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Broadcaster, host, senator: Eddie Ilarde, 85

EDDIE ILARDE — IMDB.COM

VETERAN BROADCASTER and one-time senator Edgardo “Eddie” Ilarde died at the age of 85 due to natural causes on Aug. 4. The announcement was made by his daughter Liza Ilarde via a Facebook post on Tuesday afternoon.

Ms. Ilarde said that there will be no wake for Mr. Ilarde in light of the ongoing modified enhanced community quarantine, a moderately strict form of lockdown that has been imposed on Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Born on Aug. 25, 1934 and hailing from Iriga, Camarines Sur, Mr. Ilarde’s career started in college after he won an oratorical contest and caught the interest of a radio executive. This was quite a feat for someone who came to Manila and worked as a bootblack and newspaper vendor before being enrolled by his brother in Far Eastern University to study journalism.

Mr. Ilarde’s trademark soothing, yet firm, voice and personality saw him work in several radio stations — DZBB, DZRH, and DZXL — becoming one of the most popular radio hosts of the 1950s.

Mr. Ilarde’s advice program, Kahapon Lamang, spawned the catchphrase “Dear Kuya Eddie,” and “Napakasakit, Kuya Eddie,” the latter of which became the title of a song performed by Roel Cortez in 1984. The show, and the song, cemented him as a pop culture icon of the time.

Kahapon Lamang continued to air on DZBB every Saturday until his death.

He also co-hosted the DZXL noontime variety show, Student Canteen, with Bobby Ledesma and Leila Benitez-McCollum. The show proved to be a hit on radio, and transferred to television in 1958 where it became known as the “first afternoon variety show in the country.” Student Canteen aired on multiple networks over the years before ending its 32-year-run in 1990 on Radio Philippines Network.

In 1963, Mr. Ilarde tried his hand at politics when he won as councilor of Pasay City. Two years later, he won the congressional seat in the 1st District of Rizal. During his stint as a congressman, Mr. Ilarde served as the chairperson of the committee on fishing industries.

He ran for senator in 1969 under the Liberal Party slate despite running as an independent candidate. He failed to secure a seat and ran again for Senate in 1971 still under the Liberal Party. Mr. Ilarde was among the members of the party who were injured in the bombing of Plaza Miranda on Aug. 21, 1971, during a political rally, including Ramon Mitra, Jr., Jovito Salonga, Eva Estrada-Kalaw, Gerardo Roxas, and Sergio Osmena, Jr. Ninety-five people were injured and nine people died that day.

Despite still nursing his injuries, Mr. Ilarde, along with five of his party, were elected as senators in 1972. His term was interrupted when the Congress was closed in September of that year following the declaration of Martial Law by then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

In 1978, he ran under Mr. Marcos’ political party, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (New Society Movement), winning a seat as an Assemblyman representing Metro Manila. He served in the Batasang Pambansa (National Assembly) which replaced the Philippine Congress during Martial Law, until 1984. During that time he gained attention for his proposal to rename the country Maharlika (noble), which became a long-term advocacy of his.

He ran again for the Senate in 2004 but failed to secure a seat.

“Our dad lived a full and meaningful life. He started from very humble beginnings and worked very hard to reach his stature. He served the country as a councilor, congressman, and senator. He was also a pioneer in radio and TV, most notably for his programs Student Canteen and Kahapon Lamang. He also championed our senior citizens with his Golden Eagles Society,” Ms. Ilarde said in her Facebook post announcing her father’s death.

“Thank you, everyone, for your prayers and well wishes. The family would love to hear some of your nice memories of him or how he touched your life by posting in the comments. I hope you enjoy listening to his voice one last time. Mabalos!” she added.

Mr. Ilarde is survived by his wife Sylvia and children Dino, Aldo, Nilo, Liza, Rico, Paulo and Lara. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Coronavirus pushes shoppers online much faster than expected

KIMARIE SANTIAGO’s small business is the kind of operation US banks and payments companies have been trying to lure online for years. The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic finally made it happen.

