Home Blog Page 6130

Ireland to drop almost all COVID-19 restrictions in October

PXFUEL

DUBLIN — Ireland, which had one of Europe’s longest coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns, will drop almost all pandemic restrictions in October after one of the continent’s most successful vaccine rollouts, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Tuesday.  

From Oct. 22, the requirement for vaccine certificates in bars and restaurants will be dropped, as will all restrictions on the numbers attending indoor and outdoor events.  

As part of a phased easing of restrictions, the government is recommending the reopening of theaters and cinemas at 60% capacity next week and a return of non-essential workers to offices from Sept. 20.  

“Because of the effort of our vaccination team and because you have stepped up to the mark and taken the vaccine when it was offered, we are now entering a whole new phase of the pandemic,” Mr. Martin said in a televised address.  

Almost 90% of adults in Ireland are fully vaccinated as are 80% of those over 12 years old.  

Indoor dining in cafes, bars and restaurants was banned in Ireland for much of the 16 months to July, when the government opened the sector to people with vaccine certificates.  

The Irish government in recent weeks has been heavily criticized by the live-events sector as large concerts took place in the United Kingdom, which dropped most restrictions on July 19 but has a lower level of vaccinations.  

Mr. Martin struck a note of caution, however, warning of an increase in case numbers in the coming weeks before an expected decline.  

“We are very unlikely to ever be able to be rid of the virus completely,” he said. — Conor Humphries/Reuters  

Banned and blocked: LGBT+ websites censored from Russia to Indonesia

UNSPLASH

LONDON — When Russian cities started banning Pride marches, LGBT+ rights activist Mikhail Tumasov took to the internet to make sure his organization kept its voice. But state authorities were quick to catch up.  

Mr. Tumasov said the country’s internet regulator had tried repeatedly to shut down his group’s website under the terms of Russia’s 2013 “anti-gay propaganda” law, which bans the dissemination of LGBT+ information to children.  

So far, his organization — the Russian LGBT Network — has been able to challenge the shutdowns in the courts.  

“Somehow we succeeded,” Mr. Tumasov said.  

“So our website is still up and our social profiles are still up. But not everyone is so successful,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.  

According to a major global report published this week by three rights organizations, 32 different LGBT+ websites were blocked at least once on Russian internet providers between mid-2016 and mid-2020.  

“News websites on LGBTIQ-related topics were most commonly blocked, followed by cultural and human rights sites,” said the report published by OutRight Action International, the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab and the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI).  

Same-sex relations in Russia are legal, but attitudes about sexuality and gender identity remain conservative for the most part.  

In a 2020 referendum, voters backed an amendment to the constitution to allow marriage only between a man and a woman —  effectively closing the door on potential future legislation in favour of same-sex weddings.  

“Governments filter LGBTIQ websites using a variety of methods, but typically consisting of legal and technical methods,” said Irene Poetranto, senior researcher at the Citizen Lab tech human rights group and one of the report’s co-authors.  

These can include passing laws that restrict “pornography” as well as specifically targeted anti-LGBT+ legislation, Ms. Poetranto said in e-mailed comments.  

“For example, in Russia, the anti-gay propaganda law was enacted supposedly to protect children/minors and thus, LGBTIQ website censorship is conducted for the same reason.”  

Russia’s internet regulator Roskomnadzor did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.  

‘DANGERS TO NATIONAL SECURITY’  

Besides Russia, the report focused on Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), using software developed by OONI that measures different forms of internet censorship.  

The six countries were chosen because they were known to monitor LGBT+ content, Ms. Poetranto said.  

According to the report, website bans violate Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which Indonesia, Iran, and Russia are signatories.  

The multilateral treaty says “everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression … (including) freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers”.  

Of the countries analysed, Iran blocked the highest number of website addresses linked to LGBT+ content.  

“In total, 75 unique LGBTIQ URLs were detected as blocked in (Iran), followed by the UAE, where 51 unique LGBTIQ URLs were found to be blocked,” the report said.  

