Breach of safety measures

November 9, 2021 | 7:04 pm

Considering how poorly the Packers played against the Chiefs over the weekend, it’s no wonder they can’t wait to get reigning Most Valuable Player awardee Aaron Rodgers back from quarantine. Second-string quarterback Jordan Love was far from efficient in his absence. Perhaps at any other time, going 19 of 34 for 190 yards (and in the process claiming one touchdown and absorbing one interception) would have been excusable; after all, sophomores aren’t expected to perform admirably, no matter the skill set and declared potential. On the other hand, all eyes were on the National Football Conference North Division leaders, and, by extension, the backup under center. And, when the battlesmoke cleared, those same eyes were cast downward for a reason.

To be sure, Rodgers deserves his fair share of blame for his inability to suit up in the first place. It wasn’t that he contracted the COVID-19 virus; no one — not even the vaccinated — is free from infection. It was that he placed himself at greater risk of exposure because he “found a long-term immunization protocol to protect myself.” Which is to say he believes “the research that went into that” and which he is “proud of” trumps science; never mind that it’s actually based on misinformation predicated on taking a drug for head lice.

In a wide-ranging interview on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers argued that he didn’t lie when he described his vaccination status before a throng of scribes way back in August. He was asked then if he had been vaxxed, and he said “Yeah, I’ve been immunized.” As things turned out, he meant “immunized” according to his voodoo definition following extensive discussions with “now good friend” Joe Rogan, who — despite not having a medical degree alongside podcast hosting duties — prescribed “monoclonal antibodies, ivermectin, zinc, Vitamin C and [desethylhydroxychloroquine]. I feel pretty incredible.”

Well, “pretty incredible” doesn’t cut it after testing positive for the virus, and after being disingenuous on the matter. Deliberately skewing how facts are presented in order to present a favorable picture underscores Rodgers’ recognition of right from wrong. Else, why not come clean from the get-go? He’s worse than, say, the Nets’ Kyrie Irving, who at least had the courage to leave everything out in the open. Subscription to conspiracy theories and flat-earth sentiments aside, his deception most definitely put in danger those around him.

Vaccinated players are subject to less-stringent protocols by the National Football League. They don’t need to be masked during press conferences or while with a larger crowd. He afforded himself all those privileges despite knowing he should have been more circumspect — if not for himself, then for others. Instead, he brazenly flouted regulations. And because the league has been slow to react, he can’t be blamed for thinking he’s a marquee name operating under a different set of rules.

Based on the latest rumblings, the Packers are slated to be fined for their breach of safety measures. Rodgers may or may not be docked some money, as well. If reports are true, however, he’s not about to face any suspension for his willful act of disobedience. Which is just too bad. The NFL is sending all the wrong messages, and time will tell if these will bite them in the end.

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Future of work and workers

November 9, 2021 | 5:34 pm

(Part four of a four-part series)

In the ILO publication entitled The Future of Work in the Philippines, much can be learned about what we have to do to prepare for the time when a larger portion of our workforce will be in occupations that are directly or indirectly related to Industry 4.0. It is important for education, business and government leaders to digest the content of this very valuable document. Realistically, however, in the next 10 years at least, most of the work and occupations that will be available to the majority of our labor force will really be related to the first three industrial revolutions — the mechanical, electrical and electronic revolutions, with minimum interaction with the digital revolution. For example, the millions of farmers, especially in the rice, coconut, and corn sectors, will have to increasingly mechanize their farming operations, learn about optimum practices in fertilization and irrigation and other technologies that have little to do with digitalization. We can say the same thing about the sectors that will absorb the vast majority of the labor force, such as construction, mining, public utilities, transport and logistics, and tourism.

To be fair, the publication readily admits that the timing of the impact of digitalization on the work force of the Philippines is still uncertain. As we can read in the report, “The analysis presented in this report so far contends that digitalization may transform occupations in a way that either disrupts the need for human involvement in jobs, complements human tasks, or both. A key caveat of this analysis is that it does not capture the timing of the digitalization impacts. Whether or not digital transformation is already impacting the jobs market remains in question. To what extent has digitalization transformed the current demand or workers? What does the current picture say about the future direction of skills demand in the country?”

The answer I give is that the focus of skills development in the Philippines for at least the next 10 years should be the improvement of the quality of basic education in the Philippines that is lagging behind most of our East Asian peers, as shown by the poor performance of our pupils in international tests in reading comprehension, mathematics, and science. Next priority should be investing heavily in technical education that will provide the skills necessary in medium-technology manufacturing enterprises such as food and beverage, textile and garments, electronic components, automotive parts, etc. As I have emphasized to no end, there should be a shift among our youth to technical or vocational schools and away from colleges granting academic degrees.

