TOKYO — Tokyo 2020 organizers plan to hold discussions with the International Swimming Federation (FINA) this week, a senior official said, after the federation said it was reviewing whether to hold the Olympics diving qualification event scheduled for this month.
“We are aware that they intend to cancel. On the other hand, we are still trying to confirm the details and we need to have further discussions with them,” Yasuo Mori, deputy executive director for the Tokyo 2020 Games Operations Bureau, said on Sunday. “We want to hold talks with them about such details,” he told an online briefing after a weekend test event for wheelchair rugby.
A cancelation would be a setback for Tokyo organizers after they just restarted test events for the first time in over a year and need to test coronavirus countermeasures for participants at venues.
Media reports said FINA had decided to cancel the April 18-23 final qualification round, which is also an official test event for the Games, which were postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The BBC, citing a letter from FINA to national federations, said the event was canceled because the organizers’ planned coronavirus precautions “will not properly ensure” the safety of athletes.
FINA said it would make an announcement in the coming week.
Adding to organizers’ headaches, Osaka, part of Japan’s second biggest metropolis, wants to cancel its leg of the torch relay on April 14 because of a resurgence in coronavirus cases there.
Mori said FINA and the national federations would ultimately decide on the diving qualifiers but that Tokyo organizers are still placing great importance on the test events as they prepare for the Games to open on July 23.
“Regardless of the format, we would still like to carry out some kind of test event. So with that intent, we would like to continue to coordinate with them,” Mr. Mori said. — Reuters
TWENTY-TIME Grand Slam winner Roger Federer has become the official brand ambassador for the destination of Switzerland. — SWITZERLAND TOURISM
THE tourism sector of Switzerland has found a new ally in tennis superstar Roger Federer.
In a release last week, the Swiss national tourism board, Switzerland Tourism (ST) shared that the 20-time Grand Slam winner has come on board to become the official brand ambassador for the destination of Switzerland.
The development comes at a time as Switzerland weaves through the blow to tourism by the health pandemic, which it considers as “the biggest tourism crisis since the Second World War.”
Officials at ST said that the involvement of Mr. Federer will go a long way in their push, seeing the tennis superstar as a good representation of the country after years of carrying the Swiss Flag in his legendary career.
“This is a perfect match, because Switzerland and its unblemished nature have clearly contributed to Roger’s unprecedented career,” explained ST Chief Executive Officer Martin Nydegger.
It is something that Mr. Federer agreed with, saying, “I have always felt, whenever I step on the court, I am representing Switzerland. Whenever it says my name, there is a Swiss flag next to it. I have been very proud to do that for the first 22 years I have been on tour, and it will always be like that. To join forces with ST now is a logical step for me.”
The partnership between ST and Mr. Federer is built around “attracting guests to visit Switzerland with its energizing nature,” and will see the latter be involved in promoting Switzerland globally.
For the month of April, communication activities will focus on European cities followed by the United States and Asia-Pacific.
A series of visuals and short clips will showcase Mr. Federer being energized by Swiss nature.
On MySwitzerland.com, meanwhile, guests will be able to discover Switzerland through the tennis star’s eyes.
“I have been all over the world. My favorite place has always remained Switzerland. It’s the country I miss the most, when I’m travelling,” said Mr. Federer.
In a note last year, German market and consumer date company Statista said travel restrictions and economic shutdowns resulted in falling revenue for travel accommodation across Switzerland in 2020, something the country hopes to stem and address moving forward.
Mr. Federer said he is committed to the partnership and looking forward to doing his part.
As part of the partnership, ST is also supporting the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports disadvantaged children in Switzerland. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
In February 2020, April (not her real name) was wooed away from her former employer to join a local restaurant in Metro Manila as a restaurant manager.
Alas, on March 17, 2020, the nation was locked down. Since her new company was not considered an essential business, the company had to stop operations. Days turned into weeks; weeks turned into months. As a new hire, April didn’t receive any pay during the lockdown. However, she was still expected to produce output to help the restaurant resume operations once quarantine guidelines were eased.
In July 2020, April made training materials based on the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases. In the last quarter of 2020, the company’s operations resumed at 50% dining capacity, which helped the business get back on its feet. Just like many employees of businesses struck by the lockdown, April and her colleagues received pay cuts.
