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Firms offering promos to the vaccinated told to obtain consent on data 

THE National Privacy Commission said companies must obtain the consent of vaccinated persons before gathering personal data specified in their vaccination cards for raffles, promotions, or discounts.  

Privacy Commissioner Raymund E. Liboro said in a statement Tuesday that the vaccinated persons should “explicitly agree” to the collection and processing of their vaccine cards.

Mr. Liboro said consent will be valid if freely given, specific, informed, and an indication of will.

The commission recently issued a bulletin following reports on the collection of copies of COVID-19 vaccination cards by certain companies as a reward to vaccinated individuals. The cards contain information such as the person’s age, birthdate, and health information.

“While we laud these gestures as part of the ongoing initiative to encourage all eligible individuals to be vaccinated against COVID-19, we must also remind all personal information controllers (PICs) of the need to establish a lawful basis in the conduct of their respective personal data processing activities,” Mr. Liboro said.

“Consent must also be evidenced by written, electronic, or recorded means,” he added.

Mr. Liboro said a privacy notice must be provided to inform the vaccinated persons of the processing of their personal data and their rights as data subjects.

He also reminded PICs that the use of the vaccine card should only be for its intended purpose, which is to facilitate the distribution of rewards.

“It shall not be used for further processing, such as profiling, automated decision making, or for other purposes incompatible with the declared and specified purpose,” Mr. Liboro said.  

The commission added that the health information of individuals should be secured, while PICs should implement measures to protect the copies of vaccine cards and should be held responsible for their custody if they are processed.  

It added that the PICs must never post the vaccine cards on public platforms.  

“Copies of the vaccine cards must be retained only for as long as necessary for the fulfillment of the purpose. These must be disposed of in a secure manner — hard copies must be shredded properly while soft copies must be deleted or overwritten in a manner that ensures that the stored copy of the vaccine cards are permanently and irreversibly destroyed and beyond recovery,” the commission said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave 

SB Corp. zero-interest loan program to help small companies with 13th month payroll 

THE Small Business Corp. (SB Corp.) will develop a loan program to help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) afford the payment of 13th month salaries, its parent department, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), said.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a statement Tuesday that SB Corp. will offer zero-interest loans to companies in need of funding for 13th month pay.

Mr. Lopez said the DTI is also in talks with the Department of Labor and Employment on plans to offer such loans.

“We see no reason to defer the 13th month pay for this year as the government stands ready to support businesses,” Mr. Lopez said.

“The real sustainable solution is the reopening of the economy, which the government has started to implement by allowing more sectors to safely operate at increased capacities,” he added.

Asked for further details, Mr. Lopez told reporters via Viber that SB Corp. is still working out the specifics of the lending facility.

Mr. Lopez said around P200 million was initially set aside for the loan facility, while available loans will range from P50,000 to P200,000, with priority given to micro and small enterprises.

In 2020, SB Corp. supported the COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises program to assist MSMEs in paying out 13th month salaries. The funding for the program was sourced from an P8-billion allocation under Republic Act No. 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan II).

Mr. Lopez called for the continued reopening of more business activity even in areas under Alert Levels 3 and 4.

“The idea here is that we allow more business continuity and simply adjust operating capacities at different Alert Levels to safely increase mobility,” Mr. Lopez said.

“This is more possible now due to higher vaccination rates, especially in the National Capital Region (NCR), which now has about a 80% vaccination rate and, thus, can allow safely the vaccinated customers in closed, crowded, and close-contact establishments at high alert levels,” he added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave 

Cable trip caused W. Visayas power price hike

THE Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc. (Philreca) said Tuesday that the tripping of a transmission cable in the Visayas drove up electricity rates in Panay and Negros.

“There has been a series of spikes in electricity rates in the Panay and Negros areas, not just those that are serviced by electric cooperatives (ECs) but even those areas under a private distribution utility,” Philreca said in a statement.

“All areas experienced rate hikes because the root cause of this problem is not from the distribution sector, but because there was an unfortunate incident in the transmission sector — the Cebu-Negros 138 kV (kiloVolt) Line 1 tripped on June 15,” it added.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines has blamed damage to the 138-kV submarine cable on dredging works conducted by Department of Public Works and Highways in Negros Oriental.

