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Gym fee rules eased for users unable to work out during lockdown period

FITNESS CENTERS have been required to allow paid-up members who were not able to use their facilities during the lockdown to return without making further payments, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

In memorandum circular 20-59 published Tuesday, the DTI also encouraged the industry to extend membership periods or waive fees and penalties incurred during the time their facilities were not allowed to operate.

Membership fees that were paid in advance may be applied to the months after operations resumed, it said.

In the case of chain organizations, franchisors were also encouraged to waive royalty fees and penalties owed by the fitness centers when they were not operating.

The department said that it had been receiving requests to intervene on the matter of royalties and membership fees owed during the non-operating period.

The DTI said that while it recognizes contractual rights, its policy is focused on consumer welfare and encouraging the development of entrepreneurship, especially for small businesses.

Gyms, internet cafes, and test centers were allowed to increase their operating capacity to 75% since the start of November, after lockdown rules were eased for Metro Manila to a status known as general community quarantine (GCQ). The establishments were allowed to operate at full capacity in areas deemed safer and under modified GCQ.

Group workout sessions such as Zumba and yoga classes remain banned. Customers may only remove their masks once they start their individual workouts, during which they will also be required to stay two meters apart.

Gyms were initially allowed to reopen in GCQ areas on Aug. 1, then were temporarily shut during a two-week move to a stricter form of lockdown in areas that included Metro Manila on Aug. 4. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Regional income inequality seen worsening in countries spending less on welfare

INCOME INEQUALITY is expected to worsen in Asia Pacific economies that skimped on social safety nets and welfare spending during the pandemic, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

“Governments with weak social protection systems and low fiscal capacity to raise spending will face particular challenges in tackling income inequality. India, Indonesia and, to some extent, Malaysia and the Philippines stand out in this regard,” it said in a report.

Moody’s said most emerging markets in the region have weak safety nets, with social spending seen lowest in the Philippines, India and Indonesia.

“China, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines are increasing welfare assistance under conditional cash transfer programs,” it said.

The government spent P205 billion for its social amelioration program, which provided cash handouts to about 18 million low-income families over two months at the height of the lockdown.

Only 20% of the 7.6 million Filipinos of pensionable age are covered by either the Social Security System or the Government Service Insurance System, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Moody’s noted that Philippine sin taxes provided a boost to social protections.

“In the Philippines, revenue collections from sin taxes on tobacco, and alcoholic and sugary beverages help to finance the universal healthcare program, representing a double-barreled fiscal approach to enhancing social protection,” it said.

The Department of Finance estimated that taxes generated by tobacco products amounted to P61.47 billion in the first half, while alcohol products raised P27.46 billion.

Less-skilled workers and those armed with only basic education are viewed as more vulnerable even when the pandemic ends, Moody’s said.

Unemployment in the Philippines was 10% in July, easing from 17.7% in April but nearly double the 5.4% year-earlier rate. The July 2020 rate represents 4.571 million jobless people of working age. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Pagcor to provide P2 billion for evacuation facilities

PHILIPPINE AMUSEMENT and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) said it will provide P2 billion to help build multi-purpose evacuation centers in provinces vulnerable to typhoons.

Pagcor Chairman and CEO Andrea D. Domingo said in a statement Tuesday that the gaming regulator will fund the project despite the losses it suffered from the suspension of gaming activities during the pandemic.

“Despite our revenue losses, we have committed to provide a long-term solution to the most vulnerable sectors and communities,” Ms. Domingo was quoted as saying.

Pagcor’s net profit fell 97% year on year to P132.675 million in the nine months to September, while gaming revenue fell 60% to P22.327 billion.

Gaming establishments are currently closed or operating at a reduced capacity.

Pagcor said 32 evacuation centers will be constructed in 31 locations. The facilities will be built in Albay, Aurora, Batangas, Camarines Sur, Capiz, Ilocos Sur, Laguna, Marikina, Mountain Province, Northern Samar, Oriental Mindoro, Pampanga, Quezon, Romblon, Rizal, Southern Leyte, Tarlac and Zamboanga del Sur.

Ms. Domingo said the project was first proposed in 2018 and is awaiting input like design and detailed costing.

She said the funds will be sent to local government units hosting the facilities once the details of the project are ironed out.

