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Japan offers COVID-19 fund through UNICEF

The JAPANESE government has pledged P190 million to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to support the Philippine’s coronavirus vaccination program.

In a statement, the UNICEF said the funding would  provide 147 health facilities in the country with vaccine cold rooms and solar refrigerators and 2,000 health facilities with temperature monitoring devices.

The amount will also help train more than 50 technicians to operate and maintain the facilities and equip 300 health staff with skills for their monitoring and use.

“The costs of the pandemic for children are immediate and, if unaddressed, may persist throughout their lives,” UNICEF Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov said in the statement.

“The availability and equitable distribution of vaccines is critical for putting an end to this global pandemic,” he added. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Private sector ready to buy more vaccines but no supply readily available — Concepcion

PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER for Entrepreneurship Joey A. Concepcion said the private sector is ready to buy more coronavirus vaccines but supply is not readily available at this time. 

“We’d love to do it, but no pharmaceutical company will be able to sell (to) you, especially today because there’s just a shortage of supply at this current time,” he said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay event on Wednesday.

“I think the structure of the tripartite is the right structure and it should continue,” Mr. Concepcion said.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte, in a televised address on Monday, said he would allow the private sector to import “at will.” 

However, Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. who is heading the government’s vaccination program, on Tuesday clarified that private companies will still have to make their purchases through a contract with the manufacturer that involves the government. 

Presidential Spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. also said on Tuesday that all authorized coronavirus vaccines in the country are under emergency use and not for commercial distribution. As such, companies must import vaccines under a tripartite deal because the state would shoulder the liability in case people get sick from the vaccines. 

Mr. Concepcion leads the Dose of Hope initiative, which helped procure 17 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine through tripartite agreements with the private sector and local governments. Among the doses bought by businesses, half would go to their employees and half would be donated to the government.

To speed up the inoculation process, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry had asked the government to allow the private sector to directly buy vaccines without restrictions and conditions.

Mr. Concepcion said that the structure of the tripartite agreements should continue to be used.

“We have a good model now for private sector to be part of the whole program of bringing vaccines together and it gives pharmaceutical companies a level of comfort.” 

Mr. Concepcion recently said the private sector has requested to channel its donations of AstraZeneca doses to smaller businesses in Metro Manila.

WORKERS
Meanwhile, the country’s largest labor coalition pushed for the mass vaccination of workers, citing the strategy taken by Indonesia of prioritizing the workforce to boost economic activities. 

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), in a statement on Wednesday, said the government’s task force handling the coronavirus response should look into other Asian countries’ vaccination programs. 

“All workers, not just some, are really the most exposed sector to possible infection. Workers have to go to the streets, take public transportation, go to their respective factories, offices, malls and plantations and in the process of coming-and-going possibly become infected and become superspreaders,” said TUCP President Raymond C. Mendoza.

TUCP said the government should shoulder the vaccination cost for the majority of the country’s establishments which are micro, small, and medium enterprises while large-scale companies can cover their employees. 

“This kind of multi-sectoral approach involving government, doctors and scientists, business and labor is needed both for our health and the economy,” he said.

The government’s vaccination program has medical frontliners and senior citizens as top priorities.

The government aims to vaccinate up to 70 million Filipinos this year. — Jenina P. Ibañez and Gillian M. Cortez

Nationwide round-up (03/31/21)

Anti-corruption body to collaborate with agencies to develop tech vs red tape, graft

THE PRESIDENTIAL Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) on Wednesday said it will work with several government agencies to ensure seamless transactions and prevent corruption. 

PACC Commissioner Greco B. Belgica, in a televised news briefing on Wednesday, said they will be working with the Budget department and the Development Academy of the Philippines to create a technology that would quell bureaucratic red tape.

He also said the PACC is already “drafting legislative proposals and recommendations to the Office of the President to really strengthen the fight against corruption.” 

He cited limitations in existing anti-graft laws, but did not elaborate on the planned revisions. 

Mr. Belgica said the Public Works department, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and Bureau of Customs are still the “most problematic” government agencies in terms of corruption. 

President Rodrigo R. Duterte has been naming public officials supposedly involved in graft during his weekly televised address. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Doctor backs Ivermectin as treatment for COVID-19

A DOCTOR on Tuesday urged the government to approve an anti-parasitic drug as treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) even after national health agencies warned against its experimental use. 

