Responsible mining is possible

May 5, 2021 | 6:35 pm

A few days ago, I received a rejoinder from the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), to my column last week on mining. Through its vice-president for communication Rocky Dimaculangan, COMP shares how mining companies have been managing the environmental and social aspects of their operations in line with the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) standard that was first used in Canada. Rocky is also the national coordinator for TSM.

Rocky assures this column that the mining sector, through the TSM program, is adopting “rigorous, independently assured standards based on multi-stakeholder oversight.” He explains that TSM was developed by the Mining Association of Canada in 2004 and is mandatory to its members. And that over the last 15 years, the program has helped to transform Canadian mines.

“TSM lays out a set of expectations or performance indicators that essentially represent global best mining practices in seven Protocols: 1.) Safety and Health, 2.) Community and IP (Indigenous Peoples) Engagement, 3.) Crisis Management and Communication, 4.) Prevention of Child and Forced Labor, 5.) Tailings Management, 6.) Water Management, and 7.) Biodiversity Conservation Management,” Rocky writes in an e-mail.

“Every year, each implementing mine will grade themselves against every performance indicator under each Protocol and will submit their self-assessment reports to COMP. We will publish such reports so that it is publicly available, which addresses the need for transparency. Every three years, each implementing mine will undergo independent external verification, where qualified verifiers will validate the self-assessment reports. They will have the authority to change performance levels in the self-assessment reports if warranted. The results of the external verification will also be published,” he adds.

The TSM effort locally, I believe, began as early as 2017. But, according to Rocky, it took COMP a number of years to orient local mines on it, and to “adjust performance indicators to ensure that they are consistent with our local laws, rules and regulations.” Of course, any global standard for best practices for any industry must always consider or take into account the peculiarities of the local regulatory environment.

The TSM program was rolled out by COMP in 2020, starting with “voluntary reporting of self-assessment reports, to allow implementing companies to conduct gap analysis and adjust their procedures and practices accordingly.” Rocky assures particularly those still skeptical of whether local mining companies are doing things right that “mandatory reporting will commence [2022], while external verification and publication of the self-assessment reports in our website will begin in 2023.”

The TSM program, to me, is a move in the right direction. TSM is also working with IRMA or the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, which I have been pushing for since 2017. IRMA is a private sector-led, multi-stakeholder consultative initiative that uses “a multi-stakeholder and independently verifiable responsible mining assurance system that improves social and environmental performance.”

According to Rocky, TSM has a formal partnership with IRMA “to create more effective interoperability between these two standards.” They are working on an Integrated Audit Protocol, he said, to integrate the requirements of their respective standards into a single audit protocol. Meantime, COMP members have agreed to voluntarily adopt TSM standards.

He also says in his e-mail that local miners are moving to “operate beyond mere compliance and use best practices,” and have likewise subscribed to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, or EITI, to “further demonstrate our commitment to the highest standards of transparency and accountability in business.”

All these efforts bode well for the local mining industry, I believe. I consider crucial in particular the mandatory reporting by 2022 of miners’ compliance with TSM standards. Self-policing and self-regulation through voluntary reporting can only go so far. But, making reporting mandatory, with reports publicly published, by 2023, allows for better transparency and accountability.

Rocky says the key strength of TSM is that it requires a national multi-stakeholder body called the Community of Interest (COI) Advisory Panel to be established in each implementing country. In our case, the Philippine COI Panel includes representatives from labor, environment, civil society, academe, finance, law, indigenous peoples, the Catholic church, and mining.

A list provided by Rocky show members of the Philippine COI Panel are Rogelio Francisco M. Bantayan, Jr., Executive Director of the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples; UP Professors Carlos Primo David and Cielo Magno; Ateneo Dean Ronald Mendoza; ex-DENR Assistant Secretary Edwin G. Domingo; Catholic priest Jerome Marquez of the Society of Divine Word; lawyer Jose V. Mejia; environmental management professional Liezyl Liton-Relleta; labor leader Gerard R. Seno; broadcast journalist Luchi Cruz-Valdes; and finance professional Alexis Benjamin C. Zaragoza III. Albay Governor Al Francis Bichara has begged off from the panel, Rocky said, and the COI panel is still deliberating on his replacement as the representative for local government units. Ex-officio members of the panel are Chamber of Mines directors Euls Austin, Gerard H. Brimo, and Gloria Tan Climaco.

I choose to publish the names of the members of the COI panel for the sake of transparency, and to be clear as to who may be involved in the process of ensuring that local mining operations meet TSM standards. In a way, the same COI panel will surely have a say on policy direction for the industry, and will probably chime in on any proposed legislation or regulation affecting the industry.