The centers come in three types — basketball courts that can be repurposed during emergencies as evacuation centers, at a cost of P12.7 million each; roofed arenas with bleachers and toilets that can also be roped in as evacuation facilities, at a cost of P27.9 million each; and P50 million two-storey multi-purpose buildings with store rooms for emergency supplies.

The multiple storms that hit the country during recent weeks are thought to have caused P90 billion worth of damage. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Early warning during calamities must be followed by community-level action — expert

EARLY WARNING of a calamity needs to be matched by appropriate community action, a University of the Philippines (UP) expert said Tuesday.

UP Resilience Institute Executive Director Mahar A. Lagmay said such an integrated approach would have served victims of recent typhoons well.

“In disaster risk reduction, there has to be appropriate warning that is reliable, understandable, accurate and…. (timely). But that needs to be matched by the appropriate response of the people,” he said during a virtual media briefing organized by international research organization ADR Stratbase Institute.

If the community does not know how to act, then no amount of warning will avert disaster, he said.

Disaster victims typically say that they were caught off guard by events such as floods and landslides, Mr. Lagmay said, an observation he formed after observing calamities in Leyte.

He recommended computer modelling to aid preparations that consider all possible hazard scenarios, including calamities of a magnitude never before encountered, on account of worsening conditions due to climate change.

“We need to put in the bigger events that they have not experienced, bigger than the historical record, and we can only do that through the use of powerful computers, frontier science and the most advanced technologies,” he said.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte has placed Luzon under a state of calamity after a series of typhoons in November, the last of which — Typhoon Ulysses (international name: Vamco) — caused heavy flooding in northern Luzon and parts of Metro Manila.

Ulysses was the 21st typhoon to hit the Philippines this year. — Angelica Y. Yang

Fish supply declared sufficient until year’s end

THE fish supply has been judged sufficient to meet demand up to the end of 2020, according to the Department of Agriculture.

In a virtual briefing Tuesday, Undersecretary Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero said that at the end of 2020, fish inventory is projected at 87,539 metric tons (MT), equivalent to 10 days’ worth of demand.

Ms. Caballero said for 2020 supply is estimated at 3.42 million MT, against demand of 3.33 million MT.

Ms. Caballero said current constraints on the fish supply include the recent typhoons and the closed fishing season in the Visayan Sea.

“The total losses to the fisheries sector due to calamity have reached 4,552 MT, based on information gathered by BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources), the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA), and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI),” Ms. Caballero said.

“There should be no worry because despite the effects of the typhoons, the BFAR has implemented interventions to ensure that consumers will have fishery products to eat,” she added.

The BFAR ordered a three-month closed fishing season in the Visayan Sea starting Nov. 15.

The ban will limit the catch of sardines, herring, and mackerel to allow their populations to regenerate. The closed season was declared in Fisheries Administrative Order No. 167-3. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Land registry agrees to share data with BIR

THE Land Registration Authority (LRA) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said they signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) running for five years which will allow the two agencies to share records in aid of improving tax assessments and collections.

The MoA was detailed in Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 123-2020 issued by BIR Commissioner R. Dulay on Monday, a copy of which was published the next day on the bureau’s website.

The agreement allows LRA to share with the BIR the personal data of registered property owners.

The BIR can also share personal data of taxpayers with the LRA, which the latter can use to validate tax declarations.

“BIR and LRA shall implement appropriate security measures… to ensure protection of the personal information of data subjects, including the policy for retention, destruction and disposal of records,” it said.  — Beatrice M. Laforga

NCR construction materials price growth picks up in Oct.

WHOLESALE PRICE growth of construction materials in Metro Manila accelerated in October, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

The construction materials wholesale price index (CMWPI), grew 0.8% year on year in October, against a 0.5% growth in September. The October 2019 growth rate was 2.6%.

The pickup in CMWPI growth was driven by price growth in sand and gravel (1.7% from 1.5% in September); tileworks (13.8% from 13.4%); doors, jambs, and steel casements (0.2% from 0.1%); and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes (4.4% from 3.8%).

Meanwhile, a slowdown in price increases was noted in concrete products and cement (1.1% from 1.2%); hardware (3% from 3.6%); lumber (3% from 4.4%); and electrical works (1.5% from 2.1%).

