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Judges, court personnel who contracted COVID-19 to get financial aid

THE Supreme Court (SC) will provide financial assistance worth P15,000 to P50,000 to judges and court personnel who contracted the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“Considering that there are judges and court personnel of the first and second level courts who contracted COVID-19 while in the performance of their functions, there is a need to help them defray the hospitalization expenses incurred in treating (their) COVID-19 infection,” the SC said in a circular on Tuesday.

Those with mild to moderate and severe to critical illness will receive financial aid worth P15,000 and P30,000, respectively.

The families of judges and court personnel who died due to COVID-19 will receive P50,000. Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez said as of April 25, they have recorded 20 deaths out of 1,113 cases, “but not all 1,113 cases required hospitalization.” — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

PAGCOR Q1 net profit plunges 80% as restrictions continue

BW FILE PHOTO

PHILIPPINE Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) said net profit in the first quarter declined 80% from a year earlier to P152.62 million after casinos and other gaming operations dealt with further disruptions resulting from the new wave of lockdowns.

Gross income from gaming operations fell 54% to P8.363 billion.

The government-owned and -controlled corporation, which is required by law to remit 50% of its profits to the National Government, remitted P3.96 billion to the Treasury. The dividend paid to the government was roughly half of the P8.2 billion it remitted a year earlier.

Excluding gaming taxes and its contributions to the National Government, net gaming revenue was P4.535 billion, down 48.9% from a year earlier.

Expenses fell 13.75% year on year to P4.383 billion in the three months to March.

PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Andrea D. Domingo, at a forum Tuesday, attributed the performance to the continuing restrictions, with casinos and other gaming establishments forced to limit their operations or shut down entirely.

Ms. Domingo projected that profits from gaming operations could plummet to P16-17 billion this year from a high of P80 billion in 2019 and P30 billion in 2020, if the coronavirus case count remains high and restrictions persist.

“We’re trying to keep afloat. I think if GCQ (general community quarantine) is declared in the next two weeks in Manila, we might be able to recoup some of our losses,” she said.

The 26 PAGCOR-owned casinos, along with 830 e-bingo and e-games establishments in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, stopped operating completely when the enhanced community quarantine was enforced in those parts of the country, she said.

The earnings decline is expected to reduce PAGCOR’s capacity to contribute to the Universal Health Care program and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. She said PAGCOR expects funds available for health to drop to P5 billion this year from P8 billion in 2020 and P18 billion in 2019.

Meanwhile, Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) were also severely disrupted by lockdowns, forcing 33 out of 63 licensees and more than 200 service providers to shut down.

She estimated that the sector could generate less than half of the P8-9 billion average annual gaming revenue from POGOs this year.

“We have to really open up a little bit, we have to operate at least at 50% capacity so that we don’t lose the market altogether and we save the manpower that we have and we’d still be able to contribute significantly to the national Treasury and to the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) for the franchise taxes,” Ms. Domingo said. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Livestock and poultry traceability due for upgrade

PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) said it hopes to upgrade its ability to track traded livestock and poultry via an accreditation system at local government units (LGUs) and national levels.

Traceability is expected to help ensure compliance with government policy and curb price manipulation in the hog and poultry sectors, the DA said.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in a statement that greater traceability will be pursued through a more “robust and interconnected” registration and accreditation process with LGUs and national agencies such as the DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS).

BAI Director Reildrin G. Morales said the BAI is in charge of licensing livestock traders. It is considering allowing LGUs to issue these licenses, he said.

“The NMIS, on the other hand, accredits and registers meat transport vehicles. They are also looking at how this can be strengthened and expanded to further impact the supply chain,” Mr. Morales added.

Mr. Dar said incomplete records on traders are a “perennial problem” in the livestock industry, making regulation more difficult.

“We recognize the need to identify the legitimate traders in order to establish a feasible traceability system and pinpoint exactly at a certain level of the supply chain where the manipulation occurred,” he added.

The trader registration initiative is expected to complement the ongoing registration process for swine and poultry growers under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture.

