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All Systems Go: Addressing ‘return to office hesitancy’ first

By Jose Carmelo Porciuncula

THIS IS NOT the first time we have gone through a pandemic.

In 1918, 101 years before the first recorded infection of COVID-19, the world witnessed over 1 billion cases of Spanish Flu that caused 50 million deaths across the globe. Back then, no vaccines were successfully developed, leaving isolation and disinfection the only defenses against the disease until it “faded away” two years later.

If there is one fact that was emphasized after four pandemics in the last century, it is that people always find ways to adapt, live through it, and move on.

As the Philippine government steadily rolls out its vaccination program and implements looser quarantine restrictions, more social mobility and economic activity have been observed. The country is pegged to post the strongest rebound in Southeast Asia in 2022.

While many are anticipating and are hopeful for a “sense of normal,” one important aspect to address is the hesitancy of people to fully go back to their pre-pandemic routines. After years under strict lockdown, millions of deaths, and countless cases of lingering health conditions, many still express fear and anxiety about going outside and being surrounded by crowds despite being vaccinated against the virus. In the US, a survey conducted by NPR/PBR NewsHour/MaristPoll found that most of the respondents are still not comfortable with going back to pre-pandemic activities including spending time in bars (69%), attending concerts or sporting events (65%), and participating in religious gatherings (54%). However, the same poll found that of the 1,115 American adults surveyed, 86% said that they are at least “somewhat comfortable” heading back to the office and resuming in-person work post-COVID.

Local surveys found that 56% of Filipino employees are most likely to be back in the office by 2022 and shared that while remote work is an available option, having a physical workplace is still ideal. Companies that are pre-paring for employee re-entry in the next few months must ensure a comprehensive approach to bouncing back in the new normal. Business leaders must be able to identify effective solutions and inspire new practices that will turn into habits as employees return to the workplace. Psychologists and behavioral scientists suggest encouraging people to focus on what they will be gaining by returning to the office and giving members of the organization enough time to adjust to the changing social and public health circumstances. An office is not just a mere space for work, it is the core of a company, a symbol of community and collaboration for most employees.

COVID-19 has also presented an unprecedented challenge to all professionals involved in managing and maintaining buildings. Property and asset managers are not only implementors of IATF-mandated protocols in the workplace, they are also people that ensure all systems are clear before reopening. While the global health crisis seemed like a case of survival of the fittest in business, it also laid new groundwork for asset managers in evalu-ating structural integrity and mitigating risks as buildings and establishments prepare for a sudden surge in re-occupancy.

Similar to how people get ready to reintegrate themselves into the “new normal” society, properties need to prepare as well. Commercial and retail establishments are considered “living things” by the people who maintain their systems to function. Buildings are designed and engineered to sustain the extremes of what they can handle — from their physical loading capacity up to their utilities. When the pandemic happened and prolonged lock-downs were implemented, majority of buildings were forced to operate way below their design criteria.

Majority of property owners held off spending on repairs and asset maintenance activities to focus on COVID-19 efforts and expenses. Others have cut costs due to budget constraints during lockdowns, while some argue that building maintenance is not a priority when it is vacated. Periods of low or no occupancy can be challenging for building systems as deviation from standard operations may increase the risk of water system failures, fires, mold growth, pest infestation, and other complications that can lead to health hazards and bigger asset damage in the long run. A full systems audit should be a priority when buildings prepare for reopening. Correct procedure needs to be taken when reopening systems that cover HVAC and ventilation, electrical and power, vertical transport, and plumbing.

Public health experts are urging landlords across the globe to evaluate and carefully re-open properties to prevent other outbreaks from happening. In a report, medical experts express their concern for the possible emer-gence of Legionnaire’s Disease, a more severe and sometimes lethal form of pneumonia. This respiratory threat is caused by the lack of chlorinated water flowing through pipes, combined with irregular temperature changes, common in long-vacated spaces.

As athletes need to gradually warm up before training again after an injury, commercial buildings, retail establishments, residential developments, and other real estate properties need ample time and correct preparation before they can operate “business as usual.”

