned on like a tap.” Bloomberg News

Bill Clinton to spend 1 more night in California hospital

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RANGE, Calif.—Bill Clinton will spend one more night at a Southern California hospital where he is recovering from an infection, a spokesman said Saturday.

“President Clinton has continued to make excellent progress over the past 24 hours,” spokesman Angel Ureña said in a statement.

Clinton will remain overnight at University of California Irvine Medical Center “to receive IV antibiotics before an expected discharge tomorrow,” the statement said.

Hillary Clinton has been with her husband at the hospital southeast of Los Angeles. She returned Saturday with her daughter Chelsea Clinton around 8 a.m. Saturday in an SUV accompanied by secret service agents.

President Joe Biden said Friday night that he had spoken to Bill Clinton and the former president “sends his best.”

“He’s doing fine; he really is,” Biden said during remarks at the University of Connecticut.

Clinton, 75, was admitted on Tuesday with an infection unrelated to Covid-19, Ureña said.

“He is in great spirits and has been spending time with family, catching up with friends, and watching college football,” said Ureña’s Saturday statement.

An aide to the former president

Monday, October 18, 2021

A7

Global energy crisis prompts Asia to turn to US for crude oil

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sian demand for US oil is rising as the energy crisis boosts prices for other crudes that are priced against the global Brent futures contract.

C h i n a a nd ot her A si a n buyers have been snapping up supertankers of American sour crudes for delivery in November and seek ing more for December, according to traders. Most buyers are seeking US grades that had recently slumped to the lowest levels in over a year, with an added incentive after China’s government awarded millions of tons of crude oil import quotas.

A w ide spread bet ween Brent and West Texas Intermediate oil futures would accommodate higher US crude exports, said Elisabeth Murphy, ESAI Energy LLC upstream analyst for North America.

WTI has been trading at least $3 a barrel under Brent since August, a discount that generally favors US crude exports.

Asia’s increased appetite for US crude comes after a widespread recovery in roadfuel and freight activity and ahead of a winter that will likely see more oil demand from the power sector. This

is also happening against a global supply deficit in fossil fuels that is driving higher prices.

Earlier Brent crude surpassed $85 a barrel Friday following months of production curtailments by Opec and its allies in response to the pandemic. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman reiterated this week the need for Opec and its allies to take a gradual, phased approach to restoring output.

ESA I ’s Mu r phy e x pec ts around 700,000 barrels a day in additional crude oil demand from Europe and Asia combined this w inter due to the switch from natural gas to oil. With the help of a wide WTI discount to Brent, US crude exports this month should reached 3.1 million to 3.2 million barrels a day, up from about 2.6 million last month, she said.

With the US also entering its winter soon, the increase overseas demand would mean more competition for American refiners. Hurricane Ida has already caused a 30 million barrel loss in local supply, with some production only set to return next year.

Bloomberg News

Muslims and Hindus protest amid communal violence in Bangladesh

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H AK A, Bangladesh— Protests erupted for a second day in Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday, amid a wave of violence against local Hindus following a viral social media image perceived as insulting to the country’s Muslim majority.

Some 10,0 0 0 protesters — many of them carrying banners of Islamist political parties— took to the streets outside the ma in mosque of t he capita l, Dhaka, a day after demonstrations on the same site ended in clashes with police.

T he crowd chanted “Dow n with the enemies of the Islam” and “Hang the culprits.”

Photos showing a copy of the Quran—Islam’s holy book—at the feet of a statue in a Hindu temple in the eastern district of Cumilla triggered the protests and incidents of vandalism at Hindu

temples across Bangladesh.

“We ask the government to arrest those who defamed the Quran by putting it at the feet of an idol in Cumilla,” Mosaddek Billah Al Madani, president of Bangladesh’s Islami Movement.

He added that protesters demanded “the death sentence” for those responsible for the images.

Separately, in a nearby intersection about 1,000 Hindus protested the attacks on temples and the killing of two Hindu devotees in another district where several temples were vandalized by Muslim mobs.

Police said at least two Hindus were killed in Friday’s attacks.

C om mu n a l t e n s ion s h av e risen as the minority Hindus celebrate their largest religious festival, the Durga Puja. About 9% of Bangladesh’s 160 million are Hindu. AP

Tens of thousands demonstrate in Rome against neo-fascists

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Former first lady and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, middle, exits the University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange, California on Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021. Former President Bill Clinton was admitted to the Southern California hospital Tuesday with an infection but he is “on the mend,” his spokesman said. AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

said Clinton had a urological infection that spread to his bloodstream, but he is on the mend and never went into septic shock, a potentially life-threatening condition.

The aide, who spoke to reporters at the hospital on the condition his name wasn’t used, said Clinton was in an intensive care section of the hospital but wasn’t receiving ICU care.

In the years since Clinton left

the White House in 2001, the former president has faced health scares. In 2004, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery after experiencing prolonged chest pains and shortness of breath.

He returned to the hospital for surgery for a partially collapsed lung in 2005, and in 2010 he had a pair of stents implanted in a coronary artery.

He responded by embracing a largely vegan diet that saw him

lose weight and report improved health.

Clinton repeatedly returned to the stump, campaigning for Democratic candidates, most notably Hillary Clinton during her failed 2008 bid for the presidential nomination. And in 2016, as Hillary Clinton sought the White House as the Democratic nominee, her husband—by then a grandfather and nearing 70—returned to the campaign trail. AP

OME—Tens of thousands of union members and other Italians gathered in Rome to stand up against rising fascism Saturday, a week after right-wing extremists forced their way into the headquarters of Italy’s most powerful labor confederation while protesting a Covid-19 certification requirement for workplaces.

The head of the CGIL union confederation, Maurizio Landini, led the protest with other labor leaders under the slogan: “Never again fascism.” Organizers put the crowd assembled in front of St. John Lateran basilica for the protest at 100,000-strong, Some participants waved flags reading “Si Vax,” a direct retort to the protesters armed with sticks and metal bars who trashed CGIL’s Rome headquarters on Oct. 9. They were protesting a government requirement, which took effect Friday, mandating proof of vaccination, a negative test within 48

hours or proof of having recovered from Covid-19 to access places of employment.

Landini, CGIL’s secretary general, has compared the assault on the union headquarters to 1921 attacks by the newly founded Fascist party against union organizers. Fascist leader Benito Mussolini came to power the next year and later brought Italy into World War II as an ally of Nazi Germany.

Landini said Saturday’s event was intended as “a demonstration that defends democracy for everyone. This is the topic.’’

The head of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CISL) trade union, Luigi Sbarra, said an attack against unions led by the far-right Forza Nuova party “made the only choice to be here, united against all types of fascism.” He called for the swift dissolution of the party by Italian authorities. AP

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Monday, October 18, 2021 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

The nation’s CEO

I

F you want to make a lot of money working in a traditional job rather than being an entrepreneur, these are the highest paying professions on the planet.

In general, people who have specialized skills within an industry or profession are the most financially rewarded. This is true even in occupations that are not on the top of the highest paid list.

Plumbing is a system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to move fluids. A plumber is a tradesperson who installs and maintains systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

However, the highest paid “plumbers” are not the ones who can unclog a kitchen sink but those who specialize. Steamfitters install and repair pipe systems in power plants, heating and cooling systems in large buildings and specialize in systems that are designed for the flow of liquids or gases at high pressure.

Physicians and nurses can make a lot of money. But those who specialize in surgery and anesthesiology make the most.

The next highest paid jobs are in the financial world. Bankers make good income, as do stockbrokers. But investment bankers and analysts make the most, particularly if they specialize in mergers and acquisitions or are experts in a particular industry like energy.

Have a computer wizard in the family? High-level software engineers and data scientists are in good demand in the 21st century when information is more powerful than ever before. There is a mad scramble and much money to find the best algorithm to crunch the data to sell the most products.

However, at the top of the income food chain is the person who occupies the most luxurious executive chair in the corporate “Csuite”: the Chief Operating Officer and the comparable Chief Medical Officer of a hospital. The reason for the high income is that this man or woman is responsible for managing and getting the highest quality performance of those in critical but subordinate positions and functions.

The CEO is not expected to be able to do the jobs of the people holding those crucial positions. But he or she is expected to choose the best qualified persons for those positions and get the best out of them, not unlike a president picking cabinet secretaries.

The US president has the Council of Economic Advisers while the UK Prime Minister has a Chief Economic Adviser. India and South Africa both call their economic teams the Economic Advisory Council. The Philippines has the National Economic and Development Authority, which is the premier social and economic development planning and policy coordinating body. Its members include the Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Secretaries of Budget and Management, Finance, Trade and Industry, Public Works and Highways, Transportation, Energy, and Urban Development and the Mindanao Development Authority.

The voters choose the Philippines’ “CEO.” But the people that are responsible for the success of the economy sit on the Neda Board, formulating the economic goals and the methods to achieve those objectives.

It is probably too much to expect presidential candidates to give the voters the specifics on who will be the members of the cabinet.

But maybe not. Like the old saying, you do not just marry the man or woman. You marry the in-laws too. The voters deserve to know if not the specific names of who will be directing the economy, at least the general direction the next president wants to take. Feel-good statements are no longer enough.

The careers and skills of the future Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

D

uring the time of our parents and grandparents, some of the most coveted and recognized professions include law, medicine, architecture, engineering, and education, among others. With the changing times, climate change, digitalization, and technology advancement, the needs of the world for jobs are also changing. For young people to succeed, their skills, capabilities, and their career choices must align with the changing environment and the green jobs of tomorrow.

The United Nations Environment Programme came up with a guide for the youth. It presents the sustainable career choices for the future and the required skills to thrive in these new green industries. Economic experts say that there will be millions of new jobs that will be created but that these will require specific skills that the young people of today must already start to acquire.

The first among the six catego-

ries of skills enumerated in the UNEP guideline is science skills.

“Key roles will include environmental scientists, biologists, hydrologists, and biochemists.” Architectural and planning skills are also included in the list. As buildings and spaces become greener, the world would need more architects and planners specializing in green design and architecture. Green engineering and tech skills belong

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to the third category; this would include engineers to “maintain solar panels, wind turbines, low emissions vehicles, and other green economy technology.”

Expectedly, agriculture skills will always be in demand as food supply and food production become more sustainable. Organic farmers and urban farmers who make use of precision agriculture and data to improve and measure farming efficiency will be favored. Workers in the field of environmental justice will be prominent in our future setting as they are crucial in ensuring that human rights and environmental rights are re-

spected. Finally, workers possessing systems skills will be needed within the green economy. They will design, operate, and monitor different kinds of systems and processes. Their macroeconomics skills will have to be up to par to enable them to build sustainability into long-term projects.

Experts agree that workers need to be able to adapt to technology as this is considered a key driver in the development of skills required for emerging sectors. Skills in cloud computing, big data, AI, behavior change, and digitalization are capabilities that are important for the new industries. Through our institutions, the Philippines would do well to prepare for this future to ensure success not just for our young professionals but also for the nation as a whole. nnn

I would like to invite all of my BusinessMirror readers to come and visit my solo art exhibition, Journey of Joy, now ongoing at Galerie Ana, 4F The Artwalk, SM Megamall. The show opened last October 15th and will run until October 26, 2021.

The 2022 elections and the road transport sector

Since 2005

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua

Experts agree that workers need to be able to adapt to technology as this is considered a key driver in the development of skills required for emerging sectors.

Skills in cloud computing, big data, AI, behavior change, and digitalization are capabilities that are important for the new industries.

Thomas M. Orbos

STREET TALK

R

ecently, a group of transport leaders—friends of mine— came out strongly to endorse a presidential candidate, calling him the most suitable candidate to represent the interests of the road transport sector. Not that it should matter, as that is their opinion. We have just started our political fiesta, where all sectors of society are either wooed or are already out there campaigning for their chosen candidates, especially the presidentiables. Even candidates for local positions have it in their playbook to court the local tricycle communities or TODAs into their fold. This just goes to show how road public transport is very much integral in our lives and therefore a necessary sector to be enticed by the candidates come election time.

At the start of this year, I called out to my colleagues in this sector to present to them an alternative approach that we can take in this election by turning it the other way around. Instead of being courted and given importance during this period, and then once the candidates win it would be difficult to secure an appointment with them, why not band together, discuss, agree and come out with a transport agenda—a sort of wish list. We would then ask these candidates to pledge that once elected they would carry out such a program as agreed upon. We envisioned asking all presidential candidates to sign a common written agreement embodying

our wish list. Well represented were the various segments of road transport—from the jeepney, taxi, bus, trucks, UV express and the tricycle communities. We knew it would be difficult to come out with a perfect wish list, as varied interests of the sector are involved. But there are common grounds that we needed find to tie us together. Finally, a list would be completed for us to show to the candidates.

Our agreed points centered on the following: 1) A consultative relationship between the government and the road transport sector wherein all decisions and policies that would come out from the new government that would affect the

It was in a way exhilarating to know that we were together in this as one group and that there would be a chance for change in this election period. Everyone agreed that this time it just might work and our voices will be heard. We were united and we will finally have that strong bond to extract from the candidates the needed pledge. We agreed that no one would cave in and we would stick together. Whoever wins as president, we now would have a written agreement with his administration.

transport sector will go through prior consultations; 2) Assistance and/or subsidy from the Government Financial Institutions, given that most operators were defaulting on the loans they took out due to the required transport modernization.

Given the pandemic, most of them have defaulted on their loans; and 3) A just but humane enforcement of traffic laws. It is understood that enforcement is necessary but it should be combined with compassion; 4) A review of certain programs and procedures by the new administration to include the transport rationalization and modernization program that were deemed problematic for the transport sector.

It was in a way exhilarating to know that we were together in this as one group and that there would

be a chance for change in this election period. Everyone agreed that this time it just might work and our voices will be heard. We were united and we will finally have that strong bond to extract from the candidates the needed pledge. We agreed that no one would cave in and we would stick together. Whoever wins as president, we now would have a written agreement with his administration.

Then a few weeks ago, the election season started. Expectedly, the candidates started wooing the transport leaders, and I thought my companions would stick to our game plan. Unfortunately, some of them caved in when a candidate tried to woo them. There goes the plan to bring everyone together for this common cause. There is no one to blame here. I fully understand the actions of my colleagues. Besides, only they, in the end, can claim to do what is best for their constituents, even if their newfound candidate has yet to show his plan for a more sustainable transport program.

I am still hoping though that our transport agenda will be presented to all presidentiables and the pledge will be eventually signed by all of them, including the one that my colleagues already sided with. Otherwise, we will have another six years of public road transport uncertainty. By then, the next election—in 2028—might be too late for us to implement our plan.

The author may be reached at: thomas_orbos@ sloan.mit.edu

Opinion

www.businessmirror.com.ph

(False) Hope in the professional licensure examinations Joel L. Tan-Torres

DEBIT CREDIT

F

alse hope or “paasa”—that’s how prospective examinees feel about the ever changing schedules for professional licensure examinations being administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

In a press statement issued on September 21, 2021, Sen. Joel Villanueva reacted vigorously to the recurring tendency of the PRC to postpone the various licensure examinations. Senator Villanueva cited that out of the 101 board examinations scheduled in 2021, only 24 have pushed through as of September 2021. He further observed the dire situation of the board examinees undergoing sessions in review centers after their graduation from their courses and belatedly being informed that their licensure examinations will be postponed. The unfortunate situations of these examinees are further complicated by their increasing costs in preparing for the examinations, which include board and lodging for out-of-town examinees, and the requirements of the PRC of a non-refundable P900 application fee, a 14-day quarantine certificate, medical certificate, and a negative RT-PCR test result. Thus, they encounter difficulty in applying for work or pursuing their career without their professional license.

Quite as severe is the mental stress on these examinees waiting for the final go-signal if their examinations will proceed as scheduled or will be postponed.

In the case of the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) Licensure examinations, the tests scheduled on October 10 to 12, 2021 in the National Capital Region (NCR) were rescheduled to December 16 to 18, 2021. However, the examinations in 14 testing sites, including Davao and Cebu, proceeded as scheduled.

My sources disclosed that there were over 5,000 examinees who took the licensure tests. It is to be noted that the CPA board examinations have been postponed four times since May 2020. I am certain that a far greater number registered to take their tests in the NCR were disappointed with the postponement. Annually, about 25,000 examinees take the three CPA examinations. Since there has not been any examinations for practically the past two years, I estimate that over 45,000 examinees will again have to wait for December to take their examinations.

To those who took their examinations last week, the time for waiting

In the case of the Certified Public Accountants Licensure examinations, the tests scheduled on October 10 to 12, 2021 in the National Capital Region were rescheduled to December 16 to 18, 2021. However, the examinations in 14 testing sites, including Davao and Cebu, proceeded as scheduled. to get the test results will soon come to an end. In a few days, the CPA licensure examination results will be released by the PRC and the Board of Accountancy. The big questions that the various interest groups are asking include: What will be the passing percentage for the new CPAs? Who will be the topnotchers in the examinations? What will be the performance of the graduates of the various accounting schools? The examinees, their parents and guardians, the accounting schools and review centers, and even the prospective employers of the new CPAs are all waiting for the answers to these questions. To recall, the results of the very last CPA examinations held in October 2019 showed a dismally low 14 percent passing percentage. If this situation is not reversed, there will be a lot of tears for those who will not make the grade.

For those who will be successful in getting their CPA license, they, together with their loved ones, will soon be celebrating to high heavens their much-deserved accomplishments. At least for these successful examinees, the season of “false hopes” is over. After their prayers of thanks and celebration, the new CPAs can now definitely plan and hope for their bright future.

Joel L. Tan-Torres is the Dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business. Previously, he was the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy and partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co. and the SyCip Gorres and Velayo & Co. He is a Certified Public Accountant who garnered No. 1 in the CPA Board Examination of May 1979.

This column accepts articles for publication from the business and academic community.

Articles not exceeding 600 words can be e-mailed to jltantorres@up.edu.ph

BusinessMirror

T

he International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is annually commemorated on October 17 to raise awareness about the need to end global poverty in all its forms everywhere. This year’s theme, “Building Forward Together: Ending Persistent Poverty, respecting all People and our Planet,” offers an opportunity to recognize those who are at the forefront of fighting poverty against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and the effects of climate change.

In adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community recommitted itself to the aspiration to “end poverty in all its forms, everywhere”, as embodied in the first goal of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Before Covid-19, nearly 1 billion people worldwide have been lifted out of poverty. In the Philippines,

6 million Filipinos were lifted out of poverty between 2015 and 2018.

Official estimates show that the proportion of people in poverty across the country stood at 16.6 percent in 2018. The government reported that improved welfare conditions led to an expanding middle class and that the country was well on track to meeting its SDG commitments. Until the pandemic hit.

Covid-19 is reversing decades of progress made in the fight against poverty in low- and middle-income countries around the world. In addition to the threat to public health, the economic and social disruption threatens the livelihoods and wellbeing of millions. In 2020 alone, 100 million people were pushed into poverty due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On October 8, UNDP launched the 2021 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). It paints a detailed picture of poverty around

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FREE-SIDENTIABLES: Isko Moreno–Sees it, seizes it!

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

Fourth in a series

I

F not quite a tale of rags to riches, the story of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s rise to prominence certainly comes close. His was a saga of tribulations and triumph, from obscurity to celebrity, and the pages of his life-manuscript still keep unfurling into new heights.

Here is a fellow who chartered a map in the streets of Manila, which served both as his playground and workplace.

Early in life, he scoured the city lanes for restaurants to collect pagpag or discarded food and leveled up to selling old newspapers and used bottles. Growing up, Moreno committed to memory the streets, slums and spaces of the city of Manila, along with the informal language through which street-folks converse, not because he wanted to but he was constrained to. This eventually worked to his advantage later on when he became a politician because he had personal and intimate knowledge of the city and its people.

He could breeze through every nook and cranny in the heart and mind of a Manileño.

“There is life in death,” as in the case of our “free-sidentiable,” Mr. Moreno. He “found life” when attending a wake as it paved the way for an eye of a showbiz talent manager who hooked him up with the ’80’s TV show, That’s Entertainment. Years thereafter, Francisco Domagoso evolved from a showbiz personality “Isko Moreno” into a credible force in the 2022 Presidential elections.

The determined Tondo kid finished high school, and, by a stroke of some providence, joined the political arena. He served as councilor for three consecutive terms before rising to become a vice mayor, a position that he also held for three terms. In one interview, Isko predicted he would become mayor someday, and true enough, he won the hearts of Manileños who now fondly call him as their Yorme. While in public office,

Yorme reportedly pursued further studies at the University of the Philippines (special courses on legislation), as well as overseas: at the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University (leadership and governance courses), and at the Business School of the University of Oxford. It was this diligent effort at becoming educated that polished the man and the politician.

As word reached the farthest of places, Yorme cleaned up the infamous Divisoria and Quiapo in a matter of days. At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mayor Isko buckled up, met the problem head on, and crafted a facility for patients at the Luneta Park. He made a blueprint too for the aesthetic and functional improvement of his city, a prodigious dream yet, knowing how he sees a vision and claims it. Currently, the city government of Manila is undertaking the construction of vertical housing projects—Tondominium 1 and 2 in Tondo, and Binondominium 1 and 2 in Binondo—while a townhousestyle project in Baseco Compound, Tondo, had its groundbreaking in December 2020.