Mr. Dar has accepted proposals made by the Philippine Competition Commission during joint hearings at the House of Representatives. The competition regulator had “cited the need for a trader database and identification of participants at each level of the supply chain.”

“For now, the DA-led economic intelligence unit is applying pressure at both ends of the supply chain, from farmgate to retail, to monitor and curb possible price manipulation. Violators will be asked to justify the act of buying at significantly higher than the prevailing farmgate price,” the DA said.

The department added that its Bantay Presyo Task Force has been issuing violation notices against retailers caught exceeding the price ceiling and suggested retail price for imported pork.

“Clamping down from both ends of the supply chain will help the DA narrow down and pinpoint the unscrupulous suppliers, traders or retailers of pork products,” Mr. Dar said. — Angelica Y. Yang

Downstream oil sector SEC application requirements eased

THE DEPARTMENT of Energy (DoE) said potential entrants to the downstream oil sector are no longer required to obtain an endorsement from the agency, which is currently pushing to simplify its permit processes.

Previously, interested firms were required to seek a DoE endorsement to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“The DoE endorsement is no longer required for entities intending to put up a corporation engaging in the downstream oil sector, or amending their articles of incorporation,” the department said in an advisory Tuesday on its website.

“Only endorsements coming from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Insurance Commission and other financial institutions are being required.”

The DoE said the simplified requirements help it comply with Republic Act (RA) No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.

RA 11032 aims to streamline the public’s dealings with government agencies. It amends the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.

“The strengthened version of the law is poised to facilitate prompt action or resolution on all government transactions with efficiency. It applies to all government offices and agencies in the Executive Department including local government units, government-owned or -controlled corporations, and other government instrumentalities, located in the Philippines or abroad,” the Anti-Red Tape Authority, the law’s implementing agency, said on its website.

The DoE advisory was signed by Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Rino E. Abad. — Angelica Y. Yang

Western Visayas tops regions in 2020 agri growth

PHILSTAR

AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT growth in the Western Visayas in 2020 was 4.7%, the highest of the 16 regions monitored by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), driven by the crops and poultry sectors.

In its regional agricultural production accounts report posted on its website, the PSA said Western Visayas crop production grew 10.2%, while the region logged a 0.4% increase in poultry production in 2020.

“The growth of crops is very strong across the board for Western Visayas. Livestock, poultry and fisheries didn’t grow much. But because of the strong growth of crops, (agricultural production in the region) was able to grow by 4%,” Roehlano M. Briones, a senior research fellow who specializes in agricultural policy at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, told BusinessWorld by phone Wednesday.

Among the crops seeing an increase in production last year were sugarcane, Mr. Briones noted. The value of sugarcane production in the Western Visayas rose 20% in 2020 to P27.64 billion.

Mr. Briones said sugarcane production continues the momentum of last year’s strong harvest.

“It’s good to see that perhaps the sugarcane industry is turning around at least in that region,” he said.

The Caraga region’s agricultural output grew 3.6%, also on improving crops and poultry production, while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao logged a rise of 2.2% led by crops, poultry and fisheries.

The PSA said Calabarzon experienced the biggest reduction in agricultural production of 8%, driven by falls in the crops and livestock sectors.

Mr. Briones said Calabarzon’s palay farmgate price, which the PSA said averaged P15.27 per kilogram in 2020, was “on a long-term downward trend compared to what it was before the rice tariffication law.”

The agricultural growth percentages are based on the value of production at constant 2018 prices. — Angelica Y. Yang

Agriculture biosafety bill filed in House

REUTERS

A BILL has been filed at the House of Representatives proposing to create a new biosafety center to protect the agriculture industry from disease.

In a statement Wednesday, Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda said his House Bill 9265 or the proposed Animal Biosafety Act seeks to establish a National Biosafety Facility and expand the mandate of the Bureau of Animal Industry to include research on cures and prevention of diseases with the potential to affect agriculture.

“While the Department of Agriculture is doing its best to fight African Swine Fever (ASF), we are dependent on the research of other countries… We are able to do so because this is an international problem, but the moment we get problems that only we suffer from, we are on our own. We need our own biosafety investments to protect our own agriculture sector,” he said.

