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UK bankers face location limbo on Brexit

YOUNG BANKERS waiting to learn when or whether they might be relocated to the European Union (EU) can take some solace from the fact that oftentimes, their bosses also don’t know their own fate.

A senior banker hired to work in London last year was asked just weeks later to pack his bags and move to Europe. Some trading managers at one US bank still don’t know whether they’ll be able to stay in the UK, while a young trader starting a new job at a European lender this month is waiting to learn just where that job will be.

Despite years of planning for Brexit, global banks and their employers face continuing uncertainty as a threadbare trade deal for financial services and a pandemic keep the world in flux. Meanwhile, regulators are cranking up pressure on banks to execute relocation plans that were set out before Britain left the bloc on Dec. 31.

In the short term, European authorities are granting banks some flexibility as the continent’s latest COVID-19 outbreak slows attempts to move staff to the bloc as agreed, according to more than half a dozen executives and traders involved in the process who asked not to be named. But it is a temporary reprieve.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is keen to reduce banks’ reliance on the back-to-back model that enables trades processed in Europe to be booked in London, where risk and liquidity — as well as traders — ultimately sit. The authority has often said that EU units should be managed locally.

ECB Supervisory Board Chair Andrea Enria said last week banks are engaging but there are “still some sticking points” for a number of firms after Britain’s departure pushed business such as EU stock trading into the single market. “We have seen significant progress also in the final months of last year, so we’re encouraged that we will get to the target operating model pretty soon.”

MORE MOVES
Beyond the moves that were supposed to take place before Jan. 1, banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup, Inc. are preparing to shift more risk-takers out of Britain by the end of the year to soothe the authorities’ longer-term concerns they’re too remote from the trades they manage, they said. Spokespeople for the banks declined to comment.

At Citigroup, for example, the bank is finalizing its post-Brexit staffing and some senior traders of European assets have little clarity on where their future is going to be, people familiar with the matter said. The firm has recently made several senior appointments to its European markets and securities services unit.

Some bankers expect regulators to require people to migrate in spite of COVID travel restrictions if a bank still has virtually all sales and trading staff working on EU business from home in London. Some regulators have been regularly checking whether banks’ entities on the continent are fully operational and adequately staffed, the people said.

That approach means some are finding themselves caught between the demands of their industry and public health measures that aim to restrict movement. The individual situations were described by people with knowledge of the deliberations, who asked not to be named discussing personnel matters. A number of traders are refusing to relocate overseas for personal reasons such as home schooling obligations.

The specifics of banks’ relocations plans are shaped by the countries they chose for their new or enlarged hub inside the EU.

Countries including the Netherlands have permitted traders to stay in Britain for now, acknowledging that moves will happen toward the end of the year, the people said.

France’s Autorite des Marches Financiers has warned that firms face criminal sanctions if they don’t have sufficient personnel to ensure prudent risk management in their EU offices.

Broker TP ICAP Plc has already paid the price for failing to move staff as quickly as regulators would like, saying recently it was prevented from serving some of its EU clients because it hadn’t completed its planned relocation of staff to Paris.

PRIOR SHIFTS
Consultancy EY estimated in September that financial-services firms operating in the UK had already shifted about 7,500 employees and more than 1.2 trillion pounds ($1.6 trillion) of assets to the European Union ahead of Brexit, although that was less than initially feared.

“The current situation is by no means perfect, but it isn’t as bad as some scenarios banks would have been modeling for,” said Tom Merry, a managing director in Accenture’s banking strategy practice.

Still, these migrations are only the first phase of Brexit for the financial industry.

The sector was sidelined in the trade deal struck with the bloc by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and cross-border trade for many UK financial firms will depend on so-called equivalence rulings on whether each side’s rules are robust enough. EU officials have said the bloc’s in no rush to make these decisions.

Almost five years since the Brexit vote, firms cannot afford to wait much longer for clarity. “Banks cannot rely on equivalence for their long term planning. They need to think about their footprint in the long run,” said Mr. Merry. — Bloomberg

How PSEi member stocks performed — February 1, 2021

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, February 1, 2021.