Philreca said the line damage halted the transmission of power supply from Cebu to nine ECs in Negros and Panay, and caused “imbalances” in the requirements of power providers in Region 6.

During this period, ECs spent more to procure power from the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) as generators on Luzon went on preventive maintenance, according to the group.

It also noted that ECs incurred high line rental charges due to congestion issues arising from the cable outage.

The increases in generation and transmission charges were reflected in the electric bills of consumers from 10 ECs.

“What contributed to the spikes in electricity rates are all beyond the control of ECs; they are all pass-through charges that ECs are obligated to collect from consumers then remit to appropriate parties,” Philreca said.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has ordered the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), the governance body of the WESM, to halt the collection of congestion fees and other related charges from customers until the damaged cable is fixed.

The regulator also directed PEMC to refund the charges which have been billed.

Last month, the PEMC said it is working out the details of the refund with the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).

On Tuesday, Philreca asked the House Committee on Energy to compel generation companies and the IEMOP through the PEMC to implement the ERC order. — Angelica Y. Yang

Well-milled rice prices rise in five regional centers

THE AVERAGE retail price of well-milled rice increased in five trading centers around mid-September, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

The PSA said in a report that the Sept. 15-17 period, which it calls the second phase of September, saw higher prices compared with the first phase of September, which ran from Sept. 1 to 5.

In the second phase, the average retail price of well-milled rice rose in Calapan City of 50 centavos to P43.77 per kilogram (/kg). In Butuan City, prices rose 36 centavos to P42.60, in Kidapawan City 23 centavos to P39.99, in the National Capital Region (NCR) 10 centavos to P43.10, and in Iloilo City eight centavos to P38.65.

Prices fell in Legazpi City by P1.86 to P38.56 and in Tacloban City by 33 centavos to P42.60.

The PSA said the average retail price of bone-in pork during the period fell in six trading centers.

NCR prices fell P21.55 to P288.34.kg. In Cebu City they fell by P10.83 to P19, in Cabanatuan City by P10 to P320, in Tacloban City by P9.42 to P237.77, in Iloilo City by P5 to P240, and in Legazpi City by P2.25 to P340.36.

Price rose in San Fernando City by P65 to P295 and in Butuan City by P10.24 to P245.

The average retail price for a kilogram of round scad (galunggong) during the period rose in five trading centers.

In Baguio City prices rose P34 to P204/kg. In San Fernando City they rose by P10 to P190, in Butuan City by P9.35 to P168.26, in Digos City by P5 to P115, and in the NCR by 67 centavos to P232.34.  

Iloilo City prices fell P4.16 to P157.92.

The average retail price of red onion for the period rose in four trading centers: Cabanatuan City by P15 to P135/kg, in Legazpi City by P5.58 to P156.28, in the NCR at P3.70 to P115.48, and in Butuan City by P3.50 to P145.

Prices fell in Cagayan de Oro City by P12.50 to P120, in Tuguegarao City by P5 to P100, and in Tacloban City by 81 centavos to P125.29. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Rice inventory down by 26.9% as of Sept. 1

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE rice inventory as of Sept. 1 fell 26.9% year on year to 1.33 million metric tons (MT), according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The PSA said in its rice and corn stock report that the rice inventory as of Sept. 1 fell 15.6% from the level reported on Aug. 1.

Rice held by households fell 24.8% year on year to 638,160 MT, while rice in commercial warehouses fell 30.6% to 543,020 MT.

Holdings maintained by the National Food Authority (NFA) fell 21.5% year on year to 151,170 MT.

Month on month, rice stocks held by households, commercial warehouses, and the NFA fell 15%, 16.3%, and 15.5%, respectively.

“Of this month’s total rice stocks, 47.9% came from households, 40.8% were from commercial warehouses/wholesalers/retailers, and 11.3% were from NFA depositories,” the PSA said.

Meanwhile, PSA said the corn inventory fell 29.7% year on year to 560,610 MT.

Month on month, the total was 20.8% lower.

Household corn stocks fell 38.6% year on year to 187,360 MT while inventories of commercial warehouses fell 24.2% to 373,250 MT.