The measure will also require the DA to provide equipment to animal industry facilities to increase their biosafety capability.

Mr. Salceda said the bill is needed as the country stands poised to expand meat imports after the lowering of tariffs for pork imports and increasing the minimum access volume quota for such commodities.

“There has to be a compensating action (to expanded imports). Imports are a risk factor in biosafety. We have to compensate domestic producers for the risk. So, let’s use tariff revenues to invest in making domestic farms safer,” he said.

Under the bill, at least 10% of taxes collected from meat imports will also fund efforts to improve agricultural biosafety within the first year of the proposed law’s coming into force. — Gillian M. Cortez

BSP caps interest rate and finance charges on credit card receivables

In the past year following the declaration of a state of calamity due to COVID-19, the Philippines has redefined its tax and regulatory landscape. In exercising its supervisory authority over banks and credit card issuers under the Philippine Credit Card Industry Regulation Law, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), in particular, issued Memorandum Circular No. 1098, which lays down the maximum interest and finance charges that banks and other non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) can impose on credit card receivables.

It might surprise one to know that prior to the issuance of the Memorandum Circular, the BSP followed a market-oriented interest rate policy so there was no ceiling on the interest and finance charges that banks and NBFIs can impose on credit card receivables. This is probably the reason why based on the BSP’s assessment, the credit card interest and finance charges in the Philippines are relatively high compared to other countries in the ASEAN region. In fact, during the pandemic, several banks have been observed to further increase their interest and finance charges to as high as 32.8% per annum as of June 30, 2020. Hence, in the spirit of promoting responsible lending and considering prevailing economic conditions, the BSP decided to set a ceiling on the cost of lending through credit card transactions to ease the financial burden on consumers, particularly micro-, small-, and medium-sized business enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the Memorandum Circular, the BSP has set a ceiling rate of 24% per annum on the interest or finance charge that can be imposed on all credit card transactions, except credit card installment loans, starting Nov. 3, 2020.

Meanwhile, credit card installment loans (pertaining to those payable under an installment arrangement) shall be subject to a maximum monthly add-on rate of 1%.  This monthly add-on rate is different from the monthly interest rate or finance charge imposed on a cardholder’s unpaid credit card balance, and is used in computing the interest component of the monthly amortizations of the installment loan.

In an illustrative example, the BSP clarified that the 1% ceiling applies to installment loans availed of on or after Nov. 3, 2020. Hence, if a cardholder has an outstanding installment loan as of Nov. 3, 2020 which was earlier availed of on Sept. 3, 2020, the credit card issuer is not required to adjust the monthly add-on rate to 1%, even if there are amortization payments to be made on or after Nov. 3, 2020.

However, if a cardholder is unable to pay the monthly amortization due on an installment loan, such unpaid amortization is to be included in the computation of the cardholder’s outstanding credit balance subject to the 2% interest per month (effectively the 24% per annum) ceiling. Nevertheless, even with the cap in place, the cardholder is still not precluded from requesting a repricing or restructuring of his credit card installment loan.

Meanwhile, for cardholders whose credit cards have a cash advance feature, which enables cash withdrawal through Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), the BSP has also capped the upfront processing fees of credit card cash advances to P200 for each transaction availed on or after Nov. 3, 2020. As mandated, no other upfront fees may be imposed or collected upon availing of credit card cash advances apart from the processing fee.

The interest rate ceiling and the ₱200 cap on the processing fees provided under the Memorandum Circular also apply to foreign transactions. Hence, credit card purchases made abroad, and cash advances withdrawn from ATMs abroad, are also subject to the same thresholds. The BSP also clarified that credit cardholders who availed of the 60-day grace period under the Bayanihan II (applicable to all existing, current, and outstanding loans as of Sept. 15, 2020) may also benefit from the interest ceiling.

Note that under normal circumstances, BSP rules require credit card issuers to notify the cardholder within 90 days prior to a change in any computation of the outstanding balance and fees to be imposed. In Board Resolution No. 1185, however, the BSP waived such notice requirement, since the imposition of a cap on interest and other finance charges is favorable to cardholders anyway.

