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SFA Semicon renews contract with South Korean parent

SFA Semicon Philippines Corp. (SSP) has extended its contract with its South Korea-based parent company to allow it to continue operating its manufacturing plant in Pampanga.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange Tuesday, SSP said its board of directors had approved the renewal of its business transaction agreement with SFA Semicon Co., Ltd. (SSK). The contract allows SSP to continue the assembly and test of semiconductor memory products in its manufacturing plant in Clark Freeport Zone, it said.

The renewed agreement will take effect on July 1 and will expire on June 30, 2021. SSP’s board of directors approved an agreement that may be automatically renewed for a year under the same terms and conditions, unless either of the parties terminates the deal.

When it renewed the same contract last year, SSP required SSK to supply the company with critical production materials and consign state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing and testing equipment.

SSP manufactures dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) modules, memory component chips, memory solutions and secure digital (SD) flash cards for Samsung Electronics of South Korea.

The company said it booked a net income of $1.81 million in the first quarter of 2020, a reversal of the $345,210 net loss it recorded the same period last year. Its gross revenues grew 31% to $78.48 million due to a 48% increase in production volumes.

Shares in SSP at the stock exchange increased 15 centavos or 11.63% to P1.44 each on Tuesday. — D. A. Valdez

San Miguel to donate carabao milk to 5,000 beneficiaries

SAN MIGUEL Corp. (SMC) will distribute some 5,000 liters of excess pasteurized carabao milk to around 5,000 beneficiaries in six cities and provinces in Luzon, as part of the company’s efforts to help dairy farmers recover their financial losses.

In a statement on Tuesday, SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said that together with the Philippine Carabao Center, the company will buy excess milk from farmers of the Nueva Ecija Federation of Dairy Carabao Cooperative.

After the purchase, they will form a joint feeding program that will distribute the milk to vulnerable children, elderly, and frontliners in Pampanga, Bulacan, Navotas, Manila, Malabon, Cavite, Quezon City, San Juan, and Mandaluyong.

“With this initiative, which the Department of Agriculture helped bring about, we are targeting to provide up to 1,000 liters of carabao milk per area. We will donate this specifically for the benefit of children and the elderly in poor communities,” Mr. Ang said.

Meanwhile, SMC has brought the technical expertise of its packaging arm, San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corp., to the milk distribution project.

SMC said the limited farmer access to markets during the two-month quarantine period resulted in product spoilage.

In response to the spoilage problem, the packaging unit will provide research and development assistance to the Philippine Carabao Center on developing ways to extend the shelf-life of carabao milk.

“Ideally, we would like to see them be able to extend their products’ shelf life to at least three to six months,” Mr. Ang said, adding that doing so would eliminate the center’s spoilage and allow tie-ups to boost the industry.

Mr. Ang said that a possible beneficiary of the packaging research is a partnership with the Department of Education on a milk feeding program for public school children.

“With extended shelf life, the milk can also be transported and distributed throughout the country, giving carabao farmers a wider market, and even higher output and livelihood,” Mr. Ang said. — R. M. D. Ochave

Gov’t makes full award of 35-day Treasury bills

THE GOVERNMENT made a full award of the 35-day Treasury bills (T-bills) it offered on Tuesday on strong demand as rates settled close to the headline inflation print.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P15 billion via 35-day T-bills as planned on Tuesday out of total bids worth P22.815 billion. Despite the oversubscription, the demand for the 35-day papers on Tuesday was lower compared to P34.4 billion in tenders seen the previous week.

The papers fetched an average rate of 2.102%, up 3.6 basis points (bps) from the 2.065% seen in the June 2 auction.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said after the auction that investors preferred yields close to the inflation rate.

“Notice average is 2.1%, (indicating that) banks want (rates) to be within inflation,” Ms. De Leon told reporters via Viber.

Headline inflation eased to 2.1% in May from 2.2% in April and 3.2% in the same month a year ago, hitting a six-month low as prices of food and transportation costs declined.

This brought the year-to-date average to 2.5%, still within the central bank’s 2-4% target for this year.

Meanwhile, a bond trader said demand for the 35-day T-bills on Tuesday was smaller than the previous auction as investors searched for higher yields, particularly after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reopened its 14-day term deposit facility (TDF) and its P200-billion offerings under the reverse repurchase (RRP) facility.