Compared to the previous month, corn inventories in households rose 73.3% while stocks in commercial warehouses dropped 37.7%.

“The total corn inventory during the month was composed of 33.4% from households and 66.6% from commercial warehouses/wholesalers/retailers,” the PSA said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave 

Angara expects no snags in approving CoA budget 

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE SENATE finance committee’s chairman, Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, said he expects no opposition to the Commission on Audit’s (CoA) proposed 2022 budget of P14.5 billion.

Mr. Angara said in a committee session, in which he was the only member present: “I am not expecting any opposition at all, and in fact I am expecting a lot of support for your budget.”

The proposed budget is 2.47% higher than this year’s P14.1 billion. The budget department’s own proposal for the CoA spending plan is P14.2 billion following reductions to the operating and capital outlay items.

Michael G. Aguinaldo, the CoA chairman, said the commission has written the committee for additional maintenance and other operating expenses.

“If the budget is flexible enough, maybe additional capital outlay for additional provincial satellite auditing offices (PSAO)” he said at the hearing Tuesday.

As of June, said Mr. Aguinaldo, 54 PSAOs have been completed. “We have an additional 14 undergoing construction, some of which may be finished soon. Some are just starting their groundbreaking.”

By next year, 67 or 68 sites are estimated to be completed, he added.

“As before, we’ll endeavor to enable you, fiscally,” Mr. Angara said. “It’s very deserving… you play an important role in our scheme of governance.”

The budget was subsequently endorsed to the Senate plenary, according to the chamber’s Public Relations and Information Bureau. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

Pandemic transformed service sector via digitization, APEC told

PHILSTAR

THE services sector has been transformed during the pandemic because of digitization, and will remain vital to the recovery going forward, Tomas I. Alcantara, APEC Business Advisory Council Philippines (ABAC) chairman, said.

In his welcome remarks on the first day of the virtual public-private dialogue on services Tuesday, Mr. Alcantara said that the services sector accounts for around 60% of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) gross domestic product and employs more than half of the workforce in most economies.

The two-day dialogue was organized by ABAC and the Asia Pacific Services Coalition.

Mr. Alcantara said services can be used to catalyze economic activity dampened by the pandemic.

“We have seen digitalization of services from telework and financial technology to virtual restaurants and digital marketplaces, which have kept economies and the flow of goods and services running amid COVID-19-induced lockdowns,” Mr. Alcantara said.

“It is important to note that the pandemic has redefined the future of work. As such, economies and businesses must also leverage digital technology and innovation to train, re-skill and up-skill the current and future workforce,” he added. 

Mr. Alcantara said the use of digital technology is also important for the Philippines due to the composition of its workforce.

“This is particularly important for the Philippines, whose resilient economy rests on… the young, talented and world-class workforce, of course including those in the business process management industry and the Filipinos in every part of the world,” Mr. Alcantara said.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez noted in his welcome remarks the importance of a transparent and predictable regulatory environment to help services firms engage with the international market.

“I strongly believe that… good governance of our services markets is essential to creating new trade opportunities for firms. This is particularly true for our MSMEs who are often burdened by uncertain and costly requirements and procedures,” Mr. Lopez said.

“(Services) is one of our strongest and fastest growing sectors. Data show that the country’s services exports recorded a steady growth from 2009 to 2019, peaking at $41 billion worth of exports in 2019. It also accounted for 58.4% of total employment in the same year,” he added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Marcos rule poses risk of strongman rule — Fitch

BONGBONG MARCOS FB PAGE

THE ONLY son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos would probably continue President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s policies if he becomes President next year, posing risks of another strongman rule, according to Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. who was among the top three presidential candidates in an opinion poll, “appears to favor Duterte’s strongman leadership and has shown support for his father’s rule, posing risks of increased authoritarianism,” Fitch Solutions said in a report.

“Bongbong appears one of the few candidates to agree with Duterte’s policy of engagement with Beijing, potentially offering the most policy continuity out of the announced candidates,” it added.

Last month, Mr. Marcos said Mr. Duterte’s stance on the South China Sea dispute is “the right way to go.” He also parroted the administration’s views on Chinese aggression in Philippine-claimed areas in the South China Sea, saying the country could not afford to go to war with China. Mr. Marcos’s office did not immediately reply to a text message seeking comment.