Santiago’s Saltopia, which sells infused sea salts with names like “Mustard Been Love” and “Ben There D’Onion That,” spent nine years selling almost exclusively to specialty stores and food distributors. When those businesses shut as stay-at-home orders spread, Santiago wasted no time making the shift.

“Grocery chains, specialty shops, it just died — our wholesale business died,” Santiago said in an interview. “I was like, This is our time. We have to focus all our business right now on direct-to-consumer and figure out how to drive as much sales and traffic to our website.”

As millions of business owners like Santiago make the same calculation, payment companies that process online transactions are seeing a boom.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. posted a surge of as much as 30% in the number of newly active customers in core markets who use the service four times or more in 10 days, the San Jose, California-based company said last week.

“People are jumping in with both feet, and not just dipping their toes in the water,” PayPal Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman said in an interview. “It’s not hyperbole that we’ve seen a three- to five-year acceleration. That’s the math.”

PayPal shares have climbed by more than 80% this year, one of the top performers in the 71-company S&P 500 Information Technology Index. Shares of Shopify, Inc. and Square, Inc. advanced 170% and 113%, respectively.

At Global Payments, Inc., revenue from processing online payments surged to 25% of the firm’s total as more merchants started to let customers make purchases online, the company said, Monday.

“That was always our plan, but that was our plan two years down the road,” Chief Executive Officer Jeff Sloan said in an interview. “It’s really brought ahead a few years of growth in the business.”

BRICKS AND MORTAR
Visa, Inc. has seen online spending, excluding travel, increase by 25% from a year earlier every week since mid-April, twice the growth it was generating before the pandemic.

In-store spending, meanwhile, cratered 50% in early April, Visa said. It improved in recent months as cities around the world started to reopen, but still posted a decline in the high single digits by late June.

“There has been little improvement since,” Visa Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu told investors last week.

For banks and payment companies, the widespread shift to online shopping is an opportunity to help counter a decline in overall spending on credit and debit cards. Online, their cards don’t have to compete with cash or checks, which are still widely used for in-person transactions in the US.

PUSHING PAYPAL
Merchants pay a higher fee for these so-called card-not-present transactions. The networks argue it’s because fraud is more rampant in online purchases, meaning they have to do more to root out the bad guys.

Despite the potential for higher costs, retailers signed up for the ability to take online orders in droves during the second quarter, with PayPal adding 1.7 million merchants, or about three times the typical number. Shopify said new stores created on its platform surged 71% in the second quarter from three months earlier.

“For merchants, moving online is existential,” Mr. Schulman said. “It is how they will stay in business.”

For some banks, the response has been to completely revamp their credit-card rewards, with American Express Co. offering streaming and wireless credits on its popular Platinum card, long known for its travel and dining perks.

“This muscle memory is building up with consumers,” Mastercard, Inc. Chief Financial Officer Sachin Mehra said in an interview. “They have come to realize that experience works really well.” — Bloomberg

EastWest Bank’s income climbs 65% in the first half

East West Banking Corp. (EastWest Bank) booked a higher net income in the first semester on better margins from lending and deposits.

The Gotianun-led lender’s net earnings in the January to June period climbed 65% to P4.5 billion, it said in a filing on Wednesday.

“The higher income was due to better margins from its core lending and deposit-taking business and higher trading gains,” EastWest Bank said.

The bank’s net revenues rose 39% to P18.4 billion in the period.

Its net interest income, which made up 73% of revenues, jumped 38% to P13.4 billion. Net interest margin improved by 142 basis points to 8.3%.

Meanwhile, EastWest Bank’s non-interest income rose 42% on the back of gains from fixed income securities trading.

The lender set aside loan loss provisions worth P5.5 billion in the semester, 3.3 times bigger than last year, amid the pandemic. 

“We continue to build our reserves for loan losses, so we can move past this pandemic sooner and assure our depositors, concentrate in assisting our borrowers and prepare to participate in the economic recovery efforts after the pandemic,” EastWest Bank President Antonio C. Moncupa, Jr. was quoted as saying.