Five years ago, Indonesia’s government said it would move to ban LGBT+ sites, and at least 38 LGBT+ websites are currently blocked in the country of 270 million people, the study found.  

Lini Zurlia, advocacy officer of regional LGBT+ organization ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, was working at Arus Pelangi, an Indonesian LGBT+ advocacy group, when the government announced the crackdown.  

She said the organization had received a letter from the government saying it was “on the list” of sites to be shut down, though it eventually escaped a ban.  

“The LGBTIQ community is characterized by governments as dangers to national security and threats to the moral fabric of society,” Ms. Zurlia said in emailed comments.  

Indonesia’s Communication and Information Technology Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

Local activist groups are not alone in having their websites targeted.  

Grindr, one of the world’s most popular gay dating apps, has been banned in countries including Indonesia, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE.  

“Grindr is not directly involved in challenging any bans by foreign governments,” a spokesman said in emailed comments.  

“But we are aware of community-based efforts in several places to have bans overturned and strike back against attempts to limit LGBTQ life locally.”  

In Russia, Mr. Tumasov said the internet provided a vital social lifeline to LGBT+ people, with the website clampdown reflecting broader discrimination and disregard for their rights.  

“The LGBTI community’s freedom of speech is suffering from a lot of threats from homophobic people,” he said. — Hugo Greenhalgh/Thomson Reuters Foundation 

Doctor’s orders: ‘Nature prescriptions’ see rise amid pandemic

UNSPLASH

WASHINGTON — When Annette Coen went for a health check-up last summer in Washington state, she and her doctor discussed concerns around her weight and asthma. Then her doctor offered a novel prescription: regular hikes in the woods.  

He gave Ms. Coen a one-year pass to Washington’s state park system and told her to “go for walks, go camping, do what you need to do,” Ms. Coen, now 53, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.  

A year on, she said the park prescription was a “great experience” for her and her whole family. “I have lost 30 pounds (13.6 kg) since April this year … just being out and about,” she said.  

With the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighting the health benefits of spending more time outdoors, a growing faction of the US medical community is prescribing time outside the same way they would traditional medication.  

The idea of writing out park or nature prescriptions has taken hold particularly among pediatricians.  

“It all came together” during the pandemic, said Maya Moody, president-elect of the Missouri chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), pointing to spikes in childhood anxiety and pediatric obesity since the coronavirus outbreak started.  

With lockdowns keeping children indoors, “we were seeing 30-, 50-, 60-pound weight gains,” said Ms. Moody, who attends to around 3,000 low-income children in the St. Louis area.  

This April, she became one of about a dozen pediatricians across the state who have started offering nature prescriptions.  

“When I give a prescription, it’s specific, just like an antibiotic. They use it for this many days, and I say go to this park,” she explained.  

Buy-in has differed with different age groups, Ms. Moody noted, with younger children and their parents being more open to the approach but teenagers expressing skepticism.  

“Sixteen- and 17-year-olds look at me and say, ‘You want me to get off TikTok and get an actual tick in the woods?’” she said.  

But Ms. Moody said the fact that doctors and health experts are now seriously looking at how something as simple as a walk in the park can help patients is exciting.  

A spokesperson for the AAP said the group is forming a committee on the issue of nature prescriptions but declined to offer additional details.  

TAKE A WALK  

Nature prescriptions are still new, so there is little data on their effectiveness, but one 2018 analysis by researchers from Britain’s University of East Anglia did find they “may have substantial benefits”.  

There has been much more research done on the general benefits of being outdoors — in one example, starting next month, a study supported by the Welsh government will look at the benefits of treating hospital patients outside.  

In more than 500 scientific studies in recent years, researchers have linked time spent in nature with decreased anxiety, reduced risk of obesity, and even reduced overall mortality, said Maryland-based pediatrician Stacy Beller Stryer.  

Ms. Stryer is also associate medical director with Park Rx America, an online platform that helps medical professionals write nature prescriptions.  

Using its database of thousands of parks and public lands, prescribers can filter by activity, distance from a patient’s home and amenities such as playgrounds.  

