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COVID-19 home care and telemedicine programs  

By Patricia B. Mirasol 

Many of the active cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country consist of individuals with mild symptoms, which can be managed at home.   

Of the 290,938 COVID-19 cases recorded in the country on Jan. 17, 277,020 (or 95.2%) are mild, meaning these patients experience fever, colds, cough, body pains, headache, and/or sore throat. 

Below is a list of healthcare providers offering home care and telemedicine services for COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms.  

ONLINE 

Go2Health’s COVID-19 Home Intervention for Immune System Strength and Support program is anchored on the Functional Medicine approach and has the following components:   

    • Comprehensive analysis of medical data and history   
    • One-hour online initial consultation   
    • Daily SMS checklist monitoring to reassess progression or resolution   
    • Two-week menu plan designed to contain all micronutrients, macronutrients and phytonutrients to boost immunity   
    • Customized nutrient supplementation for immune resiliency for two to four weeks  
    • Diagnostic recommendations 
    • Functional nutrition physical examination (through submitted photos)   
    • Access to functional medicine doctors, nutritionists and health coaches  

Functional medicine is a form of alternative medicine that determines how and why an illness occurs. It restores health by addressing the root causes of a disease.   

“By addressing the root cause, rather than the symptoms, practitioners become oriented to identifying the complexity of disease. They may find one condition has many different causes and, likewise, one cause may result in many different conditions,” said Rodel A. Lumbo, chief financial officer and chief operations officer of Go2Health, Inc., in an e-mail.  

Go2Health accepts COVID-19 positive asymptomatic patients (with or without comorbidities), COVID-19 positive patients with mild symptoms, or post COVID-19 survivors (with or without co-morbidities) with residual symptoms.   

Because the service is remote, Go2Health has patients from various locations such as Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, Qatar, Dubai, and the US.   

“For COVID-19 patients, our program includes a personalized pack of nutraceuticals which we can ship anywhere within the Philippines,” added Mr. Lumbo. “For outside the country, we provide the prescription for the nutraceuticals which the patient can procure in their own location country.”  

MANILA  

COVID-19 teleconsult for kids (call 09479938210 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.)  

    • Home service lab works  
    • Drive-through lab works  
    • Outpatient imaging  

COVID-19 teleconsult for adults (call 09190653019 for Global City, or 09479938210 for Quezon City from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) Services are the same as for children, with the addition of medicine delivery. 

Post-COVID care clinic (call 09190653019 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) — offers multidisciplinary consultation for patients who have recovered from COVID-19 

    • Direct access to St. Luke’s consultants with a wide range of subspecialties 
    • Follow-up assessment and recovery care for lingering or long-term effects of COVID-19  
    • Drive-through and home service lab works 
    • Outpatient services and procedures.  

Care@Home (09985821357, 09985342768, 09999948594, or 0939919-7061; corpbusinessctr@stlukes.com.ph) assists companies in providing COVID-19-related care to employees. This program aims to provide immediate treatment for company employees experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. It includes teleconsultation, home service RT-PCR tests, home service lab works, and regular monitoring of health conditions. COVID-19 home care kits and medical clearances will also be provided to the patients.

MakatiMed@Home – a program for both COVID-19-related and non-COVID-19 related services, including:   

Diagnostic  

    • Blood tests or routine laboratory procedures (COVID-19 tests; basic laboratory tests like lipid profile and complete blood count; urinalysis and fecalysis)  
    • Electrocardiography (ECG)  
    • 24-hour blood pressure monitoring  

Therapeutic  

    • Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy 
    • Occupational therapy  
    • Physical therapy  

Others  

    • Pneumococcal and flu vaccination  
    • Home visit  
    • Medical and nursing management  

Outpatient COVID Care – allows patients to stay home while receiving Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) healthcare services through teleconsultation.  

Patient screening, monitoring, and guidance are done daily with a primary care physician. Laboratory procedures are done in the hospital through scheduling of the attending wellness staff. Patients outside Metro Manila can avail of the CSMC COVID Assist specifically for laboratory procedures.  