Minus provisions for losses, operating expenses inched up by 2% to P8 billion due to higher compensation costs. The bank’s cost-to-income ratio was at 44%, down from 60% in the first half of 2019.

EastWest Bank’s loan portfolio stood at P255.6 billion. Its net non-performing loan ratio was at 1.8%.

Meanwhile, deposits grew 4% to P300.4 billion, with low-cost current account, savings account (CASA) deposits rising 22%. This caused the bank’s CASA ratio to improve to 63% from 54%, resulting in higher margins.

EastWest Bank’s assets however inched down 2% to P383 billion at end-June.

Moving forward, Mr. Moncupa said the bank can still meet its P5-6 billion income guidance even as it sets aside more funds for loan losses.

““Our priority is to sustain the strength and resiliency of our balance sheet. We are positive we can meet, if not exceed, the P5 to 6 billion income guidance we gave earlier while building our reserves for loan losses. This puts EastWest in a good position as we remain hopeful the country will resume its robust growth after this pandemic,” he said.

EastWest Bank’s shares closed unchanged at P7.20 apiece on Wednesday. — L.W.T. Noble

Quarantine pulls down Filinvest Land profits 

Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) reported a 23% earnings drop in the second quarter to account for the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic to its businesses.

In a filing on Wednesday, the Gotianun family-owned property developer said its attributable net income stood at P952.22 million, down from last year’s P1.24 billion.

Revenues were reduced 32% to P3.66 billion, which reflected the suspension of mall operations and drop in residential sales due to construction delays.

On a six-month basis, FLI’s attributable net income fell 24% to P2.3 billion, and revenues dropped 30% to P8.81 billion.

Sustained office leasing kept rental revenues up 1% to P3.42 billion amid the closure of malls. However, real estate sales declined 46% to P4.56 billion due to revenue recognition delays with the suspension of construction work.

“The second quarter was a most difficult time for the company,” FLI President and CEO Josephine Gotianun-Yap said in the statement. But she noted FLI has started seeing a healthy rebound since the lockdown was eased in June.

“We look forward to a gradual recovery as we expect buyer amortization payments to normalize and construction capacities to increase which will improve our residential revenue recognition in the next quarters,” Ms. Yap added.

Shares in FLI at the stock exchange picked up one centavo or 1.20% to close at 84 centavos each on Wednesday. — Denise A. Valdez

Dining In/Out (08/06/20)

Araneta City remains open under MECQ

ARANETA CITY continues its business operations in accordance with the re-implementation of the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in Metro Manila from Aug. 4 to 18. Gateway Mall, Ali Mall, and Farmers Plaza remain open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to cater to the needs of customers. Food courts in all malls, Dampa in Farmers Market, as well as restaurants and fast-food chains, are still open and are limited to take-out and delivery transactions. Farmers Market and Farmers Garden will continue with their normal business operations. Due to the new MECQ status of Metro Manila, the operations of Beep Jeep, P2P Ube Express, and public utility jeepneys going to and from Araneta City are temporarily suspended and the MRT3 and LRT2 stations are also closed. Shoppers and patrons are still requested to follow the implemented social distancing measures in all Araneta City properties. For the list of open stores and services follow Araneta City’s official Facebook page @AranetaCity.

