BusinessMirror October 28, 2020

PHL jumps 2 rungs in AsPac economies’ trade poll

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

T A man in Bacoor, Cavite, fixes his roof on Tuesday after it was damaged by Typhoon Quinta.

Reports said the latest storm left more than 150,000 people displaced, with more than 70,000 people in evacuation centers. Story in Nation, A3. NONIE REYES

HE Philippines has jumped two notches to place eighth among 20 economies in Asia and the Pacific in a survey measuring the capacity to participate in international trade.

The country scored 55.9, from 53.8 in 2018, out of 100 in the Hinrich Foundation’s Sustainable

Myanmar, 40.1.

The Philippines surged in the rankings after leaping in the economic pillar. Based on the index, the country enhanced its per capita GDP and the depth of its financial sector, as well as made gains in export market concentration, trade costs and technological innovation.

“The Philippines rebounded to ninth, where it began in 2016 before slumping to 15th in 2018,” the

survey read.

The Philippines also zoomed in the social pillar—to sixth, from 10th in 2018 and 19th in 2016—as it benefited from the adjustments in labor standards indicator. According to the index, Manila’s work condition is near perfect: “the volume of goods produced by forced labor is low, there is little gender discrimination in hiring and the right to association is high.”

See “PHL,” A2

w

Trade Index 2020. As such, it improved to eighth to land behind Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States and China.

T he Philippine rating also breached the index’s average of 55, besting the scores of Southeast Asian rivals Thailand, 50.5; Malaysia, 49.8; Brunei Darussalam, 48.5; Cambodia, 48.0; Vietnam, 46.7; Indonesia, 46.4; Lao PDR, 46.2; and

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 Vol. 16 No. 20

PETRON EYES REFINERY CLOSURE ON TAX WOES n

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 16 pages |

PANDEMIC SHOWS UP GAPS IN GDP METRICS IN REGION–APEC UNIT

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

Traffic builds up at Balintawak Toll Plaza with the long queue of motorists applying for RFID installation to meet a November deadline for ending cash transactions in the major expressways. To ease the congestion, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) has said motorists who don’t have RFIDs by November 2 will still be allowed passage in Nlex, SCTEx, Cavitex, C5 Link and Calax, but will be directed to the RFID installation lanes where they can have their RFID stickers installed. It will open RFID installation lanes in all entry toll plazas to serve motorists who have not gotten their Easytrip RFID yet even after November 2. NONOY LACZA

V

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

ERY soon, the Philippines could be fully dependent on oil imports as the country’s remaining oil refiner announced Monday the strong possibility of shutting down its Bataan refinery, which supplied less than 30 percent of the country’s total demand last year.

Petron Corporation, according to its chairman Ramon S. Ang, could not stress enough the struggle it has been experiencing just to keep business afloat.

“Napakahirap ng refinery business ngayon. Ang question lagi is, hanggang kailan kaya ng Petron ang ganitong sitwasyon? I think hindi rin kami tatagal kung hindi magbabago ang sitwasyon. ’Di ko lang masabi ang exact date basta very soon din

[The refinery business is in dire straits now. The question always is, until when can Petron survive this situation? I think we also won’t last if things don’t improve. I just can’t say the exact date but it’s very soon],” said Ang. When asked categorically if Petron has decided to cease refinery operations, Ang said, “We will go to that direction probably very soon.”

Continued on A2

PHL, Japan meeting on Build, Build, Build projects

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

P

@BNicolasBM

HILIPPINE and Japanese officials are set to meet on Wednesday (October 28), to discuss the progress of Japanfunded infrastructure projects under the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program.

In a statement on Tuesday, the

Department of Finance said this meeting would happen via videoconferencing for the first time as travel restrictions remain amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 10th Japan-Philippines Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation will also be the first time that the bilateral panel will convene under the new adminis-

PESO exchange rates n US 48.3900

tration of Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Chairing the Philippine side in the committee is Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III while Dr. Hiroto Izumi, the special advisor to Prime Minister Suga, is expected to lead the Japanese side.

Besides discussing the status of Japan-funded Build, Build, Build

projects, this high-level panel will also provide updates from both sides on Japan’s assistance to the Philippines’s Covid-19 response efforts. Both sides will also tackle the impact of Covid-19 on the implementation of the Japansupported projects and the safety of workers and other personnel involved in their construction.

HE pandemic has exposed gnawing gaps in the computation of GDP that would require countries in the Asia and the Pacific region to look beyond it, according to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Policy Support Unit (PSU).

In a statement, Apec PSU Director Denis Hew said GDP had “blindspots” that prevented it from measuring the distribution of economic benefits; the value of services provided via digital platforms; and the costs of pollution or environmental degradation.

These gaps in computing GDP were deemed crucial during the pandemic. Hew said the focus of Apec host Malaysia, on Beyond GDP initiative, will help highlight the need to expand definitions and measurements of economic progress.

“It is fortunate and timely that Malaysia’s priorities have kept this Beyond GDP initiative on Apec’s radar. Covid-19 should not distract economies from implementing such long-term projects,” Hew said.

“If anything, it should inject our efforts with renewed exigency. We need better economic measurement tools and new indicators to inform policy in this new world with its emerging challenges,” he added.

Hew explained that given the pandemic’s impact on livelihoods and jobs, the primary concern in the past few months has been inequality.

Covid-19, Hew said, has been a major disrupter that affected all people equally but has worsened pre-existing conditions such as poverty, food insecurity, and the lack of access to health care.

This is a major concern, Hew

said, given that experts are seeing a second wave of infections in different parts of the world.

“As GDP does not capture distribution of economic benefits, the case for looking beyond it is strengthened when we explore policies to remedy social and economic inequality,” Hew said.

Pollution, digital services Further, GDP’s failure to measure the impact of pollution and the environment prevents governments from addressing the heavy consumption of single-use plastics during the pandemic.

Apart from these, Hew said, with the pandemic affecting mobility, the use of digital platforms and services has been crucial in economies. However, this is not part of existing GDP estimates.

Hew said governments should realize that the digital economy is here to stay and including it in GDP estimates would be paramount.

“The digital economy is here to stay and will continue to play an outsized role in our lives. Covid-19 only hastened the ongoing digital transformation. [We should] work to expand our definitions and measurements of economic progress [are] not all that new within Apec,” Hew said.

PSA tweaks In February, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) disclosed that the latest rebasing and revising of the GDP is expected to better reflect the performance of business-process outsourcing (BPO) operations, health, and education.

National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa told reporters that the changes in the computation of Philippine GDP will not only be a 2018 base year but will see the addition of new subsectors in the production side of the National Income Accounts (NIA).

See “Pandemic,” A2

Continued on A2

n japan 0.4615 n UK 63.0086 n HK 6.2439 n CHINA 7.2097 n singapore 35.5547 n australia 34.4440 n EU 57.1583 n SAUDI arabia 12.9030

Source: BSP (October 26, 2020)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, October 28, 2020

House panels. . .

Continued from A8

The committees said while PhilHealth claims it is struggling financially due to the Covid-19 pandemic and asserts that its remaining actuarial life is down to one year, “the Joint Committees find, based on the data provided in the several submissions by PhilHealth, that PhilHealth has been overspending on Covid-19.”

“The most tragic outcome of the flawed IRM scheme is that despite huge amounts of advances made in favor of select hospitals, a bulk of the payments are made for non-Covid-19 claims, thus, crowding out funding that could be used to ensure access to hospital care for Covid-19 patients when urgently needed,” the report said.

As of August 10, 2020, the committees said a total of about P2.39 billion of IRM funds have been liquidated, of which P1.21 billion has been liquidated by private healthcare institutions.

Besides the lack of legal basis in implementing the IRM, the panels said PhilHealth, in its implementation of its case-based payment system, has allowed the use of Covid-19 case rates for merely suspected or probable Covid-19 patients, and “this is tantamount to a legitimized form of upcasing.”

The committees also noted the “disadvantageous settlement” made by the insurance agency with Perpetual Succor Hospital of Cebu Inc. (PSHCI), Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) / Hospital Managers, Inc. (HMI), WellMed Dialysis and Laboratory Center Corporation, Medina General Hospital (MGC), Accenture Inc., B. Braun Avitum Philippines Inc. (B. Braun) and Balanga Rural Bank Inc. (BRBI).

Legislative proposal The panels also recommended the passage of the proposed Philippine Health Insurance Corporation Crisis Act of 2020, which grants the President special powers to reorganize the PhilHealth.

For this purpose, the President may abolish or create offices; split, group or merge positions; transfer functions, equipment, properties, records and personnel; institute drastic cost cutting measures and take such other related actions necessary to carry out the purpose herein declared.

The bill said the authority granted to the President under this proposal shall subsist, be valid and effective for a period of one year from the effectivity of this proposal, unless otherwise withdrawn or extended by a Resolution of Congress.

In order to protect the funds of Philhealth and cleanse the agency of graft and corruption, the measure said the President may enter into negotiated contracts for certain services.

The bill also grants the President a special power to reorganize the PhilHealth to make it more effective, innovative and responsive to its current problems and concerns as regards sustainability of funds and issues regarding graft and corruption, among others.

Pandemic. . .

Continued from A1

Mapa said the BPO sector will be placed in the new Information, Communication Technology (ICT) subsector under the Services sector. This is one of 6 to 7 new subsectors to be added under Services.

Mapa said the changes were made in consultation with PSA’s stakeholders. He said this is being done in accordance with PSA’s mandate.

The PSA’s functions include the review of the government’s statistical programs, including departments and agencies as well as local government units.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Palace gives DBM leeway to release Bayanihan 2 funds

T

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

HERE will soon be fewer delays in the release of funds under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Law (Bayanihan 2).

This after President Duterte delegated the authority of releasing the funds to the Depart-

ment of Budget and Management (DBM).

Presidential spokesperson Har-

Entire govt machinery needed for cleanup vs corruption–Guevarra Continued from A8

“I have also not been involved in any team organized to investigate corruption in the past such as PhilHealth. Matters assigned to me are usually review of contracts and other matters assigned to the legal staff. But even in cases involving review of contracts, I will not participate if there is any conflict,” she explained.

Risa backs Guevarra

Meanwhile, opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros backed Guevarra, saying, “I firmly believe he [Guevarra] is up to the task.”

Citing the ongoing Senate hearings in the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality show, the senator expects to work with Guevarra in

crafting reform legislation to address the problem.

She added that “we need a collaborative effort to put a stop to the anomalous practices that tend to weaken our country’s institutions.”

In a statement, Hontiveros acknowledged that Secretary Guevarra and his office have been “very cooperative in our probe on the illegal practices at the Bureau of Immigration as regards the notorious ‘pastillas’ scheme.”

As an independent body, “our committee at the Senate will continue to investigate the illicit activities at our country’s arrival and departure gates, which have eventually led to the abuse of women and children,” she said.

With Butch Fernandez

ry Roque said Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado now has the power to approve and release the said funding.

“It will no longer need to pass through the Office of the Executive Secretary,” Roque said.

This was confirmed by Avisado to BusinessMirror in a Viber message. He said it allows them to release the needed funds to concerned agencies at a faster pace.

Some lawmakers expressed concern over the delays in the fund releases for Bayanihan 2 since the law is set to expire by December.

DBM, however, clarified that government agencies only need to properly obligate the Bayanihan 2 funds so they will be able to use it

even beyond December.

As of October 19, 2020, DBM was able to release P5.43 billion of the over P160 billion Bayanihan 2 funds.

Roque said the pace significantly increased on Tuesday with DBM’s new authorization.

The agencies which got Bayanihan 2 funding include the Department of Trade and Industry (P100 million); National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (P5 billion); Department of Labor and Employment (P8 billion); Department of Social Welfare and Development (P6 billion); Department of Agriculture (P11.6 billion); and Department of Health (P20.5 billion).

LOCSIN: PHL TO KEEP STRONG TIES WITH U.S., CHINA Continued from A8

In his webinar remarks, Locsin explained the tack of his principal: “Our independent foreign policy applies to all, and certainly with China as well.

The President steadfastly steered Philippines-China relations along two tracks: the track of good relations to realize the manifold promise of economic cooperation with a rising China; and the track of firm, unshrinking resolve / to protect every inch of our sovereignty and sovereign rights under the Unclos [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea], as clarified and affirmed by the 2016 arbitral award.”

At the UN, Locsin added, in reference to Duterte’s virtual address at the recent UN General Assembly, “the President affirmed that the Arbitral Award is now part of international law, beyond compromise and beyond the reach of passing admin-

istrations to dilute, diminish or abandon.

And he firmly rejected attempts to undermine it. “ The DFA chief added: “The Philippines depends on one thing only, okay, two: itself and international law, of which Unclos and the 2016 Arbitral Award are a part. The Philippines won the Award with zero help from anybody and with great hindrance from most. It welcomes international support for the Award—better late than never; but in no way does the Philippines acknowledge that support as adding an iota to the legal stature of the Award.”

He concluded, “That said, I think all the protagonists in the South China Sea share our steadfast commitment to peace and stability especially in this pandemic which, alone, is more than any or all of us can handle.

be 100 percent at the mercy of traders and suppliers. We don’t have a fuel storage. The supply and prices will make the country dependent on foreign supply and prices,” he said.

LKI also suggested that government buy back Petron, which used to be fully owned by the Philippine National Oil Company. “We recommend that this be a policy decision—to buy back Petron,”said Dimagiba.

Ang cited excessive taxes slapped by the government, saying Petron is being put in a situation wherein it makes sense to just import finished petroleum products rather than import crude oil and have it refined in the country.

“When crude oil arrives in the Philippines, we pay VAT and excise tax. You’re just going to take it out of the terminal, you pay tax again.

And then, for how much can you sell it only? That’s why there are inventory losses in the actual oil price and the tax that we’re paying. Meanwhile, the competitor that doesn’t have a refinery, pays tax only when they bring out the supply from their terminals,” explained Ang. The current tax regime, he stressed, is weighing heavily on Petron’s finances. The company suffered a whopping P14.2-billion net loss in the first half of the year, from P2.6 billion in the same period a year ago.

“We should also be paying tax only when we’re already selling to the domestic market. If the playing field with importers is not leveled soon, we will also shut down. Very, very soon, if this arrangement stays

as is,” warned Ang. He said Petron’s concern on tax imbalance in the country was already raised to the Bureau of Customs, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Energy, among others.

PETRON EYES REFINERY CLOSURE ON TAX WOES Continued from A1

Ang’s announcement comes on the heels of Fitch Solutions’s assessment last week that the closure of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.’s (PSPC) refinery would have a substantial impact on the country’s economy.

PSPC announced in August its decision to cease refinery operations in Tabangao, Batangas. Not long after, the upstream company of Shell Philippines announced it was letting go of its 45-percent stake in the Malampaya gas-to-power project.

The possible shutdown of oil refineries in the country could affect the country’s supply and security of petroleum products.

“We will be at the mercy of foreign suppliers when the refinery is gone. We will be forced to get from various sources. If you have a refinery your supply inventory is good for 70 to 90 days. But if you’re just an importer, you only have a 5 to 10 days’ inventory. All of a sudden in a shutdown, the inventory level really goes down. There could be occasional shortages, like if there’s a storm, or something,” said Ang,

in a mix of English and Filipino.

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the Department of Energy (DOE) has yet to receive any notification from Petron Corporation on its alleged plan to permanently close its refinery in Limay, Bataan.

“Based on news reports, the company is still in the middle of dialogues with the government regarding tax issues.

“We at the DOE are looking into the taxation concerns raised in coordination with the Department of Finance. At the same time, we are also evaluating how a closure scenario would impact pricing, as well as the country’s energy security,” Cusi said.

“We will closely monitor the developments as we affirm to be always with our stakeholders in finding solutions to whatever hurdles the industry is facing.

“But whatever business measures Petron will arrive at in the course of its discussion with the concerned parties, we at the DOE will respect the management’s decision,” Cusi added.

Buy back Petron?

Consumer group advocate Laban Konsyumer, Inc., shared the same view.

LKI President Victor Dimagiba said the immediate impact of this decision would be fuel supply. “The country will now

Amend the law

But the only recourse he could think of is for Congress to amend the law.

“To change a law, you have to go to Congress, and that’s a long process. You have to amend the law or have Malacañang craft an Executive Order which many disdain. If I lobby and get this approval now, the next administration can revoke this and call me a crony,” said Ang. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Sherwin Gatchalian, for his part, said there may be a need for Congress to review existing laws on taxes. “It is a sad news that Petron is thinking about. A refinery is a basic foundation for any industrialized nation. Refinery is part of a bigger supply chain. There are many related industries that will be affected, not to mention the employees that will be affected at a time like this.”

The total number of direct jobs lost as a result of the closure of the Caltex and Pilipinas Shell refineries stand at 380. The figure does not include indirect jobs pertaining to suppliers and contractors providing services to the oil refiners.

Petron employs in its refinery nearly 1,000 organic personnel and over 2,500 additional personnel through over 25 local third-party service providers.

PHL, Japan meeting on Build, Build, Build projects Continued from A1

For its part, the Philippines will share developments on the Mindanao peace process, the ongoing rehabilitation of Marawi City, and the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

On the other hand, Japan will provide updates on its ongoing assistance to Mindanao under the framework of the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD) and other programs designed to help promote stability and economic growth in the new autonomous region.

Among the Japan-funded infrastructure projects that the committee is expected to discuss in the October 28 meeting are the Metro Manila Subway Project (Phase I), North-South Railway Project, Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) Rehabilitation Project, Davao City Bypass Construction Project, and the Cebu-Mactan Bridge and Coastal Road Construction Project.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the committee met alternately in Japan and the Philippines. The panel first convened in March 2017 in Tokyo, while its latest face-to-face meeting was in Hakone in December last year.

Since the start of the Duterte administration, 15 loan agreements have been signed between the Philippines and Japan worth a combined JPY679.3 billion (approximately P317 billion or $6.24 billion), of which 11 involve the construction of big-ticket projects under “Build, Build, Build.”

These agreements also include two loans amounting to JPY100 billion signed this year for the Philippines’s Covid-19 response.

Japan is the No. 1 provider of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the Philippines, with loan and grant commitments amounting to around $10.1 billion as of June this year. This sum represents 38.53 percent of the country’s total ODA portfolio.

As of June this year, ODA loans from Japan amounted to $10.03 billion (40.77 percent of the country’s total ODA loans), while grants totaled $69.45 million. This makes Japan the largest ODA loan provider to the Philippines and the 8th largest in terms of grant financing.

PHL…

Continued from A1

Child workers

However, the Philippines was flagged for sustaining a labor industry that exploits child workers, particularly in agriculture, mining and manufacturing.

The country employs child laborers in farms, slaughterhouses, mining camps and factories, the rankings reported. It argued this practice has to change, not just in the name of trade.

In the environmental pillar, the Philippines landed ninth to trail behind Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, US, Taiwan and Sri Lanka.

The index warned that the next world crisis after the Covid-19 pandemic may be climate change. It disclosed that no country among the 20 in the survey posted a positive data on deforestation—not even Pakistan, that has little to deforest to begin with.

To sustain trade in the time of Covid-19, Hinrich Foundation listed four recommendations that it asked policy-makers, business leaders and NGOs to prioritize: reducing inequality, improving education, lowering barriers to trade and investment, and building on environmental benefits of the pandemic.

The Sustainable Trade Index is a biennial report commissioned to The Economist Intelligence Unit by the Hinrich Foundation. It assesses the trade performance, especially the sustainability, of 20 Asia-Pacific economies across 27 indicators grouped into three pillars.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

Quinta kills at least nine before leaving for Vietnam

T

YPHOON Quinta (international code name Molave) killed at least nine people and left 13 others missing in the Philippines, according to disaster-response officials, before heading over to the South China Sea on its way to Vietnam.

The storm affected more than 900,000 before exiting at about 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday. It’s seen to further intensify over the sea and reach its peak within 24 hours, the weather bureau said.

The northern area of Vietnam’s Central Highlands, home to the country’s coffee producers, is forecast to receive as much as 200 millimeters of rain from Tuesday evening, according to a local meteorological center.

At least 9 people have been killed while 13 others are still missing, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Tuesday as officials continue to assess the damage brought by Typhoon Quinta.

NDRRMC spokesman Mark Timbal said two of the latest fatalities that were reported were a 60-year-old woman from Siaton and a man from Bindoy, both in Negros Oriental.

The Philippine National Police earlier reported that another victim was listed in the province of Cagayan.

On the other hand, 13 people, including 10 fishermen from Catanduanes, Camarines Sur and Iloilo remained missing and are the subjects of ongoing search and rescue operations by the government.

Quinta pummeled the Bicol region

and Southern Tagalog on Sunday evening and dumped heavy rains in other parts of Luzon on Monday, triggering flooding and landslides.

Among the provinces that experienced flooding are Apayao, Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Camarines Sur, Albay, Negros Occidental, Capiz and Samar.

On the other hand, landslides were reported in Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and Samar.

Timbal said that the typhoon initially affected at least 237,948 families or 914,709 persons, more than 77,000 of whom were evacuated to government-run shelters.

The NDRRMC spokesman said that officials are still assessing Quinta’s damage on agriculture and infrastructure.

The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) called on the government to act with dispatch and conduct a massive search and rescue operations for the 12 fishermen that went missing because of Typhoon Quinta.

Accord ing to the NDR R MC , the missing fishermen are from Barangays Pananogan, Bato; Cagdarao, Panganiban, District 3, and Gigmoto in Catanduanes.

Fernando Hicap, national chairman of Pamalakaya, said authorities must expedite the search and rescue operations to find the missing fishermen and return them to their respective families.

Bloomberg, Rene Acosta, Jonathan L. Mayuga

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, October 28, 2020 A3

Psychological violence: SC upholds fine, jail term for marital infidelity

T

By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

HE Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the ruling issued by the Court of Appeals (CA) which held that marital infidelity is considered as a form of psychological violence punishable by imprisonment under the Republic Act 9262, or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004.

In an 18-page decision penned by Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, the SC’s First Division sided with rulings issued by the CA and the Regional Trial Court of Las Piñas City which found petitioner Jaime Araza guilty of violating RA 9262.

The Court also affirmed the imposition of a minimum of six months to a maximum of eightyear prison term against Araza.

“The prosecution has established beyond reasonable doubt that Araza committed the crime of psychological violence, through his acts of marital infidelity, which caused mental

or emotional suffering on the part of AAA [the wife],” the decision read.

Likewise, the Court directed Araza to pay a fine of P100,000 and moral damages in the amount of P25,000.

Araza was also directed by the SC to undergo a mandatory psychological counseling, or psychiatric treatment, and to report his compliance with the order to the trial court within 15 days after the completion of the counseling, or treatment.

The SC explained that psychological violence is an indispensable element of violation of Section 5(i) of RA 9262.

Equally important is the element of emotional anguish and mental suffering, which are personal to the complainant, according to the SC. “The law does not require proof that the victim became psychologically ill due to the psychological violence done by her abuser. Rather, the law only requires emotional anguish and mental suffering to be proven,” the SC noted.

The Court explained that in order to establish emotional anguish, or mental suffering, jurisprudence only requires the testimony of the victim to be presented in court, as such experiences are personal to this party.

“The prosecution has established Araza’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt by proving that he committed psychological violence upon his wife by committing marital infidelity. AAA’s testimony was strong and credible. She was able to confirm that Araza was living with another woman,” the SC said.

Based on the records of the case, Araza’s wife testified that they were married on October 5, 1989, and were initially living together for 18 years without any marital issues.

However, in 2007, the wife learned that her husband was having an extramarital affair but initially did not believe it.

This prompted her to go to Zamboanga, where her husband was do-

ing their networking business, to check for herself whether the information was true.

There, she was able to confirm that her husband was living with another woman.