Labor Advisory No. 17, Series of 2020, Section 5 on Wages and Wage-Related Benefits of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) states:
“Employers and employees may agree voluntarily and in writing to temporarily adjust employees’ wage and wage-related benefits as provided for in existing employment contract, company policy, or collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The adjustment in wage and/or wage-related benefits shall not exceed six months, or the period agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), if any. After such period, employers and employees shall review their agreement and may renew the same.”
April asked the general manager, who had hired her, about this matter. Last month, instead of receiving the good news that her salary would be restored to the original amount, April received a poor performance evaluation that contained key result areas and key performance indicators that had never been discussed with her. Worse, she was offered a “probationary extension” of 30 to 45 days because the number of days she had reported for work from the start of the lockdown up to the present supposedly did not reach six months.
April was hired in February 2020, and because she had worked during the lockdown months, she exceeded the six months mandated by the Labor Code that probationary employees should render. Another DoLE circular, particularly Labor Advisory No. 14 series of 2020 entitled Clarification on the Non-Inclusion of One-Month Enhanced Community Quarantine Period on the Six-Month Probationary, states that “one month of the lockdown should not be included in the counting of the probationary period.” Even after deducting the one month, April had worked for 10 ½ months.
However, the general manager reasoned that we are in a pandemic, and times are tough. But April knew that the January and February 2021 sales were not much lower than the sales during the same period in 2020 because she had been asked to prepare the sales report.
As of this writing, April has sought the help of the Public Attorney’s Office, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), and the National Labor Relations Commission. The people in the three government agencies whom she consulted concur that the employer is guilty of constructive dismissal. Constructive dismissal, as defined by DoLE, is “an involuntary resignation resorted to when continued employment becomes impossible, unreasonable, or unlikely; when there is a demotion in rank or a diminution in pay; or when a clear discrimination, insensibility, or disdain by an employer becomes unbearable to an employee or an unwarranted transfer or demotion of an employee, or other unjustified action prejudicial to the employee.”
Yes, small businesses may have incurred losses during the pandemic. Thankfully, some may have received help from the government to help tide them over. However, these businesses have employees under their care and stewardship. Employees will not accept pandemic-related excuses if they see business operations picking up.
It is true that the proprietary interests of business owners must be respected. However, in doing so, we must be mindful that both the employer and the employee are bound by the law. Neither may resort to means that trample on each other’s rights.
As a Human Resources teacher, I believe it is my moral obligation to educate not just my students but also the public about the fundamental rights of employees, one of which is to ensure that due process is followed in all matters concerning their employment.
Alvin Neil A. Gutierrez is an Assistant Professor of the Management and Organization Department of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. He teaches Strategic Human Resources and Organizational Behavior as well as Organizational Development to undergraduate and MBA students.
The promulgation into law of the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines saw the placing into statutory language, and therefore into a more permanent framework, many of the corporate governance principles and best-practices adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the area of publicly listed corporations (PLCs).
It should be noted that although the Revised Corporation Code (RCC) has provisions referring to “good corporate governance,” it has not taken a step towards providing for a statutory definition of the term. Consequently, the coverage of the term “corporate governance” under the Revised Corporation Code remains to be that defined under the Corporate Governance (CG) Code for PLCs, thus:
Corporate Governance — the system of stewardship and control to guide organizations in fulfilling their long-term economic, moral, legal and social obligations towards their stakeholders.
CG is a system of direction, feedback and control using regulations, performance standards and ethical guidelines to hold the Board and Senior Management accountable for ensuring ethical behavior — reconciling long-term customer satisfaction with shareholder value — to the benefit of all stakeholders and society.
Its purpose is to maximize the organization’s long-term success, creating sustainable value for its shareholders, stakeholders and the nation.
Unless the SEC in the exercise of its quasi-legislative powers, changes the concept of coverage of “corporate governance,” reference by the Revised Corporation Code to the obligation of the Board of Directors to pursue “good corporate governance” refers to the same concept, coverage and policy considerations as those contained in the CG Codes promulgated by the SEC.
Within Philippine jurisdiction, CG reforms essentially seek to achieve three objectives:
Firstly, to reiterate and place special emphasis on the doctrinal value of the corporate feature of “Centralized Management,” which, under what is now Section 22 of the Revised Corporation Code, provides that outside of specified instances enumerated in the law where shareholders’ ratification vote is required, all corporate powers, all corporate property, and thereby, the management and control of all the corporate business, is granted by law, as an exercise by the state of its police power, to the Board of Directors, for the benefit of the shareholders. Necessarily, the proprietary and management relationship established under the corporate centralized management set-up brings about a fiduciary relationship between the Board of Directors on one hand, and the shareholders and other investors on the other hand, and creates a set of duties and responsibilities on the members of the Board and Management.