Packages:     

    • COVID Detect – offered to patients who have had previous exposure to a COVID-positive patient but are asymptomatic, and for patients with constitutional, respiratory, and gastro-constitutional symptoms with no RT-PCR nasal swab yet. Inclusions: RT-PCR swab test (via home service), two-day monitoring with a primary care physician via teleconsult, COVID support kit and medical certificate.  
    • COVID Support – offered to confirmed COVID-positive patients with mild symptoms. Inclusions: COVID-19 laboratory panel, chest X-Ray, 14-day monitoring with a primary care physician via teleconsult, COVID support kit, and medical certificate.   
    • Comprehensive COVID Support – offered to confirmed COVID-positive patients with moderate symptoms. Inclusions: COVID-19 laboratory panel, chest X-ray, chest CT scan, 14-day monitoring with a primary care physician via teleconsult, COVID support kit, and medical certificate.  

MANILA AND CEBU  

Clients can book COVID-19 services such as antigen nasal swab rapid tests, antigen nasopharyngeal rapid tests, RT-PCR, and COVID-19 antibody tests. Those whose test results are positive are given a free teleconsultation with a Zennya doctor, who can send a prescription, issue a medical certificate, and prescribe COVID-specific blood panel tests.   

After the quarantine period, another telehealth consultation is recommended to clear the patient from quarantine.  

Zennya also offers business-to-business COVID-19 services to corporate clients. These services are mass testing in offices, large scale COVID-19 vaccinations, and back-to-work services where employers can track symptoms, exposure, and risk levels of all employees.   

“Our app’s GPS trackers also allows for contact tracing among employees inside their offices,” said Gabrielle M. Floirendo, head of marketing of Zennya Health’s business strategy team, in an email. “We also have unique data regarding positivity rates for PCR and antigen tests, and heat maps showing areas where positivity rates are high based on our client’s results.”  

VISAYAS   

QualiMed Hospital Iloilo’s COVID-19 home care program, Covid Care Package, includes tests and medicines specifically tailored for mild to moderate cases of Covid-19 plus teleconsultation. The hospital said its hospital pharmacy is dispensing molnupiravir for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 cases.  

The Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) set up the Cebu COVID-19 Telegabai in August 2021 to provide medical advice to people with COVID-19 concerns and integrate the different health systems responding to the COVID-19 response. Its Facebook page is manned by volunteer healthcare workers. 

“Patients may also access the services through cellphone hotlines because barangay captains have expressed that many of their constituents have no access to social media,” said Dr. Helen V. Madamba, chief implementer of the VSMMC COVID-19 health facility. 

An individual who is assessed by the platform’s medical specialists as being “COVID-19 suspect” is contacted by the team every day until the end of his/her quarantine or isolation period. This is to ensure that the patient’s symptoms do not progress and necessitate admission to isolation facilities or hospitals.   

The Cebu COVID-19 Telegabai was patterned after the Philippine General Hospital’s Telegabay and the Office of the Vice President’s e-Konsulta program. Filipinos outside of Cebu can also use the service. 

MINDANAO  

  • Davao Doctors Hospital (call the telemedicine hotlines at 09175045142 and 09175045143, or the COVID hotline on Viber at 09457068348)  

Davao Doctors Hospital (DDH) launched its COVID-19 Homecare in September 2021 upon approval from the city government.  

According to Leo Francis L. Silva, DDH assistant director for nursing services, the current increase in the demand associated with Omicron is felt with the number of enrollees that the hospital has.  

“However, we noticed that more patients now are experiencing mild symptoms and do not have worsening symptoms that indicate admission,” he added in an e-mail.  

Patients enrolled in the home care program are monitored at home by DDH’s homecare team, each with a designated attending physician, and assisted by a telemedicine nurse who does the daily monitoring of vital signs.   

“An adult patient shall be assigned with either a 5-day or 10-day monitoring period, depending on the doctor’s assessment,” said Asuncion Ramos-Alpas, team lead for the COVID-19 Homecare Project, in the same email. Pediatric patients can moreover avail between a three- to seven-day monitoring period based on their doctor’s preference.  