“Once [the patient] decides on where to go, the prescriber talks about what they should do — maybe walk a dog? And how often — maybe every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 30 minutes?” she said.  

Writing out an actual prescription for time in nature gives patients a useful extra push, said Brent A. Bauer, research director of integrative medicine and health at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.  

“More than half of my patients who receive a ‘prescription’ for time in nature go ahead and do so successfully,” he said.  

A census of park prescription programs last year estimated that there were more than 100 nationwide.  

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy began a pilot program in collaboration with the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in 2016, after a pediatric resident was leading patients in a weight management clinic, said Kathryn Hunninen, a senior manager with the conservancy.  

“He wanted to encourage patients to get outside but didn’t know where to send them,” she said.  

“This started with an inquiry from him to the parks system and has blossomed from there.”  

In a 2018 survey, more than 80% of personnel at participating Pittsburgh clinics said they were frequently recommending that patients visit parks.  

Last year, Salt Lake County in Utah offered park prescriptions to its employees “to improve or maintain physical and mental health while building sustainable health behaviors,” Sarah Kinnison, who oversaw the program, said in an email.  

That first year, 335 employees participated, and the county is running the program again this fall.  

FINANCIAL STABILITY  

While more doctors are looking at using time outside as a medical strategy, park prescription programs face issues of access.  

In low-income neighborhoods, parks are four times smaller and more crowded on average than parks in high-income areas, said a study released last year by the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit that analyzed government data from 14,000 US towns and cities.  

It also remains unclear how to keep the programs financially sustainable. Currently they have to rely on ad hoc funding, often cobbled together from grants, philanthropy or as publicly funded pilot projects.  

The costs involved are not particularly high, but they do exist, said Bradford S. Gentry, co-director of the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale University.  

They could include the costs of park passes, the salaries of community health workers and park workers to coordinate and lead programs, and transportation to and from the green space, he said.  

“If there are all of these [health] benefits, how do we move from grant funding or public funding to health systems funding?” asked Mr. Gentry, who focuses on the intersection of health and land conservation.  

“I haven’t found an answer yet.”  

The US Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.  

Mr. Gentry pointed to Oregon, where work is underway to try to address the funding issue by requesting that certain federal rules be waived involving Medicaid, the US government’s health care program for low-income people.  

Every five years states have the opportunity to request such a waiver, if they can show it will result in better care and cost no extra money, said Lori Coyner, who was the state’s Medicaid director until July and is now senior Medicaid policy adviser at the Oregon Health Authority.  

The state’s waiver request is due in December, when it plans to ask for more flexibility in how local organizations address health issues.  

“We believe there is real opportunity to use some of these Medicaid dollars … to promote spending more time outdoors,” Ms. Coyner said. — Carey L. Biron/Thomson Reuters Foundation

E-commerce websites drive sales, according to SMEs

PIXABAY

Businesses that invest in their own e-commerce websites benefit from an increase in customer transactions and sales, according to entrepreneurs who participated in an Aug. 31 webinar organized by GoDaddy, a domain registrar and web hosting company. 

Honest Junk, a healthy snack line, gets 43% of its sales from its website, with retail partners contributing an additional 12%. The brand launched its website in June 2018, several months after relying on Google Forms. 

“We wanted to carve out a place on the Internet, and then from there branch out to brick-and-mortar retail partners,” said Christina T. Lagdameo, co-owner of Honest Junk. “Our website is the biggest proponent for our sales. Everything falls around it. Once they [customers] get to the website, it’s a captured audience.” 

Social media’s primary role, Ms. Lagdameo added, is to drive customers to the business’s website.  

Pearl Janine De Guzman, owner of marketing service company Staffz, compared having a website to fishing in one’s own pond and relying on social media platforms to fishing in a pond that’s not yours. 

“When that pond gets saturated, you’ll need to find another one to fish in. Why not create your own?” she asked. A website, she added, allows a business to nurture customer relationships through lead magnets — content given away in exchange for contact information — such as e-mail newsletter signups. 