There is no harm, however, in already taking into account what the ILO Report says about workforce and skills development in an era of technological disruptions. Business, the academe, and government should already plan long run to prepare the necessary workforce in response to the new technological wave. For example, it is enlightening to learn from the report what LinkedIn’s 2019 Emerging Jobs Report lists as the fastest growing jobs in the Philippines: robotics engineers, cybersecurity specialists, customer success specialists, data scientists, sales development representatives, full stack engineers, DevOps engineers, data engineers, JavaScript developers, and cloud engineers. The names of these occupations may still sound Greek to the majority of parents and students in the Philippines but there is a small minority of children of the upper income households that already eyeing specialized courses in these fields being offered by the Asian Institute of Management, the University of the Philippines, Ateneo University, or De La Salle University. In fact, my own University of Asia and the Pacific, is attracting a good number of college students to courses related to data analytics.

For the best and the brightest among our millennials and centennials, the information contained in the ILO Report can be very valuable for planning their respective educational and training routes. Especially those already in the BPO-IT industry should take special interest in the findings of the ILO report since many of them who are in the call or contact center portion of the industry may be made obsolete when robots and Artificial Intelligence take over the business of customer service. According to the ILO Report, the fast-growing jobs that require intensive interaction with machines demand a broad range of skills. Future skills demand in knowledge-intensive industries (still the minority in the Philippine economy for the foreseeable future) may be gravitating towards individuals who are versatile, able to multitask, and equipped with multiple intelligences and sharp problem-solving skills. Full stack engineers, for example, manage all technologies required of a project from start to finish, eliminating the need for engineers to manage the segments of the task at hand. DevOps engineers are “hybrid” engineers, managing both technology development and technology operations and mitigating linkage-related problems in business processes.

Other jobs available to the intellectual elite among Filipino workers will require the ability to interact well with people while aided by machines for greater task efficiency. Customer success specialists, for example, do not simply answer specialized queries (as what many call center agents do); they are trained to proactively respond to client needs by working with them along the problem-solving process. Sales development representatives not only sell products to clients but also work on client retention, consulting, and lead generation. These occupations require unique skills. They require a great deal of experimentation, hypothesis testing, creativity, critical thinking, grit, and even failure tolerance. As these emerging occupations become more predominant in a decade or so, it is important to link the jobs-technology debate to the quality of, no longer basic education, but tertiary education. According to the ILO report, 25% of workers in the Philippines have a tertiary education degree, about 40% have a lower-secondary education degree, and another 25% have completed primary education.

Those whose jobs will be most affected by digitalization are those with college degrees. College curricula have to be significantly transformed so that their graduates will acquire the highly important skills of critical thinking, complex reasoning, and effective communication. As Joseph Aoun wrote in his book Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, most colleges’ curricula and pedagogy still place inordinate weight on the transfer of information into students’ minds. Development of students’ higher-order mental capacities, like critical thinking or elegant communication, are all too often secondary to the ingestion of content. More often than not, college courses are not designed to nurture metacognitive skills explicitly and systematically. It is interesting to note that graduates of American colleges and universities, after which our institutions of higher education are patterned, are generally deficient in these skills. In a 2011 study by professors Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, it was revealed that 45% of the undergraduates they surveyed showed “exceedingly small or empirically nonexistent” gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and written communication during their first two years of college. After four years, 36% of their sample still showed no improvement at all. Another damning piece of evidence about the low quality of university education in the US showed that 30% of Americans aged 34 or younger with bachelor’s degree failed to score above two out of a five-level numeracy assessment. For its assessment of problem solving, this dismal figure rose to 34%. I can imagine what a similar survey of Philippine college graduates would reveal.

To address the skills challenge that the Philippines will face in the next 10 years, there is no question that we must first improve significantly the quality of basic education. Not only will the products of our elementary and secondary schools meet the skills requirements of most of occupations in agriculture, industry, and services in the short run but they will form part of the foundation of the skills development program necessary to meet the challenge of digitalization or Industry 4.0 in the intermediate future. This would require the Government to significantly increase our education budget from the measly 2% of GDP now prevailing to the 4-6% average that our East Asian neighbors are investing in public education. A good portion of that investment in education should be channeled to technical education in the TESDA-type schools that both the private sector and the government should establish in greater numbers.

At the higher education levels, an improvement in quality can be only attained if we consider the “numerus clausus” that even the Chinese are not implementing. We should limit the number of institutes of higher education. Needless to say, all the necessary funding and support should be given to the University of the Philippines system so that it can aspire to be one of the top universities in Asia, at the same level as the universities in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea. Instead of the Government putting up more state colleges and universities, however, it should put up a large educational fund to enable the brightest among the children of the low-income households to enroll in the best private universities of the country. One measure of the quality of these universities is their ability to turn out knowledge workers with skills in critical thinking, complex reasoning, effective communication, numeracy and problem solving — the skills that will be completely necessary for the economy to be ready for full digitalization that will be required by the Fourth Industrial Revolution that will be upon us as we transition to advanced economy status by 2050.

There is still time to introduce these educational reforms.

Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is professor emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a visiting professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia

Digital transformation is where we should go

November 9, 2021 | 5:33 pm

The National Telecommunications Commission made a big to-do about the passage of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Act on Sept. 30 this year.

This was going to be a game changer, they said. Imagine, if mobile phone subscribers are not happy with the service they are getting, they can easily switch to yet another mobile service provider without having to change their mobile number. This was the next big thing that could happen to all dissatisfied and disgruntled customers out there.