The BSP has also committed to reviewing the prescribed ceilings on the credit card interest rates, finance charges, and processing fee, every six months.  In line with this commitment, the BSP announced in an official statement released in April that it will retain the prescribed ceilings to help ease the financial burden on consumers.

When used responsibly, credit cards can result in increased purchasing power that may be used on emergency expenses.  In a pandemic where many consumers are facing a liquidity crisis, the use of credit cards to tide them over is a sensible option to cushion negative income shocks. For its initiative in protecting the interests of consumers, I laud the BSP for advocating responsible lending practices. The cap in place is especially advantageous for our countrymen who may have no choice but to swap cash for credit during these challenging times.

The views or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Isla Lipana & Co. The content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for specific advice.

 

Elyse O. Lui is a senior consultant at the Tax Services Department of Isla Lipana & Co., the Philippine member firm of the PwC network.

elyse.o.lui@pwc.com

Total COVID-19 cases and vaccines administered regional breakdown

Total COVID-19 cases and vaccines administered regional breakdown

The Western European microfinance movement: An evolution of purpose

JCOMP/FREEPIK

(Part 2 of 4)

I continue sharing some findings of a research project I supervised for my student in Paris, wondering: What happened to Microfinance? It seemed to have become increasingly like a mini-traditional bank in the developing world and curiously started emerging in developed countries, which obviously have strong financial institutions and would not have needed such things. We asked ourselves the question why and how would Microfinance emerge in Western Europe? and conducted an exploratory, qualitative study in 2017 using 16 personal interviews of relevant persons from member organizations of the Microfinance European Network from seven countries. We found that while Microfinance in the developing world was conceptualized as a tool to fight against financial exclusion, in Europe, being excluded professionally is what first and foremost creates financial exclusion, which eventually creates social exclusion. We found that there were three characteristics of Microfinance in Europe which allowed it to re-integrate people into society: 1) a focus on entrepreneurial and inclusion loans; 2) entrepreneurship training; and, 3) for-profit status with non-profit funding. Today we continue this series, explaining our findings on the second characteristic.

We found something very specific: European microfinance institutions (MFIs) offer an array of entrepreneurship-related non-financial services to their beneficiaries. These services are usually free of charge for the beneficiaries and provide him or her with the necessary tools to turn the loan into a business success, and it was this that truly set MFIs apart from commercial banks. They acted as a sort of consulting firm and educational institute rather than a bank. In doing so, they created a relationship of trust between the MFI and the micro-entrepreneur unique in the industry which ultimately provided avenues for monitoring. Interestingly, although the broader objective was to help people out of poverty, the utilitarian objective was simple: “We want to be paid back.” This was the simple explanation of one of our interviewees when asked why they would spend so many resources on training.

One of the most interesting forms of training was that even before granting a loan, MFIs would help the entrepreneurs with their project idea, and give them the tools to write and think of a relevant business plan. Many partner NGOs help in this process, acting as an intermediary between the beneficiary and the bank. Some MFIs also offer mentoring services which range from providing them with a business network or an experienced micro-entrepreneur mentor who guides them in each step and follows-up on their progress. Economic viability was a keyword for them, and another facet was to make the Microentrepreneur feel “less alone” in the journey. But they did not limit themselves to the usual tools like accounting, finance, marketing and sales, and instead branched out into soft skills like communication and crisis management, which empowered the beneficiaries.

What is noteworthy here is that beginning with the social mission of helping the poorest of the poor in developing countries, Microfinance hit a wall in lacking financial sustainability unless they turned to market-driven models which compromised their mission. In opening their doors to as many people they could help with as many microloans they could offer, many MFIs in developing nations found it difficult to sustain the high costs of monitoring and funding became scarce. Because of the loopholes in the financial systems in which such institutions were embedded, it became easier to manipulate the system by disguising exorbitant interest rates and abusive lending practices as carrying a social mission. To maintain legitimacy, MFIs began becoming more and more stringent and naturally institutionalized to differentiate themselves from the players who had misused the social mission. And while the former are indeed creating avenues for financial inclusion, the initial Yunus model has been all but lost, and the rural banks, traditional retail banks, and fintechs have stepped in to commercialize and render more accessible the concept of borrowing with a lack of collateral as well as the concept of making savings grow (a form of investment) even for the economically marginalized.