After filing a complaint, the couple decided to settle their differences amicably on the condition that Araza and his mistress would never see each other again.

However, after two months, Araza left their conjugal home to go back to his mistress.

The wife testified that she had been receiving text messages from her husband’s mistress to the effect that he was sick and needed money for medicines.

A text message from the mistress threatening to kill her husband prompted her to file a writ of habeas corpus in 2013.

The lawyer sent a letter to the mistress to her known address, but when there was no reply.

This led her to go Zamboanga again to look for her husband where she discovered that Araza was living with his mistress anew and has three children with the latter.

The complainant said the whole ordeal has affected his psychological and physical well-being.

She said she got sick and was hospitalized while looking for her husband.

Economy BusinessMirror

A4 Wednesday, October 28, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

DOLE allows employers to renew ‘floating status’ of workers for another six months

E

By Samuel P. Medenilla

said there are currently 2.4 million workers under floating status. These include those who were required to take forced leaves, or affected by temporary closure.

Bello explained the employers of many of these workers may opt to just implement a retrenchment program sans DO 215.

@sam_medenilla

MPLOYERS can now extend the “floating status” of their workers by another six months under a new issuance from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

The coalition of the country’s biggest labor groups, however, immediately rejected the new policy and bared plans to question the legality of the said DOLE issuance before the Supreme Court (SC).

Last Friday, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III signed Department Order (DO) 215, Series of 2020, which amended Section 12 of Rule 1 of the Implementing Book 6 of the Labor Code on the Employment Relationship.

Once it takes effect 15 days after being published, it will allow employers to extend the suspension of employment, or floating status, of their workers for another six months “in case of declaration of war, pandemic, and similar national emergencies.”

Illegal policy

Minimizing displacement

PRIOR to DO 215, employers were only allowed to maintain the floating status of their workers by a maximum of six months, after which the company will be required to either rehire, or to retrench the concerned employees.

Bello said he opted to extend the period of floating status to prevent further mass displacement during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since the government implemented community quarantine last March to control the spread of Covid-19, many companies opted to “float” their workers since their operations either stopped, or slowed down during that period.

Based on its latest data, DOLE

PARTIDO Manggagawa (PM) national chairman and Nagkaisa labor coalition spokesman Renato Magtubo said the policy is illegal.

“Extension of the floating status of workers beyond the six months maximum through a DO is illegal as it is tantamount to executive legislation. The water cannot rise above its source,” Magtubo said.

The labor leader also said the issuance also “opens workers to employer abuse.”

“The labor coalition Nagkaisa labor groups is coordinating for a campaign for the repeal of the blatantly ‘pro-employer’ DO 215 and to file a legal challenge at the Supreme Court,” Magtubo said.

Employment limbo

HE also criticized the supposed

safeguards included the DO 215, which aims to prevent employers from exploiting the floating status of their workers.

These include requiring employers to discuss the extension with their workers before implementation; concerned employers to report to DOLE’s regional offices the extension of 10 days before its effectivity; and for the workers under floating status to be given priority in the rehiring.

Magtubo said the policy fails to take into account the feeling of desperation of the f loating workers, who are not sure if they will be rehired, or eventually retrenched in the coming months.

During the said period, he said, the concerned workers will likely not get any salary.

Ideally, he said workers should already be rehired by companies after six months, but in some cases, he noted, it is actually better for the worker to be terminated since it will entitle them to a separation pay.

“They can use a capital to look for another income opportunity or to look for a new job,” Magtubo said.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ARMYWORMS INFEST 11K HECTARES OF CORN FIELDS; DAMAGE AT P300M

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

A

T least 11,000 hectares of corn fields have been infested and damaged by fall armyworm (FAW) across the country, leading to the loss of P300 million worth of the farmers’ crop, the Department of Agriculture has reported.

But the DA said that the infestations have been placed under control by the government to prevent a potential P20-billion economic loss, based on government and international organization estimates.

DA Corn Program Director Lorenzo Caranguian said the current infested area only accounts for about 1.6 percent of the total 700,000 hectares planted with corn nationwide.

“The degree of damage by the current infestation is insignificant. It’s only about P300 million compared to about P43 billion [value of the corn industry],” Caranguian said at a virtual news briefing on Tuesday.

In an October 22 webinar hosted by the private sector, Caranguian noted that the potential economic impact of FAW to the country could be at least P20 billion if the infestations would be left unchecked.

The estimate takes into consideration the 20 percent estimated yield loss as based on United Na-

tions’ Food and Agriculture Organization reports, which would mean a 1.6-million metric ton (MMT) production loss.

At a P13 per kilogram farmgate price, the economic losses to the corn industry alone could be at P20.8 billion.

The potential FAW devastation could affect not just corn farmers but also feed millers, livestock and poultry raisers, food processors, traders and consolidators and consumers as well, Caranguian said.

Citing the FAO, the intrusion of FAW to the Philippines was projected by end of 2019 but the pest arrived in June 2019, six months earlier than estimated, Caranguian said.

Caranguian added that the FAW “most probably” entered the country by wind with nearby countries like Taiwan and China being already affected by the pest ahead of the Philippines.

The first FAW incidence in the country was recorded on June 20, 2019, at Piat, Cagayan Valley, one of the major corn-producing regions nationwide. The FAW slowly spread to nearby municipalities and eventually affected all regions of the country today, Caranguian said.

“This 2020 wet season 57 out of 81 provinces are infested and 288 out of 1,488 municipalities are infested,” he added.

Study shows Pinoy’s ‘dissatisfaction’ over government’s transport policies Drop products

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

F

ILIPINOS want the Duterte administration to intensify its efforts to solve transportation issues amid the pandemic through sound policies and concrete actions, according to a study conducted by technology-driven polling and data analytics company agency WR Numero Research.

Citing the study Public Transportation amid a Pandemic: Digital Perceptions and Sentiments, Robin Michael U. Garcia, the CEO of WR Numero Research, said majority of Filipinos were dissatisfied with the government’s transport initiatives for the Covid-19 crisis.

“As Filipinos adjust to the demands of the national health situation, they are also demanding for the government to do more to solve

transport issues during the pandemic. They are expecting the government to adopt better policies and that these should be implemented properly,” he said.

Based on the research, roughly 54 percent of Filipinos were unhappy, very unhappy, and are unsure of the government’s efforts to provide adequate, safe, and secure transport options during the pandemic. The balance of 46 percent were either very happy or happy with the government’s response to transport issues during the health crisis.

Garcia added that the study, whose methodology involves the survey of 5,000 individuals and the analysis of sentiments based on the company’s propriety digital social listening tool called Pathos, found that Filipinos are demanding for more transport options, for more

support for transport stakeholders, and accountability.

Filipinos, the study found, were seeking for better transportation policies. For instance, 38 percent of Filipinos demanded for more routes and units of public-utility vehicles in Metro Manila, and another 26 percent sought for the return of provincial buses.

These solutions were seen to help Filipino commuters, especially the working force, to travel to and from their home and workplace.

As of early October, the government has allowed the operation of the following PUVs in Metro Manila: 27,016 units of traditional public-utility jeepney (PUJ) plying 302 routes with 27,016 units allowed; 845 units of modern jeepneys with 48 routes; 4,016 units of public-utility buses plying 34 routes; 387 units of point-

to-point buses with 34 routes; 286 provincial buses with 12 routes; 3,263 units of UV Express with 76 routes; 40 units of modern UV Express with two routes; 24,356 units of transport network vehicles; and 20,927 units of taxis.

This runs parallel to the other finding of the study in which 34 percent of Filipinos think that increasing the capacity of train lines is a move that may further increase Covid-19 cases. A good 19 percent likewise criticized the government for the decision.

The study also found 20 percent of Filipinos sympathetic to the plight of jeepney drivers who were displaced by the pandemic and its required restrictions on mobility.

Aside from these, Filipinos, according to the study, demand for accountability for the government, as 43 percent of them criticized

President Duterte for the alleged corruption in the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Last, Filipinos found the completion of the Skyway Stage 3 as a positive development, but the credit was not given to the Duterte administration alone, as 28 percent of Filipinos thanked former President Benigno Aquino III and San Miguel Corp. for starting and finishing the expressway.

“Our study found that Filipinos are demanding for better policies and actions on the part of the government to make life in the new normal much better.

We believe that through this research, the government may form sound strategies on how to provide Filipinos with adequate, safe, and ef f icient modes of transportation during the pandemic,” Garcia said.

PSA starts National ID registration in CL

By Ashley Manabat | Correspondent

C

LARK FREEPORT—The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in Central Luzon has started registering individuals as the first step for the National ID system.

During the “Balitaan” media forum organized by the Capampangan in Media Inc. (CAMI) at the Bale Balita here on Thursday, PSA Regional Director Edgardo Pare said the registration has started 10 days ago with the names submitted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Pare said the general public will have to wait until early next year to start registering for the National ID system.

He said they have begun registering only the names on the list given by the DSWD. Those on the list will be the first to be given National IDs, he added.

“We get demographic information from them and encode them in the tablet and give them appointment when they will go to the registration center,” Pare said.

“Getting the demographic information and registration should be simultaneous but because of the pandemic, we have to limit the stay of the people Inside the registration centers where get their biometrics iris scans, finger prints and pictures because if we allow for the simultaneous activities, they will

have to stay for about 25 to 30 minutes inside the centers,” he said.

“Now, we get the demographic info and give them appointment for registration at a later date,” he added.

Pare said every municipality has its own registration center. “We coordinated with each municipality and requested some space usually at the first floor of the building so that the persons with disabilities [PWDs] and the senior citizens will not have a hard time accessing it,” he said.

“Many of the LGUs gave us space in the municipal hall although there are some registration centers in the barangays. We just move the registration kits. Included in the kits are laptops, lights, scanners and other materials and the kit usually cost around P350,000,” he said.

Pare said each municipality will have about four or five registration kits.

Pare explained that step one will be the pre-registration. PSA will have 1,100 personnel in Region 3.

In the registration itself where PSA will get the biometrics, another 3,000 will be hired, he said. The additional personnel will be hired as job orders, or contractual workers and their contracts will last for three years, he added.

“We will register 110 million more

or less but these does not include those who are 5 years old and below.

We will give them only numbers but we will not get their biometrics and pictures,” Pare explained.

“When they reach more than 5 years old, that is the only time they will be pictured and when they reach 15 years old, their biometrics will be collected,” Pare explained.

He said in Central Luzon, about 11 million will be registered.

Pare said they will start on November 25. These are being listed now who will be given appointments starting November 25.

Pare clarified that there will also be systems integration to avoid duplication and to sort out those that have registered multiple times which is not allowed. They will have to be validated, he added.

Pare said 15 days after registration, the registrant will be issued his ID. The time should be shortened if he is unique and the registration should last for only 15 minutes.

Pare said the implementation of RA 11055 is for five years but two years have already passed for the procurement and the preparation of implementing rules and regulations.

The national ID system or RA 11055 has a budget of P30 billion.

Meanwhile, Pare said the PSA regional center processes about 7,000 documents per day before the pandemic but is now down to only 2,000 per day.

with HFC from grocery list, shoppers told

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

F

ILIPINO consumers have been advised to avoid using household products containing hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, now considered to be the fastest-growing greenhouse gases (GHG) that contribute to climate change.

The call was made by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu in support of the awareness-raising effort of the Department of Environment and Natural ResourcesEnvironmental Management Bureau (EMB) through the Philippine Ozone Desk (POD) which facilitates and coordinates projects and policies on the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) pursuant to the country’s commitment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

The Kigali Amendment is an international agreement to gradually reduce the consumption and production of HFCs, which replaced the ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) previously used in air conditioners and refrigerants.

By choosing not to buy products containing HFCs, consumers will be reducing GHG levels and sending a message to product manufacturers not to continue the use of HFCs as a propellant in their products, Cimatu said in a news statement.

HFCs are used as a propellant in hair sprays, deodorants, insecticides and one of the most in-demand products in the market amid the Covid-19 pandemic—disinfectants.

HFCs, while not an ODS, were later found to be a powerful GHG that can be hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide in contributing to climate change per unit of mass.

Since HFCs are a vital alternative to CFCs, they cannot be removed from the market immediately.

HFCs were developed after the phase out of CFCs and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) required by the Montreal Protocol in 1987.

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

The World

Chinese fintech could shatter records with $35-B share offer

H

ONG KONG—The world’s largest fintech company, China’s Ant Group, will try to raise nearly $35 billion in a massive public offering of stock that would shatter records.

Alibaba-affiliated Ant Group, which operates a suite of financial products including the widely-used Alipay digital wallet in China and one of the world’s largest money market funds, will hold dual listings in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Its Shanghai stock was priced at 68.8 yuan ($10.26) each, while its Hong Kong stock is priced at 80 Hong Kong dollars apiece ($10.32), according to filings on Monday.

The company will raise about $34.5 billion from the share offering, which is expected to surpass oil company Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion share sale last year, making Ant Group’s offering the biggest in the world.

Ant Group will list on the Hong Kong stock exchange on November 5, according to an exchange filing.

A trading date for Shanghai has not been fixed.

The company has its origins in Alipay, which was initially created to serve as an escrow service between buyers and sellers on Alibaba’s ecommerce platform. Alipay would hold the money paid by the buyer until the transaction was complete, before releasing the funds to the sellers in order to boost trust on the platform among consumers.

In 2011, Alipay was spun off from Alibaba into a separate company. It was later renamed Ant Financial, before its recent name change to Ant Group.

Over the years, Ant has introduced more financial services, and now operates Alipay as a digital wallet which allows users in China to transfer money to others and pay for purchases both online and offline. Its money market fund

Yu’e Bao is also among the world’s largest.

In recent years, Ant Group has also partnered with digital wallets around the world and expanded its services to merchants to allow Chinese tourists to pay via Alipay abroad. The company has over a billion users globally.

Ahead of the IPO, Ant Group would be valued at about $280 billion. If the company exercises its greenshoe option, which would allow it to sell more shares than initially planned, it could raise another $5.17 billion, taking its valuation to about $320 billion.

The company plans to issue up to 1.67 billion shares in both Hong Kong and Shanghai, taking the total number of shares issued to about 3.4 billion.

Alibaba, which currently owns a third of Ant Group, will subscribe to 730 million shares and will hold a stake of about 32 percent after the IPO. The pricing announcements for Ant Group’s dual IPOs also came days after Alibaba founder Jack Ma called the company’s offering a “miracle”, as it was the first time that such a big listing was priced outside of New York.

“We didn’t dare think about it five years, or even three years ago,” Ma said at a financial conference in Shanghai on Saturday.

Ma also criticized banks in China, saying that they were operated like “pawn shops” since they typically require one to have sufficient collateral before making loans.

He advocated for financial reform, saying that China’s relatively young financial system should be driven by technologies such as big data, cloud computing and blockchain, instead of following traditional methods of banking that involves large amounts of red-tape. AP

Thai protesters shun Parliament, ask Germany to investigate king

B

ANGKOK—Pro-democracy demonstrators in Thailand have expanded their protests internationally, marching to the German Embassy to appeal to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to investigate whether Thailand’s king has exercised political power during his extended stays in Bavaria.

The protesters acted while criticizing their own Parliament, which began a special two-day session earlier Monday to address political tensions resulting from the near-daily pro-democracy protests demanding the prime minister’s resignation, constitutional changes and reforms to the monarchy.

They believe the king wields an inordinate amount of power in what is nominally a democracy under a constitutional monarchy.

The scrutiny and public criticism of the monarchy displayed by some of the protesters is unprecedented in a country where the royal institution has been considered sacrosanct. It has also led royalists to stage counter-rallies and to denounce the protesters for raising the issue, increasing the risk of confrontation.

The protesters, estimated by an Associated Press journalist to number between 5,000 and 10,000, defied police warnings that they constituted an illegal assembly and marched to the embassy in an effort to bring attention to the time King Maha Vajiralongkorn spends in Germany. The king in recent weeks has been in Thailand with a busy schedule of ceremonial events.

A statement from the protest group said they presented a letter to embassy officials asking that Germany investigate whether the king “has conducted Thai politics using his royal prerogative from German soil or not.”

It said such action could be considered a violation of Germany’s territorial sovereignty, and suggested that its government consider the protesters’ request with the aim of bringing the king back to Thailand to restore the country “to the path of the truthful constitutional monarchy.”

In addition to asking whether the king is carrying out his official royal duties in Germany, the letter provocatively echoed points on which the protesters have previously criticized the king.

Germany is seen as receptive to their entreaties.

The German government already brought up the issue in early October, when Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, responding to a question in Parliament, expressed concern over any political activities the king might be conducting in the country.

On Monday in Berlin, Maas spoke again, telling reporters the government was following developments in Thailand and was aware of the

demonstrations and “people taking to the streets for their rights.” He added that he also was watching the king’s activities in Germany.

“We have been examining this not only in recent weeks, but we are continuing to examine it in the long term, and if there are things we feel to be unlawful, then that will have immediate consequences,” Maas said.

Vajiralongkorn has for years spent significant time in Germany, but it only became an issue after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 2016.

Bhumibol was king for seven decades, and though he traveled extensively on state visits in the early years of his reign—including being welcomed with a ticker tape parade in New York City—he left the country only once after the 1960s, and that was an overnight stay in neighboring Laos.

Vajiralongkorn’s ability to spend time abroad has been made easier by changes his office sought and received to the current constitution that no longer require him to appoint a regent when away from the kingdom.

Defaming the monarchy can be punished by up to 15 years in prison under Thailand’s tough lese majeste law.

Speaker of the House Chuan Leekpai cautioned at Monday’s special Parliament session that it was not to discuss the role of the monarchy.

In his opening speech, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said he and his government are aware that this is an era of change, pushed by technology.

“But we have to admit that in Thailand, millions, tens of millions of people do not want to see change through chaos,” he said, referring to different points of view toward the protesters and their demands.

“Everyone has their own beliefs.”

He called for Parliament to “creatively find a balance” between competing views.

The protesters believe Prayuth, who led a coup ousting an elected government in 2014 when he was army chief, retained power unfairly in last year’s election because laws were changed to favor a pro-military party.

The protesters also say the constitution, written and enacted under military rule, is undemocratic.

The protesters consider the government’s response insincere, noting the agenda for the nonvoting session of Parliament does not include the protesters’ concerns but instead has thinly disguised criticism of the protests themselves.

The points of discussion released by Prayuth’s government concern the risk of the coronavirus spreading at rallies, alleged interference with a royal motorcade by a small crowd earlier this month, illegal gatherings, and the destruction of images of the royal family. AP

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

A5

Coronavirus deaths rising again in the US, as feared

B

OISE, Idaho—Deaths per day from the coronavirus in the US are on the rise again, just as health experts had feared, and cases are climbing in practically every state, despite assurances from President Donald Trump over the weekend that “we’re rounding the turn, we’re doing great.”

With Election Day just over a week away, average deaths per day across the country are up 10 percent over the past two weeks, from 721 to nearly 794 as of Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Newly confirmed infections per day are rising in 47 states, and deaths are up in 34.

Health experts had warned that it was only a matter of time before deaths turned upward, given the record-breaking surge in cases engulfing the country.

Deaths are a lagging indicator— that is, it generally takes a few weeks for people to sicken and die from the coronavirus.

Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases who warned over the summer of a fall surge, said what’s happening now is a conf luence of three factors: “pandemic fatigue” among people who are weary of hunkering down and are venturing out more; “pandemic anger” among those are don’t believe the scourge is a real threat; and cold weather, which is forcing more Americans indoors, where the virus can spread more easily.

“When you put those three together, we shouldn’t be surprised what we’re seeing,” Osterholm said.

The virus is blamed for more than 8.6 million confirmed infections and over 225,000 deaths in the US, the highest such totals in the world.

Deaths are still well below the US peak of over 2,200 per day in

late April. But experts are warning of a grim fall and winter, with a widely cited model from the University of Washington projecting about 386,000 dead by February 1. A vaccine is unlikely to become widely available until mid-2021.

The seven-day rolling average for daily new cases hit a record high on Sunday of 68,767, according to Johns Hopkins, eclipsing the previous mark of 67,293, set in mid-July. The US recorded more than 80,000 new cases on both Friday and Saturday—the h ighest m a rk s ever—t hough testing has expanded dramatically over the course of the outbreak, making direct comparisons problematic.

The true number of infections is thought to be far higher because many Americans have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.

On Wa l l St reet, stoc k s had t heir worst d ay in more t ha n a mo nt h , a m id t he s u r g i n g caseload and mounting doubts t h at Wa s h i n g t o n w i l l c o me t hrough w it h more rel ief for t he economy before Elect ion Day. T he S& P 50 0 sl id 1.9 per cent Mond ay, wh i le t he Dow Jones Indust r ia l Average shed 650 points, or 2. 3 percent.

On Monday, the White House coronavirus response coordinator spent the day looking around North Dakota’s capital city and proclaimed the Covid-19 protocols to be the worst she’s seen in her travels around the country.

Protests in Italy over new restrictions turn violent

M

ILAN—Protesters turned out by the hundreds in Turin, Milan and other Italian cities and towns on Monday to vent their anger, sometimes violently, at the latest pandemic restrictions that force restaurants and cafés to close early and shutter cinemas, gyms and other leisure venues.

In the northern city of Turin, some demonstrators broke off from a peaceful protest, smashing store windows on an elegant shopping street, setting smoke bombs and hurling bottles at police in a main city square where the Piedmont regional government is headquartered, RAI state TV said.

A photographer was injured by a hurled bottle, RAI said. Police fired tear gas to clear the protesters in Piazza del Castello.

In that same square, hours earlier, some 300 taxis peacefully lined up in neat rows to draw attention to their economic losses from the implosion of tourism and disappearance of workers from the city center as they do their jobs remotely during the pandemic.

Triggering the violence in Turin was a group of “ultras,” as violent soccer fans are known, the LaPresse news agency said. It said authorities detained five of the protesters.

In Italy’s business capital, Milan, police used tear gas to scatter protesters Monday night, and an Associated Press journalist saw at least two people detained.

The protests began shortly after the national government’s order took effect requiring bars, cafés and restaurants to close their doors at 6 p.m. for the next 30 days as Italy tries to rein the resurgence of coronavirus infections in recent weeks.

Since most Italians don’t dine out before 7:30 p.m. at the earliest, the decree effectively wiped out most of the restaurants’ already reduced revenue in the pandemic, although takeout and delivery can continue until midnight.

The crackdown was announced Sunday, a day after Italy registered more than a half million confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic’s outbreak.

Last week, a peaceful march by shopkeepers and other business owners in Naples, upset about a regional curfew that orders citizens off the streets at 11 p.m., turned violent near the Campania region’s headquarters.

Investigators were quoted in Italian media as saying the violence, in which police officers were injured, bore the hand of the Camorra, the local organized crime group. AP

Dr. Deborah Birx, whose tour has taken her to nearly 40 states, said she found the absence of face coverings and the lack of social distancing in Bismarck “deeply unfortunate” and a danger.

“Over the last 24 hours as we were here and we were in your grocery stores and in your restaurants and frankly even in your hotels, this is the least use of masks that we have seen in retail establishments of any place we have been,” Birx said. “And we find that deeply unfortunate because you don’t know who’s infected and you don’t know if you’re infected yourself.”

In the Texas border city of El Paso, authorities instructed people to stay home for two weeks and imposed a 10-p.m.-to-5-a.m. curfew because of a surge that has overwhelmed hospitals. The state is converting part of the city’s civic center into a hospital.

“We are in a crisis stage,” said El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, the county’s top elected official, as he issued the stay-athome order over the weekend.