“The tenders are smaller by about P12 billion compared to June 2. It can be attributed to market’s preference for higher yield especially now that BSP has reopened the 14-day TDF and increased its RRP volume to P200 billion,” the trader said via Viber yesterday.

The central bank temporarily halted its TDF auctions during the Luzon lockdown around mid-March and resumed offering just the seven-day deposits in April. Last week, it offered the 14-day tenor again after three months. Meanwhile, auctions for the one-month tenor remain suspended.

The trader added that the market is also waiting to see if the Treasury will conduct another jumbo bond sale anytime soon.

Ms. De Leon has said they are gauging demand for a jumbo issue or a retail Treasury bond (RTB) sale, saying they will remain “watchful of developments and risk return tolerance of investors.”

The last time the BTr offered RTBs was in February when it raised a record P310.8 billion from its sale of the three-year papers.

The government plans to borrow P170 billion from the local market in June: P110 billion via weekly T-bill auctions and the remaining P60 billion in Treasury bonds to be offered fortnightly.

The state borrows to fund its budget deficit which is now seen to hit 8.1% of gross domestic product. — B.M. Laforga

Fugitive art dealer Philbrick due in New York to face charges

FUGITIVE art dealer Inigo Philbrick, who eluded authorities for months before turning up in the South Pacific, will be transported 8,400 miles to New York, where he faces charges that he defrauded collectors of more than $20 million in a Ponzi-like scheme.

Philbrick, who had galleries in London and Miami specializing in post-war and contemporary art, was arrested Thursday last week in the island nation of Vanuatu and turned over to US authorities. He was presented in court in Guam, a US territory, where he waived a hearing to determine his identity and was ordered into the custody of the US Marshals Service for transport to New York.

According to charges announced Friday by US Attorney Geoffrey Berman in Manhattan, Philbrick, 33, was “a serial swindler” who ripped off art collectors, investors and lenders by selling the same works multiple times to different parties between 2016 and 2019. He also sometimes used the works as collateral on loans without disclosing that others had ownership interests in them.

Philbrick disappeared in the wake of a slew of lawsuits filed in London, New York, and Miami, including by the billionaire Reuben brothers. Companies in Asia, Europe, and the US all have claims on various artworks handled by Philbrick. The case has roped in major auction houses and an art-finance firm linked to billionaire George Soros.

Among the artworks contested by investors is a $12.5 million painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, a Yayoi Kusama installation sold to the Saudi royal family, a 2010 untitled painting by Christopher Wool, and an untitled 2012 portrait of the artist Pablo Picasso by Rudolf Stingel.

The lawyer who represented Philbrick in his court appearance in Guam didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment. — Bloomberg

BDO eyes growth opportunities amid coronavirus pandemic

BDO UNIBANK, Inc. is setting its sights on opportunities for growth in the country’s unbanked population despite the challenging outlook for 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re still focused on financial inclusion, we still believe that the 70% of the population that is unbanked is still a big potential. Our strategy remains the same although the means to achieve it may actually be adjusted,” BDO President and Chief Executive Officer Nestor V. Tan said in the bank’s virtual annual stockholders’ meeting held Tuesday.

Mr. Tan said he is confident BDO will be able to weather the crisis and assured shareholders that this will not impair their capital, adding that the bank’s capital adequacy ratio is expected to stay stable.

He also said the higher loan loss provisions it set aside is only anticipatory as the lender is not yet experiencing losses.

With digital transactions gaining traction amid the crisis, Mr. Tan said the bank may likely go through some adjustments in its branch and digital services. However, he noted that branch banking still has a role to play, especially in rural areas.

“Gradually, as digital picks up, we will probably see a slowdown in our branch expansion. But at the moment, as we move into the country side, it’s probably premature to say that branches will cease to exist,” he said, noting that branch lite banking is more likely to be a trend in dense, urban Manila areas.

Mr. Tan also noted threats from the rise of e-wallets e-payments, adding that the bank has already invested to boost its digital capacities.

“A lot of them [digital improvements] were supposed to come up this year but unfortunately, we got hit by the quarantine. I think you will see some of them coming towards the latter part of this year,” Mr. Tan said.

He said among these digital initiatives are boosting the bank’s QR code capabilities and the upgrade of its digital banking and information technology platform, as well as improved cybersecurity.

