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Nationwide round-up (11/24/20)

Senator pushes for probe into PITC’s P33-B ‘parked’ funds

A SENATOR on Tuesday pushed for an inquiry into the operation of the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) amid allegations of some P33.4 billion in “parked” funds. “It appears like government agencies are using PITC to skirt the end-of-the-year validity of appropriations,” Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said in his privilege speech during Tuesday’s session. “PITC is being used as a pawn. PITC effectively provides a mechanism to hide inefficiencies in government.” Mr. Drilon said government agencies deposit unobligated and undisbursed funds in PITC, instead of reverting the money to the National Treasury. He also cited the Commission on Audit reports indicating that PITC received millions worth of service fees from 2016 to 2019. “We should likewise ask: what percentage of this service fee is being remitted to the national coffers?” he said. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III had announced that some P20 billion worth of loan will be extended by the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines to the PITC for the procurement of vaccines. Mr. Drilon said the government should reconsider borrowing for the procurement of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and instead compel the PITC to return the P33.4 billion. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

VP Robredo asks Supreme Court to dismiss Marcos electoral protest

VICE President Maria Leonor G. Robredo’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the electoral protest of losing bet Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. given the widening of her lead after the recount in the three pilot provinces where fraud allegedly occurred. In a comment filed before the high court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, the lawyers asked for an affirmation of the result of the recount of ballots in the pilot provinces of Camariñes Sur, Negros Oriental, and Iloilo. They said the election protest should be dismissed citing Rule 65 of the 2010 Presidential Electoral Tribunal Rules, which provides that a case should be dismissed if a protestant failed to make out his case. Under the rule, a protestant is allowed to choose three provinces that show massive fraud and will be used as “test cases” by which the tribunal will decide if they would proceed with the protest. Ms. Robredo also said that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gave this same position in its compliance filed early this month. “For four years, protestant Marcos was afforded the opportunity to substantiate his allegations of massive electoral frauds, anomalies, and irregularities,” the lawsuit read, “However, aside from these statements to the media, protestant Marcos has not presented an iota of evidence to substantiate his claims of fraud.” The lawyers also said that Mr. Marcos misled the tribunal and that there is no merit in the allegation that there was election fraud in the Comelec-Election Record and Statistics Division’s Voters Identification Division. The vice president’s motion cited the compliance of the poll body saying that the report relied upon by Mr. Marcos “has no probative value.” “Thus, applying the strictest standards and procedure of law,” the results of the revision, recount and re-appreciation of the ballots from the three pilot provinces rendered moot the issue of Annulment of Elections in the Provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and Basilan,” it said. Mr. Marcos filed the protest in June 2016 after narrowly losing to Ms. Robredo. A resolution released in October 2019 showed that Ms. Robredo’s lead against Mr. Marcos in the pilot provinces of Camariñes Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental rose by around 15,000 votes after initial recount. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Prosecutor in Palparan, Korean businessman cases passes away

SENIOR Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro “JP” C. Navera died on Tuesday at the age of 49, the Department of Justice (DoJ) confirmed. “The whole DoJ family mourns his death. It was a great loss to us. He was one of our best,” Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said in a text message. Mr. Navera led the prosecution of retired Army general Jovito S. Palparan, Jr. and two other military officers over the abduction and illegal detention of student activists who went missing in 2006. The three were convicted in 2018 and sentenced to reclusion perpetua or 20-40 years of imprisonment. He also led the case on South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo who was killed by police in 2016, among other cases. Mr. Navera “was at once an embodiment of a principled, fair, no-nonsense, brilliant and diligent lawyer. He was a quintessential professional,” the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said in a statement. The NUPL were the private prosecutors in the case against Palparan. The group said they were “awed at how he shattered Gen. Palparan’s testimony to smithereens on cross.” They also said, “While we have very minor differences in tactics, he respected us and cooperated with us as co-equals in a very productive collaboration.” — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Over 2,500 activists illegally arrested — BAYAN

MORE than 2,500 activists have been illegally arrested over “questionable grounds,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) spokesperson Teodoro A. Casiño said during the Senate’s continuing hearing on red-tagging. “2,596 have been illegally arrested and 973 arrested and detained, many on questionable grounds, with the arresting police or military unit routinely planting evidence to make it appear that they are armed combatants,” Mr. Casiño said on Tuesday. This includes 57 from BAYAN, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Gabriela and National Federation of Sugar Workers in Bacolod City. Mr. Casiño was also representing Gabriela, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Anakbayan League of Filipino Students, and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers before the Senate committee looking into the alleged links of opposition political parties to armed communist groups. Opposition lawmakers skipped the panel’s first hearing on Nov. 3, which was attended by security officials. Mr. Casiño also denied accusations made by former rebel Jeffrey Celiz that he is a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and that BAYAN, among other political organizations, serves as a front organization for the CPP-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front. “My accusers have failed to provide any document, any incident, or any piece of competent, admissible and credible evidence to prove their allegations against me,” he said. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Regional Updates (11/24/20)