On Monday, the county reported a record high in daily cases, with 1,443, and 853 patients hospitalized because of the virus, up from 786 a day earlier. The state has provided over 900 medical personnel to El Paso, some of whom will staff the convention center site.

Just last week, Trump during the last presidential debate dow nplayed the v ir us’ effect in the Lone Star State, saying: “There was a very big spike in Texas, it’s now gone.”

Trump said repeatedly over the weekend that the country is “rounding the turn.” His remarks came amid another outbreak in the White House inner circle.

Several close aides to Vice President Mike Pence tested positive, including his chief of staff.

In Idaho, where large numbers of residents resist wearing a mask, Republican Gov. Brad Little on Monday ordered a return to some restrictions to slow the spread of the virus as rising cases put a strain on the hospital system.

Little’s directive limits indoor

gatherings to 50 people, urges businesses to encourage employees to work from home, among other steps.

Idaho’s positivity test rate is fourth worst in the nation. St. Luke’s, with hospitals in southwestern and central Idaho, is reporting that 20 percent of hospitalized patients are suffering from Covid-19. Its hospital in Twin Falls has postponed elective surgeries and are sending children in need of medical care to Boise, about 125 miles away.

Pr imar y Hea lt h Med ica l Group, the largest independent medical group in Idaho, has had to close two of its 19 urgent care clinics in southwestern Idaho because of sick or quarantined staff.

The clinics are a buffer keeping hospital emergency rooms in the region from getting clogged with patients not needing emergencylevel care.

Oklahoma is one of the states consistently breaking records for new cases, and the strain is being felt in hospitals. Bed space is running out, and an equally daunting problem is a shortage of nursing staff.

Dr. Sam Ratermann, director of the hospitalist program at INTEGRIS Grove Hospital in Grove, Oklahoma, said patients are being transferred from “hospital to hospital across the state” for lack of beds.

“Even when we have open ICU beds across the state, we don’t have staff to fill them,” Ratermann said.

“There’s going to be a point where there’s no beds and we can’t even care for our local citizens.”

The University of Minnesota’s Osterholm has been predicting the darkest days will be in the weeks or months ahead. He said he expects increased competition for drugs and shortages of hospital specialists, N95 masks and other protective gear.

A strong national response plan was needed, along with consistent messaging that emphasized mask wearing and other preventive measures, Osterholm said.

“But our response has been...I don’t know what our response has been,” he said. AP

A6 Wednesday, October 28, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Protecting poultry sector from bird flu

S

cientists and health experts are not the only ones dreading the arrival of winter in temperate countries, such as the United States, Canada and European nations. These experts have been calling for extra vigilance, as respiratory viruses tend to spread more easily during the winter months. Livestock producers are also on guard, particularly against bird flu outbreaks that usually spread faster during the cold months.

Just recently, Reuters reported that the Dutch government ordered poultry raisers to keep their birds indoors. The order was issued after a highly contagious form of avian influenza was found in two dead swans. The highly pathogenic form of the H5N8 virus was found in the dead swans, the same type that was found in Russia in July and in an Israeli poultry farm nearly two weeks ago.

It was also during the cold months when thousands of birds in Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, were killed by a bird flu outbreak nearly two decades ago. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said an outbreak of avian influenza A (H5N1) among poultry in South Korea was reported in December 2003. Subsequent outbreaks of A (H5N1) were confirmed in Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, and China in January 2004, prompting Manila to slap temporary bans on the entry of poultry products from these countries to protect the domestic poultry population.

The outbreak ravaged farms across Southeast Asia and resulted in the death of thousands of birds that were either killed by the virus or were culled to stop the spread of bird flu. In the ensuing years, countries would learn to deal with the virus via policies, such as the one implemented by the Dutch government, to prevent farmers from incurring huge losses. Fortunately for our farmers, the Philippines was prepared to deal with the bird flu. In fact, the government was able to come up with a manual for dealing with a possible bird flu outbreak (See, “Can 13-year-old manual save PHL from bird flu?” in the BusinessMirror, August 21, 2017).

The first recorded outbreak of avian influenza in the Philippines in 2017 made the government and stakeholders more vigilant against the disease. The pandemic, however, is making it more imperative for poultry raisers and the government to prevent outbreaks in the face of a shortage of pork caused by African swine fever (See, “As pork prices rise: DA probes, groups weigh in,” in the BusinessMirror, October 26, 2020). Stable chicken supply will help temper any spike in prices caused by insufficient supply of pork because poultry is also a popular source of protein in the Philippines.

Local government units must work in tandem with the national government to adopt a proactive approach in keeping animal diseases at bay. Poultry raisers should be reminded time and again to immediately report suspicious mortalities in their farms. There’s a need to emphasize that this action will help them cut their losses if an outbreak occurs. While bird flu is not usually harmful to humans, it is fatal to fowls and has the potential to upend the country’s food supply.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

BUSINESSMIRROR 10282020

SSS services at your fingertips through Text-SSS facility Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

I

N 2019, some 70.7 million Filipinos have access to the Internet through their mobile phones and SMS or text messaging exploded, which made our country the “Text Capital of the World.” By 2025, Filipino users are expected to reach 90 million given the current trend and situation brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Unlike in the 1990s, when only businessmen and corporate executives can afford to buy a cellphone due to its prohibitive price, nowadays even an ordinary worker can afford to buy one as it has become a necessity for communication and other purposes. As cellphone models and units evolved through the years, prices became more affordable.

In the time of the pandemic, mobile transactions are preferred.

We can do a lot of things using our cellphones, such as ordering food, transferring funds through online banking, online shopping, and other important services that include government transactions.

This is where the Social Security System steps in by utilizing its Text-

Dennis Gorecho

Founder

Editor in Chief Associate Editor News Editor

Lourdes M. Fernandez

Senior Editors

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso

Online Editor

Ruben M. Cruz Jr.

Creative Director Chief Photographer Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines.

Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025.

(Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807.

(Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news@businessmirror.com.ph.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Printed by brown madonna Press, Inc.–Sun Valley Drive KM-15, South Superhighway, Parañaque, Metro Manila MEMBER OF

Pinoy Marino Rights

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug

updating of contact information, employed, self-employed, voluntary, overseas Filipino workers, and nonworking spouse members can also submit salary loan, calamity loan, unemployment benefit, retirement benefit and funeral benefit applications. Meanwhile, submission of maternity notification online can be done by self-employed, voluntary and OFW members. They can also generate their PRN and register their valid disbursement accounts via the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module. Employers, on the other hand, can submit their R1A or report of newly hired employees, sickness and maternity notification, and Sickness Benefit Reimbursement Application, certify their employee’s salary loan application, register their disbursement account under the DAEM, and generate PRN as well.

We believe that this value-added service will greatly help the system to expedite members’ queries and concerns and that all of us can proudly say that SSS always prioritizes serving its members, anytime and anywhere, 24/7.

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

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

The plight of maritime cadets as utility boys

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

SSS facility, which was launched in February 2010 to provide key information to its members.

The “Text-SSS” facility is a textbased information service that allows SSS members to inquire regarding their Payment Reference Number (PRN), contributions, status of their loan applications, loan balance, benefit claim status, documentary requirements in filing benefit and loan applications, membership registration, member’s record, and to locate the nearest SSS branch.

Due to its increasing membership and to decongest the branches nationwide, SSS incorporated in said facility more services such as verification of member’s contributions, loan balance and claim status, with a mini-

mal fee of P2.50 per text for Globe, Smart, and Sun Cellular subscribers.

This helps our members keep track of their records at the tip of their fingers, anytime and anywhere, 24/7, without going to our offices.

To register with this SMS facility, the member has to type SSS REG <SS Number> <Date of Birth MM/DD/ YYYY> (e.g. SSS REG 031234568 12/25/1987) and send it to 2600 for Globe, Smart and Sun Cellular subscribers. After successful registration, the system will send a text message specifying a system-generated member’s Personal Identification Number from 2600. Members must keep in mind their respective PIN since they will use it in other Text SSS transactions. The instructions in using this alternative text-based facility were simplified. However, members need to be cautious when typing the keywords before sending their text queries to 2600.

After the launching of its 63rd Anniversary theme—Responding to the Times through Express Services—on September 1, 2020, SSS continues to provide simpler, faster and more convenient means of facilitating its online and digital transactions with employers, members, pensioners and beneficiaries. Aside from online viewing of membership and contribution records and

T

he proliferation of cadets serving as utility boys is an issue that is widely known in the maritime industry but seldom addressed.

“How will the proposed law help cadets not be taken advantage of?” is the question raised by Christian Esteban of Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific Bataan during the recent online public consultation on the pending Magna Carta on Filipino Seafarers organized by the office of Senator Risa Hontiveros. He is also one of the winners of the Ten Outstanding Maritime Students of the Philippines.

Esteban pointed out that although some maritime students are accepted as trainees, there are those that become utility boys or errand runners for a company first before they would be given their vessel assignment.

Aside from doing office errands, there are utility boys that also do janitorial services, while others are even instructed to do house chores

as if they are “household helpers.”

Some people romanticize the issue, Esteban added, as if it is a test of character and attitude to overcome such trials.

“However, I think they forget to ask themselves, is it really justifiable for someone hired as a cadet, to be used in the office for such tasks?

What is stopping the company in giving them their respective vessel assignment? Is the office really that short on manpower that they need their cadets to aid them in their daily lives?”

The education of Filipino cadets is a combination of theoretical years and shipboard training.

Cadets will initially study in their school all the required theoretical knowledge for seamanship, navigation and engineering. They will then have to take their shipboard training

Maritime blogger Barista Uno of Marine-Café.Com described the proliferation of “utility boys” as an “ignominy” where the use of maritime cadets as unpaid labor by Philippine manning agencies must be seen as a clear case of exploitation, or as he calls it “a form of modern-day slavery.”

in a seagoing ship to study practical knowledge and skills for a minimum of 12 months. They will thereafter return to their school for the conferment of their BS degree on Marine Engineering or Marine Transportation (BSME/BSMT).

During the 2019 Maritime Education and Training conference organized by the Maritime Industry Authority, the agency presented the results of the 2018 MARINA study that shows the effectiveness of the 91 maritime schools nationwide.

The report noted that an average of only about 18 percent of enrollees manages to complete the full academic three years. Out of this 18 percent, however, only an average about 15 percent manages to obtain a BSMT/BSME degree required to do the OIC level board exam.

Out of the yearly over 20,000 cadets from the maritime schools eligible for shipboard training, it is

estimated that only around 5,000 could be absorbed on board foreign and domestic ships.

This shortage of opportunities resulted to the proliferation of cadets working as “utility boys” wherein many are under a great deal of pressure to finish their apprenticeship within the prescribed period, thus prompting them to agree to such arrangement.

With the hope that they would one day be able to board a vessel, there are utility cadets whose services to their agency surpass the 12-month required apprenticeship period, some without decent compensation.

Dr. Roderick Galam of Oxford Brookes University discussed in an article how manning agencies and utility boys/men differentially rationalize this exploitative work.

Galam pointed out that manning agencies use it “as a technology of servitude that, through physical and verbal abuse and other techniques, enforces docility to prepare utility men for the harsher conditions onboard a ship.”

On the other hand, Galam noted that utility men use it as “a technology of imagination, gleaning from it a capacity to shape their future.”

“Faced with few social possibilities in the Philippines, they deploy servitude as a strategy for attaining See “Gorecho,” A7

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

An appeal to House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco

Striking while the iron is hot Atty. Macario R. de Claro Jr.

Competition Matters

Susan V. Ople

Scribbles

L

ast Sunday, I joined a group of cancer awareness advocates including mothers of children with cancer, as part of a bike run event in front of the Manila Central Post Office to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Because of the rains and given the need for strict health protocols, the event was small in number but full of heart and hope. It was a miracle that we were able to meet and stage a tiny little bike run at all, and special thanks go out to Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno and his chief of staff, Cesar Chavez, for assisting us.

Former senator JV Ejercito rode a bicycle together with former Commission on Elections official Atty.

Goyo Larrazabal (who wore cute pink socks!). They were joined by Beaver Lopez (JV’s ex-brother in law) and Elbert Cuenca, a well-known restaurateur. I rode my Japanese-surplus trike with Cielo Suarez, with whom I share a superb oncologist by the name of Dr. Charles Vincent Uy. Dr. Gizela Gaw, a well-respected physical therapist that specializes in preventing lymphedema, also came along. I also finally get to meet in person Paul Perez of the Cancer Coalition of the Philippines, Lloyd Zaragoza, Orlando Oxales, and Dr. Rachel Rosario of the Philippine Cancer Society. It was fun to mesh with this close-knit community of cancer experts and advocates, as well as families with cancer survivors, and sadly, those with loved ones that have passed on.

Had Covid-19 been absent from our lives, this very same community would be knocking on the doors of our legislators and visiting the office of the new Speaker of the House, seeking help in behalf of all cancer patients across the country. Speaker Velasco, we have much to say, and beg you for, because given the stability of your leadership, then perhaps it is time to ensure that you do make a difference in people’s lives.

I am sure that close to everyone we know have had a brush with cancer through relatives, friends or coworkers. Some prefer not to divulge their condition, even long after their treatment is over. Cancer is a killer disease with four Filipinos dying of cancer per hour, or 9 cancer patients dying each day. Among Asean countries, the Philippines rank first in breast cancer cases and fatalities. For men, lung cancer in the Philippines has claimed more lives compared to other types of cancer.

Last year, the National Integrated Cancer Control Act (NICCA) was enacted into law, giving all of us hope that things would change for the better. This means that a Philippine Cancer Center, a research and treatment facility, shall be built and manned by the best oncologists, pathologists, and other medical and research staff.

We also expected that a Cancer Assistance Fund would have been established by now, to accommodate the medicinal and treatment needs of thousands of cancer patients. The Health department assures us that there is funding to help indigent can-

Gorecho. . .

continued from A6

economic mobility and male adulthood,” Galam said.

Maritime blogger Barista Uno of Marine-Café.Com described the proliferation of “utility boys” as an “ignominy” where the use of maritime cadets as unpaid labor by Philippine manning agencies must be seen as a clear case of exploitation, or as he calls it “a form of modernday slavery.”

Barista Uno pointed out that some try to dismiss the whole issue by saying it is the cadets’ choice to serve as utility boys.

He noted that there are industry players that try to rationalize the “serve-for-sail practice” by invoking

cer patients, but what we seek is the implementation of the specific provisions of the law. We want the entire law funded as promised, through the General Appropriations Act. To their credit, the Philippine Senate led by Senate President Tito Sotto had committed to funding the law and making sure that there will be funds allocated especially for childhood cancer. This is a firm commitment from no less than the Senate leadership and Sen. Sonny Angara as chair of the appropriations committee.

Can we have a similar commitment from you, Mr. Speaker? I searched for your background and learned that your mother was a nurse and won as a party-list legislator on health issues. I also know that your wife is quite active in non-profit, charitable endeavors while your father served in the Supreme Court, where permanent justice emanates.

You come from such a blessed and distinguished political family. Certainly, you were quite eloquent about the need for trust and honor and that our people are yearning for these qualities from the leaders that they elected.

When the NICCA law was enacted, there was trust and honor involved, too. Those diagnosed with cancer and the medical community that came forward to help Congress write that law, expected that its provisions will come to life through specific line item budgetary allotments. We trust that you will finish the work, honor the spirit of the law, and hold the Department of Health accountable for its effective implementation.

Today, the NICCA is in budgetary limbo, with no specific funding except for lump sum allocations that can easily be moved around, depending on the Health department’s pressing need.

Speaker Velasco, at the height of the speakership imbroglio, you said: “Trust and honor are values that are important, especially in these trying times. They reveal our true character and show what we, as leaders, are truly made of.”

A law needs to be honored by those who passed it first, so that we, the citizens, can benefit from its lofty goals. The National Integrated Cancer Control Act is the kind of law that save lives. Please fund it as intended, as a cohesive and coherent law, rather than as an accidental beneficiary of movable lump sum allocations. the need to instill discipline in future ship officers, adding that “such a cavalier attitude shows a lack of concern and empathy.”

“This is yet another example of how seafarers have been commoditized in the 21st century. Those who work at sea and cadets who aspire to become ship officers are like cans of Campbell’s Soup on a supermarket shelf,” Barista Uno said. “The people who have power over them feel that they can use them however they like.”

Let’s stop turning a blind eye to the plight of the utility boys, which Barista Uno described as “a form of modern-day slavery.”

Atty. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com or call 0917-5025808 or 0908-8665786

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 A7

M

onths have passed since the national government enforced lockdown measures to curb the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic. In that time frame, the world was brought to its knees worse than ever—halting global mobility, accelerating economic slowdown, resulting in the biggest health crisis in the 21st century. Though few countries have been spared with close to zero cases, no country was exempt from the pandemic’s echoing global repercussions.

Currently, the Philippines has a total of 360,000 active Covid-19 cases, with little signs of slowing down. Filipinos continue to cope with this pandemic as they strive hard to comply with health measures imposed by the government. Slowly, our economy is inching to recovery.

How long will this take and how the government should approach this process of recovery remain to be seen.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the economy is suffering a -16 percent GDP decline for the second quarter (the most since 1981), technically entering into a recession and has severely impacted the following sectors: Accommodation and Food Services, Transportation and Storage, Arts, Entertainment and Recreation, and Construction. If one compares these sectors with last year’s second quarter, it is not surprising that only the sectors of Information and Communications, Financial and Insurance, Public Administration and Defense, and

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, posted positive growth rates.

Repeatedly, studies show that a sustainable food and agriculture system is linked to more jobs and economic growth—and may even be robust throughout a pandemic. This, however, should not to be construed as the food and agriculture sector impervious to the pandemic. Considering that under the current situation, it is our food security which is primarily vital and essential for the country’s economic survival, our government should focus on expediting the development and sustenance of our food and agriculture industry.

Under the present economic structure, three highly urbanized regions—National Capital Region (NCR), Calabarzon (Region 4-A) and Central Luzon (Region 3)— account for almost two-thirds of the country’s total gross domestic product, while the remaining one-third is shared by the rest of the 14 regions.

To address the decongestion of these areas, Congressman Sharon Garin,

While it appears that our economy is headed to an uncharted territory, new opportunities will arise. Economic pathways have acquired another dimension, not just physical but digital. The ICT sector continues to take a pivotal role for development since digital connectivity has significantly paved its way through consumer markets, other sectors, and industries.

Chairman of the House Committee on Economic Affairs, called for the swift passage of House Bill 7111 or the “Balik-Probinsya Program Act of 2020,” where it seeks to promote regional socioeconomic development, and establish mechanisms for sustainable reintegration. She added, “This condition reflects a highly unequal and inequitable socioeconomic development across regions in the country.”

In partnership with local government units and the private sector, this bill aims to support jobs, employment, and other income-generating activities in those regions. Due to the pandemic which has resulted in the loss of jobs in the NCR, it may be worth shifting the lens of economic activity and stimulate growth to other regions. Decongestion may not only provide positive economic impact on these regions but may also help flatten the curve of Covid-19.

Now is the opportune time to strike while the iron is hot.

Indeed, the implementation of this bill after its passage and approval, is a daunting task. One of the foreseeable issues arising from this would be the safeguarding of

a robust economic development among the regions. It would be difficult to monitor and facilitate the behavior of businesses and firms in far flung areas, more so ensure that these market players do not engage in anti-competitive behavior—which is detrimental to sustainable and progressive economic development. At the helm of this challenging task is the Philippine Competition Commission, which is legally mandated to ensure that businesses compete in a manner that is fair, sustainable, and beneficial not only to themselves but to consumers as well. Admittedly, the road to economic recovery will not be a simple one. Yet this is a challenge that the PCC is willing to face, along with other government agencies.

While it appears that our economy is headed to an uncharted territory, new opportunities will arise. Economic pathways have acquired another dimension, not just physical but digital. The ICT sector continues to take a pivotal role for development since digital connectivity has significantly paved its way through consumer markets, other sectors, and industries.

With the administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program, this will be a crucial tool for the country’s overall economic connectivity, growth, and development in farther areas.

Commissioner de Claro Jr. is a CPA lawyer who has worked in companies in the fields of manufacturing, mining, telecommunications, real estate, and banking and finance prior to his appointment to the Philippine Competition Commission. A litigation and corporate lawyer, he once served as legal consultant to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. He graduated from the De La Salle College with a BS in Commerce, Major in Accounting and earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Ateneo de Davao Law School.

The new normal would be better if humanity learns its lessons well Dr. Carl E. Balita

Entrepreneurs’ Footprints

C

ompetencies refer to the functional knowledge, skills, attitude and values that we acquire as we journey through life.

The so-called new normal would be better for us if we learn new competencies.

Success is the continuous journey to achieve worthwhile pre-determined goals. Real entrepreneurial success is not achieved by reaching the peak. It is in the process that entrepreneurs took to get there. The greatest entrepreneurs see success as a product of continually improving, continuously honing the tools of the trade, continually raising the bar for himself, his product or service and the enterprise. In fact, when entrepreneurs are not improving, they are not succeeding.

Success comes from the person’s ability to learn and change. Since time immemorial, the prescription for success and happiness is continuous learning. Education is not a preparation for life. It is life, as John Dewey puts it. Dewey’s philosophy is called instrumentalism, which proposes that truth is an instrument used by human beings to solve problems. And since problems change, so truth must also change.

What is true today may not be true tomorrow. What held true prior to the Covid-19 pandemic may not apply anymore post-Covid. The competencies that made people survive and thrive in the past may not be sufficient for the new normal.

Beyond literacy

The most literate today may be illiterate tomorrow. The entrepreneur needs to be literate in the new sense of the word for the new sense of the world. Literacy goes beyond the old three R’s, namely Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. Former Harvard President Derek Bok enumerated the new 3 R’s as Reasoning, Resilience and Responsibility. According to Gary Schepf education needs to im-

Success comes from the person’s ability to learn and change. Since time immemorial, the prescription for success and happiness is continuous learning. Education is not a preparation for life. It is life, as John Dewey puts it.

plement the new three R’s of education, which are Rigor, Relevance and Relationship. Author James Burns, in his book The New 3R’s in Education, enumerated them as Respect, Responsibility and Relationships.

Other authors enumerate Religion, Respect and Responsibility. There can be more R’s in the dictionary that may make sense. Environmentalists will probably even demand the inclusion of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Alvin Toffler, the author of the best-selling book Future Shock, describes the literate in the 21st century as people who know how to learn, unlearn, and relearn. We need to learn, unlearn what we learned earlier so that we can accommodate new and more learning, and re-learn to adapt to the VUCA world, now and beyond the pandemic.

something. They have psychological needs that first have to be filled so that they can become capable of independent learning.

The motivation is internal and is centered and focused on the real world. The usefulness of the learning to life-situations is a major motivation for the adults’ interest to learn.

Adults have a problem-centered orientation to learning. They prefer to learn as they solve problems. They set their own learning goal.

The adults’ readiness to learn is influenced by their need to apply a social role. Adults love to learn anything that will make them better in the roles that they perform.

It is their experience that sets the parameters. They have a wealth of accumulated experiences, which may serve as references into learning something that makes sense in the world they live in and the life they live. In most cases, what they know about their own realities is far more specific and valid than those of external teachers.

Entrepreneurs as adult learners

The adult learning cycle

The quarantine allowed introspective time for many people. Technology makes the learning resources and tools available and accessible.

The challenging times stimulate creativity and innovativeness as new lifestyle and behaviors emerge. But most learning and development need to be intentional—learning need not come by chance but by choice.

Entrepreneurs need to learn how adults learn not only for themselves but for their task to teach, mentor and coach people. Entrepreneurs are leaders that can multiple themselves in others through teaching.

How do we learn as adults? Certainly, not the way children do!