She advised small businesses that aren’t tech savvy to use a hosting platform that makes it easy to maintain the website from the backend.  

Finding one need not be costly, said Jade Christian Tamboon of GoDaddy. 

“Product-based businesses probably need a bit more of an investment because of the [digital] infrastructure required, but any business owner can benefit from having a dot com,” he said. “A domain can cost less than P1,000 a year.” 

GoDaddy’s senior security analyst Ben Martin, meanwhile, said security should be a priority from the get-go: “Most don’t think about hacking until they get hacked, and then the sky falls and they panic.  

While GoDaddy takes care of the server security, businesses are responsible for website security and reducing security threats such as phishing, malware, and credit card theft. 

Compromised websites are blacklisted by antivirus companies and penalized by payment processing firms. Businesses that own them also suffer from a damaged reputation. 

“Clients won’t trust your website anymore, and that’s what it comes down to at the end of the day,” Mr. Martin said. 

According to GoDaddy’s 2020 Global Entrepreneurship Survey, Filipino entrepreneurs are looking to learn more about digital technologies that can help drive sales for their businesses. Forty three percent (43%) of survey respondents expressed interest in having a website, while 38% said they are interested in e-commerce portals. — Patricia B. Mirasol

SM Supermalls kicks off ‘Ber’ months with buy one, take one food deals

September is here and on this auspicious day, we welcome the start of the “Ber” months. This year, a lot of us are buckling down at home in various stages of ECQ and MECQ but SM Supermalls has your taste buds covered — twice over! Today, all you foodies who are tired of homemade food — there’s loads of BUY ONE, TAKE ONE deals from your favorite food chains. From pizza to milk tea, and everything in between, SM Supermalls has your tummy covered.

Pizza is better when it’s buy one, take one, so more of your family and friends share the pie with some to keep! At Shakey’s, get 2 18-inch Pizza Americanas for the price of 1 with your Shakey’s Supercard.

Looking for other pizza options? At Pizza Hut, you can enjoy two Regular Super Supreme or Meat Lovers Pan Pizzas at P599 or two 9-inch New Hawaiian Lovers Pan Pizzas for P299! At Yellow Cab, for P499, you can score a 9-inch Pepperoni, Hawaiian, Garden Special, BBQ Chicken, or Manhattan Meatlovers pizza and get one cheese pizza for free! Craving for more? Greenwich is offering buy one, take one deals on their 9-inch, 12-inch, and 15-inch pizzas too.

And here’s more! McDonald’s is giving a free Hot Fudge Sundae when you order their 2-piece Chicken McDonald’s ala carte. Burger King, on the other hand, is offering a buy one, and get two, X-Tra Long Chicken Jr.; and for dessert, you can buy one, take one Mini Chocolate Sundae for only P29. At Kenny Roger’s you can also buy one and get one Baked Mac & Cheese, Tex Mex, or muffin for free.

And there are snack options too! Buy two pretzels and get one for free at Auntie Anne’s; or buy one Beef or Chicken Shawarma and get one of the same variant for free at Shawarma Shack.

Stock up on your favorite milk tea because today is your chance to score double. At Macao Imperial Tea, you can buy one Cheesecake and Pearl Milk Tea Monster size and take one Cheesecake and Pearl Milk Tea in alto size; or buy one Black Pearl Tea and take one for free for only P199.

At Infinitea, you get one large Wintermelon Tea to get one large Apple or Lychee Fruit Tea for free, while at Chatime, you can buy their Milk Tea with Purple Rice to enjoy another one for free.

 

Yes, it’s September 1 and it’s going to be one “bellygood” time at SM, with all the Buy 1, Take 1 deals to enjoy!

With #SafeMallingatSM, you can safely indulge in your food cravings from your favorite restaurants at SM Supermalls.

For more information, click this link bit.ly/2WLfKhH or follow @smsupermalls on all social media accounts.


Spotlight is BusinessWorld’s sponsored section that allows advertisers to amplify their brand and connect with BusinessWorld’s audience by enabling them to publish their stories directly on the BusinessWorld Web site. For more information, send an email to online@bworldonline.com.

