PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte had ordered all agencies to reject loans and grants from 41 countries that backed a probe of his deadly war on drugs that has killed thousands, his spokesman said yesterday after denying such memo existed.
Presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo confirmed at a briefing in Malacañang that the president issued the memo on Aug. 27, even as he said this won’t affect the Philippine economy.
“There are other bilateral partners, institutions and countries outside of the 18 countries offering the same and better rates,” said Mr. Panelo, who last week denied Mr. Duterte had issued such order.
The United Nations Human Rights Council on July 11 ordered its human rights office to present a comprehensive report as it expressed concerns about human rights violations in the Philippines in connection with Mr. Duterte’s anti-illegal drug campaign.
The body adopted a resolution that Iceland proposed and 17 other nations voted for. Twenty-four other nations who co-sponsored the resolution did not vote.
The Iceland-sponsored resolution drew the ire of Mr. Duterte, who writhes at Western condemnation of his drive that is widely supported by Filipinos.
Philippine police have said they have killed more than 6,000 people in illegal drug raids, many of them resisting arrest. Some local nongovernmental organizations and the national Commission on Human Rights have placed the death toll at more than 27,000.
The council urged the government to cooperate with UN offices by allowing visits by its officials and by “refraining from all acts of intimidation or retaliation.”
The resolution also called on the Philippines “take all necessary measures to prevent extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, to carry out impartial investigations and to hold perpetrators accountable.”
The government has dismissed the council order, saying states who supported it had been misinformed about the Philippine situation.
Mr. Panelo reiterated the president’s earlier criticism of Iceland’s abortion policy. “He said he cannot comprehend why Iceland is so concerned about the alleged brutal slaying of suspected criminals when it has a law that allows killing, murdering unborn children, unborn babies aged six months and below.”
The spokesman also said Mr. Duterte thought Iceland was trying to impose its culture on the Philippines.
Reading out a response from Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, Mr. Panelo said: “Out of the 18 countries involved, only the United Kingdom has an offer of 21 million euros loan with respect to the Build, Build, Build project of the president.”
He later corrected himself by tracing the loan to France, which wasn’t part of the 18 but was a co-sponsor.
Existing loans deals won’t be affected by the Duterte memo, he added.
Countries that voted for the resolution aside from Iceland were Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Uruguay.
The co-sponsors that did not vote were Belgium, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia and Sweden.
In his fourth State of the Nation Address in July, Mr. Duterte said drug traffickers must be put to death, noting that the illegal drug menace persists despite his deadly war on drugs.
Majority of Filipinos remained satisfied with Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs despite worldwide criticism, according to the Social Weather Stations’ June poll.
The polling firm found that 82% of Filipinos were satisfied with the government’s illegal drug campaign, while only 12% were dissatisfied, resulting in an “excellent” +70 net satisfaction rating.
THE PHILIPPINE Military Academy (PMA) on Monday said it had relieved officers allegedly responsible for the death of a cadet for hazing.
“Officers with direct responsibility in the unfortunate incident have been relieved to pave the way for an impartial investigation,” PMA and the Baguio City Police Office said in a joint statement.
Police have identified three cadets as suspects, two others as so-called persons of interest and nine more as witnesses, according to the statement.
Presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo at a briefing in Malacañang said the head of the PMA should resign after the incident.
“The Office of the President condemns the barbaric practice of hazing in all its forms,” he said in a separate statement.
Mr. Panelo noted that Mr. Duterte enacted an anti-hazing measure last year “to ensure that all practices of hazing are checked and all practitioners thereof are penalized with the full weight of the law.”
He said authorities would implement this the law “as they leave no stone unturned” in the investigation of the cadet’s death.
Mr. Panelo said the palace commends the PMA for cooperating with the police in identifying the suspects.
“We at the same time lament that there is a failure in leadership as regard being negligent in not stopping this murderous ritual, which has no place in a civilized society,” he added.
Also yesterday, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to probe the hazing death.
Cadet Darwin D. Dormitorio was found unconscious in his barracks on Sept. 18 and was rushed to the hospital. He died more than an hour later, according to the PMA. — Arjay L. BalinbinandVann Marlo M. Villegas
MANILA criticized China on Monday after a coast guard ship allegedly blocked three Philippine civilian vessels trying to bring supplies to a navy ship that was deliberately run aground at the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999.
