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Declining jobs, rising debts

Among the pernicious results of the Philippine government’s strict and draconian lockdown policies for nearly six months now is the steep increase in unemployment rate, 17.7% last April and 10% last July, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The underemployment rate also remains high, 18.9% last April and 17.3% last July.

The Social Weather Station (SWS) Adult Joblessness survey (roughly equivalent to PSA’s unemployment + underemployment rates) for July 2020 also showed a steep increase to 45.5% from only 20% average for 2019.

So, is it worth celebrating the decline in unemployment rate to 10%?

Not really because many of our neighbors in the region did not even experience double-digit unemployment rates both in the first and second quarters of 2020. Even compared to European countries and North-South American countries that experienced 400+ COVID-19 deaths per million population (CDPMP), the Philippines, with only 36 CDPMP, has an “outlier” unemployment experience (see Table 1).


To “jumpstart growth,” the government has embarked on a series of huge borrowings and additional public spending, particularly the Bayanihan I law (which expired in June) and the upcoming Bayanihan II that is waiting for the President’s signature.

Governments around the world including the Philippines regardless of administrations are known for wasteful spending. They have little or no ability to generate fiscal surplus in periods of no crisis, pay back old debts so that when a real crisis comes, they will have more leeway to borrow again.

In 2016, the budget and borrowings made by the previous Aquino administration saw the outstanding public debt stock at P6 trillion. The next three years, 2017 to 2019, saw a big jump in expenditures and the budget deficit so that public debt has expanded by P1.64 trillion or P547 billion/year on average.

Big borrowings mean big interest payment: P361 billion in 2019, P421 billion this year, P531 billion in 2021, and P604 billion in 2022 (see Table 2).


The higher excise tax in petroleum products of P6/liter under the TRAIN law of 2017 has brought extra revenues of P30 billion/year to the government yet it sparked inflationary pressures and some political discontent in 2018-2019. But interest payments of P361 billion in 2019 — 12 times that of oil tax hike revenues — has not sparked any serious political discontent because the amount looks “abstract” despite its size.

I will discuss these numbers in detail plus many other data during my talk on macroeconomic outlook and how they impact the individuals and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) at the China Bank Savings (CBS) this Friday, Sept. 11. The bank also celebrated its 12th anniversary last Tuesday, Sept. 8.

There is a disconnect between two government policies — strict lockdowns that crippled if not killed many SMEs and created millions of new unemployed, versus big spending and borrowings purportedly to revive the crippled and dying businesses. This is similar to a bully who crippled an innocent person then gives him a wheelchair and says that the crippled person should thank the bully for the opportunity to move around via wheelchair.

Consumers and entrepreneurs cannot expect meaningful assistance from the government’s higher spending and borrowings. They are the wrong remedies for the wrong policies (strict, indefinite, no timetable lockdowns). The “animal spirit” of entrepreneurship and innovation must be unleashed. Government should learn to step back, have less regulation, less taxation (thanks to the CREATE bill), less business intervention and arbitrary policy reversals.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Stand-up and stand-in

 

FOR COMEDIANS, there is a category of performance called “stand-up.” It requires the entertainer to stand on a bare stage, sometimes a pub or a small theater, in front of the audience barely a foot away from him. He delivers lines which he hopes the audience will reward with laughter and applause. It’s the starkest type of performance, as there aren’t even jugglers to help. There’s just the stand-up performer who knows he’s dying when people aren’t even paying attention and just sipping their latte.

Stand-up leadership too entails showing up and taking charge. Nowadays, this includes a virtual presence in a digital town hall meeting or a video post servicing the constituency, like meeting returning overseas workers at the airport or thanking businessmen for their patriotism.

Does a video recording of a speech, limited to one’s own inner circle, count as standing up, even when sitting down? Sure, the circle laughs at the right places and applauds at the relevant narrative pause, like trained seals. Everything looks staged.

“Standing up” for or against something requires showing up and being part of a physical (ok, now also virtual) crowd in front of some symbolic backdrop like a TV station or a statue at the university. Presence and visibility are a badge of courage, especially in a fraught atmosphere where dissent is attacked and trolled.