Yorme now aspires to become a lo-Pangu (or “Pangulo” – President).

His job application could be a reflection of his inspirational narrative as a rags-to-riches boy. However, his accomplishments in the city could be neutralized by other matters of national concern—defense, foreign policy, and agriculture, to name a few.

While he could cozily brush elbows

with Muslims in the city of Manila, those in Mindanao and distant areas may not know him well or his credentials.

Apart from said weak spots, it is quite disconcerting for Yorme to have arrogantly lashed out against a fellow Presidential aspirant. Like most Filipinos, I was surprised when Yorme called VP Leni Robredo as a “fake candidate” with a “fake color,” especially since Yorme’s campaign team pictured him as pleasant and genial as his own notable achievements.

His efforts to apologize deteriorated as an act of mechanically plucking a fruit from a tree of “insincere sorries” as he threw another tirade, yet again, on the lady Presidentiable. Mayor Isko should be advised, or take it upon himself, to step on the brakes and steer clear of using unpresidential verbal attacks.

After Mayor Moreno learns to manage his spewing lava from his apparent volcanic style of leadership, he should start sharing his platform for agriculture, food security, drugs, employment, and the country’s claims over its maritime waters, among others. I rather see Yorme attaining his lo-Pangu dream through his powerful narrative, inspiring the young and old alike, and his sheer audacity in reaching for his dreams. He envisions what he hopes to happen and claims it by working hard to get it.

He sees it, and seizes it!

Yorme Isko reminds us of the Biblical Jabez in the Book Chronicles.

Jabez was named after pain or sorrow, which name did not deter him from turning a miserable life into a blessing. Coming to God in prayer, Jabez affirmed his pleas, as if certain he would receive them. And true enough, the Heavenly Father conferred unto him what he asked for, thus: “Jabez was more honored than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!

Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. (1 Chron. 4:9–10 NIV) Like Jabez, Mayor Isko had a difficult and painful life early on. Yet he

set his eyes on getting schooled, on earning income from decent work, on lifting his feet up, away from the clutches of scarcity, and of becoming a City Mayor! True enough, he got all that he dreamt of and hopefully prayed for.

What we can learn from their life stories is that the pain that surrounded Jabez’s birth, or the pain that latched on to Yorme’s life as a child, did not define or limit them.

Jabez prayed and God transformed his curse into a blessing. Yorme aimed for and claimed better things. He too must have certainly prayed as God allowed his transformation from a hapless situation into a spectacle of provision. In the words of a Bible teacher, “the point is not that Jabez’s prayer has some kind of magic power in its words. The point is that Jabez’s God has awesome power to change a person’s destination from curse to blessing.”

Much as Yorme needs it, we too require a reminder that our fate is never about what we can do or the extent of the struggles we encounter. Becoming who we are or accomplishing what we can in life is all about God’s sovereignty and ability to transform a curse into a blessing

by His hand, through prayers! This is precisely the essence of 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Such a verse is a timely reminder for Yorme and other candidates to pray for the presidency with a humble tongue and a contrite heart. Should Yorme refuse to learn and yield, he might just fail to seize what he sees next time around.

A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission.

For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

Insurance protection for man’s best friend

By Reynaldo A. de Dios

T

here are many untold stories of heroic acts committed by dogs for their masters that are rewarded for the loving care given to their pets. Aside from guarding the homes and children from strangers, dogs have been trained to look for survivors in the aftermath of natural disasters. Dogs have been used to pinpoint illegal drugs, and the military has trained them to spot hidden bombs planted underground.

On the negative side, the big dogs could be a liability to dog owners if they should attack visitors or, in rare instances, even the dog owners. In addition, untreated victims of dog

bites could die of rabies.

Nevertheless, giving love and care to their dogs can serve as a good therapy for the owners, especially if they live alone. In fact, more and

Building forward together: Ending persistent poverty

By Dr. Selva Ramachandran

Monday, October 18, 2021

Covid-19 is reversing decades of progress made in the fight against poverty in low- and middle-income countries around the world. In addition to the threat to public health, the economic and social disruption threatens the livelihoods and well-being of millions. In 2020 alone, 100 million people were pushed into poverty due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

the world, complementing monetary measures by looking at how people experience deprivations in many of the aspects of life: quality of life, education, healthcare, and livelihood.

The report showed that 1.3 billion people are still multi-dimensionally poor and are facing depravation of a wide range of basic necessities in varying degrees.

The MPI offers policy makers better options to respond to the call

of SDG 1 to end poverty in all its forms everywhere.

In the Philippines, the most recent publicly available survey data for its MPI estimation was in 2017—pre-pandemic. It showed that 5.8 percent of the population is multidimensionally poor while an additional 7.3 percent is classified as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty.

Various institutions have estimated that the pandemic has likely increased the ranks of the poor, potentially reversing the gains the Philippines made in 2018—an obvious impact of Covid-19.

Together with the Zero Extreme Poverty Philippines 2030 coalition, UNDP commissioned a survey which covered more than 18,000 poor households in seven provinces and the capital. Through the Covid Pulse PHL survey, we found that nearly three-fourths of those families had their incomes decreased when the pandemic struck. Those

more Filipinos are adopting so-called pandemic pets to cope with the stress and isolation forced upon the population by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Having a dog exposes the owners to unexpected costs such as medical expense due to illness or accident, including legal liabilities to third parties due to the actions of their pet. These risks can be insured with a number of insurance companies whose policies were approved by the Insurance Commission and these are as follows: Malayan Insurance, Mercantile Insurance, PGA Sompo Insurance Corp., Pioneer Insurance,

in locked-down Metro Manila could not go to work, while those in rural areas lost access to markets for their products. Most affected were those who depended on informal sources of livelihood. And the pandemic affected not only their livelihood but also their ability to access healthcare services and send their children to school.

The situation is fragile, and the poor are in a precarious position.

The Philippine Human Development Report 2020/2021 reports that the recently-expanded middle class is now shrinking.

Covid Pulse PHL also inquired into the assets and capabilities the poor have: majority have basic business skills, those in urban areas can work online, and they overwhelmingly embody traits they would need for the new normal: resourcefulness, initiative, and learning independently.

Poverty is not merely income deprivation but a complex web of

as well as Standard Insurance.

The insurance policies cover medical reimbursement when the pet meets an accident or gets ill plus a critical ligament injury benefit, which has a maximum reimbursement per leg. The annual premium ranges from as low as P2,800 and as high as P5,400 inclusive of taxes and charges.

Your pet deserves insurance protection so get in touch with your agent or broker, the sooner the better.

The author is a risk management consultant and Editor of Insurance Philippines magazine.

interconnected issues. The SDGs give us an inspiration: progress on one goal is necessary for progress on the others to happen. Poverty is multidimensional. No single actor in society can claim to have the sole solution for it. A systemic approach is required. Collective action is not an option, but is a must. We need to “build forward better together.”

Beyond looking at the numbers, we must do more to listen to those who suffer the most, address the indignities they face and tackle the power structures that prevent their inclusion in society. We must be reminded that our own survival is intrinsically connected to the well-being of our planet, this means ending poverty within planetary boundaries and placing human dignity at the heart of policy and action.

Dr. Selva Ramachandran is the UNDP Philippines Resident Representative

A10 Monday, October 18, 2021

GO SLOW ON DEPLOYMENT BAN ON SAUDI, BELLO TOLD

By Samuel P. Medenilla

A

@sam_medenilla

RECRUITMENT leader urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to be cautious in implementing a deployment ban on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which could affect over a million overseas Filipino workers (OFW).

LBS Recruitment Solutions Corp. President Lito B. Soriano issued the statement after Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello announced last week he is considering the measure to compel the Saudi government to facilitate the release of the P4.6 billion worth of unpaid wages of 9,000 OFWs. The OFWs were displaced in KSA in 2015 due to the economic impact of the drop in crude oil prices in the world market during that time.

Soriano urged Bello to first go through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)

before deciding to implement the measure.

“Before any ban can be issued, the current Ambassador of the Philippines to Saudi Arabia has to certify that the country is not compliant [with] the Revised 2016 POEA Rules and Regulations, and POEA Governing Board will then issue a resolution for a deployment ban,” Soriano said in a statement.

“Sec. Bello cannot unilaterally issue a ban without a POEA Governing Board Resolution,” he added.

Bello said he has instructed POEA and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to study the possible imposition of a deployment ban on KSA. To note, the labor chief also threatened to impose a temporary deployment ban on KSA for the delayed release of two OFWs at the hands of an allegedly abusive retired Saudi general.

DOLE did not push through with the ban after the two OFWs were finally released to the custody of the Philippine post in KSA.

Higher pandemic response cost won’t derail UHC–DOF

D

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

ESPITE increased spending for the Covid-19 response, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said they will not let the pandemic derail the government’s implementation of Universal Health Care (UHC).

Dominguez said the government continues to fund the implementation of UHC even amid the pandemic.

Under this year’s national budget, the government has allocated P71.4 billion for UHC. Meanwhile, the government is proposing P80 billion for UHC in next year’s national budget.

“Again, for 2022, we proposed an allocation of P80 billion for the premium subsidies for indirect

contributors under the UHC law,” he told reporters in an interview.

“Moreover, PhilHealth [Philippine Health Insurance Corporation] still has around P164 billion in its reserve fund as of June 2021 for the implementation of [UHC], so the UHC will not be compromised by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.

The finance chief made the response after Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research

warned in a recent report that the health crisis would likely delay the country’s goal of achieving universal health care.

Fitch Solutions also said PhilHealth might not meet its targets for expanded coverage as increased spending has been refocused on Covid-19 response.

Apart from this, the research arm also expressed concern that the funding sources for the UHC program are “under pressure” as excise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, which are used to subsidize health-care costs, are expected to decline.

For this year, the government hopes to attain its P297.8-billion full-year collection target despite the reimposition of stricter lockdown measures to address the Delta-fueled surge in Covid-19 cases.

The BusinessMirror earlier reported that excise tax collection from “sin” products from January to July this year grew 25.5 percent

to P173.1 billion from P138 billion, the same period in 2020 as lockdown restrictions were eased.

Most of the excise taxes collected during the seven-month period came from tobacco products at P104.2 billion, reflecting a 34-percent spike from last year’s P77.7 billion.

In 2020, total sin tax collection dropped by 3.27 percent to P260.58 billion from P269.4 billion in 2019 amid the economic recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite this, the government exceeded last year its downgraded goal of P235.3 billion.

Under Republic Act (RA) 11346 that was signed into law in July 2019, excise taxes on tobacco products were further increased to P50 per pack this year from P45 per pack a year ago.

Excise taxes on alcohol, heated tobacco products, and vapor products were also further raised under RA 11467.

4 yrs since Marawi siege, Duterte says PHL firm in fight vs extremism

By Manuel T. Cayon

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

D

AVAO CIT Y—President Duterte said his administration remained firm in its fight against terrorism and violent extremism as it graced the ongoing reconstruction of Marawi City, which was battered by six months of fighting in 2017 to retake it from the Isis-linked network of local terror groups.

“The government will remain steadfast in securing the nation against terrorism, violent extremism, and other lawless elements,” Duterte said on Saturday in the commemoration of the 4th anniversary of the liberation of Marawi City.

In his speech during the event held in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur, Duterte expressed hope that the nation “will overcome any challenge that may test its strength and the unity of its people.”

“Let us therefore continue working as one to secure a better, safer, and more prosperous future for all of Marawi,” he said.

He also lauded “the sacrifice and bravery” of soldiers and police personnel to defeat Islamic Statelinked Maute Group which occupied the city in May-October 2017.

“Let me again give recognition to our soldiers and police person-

nel, and local constituency for their bravery, sacrifice, and determination in defending and liberating Marawi City after five months of battle,” the President said. “I pray to God that it will never happen ever, ever again.”

Despite criticism over the perceived slow pace of reconstruction, the government, Duterte said, was “doing its best to expedite the completion of rehabilitation projects at the soonest possible time,” adding that government was “committed to bring back the city’s glory.”

He witnessed the distribution of Certificates of Title for permanent housing units from the National Housing Authority, and turnover of financial assistance from the Cooperative Development Authority.

He also inspected the newlyconstructed Jameo Mindanao AlIslamie or the Grand Mosque, considered the biggest house of worship in Marawi City.

He commended the work of Task Force Bangon Marawi under the Bangon Marawi Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Program. The task force was created immediately after the government took control of Marawi City from the Maute Group.

“We will continue to foster cooperation among concerned stakeholders so that Marawi will be able to build back better and stronger,” he said.

TRADE CONTROL INDEX: PHL IS ‘MOST IMPROVED’ Continued from A1

For adequacy of enforcement, its score increased to 282 from 109. Ability to monitor and detect strategic trade was better at 129 points from 102 points previously.

However, the country saw a slight drop in international commitment to 58 points and legislation to 174 points.

Still, the DTI noted that the “Philippines achieved more than 50 percent of the total possible points in four super criteria: 87 percent [174 out of 200] in legislation, 71 percent [282 out of 400] inadequacy of enforcement, 65 percent [129 out of 200] inability to monitor

and detect strategic trade, and 58 percent [58 out of 100] in international commitment.”

DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the country’s strategic trade control legislation allows it to ensure that strategic goods are used only for legitimate purposes.

“The Philippines’s strong improvement in the PPI ranking is likely to boost the country’s image as a secure investment location for the manufacture and export of strategic goods,” he added.

The PPI is conducted by the nonprofit organization Institute for Science and International Security.

‘Let’s do more to assure parents vax safe for kids’

A

S the Department of Health started to vaccinate teenagers aged 12 to 17 with comorbidities against Covid-19, presidential aspirant and former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., is urging the government to ramp up the information campaign drive to assure parents that the vaccines are safe.

“The information drive that the government must undertake should explain once more that the vaccines are necessary and all vaccines being given are safe,” Marcos said, partly in Filipino.

He recalled the Dengvaxia fiasco which he believes is one of the reasons for vaccine hesitancy among parents, as many children suffered after being injected with the antidengue vaccine.

Due to this, Marcos said an effective information campaign must be done not only to convince the parents, but also those who remain hesitant about receiving the vaccine.

“All the vaccines have been tested and millions have received them.

The numbers of those with severe side effects is so small, thus, the advantage of being vaccinated is more overwhelming,” he added.

The DOH confirmed in September that pediatric vaccination will start among 12 to 17 year olds with comorbidities, as part of Priority Group A3.

Expansion beyond this group will follow once adequate coverage of the A2 priority group or senior citizens has been achieved nationwide and vaccine supply becomes sufficient to include children.

Marcos earlier urged the local government units (LGUs) to bring the vaccines to far-flung areas and to people having a hard time accessing the vaccination centers.

For the country to reach the expected herd immunity, he also encouraged the business sector to provide incentives to employers and consumers vaccinated against Covid-19.

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Monday, October 18, 2021

B1

‘Malampaya maintenance work is progressing well’

M

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

aintenance work at the Malampaya gas facility is “progressing well” and will be completed on time, the operator of the gas field said.

According to Shell Exploration B.V. (Spex), completion rate on the offshore platform is already “more than 50 percent” while progress on the onshore gas plant is “almost 60 percent.”

When sought to elaborate, Spex said key engineering activities at the onshore gas plant and the offshore platform have been carried out.

“Critical activity is ongoing now… replacement of flare tip at offshore platform. Other works are progressing too,” the company said over the weekend.

The scheduled maintenance shutdown, which started on October 2 and will run up to October 22, will ensure continued reliability of the onshore and onshore facilities. Dur-

ing the period, the 1,000MW Sta. Rita, 500MW San Lorenzo gas plants and the 1,200MW Ilijan power plant will need to run on more expensive liquid fuel.

The costs incurred as to the use of liquid fuel when the Malampaya gas facility could not supply the gas plants are passed on to customers via the generation charge.

Based on its monitoring, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), said spot market prices during the period of the Malampaya outage were still lower compared to the week prior to the shutdown.

From October 2 to 13, the WESM

average price stood at P6.65 per kilowatt hour (kWh). This is slightly lower than the P7.27 per kWh recorded from September 26 to October 1.

“This is the average price applicable to the spot volume, which is about 10 percent. The 90 percent is settled based on contract price,” said IEMOP Chief Operating Officer Robinson Descanzo when sought for comment.

He said prices are projected to be steady since most of the gas plants continued to operate, albeit on liquid fuel. Also, there is a foreseen excess supply of around 2,000MW. “We’re not seeing any problem in the supply adequacy,” said Descanzo. On WESM prices, he said the gas plants’ price offers are normally “not that high” even when they run on alternative fuel.

Descanzo said there were unscheduled plant outage incidents that coincided with the Malampaya shutdown “but these went on only for a few hours or days compared to those that are on scheduled plant shutdown. So, there is really no supply issue during the Malampaya shutdown.”

Pagbilao unit 2 was on shutdown until October 9. SLPGC (Southwest

Luzon Power Generation Corp.) unit 1 is on emergency shutdown due to boiler tube leak until October 20.

South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. unit 1 was also on preventive maintenance until October 15.

But the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is expecting an upward adjustment due to the Malampaya shutdown. This will be reflected in the November bills of consumers.

However, it has yet to provide figures since the shutdown of the gas facility will run until Friday.

There had been gas restriction incidents in the past months, which led to an increase of over P1 per kWh, Meralco said. Of this, P0.69 per kWh was due to re-pricing of Malampaya natural gas to reflect the movement of international crude oil prices.

There was also a P0.36 per kWh adjustment due to the use of more expensive fuel.

“It should be noted that the use of alternative averts the detrimental effect of the plants’ non-operation, specifically, the impact of the 1,500MW of generation capacity that will be lost in the Luzon grid, which will likely lead to significant higher WESM prices and/or rotating power interruptions,” Meralco said.

SM Markets sells restaurant food

By VG Cabuag @villygc

S

M Markets, the grocery store operator of the SM Group, said it has reinvented the dining experience for the customers of its partner stores by making their products available inside the supermarket.

Products of partner restaurants, such as ready-to-cook and readyto-eat meals have been allowed to be marketed at the SM Markets for the customers’ easy access amid the government restriction on dining.

“By offering our supermarkets as venues for these products, SM Markets allowed its partners to reinvent

the dining experience with their bestselling dishes and bring the restaurant closer to home,” Arnold Daluz, SM Hypermarket president, said.

SM Markets currently carries some 22 brands of various restaurant partners in 68 of its stores. Among these are the Max’s group of restaurants such as Pancake House, Max’s, Yellow Cab, Teriyaki Boy, and Dencio’s; DECS; Goldilocks; United Steak; Tokyo Tokyo; Tapa King; Adobo Connection; Rico’s Lechon; Ramen Nagi; Ersao; Biggs; Marina; Cibo; Kenny Rogers; Yes Efren’s barbeque; the Moment Group’s Manam, Din Tai Fung and 8 cuts.

The supermarket business of SM

responded to the need to support the food businesses of its partners by developing the marketing approach of allowing them to market their products inside its facilities.

Justin Chua, president of DECS Dimsum Dynasty Inc., said the company is grateful that SM Markets has expanded its product line and included DECS frozen items. DECS frozen items, such as the various variants of siomai and other dim sum products, are now available in several SM Markets. It also gave DECS the opportunity to reach more families by making DECS’ products available online.

Part of SM Markets’ support to

its micro, small and medium enterprises suppliers’ operations is working closely with its supply chain partners to ensure that its shelves are stocked and enhanced with its product range especially essential items for its customers.

“The pandemic brought about not only the need to overcome the health crisis but the need to provide greater support to sustain the wellbeing of many components of the local economy. As an essential business, we aim to be resilient to sustain operations especially for the sake of our customers, our partners and our communities,” Jojo Tagbo, SM Supermarket president, said.

Fujitsu: PHL PCCI to confer 2021 Injap Sia Outstanding is ripe for Young Entrepreneur Award in November digital shift

D

igital transformation enabler Fujitsu aims to leverage the so-called work-life shift phenomenon in the Philippines to grow its business amid the pandemic.

In a nutshell, work-life shift refers to the phenomenon in which enterprises are scaling their digital operations to enable their employees to work remotely while ensuring efficiency and productivity.

“Among the Asian countries that were impacted by Covid-19 needless to say that the Philippines was especially hard hit by the pandemic. I do believe that the situation is making a turn for the better, things are improving in the Philippines. And we are seeing more and more circumstances that people are working from home. We are seeing a work-life shift,” Fujitsu Head of Asia Region Koji Masuda said in a press briefing.

The Philippines, he said, is ripe for digital transformation and Fujitsu wants to be part of that initiative.

“I do believe that for the Philippines, we would like to leverage the strength of work-life shift. And by doing so we believe that we can appeal to the market and at the same time we can support and boost the economy as well as support and enrich the daily lives of the Philippines.

In that regard, Fujitsu’s offering and solutions will go a long way in supporting those endeavors,” he said. Lorenz S. Marasigan

T

he Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the largest business organization in the country, will announce the winner of this year’s 2021 PCCI Injap Sia Outstanding Young Entrepreneur Award (ISOYEA) at the 47th Philippine Business Conference and Expo (PBC&E) slated on November 17 and 18.

