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Globe offers free data to some customers

GLOBE TELECOM, Inc. is offering 10 gigabits (Gb) of free data to selected home prepaid WiFi customers who were not able to reload their devices since the latter part of October.

The data will be valid for seven days after receipt, Globe said in a press release on Tuesday.

Customers can automatically reactivate their SIM cards and will receive a one-month subscription to the Viu streaming platform. The selected customers have been notified either by their mobile app or by mobile text message.

“We know the importance of being connected especially with our loved ones amidst the travel restrictions and health protocols. We are also aware that the holiday season gives families their much needed bonding and relaxing moments,” Globe Vice-President for Broadband Business Darius Delgado said.

Globe saw a 22% drop in its third-quarter attributable net income to P4.39 billion.

The company said its service revenues declined 3% to P36.68 billion after a drop in traditional voice and mobile SMS, which had been partly mitigated by an increase in mobile data use.

The Philippines ranked 110th out of 139 countries in mobile internet speeds in November, with average mobile connectivity download speeds of 18.49 megabits per second (Mbps), according to the Speedtest Global Index run by American internet testing and analysis firm Ookla.

It ranked 103rd out of 176 countries for fixed broadband download speeds, with 28.69 Mbps. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Foreign currency loans down as firms cut working capital

FOREIGN CURRENCY loans slipped in the third quarter amid continued tepid business activities and stricter lending standards as the pandemic crisis stretched on.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed outstanding loans disbursed by foreign currency deposit units (FCDU) of banks decreased 3.9% to $17.3 billion as of end-September from the $18 billion level as of end-June. The decline comes after principal repayments surpassed disbursements.

Foreign currency loans also dropped 3.1% against the $17.8 billion logged as of end-September 2019.

“The decline in FCDU lending may be due to borrowing firms’ lower working capital requirements and lending banks’ tightening of credit standards attributed largely to less favorable economic outlook, as the ongoing health crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic continued to constrain domestic economic activity,” the central bank said in a statement.

FCDUs are central bank-approved bank units that handle transactions involving foreign currencies, mainly by accepting deposits and handing out loans.

Loans to residents made up 65% of the credit line or $11.219 billion, of which 40.4% went to power companies. A portion also went to merchandise and service exporters (14.8%) and public utility firms (6.7%).

On the other hand, loans to non-residents made up 35% or $6.047 billion of the loans disbursed by FCDUs.

Local banks extended 87.6% or $16.132 billion of the outstanding loans while the remaining 12.4% or $2.134 billion were sourced from branches and subsidiaries of foreign lenders.

In the three months to September, gross loan disbursements increased 8.6% to $12.2 billion due to the increase in the funding requirements of an affiliate of a branch of a foreign bank.

Meanwhile, deposit liabilities of FCDUs grew 5.5% to $46 billion as of end-September from $43.6 billion as of end-June. It also jumped 11.7% from the $41.1 billion seen a year ago.

“The bulk of these deposits (97.6%) continue to be owned by residents, essentially constituting an additional buffer to the country’s gross international reserves,” the central bank said.

The overall loans-to-deposit ratio of FCDUs stood at 37.6% as of end-September, lower than the 41.3% as of end-June and the 43.3% logged a year earlier. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Budget approval, dollar flows boost peso

THE PESO strengthened against the greenback on Tuesday, its last trading day for the year, backed by year-end flows and positive market sentiment on the legislation of the 2021 budget.

The local unit ended trading at P48.023 a dollar, gaining 3.20 centavos from its Monday close of P48.055, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

The peso also strengthened by P2.612 from its finish of P50.635 per dollar on Dec. 27, 2019, last year’s last trading day, and by P2.662 from its performance on Jan. 2 when it closed at P50.685 versus the dollar.

The currency saw its weakest at P48.27 a dollar during the day, while its strongest was at P48.011.

“The peso closed stronger from increased market volumes on expected year-end dollar flows and market transactions done today,” a trader said in an e-mail.

Dollars exchanged increased to $731.25 million from $507.38 million on Monday.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the timely approval of the P4.5-trillion national budget also boosted market sentiment and backed the strengthening of the peso.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed on Monday the 2021 national budget, which is 10% higher than the P4.1-trillion programmed for 2020. Next year’s budget will continue the government’s aggressive infrastructure drive in a bid to support economic recovery. The program also allotted P72.5 billion for the purchase, storage, transport, and distribution of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines.