“Of course, it’s objectionable,” presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said in mixed English and Filipino at a briefing. He added that the Chinese had no valid reason to block the Philippine ship because it was only trying to bring food.
The Defense department earlier said a Chinese Coast Guard ship had blocked three Philippine civilian vessels on a resupply mission in May to BRP Sierra Madre at the South China Sea shoal, which Manila calls Ayungin.
Last month, the Armed Forces said at least five Chinese warships had passed through the Sibutu Strait in Tawi-Tawi province in southern Philippines without notice.
The Palace has said that it would “shoo away” unauthorized foreign vessels including Chinese warships that pass through Philippine waters and use military force if necessary.
In his fifth visit to China, the President invoked a 2016 ruling by an international arbitration panel in the Hague that rebuffed Chinese claims over parts of the South China Sea.
The United Nations tribunal in July 2016 ruled China’s efforts to assert control over the South China Sea exceeded the law, rejecting its shared claims with Taiwan to more than 80% of the main waterway.
China rejected the decision of the international court, which has failed to halt its island-building activities in areas also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan. — Arjay L. Balinbin
THE Center for International Law has asked the Supreme Court to cite the Solicitor General and police officials in contempt for submitting “rubbish documents” in connection with the case against the government’s war on drugs.
In its statement, the group said the government’s chief lawyer and police have defied the high court’s order to submit documents related to 20,322 deaths by sending nondrug-related files.
“What the Office of the Solicitor General and Philippine National Police virtually want is for the Supreme Court and the petitioners to utterly waste valuable time and resources examining case files which are totally irrelevant,” the plaintiff said in its motion.
It said the the solicitor general and the police furnished them with 289 compact discs containing documents the court had ordered them to submit.
But out of 1,792 death files inspected by the organization so far, 801 were classified as solved while 991 were unsolved.
Of the solved cases, 90% of were are non-drug related, while 56% percent of unsolved cases were also not related to drugs.
Nondrug-related cased included incidents of stabbing, mauling, hacking and shooting.
The group said the government “cannot feign ignorance” in their obligation and should be ordered to submit the complete and correct documents. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
MORE convicts illegally released by authorities had surrendered to police after the Sept. 19 deadline set by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, the Justice department said yesterday.
Justice Undersecretary Markk L. Perete said a total of 2,221 convicts have surrendered, he said in a mobile-phone message.
Mr. Perete said 1,985 convicts were already at the Bureau of Corrections, while 236 were in the custody of police..
Mr. Duterte earlier said convicts who fail to surrender will be hunted down dead or alive.
Mr. Perete has said authorities were cleaning up the list of prisoners who were released even if they were ineligible because they committed heinous crimes. Some of those on the list had actually been pardoned, given executive clemency or paroled. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
THE Labor department may seek changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Law after reports of violations in the entertainment industry, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said yesterday.
He cited the need to revisit provisions of the law’s implementing rules to ensure they cover all industries.
Meanwhile, the Senate labor committee examined the industry’s enforcement of safety standards after the death of veteran actor Eddie Gutierrez. The actor died from neck injuries after falling during the filming of a TV show. — GMC
FOREIGN workers may now expect faster applications for their alien employment permits through a new one-stop shop launched last week by the Labor department.
In a statement on Monday, the agency said the one-stop shop has counters of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) so foreign workers can easily apply for their tax identification number and special temporary permit.
“Similar one-stop shops will be established in other alien employment permit application-rich areas such as the Cagayan region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas and Davao region,” Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said.
THE father of a young activist from Quezon province has asked the Supreme Court to order the military to release his daughter, who has been detained without criminal charges.
In a petition for habeas corpus, Arnulfo R. Pacalda said his daughter was being deprived of liberty because she had been barred from leaving the military camp.
“In the process, she is being subjected to interrogation without assistance of a competent counsel of her own choice,” according to a copy of the petition. “Her illegal detention resulted in continuous and blatant violation of her constitutional rights.”