Addressing return to workplace hesitancy should not only focus on implementing COVID-19 measures but should entail comprehensive preparation by landlords by including a proper full systems audit in their business con-tinuity plan. Without proper asset management, there is always the uncertainty of system reliability, and the risks in a sudden reopening will always be present.

At the end of the day, a property without the people in it, remains just a structure. Its value is maintained by investing in property management that focuses not just on maintaining its structural integrity and functions, but puts the health and safety of its occupants first. n

JOSE CARMELO PORCIUNCULA is KMC
Savills’ executive director for Investor Services. Aside from the execution of his leadership role, he is mainly responsible for the overall management and long-term business viability of the company including the assessment of investment opportunities and the sale of high-net-worth property transactions.

Meta exec says PHL laws prevent enforcers from quickly addressing cybercrimes

PHILSTAR FILE

AN OFFICIAL of Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, told the Philippine Senate on Thursday that the country’s current laws hinder law enforcement agencies from quickly tracking perpetrators of cybercrimes.

Roy Abrams, Meta’s law enforcement manager for Asia Pacific, said the challenge lies in the need for police officers to get a search warrant.

He also noted the prevalence of internet cafes in the country, which could be readily used by cybercriminals and stay anonymous.

“We are in very close consultation with the relevant subcommittees within both the House (of Representatives) and the Senate to revise this to make the police… more nimble,” Mr. Abrams told a Senate hearing on a resolution that seeks to amend the country’s cybercrime law to address the proliferation of illegal activities using digital platforms.

Mr. Abrams said Meta — which is also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, among others — is working with the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Cybercrime Group for systems that can help them quickly address illegal activities within the bounds of the law.

He cited a direct reporting system where the Philippine government was provided a “special email address” for quick content takedown when necessary.

At the level of criminal investigation, a data disclosure program will be implemented where law enforcement agencies are entitled to information called basic subscriber information, which includes Internet Protocol (IP) address and session Information Identification.

By identifying a machine’s IP address, it will be easier to locate the device being used by the assailant.

“Philippine law enforcement does have the power to get user information data from us in criminal matters, that means certain criteria, acknowledging fully that defamation can be one of our trickier issues,” said Mr. Abrams.

Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said the problem with this existing arrangement is that access to data depends on the social media platform’s criteria instead of the government’s.

“Media platforms have the authority to decide whether or not we can enforce accountability, and that power is simply exercised by denying or maintaining the power to let these accounts remain anonymous,” he said during hearing. “They have the impunity because of the anonymity.”

The senator called to “move the responsibility of enforcing our rights from the social media platforms to our courts.”

Senator Francis “Kiko” N. Pangilinan, who chaired the hearing, noted that free speech is not absolute. “We need the identities to be made available should there be precisely such kind of speech that is harmful, defamatory, illegal or criminal in nature.”

Mr. Abrams assured that they are committed to these dialogues and will continue to work with the Philippine government to find a suitable arrangement that will protect online users’ privacy rights as well as prevent cybercrimes. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

Philippine groups to protest on Int’l Human Rights Day

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

ACTIVIST and other civil society groups said they will hold protest actions in the Philippine capital region on Friday to commemorate International Human Rights Day, just as President Rodrigo R. Duterte participated in a virtual democracy summit hosted by the United States.

In a press conference on Thursday, the groups said the protest will highlight the state of human rights in the country under the current administration, which saw the implementation of a deadly drug war and a counterinsurgency program that facilitated the arrests of activists and other critics.

The groups will come together at the country’s premier state university, located in a city near the capital Manila.

Rights group Karapatan, whose officers have been tagged as communist fronts by government officials, said in an invitation statement that Mr. Duterte’s six-year term has been marked by “systemic and blatant violations of civil and political rights, from the thousands of poor killed in the sham and bloody drug war to the extrajudicial killings and illegal arrests of human rights defenders and activists in the government’s brutal counterinsurgency campaign.”

“We must act now and fight back together to ensure that Duterte is held to account for his crimes,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina E. Palabay.