In a House hearing on Tuesday evening, Allan A. Landrito of the Concerned Doctors and Citizens of the Philippines said he has conducted his own trials on ivermectin drugs among his patients. 

“For my success, (prevention) is 90% to 99%,” the doctor said, adding that he observed lesser hospital stay among his patients. 

Mr. Landrito said he administered the drug to 8,000 patients, of whom only “50 to 100 had watery stools, 10 with cramping, and a few with rashes.” 

In the same hearing, officials of the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration warned against the use of Ivermectin, which is unregistered for COVID-19 treatment. 

Local Ivermectin is sold as topical cream for human use and pills for veterinary use. No oral ivermectin pill for humans is authorized by the FDA. — Gillian M. Cortez

Regional Updates (03/31/21)

Red tide warning lifted in areas of Camiguin, Misamis Occidental

THE BUREAU of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) announced that the areas of Murcielagos Bay and Ozamis City in Misamis Occidental, and Taguines Lagoon in Mahinog, Camiguin are already free from red tide contamination.  

In its eighth shellfish bulletin for the year, BFAR said shellfish harvested in these areas in Northern Mindanao are now safe for human consumption.

However, areas that still remain positive for red tide contamination include Inner Malampaya Sound, Palawan; Dauis and Tagbilaran City, Bohol; Tambobo Bay, Negros Oriental; Calubian and Cancabato Bay, Leyte; Dumanquillas Bay, Zamboanga del Sur; Balite Bay, Davao Oriental; and Lianga Bay and Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur.

All types of shellfish and Acetes sp. or alamang harvested from affected areas are not safe for human consumption. However, other marine species can be eaten with proper handling.

Red tide occurs as a result of high concentrations of algae in the water. Human consumption of contaminated shellfish can result in paralytic shellfish poisoning, which affects the nervous system.

Typical symptoms of paralytic shellfish poisoning include headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Severe cases may include muscular paralysis and respiratory issues. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Group appeals for gov’t to allow deliveries in jails during strict quarantine period

A SUPPORT group for families and friends of political prisoners in the Philippines asked authorities to allow the delivery of food and other needs to prisoners during the strict lockdown period in Metro Manila and four neighboring provinces, to give them a better chance of surviving the coronavirus threat.  

“It is critical to assure the sustained delivery of vital food and health care provisions including maintenance medicines at this time when persons deprived of liberty, especially the elderly and medically vulnerable, need augmented nutritional, medical, and hygiene provisions,” Kapatid Spokesperson Fides Lim said in the group’s letter to prison authorities. 

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) has suspended the handing over of food and other items to inmates from visitors, citing the surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. 

Ms. Lim said they do not see any reason for suspending such deliveries as the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the COVID-19 virus cannot be transmitted via food or food packaging. 

“Coronaviruses need a live animal or human host to multiply and survive and cannot multiply on the surface of food packages. It is not necessary to disinfect food packaging materials, but hands should be properly washed after handling food packages and before eating,” WHO said on its website.

The group Kapatid also urged BJMP officials to investigate possible “monopoly practices” inside jails as the banned items are those already sold at higher prices by “coops” (pseudo cooperatives) inside the facilities. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Gov’t, Manila Water sign revised water contract

AYALA-CONTROLLED Manila Water Co., Inc. signed a revised water concession contract with the government on Wednesday, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said.

 “The Board Chairman/Acting Administrator Reynaldo Velasco signed for MWSS (Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System),” he said in a mobile message.

 The President’s spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. “will make the official announcement, then I can disclose the salient features,” Mr. Guevarra said.

He said the new contract will provide “better overall service and more reasonable charges to consumers.”

 Mr. Guevarra said there are certain “technical” that need to be resolved before the new concession agreement takes effect, but added that the effectivity date will not go beyond six months from signing.

 President Rodrigo R. Duterte tasked the Department of Justice to head the contract negotiations with Metro Manila’s two water providers, Manila Water Co., Inc. and Maynilad Water Services, Inc. 

Mr. Duterte claimed the old contracts were “one-sided” as most of their provisions prevent the government from intervening in the setting of water rates.