Alas, the game changer turned out to be a dud.

One month after the effectivity of the law, the uptake has been dismal. Data from Telecommunications Connectivity, Inc., a joint-venture company composed of all telcos created to operationalize the law, tell us that only some 1,000 subscribers crossed over from one mobile provider to another. The total subscriber base is more than 100 million.

Why hasn’t the MNP taken off like it was expected to?

Perhaps 10 years ago the response would have been different. These days, however, alternative ways to communicate are always around the corner — and they do not come in the form of the competing mobile service provider. For example, you are trying to call your friend and the call is dropped or you cannot get through for some reason. You are not going to wish you had a different mobile provider. Instead, you will send an e-mail, or a message on social media, or get use a downloaded app to reach your friend.

Long before this law was passed, many Filipinos have had dual SIMs for several reasons. Getting another prepaid SIM is relatively easy in this part of the world. This extra is a backup — not a replacement — for when their main provider encounters problems. They want to avoid extra charges for calling a number from another network. They want to avail themselves of promotions that are not offered by one network. For those who travel outside Metro Manila, one network may have a stronger signal than the other. Others use a spare SIM for personal or business communications.

So, yes, that ship has sailed.

MNP’S SAVING GRACE
The MNP still succeeds in telling us something of ultimate importance: It was a prescription for the wrong ailment. The real ailment is the vast digital gap across locations, industries, and socio-economic classes in the Philippines. What we need is seamlessness of our digital networks.

First, it reminds us that the internet has become an essential part of our daily life. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the public’s need for the internet to perform their day-to-day transactions, from remote working or studying, to online banking and shopping, to health consultations, to connecting with friends and family.

After the lockdowns consigned us to our homes, we realized we had only been delaying the inevitable. We were going to have to go digital, anyway. The pandemic simply catalyzed our shift.

Second, it exposes the still-wide gaps in internet connectivity across our archipelago.

The convenience with which we could order our food, for instance, or the ease with which our children could join their synchronous classes does not necessarily apply to most other places in the country. In many places, connectivity remains difficult, and many Filipinos do not enjoy stable, much less reliable, connection which they can then use to facilitate their everyday needs. Clearly, something must be done.

Third, it shows what recovery looks like. More things need to be done in the name of improving the country’s digital infrastructure. It was important pre-COVID. It is even more important now. We cannot survive this protracted crisis, much less compete in the new normal, without an improved digital infrastructure.

Alongside digital infrastructure is the need to improve our human capital by investing in people — helping them gain access to tools and new skills that they need to navigate the new normal and be a highly competitive digital workforce ready to engage the world of e-commerce and innovative cloud solutions.

Fourth, it is an opportunity for the government to set an example and harness digital technology to serve the people better.

Unfortunately, the Department of Information and Communications Technology itself is facing a blank wall. Its National Broadband Plan (NBP) has not received ample support from the National Government in terms of funding.

This lack of prioritization of the NBP is a critical flaw on the part of the government. It will have dire consequences because the infrastructure will not be able to match surging demand despite the aggressive expansion and investments of private telcos.

Finally, it emphasizes the importance of public-private partnerships. The private sector has been doing its part in pouring in investments in telecommunications infrastructure and even in upskilling certain sectors of the population so that they can be better prepared for the demands of the next normal. The government, while it has had some initiatives, needs to have more focus, consistency, and persistence in collaborating with the business sector to achieve these goals.

There are many factors that explain why MNP did not fly. What is important is for our government to lead the digital transformation of our whole ecosystem and become an enabler and less of a regulator.

Louie C. Montemar is a professor of Sociology and Political Science, and a fellow for Education at the Stratbase ADR Institute.

Powering up Philippines’ renewable ambitions with rooftop solar

November 9, 2021 | 5:32 pm

Solar-Installation — INSTALLING a rooftop solar system in Kamuning, Quezon City. — INTERAKSYON.PHILSTAR.COM/AC DIMATATAC

2020 marked a record-breaking year for renewable energy. Solar PV (photovoltaic) will be at the forefront of this continued opportunity in 2021-22, with renewable energy expected to account for 90% of new capacity expansion globally.

This period of accelerating growth is framed by a needed $6-trillion power sector investment between now and 2025, outpacing oil and gas investments. This is largely driven by expansion in renewable energy.

Rooftop solar installations provide an opportunity to generate significant volumes of zero-carbon renewable energy from otherwise unutilized urban and commercial environments. Solar PV is now a mature and disruptive renewable energy technology, leading capacity additions around the globe. Annual installation of solar PV is expected to reach more than 160 GW in 2022, almost 50% higher than in 2019.

The economic potential of solar rooftops has seen significant improvements over recent decades, making rooftop solar an increasingly cost-effective distributed energy solution. These innovative technologies are championed for a range of benefits for the end customers and suppliers alike — tackling the carbon intensity of generation, improving supply reliability, reducing power costs, and delivering grid independence to name but a few.

THE PHILIPPINES’ SOLAR ROOFTOP MARKET
Rooftop solar could offer a valuable path to expand on national renewable energy capacity and could be a valuable tool in achieving the Philippines’ renewed ambition of achieving over 37% share of renewables in the power mix by 2030.