“There are those who say that we should buy patrol boats and jets just in case we get to fight,” he told an online briefing. “Why would we think we will fight? That war will be over in less than a week. We’re defeated already.”

Aside from the former senator, Vice-President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo, Senator Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso and Senator Panfilo M. Lacson are also running for President.

“We expect the next president to take a more distant approach to relations with China and potentially seek international support over its disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea,” Fitch said.

The international research firm said Ms. Robredo, who has opposed the administration’s foreign policy, will “take a tougher stance on the Philippines’ dispute with China.”

It said Mr. Pacquiao had criticized the president’s cordial relations with China and would most likely seek closer ties with the United States. Mr. Lacson was expected to focus on “pro-business reforms.”

In July, Mr. Lacson asked local businessmen at a meeting whether it was “a sound concept to run the government like a private corporation,” noting that the state could adopt the private sector’s fiscal discipline.

He noted that many consider Singapore a big corporation and investments by the people come back to them in the form of social services and other forms of public service.

Last week, Ms. Robredo said any administration should prioritize anti-pandemic efforts to boost the country’s economic recovery.

“We have a false dichotomy of health versus the economy — I don’t believe that,” she told an online news briefing. “Our health and our economy are closely interconnected.” Ms. Robredo said her first economic policy would be stopping the pandemic.

Fitch Solutions said a possible shift to a “liberal” democratic presidency remained low, highlighting the potential for key Duterte policies such as his focus on infrastructure development and the war on drugs to be continued.

It said Mr. Domagoso was expected to continue with the infrastructure plans of Mr. Duterte and tackle crime but in a less aggressive way.

The Manila mayor, who said he admired the late dictator, has pledged to continue the government’s drug war but “under the blanket of existing laws and rights.”

Senator Ronald M. de la Rosa, who is also running for President, would probably focus on crime and mirror Mr. Duterte’s style, Fitch Solutions said. He enforced the state’s anti-illegal drug campaign as Mr. Duterte’s former police chief.

The International Criminal Court has ordered an investigation of Mr. Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs that has killed thousands, as it found “reasonable basis” that crimes against humanity might have been committed.

The court will also probe vigilante-style killings in Davao City when Mr. Duterte was still its vice mayor and mayor.

There were 1,424 vigilante-style killings in Davao City from 1998 to Dec. 2015, including 162 when Mr. de la Rosa was its police chief from 2012 to 2013, according to local human rights watchdog Coalition Against Summary Execution. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Increase commercial activity in metro, government urged

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

A STATE economic adviser on Tuesday asked the government to increase business capacities in Manila, the capital and nearby cities, as coronavirus infections continued to drop.

Jose Ma. “Joey” Concepcion III, presidential adviser for entrepreneurship, said companies should be allowed to increase their operational capacity to at least 50% from 30% to recover.

This would let them pay for debt and “hopefully carry them forward until 2022,” he told a televised news briefing.

Metro Manila was placed under Alert Level 4 until Oct. 15, the second-highest alert level equivalent to a modified enhanced community quarantine.

The Department of Health (DoH) reported 8,615 coronavirus infections on Tuesday, bringing the total to 2.68 million.

The death toll rose to 39,896 after 236 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 25,146 to 2.56 million, it said in a bulletin.

There were 82,228 active cases, 73.2% of which were mild, 14.2% did not show symptoms, 3.8% were severe, 7.28% were moderate and 1.6% were critical.

The agency said 57 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 38 of which were reclassified as recoveries, while 120 recoveries were reclassified as deaths. Three laboratories failed to submit data on Oct. 10.

Also on Tuesday, Metro Manila mayors agreed to enforce unified curfew hours from midnight to 4 a.m. The curfew hours would be enforced starting Wednesday, the Metro Manila Development Authority said in a resolution signed by the mayors.

Last week, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said there had been fewer swab tests for the coronavirus in 14 regions including Metro Manila.

The biggest decline in RT-PCR tests was in the capital region, whose positivity rate decreased to 16.4% in the past week from 19.3% a week earlier, she said.

Swab tests in the metro fell by 37,383 or 14.1% to 266,042 leading to fewer people who tested positive for the virus.