Those who cannot stand up send a stand-in. The latter allows the designated person in charge to dodge an event. The representative makes excuses for his absence — he is just working from home.

Big-name stars, when required to jump off a burning building for a movie shoot, employ doubles to do the stunts. The stand-ins (or stuntmen) protect the lead actors from possible injury so they can have the less physical job of delivering lines to seduce the ladies — I prefer to be stirred, not shaken.

Protecting an important personage from threats has also given employment to look-alikes of political figures. Ceremonial attendance of events may allow the revered one to send a stand-in, especially now that everybody wears a mask. (His forehead looks broader.)

In Kurosawa’s 1980 film, Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior), a petty thief, because of his identical physical appearance, serves as a samurai warlord’s double for staged events, like tea ceremonies. The double is eventually made to take the warlord’s place when the latter’s death in battle is at first kept secret. The thief is trained to stand in for the warlord imitating his patented moves in battle. Only when the warlord’s forces regroup and strengthen is the double “allowed to die.”

The use of a stand-in has become a necessity for the busy and in-demand VIP for conferences or weddings. Why does the exalted one need to show up when a lesser being can take his place, even as the originally billed star stays on the program?

Given the limited supply of celebrities, even counting has-beens and formerly powerful people as possible guests of honor, the odds of a special guest showing up are tilted against the event organizers. Invitations are extended months in advance. Thus, a commitment to attend is too quickly given with little thought of possible conflicts or last-minute alternatives offering better food.

The spokesperson is a different kind of stand-in. The opinions he expresses hew to the party line, if there is one. There is no pretense that he is giving a personal opinion on any topic, except what he had for lunch. When he is asked to comment on a burning issue he has not discussed with his principal, he is evasive. (Until all the facts are in, we cannot comment on this issue.)

Stand-ins are often viewed with contempt. Why isn’t the revered one here? (Is he sick?)

In theater, an announcement is sometimes made just before the show that the main role for tonight will be performed by the understudy. Now and then, the stand-in is so outstanding that she is showered with many curtain calls. What if the stand-in turns out to be a better performer than the absent one? Well, the audience will just have to vote on that one.

 

Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Letter to the Editor

THIS REFERS to a column piece entitled “A Ridiculous Requirement of the Insurance Commission” of Oscar P. Lagman, Jr., in his column, Musings, published in the July 6, 2020 issue of BusinessWorld, which was probably occasioned by his daughter’s experience.

We wish to clarify a few points to correct some misleading views and dispel misimpressions that the article might have engendered.

First, the 2017 Second National Risk Assessment (NRA) Report on Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (ML/TF) assigned to the Insurance Sector a threat or risk rating of medium. In fact, data gathered during the First and Second NRA show that the number of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) from the insurance industry had risen.

Second, home insurance may be used to launder criminally-obtained funds. A money launderer might seek to insure property in excess of its value. To give the appearance of legitimacy, a money launderer may be willing to lose 10-20%, the leaving the greater bulk of funds laundered.

Third, the AMLC has had many freeze and civil forfeiture cases predicated on such crimes as plunder, corruption, fraud and violations of the Securities Regulation Code, and illegal trafficking where insurance had been used to commit money laundering. Nobody should take it for granted that money launderers can and may use the insurance sector for their criminal ends.

Fourth, covered persons such as insurance companies, banks, securities dealers and jewelers, are required to conduct Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) pursuant to Republic Act No. 9160 or The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended (AMLA). This requirement is crucial for the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to combat ML/TF, as they provide profiling of customers, trace the flow of funds, establish linkages between and among criminal elements, detect money laundering and so on. The AMLA requires the supervising authorities, namely, the Insurance Commission, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to impose upon covered persons under their jurisdiction the submission the conduct of KYC and CDD of their clients.

Fifth, no covered person is exempted from conducting KYC and CDD. All customers, regardless of level of risk, economic or political clout and influence in society, must comply with KYC and CDD requirements. This situation is not peculiar to the Philippines; most countries, developed or not, with the possible exception of blacklisted jurisdictions like North Korea, adhere to this international standard to combat ML/TF. Powerful and influential people have been the subjects of money laundering cases, based on AMLA requirements. The AMLA is the great leveler.