Mr. Duterte, who has been accused of crimes against humanity by both domestic and international groups for implementing a deadly drug war that has killed thousands, on Thursday participated in a democracy summit hosted by US President Joseph R. Biden.

Ms. Palabay said if the American leader is truly seeking a partnership in working to build democratic and human rights-respecting societies, as he wrote in his invitation to Mr. Duterte, the United States must suspend its billions of security aid to the Philippine police and military and pass the Philippine Human Rights bill proposed by American legislators.

In an interview with the state media, Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs Robert Borje said the President prepared a statement detailing the challenges to Philippine democracy.

“An important part of the speech of the President are the components of democracy which are vital to make democracy stronger,” he said. “I think this is going to be said, in the context, not just of what he’s done during this administration, but working on his mandate to deliver peace and development, safety and security to the people, and in the context of the pandemic, health.”

He said the President was set to state in his speech the importance of a peaceful transition of power in a democracy.

“At the end of it all, what the President is saying is that the Philippines is democratic, Filipinos are democracy-loving people,” he said, “We may continue to have challenges as a democracy, but we’re firmly committed to democratic values.”

The International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor recently assured that it would ask the Philippine government to provide proof that it’s investigating its war on drugs that has killed thousands, after the tribunal suspended an initial probe.

JOURNALIST KILLED

Meanwhile, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has started its own independent probe into the killing of a community journalist on Wednesday.

CHR Spokesperson Jacqueline Ann C. De Guia said in a statement on Thursday that the commission condemns the murder of Jesus “Jess” Malabanan in Calbayog City, Samar as it “worsens the climate of impunity” against journalists.

The police said it has mobilized a “task group to coordinate all actions of regional investigative units” to immediately identify and arrest the perpetrator, who shot the victim in the head while watching television inside their retail store.

Mr. Malabanan was a correspondent for the Manila Standard, The Manila Times, Reuters and Bandera.

Journalist Manuel Mogato said Mr. Malabanan was instrumental in the Reuters reports on President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s drug war, which won the Pulitzer Award in 2018.

“I met Jess when he was a defense reporter in the late 1980s and helped me with stories in Pampanga when I was the Reuters political correspondent for 15 years from 2003. Jess helped Reuters a lot in the drug war stories that won a Pulitzer in 2018,” he said in a Facebook post.

Meanwhile, Presidential Task Force on Media Security executive director Joel S. Egco said in a separate statement that they are also already in coordination with the police.

“We will get to the bottom of this and will stop at nothing in bringing to justice the perpetrators of this despicable crime,” he said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and Russell Louis C. Ku

PHL athletes bring home 9 medals from Asian Youth Paralympic Games

PHILIPPINE athletes won nine medals in the 4th Asian Youth Paralympic Games 2021 held from Dec. 2 to 6 in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday.

The country was represented by 20 athletes who competed in basketball, badminton, table tennis, bocce, and swimming, bringing home one gold, six silver, and two bronze medals.

Ariel Joseph M. Alegarbes won gold in swimming for the 100 meter butterfly S14 and silver for the 100m breaststroke S14.

Daniel F. Enderes and Ronn Russel Mitra won a silver medal each for the Men’s Athletics 1500m T20 and 400m T20, respectively.

Three silver medals were won by Linard C. Sultan for table tennis, Men’s Single Class 8, and the Men’s Mixed Team with Singapore and Kuwait.

Angel Mae C. Otom won a bronze in swimming for the 100m butterfly S1-10 Multi-class, while Mary Eloise L. Sable won in table tennis, Women’s Mixed Team with Malaysia.

The games were held under a “bubble system” to ensure the health and safety of all the athletes and other attendees. During the closing ceremony, Asian Paralympic Committee President Majid Rashed said there were zero cases of coronavirus during the holding of the event. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

House bill seeks to integrate financial literacy in gov’t livelihood programs

A BILL has been filed at the House of Representatives to integrate financial literacy training in the government’s livelihood programs to help beneficiaries better manage their earnings.