In 2020, the peso’s strength was boosted by market sentiment on the accommodative stance of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the trader said.

“The local currency’s appreciation was supported by the aggressive policy rate cuts, accommodative monetary policy and various lending programs from the US Federal Reserve, which has caused substantial depreciation on the dollar,” he added.

The BSP slashed rates by a total of 200 basis points this year to provide support to the virus-stricken economy. This has lowered the overnight reverse repurchase, lending, and deposit rates to record lows of 2%, 2.5%, and 1.5%, respectively.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ricafort said the slimmer trade deficit caused the appreciation of the local unit.

“Relatively slower recovery in imports that resulted in a narrower trade deficit led to the relatively stronger peso in the recent months,” he said in a text message.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the trade deficit stood at $1.777 billion as of October, lower than $1.783 billion in September and the $3.573 billion seen a year ago. This came after imports shrank for the 18th straight month by 19.5% to $7.979 billion. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

More banks waive fund transfer fees into 2021

MORE LENDERS are extending fee waivers for fund transfers in a bid to boost digital banking and to provide safer ways for carrying out financial transactions during the pandemic.

Philippine National Bank (PNB) announced that it would extend the waiver for InstaPay and PESONet transactions until March 31, 2021 to encourage more of its customers to use digital banking channels.

“While all of our branches are open, PNB is giving customers the safer option of banking online to minimize the need to go out of their homes to visit branches and ATMs. We see an upward trend in digital transactions as more customers get enrolled,” PNB President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso said in a statement on Tuesday.

InstaPay is the electronic fund transfer service under the National Retail Payment System that allows real-time transfers for transactions worth P50,000 and less. Meanwhile, PESONet facilitates batch transactions with larger values that are credited by the end of a banking day.

Separately, the Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) also announced that interbank fund transfers made through its online facilities and mobile app would continue to be free of charge until further notice.

“This extension aims to further encourage the Bank’s customers to take advantage of the opportunity to send money to other banks for free, maximize the use of its reliable online banking facility, and utilize the powerful functionalities of its mobile application — allowing banking transactions to be done simply and safely in the comfort of their own home,” it said in a statement.

Earlier, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the parent lender of PSBank, announced that it would allow free InstaPay and PESONet transactions until March 31.

On Dec. 16, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued Memorandum No. M-2020-095 signed by BSP Deputy Governor Maria Almasara Cyd N. Tuaño-Amador extending the waiver of fees for fund transactions facilitated by the central bank until the last business day of 2021.

Other lenders such as China Banking Corp. earlier said it would offer free fund transfers until March 31.

Meanwhile, InstaPay fees will be waived by Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. until Jan. 31, while UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. will do so until March 31.

The pandemic forced consumers to go more into digital banking and caused a spike in transactions made through PESONet and InstaPay. As of September, volume of transactions in the fund transfer schemes surged by 264% and 758% year on year, respectively.

The central bank is hoping that e-payments will make up 50% of total transactions both in value and transactions by 2023.

A study by the Better Than Cash Alliance found the volume of e-payments in the country accounted for 10% of the total transactions in 2018 from a mere 1% in 2013. By value, e-payments comprised 20% of the total in 2018, also growing from the 8% seen in 2013. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Duterte vetoes budget items seeking to tap gov’t agency incomes

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte exercised his veto power over parts of the P4.5 trillion 2021 Budget, his spokesman said Tuesday, noting that the rejected items mainly involve programs that sought to directly appropriate funds generated by government agencies.

The President’s Spokesman Herminio L. Roque gave no further details in his televised briefing from Baguio City, the day after Mr. Duterte signed the budget.

“Some of the vetoed items included provisions related to the direct income of government agencies,” he said in Filipino.

Mr. Roque said as a general rule, agencies are required to surrender their income to the National Treasury, with any other use of the funds they generate requiring authorization “by a separate substantive law.”