Quezon farmers, fisherfolk get P1.42-B aid from DA

THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) distributed P1.42 billion worth of assistance to farmers and fisherfolk in Quezon province who were affected by recent typhoons while their livelihoods have been weakend by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. During his visit to Quezon province on Monday, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said among the interventions given include P177 million under the P4.5 billion cash and food subsidy for marginal farmers and fisherfolk program funded by Republic Act No. 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act. “The Province of Quezon and the whole Region of CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) are very important to our agricultural economy. The region continues to showcase agri-industrialization in many ways, but of course you will need to have continuous production, and a value-adding agri-business approach will be critical,” Mr. Dar said. DA Regional Director Arnel V. de Mesa said there will be around 80,000 beneficiaries in the entire CALABARZON, including 35,523 farmers in Quezon. In addition, the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization gave P304 million worth of farm machinery, the Philippine Coconut Authority allotted P35 million worth of farm inputs and a coconut-dairy intercropping project, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources gave P118 million for the province’s fisherfolk. The DA regional office gave P640 million worth of agricultural inputs and facilities, including the establishment of cold storages in Candelaria and Tayabas, and a trading post in Sariaya. Quezon farmers can also avail of zero interest loans from the Agricultural Credit and Policy Council worth P147.8 million, according to Mr. Dar. “With the help of everyone, our country will recover. The agriculture sector will play a huge role in the recovery of the country’s economy,” he said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Davao City taps SGV for investor guide 

THE Davao City government has tapped SyCip Gorres Velayo & Company for the development of a guide for local and foreign investors, including micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Christian D. Cambaya, unit head of the Investors Assistance and Servicing Unit of the Davao City Investment and Promotions Center (DCIPC), said the “Doing Business in Davao” brochure will be a concise and comprehensive source of information on business options in the city, even amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Likewise, the guide also provides vital information on the tax incentives/exemption offered by the local government to MSMEs,” Mr. Cambaya said. The guide is targeted for launch before the end of the year. — Maya M. Padillo

Davao Oriental cacao farmers get skills, knowledge upgrade from Malagos

DTI-ROG

SEVEN cacao farmer organizations in Davao Oriental have undergone skills and knowledge enhancement training from Davao City-based Puentespina Farms, maker of the award-winning Malagos Chocolate. In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Trade and Industry said the five-day training was implemented under its Rural Agro-enterprise Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growth (RAPID Growth) Project. The participants also received an orientation on Good Agricultural Practices, process requirements from the Department of Agriculture’s Regulatory Division as part of the project’s package of assistance. The cooperatives are also beneficiaries of the Philippine Rural Development Program, a World Bank-funded program implemented by the Agriculture department, which provided cacao post-harvest facilities that were turned over in July. Puentespina Farms will also forge a marketing deal with the cooperatives, which will include continuing technical support through the Malagos Cacao Development Center. “If there’s proper technology transfer, the farmers could get a premium price for their produce, since they are targeting to provide and offer fine cacao both to the local and international markets,” Puentespina Farms owner Charita Puentespina said. Davao Oriental currently has 5,291 hectares planted to cacao with another 2,658 hectares available for expansion, according to the provincial government’s website. There are over 4,900 farmers involved in the sector with an existing annual production capacity of 3,191 metric tons. Governor Nelson L. Dayanghirang, during the post-harvest facilities turn-over ceremony, said the provincial government will continue to support cacao development as an additional income for farmers, especially those dependent on coconut production. “We don’t want our farmers to rely solely on coconut. Currently, we are embattled with the low price of copra. We must be resourceful to augment our income, try other possible means, like intercropping cacao,” he said.

Bids sought for parts of South Commuter Railway project

THE Transportation department has started seeking bidders for the construction of viaducts, bridges, nine stations, and a depot for use by the South Commuter Railway project.

“The Department of Transportation (DoTr)… through its procuring agent, Procurement Service (PS) of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), now invites sealed bids, including technical and financial bids, from eligible bidders for the four contract packages,” the department said Tuesday.

The packages on offer are: building and civil engineering works for an 8.5-kilometer railway viaduct, including elevated stations in Alabang and Muntinlupa; building and civil engineering works for a 12.8-km railway viaduct, including elevated stations in San Pedro, Pacita, Biñan and Santa Rosa; building and civil engineering works for a 10.28-km railway viaduct, including elevated stations in Cabuyao and Calamba; and building and civil engineering works on a 22-hectare depot with buildings and facilities in Banlic, a barangay of Calamba.

The South Commuter Railway project is financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“Works will be procured through an open competitive bidding in accordance with ADB’s procurement policy,” the department said.

“The open competitive bidding will be conducted in accordance with the procedures in the bid documents following the ‘Single-Stage: One Envelope (including technical and financial bids),’ process, without pre-qualification,” it added.

The department added that bids must be submitted to the PS-DBM office in Manila on or before 10 a.m. on March 23, together with a bid security as specified in the bidding documents. — Arjay L. Balinbin

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

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