Six lawmakers filed House Bill 10562 or the Financial Literacy in Livelihood Programs Act, which would require qualified beneficiaries to attend a series of financial literacy workshops before becoming part of a livelihood program.

“It is not enough to provide access to the poor or give them business opportunities” according to a copy of the bill.

The measure would also create a Financial Literacy Inter-agency Committee, to be led by a member of the National Economic and Development Authority, which will be in charge of the proposed law’s implementation.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) will take the lead in creating modules and materials for the financial literacy training.

An information desk will also be established where beneficiaries can make inquiries on financial matters.

Funding for the implementation of the law will be charged from the appropriation of government agencies conducting livelihood programs. — Russell Louis C. Ku

Gordon pushes for bill on quick, accurate reporting of deaths of convicts

RAID AT BILIBID PRISON MUNTILUPA

A SENATOR on Thursday pushed for the immediate passage of a bill mandating the quick and accurate reporting of deaths and illnesses of persons in detention, including minors.

“The late reporting of these deaths, suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths, and the identity of these high-profile inmates shocked the nation,” Senator Richard J. Gordon, who chairs the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee, said in a statement.

He previously filed Senate Bill 1771 or the Death in Custody Reporting Bill, which seeks the monthly filing of reports of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) and detained children in conflict with law (CICL) convicted of a heinous crime or crimes punishable by reclusion perpetua to respective departments and agencies.

Mr. Gordon called for the passage of the bill after an investigative media report showed that an average of 55 prisoners have died while serving their sentences inside the New Bilibid Prison from Oct. 2019 to April 2020.

There are many questions regarding “the truthfulness and veracity of these reports,” he said, and the circumstances in which the inmates died.

Under the proposed law, non-reporting will be punishable by up to 12 years in jail with a fine of up to P1 million, while false reporting or letting a PDL or CICL escape will be penalized with imprisonment and fines of up to P5 million. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

DENR-Davao to order suspension of tree-cutting permit in Philippine eagle nesting area

THE ENVIRONMENT department’s Davao regional office said on Thursday that it will be ordering the suspension of a permit issued to cut trees in an area that is supposedly part of a declared conservation zone as well as a nesting site of Philippine Eagles.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-XI Regional Director Bagani Fidel A. Evasco said the directive will be issued even as permit grantee Ling-Ling Wu Lee has already halted cutting activities after a community official raised the issue in October.

“Ms. Ling-Ling Wu Lee has voluntarily stopped the cutting of trees in the area ever since Purok Leader Oliver Ancapoy posted through the social media about this issue last Oct. 2021 and DENR XI will issue suspension order to the issued PLTP (Private Land Timber Permit) to this effect,” Mr. Evasco said in a statement.

Several environmental organizations, including the Philippine Eagle Foundation, have called for the cancellation of the permit covering 121 trees in Marilog, an upland area in Davao City.

The city government, in a Dec. 7 letter to DENR-XI, expressed support to the green groups and asked Mr. Evasco to review the matter.

Mr. Evasco said it will be coordinating with the city government to validate whether the titled properties covered in the permit are within the declared conservation area, and “monitor and validate the area with regard to it being a nesting and roosting site of the Philippine Eagle.”

“DENR XI office remains committed to render public service with utmost quality and integrity and shall always consider the welfare of the general public to be balanced with our wildlife conservation measures especially the Philippine Eagles and the forest ecosystem functions as a whole,” he said. — MSJ

Education dep’t eyes January start of expanded in-person classes

PHILSTAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE EDUCATION department on Thursday said it is set to conclude the pilot run of face-to-face classes to determine whether the program that was launched late this year can be expanded to more areas by January.

“We hope to finish this pilot by December to really assess its success,” Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones said at a televised vaccination event on Thursday.

She said the pilot run of in-person classes “has been very successful” so far.

The Department of Education earlier said the pilot run will end on Jan. 31 next year. However, some senators had urged the agency to shorten the timetable so as not to further prolong school closure.

Education Assistant Secretary Malcolm S. Garma said separately in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel that more grade levels and longer class hours might be considered after the pilot run this year.