Secondly, there is a strong adherence to the principle that corporations whose business enterprise affects public interests, public safety and welfare must behave in a socially acceptable way — to be a good corporate citizen. Consequently, CG reforms in the Philippines seek to expand the coverage of the duties and responsibilities of the Boards of Directors of corporations vested with public interest, to apply beyond their shareholders, and to include all parties who are affected by their operations — termed as the “stakeholders.”
Thirdly, CG principles operate under the credo that Boards of Directors of corporations whose business enterprise are deemed to be vested with public interests have a heightened set of duties and responsibilities to society, and in turn vigilant stakeholders in such companies would constitute the strongest incentive for their Boards to adhere to good governance principles. CG principles seek to promote the corporate virtues of “competency,” “transparency,” “accountability,” “responsibility,” and “independence,” as well as to operationalize such CG principles through a “framework of rules, systems and processes in the corporation that governs the performance by the Board of Directors and Management of their respective duties and responsibilities.”
This article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines or the MAP.
Attorney Cesar L. Villanueva is Chair of MAP Corporate Governance Committee, trustee of the Institute of Corporate Directors, former Chair of Governance Commission for GOCCs (August 2011 to June 2016), Dean of the Ateneo Law School (April 2004 to September 2011), author of the book The Law and Practice in Philippine Corporate Governance and the National Book Board Award-winning Profession, and founding partner of the Villanueva Gabionza & Dy Law Offices.
WHEN COVID-19 first arrived last year, everyone’s go-to historical parallel was the 1918 influenza pandemic. Precisely because it was so fleeting, it’s hard to find evidence that it caused a sweeping reorientation of everyday life. In its wake, most people simply forgot what happened. Other global pathogens stayed longer and had much bigger impacts on society.
Consider what followed the double-shot of diseases that hit the Roman Empire: the Antonine Plague, which raged between the years of 165 and 180, and the Cyprian Plague, which hit in 249 and lingered into the 260s. At least one or both of these are believed to be ancestors of modern-day variola virus, better known as smallpox.
When these plagues arrived, Christianity was a fringe religion. The sociologist and religious scholar Rodney Stark has argued that the response to the outbreak among this small sect helped propel Christianity to dominance, destroying the older, pagan faiths along the way.
Stark contends that unlike pagans, who fled, Christians responded to the disease with religious charity. They nursed the sick, pagan and Christian alike. They offered a compelling case for a better religion by proselytizing while providing the kind of palliative care — food, water, and basic comforts — that often made the difference between living and dying.
Stark’s research suggests that the Christians — especially younger, childbearing women — basically outlived their pagan counterparts; they also converted many of the survivors. Consider the fact that state-sanctioned religions basically left people to die, and the reasons for the meteoric rise of Christianity in this period becomes all the more clear.
The Black Death, or bubonic plague, killed off a quarter of Europe’s population in the 1300s, making it one of the worst outbreaks in human history. It also unleashed unspeakable violence against Jews. Many survivors fled to what is now Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe, setting in motion the next stage of the Jewish diaspora.
This plague left behind more positive legacies, too. Though historians argue about the precise impact, the pandemic left feudal Europe with a serious shortage of peasant labor, elevating the bargaining power of the survivors. This had all manner of unanticipated effects, with the first minimum wage established in the pandemic’s wake as well as far more consequential challenges to the social order.
Approximately a decade after the first wave of bubonic plague, popular revolts swept Europe. A recent study by medievalist Samuel Cohn found that these disturbances were not the work of people protesting food shortages or working conditions. Rather, the survivors’ demands were political, targeting the strictures of feudal life. The plague, he argues, begot what he calls “a new confidence on the part of peasants, artisans, and workers that they too could change the world.”
More recent outbreaks of disease have been less catastrophic, but consequential nonetheless. Consider cholera, a bacterial disease that attacked the intestinal system, often killing victims in the space of hours. Though it originated in India, it did the most damage to industrial cities in the West, thriving in sewage-contaminated drinking water.
Initially, public health officials didn’t understand the connection, thinking it was spread in the air by a mysterious “miasma.” In London, site of some of the worst cholera outbreaks, the oppressive smell of fetid sewage prompted the construction of an elaborate system of sewers to vent human waste from the city.