Mr. Guevarra also said negotiations with Maynilad will start after Easter, on April 5.

Manila Water Spokesman Jeric T. Sevilla, Jr. confirmed the signing of the agreement but asked news organizations to “wait for our disclosure to PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange)” for details of the contract. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Further rate cut seen needed in second half if economic recovery stalls 

A SLOWER economic recovery resulting from the return to restrictive lockdowns could drive the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to cut policy rates once more in the second half, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) said Wednesday.

“With still a weak economy, BSP will likely keep policy rates unchanged in H1, unless the new ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) significantly slows the economy further, which may merit a rate cut,” FMIC and UA&P said in their March edition of The Market Call.

They said one major factor that prevents the central bank from bringing down benchmark interest rates further is high inflation, which exceeded the official 2-4% target band in February with a reading of 4.7%. It projected inflation to have risen to 4.9% in March, before tapering off starting April.

“The BSP holds the position that the current upticks will prove transitory and inflation will moderate significantly in H2,” it said. 

In its second policy-setting meeting, the Monetary Board maintained the overnight reverse repurchase rate at a record low of 2%. Rates for the overnight lending and deposit facilities were also maintained at 2.5% and 1.5%, respectively.

Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal have been placed under the strictest form of lockdown for the week to April 4 in a bid to curb the resurgence of coronavirus cases.

The Health department reported 9,296 new infections Tuesday, bringing the total number to 741,181. Deaths have totaled 13,191 so far.

FMIC and UA&P said the pace of the economic recovery will depend on how well the government executes its vaccination rollout. A successful program is expected to boost the confidence of investors, businesses and consumers.

It said consumer spending, which is equivalent to 70% of economic output, will remain dampened over the near term as localized lockdowns are implemented. However, this indicator will pick up once households start shopping more freely once the daily case count falls.

It said government spending — which is also a major growth driver — should have also gained traction in February as agencies start spending their 2021 budgets.

The Bureau of the Treasury estimates that government spending rose 37% from a year earlier to P335.5 billion in February, bringing the two-month expenditure total to P610 billion, up 18%. 

Economic managers have set a 6.5-7.5% growth target for this year, following 2020’s record 9.5% contraction. — Beatrice M. Laforga

DTI seeks June trade deal signing with South Korea to ensure treaty approved before polls

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is pushing for a June conclusion to negotiations for a free trade agreement with South Korea, which would give the Philippines sufficient time to complete its domestic approval process before national elections next year.

Trade representatives from the Philippines and South Korea will meet in the first half of April to address remaining issues on the market access for goods, Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said in an online news conference last week.

“On the Philippine side, our aim is to be able to conclude discussions and resolve all divergent issues by end of June this year,” he said.

The countries failed to sign a deal at the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in 2019. Talks had stalled on items like bananas, for which Philippine producers are seeking lower tariffs, and South Korean auto exports, for which Seoul is seeking greater access.

Mr. Rodolfo added that the pandemic and the absence of a chief negotiator on the South Korean side for some time had further delayed talks last year.

He said that the Philippine side is hoping for conclusion to talks soon, as legal review and executive concurrence from the President will take several months. 

“Next year, ipe-present sa Congress. By that time, election na so parang ang hirap na mapa-approve so para sa atin sana we would like to have it soon (It should go before Congress by next year, before the election, which could make approval difficult. Which is why we are pushing for a deal soon),” he said.

The Philippines is also starting informal talks with members of a transpacific trade deal, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, as part of the process of indicating interest to join the agreement.

The Trade department is also in talks with India, Chile, Pakistan, and Turkey for potential preferential trade agreements. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Hog repopulation to start in 8 ASF-affected regions

THE GOVERNMENT will roll out its program to restore hog numbers in eight regions, including parts of the country where African Swine Fever (ASF) has been dormant for at least 90 days, as well as in areas that reported no cases but which are adjacent to infected zones.

Bureau of Animal Industry Director Reildrin G. Morales said in a statement that the P600-million repopulation program will be initially implemented in so-called “yellow” zones, where ASF has been dormant but under surveillance for the disease, and “pink” zones, those areas adjoining infected zones which had served as buffer zones to contain the outbreak.