PCCI Director for SME Development Apolinar E. Aure said nine young entrepreneurs from the service and industry sectors made it to the finals and were interviewed by a distinguished panel of judges from the business and finance sectors as well as from the government agencies.

Aure, who’s also the chairman of the ISOYEA TWG, heads the technical working group who selects this year’s finalists from a number of nominees.

This year’s finalists are: Walther Uzi Buenavista, president and CEO of Shawarma Shack Group; Jeuz Cassiddy, founder and CEO of Stellar 167 Manpower Recruitment; Marie Joyce Co, founder of Asia True Blends Franchising Inc.; John Dave Duenas, CEO and founder of HYBrain; Wilhelmina Garcia, president of Junknot Eco Creatives; Joyce Liwanag, owner of Healthy

AI industrial park to rise in PHL C lark Freeport—A memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish the first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Industrial Park in the Philippines was signed here last October 10.

Tokushima Auction Market, which was represented by Global Trade Venture Co., Ltd. Group of Japan and a property owner from Angeles City of a 25,000-hectare land in Camarines Sur signed the MOU. The AI Industrial Park will be established with the cooperation of several countries.

The MOU signing was facilitated by senior consultant Kazuo Sato of the Global Trade Co. Ltd. Group and was witnessed by aquamarine/agriculture farming proponents.

The Department of Trade and Industry, in collaboration with TAM/ GTV, identified Bicol as a suitable location for an industrial corridor that will cater exclusively to the Japanese AI industry.

The AI Industry is based on software research and development, and hardware implementation and testing. The AI Industrial Park will be able to create new aqua-agri robots systems and farming operations and management, manufacturing and development services of robots, industrial and automotive robotics systems As the automotive industry is now shifting from engine to electric systems, new components battery manufacturing, assembly and testing, digital high-speed ground and satellite IT network services for

global connections are the target industry locators.

Similarly, global finance network service and high information security sectors are also the prospective proponents.

Strategic location for an exclusive air-cargo hub center, with a 4-kilometer runway with complete facilities that will serve the logistics requirements of the Industrial Corridor will be established.

One basic support facility, the Regional Medical Care Center (RMCC), whose Japanese officials attended the video conference for the MOU signing, will be established to cater to the health-care needs not only of the employees and their families, but also the residents in the community.

Other infrastructure includes warehousing facilities, cold storage/ processing rooms, power generation plants and components, office facilities, full-weather and 24-hour operation park management services, facility design and construction services, and special technology zone.

The timeline for the construction of the Industrial Park is 24 months and the concession contract is good for 25 years, which may be renewed for another 25 years.

The industrial park is a major component of the company’s approximately $7.5-billion concession projects that were mentioned during the virtual project presentations on August 6.

The Japanese group’s projects are expected to give the country’s economy a much-needed boost. Ashley Manabat

THEC hydro plant to start operations before year-end

Photo from www.magisenergyholdings.com

Edgar Sia II

Apolinar E. Aure

Choice Café; Bernadette Simon Matias, vice chairman and executive vice president of Primetech Oil Inc.; Avin Ong founder, chairman and CEO of Fredley Group of Companies; and Reynaldo Polinar, president and CEO of Successu International Inc. PCCI has been implementing the ISOYEA Award since 2015 and is the brainchild of PCCI President Amb. Benedicto Yujuico who recognized the importance of developing young and innovative business leaders in the country.

The award was inspired by the success of Edgar “Injap” Sia II who, at a young age, founded and steered

the highly successful Mang Inasal food chain. He eventually ventured into real estate business as chairman of Double Dragon Properties Corporation.

He also entered the convenience store industry through Merry Mart which had a successful debut in the stock exchange last year. Sia is currently a Director of PCCI. ISOYEA will be one of the highlights and one of the several awards that will be given during the 47th PBC&E, recognized as the premier business convention in the country.

Chaired by Jeffrey Ng, this year’s conference theme will be “Innovation.ph: Economic Recovery for All.”

T

aft Hydro Energy Corp. (THEC), holder of a hydro service contract from the Department of Energy for a hydro resource in Eastern Samar, expects commercial operation of its 16 megawatt (MW) hydropower project to start before the end of the year.

It announced over the weekend that the project is currently more than 98 percent complete and will be ready by the end of the year to provide power in time for the holiday peak demand season.

THEC President Benjie Picardo said the schedule is said to be “a record breaker in terms of its construction period of only about 18 months.”

Picardo added that the project is envisioned to provide power to the island of Samar, which is part of the country’s Tuna Highway. Unfortunately, the lack of power has constrained investments in cold storage facilities for tuna fishermen to be able to maximize the potential of

the tuna industry.

With THEC, “the project’s major economic multiplier will be the opening of investment opportunities in cold storage, processing plants, and even in tourism,” Picardo added.

The hydropower facility is only 1.2 kilometers from the National Highway in Eastern Samar and will harness the Taft-Tubig River which drains from the hinterlands of Southeastern Samar.

Currently, the project has been able to implement tree-planting projects to support the integrity of the watershed area. THEC has already planted 3000 tree saplings at the Samar Island Natural Park and is committed to plant a total of 500,000 trees for the life of the project. Also, more than 726 laborers or about 70 percent of its workforce were local hires.

THEC is a project company under Magis Energy Holdings Corp. Lenie Lectura

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, October 18, 2021

MREIT income rises by 6% to ₧711.2M in July-Sept

M

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

REIT Inc., the real estate investment trust (REIT) of property developer Megaworld Corp., said its revenues in the third quarter recorded a single-digit hike.

The company said it saw a 6-percent increase in revenues to P711.2 million in the quarter ending September on the back of the 5-percent increase in rental

income to P583.7 million.

The period is MREIT’s first quarter of full operations after Megaworld transferred 10 office assets to the company.

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK

Mreit said it is preparing to declare dividends within the month of October in line with the REIT plan.

It will declare dividends of at least P0.24 per share subject to necessary board and regulatory approvals.

“This is just the initial tranche of dividends that we intend to declare for the current fiscal year 2022. Considering Mreit’s strong performance to date, as well as our improved outlook on office demand and the infusions of additional assets, we are confident of our ability to meet, if not surpass, our dividend projection for the year as indicated in our REIT plan.

We thank all our investors for the trust and confidence to MREIT,” Kevin Andrew L. Tan, the com-

mutual funds

Last week

pany’s president and CEO, said.

MREIT earlier said it plans to double its portfolio size by 2024, to reach 1 million square meters in floor size by 2030. By next year, around 100,000 square meters of prime office assets will be injected into MREIT. The company announced its plan to inject more assets from Uptown Bonifacio in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) aside from the assets coming from Eastwood City, McKinley Hill and Iloilo Business Park.

According to the report released

by Leechiu Properties in June, BGC still commands the highest rental rates among major business districts in the country.

October 15, 2021 NAV One Year Three Year Five Year

per share

Return*

Y-T-D Return

Stock Funds

Share prices surged last week, with the main index breaching the 7,000-point level, as investors were elated by the decreasing number of Covid cases and the downgrading of Metro Manila’s quarantine status, ahead of the busy Christmas season.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 306.60 points to close at 7,213.46 points. This is the PSEi’s best close since January 15, when the main index closed at 7,238.46 points.

Most of the gains were made on Monday, when the main index gained 217.15 points and on Thursday when it rose 114.18 points.

Average volume of trade for the week was high, valued at P9.81 billion, but foreign investors—which made up 37 percent of the trades—were still net sellers at P572.07 million.

Almost all of the sub-indices managed to close in the green, with the exception of the Services index that lost 15.50 points to 1,903 points. The broader All Shares index gained 110.29 to 4,448.81, the Financials index rose 106.64 to 1,573.87, the Industrial index surged 251.18 to 10,612.62, the Holding Firms index climbed 280.88 to 7,081.06, the Property index soared 268.33 to 3,330.18 and the Mining and Oil index added 1,001.93 to 10,727.93.

For the week, gainers led losers 142 to 80 and 26 shares were unchanged.

Top gainers were Semirara Mining and Power Corp., DMCI Holdings Inc., Philex Mining Corp., Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp., Primex Corp. and Jollibee Foods Corp.

Top losers were Boulevard Holdings Inc., Wilcon Depot Inc., Transpacific Broadband Group Int’l. Inc., Monde Nissin Corp., F and J Prince Holdings Corp.

A and AC Energy Corp.

ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

228.84

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.6487

53.04%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1812

20.77%

This week

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.1981

9.75% n.a. n.a. 0%

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

1.9979

9.25%

3.91%

1.52%

1.57%

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.7348

8.58%

3.6%

0.21%

-1.46%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

16.7161

8.66%

3.42%

0.19%

-1.32%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

2.0961

10.25%

1.61%

0.35%

0.24%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.6068 11.61%

0.75%

Share prices may move sideways this week, partly as a result of the market’s sharp rise last week, which may have siphoned off liquidity from the investors.

Investors are starting to worry about the increasing prices of pump prices due to the elevated global oil prices, which could be the market’s downside risk, according to Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, senior research analyst at Philstocks Financials Inc. “The benchmark Brent crude is already nearing $85 per barrel. If oil prices remain high, worse, if they rally further, then it is seen to raise inflation worries which could weigh on the local bourse,” he said.

“The brightening economic prospects brought by the alert level downgrade in the National Capital Region are seen to keep the positive sentiment in the market. Adding to this is our improving Covid-19 situation. If the cases further decline, then it may strengthen investors’ confidence since it raises the possibility of more easing of restrictions in the country.”

Broker 2TradeAsia said investors are starting to position ahead of the 2022 presidential elections in the country.

“There are downside risks in the horizon that remain noteworthy so as to not be carried away with bullish overtones,” it said.

“It would be sensible in the near term to err on the side of caution as the PSEi attempts to build its first base above 7,000.”

Stock picks

Broker Regina Capital Development Corp. advised to take profits on the stock of Manila Water Co. Inc. as it has surprisingly rallied for two straight weeks now, pushing its shares deep into the overbought region.

“All indicators are still on strong buy signs with increasing momentum. The spike has brought MWC back to its pre-pandemic levels,” it said, adding that the P28 level is also a significant resistance that the stock needs to break if it wants to extend its rally.

“There could be a looming pullback waiting for us at the end of this long week,” it said.

Manila Water shares closed at P26.10 apiece on Friday.

Meanwhile, it advised to sell on rallies on the stock of Megaworld Corp. (MEG) after it broke out of its initial P3.10 resistance intra-day and managed to hit a high of P3.13 before closing slightly lower.

“This is the first time the stock reached this level since mid-July. All things considered, it looks like buying pressure is still increasing—which implies that MEG may start to test new highs by early (this) week.”

Megaworld shares closed last week at P3.11 apiece. VG Cabuag

17.57%

-2.21%

0.72%

6.68%

4.22%

25.57%

-5.02%

-4.93%

1.54%

-4.3% n.a.

-7.62%

First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7856 15.65%

0.01% n.a.

5.93%

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

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7509 11.76%

-1.41%

5.1344

22.95%

1.54%

-0.16%

First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.7706

18.32%

-0.67%

MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

3.91% -4.04% -0.75%

101.22

18.69%

-3.16% n.a.

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

47.1957

20.88%

0.59%

-0.69%

-0.64% 0.76%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

491.8

17.36%

0.64%

-1.31%

0.59%

Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d

1.1438

26.62% n.a. n.a.

4.24%

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.2761

27.98%

2.15%

0.66%

9.24%

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

35.8704

22.75%

0.99%

0.24%

3.17%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.9288

20.69% n.a. n.a.

1.73%

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.8604

21.87%

1.41%

0.04%

1.44%

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

811.39

21.69%

1.41%

-0.02%

1.22%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

0.741

21.98%

-2.82%

-3.16%

3.07%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.6937

20.63%

-1.42%

-1.5%

1.93%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.926 21.25%

1.05%

-0.22%

0.9%

United Fund, Inc. -a

1.15%

0.87%

3.56%

1.58%

0.48% 1.43%

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

October 15, 2021

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

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL IREMIT MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

46.3 132 84.95 24.65 9.69 50.25 9.32 18.02 21.65 55.7 20.2 120.1 90 0.91 4.28 1.11 901 0.63 219.2 2,550 0.83

46.4 132.2 85 24.7 9.7 50.3 9.87 18.5 21.7 56.8 20.3 120.4 90.75 1.05 4.29 1.16 950 0.68 228.6 2,598 0.9

46 129.2 85.1 24.1 9.75 50.2 9.35 18 22.1 56.85 20 122 97 0.91 4.28 1.13 901 0.66 229 2,550 0.85

46.4 132 85.45 24.7 9.75 50.4 9.35 18.5 22.1 56.85 20.3 122 99.5 0.91 4.29 1.14 901 0.68 229 2,550 0.85

45 128.5 85 24.1 9.67 50.15 9.33 18 21.3 56.8 19.98 119.5 89.1 0.91 4.27 1.13 900 0.65 229 2,550 0.85

46.4 132 85 24.65 9.7 50.3 9.33 18.5 21.7 56.8 20.3 120.1 90 0.91 4.29 1.14 900 0.65 229 2,550 0.85

15,300 2,288,280 4,349,600 229,200 887,700 3,580,170 4,300 8,000 431,200 2,020 44,800 846,740 386,890 5,000 30,000 22,000 120 61,000 40 50 76,000

699,060 299,607,158 369,977,782.50 5,623,545 8,628,968 180,002,522 40,125 146,790 9,314,045 114,736.50 897,030 101,653,554 35,713,356 4,550 128,410 24,960 108,040 40,540 9,160 127,500 64,600

653,500 175,503,298 -149,148,055 -514,500 1,940,983.00 35,247,932 -51,710 -18,320 8,349,214 -13,326,002 127,500 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 11.3 11.32 11.7 11.7 11.1 11.32 65,574,900 744,010,492 ALSONS CONS 1.11 1.12 1.12 1.13 1.1 1.1 458,000 506,930 ABOITIZ POWER 31.7 31.75 31 31.75 30.6 31.7 2,488,600 77,944,195 BASIC ENERGY 0.56 0.57 0.56 0.57 0.56 0.57 5,220,000 2,947,850 28.4 28.45 28.2 28.5 28 28.4 1,908,700 54,006,665 FIRST GEN 75.25 76.5 77 77 75.15 75.25 37,220 2,856,848 FIRST PHIL HLDG 297.4 299 295 299 292.2 299 250,600 74,394,544 MERALCO MANILA WATER 26.1 26.25 26.8 26.9 25.5 26.1 4,673,200 121,958,210 PETRON 3.61 3.64 3.71 3.73 3.61 3.61 3,319,000 12,186,800 PETROENERGY 4.25 4.37 4.1 4.38 4.1 4.25 556,000 2,374,310 10.74 11.08 11.58 11.58 10.72 11.08 628,000 6,880,510 PHX PETROLEUM 22.4 22.55 21.9 22.65 21.9 22.55 988,100 22,083,455 PILIPINAS SHELL 13.9 13.96 13.84 13.96 13.8 13.96 117,900 1,636,186 SPC POWER VIVANT 15 18.48 15.02 15.02 15.02 15.02 600 9,012 AGRINURTURE 4.74 4.9 4.8 4.94 4.73 4.93 242,000 1,172,740 AXELUM 2.78 2.81 2.78 2.81 2.75 2.81 284,000 788,800 14.2 14.4 13.8 14 13.8 14 700 9,720 CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD 25 26 24.85 26 24 26 2,195,100 54,547,015 14.32 14.34 14.94 14.94 14.32 14.34 209,300 3,030,942 DEL MONTE DNL INDUS 8.26 8.27 8.38 8.4 8.2 8.27 4,742,200 39,387,335 EMPERADOR 18.16 18.18 18.4 18.7 18.12 18.18 3,517,000 64,455,176 SMC FOODANDBEV 75.9 76 75.95 76 75.8 76 12,250 929,989.50 0.61 0.62 0.61 0.62 0.61 0.61 234,000 144,230 ALLIANCE SELECT 1.33 1.36 1.34 1.36 1.32 1.36 15,389,000 20,636,090 FRUITAS HLDG 116.6 117.2 116.5 117.5 116.5 117.2 10,380 1,217,437 GINEBRA JOLLIBEE 229.8 230 229.8 234.8 226 229.8 1,261,480 289,584,216 LIBERTY FLOUR 28.05 28.95 28 28 28 28 1,000 28,000 MAXS GROUP 7.05 7.1 7.12 7.16 7 7.05 192,700 1,365,385 0.179 0.18 0.179 0.183 0.177 0.18 1,630,000 289,370 MG HLDG 16.36 16.38 16.7 16.96 16.12 16.38 61,058,600 1,001,269,532 MONDE NISSIN 8.4 8.76 8.55 8.76 8.31 8.76 263,600 2,250,888 SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO 0.77 0.78 0.77 0.8 0.77 0.78 968,000 750,590 RFM CORP 4.55 4.6 4.6 4.61 4.6 4.61 52,000 239,220 ROXAS HLDG 1.27 1.33 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27 2,000 2,540 0.119 0.121 0.122 0.122 0.118 0.12 620,000 73,990 SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA 133.2 133.3 133.2 134.4 133 133.2 1,430,330 190,794,647 0.76 0.77 0.76 0.77 0.76 0.77 533,000 406,930 VITARICH VICTORIAS 2.41 2.48 2.48 2.48 2.48 2.48 1,000 2,480 CEMEX HLDG 1.28 1.29 1.27 1.29 1.27 1.29 1,417,000 1,813,870 EAGLE CEMENT 14.46 14.5 14.28 14.5 14.28 14.5 34,800 502,590 6.48 6.49 6.5 6.6 6.48 6.49 5,522,600 35,871,930 EEI CORP 6.15 6.16 6.16 6.37 6.15 6.16 631,200 3,891,902 HOLCIM 6.25 6.27 6.5 6.5 6.16 6.27 5,647,100 35,617,525 MEGAWIDE PHINMA 14.4 14.6 14.6 14.6 14.4 14.6 6,844,800 99,933,660 TKC METALS 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.93 0.92 0.92 36,000 33,130 VULCAN INDL 1.1 1.13 1.13 1.13 1.1 1.1 1,623,000 1,800,100 1.67 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.67 1.69 124,000 209,460 CROWN ASIA 1.63 1.67 1.62 1.63 1.62 1.63 12,000 19,450 EUROMED PRYCE CORP 5.4 5.48 5.48 5.48 5.4 5.48 33,200 180,162 GREENERGY 2.24 2.26 2.24 2.27 2.11 2.26 14,981,000 32,085,370 INTEGRATED MICR 9.02 9.05 9.02 9.1 9 9.02 1,391,100 12,558,127 IONICS 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.86 302,000 259,010 6.02 6.06 6.03 6.08 5.93 6.02 87,400 526,176 PANASONIC SFA SEMICON 1.13 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.13 1.15 299,000 340,010 CIRTEK HLDG 4.3 4.33 4.36 4.36 4.29 4.3 2,418,000 10,442,260

36,059,290 6,563,110 -39,200 -3,072,920 13,343.50 44,997,430 -6,606,580 -1,220,970 43,000 5,560 2,464,970 13,960 345,750 36,808,555 14,860 902,817 -1,726,018.00 -360,592 -42,700 93,110 -263,402 138,399,016 24,940 -288,643,262 1,283,777 -490,490 -9,220 -59,422,724 86,230 60,648 -34,472,871 -3,178,195 -6,919,102 -29,000 -80,170.00 16,880 46,580 -462,140 -18,350 -196,230

HOLDING & FRIMS

ABACORE CAPITAL ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE A GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP METRO PAC INV PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA REPUBLIC GLASS SOLID GROUP SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS

1.11 5.26 859 48.35 10.52 5.68 7.25 0.92 0.5 0.49 5.07 9.1 7.7 2.49 576.5 3.63 62.5 5.31 0.63 3.3 9.93 3.99 3.21 1.52 2.51 1.16 991 115.2 130.1 0.25

1.12 5.8 860 48.45 10.58 5.7 7.3 0.93 0.51 - 5.08 9.11 7.8 2.79 577 3.88 63 5.45 0.65 3.31 9.94 4 3.29 1.6 2.88 1.2 995 115.5 133.8 0.26

1.09 5.26 855.5 47.35 10.46 5.82 7.09 0.93 0.485 0.49 5.09 9.03 7.7 2.39 576 3.64 63.5 5.45 0.65 3.31 10 3.94 3.28 1.5 2.88 1.16 1,000 114.9 133.9 0.25

1.12 5.78 874 48.6 10.66 5.82 7.25 0.95 0.52 0.49 5.12 9.25 7.85 2.39 579.5 3.64 64.4 5.45 0.65 3.31 10.14 4 3.28 1.65 2.88 1.19 1,015 115.5 133.9 0.25

1.07 5.26 850.5 47.35 10.36 5.6 6.96 0.92 0.47 0.49 5.08 9.03 7.62 2.39 574 3.63 62.5 5.45 0.63 3.31 9.89 3.93 3.28 1.49 2.88 1.16 990 114.8 130.1 0.25