The Philippines, which scored poorly in a global index that measured the recovery of more than 100 countries from the coronavirus pandemic, is boosting its vaccination drive to reach its target of inoculating at least 50% of its adult population by year-end.

Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday night took responsibility for the shortage of coronavirus vaccines in the country early this year.

“I am to blame because even if I wanted to buy vaccines there was nothing to buy,” he said in Filipino at a televised Cabinet meeting.

Mr. Duterte last month railed against rich countries for hoarding vaccines while poor countries struggled to secure shots for their people.

He described vaccine hoarding as a shockingly “selfish act” that should be condemned.

Earlier this year, Mr. Duterte accused the European Union of holding up vaccine supplies from other countries, citing the economic bloc’s export rule that requires drugmakers to obtain permission first before shipping out coronavirus vaccines.

Meanwhile, Mr. Duterte said Filipinos who refuse to get vaccinated against the coronavirus should get the shots while sleeping.

“Look for them in your villages,” he said. “Let’s go to their homes while they’re asleep and inject them to finish the story.”

Mr. Duterte, who has been criticized for his senseless speeches late at night, said he would personally lead the campaign.

The tough-talking leader has repeatedly threatened to order the arrest of Filipinos who refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Davao City forms inter-agency body to address resettlement issues in railway, bus projects

THE DAVAO City government has directed the creation of an inter-agency body that will address issues on the resettlement of affected residents relating to two major transportation projects, the Mindanao railway and the High Priority Bus System Project (HPBS).

“In order to ensure the successful integration and effective management of the resettlement aspects of HPBS and MRP (Mindanao Railway Project), there is a need to formulate a Local Inter-agency Committee for Resettlement to properly manage and coordinate the concerns pertaining this aspect across all agencies,” Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said in a statement on Tuesday.

The mayor recently signed Executive Order 56-2021 for the establishment of the body, which will be composed of representatives from the local government and national agencies.

Under the executive order, the mayor will be the committee chair with the Department of Transportation’s Davao region head as co-chair.

Ms. Carpio also directed officials of all affected barangays to provide full cooperation to ensure “the least amount of inconvenience to the public.”

NORDECO
In another development in the region, the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Nordeco), formerly Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative, is eyeing to energize 45 communities known as puroks or sitio this year through the national government’s Sitio Electrification Program (SEP).

Nordeco, in a statement, said it was able to roll out power supply to 462 sitios last year despite financial difficulties due to the pandemic.

“Although we are struggling financially due to the pandemic, the SEP program has been given a share from the national budget where we have an allocation of P90 million and 45 sitios will benefit from it,” the electric cooperative said. — Maya M. Padillo

Local court convicts 3 soldiers for murder of labor leader, companion 34 years ago

A REGIONAL court has convicted three soldiers for two counts of murder for the killing of labor leader Rolando M. Olalia and his driver, Leonor Alay-ay, 34 years ago.

The Antipolo Regional Trial Court Branch 97 convicted Fernando Casanova, Dennis V. Jabatan, and Desiderio Perez who were arrested 26 years after the killings in 1986.

All three were members of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), a group of soldiers led by former senator Gregorio “Gringo” B. Honasan II that supported the ouster of dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos and staged coups to overthrow former President Corazon C. Aquino.

Nine others accused in the case have not yet been caught by the police while one, former police officer Eduardo E. Kapunan, Jr., was acquitted in 2016 and is now the Philippine ambassador to Germany. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Solon to file bill limiting candidate substitution

CONGRESS.GOV.PH

A HOUSE LEADER is set to file a bill that will limit candidate substitution, citing the need to ban practices that are a “manipulation and mockery of the election process.”

House Deputy Speaker Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez on Tuesday said he will propose an “almost absolute” ban on the substitution of candidates.

He said substitution should only be allowed if the candidate of a political party either dies or is disqualified before election day.

Current election laws allow substitution up to a set deadline if a candidate withdraws their candidacy.

“It is lamentable that for the May 2022 elections, certain candidates for the presidency are perceived to be proxies for some personalities, even if they can be considered as serious aspirants,” Mr. Rodriguez, who represents Cagayan de Oro City, said in a statement. — Russell Louis C. Ku

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