The adverse consequence of laxity in these and other requirements under the AMLA is the rise in the incidence of domestic and international crimes involving the Philippines, and in business and financial costs (affecting inward remittances), and the decline of the Philippines’ credit worthiness in the international financial system, to name a few.

To sum up, the Insurance Commission’s requirements on AMLA compliance are not ridiculous. We hope these clarify the points that Lagman raised.

 

Very truly yours,
MEL GEORGIE B. RACELA
Executive Director
Anti-Money Laundering Council

Apple seeks damages from Fortnite creator in App Store dispute

Apple Inc. on Tuesday filed counterclaims against Fortnite creator Epic Games asking for lost App Store fees and other damages, and seeking an order to stop the game maker from operating its own in-app payment system.

Apple and Epic have been in a legal battle since August, when the maker of the popular game launched its own in-app payment system to circumvent what it called Apple’s monopolistic practices. Apple’s App Store requires developers to use Apple’s payment system and pay a 30% commission.

Apple blocked Epic’s ability to distribute updates or new apps through the App Store, and Epic sued Apple alleging that its App Store practices violate antitrust laws. The court allowed Apple to block Epic from distributing new titles as the case plays out, but the existing version of Fortnite still works, as does Epic’s payment system.

Apple had said it would allow Fortnite back into the store if Epic removed the direct payment feature to comply with its developer agreement. But Epic has refused, saying complying with Apple’s request would be “to collude with Apple to maintain their monopoly over in-app payments on iOS.”

Apple’s filing on Tuesday asks for monetary damages for Epic’s payment system, seeking “restitution and disgorgement of all earnings, profits, compensation, benefits, and other ill-gotten gains obtained by Epic as a result of its conduct.”

Apple did not specify how much money it was seeking over the payment feature. The company also asked for damages for harm to its reputation from frustrated Fortnite players and a public relations campaign Epic launched against Apple, which included a parody of Apple’s 1984 television commercial and a playable apple-headed character called Tart Tycoon that bears some resemblance to Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook.

Apple also sought a court order that would force Epic to disable its own payment system in Fortnite on Apple devices. — Reuters

Health tech pins hope on Africa’s pandemic shift to online care

LAGOS — When Loveth Metiboba’s baby had diarrhea, she worried that taking him to a clinic near her home in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, might expose them both to the coronavirus.

“The idea of going to the clinic was very scary,” said Ms. Metiboba, a researcher for a charity.

Instead, the clinic, run by Nigerian health technology firm eHealth Africa, sent her a web browser link to hold a video chat with a doctor who diagnosed her son with a mild illness and prescribed medicine to avoid dehydration.

Across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated changes in the way medicine is practiced as medical care increasingly begins with an online consultation rather than a face-to-face meeting.

But the opportunities in Africa, where access to medical care is often restricted, are transformational and offer growth prospects to companies that provide online consultations and online sales of medicine.

Mukul Majmudar, chief executive of CureCompanion, which developed the online platform Ms. Metiboba used, said the Texas-based company had seen a 12-fold increase in business in Africa this year from 2019.

That compares with a 10-fold rise in online medicine across all seven countries—Armenia, Honduras, India, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United States, as well as Nigeria— where it is present.

Helium Health, a Nigerian company that specialises in digitising medical records, brought forward to February the launch of its online consultation platform, which had been planned for later in the year, to meet demand resulting from the pandemic.

In May, it raised $10 million from investors, including Chinese technology giant Tencent.

Helium Health’s CEO Adegoke Olubusi said dozens of hospitals and clinics had subscribed to the service.

They include a private clinic in the Victoria Island business district of Lagos.

It is run by doctor Ngozi Onyia, who said she had signed up for a 150,000 naira ($394.22) monthly subscription with Helium Health and that most of the clinic’s patients had opted for online consultations, referred to as telemedicine, within weeks of Nigeria’s first cases of the novel coronavirus.

The online consultations cost 10,000 naira each—half the cost of an in-person examination.

“This kept us going—we held on to our patients and even gained new ones,” Ms. Onyia said.