1.12 5.26 859 48.45 10.52 5.68 7.25 0.92 0.5 0.49 5.08 9.1 7.8 2.39 577 3.63 62.5 5.45 0.63 3.31 9.94 3.99 3.28 1.6 2.88 1.19 991 115.5 130.1 0.25

11,546,000 4,900 590,850 601,400 4,582,800 4,290,000 81,300 1,062,000 260,000 20,000 1,948,100 24,387,900 21,700 1,000 478,740 3,000 1,512,260 500 59,000 6,000 7,009,600 22,559,000 3,000 117,000 48,000 207,000 137,025 76,810 250 10,000

12,750,810 25,878 509,188,635 29,043,400 48,191,544 24,435,419 575,133 989,740 127,450 9,800 9,911,346 222,372,167 166,297 2,390 276,168,655 10,910 95,771,219 2,725 37,550 19,860 70,096,238 89,625,490 9,840 179,130 138,240 244,470 136,175,007.50 8,848,657 32,715 2,500

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a

1.3165

0.35%

3.95%

2.6%

-0.36%

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.64 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.66 15,000 9,900 ANCHOR LAND 7 7.12 7.12 7.12 7.12 7.12 100 712 AYALA LAND 37.05 37.1 36.8 37.05 36.2 37.05 30,775,900 1,128,846,085 ARANETA PROP 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.06 1.05 1.05 434,000 456,030 41.75 41.8 40 42 40 41.8 854,000 35,127,660 AREIT RT 1.38 1.39 1.35 1.38 1.34 1.38 869,000 1,183,880 BELLE CORP 0.88 0.9 0.88 0.92 0.86 0.9 255,000 225,460 A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT 0.76 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.76 0.77 167,000 127,180 CROWN EQUITIES 0.117 0.119 0.119 0.119 0.117 0.119 21,630,000 2,530,770 CEBU HLDG 6.15 6.38 6.11 6.11 6.11 6.11 200 1,222 3.02 3.03 3.02 3.03 3 3.02 929,000 2,798,150 CEB LANDMASTERS 0.45 0.46 0.455 0.46 0.445 0.46 14,760,000 6,696,500 CENTURY PROP DOUBLEDRAGON 10.2 10.26 10.24 10.28 10.2 10.2 349,100 3,567,512 DDMP RT 1.82 1.83 1.82 1.83 1.8 1.82 7,983,000 14,463,090 DM WENCESLAO 6.35 6.84 6.88 6.88 6.35 6.35 73,400 480,320 EMPIRE EAST 0.27 0.275 0.27 0.275 0.27 0.275 60,000 16,450 0.305 0.31 0.325 0.325 0.305 0.31 12,260,000 3,809,650 EVER GOTESCO 7.4 7.41 7.37 7.4 7.35 7.4 6,388,800 47,239,427 FILINVEST RT 1.13 1.14 1.12 1.14 1.12 1.13 7,981,000 9,023,420 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.88 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.87 0.9 952,000 838,230 8990 HLDG 11 11.12 10.9 11.24 10.44 11.12 965,200 10,340,690 PHIL INFRADEV 1.17 1.19 1.17 1.19 1.14 1.19 612,000 715,830 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.96 0.95 0.95 97,000 92,250 CITY AND LAND 3.1 3.11 3.13 3.15 3.09 3.11 19,863,000 61,739,840 MEGAWORLD 0.28 0.285 0.285 0.285 0.28 0.285 7,330,000 2,070,250 MRC ALLIED MREIT RT 17.68 17.74 17.3 17.8 17.3 17.74 3,129,300 55,470,682 PHIL ESTATES 0.5 0.51 0.51 0.51 0.5 0.5 1,048,000 529,070 PRIMEX CORP 1.98 1.99 1.95 2 1.92 1.99 377,000 736,170 6.73 6.75 6.65 6.87 6.65 6.75 11,861,100 79,902,146 RL COMM RT 16.02 16.04 16.1 16.24 16.04 16.04 7,979,900 128,634,034 ROBINSONS LAND 0.25 0.255 0.241 0.26 0.24 0.25 1,460,000 361,940 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 1.55 1.57 1.59 1.59 1.57 1.57 28,000 44,070 SHANG PROP 2.66 2.68 2.65 2.66 2.65 2.66 15,000 39,850 STA LUCIA LAND 2.85 2.89 2.9 2.93 2.82 2.89 115,000 330,030 36.3 36.5 36.3 36.75 35.7 36.5 5,812,800 211,574,935 SM PRIME HLDG 3.71 3.87 3.94 3.95 3.69 3.87 25,000 96,360 VISTAMALLS 1.45 1.47 1.53 1.53 1.45 1.45 873,000 1,289,810 SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND 3.7 3.71 3.69 3.71 3.63 3.7 1,003,000 3,705,770

SERVICES ABS CBN 14.6 14.7 15 15.4 14.5 14.7 1,122,700 16,483,654 GMA NETWORK 15.34 15.4 15.72 15.72 15.32 15.34 1,708,800 26,381,276 GLOBE TELECOM 3,220 3,226 3,340 3,350 3,212 3,220 98,270 320,712,940 PLDT 1,656 1,688 1,632 1,707 1,631 1,656 144,915 242,673,740 0.099 0.1 0.1 0.102 0.099 0.1 96,660,000 9,677,670 APOLLO GLOBAL 31.8 31.95 32.8 33.7 31.3 31.8 30,533,200 985,323,760 CONVERGE 3.08 3.14 3.07 3.27 3.07 3.14 156,000 487,000 DFNN INC DITO CME HLDG 7.28 7.29 7.38 7.42 7.27 7.28 6,817,600 49,848,156 NOW CORP 1.91 1.92 1.93 1.94 1.88 1.91 1,170,000 2,235,690 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.3 0.305 0.295 0.31 0.295 0.3 3,770,000 1,137,200 2.2 2.25 2.22 2.29 2.18 2.25 394,000 870,160 PHILWEB 2GO GROUP 8 8.11 8.12 8.15 7.8 8.11 59,200 473,224 14.02 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 600 8,700 ASIAN TERMINALS CHELSEA 2.04 2.1 2.12 2.12 2.03 2.1 1,505,000 3,130,390 CEBU AIR 45.75 45.8 44.1 46 44.1 45.8 1,178,400 53,736,455 INTL CONTAINER 178.3 178.9 170.3 179.8 170.1 178.9 1,703,180 300,568,645 19.9 20 19 19.9 19 19.9 140,800 2,730,938 LBC EXPRESS MACROASIA 5.39 5.4 5.55 5.55 5.35 5.4 1,776,500 9,644,319 1.55 1.64 1.49 1.64 1.48 1.64 439,000 689,440 METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B 1.6 1.77 1.62 1.62 1.62 1.62 4,000 6,480 HARBOR STAR 1.06 1.07 1.06 1.07 1.05 1.07 64,000 67,610 ACESITE HOTEL 1.49 1.54 1.53 1.53 1.5 1.5 6,000 9,060 2.27 2.32 2.25 2.37 2.25 2.32 216,000 498,320 DISCOVERY WORLD WATERFRONT 0.52 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 373,000 197,690 6.84 7.33 7.4 7.4 7.33 7.33 2,700 19,832 IPEOPLE STI HLDG 0.36 0.365 0.37 0.37 0.365 0.365 4,960,000 1,821,800 BERJAYA 5.4 5.58 5.46 5.59 5.4 5.4 175,400 949,245 BLOOMBERRY 6.32 6.38 6.52 6.57 6.32 6.32 6,511,400 41,809,621 2.01 2.04 2.03 2.05 2.03 2.04 19,000 38,710 PACIFIC ONLINE LEISURE AND RES 1.66 1.67 1.66 1.67 1.66 1.67 75,000 124,850 PH RESORTS GRP 1.06 1.07 1.1 1.1 1.06 1.06 1,668,000 1,793,470 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.43 0.435 0.43 0.435 0.425 0.43 10,560,000 4,537,350 ALLHOME 10.44 10.5 10.94 10.94 10.42 10.5 1,579,300 16,806,362 METRO RETAIL 1.34 1.36 1.34 1.36 1.33 1.36 359,000 486,970 42.65 42.8 42.85 42.85 42.45 42.8 814,500 34,785,740 PUREGOLD 61.25 61.3 62.8 63 61.05 61.3 698,800 42,892,895.50 ROBINSONS RTL 90.3 96 97 97 92 96 1,680 161,634.50 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.23 1.24 1.23 1.25 1.23 1.24 3,464,000 4,302,140 WILCON DEPOT 29.3 29.45 29.1 29.75 28.15 29.45 3,237,000 94,229,630 APC GROUP 0.25 0.26 0.26 0.26 0.25 0.25 3,430,000 862,450 4.6 4.85 4.85 4.85 4.85 4.85 3,000 14,550 EASYCALL GOLDEN MV 530 538.5 530 538.5 530 538.5 1,080 581,155 IPM HLDG 7.05 7.1 7.1 7.1 7.1 7.1 2,500 17,750 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.81 0.82 0.83 0.84 0.81 0.81 12,466,000 10,281,590 SBS PHIL CORP 4.2 4.39 4.25 4.25 4.25 4.25 50,000 212,500

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.9662

0.24%

4.71%

2.35%

-0.87%

MINING & OIL

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.0215

-1.59%

5.47%

1.57%

-2.11%

3.4368

22.78%

Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 109.0932

21.97%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities $1.1597

6.26%

7.72%

5.17%

-3.59%

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.7796

ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

12.27%

13.6%

11.49%

6.38%

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

1.6771

8%

1.68%

-0.81%

0.51%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.227

9.46%

1.45%

-0.61%

-2.56%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6796

12.55%

3.38%

1.15%

2.01%

-0.42%

0.94%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9844

5.87% n.a. n.a.

-3.74%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.932

13.38% n.a. n.a.

-1.81%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.9216

15.4% n.a. n.a.

-1.23%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

0.9215

16.75%

0.86%

-0.51%

3.81%

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

$0.03752

-4.11%

2.74%

0.95%

-4.04%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.0639

-0.5%

4.72%

2.78%

-5.85%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.6846 9.08%

9.97%

8.04%

3.81%

5.6%

4.14%

0.07%

0.33%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a $1.203

3.41%

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

372.33

1.02%

2.93%

2.42%

ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.9226

-1.53%

1.17%

0.14%

1.17%

Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.2418

1.18%

3.3%

4.13%

0.82%

Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a

2.2463

-2.26%

-2.03%

1.99%

1.26%

First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4226 -1.1%

3.05%

1.66%

-1.25%

Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a

-4.75%

5.43%

1.2%

-4.61%

4.4164

ATOK 6.77 6.9 6.65 6.99 6.65 6.77 107,400 728,919 APEX MINING 1.48 1.49 1.5 1.5 1.48 1.48 575,000 856,140 ATLAS MINING 6.4 6.52 6.53 6.7 6.35 6.4 1,549,600 10,116,332 5.16 5.31 5.31 5.31 5.15 5.31 45,500 236,746 BENGUET A Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1863 0.1% 5% 2.7% -0.62% BENGUET B 4.9 5.1 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 100 490 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.285 0.29 0.29 0.3 0.285 0.29 740,000 212,300 Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7318 -0.77% 4.2% 2.01% -1.32% CENTURY PEAK 2.75 2.78 2.78 2.78 2.78 2.78 5,000 13,900 DIZON MINES 5.5 5.51 5.51 5.51 5.51 5.51 45,500 250,705 Primarily invested in foreign currency securities FERRONICKEL 2.15 2.18 2.1 2.18 2.1 2.18 2,916,000 6,270,300 0.221 0.224 0.224 0.224 0.221 0.221 100,000 22,130 GEOGRACE ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $487.71 1.47% 3.05% 2.15% 0.76% LEPANTO A 0.136 0.137 0.134 0.139 0.133 0.137 53,690,000 7,178,090 LEPANTO B 0.138 0.139 0.133 0.139 0.133 0.138 153,120,000 20,370,810 MANILA MINING A 0.0095 0.0096 0.0095 0.0095 0.0094 0.0095 202,000,000 1,918,900 ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.81 1% 1.05% 0.77% 0.27% MANILA MINING B 0.0097 0.01 0.0097 0.0097 0.0097 0.0097 20,000,000 194,000 MARCVENTURES 0.9 0.91 0.86 0.91 0.86 0.91 199,000 179,570 ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.1868 -4.89% 1.94% 1.08% -7.27% 5.56 5.57 5.49 5.6 5.44 5.57 3,192,600 17,645,187 NICKEL ASIA 0.83 0.84 0.81 0.83 0.81 0.83 147,000 121,400 ORNTL PENINSULA First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0258 -2.64% 1.33% 0.63% -3.01% PX MINING 5.53 5.54 5.5 5.57 5.43 5.53 552,000 3,048,813 SEMIRARA MINING 30.1 30.2 29.5 30.8 29.35 30.1 9,298,400 282,018,760 PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0152 -6.97% -0.3% -1.54% -6.86% UNITED PARAGON 0.0067 0.0069 0.0068 0.0068 0.0067 0.0067 12,000,000 81,200 ACE ENEXOR 17.3 17.4 17.38 17.78 16.8 17.5 264,000 4,602,972 Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4593 -2.35% 4.79% 1.7% -3.18% 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.012 10,200,000 113,500 ORNTL PETROL A ORNTL PETROL B 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 500,000 5,500 Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0625052 1.14% 3.21% 1.96% 0.33% 0.0097 0.01 0.0096 0.0099 0.0096 0.0098 38,000,000 373,900 PHILODRILL PXP ENERGY 6.49 6.5 6.38 6.52 6.38 6.5 640,000 4,126,317

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1162 -3.07% 2.71% 0.57% -3.33% PREFFERED HOUSE PREF B 101.5 101.9 101.8 101.9 101.8 101.9 1,510 153,719 Money Market Funds HOUSE PREF A 100.1 101 101 101 100.1 100.1 36,630 3,679,142 AC PREF B1 511 525 511 513 510 510.5 4,130 2,107,570 Primarily invested in Peso securities ALCO PREF C 104 108 104 104 104 104 20 2,080 524.5 525 524.5 524.5 524.5 524.5 200 104,900 AC PREF B2R ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 130.8 1.19% 2.95% 2.54% 0.75% CEB PREF 44.65 44.9 43.4 44.9 43.4 44.65 81,000 3,605,290 105.4 105.6 105.6 105.6 105.3 105.4 6,050 637,873 FGEN PREF G First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0559 0.98% n.a. n.a.

0.74% JFC PREF A 1,019 1,020 1,016 1,050 1,010 1,020 9,535 9,848,680 JFC PREF B 1,020 1,028 1,020 1,028 1,020 1,020 13,155 13,418,535 Sun Life Prosperity Peso Starter Fund, Inc. -a,1 1.3114 1.53% 2.73% 2.55% 1.12% MWIDE PREF 101 101.2 101 101.1 101 101 2,220 224,233 101.1 101.2 101.1 101.2 101.1 101.2 1,700 171,970 MWIDE PREF 2B Primarily invested in foreign currency securities PNX PREF 3B 105 107.5 107 107.6 105 107.6 18,290 1,925,542 PNX PREF 4 1,007 1,010 1,006 1,010 1,006 1,010 4,610 4,638,540 PCOR PREF 3A 1,125 1,135 1,135 1,135 1,135 1,135 5 5,675 Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.059 0.85% 1.54% n.a.

0.51% PCOR PREF 3B 1,170 1,189 1,175 1,185 1,170 1,185 65 76,470 SMC PREF 2F 79.15 79.25 79.2 79.25 79.1 79.25 47,370 3,749,082 Feeder Funds 76.25 76.35 76.35 76.35 76.35 76.35 16,620 1,268,937 SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I 79.3 79.35 79.3 79.35 79.3 79.35 151,630 12,031,114 Primarily invested in Peso securities 76.5 77 77 77 77 77 7,510 578,270 SMC PREF 2J SMC PREF 2K 76.2 76.25 76.5 76.5 76.25 76.25 5,630 429,412.50 Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d 1.3117 24.54% n.a. n.a. 16.12%

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ABS HLDG PDR 14.12 14.7 15.38 15.38 14.1 14.12 32,000 458,752 GMA HLDG PDR 14.62 14.7 14.8 14.8 14.62 14.7 49,200 723,020

ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a,d $0.97 2.11% n.a. n.a.

-1.02%

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

TECH WARRANT 1.26 1.28 1.3 1.33 1.26 1.26 2,526,000 3,218,750

1 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last July 8, 2021 (formerly, Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc.).

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

924,400 -1,156 105,436,025 9,383,350 13,599,830 214,681 4,900 597,553.00 129,998,257 9,144 97,028,140 37,379,887 19,860 9,509,742 7,709,360 -71,920.00 13,080,835 -759,360 112,177,725 8,017,715 -14,340.00 8,360 -337,030 -63,786 546,130 119,150 10,462,693 2,981,250.00 -2,652,562 -960 7,746,630 -45,000 -7,168,062 152,030 -21,022,845 4,943,998 6,320 53,537,535.00 -37,280 -123,250 1,075,500 -56,041,800 16,569,670 349,000 -130,067,845 32,100 4,641,147 20,810 -62,700 67,707.00 -45,040 -22,365,540 -105,028,069 -59,012 -53,000 641,050 10,850 -6,874,690 10,700 -17,000 2,580,170 -3,061,680 32,010,481 -38,780 176,720 20,506,330 12,500 581,650 13,450 -95,004 13,900 -67,222 1,174,910 1,370 27,000 4,445,269 334,884 50,761,855 -5,500 -29,400 13,503 3,015 -22,250 6,669,100 -6,528,435 -7,925 7,935.00 -38,250 -18,960 53,640

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP ITALPINAS MERRYMART

17.22 1.79 3.33

17.9 1.82 3.34

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

109

109.2

17.22 1.81 3.43

17.26 1.82 3.48

17.22 1.78 3.31

17.22 1.8 3.33

15,600 494,000 9,667,000

268,664 888,860 32,759,180

1,556,510

108.6 109.2 108.5 109.2 19,880 2,162,517 -134,718

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance

Salceda seeks stronger acts vs food smuggling

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

A

S holiday season begins and more food will likely be imported, the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means has called on the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to continuously implement stronger agriculture smuggling enforcement.

Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda raised his call as he commended the BOC for its intensified efforts to combat food smuggling. These efforts led to the confiscation of some P545million worth of smuggled agriculture products as of end-September.

He also welcomed the filing of cases against dozens of importers and brokers as part of efforts to improve border security.

The BOC filed 14 lawsuits before the Department of Justice in a bid to punish 41 individuals involved in the smuggling of farm goods. The agency said these importers and brokers tried to inject P85.2-million worth of smuggled agricultural products into the domestic market.

While he congratulated the BOC “for this improvement,” Salceda said “Of course, as always, we can do even better.”

“And I challenge the agencies to push even harder, as the Christmas season begins and more food stuffs will likely be imported,” the lawmaker said.

According to Salceda, strong antismuggling measures will not only protect the country’s biosafety but

are “crucial to protecting farmers’ income during the pandemic, especially as agriculture remains one of our least developed sectors.”

Stronger biosafety

DURING the House Ways and Means Committee hearings, the lawmaker said that agricultural smuggling harms the country’s industries and government revenues.

“Lax enforcement of biosecurity in importation threatens our own domestic agriculture sector,” Salceda said adding the committee vows to work with the Executive branch of government to address these risks.

Last June 22, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar issued a memorandum circular “directing the establishment of biosafety, biosecurity and bio-surveillance system by adopting the plan of action and measures as the roadmap for implementation.”

Salceda said he will seek updates on whether the plan of action helped “and whether we are now doing better with biosafety threats, especially African swine fever, which many suspect to have [been] brought to the country through smuggled food.”

Salceda and Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo, meanwhile, renewed their call for the immediate passage of the proposed House Bill (HB) 9256 (Affordable Pork Act of 2021) and HB 9265 (Animal Biosafety Act).

Quimbo and Salceda said they are pushing for the passage of these bills to address inflation and help bring down commodity prices.

Perspectives Are we really busy as we think we are?

A

S a society, we measure time in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years. As individuals, we measure time by our experience of it.

That has been most evident during Covid-19 when, at one point, 93 percent of the global workforce lived in countries affected by workplace closure. Within the 36 member-states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an average of 39 percent of employees took part in what the World Economic Forum described as “the largest experiment in remote working in history.”

Before Covid-19, “time poverty” was a common complaint. Although OECD figures show that average hours worked per person per year across its members fell from 1,807 in 2000 to 1,726 in 2019, many consumers felt they had more to do and less time to do it in. Hours spent commuting to work, the need to do more with less when they got there, our digitally-enabled ‘always on’ lifestyle, all contributed to the feeling that life was proceeding at a frenetic pace.

The great reset

COVID-19 and the various lockdowns have distorted, disturbed and disrupted our sense of time, changing the way we look back–and look forward.

Life before Covid-19 already seems like a historical construct. Facing a future that looks uncertain, discontinuous and perilous, many consumers, especially those on middle to higher incomes, have adopted a “carpe diem” (seize the day) mentality, concluding that now is the time to move house, extend it, build a home gym, splash out on a swimming pool, change career paths or buy luxuries not considered before. This attitude has created “Zoom towns,” small towns near major public lands or ski resorts, which are becoming hot spots for remote working.