Mr. Pacalda said he daughter was a volunteer for a local peasant organization in the province. She was arrested without a warrant on Sept. 14 and soldiers took turns interrogating her without a lawyer. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
CONSUMER group Laban Konsyumer Inc. (LKI) is asking the Department of Energy (DoE) to monitor oil companies’ inventory to ensure they charge fair prices on fuel products acquired before the attacks on the Saudi oil refineries.
“The DoE should intervene so existing inventory (is) priced at levels pre-Saudi oil incident,” LKI President Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba said in a statement during the weekend.
Mr. Dimagiba, a former undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, said the oil industry must not take advantage of a force majeure situation at the expense of consumers.
Separately, the Senate Committee on Energy called on the department to disclose its plan to counter the impact on energy security after the strike on the oil processing facilities of Saudi Arabia, which has raised concerns on possible supply disruptions from the Persian Gulf should the tensions escalate.
Mr. Dimagiba said the oil deregulation law empowers the DoE “to take affirmative action in the interest of the consumers.”
LKI expects prices of petroleum products to jump this week, with gasoline prices possibly rising by P2.10 to P2.30 per liter, diesel by P1.60 to P1.80 per liter, and kerosene by P1.50 to P1.60 per liter.
On Sunday, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. was the first to announce price increases for petroleum products, which are higher than what LKI expected.
The prices of gasoline products are to increase on Tuesday by P2.35 per liter, diesel by P1.80 per liter and kerosene by P1.75 per liter.
Last week, the prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene products rose by P0.50, P0.10 and P0.25 per liter, respectively, immediately after the weekend when drones attacked Saudi Arabia’s oil processing facilities.
After the drone strikes, the DoE said it was seeking to ensure that relevant energy agencies were “sufficiently prepared to face the potential impact of this unfortunate incident, if any, on the country.”
The department said it was premature at that time to say whether the attack would have an adverse impact on the country. It said it was closely monitoring developments in the international markets. But it warned that if there would be an impact on prices, it would be felt by Tuesday.
Ahead of that, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, who heads the Senate’s energy committee, called for an inquiry on Monday to look into the DoE’s plans to ensure an adequate oil supply after the attack on the facilities of Saudi Aramco.
The panel will also seek to be briefed on the plans of the DoE to achieve energy security and mitigate the adverse repercussions of supply shocks on the country’s oil supply and prices.
Mr. Gatchalian said the DoE, as the primary agency in charge of planning and implementing comprehensive programs for the supply of energy, needs to inform the public about the effects of the attacks on oil supply and prices in the Philippines.
He said the DoE “also needs to state its short- and medium- term plans and strategies to ensure continuous and sufficient supply and reasonable prices amidst strains in the Middle East, as well as its its long-term plans and strategies to achieve energy security in order to prevent vulnerability to supply shocks and insulate consumers from unexpected shortages and sharp price increases.”
On Sunday, the DoE said it had reconvened with the proposed members of the oil contingency task force (OCTF) on Sept. 20 to finalize the working draft establishing a working group that would implement the country’s contingency strategies after the drone strike in Saudi Arabia.
“We realize the importance of addressing issues beforehand so that the government may have contingency measures to sustain the country’s economic growth and provide basic services to the people. The activation of the OCTF is vital to our resiliency because we are currently dependent on oil imports,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said.
The department said the OCTF is activated in preparation for natural or man-made disasters to address the country’s immediate oil supply concerns “and, in this case, the impact of the geopolitical and disaster-related events that may cause supply disruptions or sharp volatility in the world oil prices.”
The DoE said it had also called on the oil industry to discuss how the impact of the world oil prices might affect the country’s economy. It said the discussions revolved around the strict implementation of the minimum inventory requirement (MIR), which is equivalent to stocks of 30 days for oil refiners, 15 days for bulk marketers, and seven days for liquefied petroleum gas firms.
It said a proposal to increase the MIR to 60 days was also raised, but the oil sector representatives said the immediate creation of additional infrastructure and the added logistical demand might prove costly and detrimental to current operations.
On oil prices, the DoE said it had explored the possibility of a staggered oil price increases. It said the oil companies took note of the proposal, but said based on indicative figures in the world oil market, present pump prices remain lower than 2018 figures even with the 2019 tranche of the tax reform. They said the country as a whole is affected by world oil price volatility.