Solar rooftop installations could also deliver other potential benefits for the Philippines, particularly at a time when brownouts are causing disruption in areas of high power demand. As a distributed renewable energy technology, solar rooftop installations can provide reliable power that doesn’t require electricity supplied from the power grid, offering a valuable potential to build national power resilience.

The Philippines’ solar rooftop market is nascent, with a total installed capacity of around 100 MW, although that is projected to triple to 300 MW by 2025. The market is highly fragmented, with more than 40 market participants. The top three players —Solar Philippines, Solenergy Systems, Inc., and Greenheat —currently account for half of the total installations.

The Philippines operates on a net metering approach for solar rooftop power, meaning consumers generating no more than 100 kilowatts can sell excess electricity back into the grid. The Department of Energy (DoE) estimates that almost 4,000 qualified users have signed up for net metering as of the end of 2020. Prices paid for excess energy are roughly one-third the price paid by consumers for electricity coming from the grid.

SHINING A LIGHT ON SOLAR ROOFTOP POTENTIAL
While the attractiveness of solar rooftop installations continues to grow, the business case faces some notable technical and commercial hurdles. This is ultimately a complex and often challenging market to navigate.

The attraction of reliable power can be particularly strong for commercial and industrial businesses that require electricity for business continuity. With large, often flat rooftop estates, malls are an easy entry point for rooftop solar, but the opportunity is equally apparent across other major industrial complexes. This has resulted in a growing number of businesses embracing solar rooftop technology in recent years. Shopping mall SM City Bacoor in Cavite and Robinson Malls are just some of the recent examples.

While the theoretical potential of rooftop solar is vast — more than 40 GW across the residential, commercial, industrial, and public objects in the Philippines — physical limitations and local installation challenges may significantly curtail the full scope of such ambitions.

These hurdles mean finding the right approach to boost rooftop solar potential in the Philippines will require a nuanced and localized strategy. An understanding of local market conditions, product competitiveness, and market awareness are critical to such business cases.

On the most fundamental level, rooftops need to be of a size and design to be suitable for solar installation. The more substantial a rooftop is, the greater the possibility for appropriate installation with a positive financial return.

The financial case for rooftop solar is enhanced by the potential to sell excess power generated back into the grid, providing a valuable return on investment. Yet the prices offered for this excess electricity are generally lower than grid electricity tariffs in markets across the region.

Key actions under the proposed Solar Rooftop Adoption Act should make the environment for solar rooftops more favorable. Removing the 100kW net metering cap would incentivize both large and small commercial and industrial players to adopt rooftop systems. Aligning reference prices for import and export of electricity to the grid instead of a blended generation cost would also help. Standardization of the permit process would also be a major boost.

Top-down demand should be driven by government buildings, increasing uptake of solar rooftops on both national and local government building estates. With passing the Act, solar systems could supply at least 5% of power requirements for all governments agencies, with incremental increases expected every five years.

Expanded access to low-cost financing options through the introduction of rooftop solar loan program under Pag-IBIG will also help stimulate the ecosystem. Access to capital for small-scale PV remains limited to term loans or recourse financing.

Higher buy-back tariffs for excess electricity would certainly stimulate higher penetration of solar rooftops. However, a careful balance is required. Solar rooftops and distributed generation more broadly, while bringing numerous upsides, introduce a complex environment for grid operators due to two-way power flows. Grid owners still need to maintain grid quality despite potentially suffering reduced revenue generation resulting from distributed generation. Additionally, incentives are often required to stabilize the market and avoid “boom-and-bust” cycles. A clear challenge is if a high number of solar rooftop installations benefiting from feed-in tariffs were to increase strain and overload the grid, which is already having difficulty absorbing even the relatively modest current volumes of renewable generation.

A strong partner ecosystem to leverage is another key enabler, ensuring that collaborator companies have the experience and capacity to effectively deploy solar rooftop potential. This not only facilitates a successful rollout but also helps overcome technical challenges.

Making solar rooftop technology financially viable also often comes down to the size of an operator’s portfolio. Those players with a substantial portfolio of installations are far more likely to deliver economic success than smaller players attempting to deliver returns on a limited number of installations.

THE PATH TO SUCCESS
Navigating this complex environment will require a carefully considered approach for operators. That’s particularly true in the case of incumbent utilities, who should act now if they want to take advantage of this transition.

New players are already actively entering this market, while incumbents are still searching for the right business models to build on their commercial and technical strengths. First-movers are likely to act strategically to corner market share and control the ecosystem across their value chains and collaborator networks. This will not only offer an advantage in a localized approach but also allow them to leverage the economies of scale key to a successful portfolio.

Investors and financial backers might want to consider a portfolio approach comprising multiple rooftop solar projects to de-risk early financial exposure. Focus on end-to-end business developers could offer a more rewarding pathway, with higher capital requirements but greater control.

What’s clear is that implementation remains complex, but successfully navigating that landscape will deliver remarkable opportunities for power industry operators and consumers alike.