Mr. Tan said 80% of their branches are open during the quarantine period while their head office is manned by a skeletal crew. He added that they have also employed their business continuity model that had dual site processing capabilities in case a virus spread occurs.

Earlier this month, BDO increased its loan provisions to P22.1 billion in anticipation of the worsening impact of the pandemic.

The Sy-led lender’s net income declined by 10.2% to P8.8 billion in the first quarter from P9.8 billion a year ago as its investment portfolio was affected by weak markets.

BDO shares closed at P102.40 apiece on Tuesday, up by P3.40 or by 3.43%. — L.W.T. Noble

Pilmico launches online shop

ABOITIZ-LED Pilmico Foods Corp. (Pilmico) has launched an online shop that addresses the changing needs of customers as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a statement on Tuesday, Pilmico said customers can now access its products such as meats and eggs through its website called “The Good Meat.”

The new online shop offers door-to-door delivery for residents within Metro Manila and gives customers the convenience of shopping basic commodities, while also observing physical distancing.

“As businesses shifted to work-from-home setups, many resorted to purchasing products and services online. With people being more cautious about going out, especially with several forms of community quarantines in effect, door-to-door deliveries became part of the new normal to satisfy the needs of Filipino consumers,” Pilmico said.

Pilmico Vice-President for Farm Sales and Meat Business Hendel P. Cabral said the company is more than just a meat supplier, as it constantly searches for relevant solutions that bring good products to the tables of customers.

“We have easily transitioned our business model to adapt to the new normal scenario. Guided by our core value of innovation, being abreast of technology gave us the leverage to bring our top quality products in the convenience and safety of our customers’ households,” Mr. Cabral said.

Meanwhile, Pilmico said it now also offers its premium dog food brand Maxime and gamefowl feeds brand Salto to e-commerce platforms such as Lazada and Shopee. The said products are also available for door-to-door delivery.

Pilmico’s online shop can be accessed at https://thegoodmeat.ph — R. M. D. Ochave

Creating expressions of growth

TO keep track of intense emotion, events, and memories, some people would keep a journal or diary. For a painter, they keep a sketchbook.

Painter and art educator Jackie Hontiveros Lozano records personal experiences in her sketchbook. She then proceeds with color studies, before painting on a canvas.

“I felt the need to paint them on large canvases (up to 5 x 4 feet) because the emotions themselves are overwhelming for me, and I want to experience the vision on a large scale to reflect that,” Ms. Lozano wrote in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

Ms. Lozano’s Awakening series features nine oil landscapes of vivid emotion featuring fragments of faces, forms, and everyday scenes. The abstracts which were originally scheduled for a showcase in April, are now on view at her website.

Ms. Lozano started working on the paintings in 2018 while juggling duties teaching in UP College of Fine Arts and doing portrait commissions.

THE ARTWORKS
Unlike commissioned portraits, Ms. Lozano considers these paintings as personal work as introspection is involved in her creative process.

“I paint it for myself. It’s like a diary where I pour out all my thoughts and emotions,” she wrote, differentiating them from a portrait where the likeness and personality of the subject are revealed through colors and strokes.

The titles of each Awakening piece includes a time as a reminder of a distinct emotion in her life such as fear of losing someone (Keep 21:00), feeling confident (Woman 07:00), excitement (Wonder 02:20), and anxiety (Lucky Dragon 12:00).

Lucky Dragon 12:00 depicts a woman and her dragon in the middle of a rough sea. The dragon is her Chinese zodiac sign.

“Every start of the year, my friends and I look through our Chinese horoscopes to know what’s in [store] for us for the coming year. My horoscope is one of the luckiest among all the animals, no matter what year it is. Sometimes when I feel like I’m having the worst times, I forget to realize how good I still have it,” she wrote, noting the detail of the woman’s covered eyes in her painting.

“I painted this to remind me that whatever I go through, even if I feel like my world is ending, it might not be all that bad,” she added.

Woman 07:00 – the final painting Ms. Lozano worked on for the series — shows a woman seated on grass, surrounded by plants.

“I show a woman sitting confidently, spreading her body open and taking up space. Looking directly at the audience, acknowledging the attention,” she explained. “I want to allow myself to take up space. Be myself, not someone who makes sure everyone else is comfortable.”