And, as Rocky notes, “The COI Panel can, on a random basis, ask implementing companies to come before them to discuss their TSM results and respond to a series of questions. In the experience of Canada, this has proven to be tremendously valuable because miners get to engage and find out what issues are of concern and interest to the members of the Panel given the different backgrounds they bring to the table.”

I consider this an important factor, although I am unclear as to what extent the COI Panel as well as COMP can actually police its ranks and compel compliance among its members. One factor to consider is the COMP or COI Panel’s authority to censure or to impose penalties on erring or non-compliant miners, and how COMP and the COI Panel can work with government regulators in this regard.

“Responsible mining does exist in our country,” Rocky assures. But, he adds, “the one problem we see in our country is that there are a number of unregulated, largely illegal operations around our country that affect the image of the formal large-scale sector, since the public in general does not distinguish between the two.”

Indeed, the industry can only go so far in terms of combating illegal mining operations. This is more the responsibility of the government. One can only hope that government regulators are up to the task of cleansing the mining industry ranks of illegals, misfits, and scalawags. In the end, strict compliance with standards by legitimate miners may just be for naught if illegal operations will just persist.

Marvin Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippine Press Council

matort@yahoo.com

Vaccines have united rival nations in the toughest of times

May 5, 2021 | 6:35 pm

hand-medical-glove-holding-vaccine-vial — RAWPIXEL.COM/FREEPIK

AS THE WORLD enters the second year of a deadly pandemic, it’s hard to shake the feeling that each nation is largely on its own. From the spectacle of countries hoarding vaccines to the seemingly endless travel restrictions, the disease seems to have fueled nationalism, undercut international cooperation and heightened geopolitical tensions.

Yet even at this stage of the pandemic, history gives reason for hope. The long record of “vaccine diplomacy” confirms that diseases don’t always divide nations. In fact, the very act of fighting pathogens can foster comity and collaboration between them.

The story of vaccine diplomacy arguably begins with the “speckled monster,” smallpox. For centuries, the virus plagued humanity, killing between 20% and 60% of its victims and leaving survivors horribly disfigured or blind.

Enter Edward Jenner, a doctor in 18^th century Britain. Jenner observed that milkmaids rarely caught smallpox. Some milkmaids ascribed this protection to the fact that most had already caught a related, but largely harmless, disease: cowpox. Jenner speculated that if he gave someone cowpox, it would confer immunity against smallpox.

He was right. Jenner called this method vaccination: “vacca” is Latin for cow. Though many assailed Jenner, his advocacy of vaccination gained prominent supporters throughout Britain, and eventually, the rest of the world in the opening decades of the 19^th century.

The historian Michael Bennett recently published a book that details this remarkable campaign, which took place during a period of intense warfare between Britain and France, as well as other conflicts around the world. Jenner, however, was not deterred. During the Napoleonic Wars, he famously declared to his French counterparts, “The sciences are never at war.”

This may sound hopelessly naive, but Jenner and a growing network of allies around the world began shipping vaccines between warring countries, putting public health ahead of national conflicts. Jenner soon found himself tapped to serve as an unofficial diplomat between Britain and France, trusted by both countries.

Vaccination transformed diplomatic relations around the world. Prior to Jenner, countries couldn’t do much to help each other fight disease. Conventional medicine was largely useless, and all the money in the world couldn’t stop smallpox. But vaccines could, and countries soon began wielding them as a way to buy good will.

This was altruism leavened with national self-interest. In fact, Jenner and other British authorities hoped to make vaccination integral to managing the nation’s growing empire. Jenner hoped “soon to see Societies form’d throughout the Empire for the Extermination of the Smallpox” comparable to the medical infrastructure he was building at home.

Other countries took notice. As early as 1801, the United States began offering smallpox vaccinations to visiting dignitaries from Indian tribes. President Thomas Jefferson even sent vaccines westward with the famed Lewis and Clark expedition, though they apparently spoiled before they could be used.

France took vaccine diplomacy farther than most. After the microbiologist Louis Pasteur developed a vaccine that prevented rabies — a dread disease that killed everyone who contracted it — the French government began building laboratories throughout its colonies in order to administer the vaccine on a mass scale.

While it’s easy to write off these kinds of efforts as self-interested imperial meddling, the scientists who promoted these vaccination programs genuinely believed that vaccines could transcend national differences. Pasteur, for example, famously proclaimed that “science knows no country.”

This was more an ideal than a reality, but Pasteur was onto something. At the height of the Cold War, the US and the Soviet Union inched perilously close to nuclear conflict on several occasions. They also managed to collaborate on a vaccine for polio, a disease that left many children paralyzed or dead.

In the 1950s, the US began administering polio vaccines developed by Jonas Salk. These relied on dead versions of the virus to elicit an immune response. Though sound, this method had significant drawbacks: multiple vaccinations and boosters. Worse yet, many parents refused to let their children be vaccinated after a faulty batch of vaccines infected patients with polio.