As the new system took shape, the British physician John Snow figured out that cholera came from polluted drinking water, lending scientific imprimatur to the new sanitary system. As Snow’s theory gained currency, modern sewers became essential in the battle against the disease, and cities around the world began getting rid of their waste instead of letting it leach into their drinking water.
If cholera gave us modern plumbing, tuberculosis inspired the building of “sunrooms” in residential homes across the US Doctors prescribed “heliotherapy” as a way to “disinfect” the body, so Americans found ways to increase their UV exposure. This was also when tans became a mark of health and beauty — and when basking in the sun became a common pastime.
Ironically, it was precisely the new emphasis on hygiene and sanitation that may have given rise to yet another epidemic disease: polio. When this disease began crippling and killing children in the early 20th century, doctors noticed something odd: white, wealthy children tended to have the worst cases.
One theory is that infants in poorer (and dirtier) environments encountered the polio virus while they were still protected by maternal antibodies — and got a very mild case. Kids growing up in super clean homes designed to protect them from germs like tuberculosis typically encountered polio later, when they had no maternal immunity.
This theory has been challenged in recent years, but it highlights the degree to which the consequences of our encounters with microbes is neither predictable nor easily understood.
In the case of COVID-19, it’s still far too early to grasp the full implications. If we’re lucky, historians in the 25th century will point to our encounter with COVID to explain the inexplicable demise of handshakes and the rise of elbow-bumping — or the fact it fueled the rise of a mysterious new religion known simply as “Zoom.”
“Our FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and DoH (Department of Health) are very strict about recommendations and demand for clinical trials on Ivermectin, fine. But where are the clinical trials on the safety and efficacy studies on mandatory face shields? Why give special treatment to new vaccines that still have no long-term safety studies and only a single placebo randomized controlled trial per vaccine, a consideration not given to the 24-RCT supported efficacy, very affordable and safe Ivermectin?”
— Dr. Benigno “Iggy”
Agbayani, Jr.,
President, CDC PH
The Philippines has experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases starting March 12, with 4,000+ cases per day. The peak so far was 12,556 cases on April 3.
I checked some reports on countries that are using vaccines from China. Brazil, Chile and Turkey started inoculation in mid-January 2021 using Sinovac. Also Ukraine (Global Times, Jan. 12, 2021). Serbia and Hungary have also been using Sinovac since early March (LA Times, March 2, 2021). Countries that use the Sinopharm vaccine are Peru and Cambodia (Washington Post, Feb. 2, 2021), Pakistan (Al Jazeera, March 18, 2021), and Iraq (Reuters, March 2, 2021).
When I checked these countries’ recent COVID-19 cases, a pattern emerged — many countries that use Sinovac and/or Sinopharm have experienced a spike or surge in cases around mid-March to present (see Figure 1). Some countries that use Sinovac or Sinopharm did not experience this trend but they are a few, like Indonesia. Still, the pattern is troubling and governments should pause and not rush mass vaccination.
Recently, doctors affiliated with the Concerned Doctors and Citizens of the Philippines (CDC PH) have been resource persons in many fora and government public hearings.
On March 30, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Muntinlupa City chapter under the leadership of its president, Elvie Sanchez-Quiazon, organized a big forum, “How to end the pandemic: range of perspectives.” Speakers were Senator Bong Go, Congressperson Ruffy Biazon, and four physicians — health consultant Dr. Tony Leachon, CDC PH President Dr. Iggy Agbayani, Dr. Allan Landrito who is the author of the book Freedom from COVID-19 Now! Prevention and Cure at Hand, and Dr. Homer Lim, President of the International Anti-Aging and Integrative Medicine Society. The forum moderator was TV personality Luchi Cruz-Valdes, head of TV5 News and Information.
Dr. Leachon talked about the usual pillars to control a spike in infection — test, isolate, trace, quarantine; the usual barriers — lockdown, mandatory masks, face shields, frequent hand washing, etc. He did not offer prophylaxis except the vaccines that will be available to many people many months from now, nor early treatment using old and multi-decades proven drugs.
Dr. Agbayani talked about the safety of ivermectin (IVM), as river blindness and malarial studies demonstrated its safety. Then he discussed IVM efficacy — at least 24 published randomized control trials (RCTs), 36 observational control trials (OCTs), one published and four pre-print meta-analysis — all supporting or showing benefits of using IVM against COVID-19. But despite these, IVM is not readily available mainly due to politics like unusual strictness even in drug compounding.