Pedagogy is for kids; andragogy is for adults. Adult learners are selfdirected learners, but they need to understand why they need to learn

David Kolb provides a framework into understanding adult learning.

His work has been extensively used in creating programs and development curriculums for adults. Central to this framework is how we perceive and process our experiences. “How we think about things” and “how we do things” are essential to a better understanding of our need to learn. Since our experiences generate feelings and offer potentials for learning, they are important starting points of learning. But then again, how we think about the experience will determine the next step, which in turn is highly dependent on how we do things.

Our experience prompts our valuing skills. Our reflection engages us into thinking. We theorize and draw conclusions as parts of the process

of making decisions. And we experiment even as we commit to act on our decisions.

We need to be consciously aware of how we perceive experiences to make sure that we take the necessary feeling, valuing and thinking processes that will enable us to decide and, eventually, act! Indeed, experience is the best teacher! But it is also the worst. We never liked a teacher who gives a test first before the lesson. We prefer a teacher who gives the lessons first before the test. Experience gives the test first before the lessons—and many times we need to fail to learn the lesson. And our failures become the great teachers.

Our mindfulness of our experiences and reflecting through them within the context of what we value and what matters to us allow us to embark on a more introspective journey toward learning and prosperity.

Feeling and thinking through the experience make it possible for the heart and the mind to interact toward a decision, not for the sake of deciding but for the sake of action.

That is adult learning! Combining the heart and the mind in an experience so that decision and action may come together to effect change!

Remember, the proof of learning is CHANGE! Entrepreneurs should effectively learn. As an effective learner, one need to develop four different abilities: 1) The ability to involve self fully, openly, and without bias in a new experience; 2) The ability to reflect on and observe experiences from many perspective; 3) The ability to create concepts that integrate observations into logical and sound conclusion uniquely one’s own; 4) Ability to use these theories to make sound decision and solve problems.

The new normal that we are talking about is not something imposed upon us. It is something we, by chance and by choice, are willing to change. His willingness to learn can be seen in the entrepreneur’s footprint.

Send feedback at drcarlbalita@yahoo.com

A8 Wednesday, October 28, 2020

House panels seek raps vs Duque, others for PhilHealth mess

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

T

@joveemarie

HE House Committee on Public Accounts and House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on Tuesday recommended the filing of criminal charges against Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, former Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) President and CEO Ricardo Morales and other PhilHealth executives and four members of the Cabinet in connection with alleged corruption in the agency.

In their 65-page joint report, two panels approved the filing of charges for violating Section 3 of Republic Act (RA) No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code on the illegal use of public funds against Duque, Morales, PhilHealth executives Arnel de Jesus, Israel Pargas, Rodolfo del Rosario and Rogelio Pocallan Jr., PhilHealth board members Maria Graciela Blas Gonzaga, Susan Mercado, Alejandro Cabading and Marlene Padua.

The committees, chaired by Anakalusugan Rep. Michael Defensor and Bulacan Rep. Jonathan SyAlvarado, also recommended the filing of the same charges against

Cabinet members sitting on the PhilHealth Board, namely, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, Budget Secretary Wendel E. Avisado and Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista.

Overpayment

THE committees also revealed that PhilHealth has an overpayment by as much as P102 billion to hospitals under the all-case-rate system from 2013 to 2018.

“Most importantly, the legal basis of the IRM [Interim Reimbursement Mechanism] is unclear. Despite this, some P15 billion of funds have been distributed by PhilHealth to various health-care providers all over the country,” the panels said.

IRM is an advanced payment scheme to give health-care institutions cash in advance to respond natural disasters and calamities.

“In what is arguably the most notorious instance of corruption to date that is connected to the corporation, PhilHealth officials involved in the illegal disbursement of public funds through this mechanism anchor their defense on blurry interpretations of the law, none of which will hold water in court,” the report added.

See “House panel,” A2

DOE to stop endorsing new coal power plant projects

T

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE Department of Energy (DOE) will no longer endorse new coal power plant projects.

Based on a recent review on the country’s power mix, the agency said there is a need to declare a moratorium on endorsements for greenfield coal power plants.

DOE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said the periodic assessment of the country’s energy requirements revealed the need for the country to shift to a more flexible power supply mix.

This move, he said, would help the country build a more sustainable power system that will be resilient in the face of structural changes in demand and will be flexible enough to accommodate the entry of new, cleaner, and indigenous technological innovations.

DOE Undersecretar y Feli x William Fuentebella said the

morato rium would not cover those in the agency’s indicative list of coal power projects. “We are referring to new ones,” he said.

At the same time, Cusi said the Philippines is now allowing 100-percent foreign ownership in large-scale geothermal exploration, development, and utilization projects. Large-scale geothermal projects are those with an initial investment cost of about $50-million capitalization through Financial and Technical Assistance Agreements (FTAAs).

FTA As may be entered into between foreign contractors and the Philippine government for the large-scale exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources, and are signed by the President.

Cusi announced this during the 2nd Global Ministerial Conference on System Integration of Renew-

ables, which was held as part of the Singapore International Energy Week 2020.

“While we have initially embraced a technology neutral policy, our periodic assessment of our country’s energy requirements is paving the way for innovative adaptations in our policy direction,” Cusi said.

The moratorium on the endorsements for greenfield coal power plants and the opening up of the country’s geothermal sector to greater foreign investments in order to boost the prospects of the local renewable energy (RE) landscape, are but among the innovative policies that the DOE will be implementing.

Cusi said he signed in October 20 a Department Circular providing the guidelines for the third Open and Competitive Selection Process (OCSP3) in the awarding of RE Service Contracts.

“From an investment perspective, OCSP3 allows for 100-percent foreign ownership in largescale geothermal exploration, development, and utilization projects. As the Philippine Department of Energy reevaluates the appropriateness of our current energy mix vis-a-vis our energy goals, I am optimistic that this would lead to more opportunities for RE to figure prominently in our countr y’s

energy future,” he said.

As of 2019, the Philippines still had the highest RE share in the total primary energy supply from among countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region.

“Despite this, I am determined to accelerate the development of our country’s indigenous resources. We are also pushing for the transition from fossil fuelbased technology utilization to cleaner energy sources to ensure more sustainable growth for the country,” he said.

The virtual ministerial conference in Singapore was organized by the Energy Market Authority, the International Energy Agency, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore for the 13th Singapore International Energy Week.

Based on DOE data, there are seven indicative coal power plant projects in Luzon. These, if approved by the DOE, will add 8,275MW of additional capacity.

There are four Indicative coal power plant projects in Visayas and Mindanao, with a total additional capacity of 763MW. As of end-2019, coal still dominated the power mix at 54.6 percent; natural gas, 21.1 percent; geothermal, 10.1 percent; hydro, 7.1 percent; oil, 3.5 percent; and RE at 3.1 percent.

LOCSIN: PHL TO KEEP STRONG TIES WITH U.S., CHINA

T

HE Philippines will keep its independent foreign policy, because it needs to sustain good relations with rival powers United States and China, while always asserting, first and foremost, its national interest, especially on issues in the South China Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. said on Tuesday.

Keynoting an Asia Society webinar, Locsin said, “I have increasingly been asked where the Philippines stands in the Thucydides Trap. True, no other country probably feels the

significant impact of the rivalry between the two superpowers more than the Philippines, the US being its only defense treaty ally and China, its biggest neighbor and top economic partner—with the US second.” Echoing his remarks, also at Asia Society, in 2019, Locsin elaborated:“An independent foreign policy means getting off your knees and on your feet—and standing up for your country.”

He then added a crucial reminder: “And never be used by others to fight their quarrels. The end of that is always you as everyone’s enemy; and

you hanging from a limb with one hand while holding an empty bag with the other.” That, he stressed, “is the prospect the Philippines seeks to avoid in all the Western anxiety over the South China Sea.” Locsin, who has filed over 60 diplomatic protests against China for Beijing’s aggressive muscling in the South China Sea, was asked anew in Tuesday’s forum why he does what he does even while President Duterte is widely pictured as being “cozy” with Beijing.

Continued on A2

Entire govt machinery needed for cleanup vs corruption–Guevarra

By Joel R. San Juan

J

@jrsanjuan1573

USTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday admitted that he would be needing the entire government machinery to carry out President Duterte’s directive for him to lead the government’s bid to put an end to the massive graft and corruption activities in the government.

In a text message to reporters, Guevarra admitted that being chosen to lead the government’s expanded anti-corruption task force is the toughest assignment he received from the President.

The President has vowed to spend the rest of his remaining years in office to address the unabated corruption activities in various agencies in the government.

Guevarra was designated by the President to lead The Task Force PhilHealth that recently investigated the multibillion corruption activities in the state-run health insurance firm.

The Task Force PhilHealth’s probe resulted in the filing of violation of the Anti-Graft and Cor-

rupt Practices Act before the Office of the Ombudsman against seven high-ranking officials of the agency.

“Apart from my usual responsibilities as Secretary of Justice, this new assignment is the toughest I have ever received from the President. I will need all the support and cooperation of the entire government machinery to achieve this singular objective of substantially reducing corruption in government,” he said.

In line with this, Guevarra said he plans to create several “strike force” units to simultaneously look into the activities of corruptionprone agencies.

The idea for the inter-agency task force is not to investigate an alleged corrupt agency one at a time, but to probe into the activities of several corrupt-ridden agencies at the same time. “Tentatively, I am thinking of creating several strike forces that will simultaneously attack various corruption-prone agencies,” Guevarra said.

The first order of business, he said, is to organize and determine the composition of the main task force and come up with an overall

strategy on how to implement their new role as the government’s corruption investigator.

“Considering the breadth of this anti-corruption campaign, I will immediately focus on the organizational set-up and mechanism that will carry out the President’s directive till the end of his term, as well as the order of priorities,” he stressed.

“It will help us a lot if government workers themselves and the people they deal with would come forward and provide us the necessary information to uncover corrupt activities and identify the perpetrators,” the justice secretary added.

Likely to be placed under investigation is alleged corruption in projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) headed by Secretary Mark Villar.

DOJ Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, the wife of Secretary Villar, has said she would inhibit herself from participating in any investigation involving the DPWH, although she has not received any instructions from the DOJ secretary Guevarra to join in any investigation concerning the agency.

Continued on A2

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Meralco: 9 gencos keen on joining power supply auction

N

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

ine power generation companies (gencos) have expressed interest to participate in the competitive auction for the 1,800megawatt (MW) power requirements of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

“As of October 23, TPBAC [Third Party Bids and Awards Committee] Secretariat already received Expressions of Interest from several gencos with offered capacities totaling 3,600MW, utilizing a variety of technologies,” the company said in its financial and operating results for January to September.

The identities of the gencos were not revealed, citing non-disclosure agreements.

“We are not at liberty to disclose the names of companies who expressed interest. There are around nine GenCos,” said Meralco Head of Regulatory Affairs Jose Ronald Valles when sought for comment. “It’s a total of 3,600MW. Some submitted 600MW while some submitted a minimum of 150MW." Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (A1E), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), said during the utility firm’s press briefing that it will participate in the Meralco’s Competitive Selection

Process (CSP) for its 2024-2025 requirements.

“We are on track to deliver energy requirement for Meralco’s Greenfield CSP by late 2024/mid2025,” said MGen President Rogelio Singson.

MGen is the power generation arm of Meralco.

A1E is the developer of the country’s first ultra-supercritical coalfired power plant valued at P160 billion. The 2x600MW plant will be built in Atimonan, Quezon. The site preparation activities for the plant fully resumed in late August.

Earlier, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) President Ramon S. Ang said the conglomerate’s power business unit would join the auction. Other interested firms include AC Energy Inc., the power arm of Ayala Corp.; Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC); and Aboitiz Power Corp.

SMC and AC Energy won in September last year the power supply contracts covering 1,200MW of

Meralco's power requirements.

Meralco has set on November 12 the deadline for the submission of Expression of Interest, with bid submission deadline and opening of bid offers set on January 25, 2021.

In the bid invite, Meralco said it would need 1,200MW by December 2024 and 600MW by May 2025. A bidder can offer at least 150MW. If the total capacity offer goes beyond 1,800MW, the bidder that fills up the last stack shall have its offer reduced. The price offers must not go over than the pre-determined reserve price, which would only be revealed during the opening of the bids scheduled on January 25, 2021.

Meralco prefers baseload plants or those that continuously run on a 24/7 basis. These power facilities should be in commercial operation not earlier than January 2020 but no later than May 2025. The scheduled outage allowance (OA) and forced OA of the plants that will offer to supply Meralco should not exceed 30 days and 15 days, respectively.

Power rates

Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares and Matuwid na Singil sa Kuryente convener David Celestra Tan questioned Meralco’s retail rates.

“This year, Meralco likes to boast that its generation rate had come down from P4.9039 per kwh in January to P4.12 per kWh in August, a 16-percent reduction. They like to point out that they negotiated hard with its IPP’s [Independent Power Producer] by declaring force majeure

during this pandemic so the take or pay provisions of the contract were not applied, thus saving us consumers P1.5 billion,” Colmenares said.

However, he said electricity spot market prices dropped 193 percent to P2.421 per kWh in August from P8.49 per kWh in January while the fuel of these plants declined by 28 percent to $50.34 in August from $69.66 in January. In contrast, Colmenares said Meralco’s generation rate dropped only by16 percent.

“Our analysts noticed that in Meralco’s generation mix is sticking out like a sore thumb, the Quezon Power Mauban’s average rate for the period January to September 2020 of P6.73 per kWh. It is 51 percent higher than AC Energy at P4.55, 66 percent higher than San Miguel’s Sual at P4.051, an astonishing 82 percent higher than Therma Power in Pagbilao at P3.6549 per kWh," he said.

“Quezon Power is 66 percent higher than the new 460mw San Buenaventura coal plant at P4.0533 per kWh. There is a lot that needs to be explained in the Quezon Power charges that are passed on to the consumers. This is anomalous and needs a Congress or a DOE [Department of Energy] and ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission] investigation to protect the public interest.”

When sought for comment, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said Meralco’s retail rates have significantly gone down to its lowest levels in years.

Continued on B2

Converge unfazed by slump in share price

By Ashley Manabat @ashleymanabat Correspondent

A

ngeles City—Converge ICT Solutions Inc., the country's pure end-to-end fiber internet service provider, said it is unfazed by the 9.4-percent decline in its share price during its initial public offering (IPO) on Tuesday.

Converge announced after its listing ceremony on Monday that it will spend P29 billion for its capital expenditures (capex) program in the next year and a half.

Matthias Vukovich, chief financial adviser of Converge, said in a report that his company “plans to deploy about P29 billion or $600 million of capex over the next 18 months to roll out its network to tens and of thousands of communities across the Philippines.”

He said this would “help the company meet its target of reaching about 55 percent of households nationwide by 2025.”

Francisco Villanueva, Clark Investors and Locators Association (CILA) and chair of the Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (MACCII), said Converge’s initial slump is expected as this is also seen in other publicly listed

companies. But he said he remains optimistic because Converge has “sound fundamentals and business strategy,” which will allow the company to bounce back.

Villanueva said the pandemic has affected businesses but Converge is thriving because of the "new normal" which calls for work-for-home schemes, social distancing, distance learning and e-commerce and the power of the internet is making all this possible.

He also said other companies fight over wireless technology but Converge is virtually all alone and has established a foothold in the fiber optic technology.

This feat did not go unnoticed as Converge bagged back-to-back awards at the 11th Asia CEO Award (ACA) on October 13.

Converge founder and chief executive officer, Dennis Anthony H. Uy, received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award while Converge ICT also received the Circle of Excellence Technology Company of the Year award in the same event. The ACA wins are back-to-back with the company’s appearance as a finalist in the CX Asia Excellence Awards.

The ACA recognizes the contribution of outstanding accomplishments of individuals and organizations in uplifting the national economy.

It is the largest business awards in the AsiaPacific region.

This development has definitely put on track Uy’s agenda of achieving digital transformation in the country with faster internet speed through fiber to the home internet connection.

“The awards are a testament to the Converge philosophy of innovating with purpose," said Uy. “The connections we’re making are powering the presence of Filipinos on the global stage.

We will stay on course, keeping focused to give our consumers stable, reliable, fast, and better internet,” he stated.

Converge ICT laser-focused its services on fiber end-to-end technology with the goal of bringing technology to more households in the Philippines.

“At present, only a 7-percent market penetration in terms of fiber optic high speed internet connectivity is served,” Uy said. “We want to serve the underserved. This is my passion.”

“Sad to say, we have the least cell site towers in Southeast Asia as compared to Ghana and Myanmar in terms of cell site penetration.”

As of today, Uy said the Philippines has 70 million Facebook users, but only 1.5 million Filipinos have access to high speed internet.

In expanding the Converge ICT network for the

widest fiber optic coverage, Uy said he brings in the latest technology to expedite the process. “I bring the latest technology called micro trenching.”

“We cut the road by two inches and restore it on the same day. This is the first in the Philippines and we have 13 machines.”

Micro trenching is the process of installing small conduits within the edges of the sidewalk to house fiber optic cabling. It is described as a quick, low-impact deployment method as fiber optic cabling is inserted into a small slot-cut trench without damaging or disrupting existing infrastructure.

Uy said Converge’s subsea cable will be finished by the first quarter of 2021 which will be connected to the Visayas and Mindanao.

The network upgrades also aim to aid e-education and e-health service deliveries for Filipinos.

For homes, young entrepreneurs and startups, big enterprises, and government agencies—Converge aims to deliver internet speed that matches the creativity and drive of Filipino customers.

“My dream is to bring this digital landscape throughout the country. I will build this digital highway for the entire country to benefit all sectors of the country.”

‘CCLEX on track for 2021 completion’

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

M

etro Pacific Tollways Corp. said on Tuesday the construction of the P30billion bridge expressway in Cebu is now 61-percent completed.

This development is marked by the installation of the stat cables that will hold the bridge deck and the installation of the cross top of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX).

There will be 14 stay cables in each side of the main bridge’s 2 towers or a total of 56 that varies in length between 60 meters to 210 meters, all anchored on the pylon and the deck.

The cross, which will be luminous

on 4 sides at night once finished, is 40 meters in height. The lighted cross symbolizes Cebu’s significant role as the cradle of Catholic devotion.

“CCLEX is set to be nearing substantial completion in 2021. Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, we commit to continue working hard towards completing the project next year for the benefit of the Cebuanos.

It is something we look forward to, given the current conditions,” said Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corp.

(CCLEC) President Allan Alfon.

Alfon notes that other works are also being simultaneously done on the other components and segments of the CCLEX project.

These include concreting of the bridge deck and Cebu South Coastal

Road (CSCR) on ramp; construction of columns at CSCR off-ramp, Cebu viaduct, and Cordova viaduct; and piling works for the small bridges at the causeway that will serve as access of the fishermen to their fishing ground. The toll bridge, an 8.5-kilometer stretch, is envisioned to have two lanes in each direction, and will feature the main navigation span bridge, along with viaduct approach bridges, a causeway, roadway and toll facilities.

The span of the bridge allows for shipping traffic and the link is expected to serve at least 50,000 vehicles daily. It will give Cordova direct access to Cebu City and is envisioned to decongest the traffic in the 2 existing bridges between Mac-

tan and Cebu. Aside from providing travel efficiency, the facility is seen to help spur economic growth and boost investments not just in Cebu City and Cordova Municipality, but also in the entire Cebu Province and Visayas Region.

The Cebu-Cordova Bridge is Metro Pacific’s first bridge project, and the first toll-related deal outside Metro Manila.

The tollroad company operates the North Luzon, Subic-Clark-Tarlac, Manila-Cavite Toll Expressways. It is also building the Cavite-Laguna Expressway.

The infrastructure group also has significant interests in thoroughfares outside the Philippines, namely in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

B1

Megawide set to sell shares to Citicore

M

egawide Construction Corp. on Tuesday said it will issue preferred shares to its affiliate Citicore Holdings Investment Inc., which will come from the recent increase in its authorized capital stock.

In its disclosure, the company’s board has approved the issuance of 13.5 million series 3 preferred shares to Citicore at P1 apiece. Citicore has paid 25 percent of its subscription in cash amounting to P3.37 million.

The said shares will come from the recent increase of Megawide in its preferred shares by P54 million, consisting of 54 million perpetual preferred shares that are non-voting, cumulative, non-participating and non-convertible.

Citicore’s investment is mainly on its renewable energy firm Citicore Power Inc., whose aim is to produce 1,000 megawatts of clean energy within 5 years using a diversified mix of renewable energy sources.

Megawide earlier said it will issue some P5 billion worth of new preferred shares, proceeds of which will be used to fund its existing projects

in Parañaque and Cebu.

It said it will issue some P3 billion in new preferred shares and P2 billion as its oversubscription option.

“We see significant opportunities in both our organic and external pipeline amid the challenges emerging from the health crisis. We are very thankful to our partners for arranging this facility and gathering together the sources and users of the fund, especially in this critical yet exciting stage for the company,” Edgar Saavedra, the company's chairman and CEO, said.

The proceeds from the issuance will be used to fund its runway for growth program, which primarily includes the development of the 1.7-hectare Lot 2 at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange, expansion of its precast capacity and initial design stages for the MactanCebu International Airport multiuse development. RCBC Capital Corp. and PNB Capital Corp. were picked as joint lead underwriters for the capital raising exercise, which is targeted to be completed by November this year. VG Cabuag

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

PSALM demands payment from 2 errant power firms

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

T

@BNicolasBM

he Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

(PSALM) has given 2 firms 7 calendar days from their receipt of final demand letters to pay their overdue obligations worth at least P671.16 million combined.

The Department of Finance (DOF) said in a statement on Tuesday the final letters of demand for payment were sent to First Bay Power Corp. (FBPC) and Abra Electric Cooperative Inc. (ABRECO) by PSALM President-CEO Irene Besido Garcia and acting Vice President for Finance Manuel Marcos Villalon II. These formal and final demand letters dated August 24 were sent to FBPC with long-overdue financial obligations to PSALM amounting to P35.15 million, and ABRECO with arrears of P599.13 million on its power account and another P36.89 million in unremitted Universal

Charge (UC) collections plus all other unremitted UC collections for the months not covered by its submitted UC reports.

In their letters, Garcia and Villalon told the two firms that PSALM "shall be constrained to avail of all appropriate legal remedies to protect PSALM and the government’s interest, including the filing of criminal, civil and administrative cases” against them “as well as against your officers and directors for the extreme prejudice you have caused PSALM and the Philippine government.”

Copies of the separate final demand letters were furnished Finance Secretary and PSALM chairman Carlos G. Dominguez III and Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi. The demand letter to ABRECO was addressed to Victor Baula, its acting general manager, while the one sent to FBPC was addressed to its president, Cesar Reyes, and its treasurer, Nenita Macapinlac.

As of July 31 this year, ABRECO's overdue power account covered a period of

10 years, consisting of restructured account (RA), interest and penalty, valueadded tax (VAT) and Energy Regulatory Commission-approved power rate adjustments. According to Garcia, PSALM previously sent several written demand letters to ABRECO asking for the settlement of its outstanding power account obligations, along with its Statements of Accounts (SOAs).

“However, up to this date, ABRECO continues to ignore the demand letters,” she said. ABRECO committed to proposing a payment option for its outstanding power account dues on December 9 last year and earlier entered into successive restructuring agreements with PSALM, only to breach all of them.

Despite ABRECO's "blatant disregard" of its commitment to settle its arrears, PSALM sent to it a copy of a new restructuring agreement last December 20, 2019, but this was also ignored by the power cooperative.

On top of the P599.13 million due

on its power account, ABRECO has also failed to remit UC collections totaling P36.89 million covering a period ranging from 18 to 51 months.