The virologist Albert Sabin disagreed with Salk’s approach, arguing for use of a live but attenuated version of the virus. Unfortunately, there was neither a will nor a way to test it on American children, given that many had been vaccinated already with Salk’s serum and few parents had the stomach for further experiments.

But there was another country willing to take a chance: the Soviet Union. In 1956, a husband-and-wife team of Soviet virologists paid Sabin a visit, sparking what would turn into a sustained collaboration. As FBI and KGB agents hovered over the two teams, the Americans prepared an attenuated strain of polio to inject into Soviet children.

As the two countries fought proxy wars around the globe, they nonetheless collaborated on one of the largest vaccine trials in human history. The Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries ultimately vaccinated over 100 million people, mostly children. This campaign, which a British medical journal dubbed a “Blitzkrieg against polio,” demonstrated that the Sabin vaccine was safe, effective, and capable of being produced quickly on a mass scale.

The US quickly pivoted, shifting to the Sabin method of vaccination. The two countries then began distributing the polio vaccine around the world. Much of this was classic vaccine diplomacy, with each country buying goodwill by delivering the miracles of modern medicine. But whatever the intent, the world’s children became the beneficiaries.

The same was true of the superpowers’ collaboration on eradicating smallpox. After the Soviet Union developed freeze-dried versions of a smallpox vaccine, the two countries then worked together on what remains the most successful vaccination program in human history, completely eliminating smallpox.

These successful collaborations underscore a basic fact: Geopolitical rivalries need not impede an effective global response to deadly diseases.

It’s a lesson worth heeding now, as the pandemic enters its second deadly year. So long as countries try to beat COVID on their own, they’ll fail. But if they revive the model of cooperation that rid the world of diseases like smallpox and polio, we might actually beat this thing.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Shape of the day

May 5, 2021 | 6:35 pm

home-office-computer-laptop — BELLA H. /PIXABAY

NO LONGER FASHIONABLE is the analysis of the consumer based on how he spends his day, and what types of media he consumes and is exposed to as he goes about his activities from waking up to turning in for the night. From this, the media planner selects the appropriate placements for advertising messages.

This modeling of the shape of the day gave rise to such concepts as “prime time” (usually 6 to 10 p.m.) for TV to catch the consumer relaxing at home and ready for his television binge and getting a barrage of ad messages charged a premium for this time of the evening.

Not even the once “portable TV,” which was an appliance that sometimes accompanied luggage of a family going out of town, was envisioned to be small enough to put in the pocket. Yes, the third screen for watching content (after movies and television) is now the dominant player in shaping our day. The mobile phone and its small screen is transforming habits and the very concept of how messages reach us and when we choose to get them.

Anyway, the past 14 months, and perhaps another six more months at least, have bent and will continue to bend, the shape of our day. This is how it looks now.

The day begins with no rush. Upon waking, you check the phone (not the landline, silly) for messages and postings in the chat group. You answer queries and offer condolences and prayers to the family of yet another casualty.

After the morning chores, you get set for a virtual business meeting (or school) with your gadgets and headphones. Virtual background okay? There’s pencil and paper for notes and meeting ID and passcode to get back in case you’re accidentally cut off.

There’s no commute, except going from the bedroom to the “studio” corner of the house for the virtual set-up. So, you don’t see any billboards or out-of-home ads, except maybe the menu for the week on the ref magnet. As an aside, traditional billboards along main thoroughfares are priced by the volume of passing vehicular traffic (and the eyeballs inside the vehicles). The higher the volume, the pricier the ad space. Stalled traffic is a premium.

As to consumption of media content? There’s no waiting for prime time. Anytime is fine.

You can watch your subscribed movie on the big screen of the TV, with no commercials. Or be satisfied with your small screen phone. Studies show the small screen a foot away from your face is equivalent to a movie screen from the last balcony row. Anyway, your eyes can get twitchy afterwards.

Staying mostly at home for the whole day has bent the shape of your schedule. Sure, buying and banking moves are all remotely done from home. Except to get to an ATM to withdraw cash. Cashless culture? We’re not quite there yet.

If everybody is working from home, including you-know-who, how do we now send and receive messages from above or to each other? And how can the authorities compel people to stop giving away food without a license and exercising their community spirit? The root word in Latin for “community” is communis which means common or shared. The root word is used for another dreaded word associated with red tagging. Maybe, that vociferous police authority is merely being erudite in citing a shared etymology for two words that sound alike?

The shape of the day was a device for tracking where best to deliver messages and ideas as the consumer goes through his diurnal rhythm. Not only has that work routine changed but even the medium for delivering messages and ideas has shifted mostly to a single portable device that is always at hand. The consumer can then pick what messages to pay attention to and which ones to clear with a simple thumb motion. Anyway, the attention span for any content is shrinking to seconds, unless compelling or compelled.