Dr. Landrito talked about the important characteristics of IVM — it is anti-parasitic, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer; and the important properties of IVM — it inhibits the replication of many viruses, it reduces viral load and fights organ damage, it prevents transmission of COVID-19, it hastens recovery and decreases hospitalization and mortality.
Dr. Lim talked about early treatment protocols for the mildly symptomatic like hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) plus azithromycin or doxycycline, or IVM plus azithromycin or doxycycline. Plus high doses of vitamins C and D, zinc, quercetin, and virgin coconut oil. He also discussed the basic findings of IVM Meta (https://ivmmeta.com/).
The CDC PH doctors also attended the public hearings conducted by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) led by Director General Jeremiah Belgica on the mornings of March 30 and 31. FDA Director Eric Domingo was there. Then the House of Representatives hearing, also on March 30, from afternoon till evening, Health Secretary Duque was there.
A recent paper, “Global trends in clinical studies of ivermectin in COVID-19” written by Dr. Morimasa Yagisawa, Dr. Patrick J. Foster, Dr. Hideaki Hanaki, and Dr. Satoshi Ōmura, was published by The Japanese Journal of Antibiotics in March.
An important summary of the studies reviewed is presented below. The p-values show significance of the studies. P values of less than 0.05 (≤ 0.05) are statistically significant, indicating strong evidence against the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between two variables being studied, that there is less than 5% probability the null is correct. Thus, the alternative hypothesis that the independent variable does affect the dependent variable, is correct. The results affirm that using IVM against COVID-19 does lead to a shorter hospital stay or no hospitalization, viral elimination is higher, mortality is lower, and symptoms are reduced (see Figure 2).
The indefinite lockdown policy is 13 months of failure in the Philippines yet it is still done. Government has never tried focused protection for the vulnerable and early treatment for symptomatic people at home. Sick people need to get so ill that they need hospitalization before treatment can be given. This is a dangerous government policy.
Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers
THE WORLD economy is on course for its fastest growth in more than a half century this year, yet differences and deficiencies could hold it back from attaining its pre-pandemic heights any time soon.
The US is leading the charge into this week’s semi-annual virtual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), pumping out trillions of dollars of budgetary stimulus and resuming its role as guardian of the global economy following President Joseph R. Biden’s defeat of “America First” President Donald Trump. Friday brought news of the biggest month for hiring since August.
China is doing its part too, building on its success in countering the coronavirus last year even as it starts to pull back on some of its economic aid.
Yet unlike in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the recovery looks lopsided, in part because the rollout of vaccines and fiscal support differ across borders. Among the laggards are most emerging markets and the euro area, where France and Italy have extended restrictions on activity to contain the virus.
“While the outlook has improved overall, prospects are diverging dangerously,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said last week. “Vaccines are not yet available to everyone and everywhere. Too many people continue to face job losses and rising poverty. Too many countries are falling behind.”
BRIGHTER TRADE OUTLOOK The result: It could take years for swathes of the world to join the US and China in fully recovering from the pandemic. By 2024 world output will still be 3% lower than was projected before the pandemic, with countries reliant on tourism and services suffering the most, according to the IMF.
The disparity is captured by Bloomberg Economics’ new set of nowcasts which shows global growth of around 1.3% quarter on quarter in the first three months of 2021. But while the US is bouncing, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Japan are contracting. In the emerging markets, Brazil, Russia and India are all being clearly outpaced by China.
For the year as whole, Bloomberg Economics forecasts growth of 6.9%, the quickest in records dating back to the 1960s. Behind the buoyant outlook: a shrinking virus threat, expanding US stimulus, and trillions of dollars in pent-up savings.
Much will depend on how fast countries can inoculate their populations with the risk that the longer it takes the greater the chance the virus remains an international threat especially if new variants develop.
Bloomberg’s Vaccine Tracker shows while the US has administered doses equivalent to almost a quarter of its people, the European Union has yet to hit 10%, while rates in Mexico, Russia and Brazil are below 6%. In Japan the figure is less than 1%.
“The lesson here is there is no trade-off between growth and containment,” said Mansoor Mohi-uddin, chief economist at the Bank of Singapore Ltd.
Former Federal Reserve official Nathan Sheets said he expects the US to use this week’s virtual meetings of the IMF and World Bank to argue that now is not the time for countries to pull back on assisting their economies.
It’s an argument that will be mostly directed at Europe, particularly Germany, with its long history of fiscal stringency. The EU’s 750 billion-euro ($885 billion) joint recovery fund won’t start until the second half of the year.