The program also offers a basic homecare kit with gadgets such as a thermometer and pulse oximeter, as well as a medicine delivery service.   

“For now, we are only accepting patients residing in Davao City,” Ms. Alpas said. All patients are managed by their designated referral centers, which in Davao is the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).   

“This means that, [if they are Davao City residents, and] should their condition require admission, they have an option to admit in DDH or SPMC,” she added. 

Manuel J. Santos Hospital (MJSH) has LabExpress, which offers home laboratory extractions (such as rapid antibody and rapid RT-PCR), and MedExpress, which delivers medicines to patients’ homes. Both are available for residents of Butuan City.  

“The LabExpress team normally start their day doing the regular and COVID-19 lab tests prescribed by attending physicians,” said Ralph Jones T. Ciencia, MJSH chief revenue officer, in an e-mail.  

Once the laboratory results come out, LabExpress links with MedExpress, and the prescribed medications are then delivered to patients’ homes via a third party. 

The hospital’s pharmacy updates its list of COVID-19 medicines for the needs of its admitted patients.

How PSEi member stocks performed — January 18, 2022

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, January 18, 2022.

Philippines’ jobless rate to trend lower by 2023

THE International Labour Organization (ILO) projected Philippine unemployment numbers at 1.1 million in 2022, about 10% higher than pre-pandemic levels, but warned that unemployment data may undercount the extent to which people exited the work force during the public health crisis. Read the full story.

Philippines’ jobless rate to trend lower by 2023

Grid operator sees potential yellow alerts during elections

THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said on Tuesday that it expects power supplies to be thin during the dry season due to increased demand, possibly affecting the national elections in May.

The grid operator said in a statement that due to the unpredictability of outages, it cannot assure adequate supply even though its maintenance schedule planning scheme, known as the Grid Operating and Maintenance Program (GOMP), is showing no periods in which outages are expected.

The GOMP, which was approved by the Department of Energy (DoE) on Jan. 10, consolidates the preventive maintenance schedules of power plants, indicating how much power will be rendered inaccessible on the maintenance days.

“We have coordinated with the generation and distribution sectors so that we could optimize and rationalize our own maintenance schedules, to ensure sufficiency, at least on paper, of power supply throughout the year,” the NGCP said.

But while the GOMP gave no indication of thinning reserves, yellow alerts were raised over the Luzon grid this month after the power supply failed to meet the transmission grid’s regulating and contingency reserve minimums.

“On paper, there appears to be sufficient supply to meet demand; but the plan on paper, the GOMP, is not always followed. It is when there are unscheduled shutdowns and derations, and extensions of maintenance duration, that grid operations may be disrupted enough to warrant the issuance of a grid alert status,” the NGCP said.

According to the NGCP, the DoE forecast peak demand of 12,387 megawatts (MW) for Luzon to take place in the last week of May, 747 MW higher than the actual 2021 peak of 11,640 MW which occurred on May 28, 2021.

The Luzon grid peaked at 11,344 MW on June 21, 2019 and 11,103 MW on March 1, 2020.

The Visayas grid is expected to peak at 2,528 MW, up from the 2,252 MW peak recorded on Dec. 13, 2021, while the Mindanao grid is expected to peak at 2,223 MW, against the 2,144 MW peak on Aug. 4, 2021.

“As the transmission service provider, we can only give an overview of the current supply and demand situation, and endeavor to dispatch any and all available grid resources. It cannot intervene on matters concerning power generation,” the NGCP said. 

Although the yellow alert issued earlier was just a warning, a red alert can also be issued when demand exceeds supply, which will force the grid to ration power.

The NGCP issued red alerts between May 31 and June 2 last year as unplanned maintenance shutdowns and the derating of power plant output led to rotational brownouts.

The grid company said legislators must enact demand-side measures to head off future power issues in the coming months, particularly during election season in May.