There is always a tendency to overestimate change in the short term–and underestimate it in the

long term. There is nothing new about working from home or flexible hours but surveys show that six out of ten people who have been compelled to work remotely this year want to keep doing so. Adjusting to this new reality, urban planners are accelerating development of the “15-minute city” where everything a resident needs is accessible, without a car, within 15 minutes.

Industries that derive much of their revenue from people spending two hours or more a day commuting– not just retail, but infrastructure, advertising, the media, energy, property, hospitality and the automotive sector–will need, at the very least, to reappraise their business model and test a variety of scenarios.

If Covid-19 changes where people work and how they work, it is likely to also have an impact on why they work. At the moment, employees’ motivations are mixed: 25 percent work because they have to, 22 percent say it gives them a sense of selfworth and 19 percent like their job.

Will consumers prefer to spend their working days doing something they actually like?

The global economy is already fragile–almost one in seven consumers say they would like to work but are unemployed–so, in the short term, economic necessity will likely prevail.

At the same time, the disruption to existing patterns of business and work has been so widespread and profound that it is hard, in the longer term, to see the world returning to a system that many felt was already becoming obsolete. The global remote workforce increased by 140 percent between 2005 and 2019 and it is forecast to rise by 77 percent between 2019 and 2022.

The excerpt was taken from the KPMG Thought Leadership publication entitled “Me, my life, my wallet.” © 2021 R.G. Manabat & Co., a Philippine partnership and a member-firm of the KPMG global organization of independent member-firms affiliated with KPMG Intl Ltd., a private English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved.

For more information on KPMG in the Philippines, you may visit www.kpmg.com.ph.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Monday, October 18, 2021

B3

SSS cites lockdown as cause for dip in OK’d pension loans

P

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

ENSION loans from January to August this year approved by state-run Social Security System (SSS) dropped to P1.923 billion compared to the same period last year.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio said the loans under the agency’s Pension Loan Program (PLP) went down by 17 percent from P2.311 billion in the same 8-month-period in 2020 due to lower number of pensionerborrowers this year.

Ignacio noted that SSS records showed there were 43,424 pensionerborrowers from January to August, which is 15-percent lower than the 51,121 borrowers in the same period last year.

“It is partly due to the restricted mobility for senior citizens brought by the quarantine protocols,” the SSS official was quoted in a statement.

“Also, some of them are still repaying their pension loans granted to them last year.”

The Bacolod branch of the SSS

accounted for the highest amount of approved pension loans of P89.36 million for 2,649 pensioners.

That branch was followed by: SSS Cebu with P44.87 million approved pension loans for 962 borrowers; SSS Davao with P38.26 million approved pension loans for 930 borrowers; SSS Bacoor with P37.38 million for 722 borrowers; and, SSS Antipolo with P33.45 million for 651 borrowers.

Launched in September 2018, the PLP aims to assist SSS retirement pensioners in their financial needs and prevent them from becoming victims of loan sharks who take their ATM cards as collateral.

Ignacio urged retirement pensioners to avail the PLP. “We recognize that they need financial assistance to help augment

their daily expenses, especially [since] we are in a pandemic,” she said. “[The] PLP can help cover expenses for their medicines, vitamins, and other healthcare needs.”

Under the program, qualified retirement pensioners can avail of a loan equivalent to three-times, six-times, nine-times or 12-times their basic monthly pension (BMP) plus the P1,000-additional benefit. However, the loanable amount should not exceed the maximum loan limit of P200,000. In addition, the net take-home pension of the pensioner-borrower should at least be 47.25 percent.

A pension loan equivalent to three-times and six-times the pensioner’s BMP plus the P1,000-additional benefit will have a payment term of six and 12 months, respectively. Meanwhile, a pension loan equivalent to nine-times or 12-times the BMP plus the P1,000 additional benefit will have a 24-month payment term.

The pensioner’s first monthly amortization will be due on the second month after SSS grants the loan. For example, if the loan is given in August, the SSS will deduct the first monthly amortization from the pensioner’s monthly pension in October.

Pension loans will only incur an interest rate of 10 percent per year until fully paid computed on a diminishing principal balance. It has a lower interest rate than those being offered outside with an interest rate as high as 20 percent. Unlike some private loan institutions, the SSS will not ask pensioner-borrowers to surrender their ATM cards with their monthly pension to ensure loan payments.

To qualify for the loan program, retirement pensioners must meet the following requirements: n must be 85 years old and below at the end of the last month of the loan term; n no outstanding loan balance and benefit overpayment payable to SSS; n no existing advance pension under the SSS Calamity Assistance Package; n must be receiving their regular monthly pension for at least one month with an “active” status.

However, those qualified for renewal can now submit their applications online through the SSS website.

Moreover, when the PESONet disbursement facility becomes available for the PLP, first-time pensionerborrowers will be able to file their applications online.

BSP OKs Lyka’s plan to operate as stand-alone entity

T

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expressed agreement with social-media platform Lyka’s plan to set up shop in the country to operate as a standalone entity as an effort to comply with the regulators operational requirements.

In a statement released over the weekend, the BSP said it welcomes the reported decision of Lyka/Things I Like Co. Ltd (TIL) “to apply for registration as an Operator of Payment System (OPS) under Philippine Laws and regulations.”

“As of date, the BSP has yet to receive the appropriate applicationrelated documents from Lyka/TIL,”

it added.

“As regulator of the Philippine payment system, the central bank shall continue to promote policies that foster the welfare of consumers, merchants, banks and other participants in the country’s payments ecosystem,” the statement further said.

Lyka is a platform that allows its users to purchase, exchange, and use “gift cards in electronic mode” (GEMs) as payment for goods and services. Lyka claims it currently has 10 million registered users and has gained traction due to the usage and endorsement of local celebrities and influencers in various social- media platforms such as

Instagram and Tiktok.

Earlier this month, the BSP said it upholds its decision to deny the request of Digital Spring Marketing and Advertising Inc. (Digital Spring), to be registered as an OPS of the Lyka payment system.

The BSP said that Lyka/TIL, and not Digital Spring, should register as OPS with the BSP. The regulator said Lyka’s activities are classified as those of an OPS and, therefore, its registration is required before it can continue with these activities in the country.

In response to this, Lyka earlier said it will “immediately put up its own office in the country”, end their

partnership with Digital Spring and operate in the country as a standalone entity.

The BSP has been encouraging more online-based payments and financial innovations in the country, especially while Filipinos seem to be embracing the shift.

Earlier this year, Diokno urged firms to seize the window of opportunity in Filipino consumers’ increased take up of online transactions due to the pandemic.

“Strike while the iron is hot. Tap into your innovation DNA to create worthwhile solutions. The conditions are ripe and the time to act is now,” Diokno said. Bianca Cuaresma

SSS adds 2 new modules Credit-card firm banks in online education portal on analytics to expand

T

HE Social Security System added two new modules under its “ExpreSSS e-Learning,” or ExSSSel, online portal in a bid to educate members, employers and the general public about their various programs.

A statement from the SSS revealed the agency added the “Pension Loan Program” and “Retirement Benefit” modules in June and September this year.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio was quoted in the statement as saying the ExSSSel portal will help pensioners gain more knowledge about the SSS at their own pace and time.

“We know the vulnerability of our pensioners to the COVID-19 virus.

This is why the SSS gave them an opportunity to pursue an additional elearning experience at the comfort of their homes, anytime and anywhere,” Ignacio said. “They can also take the exam to assess their understanding, which makes it a more enjoyable and rewarding activity.”

Initially launched in November 2020, the ExSSSel portal is an online computer-based training about various SSS programs. The public can study these modules for free.

The ExSSSel portal can be done through these simple steps: select a module; register online; study the module; take the post-examination; and, wait for the e-certificate.

In selecting a module, members and interested individuals can choose from the following modules: sickness; maternity; unemployment; disability; salary loan; pension loan program; and, retirement. Users can also open multiple modules simultaneously.

The SSS is reminding portal users that they can only get only their ecertificate after obtaining a passing rate of at least 80 percent after the post-examination. The e-certificate will be sent to their registered e-mail address within seven working days from the time the participant took the post-examination and submitted the evaluation form.

The SSS said that as of August 31, it has issued a total of 9,643 ecertificates to ExSSSeL users who have successfully completed at least one module available in the portal.

Sickness Benefit is the most viewed module with 15,413 followed by the maternity benefit module with 9,255 views.

“For those who already accessed the ExSSSel Portal, we are grateful to your support to our online learning portal, and rest assured that we’ll include another set of modules soon,” Ignacio said. “We also encourage the rest of the learning enthusiasts, especially our members, pensioners, and employers, to explore the ExSSSel Portal to be fully knowledgeable on the SSS benefits and privileges.”

Bernadette D. Nicolas

By VG Cabuag @villygc

T

HE credit- card arm of Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. said it is banking on big data analytics to drive its business and manage its risks as a result of the pandemic.

RCBC Bankard Services Corp.

President and CEO Arniel Vincent B. Ong said by using data analysis, the bank could grow its plasticmoney business and their clients’ spending in a more sustainable manner.

Ong said during the recentlyheld TransUnion Philippines’s “Big Data Summit,” big data analytics helped the bank realize that stopping lending during a crisis is not the answer.

“The question is how to be more intelligent with it,” he said.

The approach the business takes is risk-based, according to Ong. The card issuer cut the portfolio into segments and identified areas for growth along with areas for risk mitigation, he explained.

“We identified which segments need more help and which segments are resilient, and execute our riskbased actions,” Ong said.

He said RCBC Bankard immediately focused on customers who are deeply impacted by the pandemic.

“With the aid of big data, we offered products that will help them

navigate the crisis, and keep their credit records healthy, which in turn will drive consumption and help our portfolio as well,” Ong said. “For new accounts, the key is to be able to identify segments that are thriving during the pandemic.

We need to use intelligence to find these customers.”

According to the executive, RCBC Bankard has observed a significant increase in digital transactions.

From 80 percent offline and 20 percent digital before the pa ndem ic, Ong sa id spec if ic credit-card transactions such as purchase conversion to installments and card activation have “completely reversed,” with 80 percent being digital and 20 percent done offline.

“In some types of transaction like bills payments using credit cards, that are now 95-percent done digitally,” Ong said.

RCBC Bankard recently reported that its credit card issuances increased by 44 percent to 82,000 new cards from January to June, while card spending grew to P26.4 billion, 19 percent higher than in the same period last year.

The bank had also seen a sharp drop in portfolio delinquencies— now at 6 percent—given all the actions the bank has been taking to manage its portfolio risk better during the pandemic.

HarvardManagementUpdate www.businessmirror.com.ph Monday, October 18, 2021 b4

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Monday, July 13, 2020 B www.businessmirror.com.ph

8 tips for conducting an excellent remote interview

A

By Rae Ringel

s companies scramble to fill a record number of job openings remotely, the internet is awash in tips for candidates seeking to stand out from the crowd while confined to a Zoom box.

FOCUS ON EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

We frequently base hiring decisions on skills and intelligence— or our perception of a candidate’s IQ. But emotional intelligence, or EQ, is often more critical to success in the workplace. At a time of enormous uncertainty, when workplaces are announcing grand reopening plans one day and reversing them the next, EQ is arguably more important than ever.

EQ determines a person’s ability to relate to others, roll with the punches, navigate difficult situations with grace and “read the room” (which is especially difficult when it’s a Zoom room).

When honing your interview questions, consider what each one might tell you about a person’s EQ.

Here are some of my favorites: n If you were starting a company tomorrow, what would be its top three values? n Tell me about a workplace conflict you were involved in. How did you manage that conflict, and were you able to resolve it? n If you’ve previously reported to multiple supervisors at the same time, how did you get to know each person’s preferences and juggle conflicting priorities? n Tell me about a time you received feedback on your performance and disagreed with the feedback. How did you handle the situation? n What inspires you?

LEAN INTO THE INTIMACY OF THE SCREEN

There’s a great deal of handwringing overall that’s lost when screens mediate our interactions.

But there is a certain kind of intimacy that screens can actually facilitate. During a remote interview, the interviewer and interviewee are sitting inches from one another’s faces. The screen creates a sense of psychological safety that may allow people to open up more than they might in person. Employers can lean into this phenomenon to draw candidates out more quickly.

GET REAL ABOUT THE CHALLENGES OF THE PANDEMIC

We’ve all faced an enormous set of challenges over the past year and a half, and it’s possible to learn a great deal about some-

WWW.FREEPIK.COM

But what about the employers on the other end of the connection? For them, cracking the code of remote interviewing is just as critical. Bad hiring decisions cost money and drain morale. Without the multitude of data points available only in a live interview—the feel of a handshake, the way the energy in a room cab change when a candidate walks in—employers need to develop new strategies for gauging whether someone is a good fit.

Remote interviewing is here to stay, as the pandemic and its evolving offshoot, the Great Resignation, continue to reshape the modern workplace. Here are some tips for employers seeking to master the medium in order to identify top talent from a distance.

one by exploring how they’ve navigated the turbulence of the pandemic. Ask a question like, “What was the greatest challenge you faced during Covid, and how did you overcome it?” Then look for signs that the answer you’re getting is authentic: Does the candidate pause to think about the question, taking a moment to reflect?

NOTICE REACTIONS TO DISTRACTIONS

It can happen to any of us: The doorbell rings, a dog barks, a child cries out, or an emergency phone call comes in during a remote interview. If this happens, consider it an opportunity to glimpse another side of the candidate. Did they get flustered and lose focus?

Did they handle the disruption gracefully, as you’d want them to in front of a client or colleague? If no such distraction arises during the interview, consider asking: “While working remotely, can you remember a time when something unexpected or distracting came up? What was it, and how did you respond?”

BANISH BACK-TO-BACKS.

Technically, it’s possible to cram in back-to-back interviews without leaving your chair. A client of mine—a senior partner in an employment law firm, who has conducted many interviews—advises against it. “You need 10 minutes or so between each interview to get up, move a bit, and capture thoughts and impressions,” she says. “ There are fewer differentiating factors that will trigger your memory in a video format, so write up your notes and impressions immediately.”

BROADEN YOUR POOL

SET YOUR CANDIDATES UP FOR SUCCESS

One client recently completed a successful job hunt that culminated in multiple offers. The company she chose distinguished itself in several ways, including its interview process. Each time she interviewed with someone, she received a detailed schedule with links to their bio. “What was most impressive is that before the interview, they sent me a ‘how to prepare for a virtual interview’ sheet,” she told me. “This included guidance on changing your Zoom background and how to troubleshoot. It really gave me the sense that they wanted me to do well and that they were rooting for me. Now that I’m in the company, I understand that they send this out to every single candidate in order to create a more equitable process and give everyone a leg up.”

Remote interviewing lowers the stakes of a bad interview. Why not take advantage of the medium to throw some unconventional candidates into the mix? Maybe it’s an applicant with roots in a completely different field, who’s lacking in the traditional prerequisites but submitted a cover letter that crackled with energy.

Maybe it’s even a high-potential candidate who lives in another state or country.

As the above anecdote illustrates, the most outstanding candidates are bound to receive multiple of-

six years old. They have all of the elements required: curiosity, imagination, creativity and a willingness to take risks, and connect with others.

Instead, I believe that the reason that the numbers are so low for adults is that most of us have been discouraged from pursuing something that is intrinsically human so that we can fit in to institutions that want us to become cogs in a machine, following the process manual to the letter, faster and cheaper. That’s because employers have traditionally been suspicious of this form of passion. Passionate explorers ask too many questions, they deviate from the assigned script and they take too many risks.

Take an acquaintance of mine who worked in a procurement department for a large automobile company. As someone who was excited about improving the company’s supply network, she created and began testing a new intake form to assess supplier reliability. She was fired for not using the standard procurement forms.

Large institutions around the world are driven by a model of scalable efficiency where the key to success is doing things faster and cheaper. The challenge is that tightly specified processes

are only efficient in a stable environment when the situations are known in advance. In a rapidly changing world with growing uncertainty, front-line workers find themselves consuming much more time and effort because they have to deviate from the tightly specified processes, so scalable efficiency is becoming increasingly inefficient.

But once we recognize the importance of the passion of the explorer, we recognize that we need to make a transition from scalable efficiency to scalable learning where the focus shifts from executing routine tasks to helping everyone learn faster together. To do this we need to redesign our business practices and our work environments to cultivate the passion of the explorer in all our workers (and not just those in research labs or innovation centers).

To do this, start by identifying a part of the business that is confronting significant performance issues and find ways to help employees start addressing problems that have never been tackled. For example, Quest Diagnostics was encountering significant customer dissatisfaction in its customer call center operations.

It encouraged its call center work-

DON’T FORGET THAT YOU’RE INTERVIEWING, TOO

fers these days. The way you, the interviewer, present yourself— how you dress, what appears in your background, and your own cadence, tone and choice of interview questions—will determine how your prospective employees view your organization. So while those tips for acing an online interview may be aimed at the record number of job seekers out there, they’re increasingly relevant for those who are extending the offers.

Today’s job hunters aren’t just looking to boost their salaries.

They’re also seeking flexibility, well-being and a workplace culture that aligns with their own values and sensibilities. Interviews that delve into these topics can give both parties valuable information about whether a prospective employee is likely to feel fulfilled and engaged at a particular organization. We can absolutely have these conversations face to face, even when we’re not in the same physical room.

Rae Ringel is the president of The Ringel Group.

What motivates lifelong learners

By John Hagel III

I

t seems that ever yone in business today is ta l k ing about the need for all workers to engage in lifelong learning as a response to the rapid pace of technological and strategic change all around us. But I’ve found that most executives and talent management professionals charged with getting their people to learn aren’t thinking about what drives real learning— the creation of new knowledge, not just the handoff of existing knowledge. As a result, many companies are missing opportunities to motivate their employees to engage in the kind of learning that will actually help them innovate and keep pace with their customers’ changing needs.

We need to broaden our definition of “learning” to include creating new knowledge. We need a marketer to experiment with new social media and analytics tools.

We need a factory worker to find new uses for a “ job-killing” robot. We need an IT technician to figure out a new way to address tickets using AI. Developing new knowledge in that way requires significant and sustained effort and onthe-job risk-taking, much more

so than a traditional upskilling program. Thus learners need to be much more deeply motivated to engage in it. But I rarely hear executives asking why their employees would want to pursue lifelong learning. When pressed, the answer tends to be that workers need to pursue it because if they don’t they will lose their jobs as their existing skills become obsolete. So, the motivation executives bank on is fear—your fear of losing your job.

Building on years of research on people’s motivations at work, we conducted a study of 1,300 full-time US front-line workers across 15 industries and multiple job levels to understand the mechanism at work when we saw extreme performance improvement.

We discovered that rather than fear, employees who learned and grew in this way tended to exhibit what we have called the passion of the explorer. This passion is a very powerful motivator for learning.

As we observed in the employees we studied, the passion of the explorer has three key elements: Explorers have a long-term commitment to achieving impact in a specific domain that excites them—anything from factor y work or financial ser vices to gardening or big wave surfing.

They are excited in the face of unexpected challenges. Explorers view these hurdles as an opportunity to learn and achieve even greater impact. In fact, if they’re not confronted with enough challenges, they get bored and seek environments that will give them more. W hen confronted w ith new challenges, explorers have an immediate desire to seek out and connect with others who can help them get to better answers faster so that they can increase their impact.

Our study showed that people who are passionate in these ways learn much faster than those who are motivated by fear.

But here’s the challenge for organizational leaders looking to instill this passion in their employees. That same research we did revealed that, at most, only 14% of US workers express this form of passion in relation to their work.

Why are the numbers so low?

A nd is it possible to change them—to instill this passion in your people? Or are some people just incapable of being passionate in this way?

I believe that we all have the potential for this form of passion. Go to a playground and watch children that are five or

ers to work with the IT department and find ways to automate many of the routine tasks that were consuming much of their time and attention. As workers’ capacity became freed up, they were encouraged to focus on the more challenging questions they were getting from customers and come up with much more creative approaches that could increase value delivered to the customers.

As a result, customer satisfaction improved significantly and call center workers became much more excited about their ability to add value—the passion of the explorer had begun to surface.

Cu ltivating the passion of the explorer enables innovative thinking in the organization at a whole new level. The institutions that restore our humanity in this way will unleash a much more powerful form of learning among all workers that will lead to exponentially expanding opportunities. But harnessing that opportunity requires us to move beyond fear and to find and cultivate the passion of the explorer in all of us.

John Hagel III recently retired from Deloitte, where he founded and led the Center for the Edge, a research center based in Silicon Valley.

Style

BusinessMirror

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Think pink!