Dr. Marko Lackovic is a partner at the Boston Consulting Group. Jaime Ruiz-Cabrero is managing director and senior partner, head of BCG Southeast Asia. The Boston Consulting Group is the consultancy partner for the 2021 UN Climate Conference.

The vaccine protecting girls and boys from cancer

November 9, 2021 | 5:31 pm

THE SPEED at which COVID-19 vaccines ruptured the link between infections and death has put renewed focus on the miracle, and science, of inoculation. If only we had a vaccine for cancer, too, people have said.

Oh, wait, we do. And now a major study has shown just how effective it is.

In 2008, the UK began offering girls ages 12 and 13 an immunization against the human papillomavirus, which is largely sexually transmitted and the cause of nearly all cervical cancer. The vaccine was later rolled out in a catch-up program to older girls and, since 2019, to boys.

Using data from a population-based cancer registry taken from 2006 to 2019, researchers, publishing in the Lancet journal last week, found the vaccine had a dramatic effect on rates of cervical cancer, with an 87% reduction in those who were offered the vaccine at ages 12-13. (Reduction rates were lower among those who were part of the catch-up program as fewer took the vaccine and some may have already been sexually active.)

“The HPV immunization program has successfully almost eliminated cervical cancer in women born since Sept. 1, 1995,” the study concludes. Among the vaccine success stories, this one ought to be better known.

The study’s findings underscore the imperative of making these vaccines more widely available around the world, especially in developing countries. But it is also a reminder that take-up rates could still be higher in many countries, including the US — and not just among girls.

There are over 200 kinds of HPV common in humans; most are dealt with naturally by the body’s immune system, but some can cause genital warts or cancer. Nearly 40% of females are infected with HPV within two years of their first sexual activity, so there’s a pretty high chance of getting one. Vaccines can’t work after an HPV infection has occurred, however, which is why it’s so important that youngsters are vaccinated early.

HPV is generally known as a cause of cervical cancer, but it’s the culprit in many other cancers, too. In 1999, molecular epidemiologist and cancer expert Maura Gillison connected some head-and-neck cancers to HPV and sexually transmitted disease. The incidence of these cancers was rising at an alarming rate, especially among middle-aged men who had contracted HPV decades earlier. In the US from 2013 to 2017, there were more than 45,000 HPV-associated cancers each year; nearly 20,000 of those were among men.

Thanks to screening programs and the vaccine, the UK has seen a large drop in the main cancer-causing HPV types in both women and men, and also a large drop in the number of young people reporting genital warts. Since cancers develop slowly over time, the actual disease-prevention (and life-saving) benefits of the vaccine should be even higher. The vaccine’s success will likely prompt a rethinking of cervical screening programs, though it’s not clear whether a mid-life booster will be needed.

In 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration broadened the approval of Merck & Co.’s HPV vaccine, Gardasil 9 (which protects against nine different types of HPV and is also used in Britain), to include use for the prevention of oropharyngeal (throat) and other head and neck cancers. It’s now approved for use for males and females ages nine to 45, with two doses only for those vaccinated early.

And yet despite its success, just over half of US adolescents were up to date with their HPV vaccines in 2019, with only 52% of boys compared to 57% of girls (about 85% of females in the UK had both doses in 2020). As with everything in the US, rates vary dramatically by state.

HPV vaccination is a no-brainer, so why are rates so low? Explanations vary. The two- or three-shot dosing may be a deterrent for some parents. Some studies have suggested that because HPV is associated with sexual transmission, doctors and parents are more hesitant to discuss it. There are also the usual concerns about adverse effects and risks. In Britain, kids are generally offered the vaccine at school, which makes it much easier for parents to give consent and not forget to have it done.

On top of the world’s experience with COVID, the Lancet study on the HPV vaccine is another reminder of the lifesaving impact of vaccines. When science gives us a gift, we’d do well to take it.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Ascott Philippines launches Somerset Central Salcedo Makati

November 9, 2021 | 4:57 pm

Somerset Photo — In photo are (from left to right) The Ascott Limited Philippines Deputy Country General Manager Philip Barnes, Grand Pine Inc’s Board Member Denise Lieuson, Singapore Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Gerard Ho Wei Hong, Department of Tourism OIC-Asst Secretary for Tourism Development and DOT-NCR Regional Director Woodrow Maquiling and The Ascott Limited Philippines City Manager Susan Salcedo.

The Ascott Limited Philippines (TAL) inaugurated its newest serviced residence in Makati, strengthening the company’s presence as one of the largest international hospitality players in the Philippines.

Located at H.V. Dela Costa St. in Salcedo Village, Somerset Central Salcedo Makati presents the comforts of a home and the conveniences of a hotel in one of the country’s most rewarding business and lifestyle districts. The residence offers 285 well-appointed units spread across five luxurious apartment configurations, as well as a host of amenities for leisure and business.

Present during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of Somerset Central Salcedo Makati were The Ascott Limited Philippines Deputy Country General Manager Philip Barnes, Grand Pine Inc’s Board Member Denise Lieuson, Singapore Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Gerard Ho Wei Hong, Department of Tourism OIC-Asst Secretary for Tourism Development and DOT-NCR Regional Director Woodrow Maquiling and The Ascott Limited Philippines City Manager Susan Salcedo.