Shares up on manufacturing data, vaccine news

PHILIPPINE SHARES bounced back on Monday as market sentiment improved due to factory activity data and the nearing arrival of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in the country.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) improved 202.14 points or 3.05% to finish at 6,814.76 yesterday, while the broader all shares index rose 96.34 points or 2.4% to end at 4,103.67.

AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail that the local bourse closed higher as investor sentiment got a boost from positive manufacturing data.

“It was a very good day for the PSEi after it rallied more than 200 points. Aside from the technical bounce that we were already expecting, the sentiment got a boost from January manufacturing numbers,” Mr. Mangun said.

IHS Markit on Monday said the country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52.5 in January, higher than 49.2 in December. The figure moves past the 50-neutral mark that separates expansion from contraction.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message that the market improved as investors reacted to an announcement over the weekend regarding local COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., the country’s vaccine czar, announced on Sunday that at least 5.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer, Inc. and AstraZeneca PLC are expected to arrive in the Philippines in the first quarter of 2021.

Both vaccines have received emergency use approval from the local Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The government plans to procure 148 million doses of vaccines for 2021 to inoculate 70 million Filipinos.

“The market ended higher today as investors hunted for bargains after last week’s selloff, with some participants feeling optimistic that the year 2021 will be a year that the country will see positive economic growth,” Timson Securities, Inc. Head of Online Trading Darren Blaine T. Pangan said in a mobile phone message on Monday.

All sectoral indices at the PSE improved at the close of Monday’s trading. Property went up 154.28 points or 4.57% to 3,527.15; financials increased 43.44 points or 3.15% to 1,421.79; services climbed 45.27 points or 3.12% to 1,495.54; mining and oil gained 249.57 points or 3.04% to 8,437.39; industrials inched up 184.67 points or 2.14% to 8,811.67; and holding firms surged 123.34 points or 1.82% to 6,865.73.

Advancers bested decliners, 130 against 82, while 45 names ended unchanged.

Value turnover on Monday reached P9.98 billion with 32.11 billion issues switching hands, lower than the P11.8 billion with 41.76 billion shares traded in the previous session. Net foreign selling retreated to P1.19 billion from the P3.13 billion worth of net outflows logged on Friday.

“Support may be pegged at 6,500, while nearest resistance is at 7,300,” Mr. Pangan said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Peso climbs vs dollar on strong PMI data

THE PESO strengthened against the greenback on Monday supported by improved manufacturing data.

The local unit closed at P48.065 versus the dollar yesterday, gaining 1.5 centavos from its P48.08 finish on Friday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

The peso opened Monday’s session at P48.06 a dollar. It moved in a tight range, with its weakest showing at P48.077 and its strongest intraday level at P48.05 against the greenback.

Dollars that changed hands increased to $787.95 million on Monday from $685.7 million on Friday.

The improvement in factory activity data boosted sentiment on the local unit, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

IHS Markit on Monday said the country’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 52.5 in January, beyond the 50 neutral mark that separates expansion from contraction. This is the highest reading in 25 months or since the 53.2 print in December 2018, ending three straight months of consecutive declines.

The improvement in the PMI reading reflects a rebound in the local manufacturing industry’s operating conditions, IHS Markit economist Shreeya Patel said in a note.

Meanwhile, a trader said the peso’s gains came following developments related to the United States government’s coronavirus pandemic response.

“The peso appreciated as Republicans were reportedly demanding for a smaller stimulus package from the $1.9-trillion bill proposed by President [Joseph R.] Biden [Jr.],” the trader said in a text message.

Reuters reported that 10 Republican senators spoke with Mr. Biden to discuss downsizing his administration’s proposed $1.9-trillion stimulus to win bipartisan support and eventually pass the bill.

A White House economic adviser earlier signaled being open to discuss a smaller $600-billion stimulus floated by Republicans.

For today, Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P48.04 to P48.08 per dollar while the trader expects a wider band of P48 to P48.10. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

Virus cases nearing 530,000 with 10,807 deaths

By Vann Marlo M. Villegas, Reporter

THE DEPARTMENT of Health reported 1,658 coronavirus infections on Monday, bringing the total to 527,272.