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

August inflation likely over target

INFLATION in August likely exceeded the Philippine central bank’s target as prices of food staples and utility rates rose, Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said on Tuesday.

The consumer price index probably rose by 4.1% to 4.9% last month, faster than the 2-4% target of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), he told reporters in a Viber group message.

“The BSP will continue to monitor emerging price developments to help ensure that its primary mandate of price stability conducive to balanced and sustainable economic growth is achieved,” he said.

If realized, price increases would have been much faster than the 2.4% a year earlier and 4% in July, when inflation was within target for the first time this year.

“Higher prices for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), Meralco (Manila Electric Co.) electricity [rates] and key food items along with the depreciation of the peso are sources of upward price pressures during the month,” Mr. Diokno said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will release August inflation data on Sept. 7.

Oil companies increased LPG prices by P3.27 to P3.35 a kilo or by as much as P37 for an 11-kilogram cylinder effective Aug. 1 according to Energy department data. Auto LPG prices also rose by P1.85 to P1.87 a liter.

Meralco said the overall rate for the month increased by P0.0965 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P9.0036 from P8.9071 in July on higher transmission charges.

Mr. Diokno also cited the weak peso, which had been moving around the P50-per-dollar mark in recent weeks, although it slightly appreciated due to muted activities amid tighter restriction measures in August due to a new wave of coronavirus infections.

It weakened by P1.737 or 3.49% against the dollar to P49.76 on Tuesday from its P48.023 finish on Dec. 29.

On the other hand, falling domestic oil and rice prices could offset inflation, Mr. Diokno said.

Based on the Energy department’s price monitor, oil companies this month cut the prices of gasoline and diesel by about 95 centavos a liter, while kerosene prices fell by P2 a liter.

Prices have increased by P12.45 a liter for gasoline, P9.35 a liter for diesel and P7.40 a liter for kerosene this year.

At its Aug. 12 policy review, the central bank raised its inflation forecast for the year to 4.1% from 4%, as it expects inflation to breach this year’s target. It also increased its inflation forecast for 2022 and 2023 to 3.1% from 3%.

BSP Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila, Jr. said their higher inflation forecast took into account higher global crude and nonoil prices, the weaker peso and concerns about slow pork imports.

Inflation in the seven months through July was 4.4%, higher than the BSP’s 2-4% goal.

Faster price increases in the previous months had been blamed on low pork supply amid an African Swine Fever outbreak. The government has imposed lower tariffs for pork, while increasing the minimum access volume threshold for these products.

The Monetary Board kept the key policy rate at 2% at its last meeting, citing the need to support the economy after renewed coronavirus lockdowns amid a fresh surge in infections probably due to a more contagious Delta variant.

It will meet again on Sept. 23 to review the policy settings. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Nonlife insurers lobbying for shift to free market

MACROVECTOR/FREEPIK

By Beatrice M. Laforga, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINE Insurers and Reinsurers Association wants a free market regime for tariffed insurance products, while seeking to reform the system for car and fire insurance policies and surety bonds.

The nonlife insurance industry is working on a major shift to a free market system on the three businesses governed by tariff rates, based on a referendum agreed to by its members three months ago, group Executive Director Michael F. Rellosa told an online forum on Tuesday.

He said local insurers want to eventually scrap the tariffs on car insurance, craft a new system on tariff for fire insurance products and adopt a more flexible tariff system for surety bonds.

“The current tariff rates have been static for some time and may not be reflective of the true/technical rates,” he said in a separate e-mailed reply to questions. “These would have to be analyzed and updated.”

Under a tariff regime, insurance companies will have a fixed price list for product premiums, while a nontariff or free market regime allows insurers to set their rates based on their risk assessments.

Mr. Rellosa said charging appropriate rates would benefit both the insured public and insurance companies since this would help the sector build loss reserves for claims in times of calamities and enough buffer against rising claims.

Insurance Commission chief Dennis B. Funa said the agency is studying the industry’s proposal for a free market regime.