TinyTAN Dynamite acrylic pen

TinyTAN Jimin Dynamite mousepad First row: Miss Universe Philippines—Miss Marinduque Simone Nadine Bornilla (Raymond Saldaña); Paris Fashion Week—Valentino (Azfactory Facebook); Paris Fashion Week-AZ Factory (Azfactory Facebook). Second row: Venice Film Festival—Anya Taylor-Joy in Dior (Getty Images); Met Gala—Carey Mulligan in Valentino Haute Couture (Jeff Kravitz/Vogue.com); Cannes—Tilda Swinton in Haider Ackermann (Getty Images). Third row: Oscars-Vanessa Kirby in Gucci and Cartier jewelry (Getty Images); Grammys—Dua Lipa in Atelier Versace and Bulgari jewelry (Getty Images); Emmys—Angela Bassett in Greta Constantine (Getty Images).

the color of change for so many around the world,” Andrew Burnstine, associate professor at Lynn University, explained to The Guardian. “To the millions of people who are demanding change in our political system, and to American democracy, the color pink is the new battle-cry.”

At last week’s lead-up to the filing of certificates of candidacy, disgruntled citizens and local celebrities unknowingly replicated this phenomenon. Socialmedia platforms exploded in pink. A movement so organic it sparks hope for our Inang Bayan.

TICKLED PINK THE red carpet is slowly coming back to life, adhering to Covid safety protocols. The Oscars, however, had a pink spread, with Vanessa Kirby in a blush pink Gucci gown and Cartier jewelry parading on it. The Grammys was graced by Dua Lipa in an Atelier Versace twinkling crystal mesh and pink panties, and the Emmys by Angela Bassett in Greta Constantine black gown with a giant fuchsia frill.

At the Met Gala, Carey Mulligan wore a Valentino Haute Couture bright pink bustier gown with matching cape. At the Venice Film Festival, Anya Taylor-Joy splashed in a hot pink satin Dior haute couture dress with a matching netted fascinator. At the Cannes Film Festival, Tilda Swinton in Haider

Ackermann was weird and wonderful in a cropped, pink satin bolero blazer, an orange floor-length skirt and sequinned green sleeves.

On the pageant front, Miss Universe Philippines 2021 had a debutante in Marinduque’s Simone Nadine Bornilla, who was pretty in pink in Oliver Tolentino.

“Love Brings Love,” a tribute to the beloved Israeli designer Alber Elbaz who died of Covid-19 on April 24, was the closing show at Paris Fashion Week Spring 2022. It presented pieces from 45 designers inspired

by Elbaz’s creations. His team at AZ Factory, which includes Fil-Brit Norman Rene’ de Vera as design director, also showed 25 looks to celebrate “his talent, personality, and design legacy.”

Lovely pink in all its hints and permutations were seen on the runway courtesy of Alaïa’s Pieter Mulier, Balenciaga’s Demna Gvasalia, Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing Christian Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri, Christopher John Rogers, Guo Pei, Louis Vuitton’s Nicolas Ghesquière, Rick Owens, Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello, Simone Rocha, Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli, Donatella Versace, Viktor & Rolf and Y/Project’s Glenn Martens.

“Alber’s fashion family came together to show the love,” AZ Factory said, “a testament to how many he has touched with his friendship, creative genius, kindness, humor, inspiration and LOVE.” n

TinyTAN Dynamite T-shirt, shorts, tote bag and cooler bag

Cassy Legaspi gets new beauty endorsement WHEN Filipino lifestyle and beauty brand Beautéderm Corp. announced that Cassy Legaspi was its new ambassador, it was one of the few times I was unusually happy about something good happening to a person I had only met once at an event.

My fleeting impression of Cassy was of reserved and respectful girl. I have talked to some people who have worked with her, and they confirmed my impression of her. They said Cassy is a nice person to work with.

I have also been watching some of Cassy’s videos on her YouTube channel and I do know that she is into beauty, so Beautéderm is the perfect endorsement.

Cassy, who is 20 years old, is the ambassador for Beautéderm’s facial care line, which also includes the recently launched Blanc Plus Sheet Mask and Blanc Plus Mask Serum, along with Beauté L’ Elixir Skin Set, Beauté L’ Micellaire, Beauté L’ Créme Decollage, C’est Clair Acne Drying Gel, Acne Loin and La Fraise

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DUE to popular demand, BTS ARMY members have more time to visit the BTS Pop-Up: Map of the Soul Showcase at SM Megamall, as it recently announced its extension until October 31. Located at the Third Level on Mega Fashion Hall, the store will be open daily from 10 am to 9 pm.

With this comes the release of new merchandise including the TinyTAN collection inspired by BTS’s record-breaking disco pop single “Dynamite”.

The TinyTAN Dynamite Collection explodes with fun items, including stylish T-shirts and shorts with prints and lyrics of the song; as well as office stuff like mouse pads, note set, spiral notebooks, puzzle, pens, and cable tie sets.

Other best-sellers include figurines of each BTS member, bottle openers, muddlers, glasses, and reusable tumblers with Dynamite logos and designs.

For a seamless entry, advance registration is required through online booking platform Morningkall. There will also be a queue available for walk-ins.

Only five walk-ins are allowed per slot. Admission guidelines such as physical distancing and crowd control will be enforced to ensure safety of its patrons.

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PINK AS PROTEST Women in the US adopted pink as the color of activism during their national elections in 2020.

Some prominent women wore pink power suits made by clothing brand Argent in collaboration with Supermajority, a gender equality advocacy group set up by members of Planned Parenthood, Black Lives Matter and the National Domestic Workers alliance which encourages women to vote and be proactive in politics. Hollywood heavyweights Kerry Washington, Amy Schumer, America Ferrera and Zoe Saldana posted photos of themselves on Instagram wearing the bold outfits.

“In 2020 pink has become the ‘color disruptor’—

• Monday, October 18, 2021

Still looking for BTS collectibles?

OW, I wouldn’t presume to tell a woman/What a woman oughtta think/ But tell her if she’s gotta think, think pink!”

Playing a fashion editor, Kay Thompson performed this kinetic number in the classic 1957 film, Funny Face, extolling the color pink. Her character, Maggie Prescott, was said to be inspired by Harper’s Bazaar editors Carmel Snow and Diana Vreeland. The rousing scene featured the era’s most photographed models, Suzy Parker and Sunny Harnett, as dancers/ interns.

Funny Face stars Fred Astaire as Dick Avery (a photographer inspired by Richard Avedon) and Audrey Hepburn as Jo Stockton (a reluctant model inspired by Parker). Another future legendary mannequin, Dovima, played a ditzy model.

The Stanley Donen film has several fashion vignettes shot around Paris that are still being referenced by designers today. But the George and Ira Gershwin song, “Think Pink,” resonates particularly well this year. On the runways. On red carpets. And in the run-up to the 2022 elections.

“Think pink! Think pink! when you shop for summer clothes/Think pink! Think pink! if you want that quel-que chose/Red is dead, blue is through/ Green’s obscene, brown’s taboo/And there is not the slightest excuse for plum or puce/Or chartreuse!”

IN THE PINK OF HEALTH October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The advocacy is symbolized by the pink ribbon, created in 1992 by Evelyn H. Lauder of the cosmetics giant Estée Lauder and Alexandra Penney, then editor of Self magazine. That year, Mrs. Lauder launched The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) Campaign, which supports lifesaving research, education and medical services in its mission to create a breast cancer-free world. She also created the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). The campaign is a clever marketing move rooted in a noble cause.

This year, the brands under The Estée Lauder Companies are pledging their support to the BCRF. Donna Karan Cosmetics on behalf of DKNY will donate $25,000. Jo Malone London will donate $100,000. Too Faced will donate $30,000. Smashbox will donate $10,000. And Tom Ford Beauty will donate $60,000.

The Pink Ribbon Pin Limited Edition Collectible costs $12.50. “It is a ubiquitous sign now throughout the world to say we care about breast cancer and we care about you,” spokesmodel Elizabeth Hurley said during the 25th anniversary of the campaign in 2017.

“Evelyn said to me, ‘I never got a copyright on the pink ribbon. I wanted it to be used and picked up by everybody.’”

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Gommage Instant White Polish.

Blanc Plus Mask Care includes a serum and sheet masks that you use together. It has whitening and exfoliating properties, and also helps prevent acne.

Established in 2009, Beautéderm Corp. has over 100 products under various beauty and lifestyle categories. It is also known for its business model that

provides long-term, sustainable jobs to thousands of resellers and franchisees.

Cassy, who is also endorsing the brand’s Caress Hand Sanitizer Spray, Etré Clair Mouth Spray, Glowtion Instant Tan Lotion, and Au Revoir Relax and Revive Lotion, is the ideal brand ambassador of Beautéderm’s facial care line because of her wholesome image and strong reach to the younger segment of the market. Cassy has 1.3 million followers on Instagram and over 200,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel.

“Cassy’s youth and vibrancy best represent our line of products which are designed and formulated for all ages,” said Beautéderm president and CEO Rhea Anicoche-Tan, who recently spearheaded the Royale Beauté 12th anniversary celebration of the company.

Tan shared that after she signed Cassy, the young star’s mother Carmina Villarroel messaged her to say

thank you.

The Beautéderm CEO also gave Cassy a bag from a luxury brand and the brand’s new endorser was so grateful she cried.

“I am happy to partner with Beautéderm, and I am so in love with their products. I love using their all-natural skin set Beauté L’ Elixir as it is now part of my daily skin regimen. Aside from being very mild, it smells so great and it is effective in nourishing and cleansing my skin. I could really feel and see the glow of my skin from the moment I started using it,” said Cassy.

Like her twin Mavy, Cassy is also a star of GMA Network, and is represented by her father Zoren Legaspi and GMA Artist Center. She was recently in the cast of the network’s top-rating series First Yaya.

More information on Beautéderm and Cassy Legaspi can be found on their respective Facebook pages.

B6 Monday, October 18, 2021

Starmall, Vistamalls open for national ID registration

Digital label printing is emerging to support on-demand businesses

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EALTH and safety labeling for food packaging has become more important to consumers, especially over the last year. People are more focused on what they are putting into their bodies and standards along a product’s supply chain. In fact, over half of respondents to a survey that included consumers in Asia Pacific said they were likely to purchase sustainable food because they believe it is healthier.

As such,many countries have now considered making significant changes to product labelling such as specialized labels for plant-based foods to reduce confusion among consumers.

Moreover, ASEAN nations also consider standardizing food laws, while Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) recently introduced recent changes to its system. Such regulation changes across the region could be costly for local and regional food brands using traditional label printing methods.

Advances in label printing have led to a consistent rise in digital label printer adoption, making it possible for companies to meet market needs faster. Companies are also meeting the challenge of getting products to store shelves faster and keeping track of inventory levels in real-time, which is vital in the current environment.

As such, the digital printing capabilities of the Epson ColorWorks line empower companies of all sizes to print labels with color codes, images, and pictograms to highlight relevant information easily. Additionally, Epson DURABrite Ultra® pigment inks deliver labels that are long-lasting, quickdrying, and fade resistant. This is especially useful for companies in the

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chemicals industry that must have GHScompliant labels.

Addressing these trends must be balanced with the need to optimize production, improve supply management and adapt quickly to business needs without incurring significant costs or delays. This makes it crucial for retailers to manage supply chains closely and integrate business systems, enabling them to identify and fix issues faster. Epson ColorWorks printers can print multiple variations, which helps improve product identification and contributes to greater productivity. Clear labels with smart technologies, such as QR codes, barcodes with embedded data, timetemperature indicators (TTI), RFID, and intelligent technologies that can inform the company of specific actions are valuable to achieving this integration as well.

Companies also need to adopt more

sustainable labeling options that align with their customers’ broader sustainability values. This includes reducing how much product waste ends up in landfills, starting with the use of eco-friendly inks and biodegradable substrates.

Epson’s ColorWorks digital label printers can produce multiple print variations fast with a new 4-color system that delivers superior image resolution. This eliminates the need to keep stock of different types of pre-printed labels, which can reduce costs by up to 50%. The output is clear and sharp with durable pigment ink that can stand up to the toughest conditions, while also being gentle in the environment. The printers are also compatible with a wide range of technologies including multiplatform operating systems and application software, allowing it to be integrated into nearly any workflow seamlessly.

SM CITY DAET OPENS. Just in time for Christmas, SM City Daet opens to bring great shopping, leisure, and entertainment to Camarines Norte in beautiful Bicolandia.

It is SM Prime Holding’s 77th mall, and the third SM mall in the region after SM City Naga in Camarines Sur and SM City Legazpi in Albay. Camarines Norte Governor Edgar Tallado (3rd from left), Acting Vice-Governor Concon Panotes (3rd from right), 2nd Dist. Rep. Marisol Panotes (4th from right), Daet Mayor Benito Ochoa (2nd from left), Vice Mayor Rosa Mia King (2nd from right), and Most Rev. Fr. Rex Andrew Alarcon (4th from left) led the opening ceremonies. They were joined by SM EDD President Mr. Hans T. Sy Jr. (left) and SM Supermalls President Steven Tan (right).

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process at the Level 3, Food Court area of Starmall’s EDSA Shaw branch.

President Duterte has signed into law, Republic Act 11055, or the Philippine Identification System Act, on August, 2018. Under the law, the national ID is deemed a valid proof of identity that can be used in private and government transactions, enrolment in schools, and the opening of bank accounts.

The national ID aims to boost efficiency, especially in dealing with government services where people will only need to present the PhilID during transactions.

Filipinos and resident aliens may apply online via https://register.philsys. gov.ph before they are scheduled for the demographic verification and biometric capture at an accredited registration center.

PhilID cards will be delivered door-todoor by the PSA's official courier partner, the Philippine Postal Corporation.

Perk Up Coffee and Tea: A success story amid a pandemic

SM City Daet opens in time for Christmas

UST in time for Christmas, SM City Daet opens its doors in Camarines Norte, on October 15, 2021, bringing great shopping, leisure, and entertainment to this bustling city in beautiful Bicolandia. It is SM Prime Holdings’ 77th supermall, and the third in the Bicol region after SM City Naga in Camarines Sur and SM City Legaspi in Albay.

Daet, is the capital of Camarines Norte, which is known as the Gateway to Bicolandia. The province borders the Quezon Province to the west, Camarines Sur to the south, and the Philippine Sea to the north. Camarines Norte abounds with fish, and other marine products; while its farm lands are planted with coconut, bananas, corn, palay, and root crops.

A first- class municipality, Daet is a famous surfing and kiteboarding destination, as it has a long stretch of beach in Bagasbas. It also serves as the jump-off point for visitors to reach the Calaguas Island, which was awarded as the top tourism gem in an online nationwide poll by a multinational consultancy firm in 2013 and was included in the elite eight list of the most beautiful white sand

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ISTA Malls and Starmalls have partnered with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for registration for the Philippine identification (ID) system or the national ID. There are ongoing registration at Vista Mall in Pampanga, Malolos, Bataan, General Trias, South Molino, Dasmariñas, Iloilo, and Starmall branches in Alabang, EDSA-Shaw in Mandaluyong, San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, and in in Talisay, Cebu.

The Villar Group opened up some of its malls to support the government’s drive to establish a single national ID for all Filipinos and resident aliens.

“I am happy that the registration for national ID is being done here at Starmall (Shaw). It is more accessible for me because it is near my place of work. The process was fast and easy,” said a 32-year old call center employee.

It took around 20 to 30 minutes for the employee to complete the registration

beaches in the Philippines in a Rappler online article in 2015.

A festival showcasing what is considered the Queen of All Pineapple – the sweet and flavorful Formosa variety which grows abundantly in Daet is another of its tourist attractions. Daet is also rich in mineral resources, such as white clay, and is a viable source of sand and gravel.

Strategically located in a 48,590 square- meter site along Vinzons Avenue in Barangay Lag-on, SM City Daet will serve shoppers in the flourishing province of Camarines Norte, especially the nearby municipalities of Talisay, San Vicente, Mercedes, and San Lorenzo Ruiz.

More than that, it will be a catalyst for employment and business opportunities in the area.

The three level 46,980 square meter mall has a bold and sophisticated façade, featuring a vivid pattern of neutral colors accented by bold blue entrances and canopies. The front of the mall at street level is open and welcoming with large storefronts and glass entrances, and covered walkways.

The SM Store and SM Supermarket

are SM City Daet’s major anchors, along with SM Appliance, ACE Hardware, Watsons, Surplus and Miniso. It will also have fashion boutiques, jewelry stores, as well as a Cyberzone and service and wellness centers.

Eating out options include a Food Court, and specialty restaurants and international and local food chains like Classic Savory, Kenny Rogers, Shakeys, Goldilocks; as well milk tea brands Macao Imperial, Gong Cha, and Infinitea.

Homegrown businesses have also found their way to SM City Daet. These include the Daet Flower shop and RA Beauty Shop; as well as restaurants Biggs, Biñan Fastfood, Cafe Morga, Kick Milk Tea, Lemon Jess, Round the Clock Cafe and Bakery, Mamita’s Pizza, Pley- Tito, Siennalo's and Caramel Bakeshop.

SM City Daet will also have 4 digital cinemas and an amusement center for kids awaiting to serve the customers when the Pandemic is over.

For customer convenience, it has an open parking that can accommodate 621 vehicles. The mall is also adjacent to PUV and bus terminals with local trips to towns nearby.

UNNING a business in the middle of a pandemic isn’t for the fainthearted. With the restrictions and restless consumers, entrepreneurs have to be quick on their feet to survive much less make a profit.

This didn’t stop 24-year-old Pam Jacobe from establishing her ready-to-drink brand Perk Up Coffee and Tea. A business administration graduate of Mapúa University, Jacobe always dreamed of having a coffee farm and shop. She studied it in-depth and started selling coffee grounds and beans in 2019.

Months before the pandemic, she rebranded and changed her products to bottled coffee and tea lattes after noticing a gap in the market.

“I saw an opportunity and joined the #CafeAtHome movement which encourages people to bring home the cafe experience.

Friends and former colleagues supported my business, and it started to gain traction,” Jacobe recalled.

To connect with customers, she relied on social media advertising and wordof-mouth marketing. “The pandemic made people more supportive of micro-, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), specifically small online businesses. I grabbed that opportunity and dedicated my time on digital marketing strategies,” the youthful entrepreneur explained.

But the real catalysts of Perk Up Coffee and Tea’s success were its compelling advocacies and quality products.

“I want to make sure that my brand is doing its part to lessen plastic wastes.

Imagine the hundreds of drinks I sell in one month. If I use plastic bottles, that’s already 100 plastic bottles gone to waste.”

She naturally advocates the exquisite taste and variety of Philippine coffee, and uses locally-sourced teas. One of which is the Kalinga Robusta dark roast beans which she uses because its low acidity, and nutty and earthy notes. It’s best tasted

PAMELA Maris M. Jacobe, Founder and Owner of Perk Up Coffee and Tea in her best-selling caffeinated Cold Brew Concentrate and French Vanilla Latte.

While her Strawberries and Cream and Hazelnut Chocolate are caffeine-free hits.

She gives credit to her college education for preparing her for the challenging road ahead. “I will always be grateful for the holistic education that I received from Mapúa. They trained us not just to be employees, but to be leaders and trailblazers in whatever industry we chose.

Mapúa taught me to be diligent, strive for excellence, and never settle for ‘half-baked’ results,” she explained.

Jacobe was trained to pursue continuous learning and improvement. It’s no wonder that she is doing research and development on non-dairy options and new flavors to expand her product line.

“Don’t be afraid to start from nothing.

Enjoy the fact that you’re literally starting from the bottom and have nothing to lose if you try. Your dreams are planted in your heart for a reason. You owe it to yourself to give it a try.”

Converge drives PH esports through fiber technology

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HE rise of Philippine esports continues to thrive as Filipino gamers are offered unique avenues to pursue their hobbies as careers through various online tournaments.

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. grabs the opportunity to support Filipino esports athletes by providing pure end-to-end fiber technology to help the players experience seamless gaming.

According to NewZoo, a source for games and esports analytics and market research, the Philippine esports industry is home to 43 million active gamers composed of players within the range of 18 to 25 years old, 74% of which play mobile gaming, while 65% play computer games. Females are dominating the industry making up 42% of the playing field, with male gamers closely behind at 35%.

FiberX Time of Day

EARLIER this year, Converge launched the firstever customizable internet plan through FiberX Time of Day which aims to help users to be more efficient and productive in their online activities

by providing higher bandwidth at their preferred time, without doubling their monthly internet service fee. Those working a 9-to-5 or attending online classes can enjoy double the speed in the day with the Day Plan, while the Night Plan is designed for employees on the night shift or the night owls online for entertainment purposes. With this, Converge, through its fiber technology, is dedicated to provide connectivity and help uplift the lives of Filipinos.

Mineski Masters officially co-presented by Converge

THE ever-changing habits brought upon by the pandemic have led Converge into expanding its reach to the esports industry, seeing its growth and how it aligns with the brand’s vision to provide a better experience to Filipinos. With this, Converge joins Mineski Global in launching Mineski Masters, a two-month-long series for Dota 2 and PUBG Mobile online tournaments to shed light on Filipino esports athletes aiming to stamp their mark in the industry.

“Despite the pandemic, the online gaming industry in the Philippines continues to gain momentum and this gives us the opportunity to reach new heights in business and remain true to our commitment to serving the underserved customers with pure fiber solutions that will improve their gaming and online activities.