PSALM’s computations on ABRECO’s unremitted UC collections are based only on the cooperative’s submitted UC collection reports from February 2003 to December 2015. These do not include its unremitted collections from 2016 to the present.

Garcia said PSALM previously sent letters to ABRECO urging it to remit in full its UC collections but these were also ignored.

FBPC incurred arrears covering a 7-year period as of July 31. Its long-overdue obligation of P35.15 million includes its power bill, interest and VAT, and ERCapproved power rate adjustments.

PSALM had also consistently issued SOAs to FBPC, but these were all ignored.

Garcia said FBPC’s overdue account will continue to accumulate interest until it is fully paid.

Meralco: 9 gencos keen on joining power supply auction Continued from B1

He said the average retail rate of Meralco from January to September this year stood at P8.04 per kWh, which is P0.96 per kWh lower than the same period in 2019.

The average generation charge for the same period was also lower as a result of the implementation of the Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) which were concluded under the CSP in December

2019, the force majeure claims of Meralco against its power suppliers which totaled P2.4 billion as of September 30, lower Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices, and the appreciation of the Philippine peso versus the US dollar and lower fuel prices.

Meralco’s September 2020 rates marks the fifth straight month of reduction in the average retail rate, which is the lowest since September 2017.

“In fact, at around P8 pesos per kWh, it has already gone down by almost P1 per kwh on a year to date comparison. The generation charge has dropped by 17 percent during the same period last year as a result of our newly implemented PSAs, which took effect last year,” he said.

Zaldarriaga also said the rates were approved by the ERC. “All our supply agreements, including the rates therein, have undergone public hearings participated in by various groups. It is duly and legally approved by the regulator and has fully complied with lawful requirements. Important to note as well, all of Meralco’s pass-through charges also undergo confirmation hearings by ERC.” Tan, meanwhile, noted that Quezon Power’s P6.5919 per kwh rate last January was a stark contrast to all the other coal power suppliers

of Meralco. “Masinloc was at P5.4658 per kwh, Luzon Therma of Aboitiz in Pagbilao at P3.9001 per kwh, San Miguel’s Sual at P4.0689 and AC Energy at P4.2366 per kwh. That’s an average premium of 52.4 percent.

In terms of absolute numbers, for the first 9 months of 2020, Meralco bought P1.601 billion kwh of electricity from Quezon Power at

mutual funds

an average price of P6.73 per kwh. The average price of all other coal power suppliers to Meralco for that period is about P4.20 per kwh. This means Meralco paid Quezon Power P2.53 per kwh higher than the average or at a total cost of P4.05 billion premium this year 2020. That P4.05 billion had been passed on to Meralco consumers,” said Tan.

October 27, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D

per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 210.54 -17.65% -9.59% -4.14% -16.4% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.1212 -24.95% -10.79% -3% -18.87% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.8589 -26.53% -13.61% -6.09% -22.27% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.727 -23.38% -10.26% n.a. -19.04% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7031 -18.9% n.a. n.a. -17.21% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.5163 -16.87% -7.95% -4.27% -15.24% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.7112 -18.42% -9.8% n.a.

-16.68% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

87.68 -23.47% n.a. n.a. -15.06% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 42.6944 -18.3% -7.83% -2.85% -16.75% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. - a 452.72 -16.56% -7.54% -3.23% -15.03% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.9704 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-5.8% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.0713 -18.41% -7.77% -2.8% -16.75% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 31.5827 -18.32% -7.35% -2.38% -16.66% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8388 -19.18% n.a. n.a. -17.61% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.3615 -17.9% -7.37% -2.12% -16.5% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 729.51 -17.75% -7.28% -2.26% -16.34% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6559 -26.79% -11.38% -6.3% -22.96% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.3183 -22.83% -9.23% -3.89% -21.16% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8358 -17.96% -7.57% -2.31% -16.49% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.0343 -18.66% -6.75% -2% -16.94% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 97.964 -17.61% -6.99% -1.49% -16.24% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.0912 12.41% 0.47% 3.33% 6.11% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.5479 19.7% 8.32% n.a.

12.27% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5768 -1.22% -4.77% -2.77% 0.9% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.1255 -6.05% -4.12% -1.03% -2.55% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.485 -6.52% -2.91% -2.47% -5.57% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1884 -20.34% n.a. n.a.

-17.55% -3.82% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8925 -1% 0.56% -3.52% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.6059 -5.28% -2.24% -0.56% -4.83% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 16.1319 -5.37% -2.37% -0.62% -4.89% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.9934 -7.4% -3.46% -0.72% -6.06% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.386 -13.23% -4.69% -1.91% -12.36% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9732 -4.92% n.a. n.a.

-4.18% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8824 -12.84% n.a. n.a. -11.44% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8625 -14.55% n.a. n.a. -13.16% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8311 -15.96% -5.74% -2.8% -14.74% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03899 1.85% 2.61% 1.97% 2.07% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.0683 7.62% 1.2% 2.96% 5.56% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.2196 12.21% 5.96% 5.95% 7.9% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1738 6.02% 3.19% n.a.

4% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 368.89 3.82% 3.09% 2.66% 3.06% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9537 1.67% 0.9% 0.29% 2.72% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.205 3.63% 4.69% 4.92% 2.79% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2904 3.49% 2.59% 2.17% 3.01% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4457 4.53% 3.31% 2.11% 3.67% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.628 7.16% 4.19% 2.67% 5.83% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3126 5.52% 4.37% 2.47% 4.45% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9537 5.42% 4.16% 2.33% 4.37% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0367 8.79% 3.65% 2.08% 7.51% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1778 4.51% 4.59% 2.88% 3.32% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7421 3.57% 3.95% 2.29% 2.41% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $480.03 3.01% 2.6% 2.75% 2.49% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є217.73 -1% 0.8% 1.17% -0.94% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2469 3.68% 3.22% 2.58% 3.29% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0264 2.33% 1.83% 1.59% 2.33% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0869 -0.87% 0.24% 0.34% -0.61% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5053 4.34% 3.86% 3.2% 4.24% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0618126 2.6% 2.45% 2.15% 2.51% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1831 0.44% 1.94% 2.22% 0.25% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.35 3.45% 3.32% 2.54% 2.8% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0461 2.03% n.a. n.a.

1.93% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2924 2.75% 3.01% 2.62% 2.17% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0506 1.59% n.a. n.a.

1.18% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.0317 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.94 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-5.05%

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

1 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 2 - Launch date is November 15, 2019. 3 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019.

4 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 5 - Launch date is December 09, 2019.

6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund). 7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020.

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

October 27, 2020

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

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

44.3 91.9 74.85 21.75 7.01 9.6 42 9.5 27.05 52.75 17.3 98 54.8 0.8 27.9 3.55 1.11 0.3 0.56 159.5 1900 1.03

44.5 92.3 74.95 21.85 8.19 9.64 42.05 9.76 27.2 52.8 17.48 98.1 55 0.81 27.95 3.74 1.15 0.305 0.58 159.6 1940 1.06

44.55 95.25 74 21.75 8.19 9.6 42.5 9.74 27.7 52.7 17.3 99 55.3 0.74 27.05 3.62 1.17 0.295 0.56 159.5 1940 1.02

44.55 95.3 75 21.75 8.2 9.64 42.5 9.75 27.7 52.8 17.48 99.5 55.3 0.8 27.95 3.62 1.17 0.305 0.58 159.5 1940 1.06

44.25 91.9 73 21.65 5.8 9.5 41.6 9.5 25.8 52.55 17.3 97 54.75 0.74 27 3.55 1.17 0.295 0.56 159.5 1940 1.02

44.3 91.9 74.95 21.75 8.2 9.6 42 9.5 27.05 52.8 17.3 98.1 54.8 0.8 27.95 3.55 1.17 0.3 0.58 159.5 1940 1.03

12500 3264110 2019290 177000 3604500 249500 1741600 32800 1199500 7640 12900 626500 87830 94000 6800 90000 12000 690000 142000 130 10 41000

556140 302770530.5 149124375 3841000 25233718 2387435 73020600 318281 31963225 402575 223188 61439429 4819762.5 73230 188885 320550 14040 209400 79540 20735 19400 42470

329510 -79903022 36930475 -1908515 141682 22263180 -1577080 -272459 25968 -17255091 -1060577.5 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 3.83 3.84 3.77 3.84 3.66 3.84 15291000 57367070 1.3 1.31 1.31 1.32 1.28 1.3 1507000 1953340 ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER 28.2 28.55 28.6 28.6 27.25 28.55 914100 25761955 0.218 0.22 0.226 0.226 0.214 0.22 4270000 933840 BASIC ENERGY 26.4 26.45 26.4 26.45 25.65 26.4 895100 23313910 FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG 60.5 60.55 60.6 61 60.4 60.55 196620 11905890 294 295 297.8 297.8 293 295 120030 35381572 MERALCO 14.44 14.48 14.4 14.56 14.12 14.48 820600 11778890 MANILA WATER PETRON 3.2 3.22 3.24 3.24 3.15 3.2 4189000 13348140 3.25 3.34 3.41 3.41 3.25 3.34 42000 139170 PETROENERGY PHX PETROLEUM 12.7 13 13.1 13.1 12.6 13 298100 3830986 PILIPINAS SHELL 16.6 16.64 16.6 16.68 16.54 16.6 272600 4526182 10.88 10.96 10.88 10.98 10.8 10.88 157000 1708086 SPC POWER VIVANT 13 14.88 13.02 13.02 13 13 2300 29914 7.94 7.95 8.07 8.07 7.73 7.95 259000 2048277 AGRINURTURE 2.75 2.76 2.8 2.8 2.75 2.76 843000 2324560 AXELUM BOGO MEDELLIN 72.5 80 71 89 71 80 2240 175975 11.26 11.5 11.42 11.42 11.4 11.4 5500 62724 CNTRL AZUCARERA 17.2 17.26 17.42 17.42 17.2 17.26 1011600 17484996 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 4.93 4.99 4.89 4.98 4.89 4.93 64000 316530 6.25 6.26 6.28 6.36 6.03 6.25 3435500 21409557 DNL INDUS 9.99 10 10.04 10.04 9.99 10 2018100 20196075 EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV 65.45 65.5 66.45 66.45 65.4 65.5 276370 18109441.5 0.62 0.64 0.63 0.64 0.63 0.64 22000 13880 ALLIANCE SELECT 1.22 1.24 1.26 1.27 1.2 1.24 21980000 26968380 FRUITAS HLDG GINEBRA 47.95 48 48 48.5 47.55 48 13200 634065 173.2 173.3 175.5 175.5 170.6 173.2 2195390 378435278 JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR 35.55 45 35.45 35.45 35.45 35.45 68400 2424780 5.76 5.78 5.76 5.78 5.6 5.76 898600 5102249 MAXS GROUP 0.14 0.144 0.14 0.144 0.14 0.144 20000 2840 MG HLDG SHAKEYS PIZZA 6.33 6.36 6.42 6.42 6.33 6.33 1277100 8110755 ROXAS AND CO 1.25 1.26 1.22 1.26 1.19 1.26 8169000 10122490 1.84 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 11000 20900 ROXAS HLDG SWIFT FOODS 0.105 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.105 0.105 710000 75720 138.6 139.1 140 140.5 137.1 138.6 681750 94508335 UNIV ROBINA 0.79 0.8 0.78 0.79 0.76 0.79 14021000 10920700 VITARICH VICTORIAS 2.23 2.34 2.34 2.34 2.34 2.34 1000 2340 52.1 53.4 51.5 54.7 51.5 52.1 5520 291482 CONCRETE A 53 55.8 58 58 55.9 56 930 53364 CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG 1.57 1.58 1.58 1.59 1.56 1.58 7277000 11428130 4.4 4.5 4.47 4.5 4.33 4.5 26000 115990 DAVINCI CAPITAL EAGLE CEMENT 14.64 14.8 14.7 14.8 14.3 14.8 246600 3589386 7.35 7.47 7.6 7.6 7.32 7.35 117100 871077 EEI CORP 5.56 5.57 5.68 5.68 5.54 5.57 1398300 7791787 HOLCIM MEGAWIDE 7.54 7.55 7.89 7.9 7.44 7.55 7261500 55264103 PHINMA 8.2 8.34 8.34 8.34 8.34 8.34 1200 10008 0.71 0.73 0.71 0.73 0.71 0.73 28000 19920 TKC METALS VULCAN INDL 0.77 0.79 0.79 0.79 0.76 0.79 249000 194720 121 159.8 128 128 128 128 10 1280 CHEMPHIL 1.99 2.03 2.03 2.03 1.98 2.03 29000 57760 CROWN ASIA EUROMED 1.93 1.94 1.99 1.99 1.87 1.93 923000 1782490 4.2 4.37 4.3 4.37 4.2 4.37 4000 17240 MABUHAY VINYL 4.1 4.24 4.1 4.11 4.1 4.1 26000 106620 PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION 21 21.2 20.9 21 20.35 21 7800 162300 2.34 2.35 2.46 2.48 2.22 2.35 21692000 50846920 GREENERGY 5.98 5.99 5.94 5.98 5.89 5.98 373800 2213557 INTEGRATED MICR IONICS 0.96 0.97 0.97 0.98 0.96 0.97 164000 158030 4.86 5.07 5.09 5.09 5.09 5.09 2000 10180 PANASONIC SFA SEMICON 1.42 1.43 1.45 1.46 1.4 1.43 989000 1405070 CIRTEK HLDG 5.48 5.55 5.6 5.67 5.42 5.55 7138200 39595379

2751550 1346655 -514415 -9731072 15809230 -532738 -1133170 282760 993760 10960 -763920 5520 1636966 -69480 3277502 1056696 10491860.5 83820 -451825 -45011261 1020660 -5271203 2521160 -23100 -8174485 168340 -2017660 131915 -1812152 -14313768 21230 -8200 -44.9999 3872690 -55670 -80 -730 1118369.9997

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.48 0.485 0.48 0.485 0.47 0.485 5450000 2612250 97000 8.01 8.8 7.51 9.5 7.36 8.8 207900 1748979 -67220 ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP 760 762 764 773.5 743.5 760 325170 246961260 -9292200 45.8 45.9 46.4 46.4 45.8 45.8 533200 24527290 11657835 ABOITIZ EQUITY 8.14 8.15 8.28 8.28 8.06 8.14 7431400 60,571,610( 17,618,393.0003) ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG 2.76 2.77 2.83 2.83 2.71 2.77 2662000 7391290 2219100 6.36 6.56 6.56 6.56 6.56 6.56 6600 43296 ANSCOR 0.62 0.63 0.65 0.65 0.62 0.62 424000 262990 ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A 0.87 0.88 0.83 0.88 0.83 0.87 5988000 5171320 0.87 0.88 0.86 0.88 0.85 0.88 221000 192150 -27280 ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL 5.14 5.17 5.16 5.17 5.14 5.14 242900 1251607 72516 DMCI HLDG 4.55 4.58 4.68 4.68 4.53 4.55 10923000 49873130 -18695390 9 9.4 9.3 9.5 9.2 9.4 4400 40729 -38830 FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE A 3.19 3.79 3.79 3.79 3.79 3.79 1000 3790 0.2 0.213 0.199 0.213 0.199 0.213 50000 10120 FORUM PACIFIC 437 438.8 448 448 430.2 438.8 294290 128290600 7284490 GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV 3.33 3.4 3.32 3.33 3.32 3.33 104000 346290 -323010 62.5 63.4 63.4 64.4 62.5 62.5 1226060 77630632 33086826.5 JG SUMMIT 4.9 5 4.87 4.87 4.86 4.86 6000 29200 KEPPEL HLDG A LODESTAR 0.71 0.72 0.71 0.73 0.7 0.71 863000 620520 2.54 2.55 2.58 2.58 2.53 2.54 265000 673010 -251330 LOPEZ HLDG 12.02 12.14 12.5 12.5 12.02 12.02 8583400 103974030 -32825784 LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG 0.485 0.5 0.485 0.5 0.485 0.5 20000 9785 4.01 4.02 4.01 4.02 3.96 4.01 46577000 186542650 -102523110 METRO PAC INV 0.78 0.81 0.79 0.81 0.79 0.81 2000 1600 PRIME MEDIA SOLID GROUP 0.99 1.01 1 1 1 1 46000 46000 5000 169 170.5 160 170.5 160 170.5 880 147930 -1700 SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS 969 975 980 989.5 963 969 293490 285924165 75269275 SAN MIGUEL CORP 101.1 101.5 104.5 105.2 101.1 101.1 259620 26584794 47143 0.65 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.65 0.66 68000 44830 SOC RESOURCES TOP FRONTIER 127.1 127.5 127 128.7 125 126 11150 1399217 -1287 WELLEX INDUS 0.19 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 10000 2000 0.14 0.143 0.139 0.144 0.139 0.14 420000 58440 ZEUS HLDG

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.58 0.59 0.58 0.58 0.56 0.58 447000 252780 8.11 8.15 7.99 8.11 7.99 8.11 1700 13754 ANCHOR LAND AYALA LAND 34.35 34.4 34.2 34.4 33.6 34.4 15551300 530675660 1.04 1.09 1.04 1.1 1 1.04 312000 332800 ARANETA PROP 25.65 25.7 25.7 25.7 25.55 25.7 714200 18297295 AREIT RT BELLE CORP 1.47 1.48 1.48 1.49 1.45 1.47 232000 340070 0.78 0.79 0.81 0.81 0.77 0.79 4508000 3548380 A BROWN 0.78 0.82 0.78 0.82 0.78 0.81 5000 4000 CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES 0.135 0.137 0.132 0.138 0.132 0.137 40000 5440 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 1500 8700 CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS 4.59 4.6 4.71 4.71 4.59 4.6 1646000 7573200 CENTURY PROP 0.365 0.37 0.365 0.37 0.365 0.37 6530000 2406100 0.37 0.38 0.37 0.385 0.355 0.38 520000 191700 CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON 14.1 14.18 14.38 14.5 14.08 14.18 993900 14063210 DM WENCESLAO 5.5 5.55 5.58 5.58 5.48 5.5 42400 233122 0.28 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.28 0.29 520000 147500 EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO 0.087 0.09 0.087 0.087 0.087 0.087 10000 870 0.97 0.98 0.98 0.99 0.97 0.97 16228000 15849000 FILINVEST LAND 0.75 0.76 0.76 0.76 0.7 0.75 4292000 3181450 GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG 7.31 7.4 7.44 7.7 7.21 7.31 187300 1384157 1.49 1.5 1.53 1.55 1.47 1.49 8126000 12231400 PHIL INFRADEV 3 3.27 3.11 3.11 2.99 2.99 36000 110630 KEPPEL PROP CITY AND LAND 0.68 0.71 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.68 11000 7480 3.1 3.11 3.16 3.16 3.08 3.1 20831000 64617720 MEGAWORLD 0.395 0.4 0.41 0.425 0.395 0.4 195150000 79852950 MRC ALLIED PRIMEX CORP 1.15 1.17 1.18 1.18 1.15 1.15 295000 340440 16 16.08 15.9 16.16 15.62 16 4260200 67752892 ROBINSONS LAND PHIL REALTY 0.23 0.233 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 200000 46000 1.53 1.54 1.54 1.54 1.53 1.54 224000 344360 ROCKWELL 2.67 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 27000 72900 SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND 1.86 1.93 1.87 1.95 1.84 1.93 855000 1614220 SM PRIME HLDG 33.45 33.5 33.6 33.85 32.05 33.5 7806000 261079360 4.06 4.12 4.18 4.18 4.05 4.06 181000 747100 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 1.26 1.28 1.24 1.31 1.23 1.28 3167000 4070640 40.1 50.45 40.1 40.1 40.1 40.1 300 12030 PTFC REDEV CORP 3.44 3.45 3.52 3.53 3.4 3.44 3221000 11097690 VISTA LAND

286369430 31500 -11748510 -33840 -5814890 3700 -8124144 -1759980 -66010 -327020 2990 -6545520 617800 -2262522 5610 53906280 -174200 -940 -5700720

SERVICES ABS CBN 11.4 11.42 11.3 11.4 11.14 11.4 246000 2770658 5.11 5.12 5.11 5.15 5.06 5.12 209600 1073380 GMA NETWORK MLA BRDCASTING 11 11.3 11.1 11.1 11.1 11.1 500 5550 2050 2066 2060 2080 2040 2050 89300 184277350 GLOBE TELECOM 1362 1368 1358 1378 1322 1362 180990 246307820 PLDT APOLLO GLOBAL 0.053 0.054 0.054 0.055 0.052 0.054 6110000 326730 13.92 13.96 15.22 15.32 13.2 13.92 126173700 1774978096 CONVERGE 3.08 3.09 3.08 3.09 3.07 3.09 19000 58600 DFNN INC DITO CME HLDG 6.64 6.65 6.85 6.9 6.56 6.64 45615300 304914803 1.34 1.42 1.36 1.36 1.34 1.34 18000 24320 IMPERIAL JACKSTONES 1.58 1.6 1.61 1.65 1.58 1.62 46000 74760 NOW CORP 4.76 4.77 4.85 4.85 4.7 4.77 7982000 37878740 0.235 0.236 0.237 0.238 0.232 0.235 4720000 1107720 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 2.94 2.95 2.6 2.95 2.56 2.94 6541000 18350870 2GO GROUP 8.8 8.88 8.99 8.99 8.8 8.8 45200 400030 15.5 16.18 15.7 15.7 15.7 15.7 1300 20410 ASIAN TERMINALS CHELSEA 5.76 5.77 5.9 5.91 5.72 5.76 5366100 31032649 39.05 39.2 40.65 40.65 38.7 39.05 1012600 39855850 CEBU AIR 116.8 117 116.6 118 116.4 117 1446910 169106941 INTL CONTAINER LBC EXPRESS 15.2 15.8 14.98 15.2 14.98 15.2 12200 184050 0.96 1 0.96 0.99 0.96 0.99 419000 409350 LORENZO SHIPPNG 5.28 5.29 5.38 5.38 5.16 5.29 7212900 37947745 MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 1.98 2.04 1.87 2.08 1.87 2.04 3787000 7576880 2.04 2.06 1.9 2.04 1.9 2.04 78000 156080 METROALLIANCE B 6.94 6.95 7.05 7.05 6.91 6.94 66600 462894 PAL HLDG HARBOR STAR 1.34 1.35 1.29 1.36 1.29 1.34 6586000 8780120 1.11 1.17 1.13 1.13 1.11 1.11 118000 133180 ACESITE HOTEL BOULEVARD HLDG 0.027 0.028 0.028 0.028 0.026 0.028 41100000 1104900 1.68 1.69 1.68 1.68 1.68 1.68 41000 68880 DISCOVERY WORLD 10.54 11.44 11.5 11.5 11.44 11.44 1000 11480 GRAND PLAZA WATERFRONT 0.415 0.42 0.41 0.425 0.41 0.415 1710000 707950 504.5 549.5 550 550 550 550 30 16500 FAR EASTERN U 7.48 7.67 7.47 7.67 7.47 7.67 800 6019 IPEOPLE STI HLDG 0.335 0.34 0.325 0.34 0.315 0.34 9250000 3060000 3.74 3.75 3.7 3.75 3.42 3.74 1277000 4614040 BERJAYA 7.5 7.54 7.4 7.58 7.3 7.5 5047700 37801954 BLOOMBERRY PACIFIC ONLINE 1.78 1.88 1.88 1.88 1.78 1.88 70000 126700 1.52 1.53 1.51 1.52 1.45 1.52 451000 671500 LEISURE AND RES 2.2 2.34 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 3000 6600 MANILA JOCKEY PREMIUM LEISURE 0.335 0.34 0.345 0.35 0.33 0.34 19550000 6,571,950( 7.05 7.3 7.45 7.45 7.05 7.05 1700 12180 PHIL RACING ALLHOME 6.8 6.88 6.8 6.9 6.55 6.88 1541900 10412624 METRO RETAIL 1.51 1.52 1.54 1.55 1.46 1.51 3402000 5117510 42.4 42.5 44 44.5 42.4 42.4 3862400 165941160 PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL 64.9 65 65.6 66.25 64.5 64.9 496010 32225465 PHIL SEVEN CORP 112.5 113 113 114 113 113 271320 30660846 1.31 1.32 1.18 1.32 1.15 1.32 35843000 44818790 SSI GROUP WILCON DEPOT 14.8 14.84 14.94 15 14.84 14.84 4560600 67864308 APC GROUP 0.31 0.315 0.305 0.315 0.305 0.315 7210000 2230950 6.9 7.09 6.94 7 6.9 6.9 36600 253595 EASYCALL IPM HLDG 3.6 3.77 3.77 3.77 3.68 3.7 17000 63260 2.09 2.18 2.09 2.09 2.09 2.09 23000 48070 PAXYS 0.335 0.34 0.35 0.35 0.32 0.34 22630000 7622500 PRMIERE HORIZON SBS PHIL CORP 4.1 4.17 4.17 4.17 4.1 4.1 16000 65920