Ms. Lozano earned a degree in Visual Communication from UP Diliman College of Fine Arts. She worked in advertising, design, and teaching before painting full time in 2013. She returned to teaching at the UP College of Fine Arts in 2019. She continues to receive numerous commissions for portraits done in her “Anonymous style,” a technique that involves lightness and depth through quickly layered palette knife strokes.

“Despite being in a global crisis with COVID-19, this awakening story is about my present,” she wrote. “Since I’m continuously changing, I should push through with it and put this out to the world now as part of my process of moving on.”

The exhibit will be accessible on the website permanently. Ms. Lozano plans to hold a physical exhibit of the paintings once restrictions on gatherings are eased.

For more information and inquiries, visit https://ikajpaintings.com/#/awakening/ or Instagram @ikaj_paintings. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

GMA Network profit up nearly 14%

GMA Network, Inc.’s attributable net income for 2019 grew 13.6% to P2.62 billion as revenues improved.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, the company reported that its total revenues last year went up 8.3% to P16.49 billion. Broken down, the network’s advertising revenue increased 9.7% to P15.17 billion, while subscription revenue declined 8.9% to P1.06 billion.

Production revenue grew 31.6% to P173.48 million, while revenue from distribution and content provisioning decreased 18.4% to P89.35 million.

GMA Network’s production cost in 2019 slightly declined 0.7% to P6.44 billion, while general and administrative expenses increased 14.7% to P6.33 billion.

The company said the coronavirus outbreak had no impact on its financial position and performance last year.

For this year, the group said there had been “imminent threat to the health and safety of the group’s talents and employees and unavoidable disruption in operations brought about by necessary containment measures mandated by the government.”

It added that sustained operational disruptions may negatively impact the network’s financial targets for the year.

It said the crisis “may have a material impact” on its financial results for 2020 and “even periods thereafter.”

On Tuesday, shares in GMA Network went up 0.78% to close at P5.14 apiece. — A. L. Balinbin

Microinsurance premiums, coverage expand in 2019

PERSONS COVERED and premiums of the microinsurance industry increased in 2019, data from the Insurance Commission (IC) showed.

The IC said on Tuesday unaudited reports submitted by the companies showed premiums produced by the microinsurance sector hit P9.12 billion last year, up from the P8.14 billion in 2018.

Total individuals covered also rose 16% to 45.13 million in 2019 from 38.89 million in 2018.

Mutual benefits associations (MBAs) continued to account for the largest share of coverage and premium production, with total premiums of P5.26 billion or 57.6% of the total.

Its coverage reached 25.66 million last year, also more than half of the market.

The IC said CARD Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. topped the sector with total contributions of P4.33 billion, accounting for 79.62% of the market share in terms of coverage.

Tulay sa Pag-unlad Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. logged the second highest contributions among MBAs, followed by Pag-Asa ng Pinoy MBA, Inc.; Simbag sa Emerhensiya Asin Dagdag Pasegurohan MBA, Inc.; and Alalay sa Kaunlaran (ASKI) Benefit Association, Inc.

In terms of persons insured, Pag-Asa ng Pinoy MBA, Inc. placed second, followed by ASKI Benefit Association; Tulay sa Pag-unlad Mutual Benefit Association and CCT Mutual Benefit Association, Inc.

Meanwhile, the life insurance sector booked a two percent increase in microinsurance premium production to P2.64 billion in 2019 from P2.58 billion the year prior, while the number of individuals covered declined to 11.01 million from 11.85 million.

The top five life insurers in terms of premiums produced were CLIMBS Life and General Insurance Cooperative; Pioneer Life, Inc.; United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corp.; Country Bankers Life Insurance Corp.; and The

Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life), respectively.

Pioneer Life reported the most number of persons insured, followed by Philam Life, CLIMBS Life and General Insurance Cooperative, United Coconut Planters Life Assurance and Country Bankers Life Insurance.

For the non-life insurance sector, premiums produced surged 23% to P1.23 billion last year from P1 billion a year earlier.

The sector also posted the highest growth in coverage last year to 8.47 million individuals insured, almost double the 4.29 million covered in 2018.

Pioneer Insurance & Surety Corp. reported the most number of lives covered among the sector, followed by Card Pioneer Microinsurance Inc. (Pioneer Asia); Visayan Surety & Insurance Corp.; Country Bankers Insurance Corp.; and The Mercantile Insurance Co., Inc.