PRIVATE FUNDING, GOVERNMENT USE
Even before the pandemic, public health experts and investors saw the potential for telemedicine to help Africa cater for the needs of rapidly expanding populations.

Funding from development agencies and venture capitalists alike has flowed into tech companies providing healthcare in Africa.

Data from San Francisco-based investment firm Partech showed venture capital investment in Africa’s health tech companies grew to $189 million in 2019 from around $20 million in both 2017 and 2018. Even in the turmoil of the pandemic, some $97 million was raised in the first half of 2020, Partech said.

Of last year’s total, $69 million was spread across 12 deals and $120 million went to Zipline, a Californian drone firm that launched in Rwanda in 2016.

It estimates that its drones, carrying medical equipment, can reach 95% of the mountainous East African country from two distribution centres.

In 2019 it expanded into Ghana, where the government enlisted it during lockdown in May to deliver coronavirus test samples, vaccines and protective clothing, such as gloves.

“It became very handy during this pandemic where we needed to send samples quickly to testing centres,” Nsiah-Asare, health adviser to Ghana’s president said.

The government is in talks with Zipline about expanding its operations in Ghana by creating three new distribution centers in addition to the four Zipline already operates there, Nsiah-Asare and the company’s country director Daniel Marfo told Reuters.

The government in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has also seen the potential for high tech help.

Authorities in the capital Abuja contracted the charitable arm of eHealth Africa to roll out a system that alerts patients who test negative for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 with an automated text message.

Those who test positive for the coronavirus require medical help and contact-tracing, but for negative tests, a message is enough.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, who heads the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), said automating the process would help authorities handle increased testing after the resumption of international flights from Sept. 5.

“Almost everything we’re doing right now, from logistics to managing the outbreak itself, is being migrated into different technological platforms,” Mr. Ihekweazu said.

ECONOMIC CRISIS
For all the potential for technology to help, it is likely to be constrained as the COVID-19 pandemic adds to Africa’s economic problems.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast a 3.2% contraction in sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product in 2020.

In addition, the pandemic has put around 20 million jobs at risk across the continent, the African Union has said, which will reduce people’s ability to spend on healthcare.

Already Africa spends less on healthcare than the rest of the world.

It makes up 16% of the world’s population and carries 23% of the global disease burden, but accounted for just 1% of total global health expenditure in 2015, according to the most recently available data provided by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.

In per capita terms, the rest of the world spends 10 times more, it said.

The widespread adoption of health technology may also be stymied by poor internet connectivity and patchy electricity.

Ms. Metiboba switches between two network providers to overcome connectivity problems.

It’s an approach that is too costly for many, but for Ms. Metiboba it means she has continued to use remote consultations since her son’s health scare and plans to continue to do so.

“It works for me,” she said. — Reuters

Indonesia adds Twitter, Zoom to tech companies that must pay 10% VAT

JAKARTA — Indonesia on Tuesday added 12 more companies, including social media firm Twitter and video-conferencing site Zoom, to a list of Internet-based businesses that must pay a 10% value-added tax on sales.

In July Indonesia had already announced that Alphabet Inc.’s Google Asia Pacific, Netflix, and Facebook among other tech companies would be liable to VAT.

Governments globally are seeking to ensure that internet-based tech giants are paying their fair share of taxes. Indonesia’s moves come amid a shift to more online business with increased remote working during the coronavirus and as the pandemic has hit government finances.

Among companies named on Tuesday were business networking site LinkedIn Singapore, two units of Twitter, Skype Communications, Zoom Video Communications, antivirus provider McAfee Ireland, and Microsoft Ireland Operations.

The Indonesian tax office also put game developer Mojang AB, streaming platforms Novi Digital Entertainment and PCCW Vuclip (Singapore) on the list, as well as digital marketplaces Jingdong Indonesia Pertama and Shopee International Indonesia.

The companies must start charging VAT to advertisers and other customers from Oct. 1.

The companies were not immediately available to comment.