The DoE also said it had raised possible contingency measures, which include the preparation of oil supply replacement, and a possible increase in the biofuel blend as an option to mitigate potential supply shortages.
Mr. Cusi said the DoE was “working 24/7 to address these oil-related concerns brought about by the attacks in one of our biggest oil sources in the Middle East.”
“We are reminding everyone to practice energy efficiency measures like carpooling and the use of public transport so that we may all contribute to help the nation and the environment,” he said.
Ten local startups won cash grants, mentorship, and more at the recently concluded BPI Sinag Awards, BPI Foundation’s flagship program championing Filipino social enterprises.
Now in its fifth year, BPI Sinag Accelerate aims to discover, equip, and empower social entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas towards uplifting Filipino communities. Through strategic partnerships with government agencies, non-profits, and other private organizations, the platform hopes to nurture impactful enterprises by helping them develop three types of capital:
Intellectual capital – business workshops and boot camps
Social capital – networking opportunities
Financial capital – funding assistance through grants
This year’s ten winners will be entering a six-month mentorship program under BAYAN Academy for Social Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Development, as well as cash grants to help further grow their businesses. The top five winners were awarded P500,000, while the remaining winners were given P100,000.
The winners of BPI Sinag Awards 2019 were:
Down to Earth – a biodegradable waste solution for primarily urban environments with little to no access to land, turning unused spaces into productive gardens
Gi Crafts Shell Museum and Gallery – a model for developing local communities into tourist-friendly destinations through job creation and vocational skill training
Organic Growth – modernizing Filipino farms and agribusinesses by introducing new crops and best practices to best cater to today’s consumers
Malingkat Enterprises – a platform for Philippin handwoven fabrics, with a special focus on Mindanao weaving communities
Mavil’s House of Mushrooms – healthy snack foods providing livelihood programs to farmers through mushroom cultivation
Meaningful Travels PH – eco-tourism social enterprise offering immersive guided experiences to unique locations all over the Philippines
Halal Organic Crops Production – organic vegetables, free-range chicken, and halal chicken siomai produced by communities internally displaced by the siege of Marawi City
Sabang Daguitan Surf Camp and Dao Balay Kawilan – a spa and resort destination addressing unemployment, access to health services, education, and environmental conservation in Dulag, Leyte
Subida – manufacturers of unique Filipino souveniers produced by local artisans from marginalized communities in Negros Oriental and Siquijor
Yumi’s Farm – a bed and breakfast offering training seminars in organic farming
Each of these enterprises will be exhibiting at the BPI Sinag ng Pasko Christmas Bazaar taking place in December at Glorietta, Makati City.
The World’s Best Flavored Fries, in celebration of its milestones, positions its 27th Anniversary on a flavorful and fun note through its first ever fun run – the Potato Corner Flavor Run to be held on October 27, 2019 in SM by the Bay.
Potato Corner is hoping to celebrate its achievements through the years with its loyal fans, the kids and kids at heart. The Flavor Run expects an explosion of flavors through the participants’ joyful and healthy run.
The Flavored Fries giant plans to make its flavors shine in this event by creating exciting surprises, including its promo to make the registration very affordable for everyone.
A perfect time for your family and friends to enjoy while helping others who are in need, all at the same time. The company, aside from its celebration of flavors, is poised to share its expected revenue from this event with the Philippine Cerebral Palsy Inc foundation.
This is in line with Potato Corner’s charitable advocacy participants may choose between 3KM and 5KM depending on their desired distance. Registration fees are at PHP 850 and PHP 950, respectively.
The company is generously giving away PHP 250 discount vouchers for customers who will avail Giga or Tera Fries from participating Potato Corner stores. The vouchers can be used to get a discount on their registration fees. Vouchers are valid until October 20, and can only be used at partner Garmin stores (Glorietta 5, SM MOA, SM Megamall, SM North EDSA, ATC).
Participants’ registration fees will be covering the race bibs, singlet, and the finisher’s medal. More thrilling and exciting surprises will also be available at the event.