Energy Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella on Tuesday said at a news conference to discuss the restoration of power in areas hit by Typhoon Odette the department will focus on addressing concerns about the dry-season peak next. — Marielle C. Lucenio 

60,000 MT of fish imports approved for typhoon-hit areas

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it authorized imports of 60,000 metric tons (MT) of frozen small pelagic fish in the first quarter to augment supply in areas hit by Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai).

“The National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (NFARMC) said we have more than enough supply but based on data from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), we have a potential deficit this quarter of about 119,000 MT,” Secretary William D. Dar said in a televised briefing.

“We cannot just say that the fishing sector will continue to be normal. They are the number one sub-sector hit by typhoon. The capacity of our fishers to catch will be in question,” Mr. Dar added.

Damage to the fisheries sector due to Odette was estimated at P3.97 billion, or 29.81% of total agricultural losses, according to the DA.

Mr. Dar cited inflation, logistics problems, and high prices as the other reasons for the need to import.

“By the end of the day, having considered everything, NFARMC is a body that has the recommendatory responsibility, but we (the DA) take responsibility in terms of ensuring food security. In this case, importing small pelagic fishes,” Mr. Dar said. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

China rail consortium signs PNR contract for South Long-Haul line

PHILSTAR

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) and a contractor from China recently signed a contract for the first package of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) South Long-Haul Project, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said on Tuesday.

“One of the world’s largest railway contractors from China has signed with DoTr the commercial contract for PNR South Long-Haul Project DB (Package 1) yesterday (Jan. 17),” Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said in a statement posted on his official Facebook page.

“The $2.8-billion railway, one of the flagship projects under President (Rodrigo R.) Duterte’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program, is so far the highest-funded G-to-G (government-to-government) project between our two countries,” he added.

The Transportation department said in November that only the joint venture of China Railway Group Ltd., China Railway Number 3 Engineering Co. Ltd., and China Railway Engineering Consulting Group Consortium Ltd. had qualified out of three bidders for a P141.79-billion contract for the design and construction of a 380-kilometer railway in the Bicol Region.

The contract covers the first package of the PNR South Long-Haul Project, or PNR Bicol, from Banlic in Calamba, Laguna to Daraga, Albay.

“It will shorten the travel time from 12 hours currently to four hours only,” Mr. Huang said. “It will serve up to 14.6 million passengers per year after (it enters operations).”

The project is also expected to create over 10,000 direct jobs each year and “hundreds of thousands of jobs in related areas by driving economic growth along the line.”

The entire PNR Bicol project consists of a 560-kilometer long-haul rail line connecting Metro Manila to provinces in Southern Luzon.

A segment of the project between San Pablo, Laguna and Pagbilao, Quezon is expected to start operations in the second quarter.

The project is expected to be fully operational by 2025. — Arjay L. Balinbin

ILO sees 2022 PHL jobless at 1.1 million, warns unemployment picture understated

By Alyssa Nicole O. Tan, Reporter

THE International Labour Organization (ILO) projected Philippine unemployment numbers at 1.1 million in 2022, about 10% higher than pre-pandemic levels, but warned that unemployment data may undercount the extent to which people exited the work force during the public health crisis.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic triggered “a large exit from the labor force, which does not count as unemployed,” according to Khalid Hassan, director of the ILO Philippine country office.

In an e-mail on Tuesday, Mr. Khalid added: “The employment impact is much larger than what unemployment shows.”

“We now expect people to be returning at a slower pace, as we see the labor force numbers gradually increasing from… 42 million in 2020 to 45.9 million in 2022 and 47.4 million in 2023,” he added. The rate at which workers exit the labor force may be diminishing as workers become less afraid of the pandemic. 

Women, however, will continue to be burdened by the additional home duties needed during the crisis, with the result that the disproportionate impact on women will persist, he said.

Kilusang Mayo Uno Chairman Elmer Labog called the ILO projection “actually a quite generous estimate… because the reality on the ground is very different.”

In an e-mail to BusinessWorld, Mr. Labog, a Senate candidate, said employment data do not reflect many who are either unpaid for their work or self-employed.

“This is not a good sign that the economy is recovering despite what the Duterte administration says. There is no real job creation. People are just making do with what employment opportunities are there — and this is not a way to make a decent living,” Mr. Labog said.