“We will decide on what will be the best for the Philippine market,” he said in a Viber message. “But this needs to be studied further.”

Mr. Rellosa said the sector still has a lot of work to do before the organization and commission can proceed with the free market shift.

The regulator has seen tariff violations amid increased competition, though breaches have been few and far between, Mr. Funa said.

At the same forum, Mr. Rellosa asked the Insurance Commission to reconsider a planned minimum capital requirement of P900 million for all insurers, and defer the scheduled hike to P1.3 billion by 2022 so companies can expand their operations.

He said 48 nonlife insurers have hit P1 billion in net worth as of end-2020, four are above the P900-million mark, while the capital of three more were around P700 million.

Insurers with more than P1 billion in net worth would be considered to be on a solid financial footing and have proven to be resilient to economic shocks such as the pandemic-induced recession last year, he said.

“We hope our government would see this as enough capitalization already and would consider the industry’s proposal to keep the capitalization target at the P900-million mark and no longer the P1.3 billion originally set for December 2022,” Mr. Rellosa said.

“Doing this would enable the companies to invest their money more in their operations and digitalization, rather than just parking it to satisfy the requirements of law,” he added.

But Mr. Funa said the scheduled hike must proceed to give policyholders greater protection.

“The Department of Finance has already spoken on the matter,” he said. “The increase to P1.3 billion as provided by law will push through to provide greater protection to the insuring public.”

He also said deferring the increase would require lawmakers to amend the law. “It will depend on Congress if they want to amend it or not.”

Insurance companies’ minimum capital requirement was increased to P900 million at the end of 2019 from P550 million and will increase further to P1.3 billion by end-2022, according to the Insurance Code.

The local insurance industry’s total premium income rose by 28% in the first quarter from a year earlier to P99.89 billion.

Pandemic spurs digital deals, but Pinoys want more seamless process

RAWPIXEL.COM-FREEPIK

FILIPINO CONSUMERS are more likely to open a digital account amid a coronavirus pandemic, but the process should be made simpler, according to a study by global analytics software firm FICO.

Six of 10 Filipinos wish to answer fewer than 10 questions when opening an online account or they will abandon the process, it said.

“The pandemic is driving a digital-first mindset in the Philippines with 61% of consumers more likely to open an account digitally than a year ago,” said Aashish Sharma, senior director of decision management solutions for FICO in Asia-Pacific.

He said 41% of Filipinos now prefer to open bank accounts online, which is a significant development given the country’s strong branch culture.

While Filipinos seem to be more comfortable with online transactions, they want banks to make the experience more seamless. The survey found that 69% of them want to undergo identity verification online, while 26% said financial institutions ask too many questions.

Filipinos want simpler applications with fewer questions for so-called “buy now, pay later” products (65%), savings accounts (62%) and transaction accounts (60%).

“Consumers want banks to find answers to application questions through technology approaches such as improved identity checks, transaction history analysis, open banking and government databases,” Mr. Sharma said.

The findings showed that many clients would abandon a process once they are asked to move out of a platform to prove their identity. These customers will either give up opening an account or go to a competitor.

“The survey found that any disruption matters,” according to the study. “Asking people to scan and e-mail documents or use a separate identity portal causes almost as much application abandonment as asking them to visit branches or mail in documents.”

The central bank expects 50% of payments to be done digitally by 2023. Officials Expect to achieve this earlier as the pandemic spurred people to shift to online transactions. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Filipino fisherman and eco-activist among 5 who got honored with Magsaysay award

A FILIPINO fisherman who pushed a sustainable marine environment to revive a dying fishing industry was among four people who got recognized this year by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation.

Roberto “Ka Dodoy” Ballon, a 53-year-old fisherman from Zamboanga Sibugay in southern Philippines, was cited for his “shining example of how everyday acts of heroism can truly be extraordinary and transformative.”

The Manila-based foundation announced the awardees, who also included a Pakistani, a Bangladeshi, an American and an Indonesian documentary group, at an online news briefing on Tuesday.