Assembly time for the Flavor Run participants will be at 5AM in the North Fountain of the SM By the Bay. Gun start will be at 5:30AM for the 5KM runners, and 5:40AM for the 3KM runners. Don’t miss out on exciting treats and surprises after the run!
Spotlight is BusinessWorld’s new sponsored section that allows advertisers to amplify their brand and connect with BusinessWorld’s audience by enabling them to publish their stories directly on the BusinessWorld Web site. For more information, send an email to online@bworldonline.com.
Winning together in the fourth industrial revolution
By Bjorn Biel M. Beltran, Special Features Writer
Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, called it “a time of great promise and great peril.”
The Fourth Industrial Revolution — named for the newest era of world-changing technological progress to come after steam, electric, and informational power — is upon us. This time, the revolution is in the fusion of technologies blurring the lines between physical, digital, and biological spheres.
The potentials are endless. The challenges, myriad. To navigate the new age, industry leaders, policy makers, legislators, and other influential stakeholders must come together to prepare for the coming future or else risk being left behind. Which is why BusinessWorld, the country’s most respected business daily, partnered with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators (PCTO), to hold the BusinessWorld Industry 4.0 Summit last Sept. 9 at Shangri-La at the Fort Manila in Taguig City.
Roby Alampay of BusinessWorld, Enrico Delos Reyes of Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators, Gregorio Honasan of Department of Information and Communications Technology and Miguel G. Belmonte of BusinessWorld — Bening Batuigas
This summit, with the theme “Winning Together in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” gathered some of the Philippines’ most esteemed public officials, business executives, industry leaders, and a host of leading experts to discuss the effects of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0), and what the country can do to take advantage of it.
Gregorio B. Honasan II, Secretary of DICT, led the event with an opening address talking about the growing disparity in the world of Industry 4.0 between those who enjoy the benefits of the digital connectivity it provides, and those who cannot.
“The world has changed and will continue to do so in a fast-paced manner,” he said.
“Indeed, fast-paced is an understatement in this hyper-connected, data-driven global economy, data is the new oil or the new gold. However, this is not yet the overall experience in most parts of the country.”
Mr. Honasan stressed the importance of the country’s national ICT agenda to ensure that Filipinos can seize the opportunities of IR 4.0. Lack of connectivity remains an issue, and government initiatives such as the National Broadband network program, Free Wi-Fi for All Public Internet Access Program, and digital portals for more efficient public services can give Filipinos a fighting chance.
“We must work hand in hand not just to generate complete, accurate and timely data for rational decisions at policy levels but also for positive results for the nation and global economy. Industry 4.0 is here, but we’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said.
Anthony Oundjian, managing director and senior partner of the Boston Consulting Group in Southeast Asia, gave the first keynote speech, discussing the nature of IR 4.0; the technologies driving it; and its effects on the economy, business and government.
Mr. Oundjian pointed out that a factory operating in IR 4.0 will be different from those of today through additive manufacturing, advanced robotics, automated replenishment, data-driven quality control, highly responsive customer integration, real-time performance tracking, and digital plant logistics.
“We’ve come a long way from steam power, to electric power, to informational technology and now to digital, cyber, and disruptive technology. What defines the Fourth Industrial Revolution is that innovations are unfolding at breakneck speed,” Senator Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares said in her own keynote speech.
Ms. Poe noted that such speed is something the government sorely lacks, which is why strong leadership and informed legislation should be prioritized if the country is to remain globally competitive.
Lucien Dy Tioco of BusinessWorld — Bening Batuigas
The Philippines, she said, is an analog country in a digital age, slowed down by the bureaucratic red tape that hinders the necessary infrastructure development to bring it completely into the digital age. Legislation such as the Ease of Doing Business Law, the new Public Service Act, and the Freedom of Information Bill can hasten that development, but only through the support of businesses, organizations, and the public.
The keynote talk of Jose Ramon G. Albert, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, expanded on this, discussing how the Philippines can prepare for the changes of the digital age through human capital investments.
Building on an analogy by the World Bank, he said that what the government can do to harness innovation is to act as a gardener: prepare the ground for it through education, nurture the soil through research and information, remove the weeds of competition and deregulation that slows growth, and water it by giving innovators financial incentives.