In Europe, Microfinance was birthed from a different need; that of finding employment to be socially integrated and accepted. There was a focus on financial sustainability of the model from the get-go, with more stringent rules in lending, larger amounts, and personal qualifications required, but notably: the guidance of the MFIs. Not only were they extremely strict with the users and usage of funds but also assisted the grantees in being ready to take out a loan even before they applied, paving way for an approach that ultimately centered on Social Welfare. To wit: in creating standards, in being more selective, in adhering to quality over quantity — things that intuitively sound exclusive — they ended up creating and fostering inclusion. Does the market-driven model, the cream-of-the-crop, the only-those-who-deserve-it model — if applied correctly — then lead to better social gain? Or does this approach only work in an environment with strong regulation that strengthens institutions? n

Notes: This article is based on a co-authored working paper originating from the Master Thesis of Hélène Laherre under the supervision of the author at the IÉSEG School of Management (Catholic University of Lille) in Paris, France. References are available upon request.

 

Daniela “Danie” Luz Laurel is a business journalist and anchor-producer of BusinessWorld Live on One News, formerly Bloomberg TV Philippines. Prior to this, she was a permanent professor of Finance at IÉSEG School of Management in Paris and maintains teaching affiliations at IÉSEG and the Ateneo School of Government. She has also worked as an investment banker in The Netherlands. Ms. Laurel holds a Ph.D. in Management Engineering with concentrations in Finance and Accounting from the Politecnico di Milano in Italy and an MBA from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

Mining, time to do it right

BRGFX/FREEPIK

President Duterte issued Executive Order No. 130 on April 14 to lift the nine-year moratorium on new mining contracts. He opted not to wait for new legislation that was supposed to set the terms for taxes and royalties, among others, for the mining industry.

I reckon this to be a step in the right direction. The economy is in trouble, and in dire need of new investments.

In this line, and with the CREATE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises) law setting the direction for investor incentives, I presume that mining and related activities, including mineral processing, may yet be included in the list of economic activities entitled to incentives in the future. I just hope that the requirements for new mining contracts will be stringent, but not restrictive.

New mining projects are now being evaluated, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which has been tasked to draft new mineral agreements that would “maximize government revenues and share from production, including the possibility of declaring these areas as mineral reservations to obtain appropriate royalties.” The government may also renegotiate active mining agreements.

Among the conditions mentioned by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu was that only mineral reserves that would allow at least 10 years of commercial extraction for metallic minerals, and seven years for non-metallic, would be considered. In my opinion, the government should also ban the export of raw ore, and require local processing prior to sale of minerals abroad.

High electricity cost is said to discourage mineral processing, and perhaps incentives should be considered in this line. “Processing is the future of the industry … [but] one of the important considerations is creating an environment that will make it competitive,” Dante Bravo, president of the Philippine Nickel Industry Association and CEO of Ferronickel Holdings, Inc., was quoted as saying in a news report.

And as I have declared in previous columns, I am pro-environment, though I am not anti-mining. I cannot declare myself 100% anti-mining and yet continue to live on the products of the industry like cement, sand, iron and steel, glass, semiconductors, electronics, as well as coal, oil, and gas — all products of extraction, including mining. I support sustainable development and finding a balance between environmental and economic interests.

Mining, if the state permits it, should always be responsible, and should be less a business and more a livelihood. Key is balance, but with a leaning towards saving the environment and improving lives. In short, mining becomes just a consequence of the pursuit of economic and social upliftment. But, if the industry does more harm than good, then shut it down.

However, in determining who is responsible and who is not, there should be clarity in rules. Regulation should not be unilateral and arbitrary. And, more important, there should always be due process. In this regard, “standards” should not be parameters set only by the DENR and its leadership. Standards should have strong legal, moral, economic, social, environmental, and ethical bases, among others.