According to Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar, the repopulation program will be implemented initially via the limited placement of pigs to check whether the virus is still present in the area.

Mr. Dar said the program is expected to benefit 8,000 backyard raisers organized into 500 clusters.

The program will launch in the regions of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon), Bicol, Davao, Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos City), and CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region).

Mr. Dar said ASF incidence is currently declining.

“As of March 26, the country has registered 253 cases, versus 358 cases in January 2021, 330 cases in February 2021, and the highest level at 1,773 cases in August 2020,” Mr. Dar said.

Agriculture Undersecretary William C. Medrano said the beneficiaries will receive three to five piglets, feed, veterinary drugs, biologics, and antiviral agents for the six-month fattening period.

The hog repopulation program has been allocated P400 million for the so-called “sentinel” initiative — the introduction of a small number of animals to check for the continued presence of ASF — and P200 million for the multiplier breeder component, which will ensure a continuing source of piglets. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

CoA rejects more tax incentives granted to textile firms

THE Commission on Audit (CoA) rejected another P376.6 million worth of tax incentives illegally granted to six textile firms by the One-Stop Shop Inter-Agency Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center (OSS) between 2008 and 2014, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.

The DoF said in a statement Wednesday that CoA issued notices of disallowances to Capital-Roll Knit Corp. (CRC), Uni-Glory’s Knitting Corp. (UKC), Primeknit Manufacturing Corp. (PMC), Tai-Cheng Integrated Resource, Inc. (TICIRI), Miskhu Industrial Corp. (MIC) and Universal Pacific Knitting Mills, Inc. (UPKM). The companies were earlier found to have been issued tax credit certificates (TCCs), illegally.

According to a Feb. 23 report to the DoF, CoA’s findings add to the P818.6 million worth of rejected TCCs last year, bringing the total disallowances to P1.195 billion.

The DoF has been releasing CoA findings on textile incentives since July, when evidence started emerging that the tax credits were unwarranted.

CoA disallowed TCCs issued to CRC worth P111.3 million. The company now has P455.9 million worth of rejected tax credits to date.

The government is set to void P55.48 million in further tax perks previously issued to UKC, bringing the total to P115.32 million so far.

Disallowed tax credits to PMC were worth P60.83 million, bringing the company’s total to P154.3 million.

Tax credits to TICIRI worth P46.83 million have also been rejected, taking the company’s overall disallowed TCCs to P141.3 million.

UPKM accounted for another P53.26 million worth of cancelled tax perks, bringing its total to P81.59 million, while the MIC racked up P48.94 million worth of new disallowances, raising its overall tally to P80.11 million.

The OSS is an inter-agency body run by the DoF, Board of Investments (BoI), Bureau of Internal Revenue and Customs, to process applications for TCCs and duty drawbacks.

Tax credits are given to exporters and manufacturers of products for export, which are registered with BoI. Proof of duties and taxes on raw materials and supplies are a prerequisite for a TCC; approved applications will trigger refunds of these taxes.

The DoF formed a task force in 2018 to investigate and go after officials and firms involved in the illegal grant of tax credits.

In July 2018, the DoF also flagged P11.18 billion worth of TCCs that the OSS granted to 33 textile companies between 2008 and 2014 which were either not eligible for the benefit or allegedly non-existent. These were based on CoA findings as well. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Impact of Suez Canal blockage seen mainly in Asia-Europe trade goods, shipping costs

THE PHILIPPINES will feel the impact of the disruption of operations at the Suez Canal via the delayed flow of trade goods between Asia and Europe, as well as indirect consequences like higher shipping costs in the wake of the stranding of hundreds of merchant vessels during the weeklong blockage, analysts said.

“The recent disruptions at Suez Canal, though already being resolved lately, could result in some delays in the movement of both exports and imports of the Philippines… that pass through the Suez Canal, as a result of the additional time taken for the longer route around the African continent, with the risk of some disruptions in some parts of the global supply chain,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort told BusinessWorld in an e-mail Tuesday.

On March 23, the 224,000-ton Ever Given container ship blocked the Suez Canal, a key trading route connecting Europe and Asia. The incident set back the operations of hundreds of vessels. As of Monday, the vessel had been re-floated and towed away from its position blocking a narrow section of the canal.