Under rules introduced earlier this year, non-resident foreign firms that generate annual sales of at least 600 million rupiah ($40,650) for digital products and services in Indonesia from at least 12,000 users are required to pay the VAT.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country with a population of nearly 270 million, is experiencing a boom in its digital economy which is expected to reach $130 billion by 2025, a study by Google, Temasek Holdings and Bain & Company predicts. — Reuters

Nissan 2020: Dare The Impossible

Nissan Philippines, Inc. launches its newest brand campaign that encourages everyone to dare the impossible and move beyond. It also recently unveiled its new logo which pivots to the future while staying connected to its rich heritage and tradition of innovation.

Singapore’s poorest stay in lockdown while others move freely

With restaurants and malls bustling, pre-pandemic life is slowly returning for people in Singapore—except for the more than 300,000 migrant workers who make up much of the city’s low-wage workforce.

Since April, these workers have been confined to their residences with limited exceptions for work. After an extensive testing and quarantine campaign, the government cleared the dormitories where most of these workers live of COVID-19 in August, letting residents leave for several “essential errands,” like court appearances and doctor’s appointments.

The government said last month it was working toward relaxing more rules for workers. Those plans are now under threat, with new virus clusters emerging in the dorms, where workers from China, India, Indonesia and elsewhere share bunks and tight living spaces.

“Some days I feel very upset and can’t take it,” said Mohd Al Imran, a Bangladeshi worker with a local engineering firm. After months of confinement at the dorms, he got COVID-19 anyway. He was sent to a coronavirus care facility and said it was “very free” by comparison. “At the dorm you can’t go out from your room,” he said in a text message. “They treat it like a prison.”

Singapore has been saying it’s taking appropriate measures, considering that migrant workers have accounted for nearly 95% of the city’s coronavirus cases. But the resurgence, so soon after the dorms were declared COVID-free, is raising questions about whether Singapore’s conditions for its low-wage work force undermine the efforts to stamp it out.

“If you’ve got relatively socio-economically deprived people in crowded housing, you’ll get COVID-19 transmission at a higher rate,” said Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases physician and a professor at the Australian National University Medical School. It’s not inappropriate to treat higher-risk groups differently, he added, but “it’s unreasonable to put restrictions on people when there are things you can fix up.”

While experts say it’s reasonable to cordon off specific areas to quash an outbreak, they also say the conditions in the dorms are ripe for future transmission. The ventilation isn’t always good, and bathrooms are shared among a dozen or more. Government standards currently specify a minimum of 50 square-feet of personal space, roughly equivalent to a third of a parking spot— conditions that “will always pose a risk of outbreaks,” said Raina Macintyre, a professor of global biosecurity at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

Poor and disenfranchised populations around the world have borne the brunt of the global pandemic, highlighting wide social and economic inequalities that existed long before COVID-19. In the best of times, Singapore’s migrant workers live with more restrictions than citizens and white-collar expats; with clusters rising again in the dorms, the prolonged lockdown-like conditions have brought new psychological stressors, along with renewed debate about the city-state’s deep reliance on this part of the workforce.

In local media and on Facebook, reports of self-harm and suicide attempts among migrant workers have circulated. When asked, Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower said these tend to be isolated incidents that reflect existing, underlying mental illness or trouble back home. Either way, social service groups say they’re swamped with calls for help from workers.

The situation “has definitely deteriorated in the last two months,” said Alex Au, vice-president of the local migrant aid group, Transient Workers Count Too. “The tone of the conversations have changed a lot. There’s a lot of ‘I don’t care if you don’t even get me my salary, just get me out of here. I want to go home.’”

With overtime, a migrant worker could earn S$600 ($438) to S$1,000 a month, far less than the monthly cost of a typical three-room apartment. The dorms still eat up a chunk: For around S$350, a worker can get a bunk bed in a room shared with 12 to 16 others.

The amenities vary. There are typically some kind of health services, like a clinic or a sick bay, as well as recreation spaces, mini-marts and indoor and outdoor seating areas.

As of June, the government had moved more than 32,000 workers into temporary accommodations in response to the crisis. Longer term, it plans to build 11 new dorms which will limit occupancy to 10 single beds per room; toilet, bathroom and sink facilities will be shared by every five residents, down from 15 currently.