In terms of microinsurance premium production, Pioneer Asia placed first, followed by Pioneer Insurance & Surety; The Mercantile Insurance Visayan Surety & Insurance; and Country Bankers Insurance.

Arts & Culture (06/17/20)

BenCab Museum

Art Lozano’s solo show, Nesting Ground, is on exhibit at BenCab Museum’s Sepia Gallery until Aug. 2. While the museum is currently closed due to the coronavirus quarantine, the exhibition may be viewed online on the Facebook page: https://web.facebook.com/pg/bencabmuseum/photos/?tab=album&album_id=3146687035389631. Nesting Ground is on exhibit simultaneously with John Frank Sabado’s exhibition Distinction (https://web.facebook.com/pg/bencabmuseum/photos/?tab=album&album_id=3113556848702650&__tn__=-UC-R). Nesting Ground highlights one of Art Lozano’s favorite subjects — the vintage Volkswagen Beetle, which remains popular among Baguio’s retro-pop enthusiasts. The Baguio-based painter is a multi-awarded artist from the Ilocos region who hopes to become a reflection of realities close to him, both in the highland community where he has grown, as well as the areas he has immersed in.The BenCab Museum is located at Km. 6 Asin Road, Tuba, Metro Baguio.

E-Storytelling and Creators Online

Filipinas Heritage Library, the US Embassy in the Philippines, Adarna House and BuriBooks present WAR AND CHILDREN IN BOOKS: E-Storytelling and Creators Online Q&A, which is held in conjunction with the online exhibition War Through the Eyes of the Child. The online event will be held on June 19 via Zoom and Facebook Live. Registration is free. It will start with storytelling by Earle Figuracion, followed by a Q & A session with Si Pitong Noong Panahon ng Hapon illustrator Marcus Nada, and Good Night, Lala writer Maya Calica. They will be answering questions about the conceptualization and the process of writing and illustrating books for children about the war. Pre-registration is required for Zoom access. Only 50 slots will be reserved for Zoom but the event will also be live streamed on the following Facebook pages: Filipinas Heritage Library, Adarna House, and Ayala Museum. To pre-register, go to: https://bit.ly/WarAndChildreninBooks.

Watch VLF 2020 and donate

THE Cultural Center of the Philippines, in partnership with Tanghalang Pilipino and Writer’s Bloc, has pushed through with the special online edition of Virgin Labfest, the festival of untried, unstaged and untested plays. With the theater festival underway, premiering June 10, the three collaborators step up and conduct a fundraising activity for the benefit of the Artists Welfare Project, Inc., which supports various projects for cultural workers and displaced artists in the country. After watching the live online performance, the viewer might want to share their appreciation and donate through the KTX (Kapamilya Tickets) or Ticket2Me. Check out https://ktx.abs-cbn.com/events/25519/lab-for-a-cause-virgin-labfest-2020-kapit-fundraising/. One needs to register or log in to donate. To donate via Ticket2Me, go to https://ticket2me.net/e/24046/VLF2020# or download the app on Google Play or App Store. Or one can scan the event’s QR code posted on the CCP website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph) and it will redirect to the Ticket2Me payment platform. In both KTX and Ticket2Me, buying tickets denotes donating for the VLF cause. Proof of donation/purchase will be sent to your e-mail. The special edition of VLF will run until June 28. To watch, visit the social media pages of CCP and VLF to watch the live performances of VLF 2020: Kapit. Or download or visit the Vimeo app/website to watch all recorded content and behind-the-scenes footage. For inquiries, e-mail CCP Sales and Marketing Department at ccpsalesandpromo@gmail.com.

How PSEi member stocks performed — June 16, 2020

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.

Nationwide round-up

DoJ comment on anti-terrorism bill out Wednesday

THE Department of Justice will submit to the Office of the President on Wednesday its comment on the anti-terrorism bill, which will become law with President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s signature. Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said they are done with the review and are now drafting the comments. “I am confident that the President will wait for and consider not only the comments of the DoJ but also those of other government agencies whose comments were requested by the office of the executive secretary,” he told reporters via Viber. Mr. Guevarra said the department’s comments are classified as “highly confidential” and will leave it to the discretion of the executive secretary if they would disclose the basis of the President’s decision. Mr. Duterte certified the bill as urgent. Human rights and lawyers groups, among other sectors, have expressed opposition to the proposed law, citing concerns on infringements of constitutional rights. The bill expands the coverage of terror acts and forms an Anti-Terror Council, which can order the arrest of suspected terrorists, a mandate that is granted to courts. Meanwhile, Palace Spokesperson Harry L. Roque said more local government officials have expressed support to the bill. In a briefing on Tuesday, he said 784 local officials composed of 43 governors, 68 city mayors and 673 municipal mayors back the proposed law. The country has 81 governors, 146 city mayors, and 1,488 municipal mayors. In a separate interview with CNN Philippines also on Tuesday, Mr. Roque said the President is likely to sign the bill, but is awaiting comments from the DoJ and the Office of the Executive Secretary — Vann Marlo M. Villegas and Gillian M. Cortez