The Ascott Limited Philippines has close to 5,500 units in 27 properties under its portfolio. The company is looking to open developments in Quezon City, Greenhills, Laguna, Davao and Cebu in the years to come.

To know more about Somerset Central Salcedo Makati, visit https://www.discoverasr.com/en/somerset-serviced-residence/philippines/somerset-central-salcedo-makati.

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Japan invites countries to showcase dev’t progress at Expo 2025

November 9, 2021 | 4:27 pm

Expo 2025 Osaka will serve as an avenue to track progress the world has made in terms of the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to Japan’s government.

“It will be the last Expo to take place before the SDGs that the UN set by 2030, so it will be a platform to show what we’ve achieved,” said Masafumi Sugano, director for international exhibitions of Japan’s ministry of economy, trade, and industry, at an online press briefing for the Asia Pacific region.

As of Oct. 15, only 58 countries and five international organizations confirmed their participation.

“Expo 2020 Dubai is still running, so many other countries haven’t made a final decision yet. We aim to attract 150 countries and 25 international organizations,” said Mr. Sugano.

The Philippines, which hasn’t decided if it is joining Expo 2025 Osaka, launched on Oct. 1 its “Bangkota” pavilion at the Dubai Expo, which runs until March 31, 2022.

Expo 2025 carries the theme “Designing future society for our lives.” Site configuration, located on Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay, will have three zones based on the sub-themes of connecting lives, saving lives, and empowering lives.

“In terms of business, some countries will focus more on the cultural and other aspects, while others might focus more on technologies, natural resources, industry,” said Mr. Sugano.

Carbon neutrality, digitalization, and mobility will also be showcased through the venue itself, with plans involving carbon neutrality technology, energy optimization technology, and hydrogen energy technology.

The 184-day event will have a projected 28.2 million visitors, 3.5 million of which come from overseas. It will be held from April 13 to Oct. 13, 2025. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

Hong Kong unlikely to open up to global travel until mid-2022

November 9, 2021 | 4:02 pm

HONG KONG could open up to global travel in roughly six months, after officials have successfully navigated the introduction of quarantine-free borders with mainland China and boosted the local vaccination rate, a government adviser said.

The Chinese territory needs to finish negotiating open borders with the mainland, while using the next few months to increase the flagging COVID-19 inoculation rate among the city’s elderly, Lam Ching-choi, a member of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s advisory Executive Council, said in an interview on Monday.

“We maybe need half a year or so to develop an adequate vaccination rate, especially among the older people,” said Lam Ching-choi, who is also part of the government’s working group on vaccinations. “Hopefully by then, we have opened up the border with China and we might have conditions favorable to open up the border to other places.”

Despite procuring enough vaccines when they first became available, Hong Kong has struggled to inoculate its population of about 7.4 million people. Vaccine hesitancy, fueled by fears of side effects particularly among the elderly, has hampered their use. Only 17% of those aged 80 and above in Hong Kong have gotten at least one shot, compared with 69% of the entire eligible population. And efforts by the government, including targeted pop-up vaccination sites at malls and public housing estates, have not yet boosted the take-up among older Hong Kongers.

As other countries continue opening up, Hong Kong and China remain the only places left in the world still pursuing a “COVID Zero” strategy that seeks to eliminate local transmission of the virus through strict measures including long quarantines, rigorous contact tracing and targeted testing blitzes.

The approach, however, has been unable to totally stamp out the virus in China. It is currently struggling to suppress its fourth outbreak of the more-transmissible Delta variant in the past five months.

In more cosmopolitan Hong Kong, the measures have led to rising frustration for international companies and residents who face mandatory hotel quarantines of as long as 21 days if they leave and return to the city. Foreign business chambers have warned the government the travel rules risk ruining Hong Kong’s reputation as a global finance hub, and have complained that there is no end game or exit strategy.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s leader reiterated that opening the border with China remained the priority over liberalizing travel with the rest of the world. She said Hong Kong officials will soon meet with mainland authorities again to discuss a formal reopening of the border. Lam said they haven’t yet figured out how many virus cases would trigger the reopening to be suspended, but added that they didn’t want the threshold to be “too harsh.”

“We are making good progress,” Lam, the city’s chief executive, said at a regular weekly briefing. “The central government and the Hong Kong SAR fully understand that the top priority in Hong Kong is to gradually resume cross border travel between Hong Kong and the mainland for business purposes and other urgent needs.”

However, if Hong Kong can’t open the border with mainland China, then it should begin looking at reestablishing ties with other countries, University of Hong Kong epidemiology professor Benjamin Cowling told Bloomberg TV on Monday. He also warned that any travel bubble with the mainland could prove fragile if the delta variant crosses over into Hong Kong. It is one of the densest cities in the world and the only one that hasn’t experienced a delta outbreak.

“Look at Singapore, Australia, New Zealand — they all had trouble stopping delta,” Mr. Cowling said. “We don’t have the same tools at our disposal as the mainland.”

Lam Ching-choi, the adviser, said that only once the city’s vaccination rate is higher and Hong Kong has again opened to the outside world can officials “talk about the endgame scenario,” which could include taking a more laissez-faire approach to the virus.