Growth was unchanged month-on-month in prices of galvanized iron sheets (0.9%); glass and glass products (7.1%); and painting works (0.6%). Asphalt and machinery and equipment rental posted zero growth, unchanged from a month earlier.

Wholesale prices are obtained by large-scale buyers like construction companies, reflecting demand and making such price movements a potential leading indicator for construction activity.

“The increase in CMWPI in October 2020 may be due to faster increases in big-ticket construction developments over retail-type construction, especially the recent months where the Philippines was slowly relaxing its quarantine protocols,” Asian Institute of Management Economist John Paolo R. Rivera said via mobile phone.

“However, it is still slow due to the persistence of quarantines particularly in urban areas,” he added.

Mr. Rivera expects “slight progressive increases” in the prices of construction materials “in conjunction with the slow and progressive opening of the economy.”

“The recent natural calamities have (also) exacerbated time and supply constraints. Hence, some increase in prices,” he said.  — Jobo E. Hernandez

Cybersecurity during the pandemic

(We are publishing the first part of this two-part column today after inadvertently publishing part two out of sequence on Monday. BusinessWorld regrets the error.)

(First of two parts)

Risk professionals around the world have always had pandemics on their radar and rightly so. In the last 20 years, the world has witnessed how diseases such as ebola, chikungunya, SARS, H1N1, and MERS-CoV placed nations in grave danger. However, governments and medical communities were always able to address each situation, and while there may have been some casualties, the contagion was somehow managed, preventing the disease from spreading worldwide. When news of a novel respiratory disease from China broke out in December 2019, it took several months before the World Health Organization (WHO) gave it an official name, declaring a pandemic on March 11.

Because of previous similar outbreaks, many in the Philippine business community reacted coolly to the news. Even when infections started to appear in the Philippines in late January, few businesses saw the urgent need to prepare for a pandemic. Consequently, when the government imposed the lockdown on March 16, many organizations were caught unprepared and had to improvise to survive. Companies scrambled for tools and facilities to allow remote working and continue business operations.

For the past nine months, Philippine companies have learned to deal with COVID-19 and the lockdown. The impact was significant across the board, not only disrupting current operations, but also influencing how businesses will behave in the months and years to come.

Cybersecurity has been no exception. Like with other business functions, the pandemic caused widespread disruption in cybersecurity operations and is expected to have significant impact on cybersecurity strategies, investments and future priorities.

In the first part of this two-part series, we will discuss the challenges of cybersecurity in terms of remote working, identity and access management risk, physical security and data privacy.

WORKING FROM HOME
Remote working has been a notable issue. Shifting the workplace — from central corporate offices to the homes of employees — has expanded the attack surface. The perimeter of the corporate network is no longer defined by the firewalls, and employees can now do more with their company-issued laptops without the traditional firewall controls. For example, personal cloud storage solutions and other non-work related websites that may be prohibited by the company are now readily accessible by employees through their home networks.

Because of the pandemic many companies were compelled to issue a significant number of laptops to their employees. In addition, new applications were deployed to allow employee access to corporate systems using mobile phones and tablets. This further expanded the number of endpoints that can be compromised by attackers.

Adopting new technologies to enable remote working during the lockdown also represented concerns for security professionals. Many companies made quick decisions and deployed tools for collaboration and communication, online selling, digital and contactless payments, and the like. At times, a new vendor is contracted to enable these digital tools, and in some cases even manage these applications for the company. The challenge in this situation is not only procuring reliable external support, but also ensuring that the vendors undergo strict risk assessment and the tools subjected to robust testing prior to their actual deployment. Short-cuts in the deployment process simply cannot be allowed.

ACCESS MANAGEMENT RISKS
Also presenting challenges in the new normal are identity and access management. In many cases, user profiles and roles need to be created or modified to enable the remote access of employees and business partners to the corporate systems. The chief information security officer (CISO) needs to ensure that these profiles were created based on strict business-need only basis. The company’s formal approval and role development process cannot be ignored even if there is a seeming urgency because of the pandemic.

Inevitably, employees come and go even during a pandemic. New hires continue to be onboarded, people change roles and move departments, and some staff members resign for various reasons. User profiles created and roles added should always be accurate to match the employee’s responsibilities. Likewise, user access revocation — including the retrieval of company-issued mobile devices — should be timely.