The death toll rose to 10,807 after 58 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 27 to 487,574, it said in a bulletin.

There were 28,891 active cases, 88.5% of which were mild, 5.3% did not show symptoms, 3% were critical, 2.7% were severe and 0.56% were moderate.

DoH said four duplicates had been removed from the tally. Five laboratories failed to submit their data on Jan. 31.

About 7.4 million Filipinos have been tested for the coronavirus as of Jan. 30, according to DoH’s tracker website.

The coronavirus has sickened more than 103.6 million and killed about 2.2 million people worldwide, according to the Worldometers website, citing various sources including data from the World Health Organization.

About 75.2 million people have recovered, it said.

Meanwhile, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said the global shortage of reagents, a substance used for virus analysis, delayed local genome sequencing to detect the more contagious coronavirus strain.

The Philippine Genome Center (PGC) was now using a smaller machine that can only test 48 samples a week, down from 750, she told an online news briefing.

“The global shortage has affected this process,” she said, adding that the government would increase its orders for reagents to six months worth of supply instead of the usual two three months.

“We can be assured that for the next six months we will have this reagent so we can continue processing the sequencing,” she said.

Ms. Vergeire said they would fast-track the release of reagents from the Bureau of Customs (BoC) that arrived on Sunday night, while the sequencing kits were expected to arrive as early as Wednesday.

CASE CLOSED
The DoH at the weekend said 48 coronavirus-positive samples tested by the center were negative for the new variant. This center is set to sequence 48 more samples this week.

Also on Monday, Ms. Vergeire said the case of the patient from Quezon City who got infected with the more contagious variant first detected in the United Kingdom had been closed after people he got close contact with were traced and tested.

“The results of the variant or the genome sequencing were all negative,” she said.

The 29-year-old male Filipino arrived in the Philippines from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Jan. 7 and had tested positive for the more contagious coronavirus strain.

The Quezon City government said on Jan. 22 he had since recovered and tested negative for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) virus. He would be monitored for at least two more weeks, it said.

At least 14 of his close contacts including his mother and a health worker who attended to him had tested positive for the coronavirus, DoH said on Jan. 22.

Eight of his co-passengers had tested positive upon arrival. Four others including his girlfriend who accompanied him initially tested negative upon arrival but were found to have been infected after swabbing.

At least 17 people in the Philippines have been infected with the new strain, 12 of whom came from Bontoc, Mountain Province in northern Philippines.

Meanwhile, DoH said it had traced 447 people in the Cordillera Administrative Region for further testing.

Of the total, 410 came from Bontoc, where 83 people had tested positive for the coronavirus, including the 12 people who had the UK virus strain. DoH said 97 had tested negative, 42 had pending results and 88 were yet to be tested.

In nearby La Trinidad, Benguet province, 37 contacts of the patient with the more contagious variant have been identified, six of whom were positive for COVID-19 and 14 were negative. The test results of 14 others were pending, while the rest were yet to be tested.

DoH said eight specimens from Bontoc and two from La Trinidad had been sent for genome sequencing.

The Health department said last month a returning overseas Filipino worker from the UK was the source of the coronavirus infections in Bontoc.

He tested negative upon arrival on Dec. 11 but was found to have been positive when he was tested a few weeks later after complaining of abdominal pains. However, the traveler was negative for the more contagious strain.

DoH said health authorities were conducting “backward tracing exposures” to identify other possible sources of infection.

Growth targets will be missed in 2021 unless lockdowns are eased

THE GOVERNMENT is unlikely to hit its growth targets this year unless lockdowns brought by a global coronavirus pandemic are eased further, according to the country’s acting Socioeconomic Planning chief.

Policymakers had been unable to balance the health risks and the impact of strict quarantines on economic output because they were risk-averse, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua told an online news briefing on Monday.

“We have to care for both COVID-19 patients and the people who have other sickness or health or hunger problems,” he said.

“These two are important. Unfortunately, we were not able to balance these well because before, we were risk-averse because we didn’t know. But now we know better, so we will have to live with the virus and balance that better,” he added.

Mr. Chua said he expects Metro Manila and other provinces to shift to a modified general community quarantine next month. “The good news is we have lived with this virus already. After this month, we should be in a better position to relax further.”