Mr. Ricafort said that transport and shipping costs for some Philippine exports and imports will increase due to the delay to ships undertaking longer-than-expected voyages.

Mr. Ricafort added that air freight is a costly alternative to speed up the delivery of critically-needed goods.

“The key risk of this previously stuck giant vessel is the disruption of global supply chains already reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist of the UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc., told BusinessWorld in an e-mail on Tuesday.

“Now that the Egyptian authorities have successfully unstuck the Ever Given, various ships and vessels are still there and waiting for their turn to go through the trade way,” he added.

According to Mr. Asuncion, normal transit time through the canal is 16 hours.

Yanting Zhou, a senior economist at energy consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie, said on Wednesday that it will take at least one more week to clear the backlog, which will result in the loss of two weeks’ disruption to delivery timetables.

“This poses a risk to supply chains given that this time period is close to the inventory days for some manufacturers and will have a ripple effect on many others,” Ms. Zhou was quoted as saying in Wood Mackenzie’s Asia Pacific Energy Buzz blog.

She added that the blockage will “greatly impact” industrial goods and consumer products moving between Europe and Asia.

RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort said the Philippines’ oil, petroleum and fuel imports are not affected since they do not pass through the Suez Canal.

“But the Philippines could still be indirectly affected by any disruption in some parts of the global supply chain as well as any pick up in global shipping costs,” he added. — Angelica Y. Yang

IPOPHL to move mediation services online in April

THE intellectual property office said it will migrate most of its mediation services online starting in April to facilitate rulings on cases involving in cross-border intellectual property (IP) disputes.

According to circulars issued by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), the new mediation format is set to take effect on April 3.

The changes are expected to make its mediation services more attractive to small companies and foreign stakeholders working to resolve IP disputes, IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said in a statement Wednesday.

Some offline or face-to-face mediation sessions will still be allowed if approved by the agency’s Bureau of Legal Affairs.

IPOPHL Bureau of Legal Affairs Director Nathaniel S. Arevalo said that the shift could make IPOPHL the first agency to implement end-to-end online mediation, from filing to settlement agreement submissions or termination.

The agency first offered online mediation options in May last year to continue delivering services during the most restrictive phase of the 2020 lockdown.

Meanwhile, IPOPHL said that IP disputes could again be referred to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center. The center helps parties choose mediators and offers facilitation services.

The center waived its $100 administration fee and matched its mediators fee to IPOPHL’s P4,000.

“The waived fee will encourage more parties to avail of the WIPO Option by paying the same amount as that of IPOPHL,” Mr. Arevalo said.

WIPO can help resolve disputes related to trademark opposition, administrative complaints for violation of IP rights, disputes involving technology transfer payments and disputes relating to the terms of a license involving the author’s rights to public performance or other communication of his or her work. — Jenina P. Ibañez

LinkedIn to offer skills-development courses with Microsoft 

PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING site LinkedIn Corp. said it entered into a partnership with Microsoft Corp. to offer free courses and affordable certifications to boost participants’ employability in what it characterized as a “skills-based economy.”

In a statement Wednesday, LinkedIn said it will offer the LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn courses until the end of the year. The free online courses and low-cost certifications are configured to suit the 10 most in-demand jobs as ranked by LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is also launching LinkedIn Skills Path, which helps recruiters connect and assess with the LinkedIn Learning courses and lead them to hire suitable candidates.

LinkedIn Managing Director and Vice-President for Asia Pacific and China Olivier Legrand said in a statement that skills are the “new currency” especially in the future of work, which makes it crucial to continuously improve on them. 

“LinkedIn, together with Microsoft, is committed to helping everyone shift towards a skills-based economy. In 2021, we will continue our efforts to equip job seekers with the right resources to pick up new skills and connect them to opportunities, as well as aim to help 250,000 organizations make a skills-first hire,” he said.

LinkedIn will also offer a Microsoft Teams app called Career Coach, aimed to guide college students in their career path of choice by helping discover their interests and goals. 

LinkedIn will also offer Microsoft Career Connector, which hopes to job-match 50,000 employment seekers to technology-related positions. 

Last year, LinkedIn said it helped over 5 million people build new digital skills through other initiatives with Microsoft. — Gillian M. Cortez

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