He noted the absence of any industry that can accommodate the growing workforce and prevailing anti-worker policies such as low wages, contractualization, and the non-recognition of union rights.

He also said the government has not put in place safety nets for the unemployed. “We’ve seen how disastrous this has been when millions were thrown (out of work) … without any aid or support from the government.”

Partido Manggagawa Chairman Rene Magtubo told BusinessWorld in a text message that ILO’s estimates are likely on the low side.

The Philippine Statistics Authority’s labor force survey estimated unemployed numbers in November 2021 at 3.16 million, he said, “and given that no robust economic recovery program is being implemented by the present administration this year, I don’t think that the number of unemployed persons in 2022 will settle down to the 1.1 million level as estimated by the ILO.”

Mr. Magtubo said 2022 is an election year, with the winner’s programs not likely to kick in until the new government settles in by “the end of the year.”

Associated Labor Union Spokesperson Alan A. Tanjusay told BusinessWorld in a Viber message that the outcome of the 2022 national and local elections is nevertheless expected to have a major impact on employment, if the right priorities for job creation are pursued.

“A questionable election result, wrong choice of executive government leaders and wrong government priorities will definitely discourage job creators,” he added.

Mr. Tanjusay also noted that the vaccination rate will determine the resilience of the workforce and businesses as COVID-19 evolves. “… An inadequate vaccination rate will sink the economy again (due to) the possibility of an attack of a more powerful COVID-19 variant.”

“Labor markets remain a long way from recovery not just in the Philippines but also in many countries. Challenges related to underemployment, poverty, and a lack of decent work, remain greater than they were before COVID-19 hit,” Mr. Hassan said.

In a separate statement, the ILO noted that its “most negative” labor market outlooks were for Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, while the recovery is expected to be strongest in high-income countries.

The recovery outlook in 2022 was dimmed by the impact of new coronavirus variants, specifically Delta and Omicron, and the uncertainty brought about by the prolonged pandemic, it said.

The projected deficit in hours worked globally is the equivalent of 52 million full-time jobs, higher than the previous full-year estimate made in May of 26 million.

“This latest projection… remains almost 2% below the number of global hours worked pre-pandemic,” according to the ILO World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2022 report.

According to the report, global unemployment is expected to remain above pre-COVID-19 levels until at least 2023. The number of jobless in 2022 is estimated at 207 million, higher than the 186 million in 2019.

“Two years into this crisis, the outlook remains fragile and the path to recovery is slow and uncertain,” ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said in the statement. “We are already seeing potentially lasting damage to labor markets, along with concerning increases in poverty and inequality.”

“Many workers are being required to shift to new types of work — for example in response to the prolonged slump in international travel and tourism,” he added.

This damage is likely to require years to repair with potential long-term consequences for labor force participation, household incomes, and social and political cohesion.

“There can be no real recovery from this pandemic without a broad-based labor market recovery,” Mr. Ryder said, “and to be sustainable, this recovery must be based on the principles of decent work — including health and safety, equity, social protection and social dialogue.”

Philippines’ jobless rate to trend lower by 2023

Final agriculture damage from Typhoon Odette exceeds P13 billion

BOHOL GOV. ART YAP FB PAGE

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said its final estimate of agricultural damage caused by Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) was P13.3 billion.

The typhoon affected 533,709 farmers and fisherfolk across 462,766 hectares of agricultural land, with the volume of lost production at 273,062 metric tons (MT), the DA said in a bulletin on Tuesday.

On Jan. 14, the damage estimate was P13.4 billion. The DA said the downgraded tally follows the validation of reports from Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), Bicol, the Western Visayas, the Central Visayas, the Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos City), and the Caraga region.

The fisheries sector sustained damage of P3.97 billion, or 29.81% of the total; rice P2.12 billion or 15.93%; high-value crops P2 billion or 12.8%; coconut P1.62 billion or 12.2%; and sugarcane P1.15 billion or 8.6%. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Customs crackdown results in transfer of over 700 staff

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

OVER 700 Customs employees were transferred in 2021 following an anti-corruption campaign, the Bureau of Customs said.