The President’s formal veto message to Congress had not been officially released at deadline time. According to an unofficial copy of the message obtained by BusinessWorld, the rejected provisions involve income generated by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) from Alien Employment Permits as well as a separate income stream from a DoLE agency, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

The unofficial copy of the veto message also rejected plans to tap income generated by the Philippine Racing Commission, the confidential fund of the Optical Media Board (OMB), and “excess dividends” generated by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

Other veto items cover “inappropriate” provisions involving the Departments of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Trade and Industry (DTI), Transportation, and Justice, according to the document obtained by BusinessWorld.

According to a statement issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Tuesday, the President’s veto message urged Congress to observe the law when appropriating funds for “procurement-related provisions, grant of allowances and benefits, use of Quick Response Fund (QRF), identification of program beneficiaries, construction of evacuation centers, implementation of service contracting, funding of foreign-assisted projects, among others.”

“As part of his Constitutional mandate that all laws are fair in implementation, the Chief Executive reviewed the budget thoroughly and subjected to veto some provisions against the Constitution,” Mr. Roque said in the briefing.

He also noted that spending should be limited to items identified by the government in the National Expenditure Program (NEP), a document that outlines the Executive branch’s spending priorities before the budget is legislated.

The 2021 NEP will be a cash-based budgeting system, ensuring that all agencies spend what is allocated to them.

Mr. Duterte said Monday that the budget will be spent efficiently, directed at programs that address the “debilitating effects” of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.

The 2021 budget is about 10% larger than this year’s P4.1 trillion spending plan. — Gillian M. Cortez

DoE extends FiT application deadline for river hydro projects

THE DEPARTMENT of Energy (DoE) said it granted another deadline extension for feed-in tariff (FiT) applications by developers of run-of-river (RoR) hydropower projects, adding that it will receive applications until the 250-megawatt (MW) installation target is filled.

“Please be advised that the extension of the FiT System for RoR hydropower shall continue until full subscription of the 250MW installation target is achieved,” the DoE said in an advisory on its website.

The FiT program is effectively a subsidy to encourage the development of renewable energy, partly offsetting the risks taken on by developers in unproven or expensive new technologies.

Fifteen projects with total capacity of 146.113 MW have been endorsed for the FiT program as of November, leaving 103.887 MW unsubscribed. The DoE said the shortfall represents a “significant” amount.

In its advisory, DoE said that there were a “substantial number” of hydro projects in various stages of construction and vying for FiT eligibility, but these did not meet the original deadline of Dec. 31, 2019.

The National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) had requested the extension.

“We requested the extension because we knew that there were several RoR hydro projects in the pipeline but by November 2019 we knew that they would not be able to be commissioned by end-December 2019,” NREB Chairperson Monalisa C. Dimalanta told BusinessWorld in a text message Tuesday.

The FiT application for RoR hydro projects had an original deadline of Dec. 31, 2017, before the extension to the end of 2019.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), in a Nov. 25 ruling, set the FiT rate for RoR hydro at P5.90 per kilowatt hour (kWh), with a degression rate of 0.5% after the second year of the FiT’s effectivity. — Angelica Y. Yang

PSALM to hold second auction round for Pampanga property

THE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) issued an invitation to bidders Tuesday for the second auction round of a property in Mexico, Pampanga, but did not announce a floor price.

The bid covers a 50,447 square-meter property in barangay Lagundi, including land, buildings, and other improvements.

Three months earlier, during the first auction round, PSALM had set a floor price of P803.15 million.

It said a minimum bid for the second round will be announced later.

“(The minimum bid price) will be issued to interested parties/bidders through a supplemental bid bulletin or through re-publication of the ITB (Invitation to Bid). Bids received below the minimum bid price shall be automatically rejected at bid opening,” PSALM said.

It added that the sale is on an “as is, where is” basis, and that payment must be settled in cash.

PSALM required bidders to provide a bid security of at least 10% of the bid price. The security may be paid in cash, cashier’s or manager’s check, a stand-by letter of credit issued by any bank licensed to operate in the country, or a surety bond callable on demand.

After receiving a notice of award, the winning bidder has 10 business days to pay in full.

Eligible bidders are all individuals or sole proprietorships, as well as corporations and partnerships registered and organized in the Philippines. Businesses must be at least 60% Filipino-owned, and authorized by the law to acquire, own, hold, or develop real property in the Philippines.