He said President Rodrigo R. Duterte would probably make an informed decision on the lockdowns once he sees both the latest health and economic data. He added that age restrictions during the lockdown should be eased “anytime soon.”

“We have been under a general community quarantine or higher in the Metro Manila area for 12 months already, so to the extent that we can continue with it, it’s really going to put our economy in a very difficult position,” Mr. Chua said.

The economy fell into its worst recession since World War II last year as output contracted by 9.5%. This year, the government expects the economy to grow by 6.5% to 7.5%.

Mr. Chua said the rollout of coronavirus vaccines this year would probably boost consumer and business confidence. “The mere announcement and the mere fact that we have a plan is also building a lot of confidence.”

President Rodrigo R. Duterte last month recalled a decision by an inter-agency taskforce (IATF) to let minors as young as 10 years to go out and visit malls, citing the risk from a new coronavirus strain first detected in the United Kingdom. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Senate OK’s Manila’s adoption of treaty on ban of nuclear arms

THE SENATE on Monday concurred with President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s decision to agree to a United Nations (UN) treaty banning nuclear weapons.

Twenty-three senators voted to approve Senate Resolution 620 on third and final reading, making the Philippines the 53rd nation to adopt the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The treaty is the “first globally applicable multilateral agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons on the basis of international humanitarian law,” Senator Aquilino L. Pimentel III said in a statement.

The treaty took effect after it was ratified by at least 50 states. Eighty-six countries signed the accord.

The treaty bars nations from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, transferring, possessing, stockpiling, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons.

States will also be banned from helping, encouraging or inducing anyone to engage in these activities or allow nuclear weapons to be stationed, installed or deployed in their territories.

“Nuclear weapons do not discriminate,” said Mr. Pimentel, who sponsored the resolution as chairman of the foreign relations committee. “We cannot afford another nuclear arms race. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in Japan are horrors that should never be repeated.”

Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva, who was among the authors, said at Monday’s session the treaty is a “stepping stone to a nuclear weapon-free world.” — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Tribunal holds mock bar exams amid coronavirus

THE SUPREME Court conducted mock digital bar exams on Sunday amid a coronavirus pandemic, it said in a statement on Monday.

“The Supreme Court successfully conducted a pilot/mock bar as part of the process of transitioning into fully digital but localized bar examinations,” it said.

Eighty law students took part in the mock exams held in cooperation with the Philippine Association of Law Schools and the law schools of Saint Louis University, Ateneo de Manila University,  University of Cebu, Ateneo de Davao and University of the Philippines.

“This is part of the court’s reforms to make the bar examinations more equitable and inclusive while at the same time maintaining the standards of the legal profession,” the tribunal said after the exams were postponed last year.

The grades of the examinees in the mock exams won’t be recorded, the court said in a previous bulletin. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

China defends law letting coast guard fire at sea

A CHINESE law allowing its coast guard to fire at foreign vessels in the South China Sea is not meant to target specific countries, its embassy in Manila said on Monday.

“The China coast guard law doesn’t specifically target any certain country,” the Chinese Embassy said in a statement after the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest last week. “The enactment of the law doesn’t indicate any change in China’s maritime policy.”

The law conforms to international conventions and practices, it said, comparing it to the charter of the Philippine Coast Guard. “None of these laws have been seen as a threat of war.”

The law passed by the National People’s Congress standing committee of China will allow its coast guard to use “all necessary means” against foreign vessels that threaten them, according to the South China Morning Post.

The United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 favored the Philippines in a lawsuit that rejected China’s claim to more than 80% of the South China Sea based on its nine-dash line drawn on a 1940s map.

China has rejected the ruling, but committed to settle disputes in the disputed waterway through dialogue and negotiations with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations on a code of conduct.

The Chinese Embassy cited “forces” that act on political interests or prejudice against China. It also dismissed reports of its coast guard harassing Filipino fishermen as fake news.

It also said the entry of its scientific survey ship into Philippine waters had been sensationalized as an intrusion.