“We are optimistic that we could start the expansion phase by January,” he said. “That’s when we’re going to consider the other grade levels to be included, not anymore on the pilot but really on the limited face-to-face classes.”

A total of 272 public schools and 18 private schools have been conducting face-to-face classes across the country under the dry run program, Mr. Gama said.

“We are doing the pilot precisely because we want to learn from this,” he said. “This will serve as the basis for our recommendation to the Office of the President if ever we’re going to expand this next year.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

New Zealand to ban cigarette sales for future generations

Cigarettes are seen during the manufacturing process in the British American Tobacco Cigarette Factory (BAT) in Bayreuth, southern Germany, April 30, 2014. Picture taken April 30, 2014. — REUTERS

New Zealand plans to ban young people from ever buying cigarettes in their lifetime in one of the world’s toughest crackdowns on the tobacco industry, arguing that other efforts to extinguish smoking were taking too long.

People aged 14 and under in 2027 will never be allowed to purchase cigarettes in the Pacific country of five million, part of proposals unveiled on Thursday that will also curb the number of retailers authorized to sell tobacco and cut nicotine levels in all products.

“We want to make sure young people never start smoking so we will make it an offense to sell or supply smoked tobacco products to new cohorts of youth,” New Zealand Associate Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall said in a statement.

“If nothing changes, it would be decades till Māori smoking rates fall below 5%, and this government is not prepared to leave people behind.”

Currently, 11.6% of all New Zealanders aged over 15 smoke, a proportion that rises to 29% among indigenous Maori adults, according to government figures.

The government will consult with a Maori health task force in the coming months before introducing legislation into parliament in June next year, with the aim of making it law by the end of 2022.

The restrictions would then be rolled out in stages from 2024, beginning with a sharp reduction in the number of authorized sellers, followed by reduced nicotine requirements in 2025 and the creation of the “smoke-free” generation from 2027.

The package of measures will make New Zealand’s retail tobacco industry one of the most restricted in the world, just behind Bhutan where cigarette sales are banned outright. New Zealand’s neighbor Australia was the first country in the world to mandate plain packaging of cigarettes in 2012.

The New Zealand government said while existing measures like plain packaging and levies on sales had slowed tobacco consumption, the tougher steps were necessary to achieve its goal of fewer than 5% of the population smoking daily by 2025.

The new rules would halve the country’s smoking rates in as few as 10 years from when they take effect, the government said.

Smoking kills about 5,000 people a year in New Zealand, making it one of the country’s top causes of preventable death. Four in five smokers started before age 18, the country’s government said.

‘CRIME WAVE’

Health authorities welcomed the crackdown, while retailers expressed concern about the impact on their businesses and warned of the emergence of a black market.

The government did not give specifics about how the new rules would be policed or whether and how they would apply to visitors to the country.

“Cigarette smoking kills 14 New Zealanders every day and two out of three smokers will die as a result of smoking,” said New Zealand Medical Association chair Alistair Humphrey in a statement.

“This action plan offers some hope of realizing our 2025 Smokefree Aotearoa goal, and keeping our tamariki (Maori children) smokefree.”

However, the Dairy and Business Owners Group, a lobby group for local convenience stores, known in New Zealand as dairies, said while it supported a smoke-free country, the government’s plan would destroy many businesses.

“This is all 100 per cent theory and zero per cent substance,” the group’s chairman, Sunny Kaushal, told Stuff.co.nz. “There’s going to be a crime wave. Gangs and criminals will fill the gap with ciggie houses alongside tinnie houses.” — Reuters

Omicron four times more transmissible than Delta in Japan study

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is 4.2 times more transmissible in its early stage than Delta, according to a study by a Japanese scientist who advises the country’s health ministry, a finding likely to confirm fears about the new strain’s contagiousness.

Hiroshi Nishiura, a professor of health and environmental sciences at Kyoto University who specializes in mathematical modeling of infectious diseases, analyzed genome data available through Nov. 26 in South Africans in Gauteng province.

“The Omicron variant transmits more, and escapes immunity built naturally and through vaccines more,” Mr. Nishiura said in his findings, which were presented at a meeting of the health ministry’s advisory panel on Wednesday.