PHYSICAL SECURITY
A greater challenge with remote working is the physical security of the employees’ homes. This is particularly true for companies with a younger workforce who live in dormitories and boarding houses with roommates and friends who may be working for competitors.

While at reduced risk, those living with their families in cramped spaces may also not be ideal for many companies. In a developing country like ours, these are realistic situations that companies need to manage.

DATA PRIVACY
Data privacy continues to be a major cause of concern not only within businesses but also among consumers who distrust external parties handling their personal data. In the Philippines, companies are required by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and the Department of Health (DoH) to collect employee and visitor health information and submit monthly reports.

These data are crucial for companies and the government to maintain safe working environments and to help contain the pandemic. However, there are questions raised on access, storage, sharing among agencies, and retention which are valid. Employees need to understand that their employers are required to record their temperature daily, but the security of their personal and household members’ health and travel data will remain a concern. This is a gap that will take a well-engineered bridge to cross.

To illustrate, the lack of trust in providing access to one’s privacy and personal data is exemplified by the unpopularity of contact tracing apps that were developed during the pandemic. While several of these apps have been endorsed by government agencies and companies, their use is still limited among the general public.

In the second part of this article, we will discuss the additional threats to cybersecurity that require recalibrating traditional security for the remote workspace; potential analyst disruption; the pandemic’s impact on cybersecurity budgets; and reassessing the cybersecurity function as we adjust to the new normal of business.

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional advice where the facts and circumstances warrant. The views reflected in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of SGV, the global EY organization or its member firms.

 

Warren R. Bituin is the Technology Consulting Leader of SGV & Co.

Trump administration finally allows Biden transition to begin

WASHINGTON/WILMINGTON, Del. — After weeks of waiting, President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday cleared the way for President-elect Joe Biden to transition to the White House, giving him access to briefings and funding even as Mr. Trump vowed to continue fighting the election results.

Mr. Trump, a Republican, has alleged widespread voter fraud in the Nov. 3 election without providing evidence. Although he did not concede or acknowledge his Democratic rival’s victory on Monday, Mr. Trump’s announcement that his staff would cooperate with Mr. Biden’s represented a significant shift and was the closest he has come to admitting defeat.

Mr. Biden won 306 state-by-state electoral votes, well over the 270 needed for victory, to Mr. Trump’s 232. Mr. Biden also holds a lead of more than 6 million in the national popular vote.

The Trump campaign’s legal efforts to overturn the election have almost entirely failed in key battleground states, and a growing number of Republican leaders, business executives and national security experts urged the president to let the transition begin.

The president-elect has begun naming members of his team, including tapping trusted aide Antony Blinken to head the State Department, without waiting for government funding or a Trump concession. But critics have accused the president of undermining US democracy and undercutting the next administration’s ability to fight the coronavirus pandemic with his refusal to accept the results.

On Monday, the General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency that must sign off on presidential transitions, told Mr. Biden he could formally begin the hand-over process. GSA Administrator Emily Murphy said in a letter that Mr. Biden would get access to resources that had been denied to him because of the legal challenges seeking to overturn his win.

That means Mr. Biden’s team will now have federal funds and an official office to conduct his transition until he takes office on Jan. 20. It also paves the way for Mr. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to receive regular national security briefings that Mr. Trump also gets.

The GSA announcement came shortly after Michigan officials certified Mr. Biden as the victor in their state, making Mr. Trump’s legal efforts to change the election outcome even more unlikely to succeed.

Mr. Trump and his advisers said he would continue to pursue legal avenues but his decision to give Murphy the go-ahead to proceed with a transition for Mr. Biden’s administration indicated even the White House understood it was getting close to time to move on.

“Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good … fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same,” Mr. Trump said on Twitter.

A Trump adviser painted the move as similar to both candidates receiving briefings during the campaign and said the president’s statement was not a concession.

The Biden transition team said meetings would begin with federal officials on Washington’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, along with discussions of national security issues.

Two Trump administration officials said the Biden agency review teams could begin interacting with Trump agency officials as soon as Tuesday. “This is probably the closest thing to a concession that President Trump could issue,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Top Democrats in the House and Senate on Monday warned that an executive order signed by Mr. Trump in October could result in mass firings of federal employees in the final weeks of his presidency and allow the Republican president to install loyalists in the federal bureaucracy.