Since 2017, I have been pushing for IRMA or the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance. With the country again opening up to new mining investments, I believe that this should be considered. While it is private sector-led, IRMA is a multi-stakeholder, consultative initiative that advocates responsible mining worldwide. It favors a “multi-stakeholder and independently verifiable responsible mining assurance system that improves social and environmental performance.”

On its website, IRMA explains that it was founded in 2006 by a coalition of non-government organizations, businesses purchasing minerals and metals for resale in other products, affected communities, mining companies, and trade unions. Miners are part of the initiative, but with equal voice are the pro-environment groups.

This coalition developed “standards for environmental and social issues related to mining, including labor rights, human rights, indigenous peoples and cultural heritage, conflict response, pollution control and site closure.” The standards are practically universal, encompassing all facets of mining and its impact on society, and the initiative involves groups from all over the globe.

To date, IRMA offers third-party certification of industrial-scale mine sites for “all mined materials that is governed equitably by the private sector, local communities, civil society, and workers.” In a way, it goes a step above ISO certifications. And, with IRMA, “it is the mine site, not the company, that gets certified,” using a “step-by-step approach, not a pass/fail certification system,” using global “best practices” as standard.

Another effort that requires greater local support is EITI or the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. EITI is another global standard, but this time to promote the open and accountable management of natural resources. On its website, EITA claims to address the key governance issues of the oil, gas, and mining sectors.

“The EITI Standard covers themes or key issues from the extraction of the resource from the ground to how it affects the citizens of the country. This includes how licenses and contracts are allocated and registered, who are the beneficial owners of those operations, what are the fiscal and legal arrangements, how much is produced, how much is paid, where are those revenues allocated, and what is the contribution to the economy, including employment,” the EITI website notes.

By taking part in EITI, the private sector, particularly extractive industries like oil and gas as well as mineral mining, become more transparent in their dealing with government. At the same time, they can be held more accountable for their actions and what they pay — or not pay — to the government. At the same time, the government becomes more accountable as to how it spends what it earns from extractive industries like mineral mining.

The Philippines is very much involved in EITI now, but IRMA support appears limited. As I had noted way back in 2017, if local miners are certified by IRMA as compliant with the most recent and best global, multi-stakeholder standards, then what more will the government want? IRMA can be the end-all and be-all of mining standards. DENR, aside from ensuring that miners meet all local regulatory requirements, will monitor miners strictly for compliance, as well as ensure that miners’ IRMA certifications are updated.

Using IRMA standards and third-party certification can help minimize arbitrariness and the unilateral exercise of discretion in the DENR regulatory processes, and promote greater accountability on the part of regulators and the mining industry. It can also mitigate corruption in the regulation, audit, and monitoring processes, and can help ensure that only those fit to explore and operate mines are allowed to do so.

 

Marvin Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council

matort@yahoo.com

Medical oxygen is key to COVID fight. It used to be feared.

JCOMP/FREEPIK

THE DESPERATE SCENES playing out in India may foreshadow a dangerous new phase of the pandemic where people die in droves, not of the disease so much as a lack of proper medical care. The situation could get a lot worse thanks to a sudden shortage of medical oxygen in the country.

Oxygen is one of most straightforward and proactive ways of treating the disease, which causes hypoxia. When patients begin gasping for air, a steady supply of concentrated oxygen does wonders.

It may seem like an obvious treatment in hindsight, yet it took nearly two centuries to overcome strange theories, outright quackery, and trench warfare in the medical community and beyond.

Oxygen’s history in medicine begins in the 1770s, when the Swedish pharmacist Karl Scheele and the British scientist Joseph Priestly independently isolated oxygen gas. Priestly unfairly received the lion’s share of the credit.

To make matters worse, Priestly was a believer in phlogiston, an invisible substance allegedly released during combustion. What we call “oxygen,” he called “dephlogisticated air.” When he breathed it, his chest felt “peculiarly light and easy for some time afterward.” Priestley subsequently bragged in a scientific tract that “only two mice and myself have had the privilege of breathing” the miracle gas.