More than the static concept of repetition and routine on how a day is mapped, the marketer or political campaigner has to deliver a compelling message or idea. It’s no longer a case of how one’s day is shaped. It’s now a matter of understanding what shapes our day… and what should not.

Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

US proposes G7 coordination to counter China’s might

May 5, 2021 | 6:29 pm

THE GROUP of Seven (G7) nations is considering a US proposal to counter what the White House sees as China’s economic coercion.

A paper was circulated before a two-day meeting of G7 foreign ministers in London, according to officials, who were granted anonymity to discuss private talks. Officials meeting on Tuesday spent some 90 minutes discussing ways in which China tries to get nations and individuals to do what it wants via the Belt and Road initiative or by leveling economic threats, according to a senior State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The US wants a consultation mechanism that would involve the G7 — as well as other stakeholders — to ensure a coordinated response to China’s moves and with the aim of bolstering the resilience of G7 nations, according to another diplomat.

The initiative coincides with a hardening of Germany, Italy, and France — the three European Union (EU) countries that participate in the G7 — as they begin to align with the Biden administration in its standoff with China. The US is still a fair bit more hawkish than the EU when it comes to Beijing.

As host of the G7, the UK seeks to strike a balance on China, calling out its alleged human rights abuses while keeping the door open to areas of cooperation, such as on climate change. The challenge for Boris Johnson’s government is to avoid framing the G7 as anti-China under his presidency.

The UK has left the EU and wants to strike trade deals of its own around the world, including with the US and India. European nations are also seeking to walk a fine line between holding China to account on its human-rights record while not alienating a key economic partner.

Also discussed was a proposal to set up a group called “Friends of Hong Kong” to share information and concerns about the former British colony, according to a diplomat familiar with the matter. China last year imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong last year in the wake of anti-government protests in 2019.

Other issues under discussion include Myanmar, Russia, Ukraine and an agreement on a rapid response mechanism to counter disinformation that is expected to be adopted as an annex to the final joint statement.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in London earlier this week to lay the groundwork for President Joseph R. Biden’s summit with the Group of Seven leaders in June.

“Our purpose is not to contain China, to hold it back, to keep it down,” Mr. Blinken said in an interview with CBS News’ 60 Minutes that was broadcast on Sunday. “It is to uphold this rules-based order that China is posing a challenge to. Anyone who poses a challenge to that order, we’re going to stand up and defend it.” — Bloomberg

Prize winners may live, work in UK under relaxed visa requirements

May 5, 2021 | 6:24 pm

The British union flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliamen, in London, Britain Dec. 30, 2020. — REUTERS/TOBY MELVILLE

LONDON — Prize winners in the sciences and arts will have their applications to be able to live and work in Britain fast-tracked from Wednesday, the interior ministry said, pressing its post-Brexit pledge to attract only the “best and brightest.”

Since completing its exit from the European Union, Britain has introduced a new system for work visas based on points which are on a scale depending, among other things, on the type of job offer, qualifications and the ability to speak English.

While the government says its new system is fair in its treatment of migrants from around the world after Britain’s departure ended free movement, critics say it is creating a hostile environment that leaves some sectors without workers.

From Wednesday, winners of awards such as the Nobel Prize, Oscars and Golden Globes will be able to live and work more easily under “the Global Talent visa route,” the interior ministry said in a statement.

That would mean the system would allow applicants who hold a qualifying prize to fast track an endorsement application and instead make a single visa application, it added.

“Winners of these awards have reached the pinnacle of their career and they have so much to offer the UK. These important changes will give them the freedom to come and work in our world leading arts, sciences, music, and film industries as we build back better,” interior minister Priti Patel said.

“This is exactly what our new point-based immigration system was designed for — attracting the best and brightest based on the skills and talent they have, not where they’ve come from,” she added in the statement. — Reuters

Twenty Filipino companies make it to FT ranking of fastest-growing companies

May 5, 2021 | 5:36 pm

Twenty Filipino companies made it to the 2021 Financial Times ranking of the top 500 high-growth companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

Compiled in partnership with global news publication Nikkei Asia and research provider Statista, the ranking, published in April, shows which companies entered the pandemic in a position of strength. The survey covered both private and public companies headquartered in 13 countries and regions in Asia Pacific with an annual revenue of more than $100,000 in 2016 and more than $1 million in 2019. The ranking is based on the revenue growth between 2016 and 2019.

Power Fill Holdings Inc., a gas station franchise, was the highest-ranking Filipino company at 116, reporting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 78.6% and $42.55 million in revenue in 2019. It has over 50 branches in Luzon, with its newest station opening in Floridablanca, Pampanga, last month.