“As a fisherman, I dedicate this to my family, to everyone who has helped me, institutions and the government agencies that help our association and our programs,” Mr. Ballon said in a video in Filipino.

“I dedicate this also to all fishermen, especially the small fishermen across the Philippines,” he added.

Also honored was poverty alleviation visionary Muhammad Amjad Saqib of Pakistan, affordable vaccine champion Firdausi Qadri of Bangladesh, American humanitarian and peace builder Steven Muncy and Watchdoc of Indonesia.

Mr. Muncy was recognized for his “unshakable belief in the goodness of man that inspires in others the desire to serve; his life-long dedication to humanitarian work, refugee assistance and peace building; and his unstinting pursuit of dignity, peace and harmony for people in exceptionally difficult circumstances in Asia,” the foundation said in a statement.

Ms. Qadri was awarded for her “passion and life-long devotion to the scientific profession and her vision of building the human and physical infrastructure that will benefit the coming generation of Bangladeshi scientists, women scientists in particular.”

The foundation also cited her contributions to vaccine development, advanced biotechnological therapeutics and critical research that has been saving millions of lives.

Mr. Saqib was recognized for his “intelligence and compassion that enabled him to create the largest microfinance institution in Pakistan; his inspiring belief that human goodness and solidarity will find ways to eradicate poverty; and his determination to stay with a mission that has already helped millions of Pakistani families.”

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Watchdoc was cited for its “highly principled crusade for an independent media organization, its energetic use of investigative journalism, documentary filmmaking and digital technology in its effort to transform Indonesia’s media landscape.”

The annual Ramon Magsaysay Award, which started in 1957 to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon F. Magsaysay, Sr.’s example of integrity in governance, resumed this year after it was canceled last year amid a global coronavirus pandemic.

The awards will be given out on Nov. 28 at the Ramon Magsaysay Center in Manila.

The awardees will be presented with a medallion embossed with a right side-facing profile of the late President, a certificate and a cash prize.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award has been given to 340 people and organizations “whose selfless service has offered their societies, Asia and the world successful solutions to some of the most intractable problems of human development,” according to its website.

Previous awardees from the Philippines include National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab (2019); the late President Corazon C. Aquino (1998); the late National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin (1996); actress, volunteer and former Philippine National Red Cross member Rosa Rosal (1999); and the late BusinessWorld founder Raul L. Locsin (1999). — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

SEC sounds alarm on fuel firms’ investment offer

By Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte, Reporter

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is warning investors about gasoline companies that offer investment programs via franchise agreements, co-franchisee agreements, partnership agreements, co-ownership contracts, among others.

“The commission has received reports that there has been a proliferation of offering and solicitation of investments for the purpose of setting up gasoline stations or investing in already existing small gasoline companies,” the regulator said in an advisory, which did not name specific entities.

It added that these programs say investors can generate profit “hassle-free.” Investors were told to just place their money in the scheme, sign the contract, and wait for the quarterly profit distribution.

The company would be handling the construction, management, and operation of the gas stations. Some companies would offer guaranteed profits, with the loss to be shouldered by them.

“The usual scheme of these small gasoline companies is to lure investors by advertising that they can co-own a gas station for a minimal amount of at least P300,000,” the SEC said.

These gasoline companies also offer subscriptions to its shares of stock, partnership agreements, where several partners can own a gas station, and co-franchisee contract, where a single gas station will be franchised and owned by several individuals.

The SEC said, “these kinds of contracts or investment schemes, no matter how they are called, would squarely fall under the definition of an ‘investment contract’ and/or subscription of ‘shares of stocks,’” which are under the regulatory jurisdiction of the commission.

“Any issuance of unregistered securities is illegal,” the commission said.

The list of registered issuers of securities with permits to offer and sell securities may be accessed via https://www.sec.gov.ph/registered-firms-individuals-and-statistics/registered-firms-and-individuals/.

“Investments not included in the list are deemed to be unregistered and therefore not authorized to be offered to the public,” the regulator said.