Since the new substance seemed to make candles burn brighter, Priestley speculated that it might be “peculiarly salutary to the lungs in certain morbid cases, when the common air would not be sufficient to carry off the putrid effluvium.” Yet he remained wedded to his phlogiston theory, warning that breathing pure oxygen might also carry dangers — that it might be the equivalent of burning the candle at both ends.

Eager to test the effects of the new substance on patients, Priestley and other engineers and scientists, including James Watt, founded the Pneumatic Institution in Birmingham. Though they made no promises of a cure, they offered to treat a range of maladies — including “obstinate venereal complaints” — with dephlogisticated air.

They weren’t very successful, but there was an upside. As one medical historian has noted, this unlikely crew managed to invent most of the oxygen-delivery apparatus still in use today, from mouthpieces to corrugated, non-crushable breathing tubes to methods for mass-producing the gas.

The Pneumatic Institution went defunct, but oxygen lived on as a quack remedy. Most of these treatments didn’t actually use concentrated oxygen, dispensing nothing more than mixtures of gases not so different from ordinary air, typically a few gulps’ worth and nothing more.

But that didn’t stop purveyors of these panaceas from making ludicrous claims for their products. Makers of the so-called “Oxygen Treatment,” a typical remedy from 1884, sent patients one bottle of “Oxygen” and one bottle of “Oxygen Tonic.” This was supposed to treat everything from dyspepsia to arthritis for two full months.

By the late 19th century, oxygen therapy was synonymous with quackery. In 1890, though, a physician named Dr. Alfred Blodgett had a patient with pneumonia whom he deemed “irrevocably doomed.” In the hopes of merely easing her final moments, he hooked her up to an oxygen canister, turned on the gas — and left it running.

This may have been the first continuous application of oxygen to a patient in history. To Blodgett’s astonishment, the woman stabilized, her breathing becoming regular. He published his results, arguing that oxygen could save lives. “Many cases will be found in which the period of greatest danger may be safely tided over which would otherwise unquestionably be lost,” he wrote.

And yet this was just the very beginning of oxygen’s resurrection. After Blodgett’s article, other researchers tried administering oxygen, but not via the lungs. They pumped it under the skin, up the urethra and into the stomach. Most bizarre of all was the idea of an oxygen enema, which came courtesy of corn-flake promoter Dr. J. H. Kellogg, who also gained fame for popularizing medical treatments of questionable value.

It took a Scottish doctor named John Scott Haldane to cut through this nonsense and do the research necessary to show that breathing oxygen would be best — and that it had to be continuous and at high enough concentrations to have the desired effect. In 1917, he published his landmark paper, “The Therapeutic Administration of Oxygen.”

His timing was perfect. In World War I, both sides used poison gas. Haldane developed equipment that dispensed oxygen to soldiers hit in a gas attack. After much trial and error, the British managed to develop mobile equipment that could be used to treat survivors, giving them steady supplies of oxygen for extended periods of time.

All of this should have opened the medical profession’s eyes to the value of administering continuous oxygen. But it would take another 50 years to win over many doctors, who insisted on administering oxygen in intervals in order to avoid harming patients.

Haldane criticized intermittent oxygen therapy, comparing it to “bringing a drowning man to the surface of the water — occasionally.” But it would take until 1962 before medical researchers conclusively backed him up. Intermittent oxygen therapy, they found, actually hurt patients more than if they had never been given oxygen at all.

Over time, a growing number of doctors embraced the idea of continuous oxygen therapy. In the US, Dr. Thomas Petty took the lead in using it to treat patients with advanced pulmonary diseases. In 1970, a study of patients with advanced pulmonary disease showed that while 28% of patients treated with continuous oxygen died, 62% of untreated patients did. This finally settled the question, paving the way for more research on oxygen’s many benefits over the past 50 years.

The breakthrough seems to have a big impact on victims of COVID-19. Preliminary research of how different nations administered oxygen in the early months of the pandemic suggests that supplemental oxygen makes the difference between life and death for many patients. Other studies have shown that oxygen can keep patients off ventilators and save lives, particularly if the oxygen is administered early.