Following Power Fill are DoubleDragon Properties Corp. with a CAGR of 75.9% and $399.20 million in revenue, and Converge ICT Solutions Inc., with a CAGR of 69% and $180.58 million in revenue, both for the year 2019.

Property, support services, and food and beverage were the most represented sectors in the Philippines, with three entrants each.

Four Filipino companies, Pryce Corporation, Century Pacific Food, Inc., Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc., and Puregold Price Club, Inc., also made it to the 2020 list.

The Philippine-based companies that made the Financial Times list, with their respective rankings, is as follows:

116 Power Fill Holdings Inc. (Energy), a gas station franchise established in Malolos, Bulacan in 2009, with plans to expand to more than 200 stations in the next two to five years

121 DoubleDragon Properties Corp. (Property), a real estate firm led by the founders of Mang Inasal and Jollibee, and one of the top 5 listed companies on the Philippine Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalization

135 Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. (Telecoms), a fiber internet and digital consumer-centric service provider, with a clientele in Metro Manila and all across Central Luzon provinces such as Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, and Bataan

176 Fruitas Holdings, Inc. (Food & Beverage), a food products company with brands such as Fruitas, Johnn Lemon, Tea Rex, Halo Halo Islands, and Babot’s Farm

233 The Mercantile Insurance Co., Inc. (Insurance), a non-life insurer and a subsidiary of the conglomerate Camerton Holdings, with accreditations from both public and private entities like the Department of Energy and Aboitiz Land

256 KMC Solutions (Support Services), a coworking space provider with 54 floors across 23 buildings in the Philippines

288 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. (Property), the golf course and real estate developer behind Sta. Lucia Mall in Cainta, Rizal

294 Center for Health Services, Inc. (Health), a health systems delivery corporation that counts San Miguel Corporation as its biggest occupational healthcare client

305 People360 Consulting Corporation (Support Services), the only safety organization with four accreditations from the Department of Labor and Employment (namely, heavy equipment testing and certification, safety consultancy, safety training, and work environment measurement

354 Aidea Inc. (Construction), a design and technology solutions provider recognized as one of the country’s largest design practices by The BCI Asia Top 10 Awards, an annual building industry award

364 GOLDEN ABC, Inc. (Fashion), a fashion enterprise that is home to retail brands like Penshoppe, OXGN, Regatta, ForMe, Memo, and BOCU

383 Mega Global Corporation (Food & Beverage), the largest fishing fleet and canning operations in the Philippines, with canned products such as Mega Sardines and Mega Prime Canned Vegetables in its roster

405 BDO Unibank, Inc. (Financial Services), a full-service universal bank and the country’s largest bank in terms of consolidated resources, customer loans, deposits, assets under management and capital, branches, and automated teller machines networks as of December 31, 2020

417 St. Martin of Tours Credit and Development Cooperative (Support Services), a 50-year, church-based credit union cooperative with 12 full-serviced branches serving Central Luzon communities

430 Pryce Corporation (Chemicals), a property holding and real estate development company with two subsidiaries: Pryce Gases, Inc. (PGI), a liquefied petroleum gas importer and distributor, and Pryce Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PPhI), a wholesaler and distributor of private branded multi-vitamins and over-the-counter generic drugs

445 Century Pacific Food, Inc. (Food & Beverage), a subsidiary of Century Pacific Group, Inc., with more than 200 products and 19 brands, including Birch Tree Full Cream Milk Powder and Century Tuna

468 Megaworld Corporation (Property), developer of mixed-use, planned communities incorporating residential, commercial, educational, and leisure components

480 Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (Restaurants), the exclusive franchise and operator of Shakey’s restaurants in that Philippines

481 First Gen Corporation (Energy), a provider of clean and renewable power in the Philippines, and a subsidiary of First Philippine Holdings Corporation

483 Puregold Price Club, Inc. (Retail), wholesale and retail store operator with a total of 434 stores across country as of 2019

BROAD MIX OF SECTORS
As reported by Nikkei Asia, the search was extensive but the ranking was not complete, as some companies either declined to make their figures public or did not participate. China, due to logistical difficulties and problems comparing accounting, is also not represented.

According to the Financial Times, technology is the sector with the biggest presence in the ranking, with a quarter of all companies falling into this category. It is followed by support services and industrial goods, each accounting for just over 4% of those businesses listed.

The top three companies in the 2021 list are Carro, a Singapore-based car marketplace; Kioson, an online-to-offline e-commerce company from Indonesia; and SCI Ecommerce, an e-commerce solution provider also based in Singapore. All three had CAGRs of over 300%.

Japan is the country with the most companies on the list (116), followed by last year’s leader India (95), and Singapore (72). — Patricia B. Mirasol

GCash partners with GerWeiss for sustainable travel in Boracay

May 5, 2021 | 4:54 pm

GCash continues to deliver on being a sustainable payment solution for the travel industry by forging a partnership with GerWeiss, a homegrown sustainable transport provider with a nationwide presence.