The bureau said on Tuesday that it issued over a thousand show-cause orders last year to its staff, who were made to explain why they should not be charged with alleged violations.

The bureau’s investigation service conducted over a hundred personnel investigations, while the bureau sent over a dozen cases to the National Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Ombudsman.

As a result, the bureau dismissed three employees and suspended 17 over the course of the year. Another 19 were relieved from their posts but remain in active service.

While six were reprimanded, 721 were transferred to other offices and ports.

The bureau said the employees were sanctioned due to “irregular and unlawful activities,” including corruption and violations of customs rules.

The bureau said in a statement that it has been rolling out anti-corruption initiatives, creating committees guided by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.

“The initiatives include the signing of the manifesto against corruption by all officials and personnel of the bureau on March 30, 2021,” the bureau said.

The Senate has been conducting an inquiry into the smuggling of farm produce, with Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III alleging corrupt practices by Customs personnel. — Jenina P. Ibañez

BIR digitalization efforts to ease tax payments

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is carrying out nearly 50 digitalization projects, most of them involving making tax payment easier, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.

In a report to the Finance department, the BIR said 26 of 49 projects involve improving tax payments and related services.

Other digitalization projects include improving administrative processes and aligning internal policies with the requirements of the BIR digital workplace, the DoF said in a statement on Tuesday.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has ordered all agencies attached to the DoF to implement digital transformation programs.

About 94% of tax returns were filed electronically in 2020, from 43% in 2015.

Electronic payments made to the bureau exceeded 4 million transactions in 2020, more than doubling the 1.91 million in 2015.

The Asian Development Bank has said that the government must move its tax collection processes online to cut costs and improve compliance among individuals and businesses.

The high costs of tax compliance discourages small- and medium-sized businesses from complying with the rules, the bank said, noting that digital taxation can help governments quickly improve revenue without changing the prevailing rules.

Mr. Dominguez has said that local government units should digitalize their tax processes, after a Supreme Court ruling expanded their share of National Government revenues starting this year. — Jenina P. Ibañez

BoC sets auction of seized cars for Jan. 24

THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) will once more put up for auction seized luxury vehicles, following the failure of the first-round auction to attract bids in December.

The BoC, in a notice, on Tuesday said it has scheduled another public auction on Jan. 24, with the floor prices for the vehicles set at a combined P29 million.

It will auction off five used vehicles it seized in May and June — a 2008 Ferrari Scuderia 430, a 2001 Porsche Boxster, a 2001 Mercedes Benz SLK350, a 2001 Mercedes Benz SLK55, and a 2011 Mercedes Benz E220.

The BoC usually destroys smuggled cars, including 21 vehicles worth P58.55 million in June.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III directed Customs to put the cars up for auction last year. The government formed an interagency auction committee composed of the Treasury, Customs, and the Land Bank of the Philippines.

Individuals, sole proprietorships, partnerships and corporations are eligible to participate in the auction on Jan. 24.

The auction process will involve a “hybrid” submission of bids.

“The qualified bidder shall fill up an electronic bid tender form at the auction venue. The electronic form will be accessed securely (from) a computer onsite,” according to the notice.

“The entries made in the form will be tabulated in an array that will be visible to all participating parties.” — Jenina P. Ibañez

PHL, France sign dairy cooperation agreement

REUTERS

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it signed a joint declaration with France to develop the Philippine dairy sector.

In a statement, the DA said on Tuesday that the agreement will “facilitate the linking of dairy producers and associations; agricultural and agri-food companies; and importers and distributors of the two countries and encourage them to find opportunities for partnership and commercial collaboration.”

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar and French Ambassador Michèle Boccoz signed the declaration via video link on Jan. 17.

Upcoming initiatives include the implementation of a pilot project for the development of the dairy sector and an official visit to France for the benchmarking exercise, which will take note of best practices that may be adapted for use in the Philippines.

Mr. Dar also asked for French help in containing African Swine Fever, which has depleted the domestic hog population and raised prices, causing inflation to exceed government targets. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

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