Granddaughter recreates Nora Daza’s recipes in new show

ACTRESS, television host, and model Isabelle Daza, who is the granddaughter of culinary legend Nora Daza, enlists Maya’s help to navigate the kitchen with ease and confidence, and inspire new home cooks like her through Cooking with my Lola, a four-part online video series that recreate recipes from her grandmother’s seminal cookbook, Let’s Cook with Nora. Maya and The Maya Kitchen had close ties with her grandmother, hosting the pioneering cooking competition, The Great Maya Cookfest, which ran from 1976 to 1990 and helped launch the careers of a new generation of chefs and cooks, together. Nora Daza also actively promoted The Maya Kitchen (formerly known as Maya Bakeshop) and Maya products by holding cooking demos all over the country. Some of the episodes of her show, Cooking It Up with Nora, were also shot at The Maya Kitchen. The first episode of Cooking with my Lola also features Isabelle Daza’s aunt, cook, writer and editor Nina Daza-Puyat who recently updated her mother’s cookbook Let’s Cook with Nora, re-testing recipes and offering ingredient alternatives and modern variations that fit today’s home cooks. The first episode of Cooking with my Lola focuses on beef stroganoff and is now available on Daza’s official Youtube channel. For more information on this, log on to www.themayakitchen.com or e-mail contactus@themayakitchen.com.

Jolly Kiddie meal features The SpongeBob Movie toys

THIS AUGUST, Jollibee’s Jolly Kiddie Meal comes with toys of characters from the upcoming adventure comedy film, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Children can collect all the Bikini Bottom characters, and each toy also has features children can use for study time. The children can help SpongeBob SquarePants catch jellyfish by moving his hat up and down to move his net. They can also draw and measure lines with a handy rule by unfolding his hat. Kids can have creative playtime with the help of Patrick Star as they watch his hands flap every time they use the stamp to decorate paper or use Gary the Snail’s adhesive tape on his back. Mr. Krabs greet new Krusty Krab customers by rotating his left arm and the kids can use the eraser stored inside. Sandy Cheeks do a karate chop every time kids sharpen their pencils or they can use the pen attached to Squidward and use the circular base as their guide in drawing circular motions to form spirograph art. Collect all six Jolly Kiddie Meal toys featuring the characters from The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run with every purchase of a Yumburger (P80), Yumburger Meal with Drink (P100), Jolly Spaghetti (P95), Jolly Spaghetti Meal with Drink (P105), Burger Steak (P95), Burger Steak Meal with Drink (P105), Chickenjoy with Rice (P127), or Chickenjoy Meal with Drink (P142), each with its own Jolly Joy Box. Kids can also enjoy the entire set of toys with a six-piece Chickenjoy Bucket (P649). The toys are available in all Jollibee stores until Sept. 30 only. Order Jollibee via JollibeeDelivery.com, #87000, GrabFood, foodpanda, and LalaFood from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Also available via drive-through and take out.

Pandemic sparks greater appreciation for IT professionals

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Senior Reporter

THE PANDEMIC is changing how skilled workers in the information technology (IT) industry are viewed and treated, said ManageEngine, a global technology company, noting they are expected to get higher pay and budgets after the crisis.

“It is known that the Philippines has a fast-growing IT industry, backed by strong business process outsourcing, software development and IT-enabled services sectors. As organizations worldwide go remote, they depend even more on their IT teams to provide better IT support. According to a survey, IT teams will have a greater appreciation in terms of budgets, salaries and recognition of efforts after the crisis,” Pradyut Roy, product manager at ManageEngine, told BusinessWorld in an e-mailed reply to questions on July 28.

“However, we are also witnessing a wider adoption of chatbots, which could potentially impact L1/first level IT technician jobs,” he added.

In its latest study published in June, ManageEngine found majority or 83% of IT professionals globally believe they will be better viewed and treated post-crisis.

“There’s no doubt that the efforts and hard work of IT support staff, in particular, were recognized as playing a key role in dealing with the crisis and the challenges it brought with it. In a similar way to how healthcare workers, supermarket staff, and delivery personnel were all lauded for the vital contributions they respectively made during the crisis, IT staff were usually more appreciated than previously,” it said.

ManageEngine conducted its survey among more than 500 global IT professionals, focusing on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on IT teams.

Of the 60% of respondents asked if chatbots help with remote support, half of them or 50% believe the automated conversational agents are helpful.

The study also found most companies (70%) do not have a bring-your-won-device (BYOD) policy in place, especially during the pandemic crisis.