84999300 -18658310 12405594 -4168259 4050 -9720 -134609.9997 11950 8800 1530894 -18843830 37071292 -960 -1100126 39032 -482650 -6037008 5340 1,014,899.9997) 5097225 -303810 -56720790 -9629530 -2174590 -1614570 -28432470 33000 -

MINING & OIL

ATOK 9.3 9.59 9.67 9.69 9.2 9.59 131800 1244591 APEX MINING 1.88 1.89 1.8 1.91 1.78 1.89 12739000 23765670 -360260 0.0009 0.001 0.001 0.0011 0.0009 0.001 5388000000 4944400 11000 ABRA MINING 4.05 4.08 4.06 4.06 4.02 4.05 409000 1651160 136679.9999 ATLAS MINING BENGUET A 2.76 2.84 2.81 2.84 2.76 2.84 21000 58940 2.66 2.74 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 15000 40500 BENGUET B 2.48 2.52 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 50000 125000 125000 CENTURY PEAK DIZON MINES 7.72 7.73 7.39 7.73 7.33 7.72 52900 401234 1.33 1.35 1.36 1.36 1.3 1.33 4965000 6603280 63700 FERRONICKEL GEOGRACE 0.24 0.243 0.243 0.243 0.24 0.24 20000 4830 0.149 0.15 0.15 0.154 0.148 0.15 14720000 2201080 LEPANTO A 0.15 0.152 0.15 0.152 0.15 0.152 990000 148540 LEPANTO B MANILA MINING A 0.0098 0.0099 0.01 0.01 0.0099 0.0099 9400000 93330 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 800000 8000 MANILA MINING B 0.95 0.96 0.94 0.97 0.94 0.96 1430000 1369660 MARCVENTURES NIHAO 2.53 2.55 2.56 2.6 2.53 2.53 709000 1799020 -254999.9999 3.76 3.77 3.75 3.8 3.72 3.77 6165000 23155230 -3484120 NICKEL ASIA 0.66 0.67 0.68 0.68 0.64 0.67 1729000 1126040 ORNTL PENINSULA PX MINING 5.51 5.55 5.6 5.6 5.4 5.55 2229700 12278241 3214587 11.66 11.68 12.02 12.06 11.58 11.66 4258500 49975922 -8267732 SEMIRARA MINING 0.0051 0.0053 0.0051 0.0051 0.0051 0.0051 5000000 25500 UNITED PARAGON ACE ENEXOR 6.21 6.29 6.3 6.3 6.18 6.29 152400 944660 0.0097 0.0099 0.0097 0.0097 0.0097 0.0097 14000000 135800 ORNTL PETROL A 0.0097 0.0098 0.0098 0.0098 0.0098 0.0098 14000000 137200 ORNTL PETROL B PHILODRILL 0.0085 0.009 0.0087 0.0087 0.0085 0.0085 29000000 248200 -60200 11.02 11.08 10.94 11.26 10.7 11.02 2279100 25163502 1813708 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED AC PREF B1 510 519.5 510 519.5 510 519.5 1000 510190 101.2 103.2 103.2 103.2 101.2 101.2 760 78112 ALCO PREF B AC PREF B2R 520 522 518 522 518 522 250 129740 100.5 101.9 100.5 100.5 100.3 100.3 5100 511794 354059 DD PREF 106.7 107 107 107 107 107 190 20330 FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P 510 518.5 510 510 510 510 40 20400 101.1 101.6 101.5 101.6 101.3 101.6 21980 2231733 MWIDE PREF 100.8 101 101 101 101 101 1790 180790 30300 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 986 990 990 990 986 986 4600 4543875 1003 1040 1010 1049 1000 1040 1060 1064280 PCOR PREF 2B PCOR PREF 3A 1062 1065 1062 1062 1059 1059 300 318150 1085 1090 1085 1090 1085 1090 290 315600 PCOR PREF 3B 78 78.2 78 78.2 78 78.2 2930 228592 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2E 76.7 76.95 76.7 76.7 76.7 76.7 24680 1892956 78 78.5 78 78.5 78 78.5 37510 2926455 SMC PREF 2F 76 76.5 76.4 76.5 76.4 76.5 4000 305972 SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H 76.25 77.5 76.25 76.25 76.25 76.25 1300000 99125000 78.6 78.9 78 78.95 78 78.9 1019420 80116659 SMC PREF 2I

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 10.8 10.98 11 11 10.74 10.98 67300 729904 4.88 5 5 5 4.98 5 72000 359922 -17440 GMA HLDG PDR

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.84 0.85 0.85 0.86 0.81 0.86 149000 124880

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 12.72 12.88 12 12.96 11.62 12.88 1223300 15080174 88842 2.75 2.76 2.85 2.92 2.67 2.76 7714000 21468210 -111900 ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH 5.25 5.35 5.36 5.37 5.25 5.35 65100 342930 -536 2.17 2.67 2.16 2.17 2.16 2.17 3000 6490 MAKATI FINANCE 3.44 3.45 3.43 3.48 3.31 3.45 32241000 109799030 571540 MERRYMART

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 96.5 96.9 97.95 97.95 95.5 96.9 26300 2531687.5 264102

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Entrepreneur

PayMaya One Lite digital payments for SMEs unveiled

D

igital financial services provider PayMaya recently unveiled another innovation in digital payments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) around the country.

PayMaya President Shailesh Baidwan said the PayMaya One Lite is an all-in-one, pocket-sized device capable of accepting all types of digital payments, including cards, e-Wallets and QR. Aside from being portable and compact, Baidwan said, the smartphone-like PayMaya One Lite is completely paperless.

Transaction records can be sent via text message, or via e-mail, straight to the customer immediately upon payment. Going paperless, Baidwan said, lessens the use of paper, saving resources, while ensuring that records are digitally saved for reference.

Payments accepted by the PayMaya One Lite device include Visa, Mastercard and JCB credit, debit and prepaid card payments, as well as e-wallet accounts such as PayMaya QR. Soon, the PayMaya One Lite device will also be accepting Bancnet card payments and other emerging payment options such as WeChat Pay, Alipay and QR PH. With its handy features, business owners can conveniently utilize the PayMaya One Lite device to accept any form of cashless payments whether in their store, for deliveries, or when doing meetups with customers anywhere.

“We continue to respond to the evolving needs of business owners, especially with the increasing consumer preference for cashless transactions. With the PayMaya One Lite all-in-one payment device, SMEs can offer the widest range of digital payment options that could help ensure safer and more convenient paperless transactions for their customers,” said Baidwan.

Having the largest install base of Android-based POS devices in the country to date, he said PayMaya is servicing the cashless payments needs of thousands of merchants. These devices allow contactless payments while enabling the widest range of payment acceptance options. Further, updates are done over-the-air by PayMaya so businesses can accept future types of payments without disruption.

Baidwan said merchants can also deploy the PayMaya One device in their physical stores and branches, or in self-ordering kiosks; the PayMaya Checkout payment gateway for their e-Commerce sites; PayMaya Payment Links for sending of invoices via e-mail, chat or SMS; and Digital QR for small businesses and casual sellers online, among many others.

Baidwan noted PayMaya is the only end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the Philippines with platforms and services that cut across consumers, merchants, and government.

Aside from providing payments acceptance for the largest eCommerce, food, retail and gas merchants in the Philippines, PayMaya enables national and social services agencies as well as local government units with digital payments and disbursement services.

Through its app and wallet, PayMaya provides millions of Filipinos with the fastest way to own a financial account with over 57,000 Add Money touchpoints nationwide.

Its Smart Padala by PayMaya network of over 30,000 partner touchpoints nationwide serves as last mile digital financial hubs in communities, providing the unbanked and underserved with access to services.

Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, October 28, 2020 B3

In search of the right biz to thrive: RCF opens ₧1-B loan for entreps

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

@brownindio

Contributor

M

icro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) need all the help they could get nowadays to get back on track amid the pandemic. Fortunately, they have the “white knight,” Right Choice Finance Corp. (RCF), a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Right Choice Capital Pte Ltd, to assist them.

RCF founder and managing director James Kodrowski has announced recently in an online news briefing at the opening of their Cebu office that they have allotted up to P1 billion for their MSME loan program.

“Our portfolio size combined across banking and finance activities is over a billion pesos today and in terms of the additional capital that we’ve prepared to deploy in the fourth quarter and beginning of

next year, another P500 million to P1 billion in that period,” he said.

“We’re looking for the right business to thrive in 2021,” Kodrowski added.

To keep pace with the times, RCF President Roselle Calixihan said the company is using its platform to provide MSME loans through its digital business platform complemented by flexible financing products and an innovative HR software.

She said the Human Resource Information System (HRIS), their

Right Choice Finance founder and managing director James Kodrowski is looking for the right businesses to thrive in 2021.

latest product offering, is a cloudbased software that allows companies to centralize and streamline their HR administration tasks in an automated experience that reduces manual labor. Moreover, it comes with a cash advance software bundle that let employees apply and receive cash advance easily and quickly.

With its digital banking functionality, Kodrowski said, RCF clients can receive their funds within 24 to 48 hours after submission, evaluation, and approval. Funds disbursement is through the RCF e-wallet that allows

users to conveniently manage their funds, pay their bills, and transfer money online.

RCF’s digital platform and ewallet services also enable them to provide unique investment options and competitive returns to clients.

RCF started its operations in Metro Manila in 2016 and has since expanded in nearby provinces in North and South Luzon. Now, RCF is expanding its reach in Cebu City by offering business solutions to local MSMEs to help them grow.

Kodrowski said RFC decided to

establish its presence in Cebu because of its strategic location. He added RFC remains bullish over the province’s business recovery prospects, citing the entrepreneurial spirit of Cebuanos and Cebu’s strategic business location.

He said Cebuano MSME entrepreneurs can avail of customized loan options to survive and even expand during these uncertain times. “RCF is a B2B company. To help Cebu businesses bounce back, we will be here to provide that vital support across all stages of MSME development,” said Kodrowski.

Calixihan pointed out that it is quite important to make business loans available to entrepreneurs to keep them going and growing amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said consumers can apply for personal loans to fund their needs for housing, vehicles, education, and other endeavors.

“Our customers have expressed a delightful experience through flexible, fast, and seamless digital loan disbursement,” Kodrowski said.

Calixihan urged Cebuano entrepreneurs to avail of the wide range of smart solutions RCF is offering that is geared towards helping MSMEs. RCF foresees a boom in Cebu in the near future, Kodrowski said.

DTI-Rizal awards livelihood kits to Talim Island MSMEs Microsoft brings

start-up initiative to Asia-Pacific

R

egional Director Marilou Toledo of Department of Trade and Industry—Region 4A and Provincial Director Mercedes Parreño of DTI-Rizal together with Mayor Teodulo Campo of the local government of Cardona led the awarding of sari-sari store livelihood kits to select micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) on Talim Island last October 9, 2020 at Barangay Navotas Hall in Talim Island, Cardona, Rizal.

A total of 30 sari-sari store owners from the island barangays of Cardona (Nagsulo, Sampad, Ticulio, Subay, Balibago, Boor, Lambac, Mal-Cal, Navotas and Tuna) were given sari-sari store kits worth P5,000 under the Livelihood Seeding Program—Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay (LSP-NSB).

The LSP-NSB, originally intended for

Roderick L. Abad

F

Department of Trade and Industry Region 4A Director Marilou Toledo, Cardona, Rizal Mayor Teodulo Campo and DTI Provincial Director Mercedes Parreño lead the awarding of sari-store livelihood kits to select entrepreneurs on Talim Island.

knowledged their effort in showing up despite of mobility issues and the inclement weather.

She also shared other DTI programs and services that they can avail to level up their business. Parreño conveyed her hopes that may the beneficiaries be able to grow their sari-sari stores along with the livelihood kit that they have received, and hopefully share their success stories in the future and be an inspiration to other MSMEs. Mayor Campo stressed the importance of having a business registered, because along with other requirements, their registration with the Business Permits and Licensing Office made it easier to contact potential beneficiaries.

MSMEs in the fourth to sixth class municipalities was amended to include MSMEs in the second to third class municipalities to help them recover from the effects of the pandemic. The program aims to increase the awareness of barangay officials about the services offered by the DTI through the Negosyo Centers, identify MSMEs with business operation within the barangay, conduct business development assistance and/or services, and provide livelihood kits that could aid qualified individuals restore and improve their businesses.

Director Toledo congratulated the beneficiaries for being chosen and ac-

@rodrik_28

Contributor

ILIPINO innovators and entrepreneurs are being urged to be part of Microsoft for Startups’s “Highway to a 100 Unicorns” initiative to strengthen the ecosystem for small businesses that have just been started in the Asia-Pacific (Apac) region.

This project follows its success in India where 56 start-ups were chosen for the Emerge X program from six states with more than 15,000 start-ups.

The winners of this initiative have benefited with access to international market support, a three-day founder bootcamp with world-class mentors, access to funding, ongoing mentorship, and guidance on Azure, artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc.

Innovation is pivotal in unlocking inclusive economic growth in Apac. Given this, the region’s high income economies spend three times more in research and development than their peers.

To promote further innovative entrepreneurship, Microsoft will work closely with governments and industry partners to find and nurture technology startups with a high potential to become global enterprises in the future.

“Start-ups play a vital role in our economy as innovators, disruptors and first-movers. Through Highway to a 100 Unicorns, we will enable start-ups in the Philippines and the Apac region so they can have real impact in their markets and drive digital innovation in the region,” said Andres Ortola, country general manager of Microsoft Philippines.

“We look forward to walking with more founders along their growth journey and supporting them to scale and achieve more,” he added.

For a chance to be included in the program, Filipino start-ups need to submit an application for Emerge X local competition until October 31.

This is open for business-to-business companies with product-market fit, revenue generating with at least three to four clients, and business-to-customer firms with a large customer base (upward of 100,000) and are revenue generating. Funding is a plus.

All Emerge X start-ups will be awarded with free GitHub and Azure credits and focused business and technology workshops.

Apart from the Philippines, start-ups from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam can participate in the program.

Three finalists per country will be announced in November. Additionally, they will be entitled to a yearlong mentorship with technical and business deep dives, a Founder Bootcamp over three days, access to enterprise clients globally through Microsoft’s unique co-sell program as well as opportunities to interact with Microsoft experts and industry stalwarts.

B4

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Prudent use of credit cards seen key to riding out crises

A

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

@Tyronepiad

mid the economic and health crises, credit card users are reminded to be mindful of their purchases and to be keen on meeting regular payments.

The Credit Card Association of the Philippines (CCAP) said that the public should practice responsible credit card usage.

“A credit card is not a source of free money, so all of their (credit card holders) purchases should still be done prudently, and the minimum amount due every month should

be paid on time to avoid penalties,” CCAP Executive Director Alex G. Ilagan told the BusinessMirror.

Earlier, CCAP even advised to “avoid maxing out their credit limits because it will reduce their credit score.”

He said a credit card is helpful during crises because it serves as

an additional source of funding for emergencies.

In addition, Ilagan explained that a credit card line can be used to supplement the finances of households whose source of income has decreased—affecting the savings as well—amid the pandemic.

“Credit cards also present a variety of perks such as rewards, discounts and zero-interest installment in selected merchants that cardholders with good credit standing can enjoy,” he added.

The CCAP official noted that the financial institutions have been offering forbearance programs to extend relief to the borrowers. This is in addition to the 60-day grace period on debt payments provided by Republic Act 11494. The law provides for Covid-19 response and recovery

interventions and providing mechanisms to accelerate the recovery and bolster the resiliency of the Philippine economy.

Recently, the Monetary Board approved setting the annual interest rate ceiling on all credit card transactions at 24 percent. This policy will be effective on November 3.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that the interest rates or finance charges on unpaid outstanding credit card balance should only be 2 percent or lower monthly.

The maximum rates are subject to review by the Central Bank every six months.

According to latest BSP data, the banking sector’s credit card receivables stood at P412.7 billion as of endJune, which is higher than last year’s P396.35 billion for the same period.

RCBC Bankard wins award for the Best Credit Card Initiative

F

or its efforts to provide access to credit for the uncarded segment, RCBC Bankard was awarded the Best Credit Card Initiative in Asia by the Retail Banker International-Asia (RBI Asia).

RCBC Bankard is the credit card arm of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

In line with its objective to discuss and find solutions to the issues in the retail banking industry, the RBI Asia lauded the initiative of RCBC Bankard for taking the right kind of risk to provide access to credit to more individuals.

During its 11th Annual Trailblazer Summit and Awards 2020, RCBC Bankard was recognized for its efforts to promote responsible credit spending for millennials through the use of budget management tools.

Aside from that, it also received the Highly Commended – Best Social Media Marketing Campaign Award for its campaign that applies a geo-specific approach and considers the need for profiling.

“This recognition is a testament to our commitment to offer innovative products that cater to the needs of our customers. RCBC Bankard will continue to create initiatives to promote and provide access to credit to more Filipinos,” said RCBC Bankard CEO, Arniel Ong. During this pandemic, the credit card company offered payment options such as the Unli 0 percent and Unli Installment to help its over 900,000 cardholders meet their financial obligations.

In Unli 0 percent, cardholders may pay for their straight purchases at zero percent installment for three months, while in Unli Installment, they are provided an option to pay up to 36 months with minimal interest. All these can be done conveniently through the RCBC Online Banking app.

Retail Banker International (RBI) Asia Trailblazer Summit and Awards is a platform for strategic executives to evaluate avenues for growth and innovation.

RCBC Bankard has been consistently recognized by RBI-Asia as one of the best cards in Asia.

It also received the Highly Commended—Best Card Offering in Asia for two consecutive years in 2017 and 2018.

Covid-19 Response Photo shows Philippine General Hospital Medical Foundation Inc. Fundraising and Events Officer Vic Zoleta (left) and

PGH Resident Doctor Dennis P. Serrano holding the cardiac defibrillators funded by Pru Life UK. Pru Life UK’s P5-million donation to the PGHMFI as part of the Prudential Covid-19 relief fund, supports the University of the Philippines-PGH “Bayanihan Na Covid-19” project in providing quality medical-grade equipment and supplies for PGH and its health-care workers who risk their lives to help battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo courtesy Pru Life UK

Bank OKs cash dividends after Krungsri transaction

S

ecurity Bank Corp. announced on Tuesday that it had approved its cash dividend declaration for the common shares.

In a disclosure to the local bourse, the listed bank said that each common share will receive P1.50.

It is “representing cash dividend of P1 per share and special semestral cash dividend of P0.50 per share.”

Security Bank is set to pay the dividends on November 26.

On March 31, the bank also declared P1.50 cash dividend per common share. The dividends were paid on April 30.

Earlier this month, Security Bank finalized its partnership with Thailand-based Bank of Ayudhya, which is commonly known as Krungsri.

This, after the Philippine Competition Commission approved Krungsri’s acquisition of 50-percent stake in SB Finance Co. Inc. (SBF), which is Security Bank’s consumer finance subsidiary. The listed bank inked a deal with the Thai bank last year involving the sale of SBF stake.

The deal is also seen resulting in SBF growing its loan portfolio and loan products being offered to clients. Both the Security Bank’s strength in unsecured personal loan segment and Bank of Ayudhya’s expertise in the Asean retail finance market are expected to aid the consumer finance product offering and service of SBF. Security Bank saw its first half earnings climb by 14 percent to P5.7

billion from P5 billion last year for the same period on the back of higher net interest income and trading gains. Total revenues, meanwhile, surged by 68 percent to P25.9 billion while total net interest income rose by 34 percent to P15.8 billion in the first six months.

It earmarked P11-billion worth of buffer for potential credit losses, which is markedly higher than P639 million last year. Gross nonperforming loan ratio stood at 1.58 percent while NPL coverage ratio was at 174 percent.

Shares in Security Bank slid by 0.86 percent, or 85 centavos, to finish at P98.10 each amid the 1.17-percent drop for the main index on Tuesday.

Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Digital transactions may be permanent–report

By Manuel T. Cayon

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

D

AVAO CITY—A new global study conducted among leading corporate executives, including those from the Philippines, has indicated that the shift by businesses to the digital platform could be permanent, driven mainly by the experience of smoother transactions and the prospect of reaching the financially underserved sectors.

In a statement furnished to the BusinessMirror, American consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion LLC, said that “with the Philippines remaining under varying degrees of quarantine due to Covid-19, businesses’ shift to digital could be permanent.”

“Covid-19 has dramatically accelerated digital transformation with 78 percent of Philippine executives surveyed as part of our study saying their organization has changed their digital transaction process due to the pandemic,” according to Maria Gracia Pia L. Arellano, president and CEO of TransUnion’s local office TransUnion Information Solutions Inc. The report said nearly 84 percent of Philippine and 85 percent of global executives surveyed said “they believe smooth transactions are essential to business survival rather than merely a competitive edge during and after the pandemic.”

The report commissioned by TransUnion to the Economist Intelligence Unit “highlights which emerging technologies could present challenges for and increase fraud prevention, economic inclusion and consumer privacy.”

The TransUnion said “all of this digital progress will be wiped out if we can’t remove these barriers to building bilateral digital trust.”

For instance, Arellano said, 70 percent of Philippine executives in the study who said their company changed their digital transaction process as a result of the pandemic experienced glitches.

The research “uncovered how technologies like artificial intelligence, national digital IDs and superapps can help overcome hurdles and possibly create new challenges to building digital trust.”

The report titled “New Dimensions of Change: Building Trust in a Digital Consumer Landscape,” included responses from 1,610 executives in Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, South Africa, the UK and the US, including 115 Philippine executives.

Combatting digital fraud

Overwhelmingly, the TransUnion said, respondents answered that: biometrics would be the dominant payment customer authentication method; improved fraud detection and security is the greatest benefit to using AI; and, a national digital ID system would help prevent consumer fraud.

Approximately 92 percent of Philippine and 85 percent of global executives say biometrics “are likely to be

used to authenticate the vast majority of payments in the next 10 years.”

It said 46 percent of Philippine and 43 percent of global respondents noted that improved fraud detection and security is the greatest benefit to using artificial intelligence (AI).

“This was the top selection by far with smoother customer experience being the second most used answer globally at 29 percent worldwide and 23 percent in the Philippines,” the TransUnion said.

It added that the vast majority of executives, 84 percent in the Philippines and 79 percent globally, “think national digital IDs will help fraud prevention in consumer transactions.”

Seven in 10 executives globally and 77 percent in the Philippines “believe a national digital ID gives lowincome groups access to consumer services they would have previously been excluded from.”