Close quarters are ideal for the spread of a highly contagious virus like COVID-19. After officials instituted broad, city-wide restrictions in April, cases exploded in the dorms, eventually peaking at more than 1,000 a day. By May, with lockdown measures still in place, Singapore had one of the biggest outbreaks in the region.

The country responded with an aggressive testing strategy and, as case counts began to fall, began the process of reopening in mid-June. Dorm residents, though remain on virtual lockdown, with exceptions for those who had jobs to go to—some, but not all, of the city’s construction projects were allowed to start up again.

The dorm exits are monitored, and before workers can go to work or run one of the sanctioned errands, their employer must notify the government’s Ministry of Manpower. This is a trade-off many residents are willing to make. Many are owed wages, and the health costs may be worse back home. Out of more than 57,000 reported cases in Singapore, only 27 patients have died.

Ah Hlaing, a Burmese worker at an elder-care center, has been riding out her quarantine in a Holiday Inn since May. “I do morning exercise, eat breakfast, watch the news, movies,” she said. “I’m on Facebook, eat lunch, have a bath, dinner, pray and sleep.”

Fewer people, though, have jobs to go to these days, cutting off the biggest allowable reason to leave the dorms. On an annualized basis, Singapore’s GDP dropped nearly 43% in the second quarter compared with the previous three months. Many construction projects are also on hold until employers can meet safe distancing and testing criteria.

So they’re largely confined to their compounds. “I don’t know until when I will be quarantined, and I don’t have any income,” said Bob Bu, a 33-year-old Chinese national who worked as a restaurant manager until he lost his job in a salary dispute with his employer. “I was under great mental pressure and couldn’t sleep for a while, because of the uncomfortable environment of the dormitory.”

At construction company Kori Holdings, Ltd., 10 of the 200 migrant employees have told Chief Executive Officer Hooi Yu Koh that they’d like to go home.

“I could understand the concern of the workers in isolation, with family members worrying about their safety, being confined to the dormitories,” he said. “They just want to return home to their family as well as to ensure that the family knows they are safe.”

As outbreaks ebb and flow, the government has warned that the city-state won’t return to pre-COVID norms any time soon. Instead the leaders are describing a “new normal,” where crowds and large gatherings are restricted until there’s a vaccine and social distancing is enforced.

For Singapore’s migrant workers, that’s ushered in a series of safe living measures, including the mandatory use of a government contact-tracing app. Employers also have to ensure that dorm workers as well as those in sectors like construction go for routine testing every 14 days. In at least one dorm, residents have been allowed one 30-minute visit to the on-site amenities a day, otherwise they’re expected to be in their room or at work.

“This is not the ideal situation,” said Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases physician at Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital. “But let’s look at the facts. There’s little to no transmission in the [broader] community. If you need the economy to move, would you release the community people or the dormitory workers? The safety of others overrides the interest of an individual.” — Bloomberg

Globe Platinum customers raise homeschool kits for children in Baseco

Last September 4-6, Globe Platinum customers attended the first Electric Weekend, an exclusive three-day event featuring free fitness workouts led by instructors from Electric Studio. Classes over the weekend raised 373 World Vision school kits for the children in Baseco Compound, Manila so they can continue their education at home.

Knowing that home workouts have become a way of life for people looking to stay fit and healthy, Globe Platinum offered its customers the chance to join the Electric Weekend. They were invited over to SHOOR (www.shoor.com.ph) where they can choose from up to three classes facilitated by instructors from the country’s first indoor cycling gym and premium fitness boutique, Electric Studio.

To kick off the event, participants brought out their jabs at Electric Rhythm Boxing, a high intensity, music-driven shadow boxing workout. A forty five-minute Pure Electric indoor cycling class kept the momentum the next day with full body movements, music, and free weights. On Sunday, a sixty-minute Electric Strength Training toned the core and upper bodies of the participants and capped the weekend activities.

All those who attended the Electric Weekend received a Globe Platinum bag containing workout tools they could use in any of the classes. Those living in Metro Manila who did not have their own indoor bike were also able to join the Pure Electric class on Saturday by borrowing an indoor bike for free and having it delivered to their home.