FOREIGN POLICY TEAM TAKES SHAPE
The now formalized transition and Michigan’s certification of Mr. Biden’s victory could prompt more Republicans to encourage Mr. Trump to concede as his chances of overturning the results fade.

Top Republicans in Michigan’s legislature pledged to honor the outcome in their state, likely dashing Mr. Trump’s hopes that the state legislature would name Trump supporters to serve as “electors” and support him rather than Mr. Biden.

Mr. Trump has been consulting his advisers for weeks, while eschewing standard responsibilities of the presidency. He has played several games of golf and avoided taking questions from reporters since the day of the election.

Mr. Biden, who plans to undo many of Mr. Trump’s “America First” policies, announced the top members of his foreign policy team earlier on Monday. He named Jake Sullivan as his national security adviser and Linda Thomas-Greenfield as US ambassador to the United Nations. Both have high-level government experience. John Kerry, a former US senator, secretary of state and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, will serve as Mr. Biden’s special climate envoy.

The president-elect is likely to tap former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to become the next Treasury secretary, according to two Biden allies, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel decision that was not yet public.

Mr. Biden also took a step toward reversing Mr. Trump’s hard-line immigration policies by naming Cuban-born lawyer Alejandro Mayorkas to head the Department of Homeland Security. — Reuters

Taiwan to protect sovereignty with fleet of new submarines amid tensions with China

TAIWAN is building a new fleet of domestically-developed own submarines. — REUTERS

KAOHSIUNG — Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday vowed to defend the democratic island’s sovereignty with the construction of a new fleet of domestically-developed submarines, a key project supported by the United States to counter neighboring China.

Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has been for years working to revamp its submarine force, some of which date back to World War II, and is no match for China’s fleet, which includes vessels capable of launching nuclear weapons.

At a ceremony to mark the start of construction of a new submarine fleet in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, Ms. Tsai called the move a “historic milestone” for Taiwan’s defensive capabilities after overcoming “various challenges and doubts”.

“The construction demonstrates Taiwan’s strong will to the world to protect its sovereignty,” she told the event, which was also attended by the de facto US ambassador in Taiwan, Brent Christensen.

“Submarines are important equipment for the development of Taiwan’s navy’s asymmetric warfare capabilities and to deter enemy ships from encircling Taiwan.”

The US government in 2018 gave the green light for US manufacturers to participate in the programme, a move widely seen as helping Taiwan secure major components, though it is unclear which US companies are involved.

State-backed CSBC Corporation Taiwan said it would deliver the first of the eight planned submarines in 2025, giving a major boost to Ms. Tsai’s military modernization and self-sufficiency plan.

Company chairman Cheng Wen-lung said they had faced major challenges, including difficulty procuring parts as well as “external forces hindering the development of this programme.”

Taiwan’s armed forces are mostly equipped by the United States, but Ms. Tsai has made development of an advanced home-grown defence industry a priority.

In June, Ms. Tsai oversaw the first public test flight of a new locally designed and made advanced jet trainer.

Chinese forces have ramped up their military activities near Taiwan, on occasion flying fighter jets across the unofficial buffer median line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait. — Reuters

Qantas to require COVID-19 vaccination for international travelers

SYDNEY — Australia’s Qantas will insist in future that international travelers have a COVID-19 vaccination before they fly, describing the move as “a necessity.”

“We are looking at changing our terms and conditions to say, for international travelers, that we will ask people to have a vaccination before they can get on the aircraft,” Chief Executive Alan Joyce told broadcaster Channel Nine.

“Whether you need that domestically, we will have to see what happens with COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) in the market. But certainly, for international visitors coming out and people leaving the country, we think that’s a necessity.”

Australia closed its international borders in March during the first wave of the pandemic and currently requires returning travelers from overseas to quarantine for two weeks.

Australia’s Victoria state, meanwhile, the country’s virus hotspot, said on Tuesday it had zero active cases of coronavirus for the first time in more than eight months, putting it on track to effectively eliminate the virus.

Australia’s second-most populous state reported zero new cases for a 25th straight day, having imposed restrictions on public movement and shut down large parts of the economy after daily infections peaked at more than 700 in early August.