The US will have two things going for it in making its case, Mr. Sheets said: A strengthening domestic economy and an internationally respected leader of its delegation in Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, no stranger to IMF meetings from her time as Fed Chair.
But the world’s largest economy could find itself on the defensive when it comes to vaccine distribution after accumulating massive supplies for itself. “We will hear a hue and cry emerge during these meetings for more equal access to vaccinations,” said Mr. Sheets, who is now the head of global economic research at PGIM Fixed Income.
And while America’s booming economy will undoubtedly act as a driver for the rest of the world by sucking in imports, there could also be some grumbling about the higher market borrowing costs that the rapid growth brings, especially from economies which aren’t as healthy.
“The Biden stimulus is a two edged sword,” said former IMF chief economist Maury Obstfeld, who is a now senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. Rising US long-term interest rates “tighten global financial conditions. That has implications for debt sustainability for countries that went deeper into debt to fight the pandemic.”
JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief economist Bruce Kasman said he hasn’t seen such a wide gap in 20 to 25 years in the expected out-performance of the US and other developed countries when compared with the emerging markets. That’s in part due to differences in distribution of the vaccine. But it’s also down to the economic policy choices various countries are making.
Having mostly slashed interest rates and started asset-purchase programs last year, central banks are splitting with some in emerging markets beginning to hike interest rates either because of accelerating inflation or to prevent capital from flowing out. Turkey, Russia and Brazil all raised borrowing costs last month, while the Fed and European Central Bank say they won’t be doing so for a long time yet.
RATE DECISIONS Rob Subbaraman, head of global markets research at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Singapore, reckons Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, India, Mexico, Poland, the Philippines and South Africa all risk running overly-loose policies.
“With major developed market central banks experimenting on how hot they can run economies before inflation becomes a problem, emerging market central banks will need to be extra careful to not fall behind the curve, and will likely need to lead, rather than follow, their developed market counterparts in the next rate hiking cycle,” said Subbaraman.
In an April 1 video for clients, Kasman summed up the global economic outlook this way: “Boomy type conditions with quite wide divergences.” — Bloomberg
BENGALURU — India’s Cadila Healthcare Ltd. has sought approval from local regulators to use a Hepatitis C drug as a treatment for COVID-19 (coronavirus disease (2019) following promising interim results from a late-stage trial, the drug maker said on Monday.
A single dose of the Hepatitis C drug when taken early could help COVID-19 patients recover faster and avoid complications seen in the advanced stages of the disease, Cadila said in a statement to stock exchanges.
About 91% of patients treated with the drug tested negative for COVID-19 in standard RT-PCR tests by day seven, compared to nearly 79% who were given the standard of care, the company said citing Phase-III clinical trial data.
The drug, known as Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b and branded as ‘PegiHep’ by Cadila, was originally approved for liver disease Hepatitis C and launched in India 10 years ago. It is being repurposed to treat COVID-19.
The news comes as daily coronavirus infections are surging to new highs in India, which has the world’s third-highest caseload after the United States and Brazil. India has so far reported close to 12.5 million infections and more than 164,000 deaths. — Reuters
GrowHer, a gateway to free resources and partnership opportunities, launched in the Philippines this March to narrow the gender gap for women in agriculture.
“We hope to provide women agripreneurs the platform to upskill through useful tools, read stories of other inspiring women in agriculture, and collaborate and attend events across the value chain, [thereby] creating sustainable food systems for generations to come,” said Cherrie D. Atilano, president and chief executive officer of Agrea, a Filipino agri-business that is a founding partner of GrowHer.
Roughly half of the world’s smallholder farmers are women, and yet—despite finding increasing representation in agriculture—women still face barriers in access to tools, education, and markets. Agriculture faces tough challenges ahead, and efforts by various stakeholders are continuously being done to help address issues on crop resilience, climate change, access to capital, and limited resources.
WOMEN INNOVATORS Around the world, there are women innovators working in fields that have the potential to impact women farmers and farming communities in general.
India, for example, has Dr. Pooja Devi and Dr. Sangeeta Chopra. Dr. Devi, who works with international agribusiness company Syngenta, breeds corn hybrids that can tolerate drought stress.
“We have some high-stress markets in the tropical segment. Farmers have to depend on monsoons or rainfall to irrigate their crops for most stages of the crop cycle,” she told BusinessWorld in an e-mail interview.