The partnership, which started in Boracay, focuses on cashless payments for GerWeiss’ fleet of electric tricycles – or e-trikes as they’re more popularly known. GCash users can now pay for their travel when they scan the QR code on a GerWeiss e-trike. GCash QR codes are reusable, ultimately reducing energy and resources spent in producing bills and coins.

The partnership stands to benefit e-trike drivers and passengers as cashless transactions help protect them from the pandemic by allowing them to observe social distancing through contactless payments.

GCash also provided financial literacy education and training to the drivers, including how to accept payments via GCash’s QR code.

GerWeiss’ e-trikes are a sustainable transport solution as they reduce carbon emissions versus traditional tricycles. These vehicles just need to be recharged after a certain distance traveled. To date, over 30 e-trikes are now empowered to accept GCash payments in Boracay.

“As a ‘new normal’ is on its way in our country, it’s getting critical for business operators, including the transportation industry, to shift to more agile and more versatile modes of payment, such as GCash. Aside from protecting operators and passengers against the pandemic risk, GCash provides a solid payment solution addressing business needs and operational delivering challenges. We welcome GerWeiss for joining us, and embracing this digital shift.” said Frederic Levy, Chief Commercial Officer of GCash.

“GerWeiss is first and foremost a sustainability company providing transportation solutions in the Philippines. We are an internationally acclaimed organization, with a mission to eliminate air pollution, starting in our backyard. With sustainability at our core, it is essential that we operate with like-minded organizations such as GCash, especially during the new normal. On top of the benefits of the partnership, we genuinely see value in cashless payments as well,” said Gabby Villoria, Chief Operating Officer at GerWeiss.

GerWeiss is an award-winning sustainable transportation company recognized by international institutions, such as the UN and the Asian Development Bank, with the goal of meeting growing transportation demands in a cost-conscious and environmentally responsible way.

GCash is constantly pushing for the adoption of cashless payments as it supports the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Digital Transformation Roadmap, where the agency aims to shift at least 50 percent of retail payment transactions to digital and to have at least 70 percent of Filipinos have their own e-wallet by 2023. GCash currently has over 33 million users nationwide.

Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), which operates GCash, is part of the portfolio companies of 917Ventures, the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines wholly owned by Globe Telecom Inc.

GCash is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information, kindly visit https://www.gcash.com/.

[B-SIDE Podcast] Art Fair Philippines: out of the car park and into the world of NFTs

May 5, 2021 | 4:34 pm

Art Fair Philippines (AFP) is moving out of The Link car park in Makati City for its 2021 edition: it’s going online and entering the world of crypto art and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

An NFT is a digital asset (a drawing, an image, a meme, an animated GIF, a video, even a tweet) and it uses the blockchain, the same technology behind bitcoin, to keep track of who owns the file. In March, a digital collage by an artist named Beeple fetched almost $70 million at a Christie’s auction, making the JPG file the most expensive NFT thus far.

In this episode of B-Side, the three co-founders of Art Fair Philippines, Geraldine “Dindin” B. Araneta, Trickie C. Lopa, and Lisa O. Periquet, tell BusinessWorld reporter Michelle Anne P. Soliman how they transported the art fair from the car park into the world of crypto art.

TAKEAWAYS

The digital space is a platform unto itself.

Mses. Lopa, Periquet, and Araneta spent the early months of last year’s lockdown immersing themselves in international art fairs that moved online.

“We had time to review the art fairs because there was a development in the way they turned out over the months. Everybody was trying out different formulas and ideas,” Ms. Periquet said.

“For example, we decided to embed a video in each exhibitor’s page. Because with lack of the physical interaction between the viewer and the gallerist or the artist, this is a way to learn more about the art that was showing on the page. And then one of the methods that we decided to use to also break down that kind of lack of physical interaction is a messaging service,” she added.

Being online expands accessibility.

“Being online, the barriers of time and space and distance fall apart. So, there’s actually an easier way to connect because you don’t have to travel over here with a plane, if you’re from an international spot,” Ms. Periquet said of gathering more audiences.

The digital format opened the opportunity for new programs, such as artist residencies.

“With everyone feeling a bit cooped up indoors, the idea is also to be able to see how else we can reach out to the public and take them elsewhere,” Ms. Araneta.

Keep updated and stay curious (that means trying to understand NFTs).

AFP, together with London-based international contemporary art magazine ArtReview, is presenting a talk on NFTs.

“They [ArtReview] will be talking about NFTs from the point of view of non crypto natives and its effect on the contemporary art scene,” Ms. Lopa said. “At the same time, one of the NFT showcase talks will bring out alternative blockchain platforms that are said to be greener than the original blockchain platform.”