Victoria accounts for more than 73% of the country’s total virus cases and 90% of national deaths. Australia has reported more than 27,800 cases and 907 deaths since the pandemic began. — Reuters

Collectively attack the crises

In this time of pandemic, the proclivity of societal responses to mitigate the ravaging impact of the crisis is carried out on three fronts — government’s effort to control the spread of infection, the private sector’s sensible reaction of saving and protecting human capital, and civil society’s endeavors to promote philanthropy and volunteerism.

Remarkably, the three fronts have been characterized by a degree or, at least, a tinge of collaboration between and among social actors. And in this health-cum-economic predicament, the imperative for a tri-focal arrangement to transform crises into opportunities and lay the foundations of national economic recovery has been exposed.

The recently concluded Session 1 of the Pilipinas Conference hosted by the Stratbase ADR Institute, dubbed “Rebooting the Economy Post-Pandemic: Cushioning the Long Emergency,” voiced a multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder perspective as to how we could get back on our feet and prosper once again.

In terms of reviving the economy, Dr. Ernesto Pernia (former  National Economic and Development Authority secretary and professor emeritus at the UP School of Economics) opined the need to ramp up government COVID-19 response and spending. This is in recognition of the underinvestment that our health infrastructure has suffered and the importance of boosting the capacity of our health system.

Further, he called on for a “unified effort toward the country’s development goal.” This means, according to him, to “foster or strengthen public-private partnerships a la bayanihan spirit” wherein “mutual trust and empathy” govern the relationship between the public and private sector, rather than being “adversarial.”

For Diwa Guinigundo (former deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), he emphasized on what is called the “green shoots” or the “initial signs of economic activities” as the starting point of recovery. He then spoke on the issue of “restoring confidence” as the second proposition to strengthen the preliminary foundations for growth. The third proposition, he said, is “to manage the economic scars of lost jobs, lost income, and lost productivity.”

Dr. Raul Fabella (National Academy of Science and Technology and professor emeritus at the UP School of Economics), for his part, underscored the ever-growing importance of having an investment-led economy that could achieve the desired economic growth that a consumption-led economy has not. To achieve economic recovery, he clearly hints on the good economic performance associated with public-private partnerships in the last three decades. Besides, according to him, the private sector provides or fills in the gap where government’s “comparative competence” is absent or lacking.

From an academic perspective, Dr. Ronald Mendoza (Dean of the Ateneo School of Governance) highlighted the 3Ts as components of inclusive recovery, namely, “technology, trust, and transform.” According to him, technological applications cater to rapid testing, tracking, information sharing, and telemedicine; while “trust” pertains to the compliance with quarantine and willingness to share information; and “transform” refers to the need to alter our healthcare system to build a surge component and emphasize inclusion.

In his perspective, Dean Mendoza prioritizes the concern to boost the healthcare industry. He also expressed that together with Dr. Pernia they are “allies in terms of opening up the economy.” However, Dean Mendoza qualified: “But along with that opening up, we need to build stronger institutions, so that we don’t open up blindly and create the political pushback that will stop that opening up,” particularly referring to what he calls “questionable investments.”

Interestingly, the realities on the ground could be more challenging based on the subsequent discussions. What Dr. Mahar Mangahas (President, Social Weather Stations) and Dr. Ronald Holmes (President, Pulse Asia, Inc.) respectively talked about joblessness and economic optimism and robust democracy in this time of pandemic illustrates and describes the level of public opinion or what is referred to as people’s perspective or facts. Taken together, recovery from the pandemic should undoubtedly and seriously take into consideration the political-economic concerns of the people.

In their entirety, the discussions echoed what Ambassador Albert del Rosario (Chair, Stratbase ADR Institute) explained in his opening remarks about “strengthening collaboration for collective recovery.” Prof. Dindo Manhit (President, Stratbase ADR Institute) discussed in his closing remarks of Session 1 the definitive role of “paving the way for sustainable long-term investments.”

Done in a simultaneous and coordinated fashion, collaborative and transformative investments from the public and private sector on one hand, and from domestic and foreign sources on the other hand could serve as a resilient anchor for sustainable recovery.

The spirit of public and private partnerships emphasized by the economic thought leaders of the Pilipinas Conference is not just a point of intellectual assessment but an urgent call for synergy between government, private enterprises, and civil society to collectively attack this complex crisis and move toward recovery and sustainable growth.

 

Jaime Jimenez, Ph.D is the Deputy Executive Director for Research of Stratbase ADR Institute.

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