This simplest of treatments has been around for ages. It can be deployed in a range of settings, from the trenches of war to the parking lot of a hospital. Luckily, the US is “working around the clock” to gather oxygen supplies for India, and the UK is sending nearly 500 devices to administer it. It’s a good start, though far more may be needed.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

In and out of public view

KING RODRIGUEZ/PCOO.GOV.PH
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Roa Duterte walks past old photos of past presidents as he arrives for the meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases on April 15. — KING RODRIGUEZ/PCOO.GOV.PH

WITH the new normal of working from home, bad work habits like disappearing acts or long lunches are impossible to track. After all, there’s hardly anyone physically at the office. So, who’s to call anyone out for unexplained absences? (Out with a client? Yeah, right.)

So, why is the leader’s occasional, or getting pretty regular, vanishing act inviting all sorts of speculations, mostly to do with secret medical ministrations, often in a foreign country? Maybe, he’s just working from home in his boxer shorts and not in any mood to dress up for a TV appearance.

True, political leaders are different from corporate executives. The former performs more ceremonial functions like inaugurating a new skyway or announcing the latest lockdown status (just stay in your room and don’t venture out to the dining area).

So, why does every week-long absence from public view trigger off speculations on the status of health when everyone prays for either his recovery or continued absence? There are other possibilities for not attending televised meetings and giving state-of-the-immunization reports.

Here are some other possibilities.

He understands that a high-pressure job requires some time for meditation. (Yes, at least a week.) Maybe he goes for stillness and reads Marcus Aurelius, who was, after all, the head of the Roman Empire at its peak. He can learn a few lessons — “Death smiles at us all, but all a man can do is smile back.” (Yes, he really said that — Marcus with a “u”.)

What about learning a new language? Something Asian, but not Bahasa. How do you say: “this way to the palace, Sir?” All those complicated tones that can change the meaning of the words can be tricky. Instead of ushering guests in, one may end up asking the intruders to brush their teeth after taking off their face masks.

Maybe speech therapy sessions in his native tongue take up time. He may need to continue practicing how best to handle impertinent questions about his whereabouts. The urge to let loose invectives needs to be restrained. The therapy requires pausing to take a drink of water and slowly swallowing this before answering — I was just feeling tired.

One excuse (or explanation) for sudden disappearances hasn’t been tried? What if he is running a brainstorming session on a three-year economic recovery plan? Sure, this goes beyond his term. Is that too fanciful as an explanation? Well. At least it will be unexpected.

Why are all sorts of speculations triggered by a long absence? Hasn’t physical presence been replaced by virtual participation, sometimes with the video off? Disappearing from public view is not unusual in these times of face masks, social distancing, and working from home. Being greeted with a remark like “haven’t seen you in a while” is not strange at all. The rejoinder is readily accepted — I’ve been staying home.

Still, the visibility of a leader, especially in times of crisis, is more than symbolic. It communicates taking charge, having a plan, and sticking to some time-based targets. It’s not the time for withdrawing from the limelight and staring at one’s navel.

The critical need for visible leadership is the subject of Kurosawa’s classic 1980 film, Kagemusha (Shadow Warrior). A petty thief is trained to be the stand-in of a fallen warlord to buy time to consolidate the feuding factions. The impersonator is trotted out to rally the troops. Even when challenged to comment on plans in a meeting with the generals, the usually silent impostor offers a vague comment — the mountain does not move.

In real life this idea of a double for a disappearing leader is almost impossible to pull off with close-up shots and a sometimes prickly media. Skin tones alone are hard to replicate. Maybe, a double can perform security functions as a decoy for the real leader who is in some other location, levitating some parts of his body. This is only possible with distant views. The double can wave to a small crowd — was that him? Who can tell with a face mask?

Just being present at enough meetings requires some passion for the job. Anyway, if one is known to skip formal dinners in international fora, what’s the big deal with somebody else making Q-status announcements?

Unexplained absences have become too commonplace. Maybe we’re getting too used to it by now.

 

Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

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