“With all the publicity surrounding [NFTs], it is becoming very attractive and very much an option,” Ms. Periquet said. “So, it tells me that this whole subject is really soaking in to a much wider audience than you would imagine. It’s not just people in the crypto world. It’s now people who are interested in both the art and in investing in it as a currency.”

This B-Side episode was recorded remotely on April 22. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo. Art Fair Philippines runs from May 6 to May 15.

Related B-Side episode: Art fair affairs

Japan faces longer state of emergency, casting doubt on Olympics

May 5, 2021 | 4:20 pm

TOKYO — Japan is considering extending a coronavirus-spurred state of emergency in the capital, Tokyo, and other major urban areas, sources said on Wednesday, a move that could cast doubt on the planned Summer Olympics.

Officials were leaning toward an extension of the measures in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo prefectures beyond May 11 as the country battles a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, three sources told Reuters.

The government may make an official decision as early as Friday, one of the sources told Reuters. The Yomiuri Newspaper earlier reported that an extension of the state of emergency was likely.

Extending the measures, which were imposed on April 25, would likely fan persistent concerns about whether the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled to begin on July 23, can be held as planned.

The games have already been delayed once from last year due to the pandemic. The city of Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido, hosted a half-marathon test event on Wednesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will meet with senior government ministers on Wednesday to discuss an extension, the Yomiuri reported without citing sources. The Yomiuri did not detail how long an extension might be.

One proposal that has emerged is an extension until the end of the month, according to two of the sources. All three people requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with the media.

The governor of Osaka Prefecture said an extension of three weeks to a month may be necessary, according to domestic media.

Calls by Reuters to Mr. Suga’s office were not answered. Japan’s government buildings and financial markets were closed on Wednesday for annual Golden Week holidays.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach is expected to visit Japan later this month, but an extension of the state of emergency could prompt renewed calls from the public to cancel the games.

Under the state of emergency in Tokyo and other urban areas, the government required restaurants, bars, and karaoke parlours serving alcohol to close. Large department stores and cinemas were also shuttered, while spectators were banned from big sporting events.

It was uncertain whether the government would loosen any of the operating restrictions on the services sector, the Yomiuri said. — Stanley White and Yoshifumi Takemoto/Reuters

New Chia cryptocurrency promises to be greener than Bitcoin, but may drive up hard drive prices

May 5, 2021 | 3:34 pm

Crypto-bitcoin — Image via Chia Project/Instagram

It has been a big year for cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is worth six times what it was 12 months ago, and the joke currency Dogecoin has seen a hundredfold increase in price. A boom in “non-fungible tokens”, or NFTs — tradable tokens based on the same technology as cryptocurrency — is transforming the art market.

With this growth has come renewed scrutiny, with critics attacking Bitcoin in particular as a speculative bubble that uses vast amounts of electricity and produces no real value.

A new cryptocurrency called Chia, which has just begun trading, sets out to remedy these flaws while upholding cryptocurrency’s promise of a secure, decentralized form of payment.

Chia is the brainchild of Bram Cohen, who invented the BitTorrent peer-to-peer filesharing system. He claims it will be more reliable than other cryptocurrencies, and more environmentally friendly too.

Unlike traditional currencies such as the dollar or euro, which are issued by central banks and rely on trust in governments, cryptocurrencies rely on a decentralized database called a blockchain, secured by sophisticated cryptographic tools.

The first cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, released in 2009, and today there are at least 5,922 cryptocurrencies available. Bitcoin is still by far the biggest; the total value of all Bitcoin now in existence is some$1.2 trillion.

Despite this booming popularity, very few retailers accept cryptocurrency as payment.

Governments around the world are also exploring digital currencies. The Bank of England is hiring a dedicated team to explore the possibilities in this area, while the Australian Stock Exchange is reviewing applications for a cryptocurrency-based exchange-traded fund. Germany is one of the frontrunners in embracing crypto, and is heavily investing in blockchain solutions for institutional investment.

Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies use a system in which currency is created or “mined” using computers to solve mathematical puzzles. These are known as “proof of work” systems — solving the puzzle is proof that your computer has done a certain amount of work.

Doing this work takes specialized hardware and lots of energy. Bitcoin mining has helped create shortages of graphics processors, and by some estimates it is more energy-intensive than copper mining and uses more electricity than some entire countries.

Chia runs on a system that should use less energy, called “proof of space and time.” In this system, users need to show they have reserved a specific amount of hard drive space at a precise time.

So Chia won’t use huge amounts of electricity, and won’t see miners buying up every graphics card in sight. But the requirement for hard drive storage space may lead to other drawbacks.

Even before its official launch, Chia has used more than an exabyte of data storage. That’s the equivalent of about a million of the 1 terabyte hard drives you might find in an average desktop computer.