Concerns are swirling globally that Omicron could deal the world a bigger blow than even Delta, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned that it could fuel surges with “severe consequences.” But a jump in cases in South Africa in the wake of the variant’s emergence hasn’t yet overwhelmed hospitals, leading to some optimism that it may only cause mostly mild illness. Pfizer, Inc. and BioNTech SE also said this week that a booster dose of their vaccine could fortify protection against the strain.

Mr. Nishiura’s study hasn’t been peer-reviewed and published in a scientific journal. The new analysis was conducted using the same method he used in a July study published by the Eurosurveillance medical journal on Delta’s predicted dominance ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

Hundreds of researchers globally are racing to understand the new variant, which is the most differentiated strain yet among the five variants of concern identified by the WHO since the pandemic began.

Cases in South Africa have rapidly increased to as many as nearly 20,000 a day since the country first reported Omicron’s discovery two weeks ago. The number of COVID cases in the nation had remained low in the preceding weeks, despite only 26% of the population being fully vaccinated, according to Bloomberg’s Vaccine Tracker.

“The vaccination rate was less than 30% and many people were probably naturally infected,” Mr.  Nishiura said. “We need to pay close attention to future trends to see if the same thing will happen in countries where mRNA vaccines are used at a high rate.” — Bloomberg

The world’s lowest fertility rate is about to get even lower

REUTERS

South Korea said its fertility rate, already the world’s lowest, is expected to drop even further as the pandemic puts downward pressure on the number of births.

The fertility rate will drop from last year’s 0.84 to just 0.70 in 2024 before gradually rebounding as couples who marry after the pandemic start having children, according to statements by the finance ministry and the statistics office.

By 2031, the government sees the fertility rate edging back up to 1.0, as the large cohort of people born in the 1990s to a second baby boomer generation enter their 30s and start forming families. A fertility rate of about 2 children per woman, the so-called replacement rate, is needed to keep population from falling.

South Korea saw the number of deaths exceed births for the first time last year, a development the government labeled the “death cross.”

Factoring in migration, Korea’s total population started falling this year, eight years before the government forecast in 2019.

The country’s population of about 52 million will decline gradually until 2030, then shrink at a more rapid pace to about 38 million by 2070, the same size it was in 1979, according to the statements.  — Bloomberg

Number of jailed journalists reached  global high in 2021 — CPJ report

Criminal in handcuffs

The number of journalists worldwide who are behind bars reached a global high in 2021, according to a new report from the nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which says that 293 reporters were imprisoned as of Dec. 1 this year.

At least 24 journalists were killed because of their coverage, and 18 others died in circumstances that make it too difficult to determine whether they were targeted because of their work, the CPJ said on Thursday in its annual survey on press freedom and attacks on the media.

While the reasons for jailing reporters vary between countries, the record number reflects political upheaval around the world and a growing intolerance of independent reporting, according to the US-based nonprofit.

“This is the sixth year in a row that CPJ has documented record numbers of journalists imprisoned around the world,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon in a statement. “The number reflects two inextricable challenges — governments are determined to control and manage information, and they are increasingly brazen in their efforts to do so.”

The journalists who were killed in 2021 include Danish Siddiqui, a Reuters photographer who died in a Taliban attack in Afghanistan in July, and Gustavo Sanchez Cabrera, who was shot and killed in Mexico in June.

China imprisoned 50 journalists, the most of any country, followed by Myanmar (26), which arrested reporters as part of a crackdown after its Feb. 1 military coup, then Egypt (25), Vietnam (23) and Belarus (19), the CPJ said.

For the first time, the CPJ’s list includes journalists incarcerated in Hong Kong — a byproduct of the 2020 national security law, which makes anything Beijing regards as subversion, secession, terrorism or colluding with foreign forces punishable by up to life in prison.

Mexico, where journalists are often targeted when their work upsets criminal gangs or corrupt officials, remains the Western hemisphere’s deadliest country for reporters, according to the CPJ. — Reuters

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