“Even if we want to live with the virus, as many other places are doing, we don’t have the vaccination rate to do that,” he said. — Bloomberg

Taiwan says China can blockade its harbors, airports

November 9, 2021 | 4:01 pm

TAIPEI — China’s armed forces are capable of blockading Taiwan’s key harbors and airports, the island’s defense ministry said on Tuesday, offering its latest assessment of what it describes as a “grave” military threat posed by its giant neighbor.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring democratic Taiwan under its control and has been ramping up military activity around the island, including repeatedly flying war planes into Taiwan’s air defense zone.

Taiwan’s defense ministry, in a report it issues every two years, said China had launched what it called “gray zone” warfare, citing 554 “intrusions” by Chinese war planes into its southwestern theater of air defense identification zone between September last year and the end of August.

Military analysts say the tactic is aimed at subduing Taiwan through exhaustion, Reuters reported last year.

At the same time, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is aiming to complete the modernization of its forces by 2035 to “obtain superiority in possible operations against Taiwan and viable capabilities to deny foreign forces, posing a grave challenge to our national security,” the Taiwan ministry said.

“At present, the PLA is capable of performing local joint blockade against our critical harbors, airports, and outbound flight routes, to cut off our air and sea lines of communication and impact the flow of our military supplies and logistic resources,” the ministry said.

China views Taiwan as Chinese territory. Its defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen says Taiwan is already an independent country and vows to defend its freedom and democracy.

Ms. Tsai has made bolstering Taiwan’s defenses a priority, pledging to produce more domestically developed weapons, including submarines, and buying more equipment from the United States, the island’s most important arms supplier and international backer.

In October, Taiwan reported 148 Chinese air force planes in the southern and southwestern theater of the zone over a four-day period, marking a dramatic escalation of tension between Taipei and Beijing.

The recent increase in China’s military exercises in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone is part of what Taipei views as a carefully planned strategy of harassment.

“Its intimidating behavior does not only consume our combat power and shake our faith and morale, but also attempts to alter or challenge the status quo in the Taiwan Strait to ultimately achieve its goal of ‘seizing Taiwan without a fight’,” the ministry said.

To counter China’s attempt to “seize Taiwan swiftly whilst denying foreign interventions,” the ministry vowed to deepen its efforts on “asymmetric warfare” to make any attack as painful and as difficult for China as possible.

That includes precision strikes by long-range missiles on targets in China, deployment of coastal minefields as well as boosting reserve training. — Reuters

Globe bags two INSPIRE Tech Awards for increased productivity and customer experience excellence

November 9, 2021 | 1:25 pm

Globe bagged two prestigious honors from the CIO Academy Asia’s inaugural INSPIRE Tech Awards 2021, besting nominees from other Southeast Asian countries for their “Best Use of Data for Customer Experience Excellence” and “Best Use of Cloud to Increase Productivity.”

The Singapore-based INSPIRE Tech Awards 2021 acknowledged 17 end-user organizations last October 28, 2021 for their strategically deployed technology that aimed to address challenges in the shifting business landscape.

Winners were chosen by a panel of judges based on business impact, productivity gains, customer experience improvement, innovativeness and creativity, and transformation resilience.

“We are very honored to receive this recognition. In fulfilling our mission of creating a Globe of Good, these awards remind us of our team’s impact in empowering Globe to quickly adapt to the ever changing digital economy. Our various technology solutions enable us to serve our customers better,” said Carlo Malana, Globe Chief Information Officer.

The company’s Information Services Group’s (ISG) Cloud entry, “Accelerating Digital Adoption Through Citizen Development” program, was also selected as a finalist in the Digital Transformation & Operational Excellence Awards 2021 under the category “Best Achievement in Process Automation.”

Through this program, Globe employees are empowered to create automated business processes and address executional barriers using a platform that does not require programming knowledge.

“Citizen Development has accelerated digital transformation across the organization and has helped us become more efficient, cut down costs, and build resilience across different functions. Employees are now empowered to be creative and solve their problems. It speeds up the conversion of ideas into working applications and allows changes in real-time,” added Malana.

As of August 31, 2021, Globe has trained 663 employees and has 180 active apps deployed across the organization, with 12,700 unique active users. These apps improved the company’s business processes by 79.8%.

On the data and analytics front, Globe has taken strides to make data more accessible across the organization and implement more innovations. An established data foundation helps business groups make more informed decisions and enables use of AI to gain deeper insights. Data in motion is used to react real-time and take actions at the moment relevant for customers. This has led to significant improvements in customer satisfaction ratings despite the pandemic.

“This recognition means a lot to us. The true value of data is ultimately realized when it impacts users. All the fancy innovations and complex engineering work don’t matter much when they don’t make a difference to the customers we serve”, said Dan Natindim, Globe Vice President and Head of the Enterprise Data Office.

Globe strongly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), particularly UN SDG No. 9, highlighting the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. Globe is committed to upholding the UN Global Compact principles and contributes to 10 UN SDGs.

Join us on Viber to get more updates from BusinessWorld: https://bit.ly/3hv6bLA.