“So, there were no agreed corporate rules related to personal IT use and security, and the support of personal devices, that could be applied to help with the continued productivity of employees in their new remote working environments,” it noted.

About 53% of the respondents whose companies moved to the cloud said it helped them considerably during the pandemic crisis while only 25.97% said it did not help as much as expected.

Mr. Roy noted the government and the private sector should consider adopting cloud services as they accelerate the adoption of remote working.

They should also increase investments in cybersecurity to meet security compliance, he said. “It is more critical than ever now, considering all the employees are remote and there is no longer a controlled network perimeter with a firewall.”

Both the government and the private sector should likewise increase their investments in improving the broadband infrastructure to ensure employees can continue to work remotely and to ensure business continuity, Mr. Roy added.

In order to avoid job losses due to automation, he said companies should start upskilling their employees.

He added that the Philippine IT industry will likely start to feel the effects of the pandemic in the next six to 12 months.

“The transition to back to the office will only pick up gradually with employees likely to continue their work from multiple locations, including home. As such, organizations will continue to invest in security, remote management and collaboration tools,” he explained.

Commerzbank cuts outlook on Wirecard losses

COMMERZBANK AG abandoned its goal for a full-year profit after losses tied to the failure of Wirecard AG added to surging costs to cover bad loans, underscoring the challenges as the lender seeks to emerge from a leadership crisis.

Commerzbank stashed away €469 million in the second quarter to deal with an expected mountain of bad debt, according to a statement Wednesday. That’s the highest since 2013. For the full year, the bank now expects to set aside as much as €1.5 billion, up from €1.4 billion previously.

The outlook revision was driven by a single case, it said in its quarterly report. That exposure was Wirecard, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified.

Commerzbank was plunged into disarray when Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Martin Zielke and Chairman Stefan Schmittmann last month announced their resignations amid mounting calls from shareholders for deeper cost cuts. Hans-Joerg Vetter, who succeeded Schmittmann on Monday, will now have to find a CEO who can navigate the conflicting demands of stakeholders and put the lender on a more sustainable footing during the country’s worst crisis since World War II.

Commerzbank said bad loan provisions could reach between €1.3 billion and €1.5 billion this year. The firm is among the lenders hit worst by the collapse of Wirecard, which filed for insolvency after saying that €1.9 billion previously reported as cash on its balance sheet didn’t exist.

That hit is now likely to push Commerzbank into the red for the full year. But even before it cut the profit outlook, analysts were expecting the bank to post a full-year loss of about €300 million.

The outlook revisions makes it “all the more important that we reduce our costs in order to be able to cushion future burdens,” Chief Financial Officer Bettina Orlopp said in a press release. “We are working on this and have stepped up the cost target for this year.”

As a first step, the bank said it plans to bring costs down this year, after earlier targeting a level in line with last year.

Before Mr. Zielke announced his resignation last month, he was working on a radical overhaul that he was planing to present on the day he reported second-quarter results. That plan would have cut about a quarter of the workforce, closed as many as 80% of the branches, and shrunk its foreign presence while financing the restructuring by drawing down the capital cushion, Bloomberg has reported.

The appointment of Mr. Vetter, a former CEO of the regional lender Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, was opposed by Cerberus Capital Management, the most vocal critic of the bank’s leadership as of late. But with a stake of just around 5%, the US private equity firm has a limited say in a company still controlled by the government following a bailout. — Bloomberg

How PSEi member stocks performed — August 5, 2020

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, August 5, 2020.

PHL shares rally ahead of 2nd quarter GDP report

PHILIPPINE SHARES extended their rally on Wednesday as investors decided to buy before the government released the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) report.   

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) increased 58.08 points or 1% to 5,833.58 on Wednesday. The broader all shares index added 29.32 points or 0.85% to 3,456.29.

“Local shares closed higher as investors bought ahead of the second-quarter GDP release,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

The Philippine Statistics Authority is scheduled to release the second-quarter GDP data on Thursday, which majority are expecting to show the deepest economic contraction as most of the country was under strict lockdown in the period.