The Chinese ship was seeking humanitarian shelter in Philippine waters due to unfavorable weather and sea conditions in the Pacific, it said. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

House OK’s bills suspending premium increases

THE HOUSE of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading twin bills that will allow President Rodrigo R. Duterte to halt increases in premiums of the Social Security System (SSS) and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

During plenary debates, congressmen voted to pass House Bill 8461 for PhilHealth contributions and House Bill 8512 for SSS premiums.

Lawmakers sought the freeze after a number of workers lost their jobs amid lockdowns brought by a global coronavirus pandemic.

Under the old law, SSS premium increases were supposed to have started to take effect last year.

PhilHealth contribution increases were meant to help the agency enforce the Universal Health Care Law. Mr. Duterte had asked lawmakers to defer the increases. — Gillian M. Cortez

Nationwide round-up (02/01/21)

AstraZeneca’s diabetes medicine approved for heart failure treatment

THE local Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved AstraZeneca’s medicine for diabetes as treatment for heart failure in adult patients. In a statement on Monday, AstraZeneca said its drug Dapagliflozin is “proven to significantly prevent cardiovascular death and death due to other causes in these heart failure patients.” The approval was based on the trial of Dapagliflozin and Prevention of Adverse-outcomes in Heart Failure Trial, which investigated a medicine for type 2 diabetes as treatment for heart failure in adult patients with reduced ejection fraction, or what is referred to locally as pumapalyang puso, with and without type-2 diabetes.

TRIAL RESULTS
Results of the trial showed a reduction of 26% in the occurrence of cardiovascular death, hospitalization for heart failure and urgent hospital visit for heart failure (HF) along with a 30% reduction in hospitalization for heart failure, AstraZeneca said. The study also showed Dapagliflozin’s significant 18% reduction in cardiovascular death and 17% reduction in death due to other causes, it said. “Dapagliflozin has the potential to become  a long-awaited addition in the standard of care for this patient population. This is a testament of the company’s commitment in pushing what science can do to address unmet needs in healthcare,” AstraZeneca Philippines Country President Lotis Ramin said in the statement. May Donato-Tan, president of the Heart Failure Society of the Philippines (HFSP), said the approval is “a welcome strong addition in the field of heart failure” as it allows patients to prevent hospitalizations and death from other cardiovascular diseases. The company noted that heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the country with 74,134 reported cases in 2016, citing a study by National University Health Center. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Regional Updates (02/01/21)

Supplemental vaccination

A child receives oral polio vaccine in Antique province on February 1, the start of the government’s month-long supplemental immunization program for measles-rubella and polio. The vaccination program, intended for children 0-59 months, is under the Department of Health (DoH) and implemented by the local government health units.

Hataman pushes for Marawi compensation bill

HOUSE Deputy Speaker and Basilan Rep. Mujiv S. Hataman called for the immediate passage of the bill that will provide compensation to residents of Marawi who were displaced following the 2017 siege by local extremist groups. Mr. Hataman expressed worry that the pending measure will be further delayed by the 2022 local and national elections,  talks on Charter change, and the proposed extension of the transition period in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). In a statement on Monday, Mr. Hataman, former governor of the ARMM that was replaced by the BARMM, urged both the House of Representatives and the Senate to pass the proposal so Marawi, which was ravaged by the five-month gun battle between the extremist groups and government forces, could rebuild its community and start anew. He said the compensation bill could be included and funded under the 2022 national budget if it is passed soon. “Kung di natin i-prioritize itong compensation bill, baka hindi na maharap ng Kongreso at Senado bago mapasa ang 2022 budget (If we do not prioritize the compensation bill now, the House and the Senate will no longer be able to attend to it before the 2022 budget is passed),” he said. Mr. Hataman also said the delay in the implementation of projects lined up for Marawi’s rehabilitation resulted in unutilized funds, which eventually expire, citing the example of the P406-million Marawi fund in 2018. — Gillian M. Cortez

Cebu province halts export of live hogs for 6 months to meet local demand

PIG farmers in Cebu are prohibited from selling live hogs and sows outside the province for six months starting February 1 to ensure adequate supply for the domestic market and avoid a price increase. The export ban is contained in an executive order issued by Cebu Governor Gwendolyn F. Garcia on January 29. The order cites the recent hike in the live weight per kilo price of hogs in Cebu alongside the “increase of demand of pork and live hogs” within the province as well as in other parts of the country, particularly areas affected by the African swine fever (ASF). Ms. Garcia said the decision to impose an export ban was made in consultation with pork producers and hog suppliers within the Central Visayas region. Breeder farms accredited by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) may be given exemption from the ban subject to the approval of the Provincial Veterinary Officer.