“By industry worldwide, respondents from consumer lending and telecommunications think such IDs give lower-income groups access to services they might otherwise lack,” the report said. “Both industries have led the way over the last decade in reaching the community of financially underserved customers, manifested in innovations like microfinance and mobile money.”

The Philippine Statistics Authority has announced it would begin registering Filipinos for the Philippine national digital ID by the fourth quarter this year.

“Ensuring consumer trust starts with preventing fraud. Our research overwhelmingly showed that biometrics, AI and national digital IDs aren’t just a fad for consumer fraud prevention. They are key for trusted commerce for the foreseeable future,” Arellano said.

Personal data

The TransUnion said 82 percent of Philippine and 73 percent of global executives “believe consumers are comfortable sharing personal data with private companies.”

Nearly 71 percent of worldwide and 79 percent of Philippine executives said so, according to the report.

The study said Brazilian, Chinese and Dominican Republican executives “have vastly differing views about whether or not consumers are willing to share data with private companies versus government bodies (more than 10 percent difference in each country between sharing with governments and companies).”

It said Chinese respondents believe consumers are much more comfortable sharing personal data with government bodies than companies, while Brazilian and Dominican Republican executives have the opposite belief.

“Technological innovations like AI, biometrics and national digital IDs paired with proven fraud prevention methods like device intelligence can provide a more convenient and inclusive way for consumers to transact that still protects security and privacy,” Arellano said.

Security Bank clients, partners take part in campaign vs Covid

I

n response to the pandemic, Security Bank said it dedicated its 69th year to partnerships and initiatives that help fight Covid-19.

The bank said it launched its corporate social responsibility campaign to support medical institutions, local businesses, students and families.

For this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, the bank chose to set aside its annual celebration to focus on giving back and helping the community, the bank said in a statement. Clients and business partners were invited to take part in a much more meaningful project, a donation drive where they were able to choose the organization that they want to help, the bank said.

At the core of this initiative is the bank’s promise, which meant taking steps to ensure the well-being of em-

ployees, customers and communities, especially during a global crisis.

“Putting people at the heart of the business is not only important for us – it’s also necessary. We are always proactively looking for opportunities that enrich and save lives,” Security Bank President & CEO Sanjiv Vohra was quoted in a statement as saying.

“It was a unanimous decision to reallocate our mooncake and gift funds to Covid-19 relief efforts. We are grateful for the continued support of our clients and partners. This goes to show that we are one in overcoming this crisis.”

The donation drive will fund 1,300 reusable isolation gowns and 2,263 N95 masks for the frontliners and healthcare workers assigned to the different molecular laboratories of the

Philippine Red Cross. The project will also provide additional funding for Manila HealthTek, pioneer of the locally-made test kits, enabling them to purchase an RNA extraction machine for the DLSU Medical Center (DLSU MC), which will increase the testing capacity of DLSUMC from 400 tests to 500 tests a day to 1,000 tests per day.

Aside from DLSU MC, public hospital beneficiaries will also receive PHP 400,000 worth of Covid-19 detection RT-PCR kits and RNA extraction kits.

In keeping with the bank’s education advocacy, 120 children of Security Bank’s frontline service providers such as messengers, security staff, and maintenance and agency personnel also received support as the project also funded the bank’s scholarship program.

Photo shows a beneficiary of a scholarship program funded by the Security Bank expressing gratitude for the support.

Image BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Wednesday, October 28, 2020

B5

Why mixed messaging can erode trust in institutions

By Deborah Perron Tollefsen University of Memphis THE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently revised its guidance to acknowledge that Covid-19 can be spread through tiny airborne particles, known as aerosols. It had earlier removed a similar guidance from its web site, saying it was “posted in error.”

Similarly, there have been conflicting messages from the Trump administration regarding the use of masks. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has repeatedly said that masks are a recommendation, not a requirement. But others in the administration, such as White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and Vice President Mike Pence, have urged people to wear masks.

Such messaging can lead people to wonder what to believe and whom to trust. As a philosopher studying the nature of trust and its function in institutions, I explore the analogy between trust in people and trust in institutions.

Just as conflicting messages can lead us to distrust people, they can also erode the public’s trust in institutions.

WHAT IS TRUST? Philosophers tend to distinguish between two varieties of trust: practical trust and intellectual trust. Practical trust involves trusting that someone will either do something or refrain from doing it. For example, I might trust that my friend will water my plants while I am out of town.

Intellectual trust involves trusting what someone says. In particular, when I trust the word of another, I trust that what they have said is true.

Both types of trust are subject to erosion.

When individuals trust one another, they expect certain things to happen; thus, trust involves a certain reliance. For instance, when I trust that my friend will water my plants while I am out of town, I rely on her to do so. However, trust always involves a risk. If there were no risk of my friend failing to water my plants, I wouldn’t have to trust her.

MORE THAN MERE RELIANCE BUT I also rely on things or objects. I rely on my car to start in the morning, my computer to properly store information and my phone calendar to tell me when my next meeting is. But there is a difference between relying on objects and trusting people. Philosopher Annette Baier explains in a paper that trust among people also carries the possibility of a betrayal.

When objects fail to do what is expected, irritation, anger and disappointment are common emotional responses, but betrayal seems misplaced.

Baier argues that to trust someone is to believe that they will act out of goodwill toward you. If you are merely relying on people to act in self-interested ways, then it isn’t trust.

For instance, if I rely on my colleague to replace me on a university committee knowing that he will agree to do so only because of his desire to gain more power, I don’t, according to Baier, trust my colleague.

Some philosophers have argued that trust involves not just a belief but also an emotional component.

University of Melbourne philosopher Karen Jones, for instance, argues that trust also carries a feeling of optimism that people will do what they are being trusted with.

Another scholar, Richard Holton, has argued that trust involves the possibility of feeling the emotion of betrayal.

When a person trusts another, they will be inclined to feel betrayal when the person fails to meet their expectations.

HOW DOES TRUST ERODE? Trust and trustworthiness are two distinct things. People may trust someone even when the person they trust is untrustworthy. People may also fail to trust someone who is, in fact, trustworthy.

Importantly, trust can erode even when people are competent, intend to do what they say or speak only the truth.

The mere perception of not being trustworthy is sometimes enough to erode trust.

Feminist philosophers such as Miranda Fricker and Kristie Dotson have pointed out the ways in which gender and race impact perceptions of trustworthiness and result in women and minorities receiving less credibility than they deserve due to prejudicial stereotypes.

STEADYING THE MIND Another factor that contributes to the erosion of trust is the perception of inconsistency. A person who says one thing and then says the opposite the next day may lose the trust of their audience. Our ability to rely on the word of another essentially depends on what philosopher Bernard Williams has called “steadying the mind.”

The idea here is that becoming a reliable source of information involves having convictions that avoid fluctuating without good reasons. “Flip-flopping” too much can lead one to appear unreliable.

Philosophical theories of trust have tended to focus almost exclusively on trusting people, but we engage in relations of trust with institutions as well as individuals.

The erosion of public trust surrounding CDC guidelines is the erosion of trust in an institution—not in a particular person. Reflecting on how trust erodes in the interpersonal case might shed light on how the erosion of trust happens in the institutional case.

In particular, inconsistent and conflicting messages produced by an institution can contribute to a perception that the institutional “mind” is “unsteady”—calling into question its reliability, competency and intentions.

Just like people, institutions need to learn to present themselves to others as agents who, as Bernard Williams said, “have moderately steady outlooks or beliefs.” Without such stability, the public’s trust in institutions can erode.

THE conversation

Leading without authority

H

E looked down on himself because he was not a college graduate. That, however, did not stop Nor from doing really great work—way better than some of those with college degrees. We recognized his potential, so we gave him a team to supervise temporarily because people respected him and followed his lead.

Soon enough, his team came up with ingenious and innovative ways of creating content which the whole group adopted. He had a can-do attitude and looked for creative ways of developing content. Later, he became a workgroup lead.

There are many people in your organization who do not have an official title, but they do the work nonetheless. These are informal leaders who understand that leadership does not stem from a piece of paper but from their ability to influence people to do the work. Just like Nor, who was initially not given an official position but acted and influenced people as if he was in authority. And people followed him because they saw that he understood what he was doing, and he knew the direction he was taking them.

There are many people like Nor in your organization. As a leader, you need to understand the informal organization and how you can leverage on these informal leaders to get your message across.

Even if you have transparency measures in place, it is not a guarantee that people will come to you and tell you everything. You need to identify who these influencers are because they are the key to ensuring your vision is realized even to the grassroots level.

But how do you identify these informal leaders?

One of the indicators of an informal leader is their organizational savvy. They want to be mentored by people in the organization and aspire to become like one of the leaders. They understand the pervading culture in the company, and they can sift through the layers of bureaucracy and know how to penetrate or even avoid them altogether. They understand how things work in the office, especially who they can ask to get the work done. They build a network based on mutual respect and collaboration rather than for selfish gains.

Informal leaders understand people’s motivations and use that knowledge to make people work toward a common goal. They are unifiers and are not divisive.

And at the heart of their influence is their credibility and how much people are willing to follow them and listen to what they are saying. They genuinely want to help others, not only because they have the capacity to help, but because they are willing to go out on a limb for someone without thinking of anything in return.

They work well with people because they understand that anything done in kindness will go a long way for the whole group.

These leaders also have a deep-seated desire to get to know others and build connections with people from different walks of life. They are aware that work needs to get done but they also know that people are more important than KPIs and profit. They realize that the best investment they have is the one they make on people. Because they understand that the best foundation for a strong and vibrant leadership is a strong and resilient workforce behind them.

These leaders also have integrity. Integrity is doing the right thing even if no one is looking. Their consistency to follow rules and being stable make them reliable and trustworthy. That is why others readily ask for their opinion or ask for their help because they have a firm grasp on what needs to be done and how to do them.

People also look up to them when things are uncertain and even confide in them their fears and anxieties. As a leader, an advantage of knowing these

informal leaders is having a sounding board on what people might think of a new policy. They can also give valuable insights on underlying attitudes and viewpoints which are not readily noticeable by senior leadership. Leadership can then fine-tune their policies and direction to take into consideration common sentiments. This saves time and makes it easier to cascade policy in a manner acceptable to most people.

Another good thing about informal leaders is that they focus on the solution and not the problem.

Moreover, they become part of the solution. They do not go around highlighting the difficulties, or becoming overwhelmed with the issues, but take it upon themselves to look for creative ways to deal with the problem. They rally people to actively look for solutions and enjoin everyone to get on board with what the team agrees on pursuing.

Finally, informal leaders are agile and adaptable to new ways of working. They are not afraid to look for better ways of doing things around the office. They see new opportunities for making work easier and help everyone to work smarter, not harder. They are excited at the very thought of helping someone do their work in a more efficient manner, but they also come across as insightful and helpful.

As a leader, your role is to ensure that you know who these informal leaders are in your organization.

You can do more by earning their confidence and capitalizing on their influence so your vision can be communicated better, and you can also receive immediate feedback on how to share your vision so that it resonates with everyone in your team.

All this just goes to show that you do not need to be placed in a position of authority to influence people. Leadership is not given to you on a piece of paper. Just because you are the manager does not mean people will follow you. It is earned with unwavering trust, genuine empathy and hard work.

And just like what my previous mentor has taught me, the best compliment you will ever receive is when people put you in a higher position than where you really are. n

Young Filipina named top designer, bags back-to-back awards in the US Filipina designer Bea Cruz swept awards at the recent prestigious 14th International Virtual Art Renewal Center (ARC) Salon Exhibition and the Fashion Week San Diego.

The first event, the ARC Salon Exhibition, was hosted by Sotheby’s New York, the first international auction house. In partnership with ARC, the largest realism art competition, they gathered thousands of contemporary artists from around the world.

The youngest among the participants was Cruz, a 22-year-old budding artist from Victorias City in Negros Occidental, who honed her creative talents under the Fashion Design and Merchandising Program of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.

“Being selected to showcase for both the Sotheby’s New York exhibition and Fashion Week San Diego in itself was a huge deal for me as a starting designer,” she confessed.

It is the first time the occasion was simultaneously held and streamed online.

Cruz, together with the oil painting Lisa The Shield Maiden (2019) by American contemporary painter David Bowers, motivated her three-piece look, plus her muse Mexican model Andrea Rivera bagged the

sought-after The Art & Beauty Behind Fashion Best Team award.

The second show was the prestigious Fall Runway of Fashion Week San Diego, the longest-running traditional affair of its kind that is independently owned and operated.

This competition debuted her 10-piece fall collection of sophisticated two-tone piña silk ensembles, where she earned the Top Designer award.

Entitled Vivirá (“will live” in Spanish), Cruz’s collection was composed of baro’t saya, panuelo and upcycled barongs, incorporated with the 1940s and 1950s circled skirts with contemporary touches.

“Vivirá is all about how fashion evolves and how cultural clothing will live beyond generations, and this is my modern take on it—living out Philippine traditional clothing to the present time,” she stated.

Cruz was not physically present at the event due to the ongoing pandemic. She opted to ship her garments from her studio to Manila, then all the way to San Diego. To represent her, she collaborated with and was assisted by two Filipino artists, Los Angeles-based earring designer Kaitlyn Cabrera and San Diegobased wardrobe coordinator Angel Tan.

Filipina designer Bea Cruz

B6 Wednesday, October 28, 2020

PPP 2020 CineMarya Women’s Film Festival showcases women empowerment and passion

Amway Philippines promotes entrepreneurship for the youth

T

HE Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Labor Organization (ILO) has estimated over 1 million lost jobs among the youth in Asia due to the prolonged containment of the coronavirus. With a 10% unemployment rate in the Philippines, the World Bank estimates that youth unemployment is “two to three times the overall unemployment rate in most

countries”. While these numbers can be alarming not just for the economy but for the many young individuals struggling to make ends meet, the situation has paved the way for many to venture into entrepreneurship. However, the ADB report reveals that one of the disruptions the pandemic has caused is in education and trainings. With lack of skills and the possible seed funding to start a

business, the youth and many from the struggling population are in need of better options.

With a 130% increase in signups during the pandemic months, Amway Philippines recognizes the value of its low capital business to the younger generation as an alternative that comes with ample training and community support.

“Since our business model relies on person-to-person selling, we offer trainings – over 90 to date – on marketing, social selling, and business management among other soft skills to help our Amway Business Owners (ABOs) become more effective entrepreneurs,” shares the company’s Country Manager, Leni Olmedo. “Even more, we made these modules available online to address quarantine restrictions, so they are now accessible by ABOs regardless of time and their location.”

For a mere Php 1,000 as a sign-up fee that is fully converted into product vouchers, individuals can have access to these trainings and are able to start their businesses immediately.

Moving to a digital platform has also proven to be essential for many companies and brands to thrive amid the crisis and this does not exclude self-started businesses. “We at Amway Philippines are fortunate because we made early investments in innovation and elevating our e-commerce site which has proven to be relevant during this time,” Olmedo remarks. “We are now training ABOs on social selling and doing video calls to replace the traditional approach of in-person transactions.”

The younger generation is at an advantage now since they are already technologically savvy and adept in using social media platforms as a means of communication.

The company also provides young individuals the opportunity to market various products that can appeal to just about anyone – ranging from health and beauty to home care and gardening.

“What we provide are tools that can help our ABOs,” Olmedo says. “But at the end of the day, the success of their business relies on how much work each ABO is willing to put into it, just like every entrepreneurial venture.”

Mrs. Garcia’s: The meat of the matter for the new normal

I

T has been said that “mothers know best.”

These remarkable women seem to know the answer to everything. Their so-called mother’s instinct can tell who is sad, who is mad, who has a problem, or who just needs a loving hug. Their skills at home management have also been honed from years of keeping the house clean and orderly.

For over 25 years, Meatworld International Inc. has been a formidable player in the country’s meat market. As one of the largest meat retailers in the country, it has brought us Mrs. Garcia’s, a “mother” that’s been the epitome of a mother’s loving care expressed through her “fresh meats and loving treats.” Those who have experienced the top-notch service of Mrs. Garcia’s Meats have remained extremely satisfied with the quality of her meat and meat products.

Today, Mrs. Garcia’s meat products include ground pork, menudo cut, adobo cut, pork liempo, pork chop sliced, pork ribs, sinigang cut, pork cubes, pork mask, beef brisket, beef shank sliced, beef sirloin, beef caldereta cut, breakfast steak, ground beef, Korean steak bulgogi, Japanese pork tonkatsu – just about every cut of meat for every dish a mother can cook.

But Mrs. Garcia’s is beyond a successful brand name; she represents every mother and wife who strives to give the best to her family. That is why she understands how the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have brought about great anxiety among them. So, she encourages them on several levels.

First, she assures them that her products continue to be fresh and quality meats at affordable prices.

Second, she cares about their safety, making sure that they do not need to go very far to buy their favorite meat cuts. She makes them accessible, especially now that they are available in leading supermarkets nationwide. In some areas, the meats can also be delivered right to the customer’s doorstep.

In that way, she adds more ease and convenience, too, through online ordering. Just visit her online store at https://mrsgarcias.com.ph. Online orders are delivered free within Metro Manila.

And third, she wants to help them earn additional income to help their husbands with the household budget. At this time of COVID when people have lost jobs and stretching resources is extremely difficult due to diminishing funds and an uncertain future, Mrs. Garcia’s wants to give them a fighting chance. So, she has invited wives and mothers to partner with the company as

resellers, all the more to bring good meat closer to the community. To inquire about reselling, contact 0917-837-4898.

Like the woman of faith that she is, Mrs. Garcia’s is ever hopeful that there is a silver lining amidst this challenging period that the country is experiencing.

Thus, she is optimistic that new doors will open and new business opportunities will be available for her growing family of customers and resellers.

Mrs. Garcia’s by Meatworld International Inc. has been bringing quality farm-fresh meats closer to families since 1996. With wide variety of meat categories and cuts, Mrs. Garcia’s assures to get the right meat you need available for your family’s favorite recipe. Mrs. Garcia’s is available in over 440 major supermarkets (and still growing) or order online.

For more information, visit: https://www. facebook.com/MrsGarciasMeats.

T

HE final 12 short films from the CineMarya Women’s Film Festival will have a special premiere at Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino 2020 (PPP 4) -- happening online from October 31 to November 15 via FDCPchannel.ph, an exclusive platform of Film Devoelopment Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

CineMarya was launched by the FDCP in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine Commission on Women to tell stories of Filipino women, particularly their strength and passion in rising above prejudice and overcoming societal struggles.

CineMarya challenges Filipino filmmakers to create women-centered short films that aim to empower women and men alike to propagate gender sensitization.

The 12 finalists (in competition) under are the following: 1. “Dad-Aan Na” (Her Walks) by Julius Lumiqued about an Igorot elderly woman, 2. “Super-Able” by Arjanmar Rebeta about Marites Burce, a victim of the polio outbreak in the 1970s, and a national paraathlete, 3. “Night Shift” by Mariel Ong about a battered driver picks up a passenger and drops her off but follows the her until she reaches her apartment where she hears mysterious voices, 4. “Dalaginding Na Si Isang” by Nigel Santos about a young girl named Isang and her first day

of menstruation,v5. “Noontime Drama”

by Kim Timan and Sam Villa-Real about a single mother who struggles to prepare the perfect Kare-Kare with her daughter.

Meanwhile, 6.

“She’s Perfect” by Jochelle Casilad tells of a 3D animated short film which centers on a girl named Mahalia, 7. “Hakab” by Mel AguilarMaestro are about women, braving the challenges of a repressed breastfeeding culture in the country, 8. “Super Woman”

by Angela Andres Cheska tells of an 8-yearold girl with a wild imagination, 9. “Winged Dreams To The Blue Heavens” by Aimee Apostol-Escasa narrates about Magdalena Jalandoni, an Ilonggo writer, as a 6-yearold girl growing up in Iloilo, 10. “Binakol Sa Dahon” by Gary Tabanera is about Ester, a mother falsely accused of a crime she did not commit, 11. “Ola” by Mijan Jumalon is about a grieving artist who is visited by her departed child who asks her to build a boat, and 12. “Adira” by J.I. Hamid is about a 16-year-old Tausug girl who was forced by her parents to marry a man twice her age.

These 12 finalists came from National Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao who each received seed money of P 100,000.

An awarding ceremony in November will be held to give awards with cash prizes to the winners. For more details on PPP 2020, visit the official social media accounts of FDCP.

Enjoy life to the fullest with healthier lifestyle

T

HEY say that it is when you are at your weakest that you will truly know how strong you really are as a person. This couldn’t be more true for Jen, a former corporate gal who suddenly found herself in the middle of fighting Stage 1 Breast Cancer while transitioning from corporate to solo business.

Jen is one of those people who has a pure heart.

Always armed with a smile, Jen just wanted what everyone else did in life: good things for herself, her family, and the people around her. When the news of the breast cancer arrived, instead of dwelling on the why, she focused on how she can better herself to combat this disease so that she can be there for the people that mattered most.

What Jen discovered via Life Science changed her life.

Finding out that food can be medicine was something that she didn’t know. When she made the switch to a healthier, more organic lifestyle, Jen discovered that her body became better inside which lead to her becoming healthier on the outside.

A no sugar, no soy, gluten-free, no dairy, and only lean meats diet worked best for her and so she adapted this to her daily life and her family’s meal plan. The results were amazing and so she and her whole family has

wholeheartedly embraced the organic lifestyle, from food to drinks and even the soap that they use.

A Happier Life with Jen is a way for Jen to help spread awareness on healthy options that are available through her shop and be able to help other people overcome their health issues through the products that she has personally tried and tested. She personally checks the ingredients to make sure that everything is good for the body before including a product to her shop.

Jen’s favorite is Gerry’s Guyabano juice, Jasmine Red Rice, and Bakku2BasikCoco Cider Soap. The guyabano juice is very good for the body while the red rice is a healthier alternative to white rice. Softer and easier to digest, red rice is a better option for white rice. The Bakku2Basik Coco Cider Soap is good for both face and body since it’s gentle on the skin.

All products carried by A Happier Life with Jen is meant to do just that, bring you a healthier, happier lifestyle to allow you to enjoy life to the fullest. When you buy a product from her store, you’re not just buying a product. You are buying something that will help you lead and build a better, healthier, stronger, and happier you.

FB:https://www.facebook.com/ahappierlifewithjen/

TMP launches service campaign checker

T

OYOTA Motor Philippines (TMP) is committed to upholding the highest quality of our products and services, and maintaining transparency to prioritize our customers’ safety. As part of this commitment, the leading automotive company issues Service Campaigns whenever there are cases of manufactured vehicles having concerns with certain parts which may affect vehicle performance.

Service Campaigns are Toyota-initiated programs which call for inspection and repair of vehicles to prevent issues from occurring.

Services done to the vehicles covered by this campaign are performed at no cost to the customers. There are two types of service campaigns. One is the Special Service Campaign aims to prevent safety-related problems while there is no

warranty claim time limit period.

While the Customer Satisfaction Campaign aims to prevent other vehicle problems which is offered for a specific period only.

This October 2020, TMP launched the Service Campaign VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) Checker at https://toyota.com. ph/service-campaign which allows Toyota customers to check if their vehicles are covered by any active Service Campaigns. If their unit is affected, the type of Service Campaign is determined, and customers are made aware of the vehicle’s condition and the suggested remedy for the issue.

For further questions or clarifications about active Special Service Campaigns, you may contact your preferred dealership or Toyota’s Customer Assistance Center at (02) 8819-2912 and customerassistance@toyota.com.ph.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 B7

Bria Homes eyes aspiring homeowners market

O

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

wning a home is one of the top priorities of Filipino families especially in these so-called dystopian times.