We are elated to partner with Mineski to bring our vision to fruition,” said Converge Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Jesus Romero.

For inquiries or more information, visit convergeict.com.

Marketing BusinessMirror

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Monday, October 18, 2021 B7

The coronavirus chronicles:

The get-go in green communications A

B y Millie F. Dizon

n First, do the work Put simply, that means walking the talk. Make sure your communications are backed up by solid work. People see through photo ops that are nothing but performance and self-promotion.

“If your company isn’t envi-

Events: 4As Philippines x Google Jam For Good is back for year 2!

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—4As Philippines x Google Jam For Good, the young creative competition, is back for the second year.

Spearheaded by 4As (Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies) and Google Creative Works, the online competition is a great opportunity for young creatives to use their creativity and talents for a greater good. It’s open to all employees of 4As member-agencies, aged 29 and under. So whether you’re a creative, a junior strategic planner, an account manager or social-media manager, or even a data analyst, if you want to create, collaborate and do good from a distance, then this is the competition for you.

Teams will be asked to come up with a concept board for a digital-led integrated campaign that maximizes at least one of Google’s platforms, and amplified by other traditional media.

Each team will then have 24 hours to create and submit their concept board as a Google Jam Board link and PDF format. Full mechanics here https:// bit.ly/JamForGood2021.

Plan ahead.

Protect your brand

n

WWW.FREEPIK.COM

PR Matters

S going green increasingly becomes part of the initiatives of many companies, communicators working in organizations should grow in their awareness of environmental issues and sustainability. More importantly, they should be able to communicate these efforts well to boost their company’s image.

And with good reason. A July 2020 survey found “79 percent of brand consumers are changing their purchase preferences based on a brand’s social responsibility, inclusiveness, or environmental impact.”

With that, “millennials and Gen Z—who tend to spend more than their older counterparts—increasingly seek brands that align with their values,” says Yonder CEO Jonathan Morgan in an article “As UN Report Raises Stakes, Some Basics of Green Communication” in PR News Online.

While he notes that while sustainability and climate change commitments have had a higher prof ile recent ly, he ack nowledges the fact that these can be tricky.

“As sustainability declarations are more frequent, they also receive greater attention,” he cautions. “With greater attention comes increased potential for criticism.”

It’s not that simple, as “companies are under an extraordinary amount of pressure to get sustainability right. In addition, they’re vulnerable should they get it wrong.”

So how can communicators set up companies for success? Morgan offers us some tips:

ronmenta l ly conscious, don’t communicate that you are,” says Morgan. “Do the work first. But do it promptly.”

Undeniably sustainability communication can be daunting.

“When a company isn’t transparent about sustainability practices, consumers will speculate that it’s because it has something to hide.

Critics will fill in the blanks themselves.”

For PR News Senior Editor Schuman, doing the work for communicators begins with understanding causes.

“Do your research,” she says in an article “3 Tips: How to Make PR More Impactful in PR News Online.” “It’s the job of PR practitioners to not only understand the history of social causes, but also how those causes affect diverse audiences and their communities.” This will help you create a PR plan that addresses the specific needs of your target audience.

The top 15 teams chosen from the competition will get to participate in the exclusive Google Young Creatives Incubation Program, where they’ll learn even more about how creativity coupled with technology can create real solutions that make the world better. And from the 15 program graduates, the winning pair will represent the Philippines in the 2022 Cannes Young Lions.

“The possibilities are endless when we harness the power of creativity and technology together. Last year, our Google Jam for Good competition saw the creation of Hospital Bedspace Locator, an award-winning Covid-19 response idea that utilized Google Maps to collate data from hospitals and help patients find medical centers with available bedspaces. I can’t wait to see what creative, innovative, and brilliant ideas will spring forth this time around in Google Jam for Good 2,” says Peach Natividad, Creative Lead at Google Philippines.

There’s no limit on the number of competing teams per agency. You can even do it with a friend from another 4As agency. Just register using this link: https://bit.ly/JamForGood2Reg. Briefing will be on November 4, 2021.

Jam For Good 2 celebrates work that protects equality and respects humanity, and banners creativity that is inclusive as it is diverse. CreativeFest is presented by 4As Philippines. For free, for all, and for the benefit of Silid-Aralan. adobo Magazine is an official media partner of this event.

n Lead with authenticity It will be good to remember that environmental and sustainability awareness has increased over the years, with millennials and Gen Z consumers leading the way. In short, they cannot be fooled.

That is why authenticity is important in communicating your company’s initiatives. This is especially true for consumer-facing brands, who tend to be highly visible and inherently subject to intense scrutiny.

“Communicating sustainability practices that aren’t thoughtfully planned or strategically executed can present serious challenges,” says Morgan. In addition, “when communicating about susta inabi l it y and c limate change, substantiate everything. This includes current messaging to past data to future long-term pledges and commitments.”

He warns that “failing to back up claims can put your brand,

People: Manulife and IMMAP bring renowned psychologist, professor, and best-selling author Adam Grant to DigiCon POP 2021

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—The Philippine arm of global life insurer Manulife recently partnered with the Internet & Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) to feature renowned organizational psychologist, best-selling author, and one of Wharton’s top-rated professors Adam Grant on Day 1 of IMMAP DigiCon POP 2021.

Grant, who recently authored a new book, “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know,” is known for his pioneering research on motivation, generosity, and creativity. He has been recognized as one of the world’s 10 most influential management thinkers, Fortune’s 40 under 40, and Oprah’s Super Soul 100. At the DigiCon POP, Grant shared the importance of rethinking so we can “bounce forward” from the challenges brought by the pandemic, which suggests not only overcoming adversity to go back to the way things were, but also fixing the problem at the source so we can create better possibilities. It indicates learning to question, evaluate, or let go of old assumptions; and capitalize on mental flexibility, humility, and curiosity to create meaningful innovation.

“The pandemic has forced us to rethink, so we can make sense of things and adapt as the world evolves around us. Rethinking entails acknowledging ‘post-traumatic growth,’ which means learning and growing from difficult

marketing campaign, and authenticity at risk.” Penalties include litigation, and or unpleasant time in what Morgan calls the online court of public opinion. In both situations, your brand ’s value and reputation face significant damages.”

Schuman, on the other hand, believes that we can show authenticity by “forming communications strategies that align with your corporate values.” This will show that these aren’t just soundbites, but “causes that affect change at every level of the business.” n Dot the I’s transparently “If you’re off by even 1 percentage point when communicating about g reenhouse gas emissions, the Internet is going to blast you, says Morgan.

Similarly, “ beware if something you’re supporting today isn’t aligned with what you pledged five years ago.”

experiences; finding personal strength; forming deeper relationships, and realizing a deeper sense of gratitude, and new possibilities and purpose,” Grant shared during his keynote at the IMMAP DigiCon POP 2021.

“Rethinking also helps build a foundation of psychological safety in our learning cultures, so we can encourage people to take risks, raise problems and explore innovative solutions, and evaluate the best ways to move forward together. It’s about modelling openness and inclusiveness, making it unsafe to be silent and safe to speak up. We all need to make time for rethinking and unlearning, including reevaluating old practices that don’t match current challenges anymore,” he added.

On the same day, Manulife’s Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Henson also talked about how the pandemic had challenged many companies to pivot their strategies to thrive and stay relevant during the most uncertain and volatile of times. She highlighted how proactively seeking out customer insights to reinform and realign business strategies helped Manulife Philippines adapt to the evolving landscape and understand customers’ most pressing needs and challenges.

“Covid-19 is the biggest disruptor we have ever seen in our lives. We had to shift our perspectives and reform how business is done,” Henson said. “During the pandemic, we learned how to overcome disruptions by putting customer insights into meaningful action, transforming them into tangible in-

As we all know, the Internet can be a scary place. Its inhabitants, Morgan says, “include agenda driven, hyperactive online groups, or factions. These factions look for opportunities to call out brands.

But not for the reasons you expect.

The truth is, “factions influence public opinion for their benefit”, which include amplifying the faction’s social or political agenda.

Very self-serving ends.

That is why research and prudence are important at this point.

We can start by “understanding which groups are most likely to challenge your sustainability program is a first step in protecting a company’s integrity and reputation. It’s important to know what might be coming before it takes hold online.”

While we may be hurt by some allegations these groups make, it will be good to pause and decide how and when to react. Or if we should.

Schuman suggests that one of the best ways we can protect our brand is by showing commitment with actionable activism. “Avoid performative outreach and prove to your stakeholders that you’re making good on promises, and providing resources for key issues affecting them,” she says. “Make it clear through your communications that you are not simply for a cause, but you are leading the change by utilizing your resources to promote action.

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world.

Millie Dizon, the senior vice president for marketing and communications of SM, is the former local chairman.

We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations.

Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.

novations that can make a difference to our customers, and in the way we do our business. In these situations, even small changes matter.”

Henson added: “If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that doing more of the same is never the best way forward. It’s important to have the courage to seize opportunities to do things differently, and create something bigger, faster, or bolder so we can find new ways to make every day better.”

Prior to the pandemic, Manulife had initiated a digital transformation that enabled the company to future-proof its processes and services and build resilience in the face of uncertainty. As a result, the leading life insurer was among the first in the industry to conduct virtual financial consultations and insurance sales when heavy restrictions on mobility and in-person meetings were put in place. Manulife has also continuously enhanced the service features of its mobile-optimized customer web site Manulife Online, so customers can manage their policies digitally, safely, and conveniently—anytime, anywhere.

This year’s DigiCon POP 2021 runs from October 11 to 15. Throughout the five-day event, Manulife Philippines also hosts DigiCon’s Community Chat Rooms featuring Dr. RJ Naguit, mental health advocate; Alec Cuenca, podcaster, and digital content creator; and some of Manulife’s top insurance advisors and wealth specialists, who will answer questions from attendees about mental wellness, goal setting, and financial planning.

Sports BusinessMirror

DIAZ POSTPONES TRIP TO MALAYSIA

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| Monday, October 18, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

TNT MAKES FINALS IN STYLE TNT Tropang Giga’s RR Pogoy tries to lure San Miguel Beer’s Mo Tautuaa to a fake.

By Josef Ramos

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NT Tropang Giga ousted San Miguel Beer in style, 97-79, on Sunday night to advance to the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup Finals.

And with a flourish the KaTropa played Game 7 of the best-of-seven semifinal series that had all the makings of a what-could-have-been a championship showdown between two of the most successful teams in the 46-year-old league.

“The frame of mind coming into this game is to be excited because we are blessed that we’re in this position,” said Chot Reyes, who was recalled to the TNT bench just before the season started. “Then, the players bought into it and believed.”

It was an all-TNT show on Sunday night as the Beermen, ousted for the second straight season from the Philippine Cup which they dominated for five straight years prior, couldn’t find the rhythm that allowed them to forge the winner-take-all duel.

“They players came with a great resolve, they executed and made the defensive stops,” Reyes said. “So we’re good that we’re back in the finals.”

TNT is appearing in its eighth Philippine Cup and 21st overall Finals appearance. Waiting for the KaTropa are the Magnolia

IOC voices concern over Fifa’s biennial World Cup plan

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ENEVA—The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Saturday it has “concerns” about Fifa’s push for soccer World Cups every two years.

Though IOC President Thomas Bach said last month “we will not interfere in this discussion,” his organization stepped in on Saturday after meeting in Athens to detail objections it shared with soccer stakeholders.

Clashes in the schedule with other sports, the men’s World Cup overshadowing women’s editions of the tournament, and “a further massive strain” on athlete welfare were all cited in an IOC statement after an executive board meeting.

The IOC did not refer to potential future World Cup-Olympics clashes— potentially as soon as 2028 when the Summer Games are hosted by Los Angeles—in its statement.

The IOC did criticize Fifa’s tactics in promoting the biennial World Cup project by noting a wider consultation across soccer “has obviously not taken place.”

Fifa revealed its detailed plan last month, after meeting with retired players, to redraft the calendar of international soccer competitions with biennial World Cups for men and women at the heart.

The proposal strongly backed by Fifa president Gianni Infantino was announced before formally consulting member federations in the World Cup strongholds of Europe and South America. AP

Hotshots, who ousted Meralco, 93-85, in six games on Friday.

It was one hell of a semifinals series with the results seesawing closely at the start and swinging widely toward the end. TNT took Game 1 by a hair, 89-88, allowed San Miguel Beer to tie by two points, 9698, in Game 2, took Game 3 by storm, 115-98, before yielding by a mile itself, 90-116, in Game 4.

The KaTropa were relentless anew in Game 5, 110-90, only to lose momentum in Game 6, 90-103.

Roger Pogoy was a point guard with a mission at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.

“In my five years with TNT, we were always defeated by San Miguel Beer in the playoffs,” he said. “I was really motivated and focused on beating San Miguel Beer, because they are very difficult to beat.”

Pogoy was nowhere to be seen in the first two quarters when TNT started to rip San Miguel Beer apart. But the former Far Eastern University Tamaraw waxed hot with 23 of his 27 points in the second half, hitting an overall 10 of his 19 shots.

He made 13 points in the final quarter to highlight TNT’s insurmountable 97-71 advantage.

Rookie Mikey Williams redeemed himself after forgettable performances

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AYBE now, the rest of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) will sit up and take notice.

If the knock on the Philippine Paralympic Chess Team was it hasn’t beaten any of the big guns, consider that one off their checklist.

The Philippine Paralympic Chess Team took down erstwhile undefeated Manila Indios Bravos, 12-9, on Saturday evening in the PCAP-SMC-Ayala Land Premier Cup play.

The Paralympics team topped the blitz, 5-2, taking wins and the crucial points from the bigger name players of Manila. Only the Indios Bravos’ steady Cris Ramayrat Jr. and Fide Master Edgardo Garma collected a point.

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by racking up 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Troy Rosario had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Kelly Williams also had a doubledouble of 11 points and 10 rebounds and JP Erram made nine points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

June Mar Fajardo led San Miguel Beer with 22 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks, but Marcio Lassiter, the go-

to guy in the Beermen’s victories in the series, missed all of his eight attempts.

Mo Tautuaa played only 10 minutes for the Beermen after he hurt his leg in the third quarter. he finished with two points and one rebound.

Game 1 of the best-of-seven Finals is tentatively set on Wednesday with a strong possibility for the series to be played at the Ynares Center in Pasig City.

In rapid play, the crucial points came from Jerlyn San Diego on Board 3 and Henry Lopez on Board 6. Both were in disadvantageous positions but the former fashioned out a win while the latter managed a draw that put the score at 7-7 and 12-9 overall.

Part of the Paralympics team’s strategy was for FM Sander Severino try and hold Manila’s International Master John Marvin Miciano to a draw, but even better, he picked up two wins and the three full points.

That win along with their earlier triumph over Isabela, 12.5-8.5, kept the Philippine Paralympics Chess Team atop the Southern Division with a 7-0 slate.

Their closest pursuer, Wesley So Cup champions Iloilo Kisela Knights, were waylaid by the resurgent Caloocan LoadManna Knights, 13.5-7.5. That loss kept

Iloilo at second spot in the Southern Division standings with a 5-2 record.

“Maybe we aren’t worried about winning,” said James Infiesto, Paralympics coach and manager. “We have Zoom meetings 30 minutes before our games for prayer and reminders to just play and have fun. Breaks of the game and luck was on our side.”

Singapore squad SinQGApore lost both of its matches, 12-9 to Manila and 14.5-6.5, to Pasig King Pirates.

The guest squad’s third loss in four matches dropped the team to fourth in the Southern Division with a 4-3 record.

The Davao Executives Chess Wizards chalked up a crucial 11-10 win over the Palawan-Albay Queen’s Gambit to hoist themselves up to 10th in the Northern Division with a 2-5 card.

12 teams see action in one-day 3x3 hoops

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SOME of the players in the upcoming 3x3 tournament strike a pose.

Giving back through books WHILE browsing in one of my favorite bookstores in New York City—The Strand in Union Square—there was the quote from Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero that was emblazoned on one wall—“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

to the same training camp in Malacca to prepare for the world championships set from December 7 to 17 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The worlds gold medal is the only missing mint in Diaz’s collection.

On Saturday, Diaz agreed to Naranjo’s marriage proposal, confirming that they have always been a couple much ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Naranjo proposed during dinner which was arranged in part by their closest friends.

“I am grateful to God that he sent Julius into my life, he makes my life easy, everybody knows our sacrifices to finally achieve our goal to win an Olympic gold medal together with Team HD,” Diaz posted on her Instagram’s account. “God is the center of our relationship that’s why there’s no doubt I would say yes.” Josef Ramos

Post Office unveils Jaworski stamps

PHL Paralympics team takes down Indios Bravos side

By Rick Olivares

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LYMPIC gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz did not board her scheduled flight to Malaysia on Saturday following a minor mix up with Malaysian Immigration.

The mix up wasn’t immediately known but according to Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, the minor kinks were already ironed out and Diaz and head coach and fiancé Julius Naranjo have rescheduled their flight any day this week.

“There were additional requirements that needed to be addressed,” Tolentino told BusinessMirror.

“We did not travel,” was the 30-year-old Diaz’s brief message to BusinessMirror on Sunday.

Diaz and Naranjo are returning

For as long as I can remember, I have loved reading and collecting books and comic books. To this day, whenever I travel, a bookstore is a place I must go and spend some time.

To even write one book was not even a dream. It was to write the adventures of the X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil and Captain America for Marvel Comics was the dream.

And it still is.

Now to have penned eight books is something I cannot believe. I still pinch myself to see my name in the credits.

Now, I am working on my ninth tome albeit a change of pace—a story about a local music icon.

I do read a great deal many authors from fiction and non-fiction. Two recently self-published books have found their way to my shelf—“From Having a Boss to Being My Own Boss” by former Ateneo volleyball player Leonard Loo, and “Ready to Serve” by Michael Angelo Chua, the team owner of Professional Chess Association of the Philippines’s side San Juan Predators.

Both books are self-published and candid narratives, and when I learned of their existence, got both.

Loo’s book is about how he took control of his life and to

WELVE teams will vie in the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 Invitational powered by TM on Wednesday at the Laus Events Centre in San Fernando, Pampanga.

“It’s been too long since the country had a 3x3 tournament with the last being the President’s Cup held in October 2020 at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba,” league owner Ronald Mascariñas said. “The pandemic has really affected our goal of garnering valuable Fiba 3x3 points for the country in our dream of qualify-

HE Philippine Postal Corp. (Post Office) launched on Saturday the first stamp featuring basketball great and former senator Robert Jaworski to kick off the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the country’s first stamp.

The Post Office issued the first stamp bearing the inauguration of the Philippine Republic in 1946.

On the launch of the Robert Jaworski Living Legend Stamps, the Post Office commemorates another remarkable milestone in the history of the country with the opening of “Salamat, Pagpupugay sa mga Alamat (A Tribute to Filipino Legends),” a three-part series of postage stamp issuances featuring living legends, world renowned and outstanding Filipinos and never forgotten personalities who made marks and contributed greatly in their chosen fields here and abroad.

“This is our own little way of thanking and honoring these outstanding Filipinos in their chosen fields of endeavor in celebration of the 75 years of the first stamps issued in the Philippines as a Republic,” Postmaster General Norman Fulgencio said.

“We are deeply honored to Senator Robert Jaworski and his family for allowing us to feature his greatness in the Philippine stamps,” Fulgencio said. “It is more fitting for his status as the sport’s ‘Living Legend’ who personified the ‘never say die’ spirit to be the opening salvo for our upcoming stamps featuring outstanding Filipinos to give hope and strength for Filipinos in the midst of this pandemic.”

The Post Office will feature new innovations in postage stamp designs to spark interest and excitement for people of all ages.

The launch is part of the “Hatid Malasakit” campaign of the Post office to modernize the mail system in order to better serve the public.

GOVERNMENT and sports personalities led by Robert Vincent “Dodot” Jaworski and Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner Willie Marcial join the unveiling ceremony. They are Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Postmaster General Norman Fulgencio, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. President and COO Atty. Alfredo Lim, Philippine Sports Commission Commissioner Ramon Fernandez and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players.

ing for the 2024 Paris Olympics.”

Mascariñas said there’s no entry fee for the one-day tournament.

The teams are HeiHei Manila, Pacquiao Coffee Bacolod, BRT Sumisip Basilan, Homegrown Grains Bocaue, AMACOR Mandaluyong, RBR Cabiao Nueva Ecija, Pasig Kingpins, Adam Esli Pasay, MNL Kingpin Quezon City, Essen Immunoboost Sarangani, Zamboanga Valientes and ARQ Builders Cebu.

The event is also supported by Gatorade, soon-to-be-launched dine-in restaurant Chooks!, Uling Roasters and Adobo Connection.

The tournament will follow the FIBA 3x3 World Tour format with the 12 teams pooled in groups of

become a self-sufficient entrepreneur in Japan where he has lived in the last several years. And I have to say not only am I proud of Leonard for his great fortune but also for penning a book.

Anytime someone I know does write one, it is something I must get because it provides further insight to the person while learning a thing or four.

For his part, Chua released a book titled, “Ready to Serve,” and it recounts his youthful years in Tondo, the impact of the immersion program of his school days at the Ateneo de Manila, volunteering for Gawad Kalinga to ultimately being a successful businessman and as a Toastmaster. His entire experience can be summed up in the title of the book—ready to serve.