A BusinessWorld poll of 17 economists showed a median GDP contraction of 11%, deeper than the downward-revised 0.7% recorded in the first quarter.

While others chose to buy ahead of the data report, some investors started selling their shares at the last minute on Wednesday, AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail.

“We saw selling pressure pick up towards the close as investors remain cautious ahead of the second-quarter GDP report,” he said.

The robust activity at the earlier part of trading can be linked to confidence in business resilience despite the stricter quarantine measures, Mr. Mangun said.

“Most businesses remain operational amid the lockdown. Public transport has been limited to inhibit non-essential travel, but essential goods and businesses remain functional,” Mr. Mangun said.

Metro Manila and key urban provinces are under strict quarantine measures again for two weeks to help stem rising coronavirus infections.

All sectoral indices ended Wednesday’s session higher than the previous day’s levels: mining and oil by 185.73 points or 3.31% to 5,786.63; financials by 28.87 points or 2.6% to 1,138.67; property by 34.52 points or 1.23% to 2,827.19; services by 15.53 points or 1.13% to 1,384.50; industrials by 60.21 points or 0.8% to 7,534.15; and holding firms by 8.66 points or 0.14% to 5,980.76.

Value turnover slid to P5.38 billion with 2.04 billion issues switching hands from Tuesday’s P5.74 billion, which Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Claire T. Alviar said is an indication the current rally may be unsustainable.

Advancers outpaced decliners, 128 against 75, while 27 names ended unchanged.

Net foreign selling dropped to P257.50 million on Wednesday from the P837.17 million logged on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Wall Street ended higher after a choppy session on Tuesday, lifted by Apple and energy stocks but limited by declines in AIG and Microsoft while investors awaited more US government stimulus to fight the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. — Denise A. Valdez

Peso climbs to fresh high on positive economic data

THE PESO climbed to a new three-year high versus the greenback on Wednesday following the release of data showing a narrower June trade deficit and faster inflation in July.

The local unit closed at P49.075 per dollar on Wednesday, appreciating by two centavos from its P49.095 finish on Tuesday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

Wednesday’s close is also the peso’s strongest showing in more than three years or since its P48.95-per-dollar finish on Nov. 11, 2016.

The peso started yesterday’s session at P49.05 against the greenback. Its weakest showing was at P49.08 while its strongest showing was at P49.01 per dollar.

The volume of dollars traded rose to $699.71 million from the $470.35 million  seen on Tuesday.

The peso strengthened “after the narrower trade deficit data,” said Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort.

The country’s trade deficit stood at $1.3 billion in June, lower than the $2.64-billion gap a year ago. the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday. This, as exports dropped 13.3% to $5.33 billion while imports declined 24.5% to $6.63 billion.

Another factor that affected sentiment on the peso was July inflation data, a trader said.

“The peso strengthened near the P49 level amid the stronger-than-expected Philippine inflation report for July,” the trader said in an e-mail.

Headline inflation picked up to 2.7% in July from the 2.5% in June and the 2.4% seen in the same month last year, separate data released by the PSA on Wednesday showed. This was mainly due to higher transport costs.

Last month’s headline print was closer to the upper end of the 2.2-3% estimate given by the BSP and a tad faster than the 2.6% median in a BusinessWorld poll of 16 analysts last week.

The July rate put the year-to-date average at 2.5%, within the central bank’s 2% to 4% target and 2.3% forecast for 2020.

Today, the peso is expected to decline anew on expectations of a deeper contraction in second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP).

“The local currency is likely to depreciate from expectations of a sudden contraction in Philippine economic growth report for the second quarter due to be released this Thursday,” the trader said.

A BusinessWorld poll last week among 17 analysts yielded a median estimate of a 11% contraction in the country’s second-quarter GDP. This is worse than the downward-revised 0.7% contraction seen in the first three months of the year.

Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P48.95 to P49.15 per dollar today while the trader expects the local unit to move around the P49.00 and P49.20 levels. — L.W.T. Noble

Commuters told to wear face shields as cases near 116,000

COMMUTERS must wear face shields and masks starting Aug. 15 as protection against the coronavirus, the Transportation department said on Wednesday, as infections soared to almost 116,000.

“The initiative aims to further reduce the risk of transmitting the coronavirus disease 2019 in public transport facilities,” the agency said in a statement, noting that face shields and masks cut exposure to respiratory droplets.

The government order covers all public transportation sectors nationwide including air, rail, road and sea.

The Department of Health reported 3,462 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the total to 115,980.

The death toll rose to 2,123 after nine more patients died, while recoveries increased by 222 to 66,270, it said in a bulletin.

Of the new cases, 2,434 were from Metro Manila, 105 were from Laguna, 101 were from Rizal, 73 were from Cavite and 62 were from Cebu.

There were 47,587 active cases, 91% of which were mild, 7.3% did not show symptoms and less 1% each were severe, and critical, the agency said.

Four of the new patients who died came from Central Visayas, four from Cebu and one from the Davao region.

More than 1.5 million people have been tested for the virus, DoH said.

The Asian Development Bank on July 24 said public transport has played a central role in the spread of the virus.

But the government can also promote a “more sustainable transport mode balance” by making sure public vehicles are clean, providing quality travel alternatives and encouraging walking and cycling to enhance overall health and well-being, ADB said.

Public transport in Metro Manila and other parts of the country resumed in June when the government eased quarantine restrictions to revive the economy.

But  infections topped 100,000 on Aug. 2, prompting the government to put back Manila and nearby cities and provinces under a strict lockdown.

Health workers had also warned that the nation would lose its battle against the coronavirus if President Rodrigo R. Duterte failed to impose the strict quarantine.

The Transportation department said other restrictions aside from wearing face shields and masks remained in effect.

“These include strict enforcement of social distancing and handwashing or hand sanitizing,” it said. “Talking and using mobile phones are likewise discouraged inside all public transportation.”

People should not treat the added restrictions as an unnecessary cost or hassle,” Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said in the statement.

“No amount of protection is too much when it comes to health and safety, especially that we are battling an invisible enemy,” he said. “What we are addressing is not a transport issue but rather a health issue.” 

Public transportation was suspended in Metro Manila and 4 nearby provinces under a modified enhanced community quarantine — the second strictest level lockdown level until Aug. 18.

Meanwhile, the presidential palace said the government would distribute modules on how to create face shields.

It would tap the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in helping the public make the shields themselves, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Laexei B. Nograles said at an online news briefing. The instructions will be made available online, he added.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte last week said he would give out free face masks to the people. — Arjay L. Balinbin, Vann Marlo M. Villegas and Gillian M. Cortez

Gov’t told to focus on new infections

THE government should focus on new coronavirus cases to prevent further transmission, a former Health secretary said on Wednesday.

The focus should shift away from the total cases because a big proportion had either recovered or died, said Manuel M. Dayrit, a former Health secretary under then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

“What are the new cases that are occurring everyday because that is where we can intervene in the here and now,” he said at an online forum.

“When local governments and the private sector work together and identify those new cases and clamp down on the clusters, you will stop your epidemic or slow it down,” he said.

Mr. Dayrit noted that while the country has built up its laboratory capacity, testing and isolation capacities have not grown. The lack of contact tracers and failure to isolate cases “will bring you down,” he added.

The country is also building the health system while confronting the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

“That’s why we have to grow our capacity in a balanced way,” Mr. Dayrit said. “And that’s the story of how our epidemic has continued to grow despite the fact that we were working very hard to expand a number of our capacities.”

Contact tracing should also be done within a day or two to prevent clustering of cases in cities and municipalities.

“That’s the secret to control — we have to do the fundamental things well, the testing, the contact tracing, the isolation and we have to do these all very well,” he said.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte placed Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal back under a strict lockdown after coronavirus infections surged, heeding the call of the medical community that warned the country could lose its battle against the pandemic. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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