According to the South China Morning Post, hard drive prices in China have begun to soar as Chia miners stockpile storage. The price of 12-terabyte drives has increased by 59% since Chia was announced in February this year, and most professional-quality hard drives with more than 8 terabytes of capacity are sold out.

Vietnam is also seeing hard drive shortages as a result of China’s Chia craze.

We may well see similar effects in other countries in the not too distant future. At present, Chia lacks the name recognition and celebrity endorsements that have helped the likes of Bitcoin and Dogecoin to soar, but it has a clear cost advantage.

We can expect cryptocurrency miners will be inclined to try Chia, as a cheaper option than established cryptocurrencies. Eventually, hard drive manufacturers may also revise their prices to increase their own revenue.

Time will tell how Chia ends up performing on the market. If it takes off, we can expect a boom in hard drive prices. But on the flipside, it might also mean graphics processor prices come back down. — Mohiuddin Ahmed/The Conversation

Mohiuddin Ahmed is a lecturer of computing and security at Edith Cowan University, Australia.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

4^TH GAIN Convention to tackle employment skills gaps and advocate global competitiveness

May 5, 2021 | 3:23 pm

True to its mission of addressing employment skills gaps and setting the competencies and standards to make Filipinos more globally employable and competitive, the Government-Academe-Industry Network (GAIN) will host the 4th GAIN National Convention on May 27 and 28, 2021 via Zoom platform.

The event brings together key decision makers from the public and private sectors, all of whom are invested in collaborating with unity and purpose to reinforce the competencies and global competitiveness of the Filipino workforce.

Shining the spotlight on the new normal, the 4th GAIN Convention will tackle the restructured requirements for success, covering digital literacy framework, global communication standards, micro credentials vis-à-vis a college degree, Philippine PISA results vis-a-vis national competitiveness, and the ability to adapt to remote work, the gig economy, hybrid workforces, and globally connected teams.

Day 1 will feature talks on the post-pandemic workplace and its impact on the Filipino workforce, global digital proficiency standards using Learning Management Systems, the gig economy and opportunities for remote workers, freelancers, and digital nomads, micro-credentialing and its impact on education, and future-proofing careers and companies.

Day 2 will focus on global communication standards for the digital economy, CEFR and Philippine PISA results vis-a-vis national competitiveness, with a resource speaker from the Educational Testing Service (ETS), one of the developers of the PISA test. Highlighting the event would be a panel discussion among the Government, Academe, and Industry on addressing skills gaps and setting competencies and standards.

For inquiries, contact Louise Anne Ferenal-Marquez at 0917-718-9910. Register now at gaininc.weebly.com/register to avail of early bird, group, and other special rates.

Strategic clarity on Taiwan policy carries ‘significant downsides’ — US

May 5, 2021 | 2:31 pm

WASHINGTON — The US policy coordinator for the Indo-Pacific on Tuesday appeared to reject calls for the United States to make a clear statement of its willingness to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack, saying there were “significant downsides” to such an approach.

Kurt Campbell told a discussion hosted by the Financial Times it was appropriate to be concerned about the situation over Taiwan, the self-ruled democratic island that has come under mounting military pressure from China, which considers it a renegade province.

However, Mr. Campbell said he believed there was appreciation in both the United States and China that maintenance of some degree of status quo over the island was in the best interests of both countries.

“I believe that there are some significant downsides to the kind of what is called strategic clarity that you lay out,” Mr. Campbell added, when asked about calls from some prominent US academics and others for Washington to give Taiwan a more explicit security guarantee.

While the United States is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, it has long followed a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether it would intervene militarily to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.

Mr. Campbell said any conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan would not likely be contained to a small geographic area.

“I think it would broaden quickly and it would fundamentally trash the global economy in ways that I don’t think anyone can predict,” he said.

Mr. Campbell said there was some concern that China assessed it “got away scot-free” after its crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and “could draw the wrong conclusions from that” when it came to its actions towards Taiwan.

The best way to maintain peace and stability was to send a consolidated message to China that combined diplomacy and US defense innovation, Mr. Campbell said.

He added that he expected in the next couple of months to see “practical diplomatic engagement” with China on North Korea and other issues of the kind engaged in by US climate envoy John Kerry over climate change and Robert Malley over Iran.

Mr. Campbell said the real short- and medium-term risks were from “accidents and inadvertence,” given the proximity of US and Chinese forces. It was important to build confidence between Washington and Beijing and ensure communications in moments of crisis, he added.

Those precautions resembled the checks and safeguards employed during the Cold War, Mr. Campbell said, but noted that China had been reluctant to use them.

“So we do have a hotline, it’s known to have, the couple of times we’ve used it, just rung in an empty room for hours upon hours,” he said without elaborating. — David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina/Reuters

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