In his book, Chua mentions all the people who have had an impact in his life—from John Lennon and the Beatles, to his teachers to even that kid who made a huge impression on him during his immersion.

Clearly, it had huge impact on Chua because he put up his Building Bridges Program with its two-fold aim of communicating empowerment, and partnering with Gawad Kalinga.

three. The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout playoffs on the same day.

Teams are allowed to tap foreign reinforcements. The champion team will take home P100,000 and the second and third place finishers will bank P50,000 and P20,000, respectively.

The league met with representatives from the 12 teams last Saturday to discuss health and safety protocols through doctor Dr. Jefferson Pagsisihan and 3x3 rules.

The tournament is regulated by the Games and Amusements Board and endorsed by Fiba 3x3., according to technical head Hector Villanueva.

His willingness to serve and not to count the cost has seen him blessed.

His first class management of the San Juan Predators is admirable and enviable. Granted the budgets aren’t Philippine Basketball Association level is beside the point. Chua cares.

His sponsorship of the self-help programs of PCAP along with the massive support provided by league commissioner Atty. Paul Elauria is a Godsend, and I hope that the players of PCAP take advantage of these programs.

What makes both books enriching is they have chosen to share the methods and their ladder to success. To bare a part of their soul. And that is priceless.

Both occupy a spot on my bookshelf along with my books from Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, Mark Bowden, JRR Tolkein, Laura Hillenbrand, Jack McCallum, Robert Kiyosaki and more.

If you are interested in getting Leonard Loo’s “From Having a Boss to Being My Own Boss” and Michael Angelo Chua’s “Ready to Serve,” you may message each individual on Facebook. They are relatively inexpensive, but is time and money well-spent.

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

Monday, October 18, 2021

www.businessmirror.com.ph

GENCARS@43:

LET’S

JOURNEY

TOGETHER

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N its 43rd year, Isuzu Gencars reaffirms its pledge to be one of the best dealers in the motor vehicle industry, committed to market only the best products, and to provide quality service to achieve total customer satisfaction, as envisioned by its founder, Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua.

Isuzu Gencars has successfully risen above the challenges of the pandemic that persists to this day by staying focused on what is important: delivering excellent services to its trusting clients during the toughest of times. Today, the company continues its journey with newfound strength and inspiration to be the Filipinos’ partner in better mobility.

Thriving in the Face of Challenges

WHEN the pandemic first hit, most of the companies were caught off-guard and were at a loss for the necessary adjustments that will have the least adverse impact on its operations without compromising the health of its employees. Fortunately, the decisionmakers at Isuzu Gencars, headed by its chairman, D. Edgard A. Cabangon, were quick to enforce the necessary precautions to protect its employees and customers from the threats of the disease. At the same time, the management of Isuzu Gencars actively sought ways to continue serving its clients while adhering to the strict community quarantines that have been imposed by the government.

To stay connected with its clients during the lockdown, Isuzu Gencars strengthened its social media presence. Regular updates were posted on its official Facebook and Instagram pages and improvements were made on its website. Isuzu Gencars also created a YouTube channel which takes viewers behind-thescenes and allows them to take an inside look into all seven Isuzu Gencars dealerships and showcases the latest Isuzu vehicle models as well as the overall service operations.

Another innovation that Isuzu Gencars has adopted is cashless payment which minimizes physical contact. The company now also accepts payment through GCash for parts, accessories, and other service-related transactions. Isuzu Gencars also started offering customers convenient ways to request for quotations, book service appointments, and buy parts and accessories online through their official online platforms.

Isuzu Gencars: Its Origin

THE journey of Isuzu Gencars began at a one-hectare property at the corner of Chino Roces Avenue and Dela Rosa Street in Makati City where Ambassador Cabangon Chua established its maiden branch in 1978. Back then, most of his fellow investors were generals, his friends from his military days, which is why the dealership was named Isuzu Gencars.

After more than four decades, the pioneering branch of Isuzu Gencars still stands mightily at the corner of Chino Roces and Dela Rosa, becoming a landmark in the area known for the spacious vehicle showroom that it features. Their 5-star service shop also caters to the car care needs of clients. In 2015, the company also acquired a 700-sqm lot in Bangkal, Makati City which now serves as a stockyard that can accommodate more than 50 new vehicles.

Following the success of the first Isuzu Gencars branch, the company decided to expand its operations. Thus in 1996, Isuzu Batangas opened in Barangay San Roque, Sto. Tomas, Batangas. Four years later, a third outlet of Isuzu Gencars opened, this time in San Pablo City, Laguna.

Inaugurated on November 17, 2000, the Isuzu San Pablo is located at Colago Avenue. It supplies brand new vehicles and provides for the vehicle service needs of clients in different parts of the provinces of Laguna, as well as the province of Quezon, and even the Bicol Region.

Seeing it as another lucrative area for a motoring business, Isuzu Gencars opened its next dealership in Bicolandia. The region got not one, but two Isuzu Gencars branches: Legazpi and Naga. Both branches now cater to the motoring needs of major establishments in their respective areas as well as provide them with better mode of transportation complemented by modern facilities for after-sales parts services.

The fourth branch, Isuzu Legazpi, opened on July 17, 2006 at J.P. Rizal Street, Legazpi City, Albay, while the fifth branch, Isuzu Naga, started operations on August 8, 2008 at Maharlika Highway, Pili, Camarines Sur.

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Monday, October 18, 2021

Gencars@43 A BusinessMirror Special Feature

GENCARS@43: LET’S JOURNEY TOGETHER

www.businessmirror.com.ph

to make sure that they would meet the tight production deadline.

After the D-MAX Popemobile passed the inspection done by the Vatican, it was brought to the Arzobispado in Manila and blessed by then-Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle just a few days before the arrival of the Pontiff in the country.

Pope Francis was able to personally thank Isuzu Gencars founder, Ambassador Cabangon Chua, and then Isuzu Gencars president and CEO D. Edgard A. Cabangon, during his Encounter with the Youth event at the University of Santo Tomas. “This is a beautiful car,” the Pope said of the Isuzu Popemobile, which was his ride during most of his travels in Manila.

In October of the same year, a second Isuzu D-Max Popemobile was donated by Isuzu Gencars to the Vatican.

The vehicle, which was also manufactured with the help of Almazora Motors, was presented by the Cabangon family during an audience with Pope Francis in Rome, Italy. “We consider it a great privilege and a blessing to be asked to build the Popemobile. We were able to serve His Holiness, and while doing so, we also proved that Filipinos are capable of building worldclass vehicles,” said Edgard Cabangon.

The Journey Continues ISUZU popemobile dmax in vatican

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The expansion did not stop there for Isuzu Gencars. In 2016, the sixth outlet of Isuzu Gencars, Isuzu Batangas City, opened at the Batangas City Grand Terminal Complex on Diversion Road, Barangay Alangilan, Batangas City.

Aside from being the location of the biggest land transport terminal in Batangas City, the place is known as an Automotive Row because of several major automotive vehicle manufacturers found in the area.

The seventh branch of Isuzu Gencars opened one year later in

2017 along the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road in Barangay Pulong Sta. Cruz in the City of Santa Rosa, Laguna.

Located in another highly-industrialized city, Isuzu Sta. Rosa supplies durable vehicles and provides excellent after-sales services for major establishments and other clients in

the city and its nearby towns.

The Isuzu Gencars Popemobile

ONE thing that sets Isuzu Gencars apart from the other Isuzu dealerships in the country is that fact that it is the maker of the Popemobile used by Pope Francis when he vis-

ited the Philippines in 2015.

In partnership with Almazora Motors, Isuzu Gencars worked on customizing a 2-cab Isuzu D-MAX body to fit the requirements and standards of the Vatican security.

The team followed the APQP system based on Japanese standards

As Isuzu Gencars continues its journey, it also continues to strengthen its commitment to be a reliable ally of Isuzu Philippines Corporation in providing only the best quality Isuzu vehicles and services to the biggest segment of the country. And as it thrives under the leadership of its chairman, D. Edgard A. Cabangon, the company vows to remain a contributor to nation-building by helping the hardworking Filipinos achieve better mobility.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Gencars@43 A BusinessMirror Special Feature

ALL-NEW ISUZU MODELS:

TAKE THE LEAD TO NEW HEIGHTS pick-up truck. The All-New Isuzu D-MAX is made tougher and more capable than ever with terrific features and an impressive form.

Designed with Isuzu’s trademark durability and reliability, the All-New Isuzu D-MAX can withstand anything that comes in your way whether it’s you going on an adventure or simply going about your daily life.

For better handling, more stability, and improved durability, the All-New Isuzu D-MAX now has a bigger and stronger chassis with greater torsional and longitudinal rigidity. This major upgrade, along with its water wading depth of up to 800mm, makes the All-New Isuzu D-

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WO new light commercial vehicle models from the Isuzu brand are currently making waves for their impressive features that take luxury and utility in traveling to a whole new level.

The much anticipated AllNew Isuzu mu-X is finally here, and it is definitely worth the wait. It is packed with massive upgrades and new protective, luxurious, and practical features that will let you take the lead.

Launched last September 22 during a special virtual event, the All-New Isuzu mu-X was introduced to the Philippine

market. Its robust exterior exudes elegance while keeping the sports utility vehicle’s durability intact. It is designed “for those with ambition and courage to take the lead.”

Inside the All-New Isuzu mu-X, you’ll find an improved gear lever with a new, ergonomic design that allows the driver to shift gears with more comfort. There’s also a multifunctional steering wheel with tilt and telescopic function, a dual zone automatic air conditioning, and a 10.1” infotainment system with a massive touchscreen panel powered

with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and an offline navigation system.

But what truly stands out among all its great features is the latest Advanced Driver Assist System or ADAS, which includes a smart duo camera and rear radars. These cutting-edge safety technologies provide better protection by accurately detecting front and rear objects and notifying the driver with visual and audio alerts to avoid accidents.

In terms of capacity, the All-New Isuzu mu-X also packs a punch. Its 800mm water wading

depth capability lets you drive through streams while the 4x4 terrain command allows you to traverse even tough landscapes.

It also has an 80-liter fuel tank capacity that lets you go farther without having to worry about running out of fuel in the middle of your journey.

Overall, the All-New Isuzu mu-X is a light commercial vehicle that’s heavy on comfort and functionality. And with its protective, luxurious, and practical features, it’s really all you need to take the lead.

Isuzu has also launched an all-new model of its bestselling

Monday, October 18, 2021

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MAX the perfect ride when it comes to tackling tough terrains during your rough road adventure or navigating the heavily-flooded streets of the city during monsoon season.

There is also no shortage of great features inside the All-New Isuzu D-MAX. The sporty and ergonomic steering wheel has tilt and telescopic adjustment for the perfect driving position, while the large 4.2” TFT multi-information display shows various vehicle functions according to the driver’s preference.

The All-New Isuzu D-MAX has also taken passenger safety to a new level. In fact, it received a perfect 5-star rating from New Car Assessment Program or NCAP, an international testing body, for the remarkable advancements in its safety features.

With all its key features, the AllNew Isuzu D-MAX will truly redefine your perspective of the word “tough” when it comes to mobility.

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Genca

A BusinessMirr

Monday, October 18, 2021 | www.businessmirror.com.ph

MESSAGES

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ONGRATULATIONS to all the officers and staff, service and sales personnel of Isuzu Gencars on the celebration of your 43rd Founding Anniversary! Your tireless efforts, commitment, and dedication through the years led you to this momentous occasion.

In the face of a global health crisis, Isuzu Gencars stepped up its game by exploring unconventional means of delivering its services to the people. Its digital innovations, such as online appointment booking, made it more convenient for the clients to schedule their vehicle maintenance. Simple improvements like this can make a big difference in customer experience and satisfaction. We commend Isuzu Gencars for its commitment to stay customer-centric amid the challenges of the pandemic.

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T is with great pride and deep gratitude that I greet the men and women of Isuzu Gencars, Inc. on the occasion of our 43rd Founding Anniversary!

The motoring industry is among the many sectors that suffered the adverse impacts of the pandemic, not only in terms of sales generation, but also in other aspects of our operation, such as aftersales services. But instead of being discouraged, we at Gencars saw the opportunities that came with the crisis, seized them, and used them to our advantage.

This is the kind of resilience that allowed our company to thrive for the last 43 years, a valuable virtue instilled in us by our founder, my late father, Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua.

Today we stand stronger and more prepared for whatever challenges that may still come our way.

This would not have been possible without the cooperation of our hardworking staff and crew, whose dedication and commitment truly shone during

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ARMEST greetings to the diligent officers, staff, service and sales personnel of Isuzu Gencars on the celebration of our 43rd Founding Anniversary!

This remarkable milestone is a reminder to us that no matter how hard the situation may be, we can overcome it and come out of it victorious as long as we work as one.

The previous year has been tough to all of us, and we had to make several adjustments in the way we do our business in order to continue serving our valued clients. Thankfully, the Gencars Team is made up of equally tough and highly competent individuals who are willing to make sacrifices to get the job done.

I commend and extend my deepest gratitude to my colleagues in Isuzu Gencars for your unwavering commitment and unparalleled passion for service.

Isuzu Philippines Corporation is grateful for the many years of fruitful partnership with Gencars. The company has been a huge part of our growth, as it made sure that our top quality and durable sports utility vehicles and trucks are able to reach more Filipinos in many parts of the country. For your undisputable dedication and reliability, we extend our sincerest gratitude.

We are confident that Gencars has a bright future ahead, and we look forward to more years of meaningful partnership with you.

From all of us at Isuzu Philippines Corporation, Happy 43rd Anniversary, and keep up the good work!

HAJIME KOSO

President of Isuzu Philippines Corp.

these trying times. I commend you all for your extraordinary efforts, and thank you sincerely for your devotion to the company.

My deepest gratitude also goes out to Isuzu Philippines Corporation for their unwavering support to Gencars through the years. We are honored and always proud to be your partner in providing durable Isuzu vehicles for our fellow Filipinos.

As we begin another year, let us continue to journey together towards more success and a brighter future and upholding our mantra of being the responsible partner in providing durable, versatile and high quality motor vehicles and aftersales services..

Again, Happy 43rd Anniversary, and God bless us all!

D. EDGARD A. CABANGON Chairman

We mark this year with the launching of our new slogan, “Let’s Journey Together,” which reiterates our promise to our clients that we are your reliable companion in your life’s journeys. From providing you with the best and durable Isuzu vehicles to rendering excellent aftersales service, you can count on Isuzu Gencars to be your partner in ensuring efficient transport of goods and people.

To Isuzu Philippines Corporation, my profoundest thanks for your valuable support, which inspires our team to do better each year. We look forward to more years of productive partnership with you.

Happy 43rd Anniversary once again, and let us keep up the good work!

LERMA O. NACNAC President

Reaping the T

HROUGHOUT the course of its 43-year history, Isuzu Gencars has received numerous awards and recognitions from Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) proving that the company takes its mission seriously and is constantly exerting effort to be the best Isuzu dealership in the country.

Isuzu Gencars is the recipient of a total of three Dealer of the Year Awards (DOYA), including the very first one to be handed out by IPC in 2004, and seven runner-up wins for the entire dealership chain.

The DOYA is given by IPC yearly to recognize the exceptional performance in sales and after-sales operations of Isuzu dealerships across its entire network.

Aside from top recognitions, Isuzu Gencars branches are also recipients of multiple awards in the different categories of the DOYA. These include the Grand Slam dealer awards given to Isuzu Makati and Sta. Rosa during the Dealer of the Year Awards 2020. The two Isuzu Gencars branches were recognized for their "outstanding performance for target achievement sales, parts, and service," after winning in all the five categories of DOYA 2020, which were the Light Commercial Vehicle, Commercial Vehicle, Sales Total, Parts Operations, and Ser-

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e Rewards of Hard Work vice Operations categories.

Two more branches of Isuzu Gencars received recognition for their outstanding performance in 2020. Isuzu Batangas won in the Commercial Vehicle category, while Isuzu Batangas City bagged awards in the Parts Operations and Service Operations categories.

Constant Skills Enhancement Pays Off

THESE awards and recognitions are the result of constant training and learning by the Isuzu Gencars team. Every year, Isuzu Gencars employees, especially the mechanics and those who provide after-sales services, undergo skills

trainings and seminars facilitated either by in-house trainers or by Isuzu Philippines Corporation.

Isuzu Gencars actively participated in these trainings to keep abreast with the latest technologies and techniques to further improve their services to clients.

The restrictions brought by the pandemic to conduct trainings did not pose a problem for Isuzu Gencars. In the absence of face-to-face trainings due to community quarantines, the employees and skilled personnel of the company continued to learn by attending webinars and online skills trainings.

As a result of these trainings, two of Isuzu Gencars’ crew mem-

bers won in the 16th Isuzu Service Skills Olympics (ISSO) held virtually from June 1 to 4, 2021. The tandem of Genesis Maniago and Eric Donghil of Isuzu Makati won second runner-up in the Service Technician category. ISSO is an annual tournament organized by Isuzu Philippines Corporation to showcase the skills of the service employees of various Isuzu dealerships across the nation.

This recent accomplishment is indeed a proud moment for Isuzu Gencars as it served as an inspiration for the whole organization proving that even in adverse situations, one can succeed with hard work, dedication, and constant skills enhancement.

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Five-Star Service Shop You Can Depend On A

HUGE part of the success of Gencars, Inc. as an Isuzu dealership chain can be attributed to its service division that provides superb after-sales customer care and vehicle maintenance.

Recognized numerous times by Isuzu Philippines Corporation as one of the best in the country in terms of customer satisfaction and quality service, the 5-star service shop of Gencars offers complete services, including general body repairs, painting and fabrication of special truck body configurations, repowering conversions, and the supply of genuine automotive spare parts, not only for Isuzu vehicles but for other vehicle brands as well.

The Gencars service shop also provides reliable outside service for the company’s fleet accounts, which is handled by its highly-skilled mechanics. This lets the clients enjoy the convenience of getting the maintenance that their vehicles need at their preferred time and place. All they have to do is set an ap-

pointment through call or any of Gencars’ online channels. This is another way that the company goes above and beyond to accommodate their clients.

To ensure the good quality of its services, the state-of-the-art facilities of Gencars’ service shop undergoes regular maintenance and gets upgrades when necessary.

Likewise, its mechanics and technicians are constantly trained to enhance their skills and broaden their knowledge when it comes to modern and best practices in automotive maintenance and care.

With the proven track record of Gencars’ services division, the company’s clients can be sure that their vehicles are in expert hands and will get the proper care that they deserve. After all, Gencars is committed to give total customer satisfaction as part of its mission to provide better mobility for Filipinos.

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Isuzu Gencars: A Reliable Partner During the Toughest of Times

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HEN the pandemic hit and the movement of people was restricted, the general public started to rely heavily on delivery services for essential needs. But even when the restrictions were gradually eased, more commodities became available for purchase online and thus, the demand for delivery services continued to increase along with the need for more delivery vehicles.

Isuzu Gencars, being a dependable provider of quality Isuzu trucks, truck parts, and

services for decades, has risen to the occasion and heeded the demand for mobility of companies who continued to thrive during the pandemic.

One of the companies that flourished despite the health crisis is Nonpareil International Freight and Cargo Services, Inc. which offers a complete range of services for national and international freight forwarding.

Founded in 1990, it is one of only three local companies that are members of the elite Project Cargo Network, an ISO 9001 (Qual-

ity Management) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) certified organization. Its freight forwarding services also operate as a sea freight Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) and an air freight International Air Transport Association (IATA)-accredited provider.

Isuzu Gencars is proud to be a supplier of truck units for Nonpareil. The durable truck units provided by Isuzu Gencars are used for the company’s clients with temperature requirement.

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Isuzu Gencars: A Reliable Partner During the Toughest of Times Continued from C7 Some of these trucks are also used to deliver anti-COVID vaccines to different parts of the country.

A government agency has also entrusted its transportation needs to Isuzu Gencars during this pandemic. Isuzu Gencars won the bidding for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and has supplied the agency with units of their bestselling Isuzu Traviz. The lightweight trucks were turned into refrigerated vans that were used for delivering fish to various parts of the country during the strict lockdowns.

Another company that has put its trust in Isuzu Gencars is Southeast Asia’s leading e-commerce delivery company here in the Philippines, J&T Express.

The trusted delivery service provider, which has already purchased quite a number of truck

units from Isuzu Gencars last year, has procured more units this year to augment its existing fleet. The additional Isuzu trucks were purchased in order to keep up with the surge in the demand for delivery services around the country.

Aside from supplying high quality Isuzu vehicles for their clients, Isuzu Gencars also provides efficient routine maintenance for the purchased vehicles. This and other excellent aftersales services are among the reasons why Isuzu Gencars is a trusted partner of notable companies in the country.

These reputable organizations are great additions to the growing list of Isuzu Gencars’ valued clients. That they chose Isuzu Gencars to be their partner in mobility during the toughest of times is living testimony of Isuzu Gencars’ stability, strength, and reliability even during times of crisis.

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