Her work also encompasses breeding corn hybrids that produce high yields with moderate-to-high disease tolerance. “Changing weather conditions have led to an increase in diseases and a decrease in grain yields,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Dr. Chopra, principal scientist of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)’s Division of Agricultural Engineering, devised the Pusa Farm SunFridge, battery-less cold storage that runs on solar power and preserves produce for 1/10th of the usual cost. Because the shelf life of perishable produce is increased four times, farmers can store their surplus produce to sell the next day.
The product, which stores up to 2,000 kilograms of farm produce, was developed together with other scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-IARI and Dr. Randolph Beaudry and Dr. Norbert Mueller of Michigan State University
Commitments in other parts of the world are likewise opening up opportunities for women in the agrifood sector.
In Canada, Farm Credit Canada announced its Women Entrepreneur Program in 2019, which dedicates $500 million over the next three years to support women entrepreneurs starting or growing their agriculture business.
In Spain, the Spanish Association Against Depopulation launched Escuela de Pastoras (School for Shepherdesses), which is designed to bring farming and livestock training to women in rural and remote communities. Courses focus on work-life balance, managing time with children, and creating support networks.
In Tanzania, charitable organization Farm Africa embarked on a new project in partnership with United Nations Women that focuses on giving women in the country’s sunflower sector the support they need to apply good agricultural practices and increase their yields.
CROP GAP Women-run farms produce 20 to 30% less than men-run farms. Gender-specific obstacles are the reasons for this “crop gap,” said a 2017 Food and Agriculture Organization report, as women farmers are typically subject to limited bargaining power and discrimination. Long-standing patriarchal norms also create disadvantages in terms of land rights, productive resources, unpaid work, insecure employment, and decision-making.
Investing in rural infrastructure that lessens time spent on the care economy is a means to protect the interests of these smallholder farmers, according to a 2018 report by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). Examples of such investments include providing childcare services and improving access to water.
Promoting climate-smart agriculture will likewise buffet these smallholder farmers against changing weather conditions and climate change. Climate-smart agriculture measures have to integrate gender perspectives in the design of climate change adaptation and mitigation, PIDS said, as shocks affect men and women differently. Policies should also consider factors like social norms that discourage women’s use of certain machinery. — Patricia B. Mirasol
MUMBAI — China’s ByteDance has told an Indian court that a government freeze on its bank accounts in a probe of possible tax evasion amounts to harassment and was done illegally, according to a filing seen by Reuters.
ByteDance in January reduced its Indian workforce after New Delhi maintained a ban on its popular video app TikTok, imposed last year after a border clash between India and China. Beijing has repeatedly criticized India over that ban and those of other Chinese apps.
An Indian tax intelligence unit in mid-March ordered HSBC and Citibank in Mumbai to freeze bank accounts of ByteDance India as it probed some of the unit’s financial dealings. ByteDance has challenged the freeze on the four accounts in a Mumbai court.
None of ByteDance India’s employees have been paid their March salaries due to the account freeze, said two people familiar with the matter. The company told the court it has a workforce of 1,335, including outsourced personnel.
In the 209-page court filing lodged on March 25, ByteDance told the High Court in Mumbai the authorities acted against the company without any material evidence and gave no prior notice, as required by Indian law, before such “drastic action.”
Blocking accounts “during the process of investigation amounts (to) applying undue coercion,” ByteDance argued. It is “intended, improperly, to harass the petitioner.”
India’s Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence, and the finance ministry which oversees it, did not immediately respond to requests for comment over the weekend.
The details of the tax investigation have not previously been reported. The tax agency told ByteDance last year it had reasons to believe the company suppressed certain transactions and claimed excessive tax credits, the filing shows.
ByteDance declined to comment on its court filing but told Reuters on Tuesday it disagrees with the decision of the tax authority. HSBC declined to comment, while Citibank did not respond.
ADVERTISING, OTHER DEALS SCRUTINIZED The court declined to grant ByteDance immediate relief in a brief hearing on Wednesday. The next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
The investigation centers on potential evasion of taxes related to online advertising and other financial dealings between ByteDance India and its parent entity in Singapore, TikTok Pte Ltd. TikTok did not respond to an email seeking comment.
ByteDance told the court its India workforce includes 800 people working in its “trust and safety” team that supports activities like content moderation overseas.
The company has “robust business plans in India and is not contemplating winding up,” it said, urging the court to lift the freeze on the accounts.