By future-proofing the Filipino people through skills and training investments, Mr. Albert said that those who are unable to keep up with the changing times are also protected.
The summit also tackled the role of the telecommunications sector in IR 4.0 in the first panel discussion, led by panelists John Gonzales, VP and head of Enterprise Digital Solutions at PLDT, Inc.; Emmanuel Estrada, head of Network Strategy at Globe Telecom, Inc.; and Ed Cabarios, deputy commissioner at National Telecommunications Commission.
The second panel discussion explored how the government and the private sector can maximize the benefits of technologies brought by innovation, with panelists Brig. Gen. Eliseo M. Rio, Jr., undersecretary for operations at DICT; Thomas E. Abell, advisor and chief of digital technology for development at Asian Development Bank; Atty. Jeremiah B. Belgica, director-general of Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA); Trina Firmalo-Fabic, mayor of Odiongan, Romblon; and Renato B. Garcia, director of Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators (PCTO).
Meanwhile, opportunities for growth amid IR 4.0 was the third panel discussion’s subject. Mary Jean T. Pacheco, assistant secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry; Ernesto V. Perez, deputy director-general of ARTA; Alegria S. Limjoco, president of PCCI; Rosemarie B. Ong, president of Philippine Retailers Association; and Roy Cecil D. Ibay, vice-president of PCTO, discussed the retail of the future and how operators in the industry today are laying the groundwork for future innovation.
The fourth panel discussion brought into focus the disruption in the banking and finance sector. The panelists were Chuchi G. Fonacier, deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; Chris Manguera, chief managing officer and head of marketing and app product at Mynt; Kenneth Palacios, head of Wallets Business at PayMaya Philippines; Hamilton Angluben, general manager at Cashalo; and Yu Ming Chin, founder and executive director of Viventis Search Asia.
Afterwards, the changes in the real estate, transportation and manufacturing industries were brought to light, and the fifth panel discussed how they can improve with the help of the technologies driving this revolution. The panelists are Brian Cu, country head of Grab Philippines; Ibarra G. Paulino, executive director of the Philippine Constructors Association; Runel Taningco, head of the infrastructure and communications technology division at the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB); Techie Bautista, vice-president for academic affairs at the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations (CREBA); Emmanuel Estrada, network strategy head of Globe Telecom; and Lester Michael Hernandez, head of solutions at AGS Consulting, an ePLDT company.
To conclude the event, critical issues were addressed in the sixth panel discussion, with the theme “Beyond Connectivity and Access” spanning two separate discussions on Cybersecurity Initiative as well as on Content and Piracy.
For cybersecurity initiative, the panelists were Genalyn B. Macalinao, policy lead for Critical Infostructure Evaluation and Cybersecurity Standard Monitoring at DICT; Angel T. Redoble, first vice-president and chief information security officer at PLDT Group, Smart Communications and ePLDT Group; and Anton Bonifacio, chief information security officer at Globe Telecom, Inc.
Louis Boswell, CEO of Asia Video Industry Association delivered a special presentation about “Industry 4.0: Unlocking Opportunities for the Philippine Creative Industry.” “We’re watching more video than we’ve ever done before. And that has led to a golden age of video,” he shared.
For Content and Piracy, panelists were Neil Gane, general manager of Coalition Against Piracy; Anselmo Adriano, chairman of Optical Media Board; and Jill Go, vice-president for content development and partner management at Globe Telecom.
PCTO Chairman Enrico L. Delos Reyes delivered the closing remarks. “Our readiness [for Industry 4.0] depends on our ability and willingness to adapt,” he said.
The BusinessWorld Industry 4.0 Summit gathered top officials from the public and private sectors last Sept. 9 at Shangri-La at The Fort Manila. — Norman Alviar
The BusinessWorld Industry 4.0 Summit is made possible by major sponsors Globe Telecom, PLDT, Smart, and Suntrust Properties, Inc.; minor sponsors Metrobank, HP, Intel, Integrated Computer Systems, Inc.; Entrego, Wilcon Depot, AGS and SAP; partners Consumer Insighting, Synergy, The Philippine Star, One News, Fiera de Manila, and U Rate It.