Japan, once a leader on climate, under fire for coal use at COP26

November 9, 2021 | 1:07 pm

TOKYO, Nov 9 (Reuters) – More than 20 countries agreed to phase out coal power at the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, but not Japan – a “leap backwards” for a country that once led the way on the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The pact was among a raft of pledges made at the COP26 summit in the last week. Japan, the world’s third-biggest importer of the dirtiest fossil fuel, declined to sign because it needed to preserve all its options for power generation, officials said.

Critics called that short-sighted, even as new the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has agreed to step up other environmental measures.

“Despite Prime Minister Kishida pledging to direct increased funding to climate finance, we are disappointed that he failed to address the elephant in the room – Japan‘s dependency on coal,” said Eric Christian Pedersen, head of responsible investments at Danish fund manager Nordea Asset Management.

The criticism highlights the shift in Japan‘s circumstances. It led climate change efforts during the 1990s Kyoto Protocol era, but has been burning more coal and other fossil fuels after the Fukushima disaster 10 years ago left many nuclear plants idle.

Not phasing out coal has “positioned Japan to take a leap backwards by signalling thermal power plants can keep running based on new technologies that do not exist,” said Kiran Aziz, head of responsible investments at KLP, Norway’s largest pension fund.

China, the world’s biggest source of climate change-fuelling gases, did not sign the pact and President Xi Jinping did not attend the conference. The country has said it would reduce its use of coal for electricity by 1.8 percent over the next five years.

Japan has pledged billions of dollars for vulnerable countries and to support building infrastructure in Asia for renewables and cleaner-burning fuels. It has also cut targets for coal use and raised those for renewables.

“In Japan, where resources are scarce and the country is surrounded by the sea, there is no single perfect energy source,” Noboru Takemoto, an industry ministry deputy director, told Reuters. “For this reason, Japan does not support the statement” on coal.

The ministry said last year it would accelerate shutdowns of coal-fired plants by 2030, later setting minimum efficiency standards and requiring companies to submit annual updates on phase-outs.

But companies are resisting such plans, a senior executive at a major Japanese generator said.

“It is being delayed and dragged out because a lot of companies are saying these units still work and are cheaper,” the executive said, adding that “a leadership push is needed.”

A Reuters survey of Japanese companies operating old coal power units, including Hokuriku Electric Power and Hokkaido Electric Power, showed that most of them have not decided schedules to shut them down.

Hokuriku Electric plans to shut just one 250-megawatt coal unit in 2024, a spokesperson told Reuters,

“Our coal-fired thermal power plants play an important role,” in maintaining stable electricity supplies, the spokesperson said.

Hokkaido Electric, which shut two coal units in 2019, has no closings planned, while the other five companies surveyed said they have no firm proposals. Some are looking at using cleaner fuels, such as ammonia, to burn with coal and other technologies to keep them operating more cleanly.

“For pro-coal corporate Japan, what’s more important is business, not the planet,” said Mutsuyoshi Nishimura, a former senior Japanese government official and chief climate change negotiator. “It’s sad to see there is no vision for a better, more sustainable and more competitive Japan.” – Reuters

U.S. eyes January rollout of first projects to counter China’s Belt and Road -official

November 9, 2021 | 12:58 pm

WASHINGTON – The United States plans to invest in five to 10 large infrastructure projects around the world in January as part of a broader Group of Seven initiative to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.

A U.S. delegation led by President Joe Biden’s deputy national security adviser, Daleep Singh, identified at least 10 promising projects in Senegal and Ghana during the latest in a series of “listening tours” last week, the official said.

Officials are meeting with government and private-sector leaders as they hunt for projects to be funded under the Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative launched by the G7 rich democracies in June. Plans could be finalized during a G7 meeting in December, the official said.

A U.S. delegation visited Ecuador, Panama and Colombia during a similar tour in early October, with another slated to visit Asia before year-end, the official said, without naming any specific Asian countries.

The G7 B3W initiative is aimed at narrowing the $40 trillion in infrastructure investment that developing countries will need by 2035 and providing an alternative to problematic lending practices by China, officials have said.

The United States will offer developing countries “the full range” of U.S. financial tools, including equity stakes, loan guarantees, political insurance, grants and technical expertise to focus on climate, health, digital technology and gender equality, the official told reporters.

The effort is seeking to “identify flagship projects that could launch by the start of next year,” the official said.

Singh was joined in Africa by Alexia Latortue, deputy chief executive officer of the Millennium Challenge Corp, and Travis Adkins, deputy assistant administrator for Africa at the U.S. International Development Finance Corp, said Emily Horne, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.

Biden sought to advance the initiative during a meeting on the sidelines of the COP26 UN climate conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other G7 partners, she added.

The administration official said senior officials in Senegal and Ghana welcomed U.S. assurances that unlike China, the world’s largest creditor, the United States would not require non-disclosure agreements or collateral agreements that could result in later seizure of ports or airports.

Projects discussed included setting up a possible vaccine manufacturing hub for West Africa in Senegal, bolstering renewable energy supplies, boosting lending to women-owned businesses, and narrowing the digital divide. – Reuters

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