The tax agency started investigating the company in July. It inspected documents at the company’s office and summoned and questioned at least three executives, the filing says. Authorities also asked ByteDance to submit documents, including invoices and agreements signed with some clients.
ByteDance representatives “appeared multiple times” before tax officers and provided documents, the filing says.
TikTok, one of India’s most popular video apps before it was banned, has faced scrutiny around the world.
Under then-President Donald J. Trump, the United States alleged the app posed national security concerns. The new administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., has paused a government lawsuit that could have resulted in a de facto ban on TikTok’s use there. — Abhirup Roy and Aditya Kalra/Reuters
The country’s largest integrated telco, PLDT, Inc., its social outreach arm, PLDT-Smart Foundation, together with Tulong Kapatid, the corporate social responsibility consortium of foundations and companies led by Manuel V Pangilinan, has stepped up efforts to support frontline healthcare workers and affected communities during the second round of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) at the National Capital Region.
On a daily basis, the group has been providing over 5,000 packed meals sourced from partner food outlets to frontline healthcare workers from Asian Hospital and Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Delgado Memorial, Delos Santos Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, Manila Doctors Hospital, Marikina Valley Medical Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, and Sacred Heart of Malolos.
“This is our way of supporting frontliners, and contributing a steady source of income to our partner food entrepreneurs during this challenging time. We are fully committed to help healthcare workers and affected communities combat the pandemic,” said Manuel V Pangilinan, PLDT Chairman, and CEO.
On Easter Sunday, the Pangilinan-led companies also provided hot meals and treats to public healthcare facilities including AFP Medical Center, Diliman Doctors Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Philippine General Hospital, PNP General Hospital, as well as Rizal Medical Center.
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“The support means a lot to our doctors and nurses. We remain thankful and hopeful on this Feast of the Resurrection,” said Dr. Troy Baquir of East Avenue Medical Center.
Meanwhile, PLDT, together with the Alagang Kapatid Foundation, has provided hygiene kits and food packs to indigent communities severely affected by the lockdown. PLDT also partnered with the Makati Medical Center Foundation to provide blankets to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police quarantine facilities as well as some frontline healthcare workers from the Makati Medical Center.
Tulong Kapatid, which includes Alagang Kapatid Foundation, Makati Medical Center Foundation, Maynilad, Metro Pacific Investments Foundation, PLDT, Smart, PLDT-Smart Foundation, Inc., and One Meralco Foundation, together with other Pangilinan-led companies, is set to provide more meals and PPEs to frontline workers nationwide.
The United States has put Johnson and Johnson (J&J) in charge of a plant that ruined 15 million doses of its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine and has stopped British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc from using the facility, a senior health official said on Saturday.
J&J said it was “assuming full responsibility” of the Emergent BioSolutions facility in Baltimore, reiterating that it will deliver 100 million doses to the government by the end of May.
In a separate statement late Sunday, Emergent said it expects to align with the US government and AstraZeneca to ramp down manufacturing for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine at its Baltimore plant.
The Department of Health and Human Services has also increased Emergent’s order by $23 million for expansion of production specific to J&J’s vaccine doses, Emergent added.
“The $23 million will be used for the purchase of biologics manufacturing equipment specific to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for the potential expansion of manufacturing of that bulk drug substance into a third suite of Emergent’s Baltimore Bayview facility,” the company said.
The Department of Health and Human Services facilitated the move, the health official said in an email, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
AstraZeneca, whose vaccine has not been approved in the United States, said it will work with President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.’s administration to find an alternative site to produce its vaccine.
White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The development, first reported by the New York Times, further hampers AstraZeneca’s efforts in the United States. The government has criticized the drugmaker for using outdated data in the results of its vaccine trial. It later revised its study.
Workers at the Emergent BioSolutions plant several weeks ago conflated ingredients for the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines, the Times said earlier in the week. J&J said at the time the ruined batch had not advanced to the fill-and-finish stage.
The government’s move to have the facility make only the J&J single-dose vaccine is meant to avoid future mix-ups, the Times said, citing two senior federal health officials.
The top US infectious disease doctor told Reuters on Thursday the country may not need AstraZeneca’s vaccine even if it wins approval.
The United States has loan deals to send Mexico and Canada roughly 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, made at its US facility. — Shubham Kalia/Reuters
TOKYO — Tokyo 2020 organizers plan to hold discussions with the International Swimming Federation (FINA) this week, a senior official said, after the federation said it was reviewing whether to hold the Olympics diving qualification event scheduled for this month.