Senator seeks review of gov’t OFWs reintegration plan

A SENATOR on Monday sought to look into the government’s plan to reintegrate some 300,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) expected to be displaced by the global economic downturn due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Under Senate Resolution No. 445, Senator Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel pushed for a review of plans for workers forced to come home, which should include livelihood, social and mental health assistance. “It is essential that the government’s return and reintegration programs take the needs of OFWs and their families into account in developing and implementing financial aid programs for households in distress,” she said in a statement. She said this long-term program is necessary on top of facilitating their return. The Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday assisted the arrival of 2,281 Filipinos from Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Barbados. This brings the total number of repatriated workers to more than 44,000 since February. Further, the senator said the government should bring focus to the reintegration of female workers, citing the paper entitled “Women, Migration and Reintegration” that found majority of Filipina migrants have more difficulty in adjusting to the lack of economic opportunities in the Philippines. In a separate resolution, Ms. Baraquel sought to address the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women, including the rise of abuses and online sexual exploitation. Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva on Sunday said the committee on labor will be inviting the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the labor department to discuss skills training programs among other interventions for OFWs. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

President aims to buy radios for alternative schooling in remote areas

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte plans to buy transistor radios for students in far flung areas, particularly those that do not have internet or even television broadcast access, to serve as an alternative education system as classroom sessions remain uncertain with the continued threat from the coronavirus disease 2019. However, Mr. Duterte, in a late night address on Monday, said the government will still have to look for fund sources for the radio procurement. The Department of Education is preparing for “blended learning” for students in the new school year that will open in August. It will utilize online classes, printed modules, television, and radio. — Gillian M. Cortez

Pew Research survey shows 54% of Filipinos think religious diversity makes PHL a better place to live in

MORE than half of Filipinos, at 54%, said having an increasing number of people of different religions in the country makes it a better place to live in, according to US-based Pew Research Center. Another 32% said increasing diversity made no difference to the quality of life in the country, while 12% said diversity made it worse. Pew Research Center conducted its survey in late 2018 among 28,122 adults across 11 emerging countries. For the Philippines, it focused on Christian and Muslim groups, which comprise 92.6% and 5.5% of the population, respectively. Despite welcoming diversity, 61% of Filipinos said they rarely or never interacted with people of other religions. Thirty-eight percent said they occasionally or frequently interacted, while the remaining one percent said they do not know. Asked about these seemingly contradicting results, Pew Research Center Senior Researcher Laura Silver told BusinessWorld in an email, “One thing that we find in this report is that those who interact with people who are different from them — racially, ethnically or religiously — tend to have more positive opinions of refugees or migrants in their country. But, personal interaction is certainly not the only reason people might say that having an increasing number of people of different races, ethnic groups and nationalities makes their country a better place to live. For example, in some countries, we also see that younger people or more educated people tend to have more favorable views toward diversity.” The study also reported that favorable views of Christians were nearly universal (97%), while 57% said the same of Muslims in the Philippines. The results of the survey was released June 16 in a report titled The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050. — Genshen L. Espedido

LabX launches health hotline for coronavirus concerns

RAPID TEST distributor LabX Corp. has launched a hotline for coronavirus-related consultations, which opened June 16. The hotline 09177235539 may be contacted for medical advice and for rapid test supplies, the company said in a statement. LabX, distributor of Cellex rapid test kits, said callers may request assistance should they wish to be tested. “We want to provide timely medical assistance to Filipinos, with our services, we can help provide much-needed information that will enable health authorities to deliver proper patient diagnosis and treatment and ultimately contain the spread of the virus,” Hector Thomas Navasero, chairman and CEO of LabX Asia said. Cellex is approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States and Philippines. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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