By joining the event, not only were Globe Platinum customers able to indulge in an exhilarating workout session, they also helped children from Baseco Compound in Manila continue their education at home. For every class they joined or class challenge they completed, Globe Platinum matched it with a school kit donation to World Vision, the global organization working with the most vulnerable families to ease the challenges of distance learning during the pandemic. When they registered to a class, participants were able to share words of encouragement to the beneficiaries, who will receive an entire backpack complete with school supplies and homeschool learning modules approved by the Philippine Department of Education. After this first ever Electric Weekend, children from Baseco have a better chance to reach their potential and become a future hero of our nation.

For Globe Platinum, Electric Weekend is just the beginning. It is part of the #ForFutureHeroes campaign that gives more purpose to the perks customers will enjoy while they stay safe at home. To learn more about how Globe Platinum lives its promise to empower customers to move themselves and others forward, visit glbe.co/forfutureheroes.

Singapore airport chairman faces backlash over maid theft case

The chairman of Singapore’s award-winning Changi Airport, Liew Mun Leong, is facing growing criticism on social media after a court overturned a conviction against a domestic worker who had been charged with stealing from his household.

Singapore’s High Court last week acquitted Parti Liyani, an Indonesian maid, with Justice Chan Seng Onn saying that the Liew family had an “improper motive” for accusing the helper of stealing S$34,000 ($24,810) worth of items such as watches and clothes. The court also found the testimony of Karl Liew, Liew Mun Leong’s son, questionable, according to ChannelNews Asia.

The judge noted there was reason to believe that the affluent family filed a police report against their former maid to prevent her from lodging a complaint to the Ministry of Manpower about her work arrangements, that included being illegally deployed to clean Mr. Liew’s son’s home and office in addition to Mr. Liew’s house.

When contacted, Mr. Liew said that as the High Court has made its judgment of the case, he should respect it and will not make any further comments.

The scandal has sparked a fierce backlash in the city-state, including angry comments on the airport’s Facebook page calling for him to step down. It has also raised questions about how the system treated one of the city-state’s most prominent businessmen compared to a low-paid migrant worker who worked for them.

NOT A ‘WITCH HUNT’

Besides being chairman of Changi Airport Group, Mr. Liew is also chairman of urban consultancy Surbana Jurong Pte. and was the founding chief executive officer of real estate giant Capitaland Ltd. He was also on the board of Singapore Exchange Ltd. and is a senior international business adviser of state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte., among many senior leadership positions.

“Something has gone wrong in some part of the chain of events,” Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said in a post on his Facebook page. “We have to review, deal with it. At this point, we shouldn’t prejudge or speculate on which of part the process could have gone wrong. This is why reviews are being conducted.”

Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers is reviewing the case and the judge’s comments to see if any further action should be taken. The Ministry of Manpower and police are also reviewing how the case was handled.

Mr. Shanmugam said the process must be fair, but not a “witch hunt,” adding the agencies will review what happened, why it happened, and “we will then need to be accountable, on what steps we will take,” so as to continue to maintain trust in the system.

Temasek’s investment arm CEO Dilhan Pillay said Tuesday during the firm’s annual review that Liew is among many who have contributed to Singapore over the years.

“There are many individuals who have contributed to both public service and to the private sector in Singapore, for the benefit of Singapore and our population as a whole. Liew Mun Leong is one of those persons,” Mr. Pillay said, responding to a question about the incident.

“The court case has just had one phase of it done, there are ongoing proceedings and I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment on that. What I can say is that we should hear from Mr. Liew on his side of the issue, and not come quick to judgment until we’ve heard all sides of things.” — Bloomberg

Agribusiness tagged as one of four sunrise industries by economist

By Mariel Alison L. Aguinaldo

“I cannot, in any way, speak with certainty about the next twelve to eighteen months. In fact, I’m amused at how economists, no matter how sophisticated their tools are, are literally guessing about what’s going to happen,” said Bernardo M. Villegas, economist and professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific, during the recent Asia CEO Forum.

That being said, he predicts that four sunrise industries will remain strong, if not experience a boost, during the pandemic: agribusiness, digital technology, health-and-wellness, and skills development.