Meanwhile, the list of capital market institutions and individuals authorized to solicit investments is on the Capital Market Participants Registry System, http://cmprs.sec.gov.ph/.

Those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents for the unlicensed schemes offered by these entities may be prosecuted and be held liable under the Securities Regulation Code, the SEC said. They may be fined P5 million at most and/or face 21 years of imprisonment.

“The public is therefore advised to exercise caution in dealing with these gasoline companies or persons purporting to be their representatives,” the SEC said.

First Gen’s Avion unit goes offline after turbine damage

LOPEZ-LED First Gen Corp. told the local bourse on Tuesday that the second unit of its 97-megawatt (MW) Avion gas-fired plant will be offline for the time being due to damage found in its gas turbine.

Its subsidiary Prime Meridian PowerGen Corp. (PMPC) informed the listed power firm that one of the compressors of Avion Unit 2’s gas turbine was discovered in a routine inspection to have been damaged.

The Batangas-based Avion plant, which uses dual fuel aero-derivative gas turbines developed by General Electric (GE), is one of the gas facilities that source fuel from the offshore Malampaya gas field.

“The damage to Avion Unit 2, which has a capacity of approximately 48.5 MW, was found during an ongoing routine inspection. After carefully reviewing the findings, GE has advised PMPC that Avion Unit 2 cannot be operated and will require further offsite assessment at a GE service depot abroad to determine the extent of the damage and effect repairs necessary to place the gas turbine back into service,” First Gen said.

It added that Avion Unit 1 is unaffected, indicating that it will stay online.

First Gen earlier said that some 50 MW from Avion, which can operate on either natural gas or diesel, will be available for the Luzon grid during the Malampaya gas-to-power project’s temporary closure from Oct. 2 to 22. It will be operating on liquid fuel during the gas field’s shutdown.

In a separate filing on Tuesday, the company said that it had received the tender offer report from Philippines Clean Energy Holding Inc. (PCEHI), which plans to acquire by way of a secondary sale a minimum of issued and outstanding common shares representing 3%, and a maximum of 5.7% from the Lopez firm’s existing shareholders.

The shares will be priced at P33 per common share.

“The tender offer provides existing shareholders of the company the opportunity to sell their common shares and realize their investment, in cash, at a premium to the current trading price of the common shares,” the report read.

The tender offer will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Sept. 1 and end at 12:00 noon of Sept. 29. The offer period may be extended as long as it gets prior approval from the corporate regulator.

In another disclosure, First Gen requested for a one-day extension of its trading suspension, after receiving PCEHI’s 59-page tender offer in order to “give the company’s shareholders equal access to the said report.”

First Gen has 3,495 MW of installed capacity in its portfolio, which comprises of projects in natural gas, geothermal energy from steam, hydro-electric, wind, and solar power. The listed power firm is a subsidiary of First Philippine Holdings Corp. — Angelica Y. Yang

Rental fees in all CAAP airports waived for the whole year

THE Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Board has moved to waive concessionaire rental payments in all its airports for the entire year, an official from the agency said on Tuesday.

“Like MIAA (Manila International Airport Authority), CAAP Board in its ongoing Board meeting now just approved the recommendation to waive airport concession rental charges from January to December 2021,” CAAP Chief of Staff Danjun G. Lucas told BusinessWorld in a phone message.

In an e-mailed statement, CAAP, an attached agency of the Department of Transportation (DoTr), said the initiative is part of efforts “to support aviation stakeholders, specifically concessionaires renting/leasing spaces in CAAP airport terminals, who were affected by the [coronavirus] pandemic.”

“Waiving and deferment of airport concessionaire fees was first implemented by DoTr and CAAP in March 2020, following the order of the national government to place Luzon under Enhanced Community Quarantine or ECQ,” the agency added.

On Aug. 27, the DoTr announced that MIAA Board had agreed to waive the rental payments of the Manila airport’s concessionaires from July until December this year.

On Aug. 4, the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines said it would seek an extension of the waiver of airport fees because of the ongoing crisis. — Arjay L. Balinbin