Juan dela Cruz believes a home provides everything that his family needs—welldesigned spaces for learning and work, access to transportation, proximity to essential locations, and recreational options, among others.

In a developing market like the Philippines, affordability is a key issue to any aspiring homeowners. Fortunately, Bria Homes is here to fill the need of millions of aspiring Filipinos to own a home.

“Every Filipino dreams of owning a home,” Bria Homes President Red Rosales said. “Because of the uncertainties engendered by the pandemic, purchasing a superior-quality home that will last through the years remains a hardworking Filipino’s biggest aspiration,” Rosales said in a press statement.

In Bria, aspiring homeowners are assured that they will get the their money’s worth when buyng a Bria home because of its good quality.

“Bria home is as easy as shelling out

P2,994 per month through flexible payment schemes such as Pag-IBIG housing loans and bank financing,” Rosales said.

“This affirms the leading real-estate developer’s winning formula: Affordability [Mura] + Quality [Dekalidad] = a beautiful Bria Home for every Filipino,” Rosales added.

Moreover, Rosales said Bria is providing another option for investors through property rental. With so many Filipino households in need of a high-quality home, Rosales said renting out a Bria home can generate passive income.

Accessibility is one key feature in any Bria project as family members that need to commute or drive to work will experience good convenience as Bria’s access to public transport vehicles and major roads and highways. Rosales said the rest of the household will enjoy proximity to retail centers, schools, hospitals and churches.

As Bria Homes values the convenience of its community members, bills and amorti-

Buying a good-quality Bria home is as easy as shelling out P2,994 per month through flexible payment schemes.

zation payments may be transacted online.

A believer in the benefits of technology, Bria has provisions of reliable Internet connection to the communities. “It is considered a basic necessity in the new normal where face-to-face interactions are not encouraged,” Rosales explained.

All Bria communities have Sentro that has eco-friendly spaces with solar lights, multipurpose halls, covered basketball

courts, community center pand children’s playgrounds.

Rosales pointed out that investing in a Bria home is a worthy undertaking as it provides services that are attuned to the requirements of the times. For instance, Bria’s customer relations management (CRM) team is available 24/7 via their online platforms. Since Bria Homes puts importance on the security of their resi-

dents, the latter can seek digital resolutions for their various property-related concerns through its Enhanced Property Management group.

Furthermore, Rosales said future residents of Bria will have reliable maintenance services for their units in the ensuing years.

With Bria’s reliable construction and engineering teams, Rosales claimed the units dwellings are not only made of high-quality materials that are built to last.

“Bria takes this to heart by offering Filipinos modern, well-built, and affordable house-and-lot packages located in safe and secure communities. This will afford them a greater sense of security and comfort because they know that properties are real and tangible assets that increase in value over time,” Rosales stressed.

Rosales pointed out that this is the right time for aspiring homeowners to own a Bria property.

“We welcome all Filipinos, aspiring homeowners and property investors alike, to the Bria family with confidence and enthusiasm,” Rosales said.

“As a leader in housing development, Bria has built over 50 communities in progressive towns and cities all over the country, with more projects in the pipeline. Soon, more Filipinos will ensure a solid future for their families and live safe and secure lives through Bria Homes.”

Study bares growing interest in provincial properties Filinvest Mimosa+ sustains By roderick l. Abad Contributor

T

HE Southern Tagalog mainland has drawn much interests from among the property seekers compared to the National Capital Region (NCR) amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, revealed a study.

Based on the latest trend report, dubbed “The Outlook by Lamudi: Provincial cities and overseas interest contribute to real estate resilience,” in partnership with Colliers Philippines, provinces near Metro Manila, particularly those in Region 4A, recorded the greatest jumps in interest for both pageviews and leads on the property portal over the last six months of 2019 to the first half of 2020.

The research showed that homebuyers from Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon)

are more active in viewing and making inquiries. Also, the growth in leads was larger than in pageviews.

Accordingly, Calamba (37.34 percent), General Trias (30.45 percent), Santa Rosa (27.22 percent) and Lipa (26.87 percent) posted the highest change in leads, indicating a high property seeker interest in these areas.

This is likely because of their close proximity to the metropolis and relatively low property prices, bared the study.

Other places in the administrative region that fairly attracted potential customers were Antipolo (20.24 percent), Silang (18.71 percent), Cainta (18.34 percent), and Imus (13.92 percent).

Surprisingly, Cagayan de Oro (24.73 percent) appeared as the lone provincial city outside of Luzon to register such a big increase in leads, while San Fernando (16.33 percent) was just at a modest level.

In terms of pageviews, Lipa (18.69 percent) marked

the highest traffic, followed by Antipolo (17.40 percent), San Fernando (16.46 percent), Calamba (16.30 percent), Cagayan de Oro (14.34 percent), Silang (10.03 percent), Cainta (6.47 percent), General Trias (6.47 percent), Sta. Rosa (3.34 percent) and Imus (1.41 percent).

While Calabarzon properties outperformed those in the NCR, some areas in the fringes of Metro Manila still managed to get positive response from prospective clients.

When it comes to leads and pageviews, respectively, Valenzuela accounted for 35.63 percent and 34.99 percent, Marikina at 19.16 percent and 28.82 percent, Pateros at 17.67 percent and 20.18 percent, and Caloocan at 16.58 percent and 15.36 percent.

Lamudi said in its study that the move toward provincial cities, complemented in part by lower population, fewer Covid-19 cases, and eased community quarantines, may continue in the near to medium term.

Home

LG lets you live life in details in the new normal

H

alf a year into the pandemic, staying at home has become the new normal. Most of the activities you’ll engage in, whether for work or for leisure, will be confined to the four corners of your home.

However, just because you can’t go outside doesn’t mean you have to compromise. Working from home, or relaxing after a long day, doesn’t have to be a drag.

In the new normal, having access to technology that won’t let you down is important. Every detail, no matter how small, contributes in uplifting experience and enjoyment. To show just how enjoyable staying home can be, LG Philippines (www.lg.com/ph), recently held an online event to showcase its newest home entertainment system offerings.

Focusing on “Life in Details,” LG collaborated with influencers and tastemakers from all walks of life to discuss how LG’s latest home entertainment options are the perfect upgrade as you stay at home. Each of the personalities had their own unique experiences with LG’s home entertainment products. They talked about how they spent more time at home with these, they were able to integrate it to their lives, both for work and for play.

Multi-talented actor Mikael Daez delved into how LG UltraGear gaming monitors leveled up his gameplay and how the UltraWide monitor helped in working-fromhome, while acclaimed film director Mik Red gushed about the unrivaled cinematic experience offered by LG OLED TV. PBA all-star LA Tenorio shared his observations on how self-lit pixels excel in sports, and beauty queen Megan Young admired the fast response time the OLED TV offers. Tatler Homes Editor, Stephanie Zubiri discussed how LG OLED fits perfectly inside a smart home thanks to its AI technology, while long-time LG brand ambassador James Deakin went into detail about pure colors of LG Real 8K NanoCell TVs. Headlining LG’s home entertainment event was the LG OLED GX TV. LG OLED screen technology uses selflit pixels, meaning they work independently to emit their own light. This allows for perfect black levels, outstanding colors, infinite contrast, and the sharpest details which ultimately uncovers all the details in darker scenes. As detailed by LG’s influencers, LG’s OLED technology is a perfect fit for any lifestyle and any interest. Whether your TV use caters more to Cinematic,

8 LG NanoCell Real 8K

Sports, Gaming, or Lifestyle, LG OLED TV provides the best experience possible.

Another heavyweight in LG’s lineup of TVs is the NanoCell Real 8K TV. By offering accurate, lifelike color, one is able to experience unparalleled realism at home.

LG NanoCell technology produces pure colors by applying about 1nm-sized nanoparticles to filter out dull color and enhance color purity, giving you vivid and accurate hues.

Perfectly complementing the LG OLED and LG NanoCell 8K are two new speakers—the XBoom Go PL5 and PL7. These are portable Bluetooth speakers that give any room, big or small, an immersive surround sound experience. To bring their XBOOM speakers to the next level, LG has collaborated with Meridian, the British pioneers and one of the pillars of High-Resolution audio.

For gamers and would-be streamers, LG showcased two of its newest monitors. LG UltraGear monitors are the perfect way to get started with esports and gaming, owing to their versatility in performing other tasks without losing a step. Plug it in, play a game, and immerse yourself. LG UltraWide monitors are the perfect working-from-home companion, giving you a wide screen area to multi-task and boost your productivity.

A whole new world awaits.

LG Managing Director Inkwun Heo spoke about the role that home entertainment plays in the new normal.

“With the extended amount of time we’re now spending at home and in the foreseeable future, we really get to see Life in Details. We learn to appreciate how technol-

ogy makes our life better. As staying at home becomes the ‘new normal,’ I assure you, with our new Home Entertainment System, you would want to stay at home.”

Also, LG donates Digital Displays to the City of Pasig to help out the City in disseminating important information to its constituents, LG Philippines made a donation of two digital signage displays to the City Hall. The two 75UH5E-B displays, worth over P800,000, will be used in Pasig City Hall to convey announcements, infographics, and broadcasts to its residents. For more information visit www.lg-informationdisplay.com/.

LG has always been a long and ardent supporter of the local government of Pasig. Over the past few months during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, LG has donated over 500 bags of personal hygiene kits to the frontliners of Pasig City General Hospital, Pasig City Child’s Hope, and Pasig City’s Emergency Unit. 5 LG refrigerators were also donated for the city’s mobile kitchen, and 2 LG washing machines for the nurses’ and doctors’ isolation house.

Speaking more regarding the company’s involvement with Pasig’s LGU, Heo said. “We believe in paying it forward. We’ve been doing business in Pasig City for years so we do our part in supporting the local government’s efforts in any way we can. We believe these initiatives will make a difference in helping out Pasig’s civil servants.”

LG products are available in Lazmall and other authorized online sellers and dealers nationwide.

Reni Salvador

progress amid pandemic

The soon-to-be-completed Mimosa Filinvest Lifemalls is posed as the center of leisure and entertainment at Filinvest Mimosa+, where people can dine, shop, and do other relaxing activities.

A

s the country adapts to the new normal, Filinvest Mimosa+, a prime mover in the real-estate industry, remains committed to deliver its promise of providing a premier lifestyle, leisure, and business environment in Central Luzon.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, Filinvest Mimosa+ has demonstrated resiliency by constantly expanding its portfolio of establishments and developments that meet the needs of investors and endusers in the area.

In pursuit of its goal to shape urban living outside of Metro Manila, the Filinvest Group is bringing its enhanced people-centric master plan to Central Luzon, one of the country’s core regions that make significant contributions to the Philippine economy’s overall growth.

Among Filinvest Mimosa+’s plans for future developments is the expansion of its Workplus office campus, which provides corporate owners a conducive place for their businesses up North. Two new buildings—4Workplus and 7Workplus—are set to rise soon, joining the successful first two Workplus buildings.

Complementing the office campus is the Lodge Plus, a comfortable temporary shelter for employees. With this, more employees will be able to spend less time commuting, thus promoting utmost convenience and a work-life balance. In addition to that, there are bike lanes in the area for easier and safer mobility.

Meanwhile, the Golf Ridge Private Estate offers masterfully crafted properties that make the most of the tranquility of Filinvest Mimosa+’s natural landscape. Soon-to-be residents will get to enjoy a life of ease and comfort with its generous and carefully planned living spaces.

Another development to look forward to is the completion of the township’s lifestyle mall—Mimosa Filinvest Lifemalls. Complementing the growing office campus with one of a kind retail experience, this will be the center of dining, shopping, entertainment, and other recreational activities in the near future.

Prior to the pandemic, Filinvest Mimosa+ has already started the improvements on its current projects to further enhance the high quality of life

it seeks to provide. These include the Mimosa Golf Course, which, together with the Quest Plus Conference Center, provides a warm, Filipino-style service for a comfortable and sophisticated stay within Filinvest Mimosa+. In addition to that, Quest Plus Conference Center, Clark is also posed as the next MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions) destination in Central Luzon.

There is also the Acacia Park where people can do their fitness routines or commune with nature and the Mimosa+ Events Grounds that is perfect for local and international sports events, outdoor concerts, and other exciting activities in the future.

As a leisure hub that is close to nature, Mimosa+ has green spaces providing a relaxing and healthier environment for its people.

With these new developments, Filinvest Mimosa+ has built a top-of-mind, year-round business, and leisure destination away from the congested and frantic urban core. Easily accessible at the Clark Freeport Zone, this 201-hectare township project in Pampanga continues to create a safe and ideal live-work-play environment and is getting closer and closer to fulfilling its promise to become the model productivity center in the North. As with any other Filinvest township, safety and health protocols are being implemented inside Filinvest Mimosa+ to further secure its residents, end-users, and investors.

As it seeks to establish a better normal, Filinvest Mimosa+ has also been actively participating in the Filinvest Group’s thrust to provide a high quality of life for the people with its continuous efforts in uplifting communities. Through its corporate social responsibility programs, it has supported thousands of medical workers and Filipino families in need amid the nation’s fight against Covid-19.

Aside from pledging P100 million worth of test kits, the Filinvest Group has also transformed its Filinvest Tent in Alabang, Muntinlupa into a 108bed quarantine center for Covid-19 patients to help decongest hospitals and donated food packs to aid other local communities.

For more updates on Filinvest Mimosa+, visit http://mimosaplus.com.ph/.

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Wednesday, October 28, 2020 | mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

A

FTER a slow start in the Clark bubble, Meralco and Alaska sprang back to life behind the steady showing of a veteran guard and the promise of a rookie big man.

The red-hot Bolts, following a 1-2 start, flipped the switch in an unbeaten second week run by riding the hot hands of Chris Newsome as the Aces leaned on freshman Barkley Eboña to also turn the team’s fortunes around from an early 0-2 hole.

Newsome averaged 20.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.5 blocks in a stirring week for the Bolts, who scored big wins over Magnolia and NLEX to climb in the middle of the standings halfway through the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup restart.

The all-around play of the 30-year-old FilipinoAmerican, who scored a clutch jumper in Meralco’s

NEWSOME-EBOÑA WEEK 109-104 overtime win against the Hotshots, earned him the Cignal TV-PBA Press Corps (PBAPC) Player of the Week for the period October 19 to 26. He became the second player to gain the honor inside the bubble after TnT’s Roger Pogoy.

Then there’s Eboña, the dynamic forward who broke out with averages of 17.33 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 block in three games for the Aces, to emerge as the PBAPC Rookie of the Week.

Both Newsome and Eboña were voted unanimously for the weekly citation given by members of the media covering the PBA beat.

Newsome put up 23 points, seven

rebounds, six assists and two blocks in Meralco’s win over Magnolia, before following it up with an 18-6-6 stats line in the Bolts’ 10192 triumph over NLEX. The 6-foot-6 Eboña showed a glimpse of his true potential following a breakout week for the Aces, who went 2-1 during that weeklong stretch for an even 3-3 record.

The No. 4 overall pick from Far Eastern University, who’s being trained by Alaska deputy and two-time MVP Danny Ildefonso, erupted for a career-best 24 points on a nearperfect 10-of-11 shooting in Alaska’s runaway 120-82 win over Blackwater, whose Coach Nash

P1.86B BUDGET PROPOSED FOR SPORTS ACADEMY

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

I

T’S all ahead full for the National Academy of Sports (NAS) after P1.86 billion has been proposed for the school’s full implementation in 2021.

Of the proposed budget, P264 million will be for personnel services and maintenance and other operating expenses and P1.60 billion will be for capital outlay, Education Undersecretary for Field Operations Atty. Revsee Escobedo told the Handang Isip, Handa Bukas Press Briefing recently.

The Department of Education and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) are teaming up for the NAS’s establishment which was realized through Republic Act No. 11470 which was signed into law by President Duterte last June. The academy provides an avenue for secondary students who want to pursue a career in sports.

“The DepEd and PSC are working hand in hand on the initial preparations of the

Editor: Jun Lomibao

National Academy of Sports,” said Escobedo, adding that DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones would be the chairperson and PSC Chairman William Ramirez would be the vice chairman of the institution.

“The aim of establishing this National Academy of Sports is to implement a quality and enhanced secondary education program, integrated with a special curriculum on sports,” he added.

Forming a new strand in the education sector, the NAS System aims to design a special curriculum for athletic scholars, provide holistic quality education to the learners who are excelling in sports and integrate all sports academy to one governance and management system.

The NAS also intends to develop, strengthen and integrate future campuses into the system

Racela was Eboña’s college mentor.

Even in Alaska’s 88-92 loss against reigning champion San Miguel, Eboña also left his mark by finishing with 18 points on 9-of-11 clip, five rebounds, a steal and a block in just 21 minutes of play.

Magnolia, meanwhile, hopes to bring the momentum of its huge 102-92 win over erstwhile unbeaten Barangay Ginebra San Miguel as it faces Blackwater at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at the Angeles University Foundation Gym. Defending champion San Miguel Beer and Meralco, both holding 3-2 win-loss record, collide in 6:45 p.m. game.

MERALCO’S Chris Newsome and Alaska’s Barkley Eboña are the top players for the previous week.

and provide world-class sports facilities to produce globally competitive athletes.

For the succeeding steps, the organization would create a NAS Road Map and focus more on the curriculum development, construct the NAS Main Campus at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, and draft its operational manuals to improve the system.

Briones, on the other hand, was delighted over the addition of the NAS in the education sector, saying it could give learners more avenue to pursue their specialization.

AL MENDOZA alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL

College coaches express concern over return-to-training guidelines

T

CALVO

PERASOL

BAJAR

By Annie Abad

HE guidelines for student athletes’ return to training were announced on Monday, a development that shows sports could be slowly beating the Covid-19.

But the guidelines were neither warmly welcomed nor enthusiastically embraced by certain stakeholders in the collegiate leagues.

“We will follow the guidelines,” said Letran’s Fr. Victor Calvo Jr., the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 96 management committee chairman. “In fact, I sent two representatives to help formulate the guideline.”

Calvo said Lyceum of the Philippines University’s Herc Callanta and Jose Rizal University’s Paul Supan helped the technical working group (TWG) in formulating the guidelines under the supervision of the Commission on Higher Education Chairman Prospero de Vera III. De Vera—along with Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez, Games and Amusements Board Chairman Abraham Khalil Mitra and Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje— bared the guidelines in an online press conference on Monday.

The guidelines bordered on two major components on student athletes’ return to training—the preferred online training and

the stay-in concept which involves a bubble facility and parents’ condent for the young athletes.

Calvo, however, set some reservations on the stay-in concept.

“I don’t have any idea yet on who can afford the cost and risk of these guidelines for now,” he said.

University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons Head Coach Bo Perasol said it would be best if the authorities slow down a bit in allowing the return of school sports.

“The risk will always be there. That’s why it is important not to rush it,” Perasol said. “Health protocols have to be firmly established and followed.”

But Perasol said that looking at the bright side of things he said, school sports is already moving forward.

“The good part about that is that we’re finally moving forward. One small step at a time. There’s going to be a lot of work to be done yet to ensure the safety of everyone,” he said.

Diliman University Head Coach Rensy Bajar also stressed the students’ safety must always be a priority.

“I think we have to wait for the vaccine.

I feel it’s still risky student if we start training now,”Bajar said.

The CHED will submit the guidelines to the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases this week for approval.

GCash makes gaming possible with casual eSports Goama Games

G

CASH is giving its users full and unlimited access to play hundreds of exciting and skill-based games for free all through one app.

GCash partnered with Goama Games, a worldwide leader in the casual eSports arena, to make gaming inside the GCash App possible. The top gaming platform currently has key partners in more than 17 countries which have recorded more than 2 million minutes of game time per week.

Goama Games is part of GCash’s initiative to become a lifestyle super app through GLife, a new feature on the GCash app that allows users to access and to transact seamlessly with partners cutting across different industries such as food delivery, retail and gaming—minus the hassle of downloading multiple apps for each.

“Since the start of quarantine, mobile gaming has been the top pastime of Filipinos.

At the same time, GCash has recorded its highest number of users to date,” GCash President Martha Sazon said. “Thus, we decided to bring more fun to GCash. Now, it’s not simply a pastime, but GCash users can earn money from gaming as well.”

Every week, users can join the GCash Mobile Game Tournament through the GCash app for as low as P15 to P50—or even for free—and get the chance to win prizes for setting the high score for games of their choice.

Anyone with a registered GCash account can play multiple tournament games plus

new featured games to be introduced every week. To track their rank, scores game will be visible on the leaderboard once they complete a particular session of the game, which will be updated if they get higher scores as they play.

There are two modes for tournaments— Practice and Paid. Practice Tournaments are for casual gamers looking for stress-free gaming to get the top score and a chance to win a prize. Paid Tournaments, on the other hand, are weekly challenges that will pit players against other players to secure the top score objective and will have multiple winners per tournament.

Among the six highlighted games for the first round of tournaments are Panda Sling, Flip Jump, Hexagon Fall, City Protector, The Escape, Hit the Knife and City Protector, which contains reminders on health and safety protocols as part of the campaign to flatten the curve.

“We are proud to be working with GCash to introduce competitive casual gaming in the Philippines region. We believe in Doing Good through Gaming and it is reflected in this partnership,” Goama CEO Taro Araya said.

“GCash users will definitely enjoy a fun-filled experience and new love for mobile casual games on our tournament platform.”

GCash is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information, kindly visit GCash-Buy Load, Pay Bills, Send Money.

Calvin Abueva’s bubble of goodness I THINK there’s an imperative need to pursue it. As in a bill certified urgent by the President: It needs to be passed without delay.

What’s it all about, Alfie?

I’d petition the court to have Calvin Abueva’s moniker changed from “The Beast” to “The Best.”

This early in his resurrection, I think he’s earned it. Almost.

In his very first game alone following a league-decreed lifetime ban for roguish behavior both on and off the court, Abueva immediately discarded his cloak of wickedness.

For the first time in 16 months, he played from rough to tough.

There’s such a world of a difference between rough and tough.

You are rough when you go for the hoop coupled with the intent to hurt the one that crosses your path. Like shooting with elbows flying, fists cocked, knees knocking down defenders, a foot sticking into a groin, if not a crotch.

That is not basketball but “basketbrawl.”

You are tough when you play with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul—but minus the intent to hurt, maim.

That is basketball and not “basket-bull.”

Here’s the deal, as told to a neighbor of mine: If, in Abueva’s Phoenix-like rise from the ashes, he’d change his ways from rough to royal, he gets to be rechristened from beast to best. Nix a court order.

On Monday this week, Abueva did just that.

He didn’t only play basketball clean as a sheet, he also played his best without being beastly anymore.

Result? He ended up the best not only for his team but for the night as well.

His double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds more than helped his team, Phoenix, to steal a come-from-behind 114-110 victory over NLEX. It must have felt like Abueva was in Cloud 9.

For the first time in his controversy-ridden career, he was not someone who got away with crime but someone who bailed out his beleaguered team with his heroic rescue job—a la Superman, if not Batman, or Spider-Man. OK, it was just one game. And this is only the eliminations of the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup. We still have a long way to go.

Can the well-behaved Abueva, in his career restart, be as well-behaved in the days to come?

There will always be cynics, the villainous kind, wanting to burst the sudden, but beautiful, Abueva bubble of goodness. The devil rests not from victim-hunting, like the deep blue sea. Up to Calvin to put his demons under check.

The best from the beast is just begun?

THAT’S IT For placing third in the tough US LPGA Open last weekend, Bianca Pagdanganan, 22, has put the Philippines back on the world golf stage. Watch out for her as already, Bianca’s established herself as the longest hitter on the Tour with her average drive of 310 yards in seven starts.

That almost equals the distance of most of the world’s top male pros!