Food and agribusiness have been performing steadily, with the International Labor Organization reporting that food supply has been adequate since the beginning of the pandemic. In the Philippines, Century Pacific Food, Inc. reported an increase in net revenue during this time.

The Department of Agriculture expects the industry to be an integral part of the Philippines’ socioeconomic response to recovery efforts. Recently, the agency announced that it will explore the use of data-driven methods to help improve farm productivity. This includes the use of drones and a dynamic cropping calendar that provides real-time access to production and risk damage assessment data.

“This pandemic has finally impressed on the minds of everyone that food security is a must, and that we have to do something about the whole value chain of agribusiness,” said Mr. Villegas.

Demands from the digital technology industry will also increase as remote work and social distancing become the new norms. “Zoom has become one the most precious assets right now in the stock market,” said Mr. Villegas.

Other “sunrise” industries include health-and-wellness, and skills development. The latter includes both degree-granting institutions and informal education platforms. “People now see how important it is to make learning a lifelong process. Technology is changing so fast, you become obsolete the moment you graduate from any course,” said Mr. Villegas.

Infrastructure projects under the government’s Build Build Build Program (BBB Program) will also contribute to economic recovery. Dr. Villegas identified projects outside of Metro Manila as particularly helpful since they distribute economic opportunities. 

These projects are also more attractive to investors since they are in less congested areas. Meanwhile, those located in export processing zones will also benefit from relaxed trade policies. 

The lockdown initially slowed down the BBB Program, although flagship infrastructure projects like the Harbor Link were granted exemptions in May. Other projects, such as Clark International Airport, resumed in July.

If the government wishes to attract more investors, Mr. Villegas believes that it must ease foreign investment regulations. “I don’t have any illusion that we’ll be able to change the constitution in the remaining years of Duterte, but I’m optimistic that in the next administration… there will be enough demand for changes that we may be able to change those restrictions,” he said.

The constitution does not allow for more than 40% foreign ownership of any public utility, corporation, or association in the country. However, the House of Representatives approved a bill in March allowing for 100% foreign ownership in the power, transport, and communication sectors. Those in favor said that this would encourage foreign investment in the country.

AstraZeneca puts leading COVID-19 vaccine trial on hold over safety concern

AstraZeneca Plc on Tuesday said it has paused a late-stage trial of one of the leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates after an unexplained illness in a study participant.

“Our standard review process was triggered and we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee,” company spokeswoman Michele Meixell said in an e-mailed statement.

The study is testing a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and University of Oxford researchers at various sites, including the United Kingdom, where the illness was reported.

The nature of the case and when it happened were not detailed, although the participant is expected to recover, according to Stat News, which first reported the trial was halted due to a “suspected serious adverse reaction.” The US Food and Drug Administration defines that as an adverse event in which evidence suggests a possible relationship to the drug being tested.

The suspension of the trial has impacted other AstraZeneca vaccine trials—as well as clinical trials being conducted by other vaccine makers, which are looking for signs of similar reactions, Stat said.

The US National Institutes of Health, which is providing funding for AstraZeneca’s trial, declined to comment.

AstraZeneca’s statement said that “in large trials, illnesses will happen by chance but must be independently reviewed to check this carefully.”

Shares of AstraZeneca fell more than 8% in after-hours US trading, while shares of rival vaccine developers rose. Moderna Inc. was up more than 4% and Pfizer Inc. rose less than 1%.

Moderna, in an e-mailed statement, said it was “not aware of any impact” to its ongoing COVID-19 vaccine study at this time.

Nine leading US and European vaccine developers pledged on Tuesday to uphold scientific safety and efficacy standards for their experimental vaccines despite the urgency to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

The companies, including AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Pfizer issued what they called a “historic pledge” after a rise in concern that safety standards might slip in the face of political pressure to rush out a vaccine.

The companies said they would “uphold the integrity of the scientific process as they work towards potential global regulatory filings and approvals of the first COVID-19 vaccines.”

The other signatories were Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co, GlaxoSmithKline, Novavax Inc, Sanofi and BioNTech. — Reuters

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