215 barangays in Davao Region to get P20M each for anti-insurgency program

MORE than 200 villages in Davao Region have been identified as beneficiaries of the government’s Barangay Development Program (BDA) aimed at countering communist insurgency through infrastructure and social service projects. Each barangay, the smallest political unit under the Philippine system, will get P20 million. The BDA has a P16.4-billion allocation under the national budget for this year. Budget Secretary Wendel E. Avisado, in a recent visit to the region, said the fund is targeted for release nationwide within the first quarter. “We are here and we will make sure it is approved, the P16.4 billion for the 822 barangays,” Mr. Avisado said in a press conference held at the headquarters of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command in Davao City. The identified priority barangays in Davao are located in the following: 82 in Davao City; 65, Davao de Oro; 32, Davao Oriental; 23, Davao del Norte; eight, Davao del Sur; and five in Davao Occidental. The BDA can cover projects such as schools, farm-to-market roads, health stations, waterworks and irrigation infrastructure, and forest protection programs for livelihood. — Maya M. Padillo

House probes land eviction case in Ozamiz City

A House of Representatives’ probe on the eviction of settlers in the village of Lam-An in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental last year amid a virus pandemic indicates that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) may have violated legal procedures. DPWH officials admitted that the land in question was not yet fully acquired by the government at the time of the eviction. In a meeting held by the House committee on good governance and public accountability on Monday, DPWH District Engineer Carolyn Abinales said they went ahead with the demolition, “Because they (local government unit) are in the process of acquiring the site.” Deputy Speaker Rodante D. Marcoleta, who sought the probe into the incident, asked whether authorities had the right to carry out the demolition without acquiring the title for the property first. On the other hand Deputy Speaker Henry Oaminal, whose son Ozamiz City Mayor Sancho Fernando Oaminal is involved in the controversy, said the probe “failed to establish” any proof that the DPWH and Ozamiz City officials violated expropriation processes. He added that the affected families had given their approval for the housing project that was planned on the property. The demolition was undertaken in April 2020 despite an order by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to suspend all demolition projects until the nationwide state of emergency is lifted. The Right of Way Act states that a writ of demolition must be furnished by a court if settlers occupying the land refuse to comply with the eviction even if a writ of possession had already been supplied by the court. — Gillian M. Cortez

Bacolod orders stricter compliance to protocols after call center records 41 COVID cases

THE Bacolod City government ordered the 24-hour closure of a call center company for disinfection after 41 of its workers tested positive for coronavirus between January 23-31. City Administrator Em L. Ang said on Monday the coronavirus Emergency Operations Center (EOC) task force met on Sunday to address the cluster outbreak at the Transcom Bacolod office. “The BPO (business process outsourcing) facility will be closed for 24 hours for disinfection and decontamination. The EOC also recommends improvements in physical working conditions such as the use of physical distancing, work-from-home arrangement, and to secure temporary lodging and transportation for workers and strict compliance with the use of the BaCTrac system,” Ms. Ang wrote in a post shared by the city government’s official page. The BaCTrac is the city’s contact tracing application. She said the task force had a series of site inspections at the Transcom office as well as meetings with company officials since the first positive case in Jan. 29. BusinessWorld requested for a statement from the company but has yet to reply as of this writing. “The outbreak in a BPO company is a stark reminder that this nightmare with COVID (coronavirus disease-2019) is not yet over. We would like to remind everyone to continue to strictly observe proper health protocols to keep the workplace coronavirus-free,” she said. Bacolod is already under the least strict quarantine level after containing a surge in cases in August last year. The city with a population of over 580,000 has recorded 5,748 coronavirus cases as of January 31, of which 151 are active, 5,413 have recovered while 184 died. — MSJ