The pre-bid conference was set for Feb. 10, with the deadline for bid submissions on March 25. Bid documents will be downloadable from the PSALM website starting Jan. 4. — Angelica Y. Yang

New rice import shipment deadline seen possibly disrupting market

THE ADDED time given to rice importers to bring in their shipments is “ill-advised” and could disrupt the market for domestically-grown rice if shipments coincide with the harvest, a farmer’s organization said.

In a statement Tuesday, Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said the additional time given to rice importers could depress prices of palay, or unmilled rice, hindering the recovery efforts of farmers harvesting their dry-season crop in March after the late-year typhoons in 2020.

In a Dec. 16 memorandum circular, the Department of Agriculture (DA) allowed an additional 25 days for importers to bring in their rice, after the industry raised concerns about possible delivery delays.

“The actual product/consignment must arrive no later than 60 days from the date of issue of the sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) for rice coming from ASEAN countries, except Myanmar, and 90 days for those coming from Myanmar and other countries,” according to the circular.

“The DA continues to appeal to importers’ nationalistic sense to ensure fair and equitable price of local rice by avoiding arrivals of imports during peak harvest periods,” it added in the circular.

The previous deadlines were 35 days from ASEAN countries and 65 days from Myanmar and other countries.

Mr. Montemayor said it was irresponsible for the DA to rely on rice traders to time the arrival of imports to avoid the peak harvest period.

“The DA’s job is to maintain stock levels within a target range and then calibrate the arrival of imports that would supplement local production, so as to avoid supply gluts or shortages,” Mr. Montemayor said.

“It will be irresponsible for the DA to rely on traders to strike this balance and temper their appetite for making money,” he added.

Mr. Montemayor said the DA did not consult farmers and other stakeholders in extending the shipment deadlines.

The FFF said that as of Dec. 4, rice imports amounted to 1.974 million tons, up 6.3% from the 1.857 million tons imported during the first 10 months of the effectivity of Republic Act No. 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law, which took effect in March 2019. The law removed quotas on rice imports and required importers to pay tariffs of 35% on Southeast Asian grain.

The DA was asked to comment but had not replied at deadline time. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

House urged to enact universal basic income, abandon austerity

THE HOUSE leadership has been asked to enact a universal basic income to serve as a safety net for workers suffering from the pandemic as well as those on the verge of being displaced by the digital transition, according to a senior legislator.

Albay Representative Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda, co-chairman of the House economic stimulus and recovery cluster, said Tuesday that households need to reap the benefits of any economic rebound.

The economy contracted 11.5% in the third quarter, accompanied by extensive lay-offs.

Mr. Salceda, in an aide memoire to Speaker Lord Allan Q. Velasco and Majority Floor Leader Martin R. Romualdez, said: “We should protect household income, because households drive demand, and demand drives business. That means better tax policies that fund better social services and public goods such as infrastructure.”

“The theory behind universal basic income is that as the distribution of labor income and capital income changes in the economy and capital begins to displace more labor, the benefits of capital should accrue to households through taxation and then universal cash transfer,” he said, noting the risk to low-skilled jobs posed by automation.

Mr. Salceda also backed increased spending on stimulus packages, noting that economies with much larger packages have managed to keep inflation within the 0-3% range.

He called on policy makers to “outgrow” attitudes towards spending based on an austerity mindset, and “be more open to transfers of income to households, from the fruits of fairly taxed capital and digital economy income.”

Two proposals for a third round of stimulus have been filed in the House. Mr. Salceda’s House Bill (HB) No. 8059, or the proposed Bayanihan to Rebuild As One Act (Bayanihan III), is seeking to provide P247 billion to fund emergency response and economic recovery programs.

HB No. 8031 or the proposed Bayanihan to Arise as One Act, filed by Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo, provides for a P400-billion stimulus package to aid victims of the pandemic and the series of typhoons that hit the country late in the year. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

TV still most effective medium for breadth of reach — PSA

TELEVISION (TV) remained the most effective tool for reaching Filipinos among all the mass media, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The PSA, citing preliminary results from its 2019 Function Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), said the 10-64 year-old age group “typically” watched television, with an exposure rate of 96% — the highest of any mass medium.

The PSA defined exposure as usage of a mass media at least once a week,

The corresponding rate for radio was 75.2%, social media 73.9%, magazines 73.2%, posters 69.1%, meetings 67.5%, movies 65.9%, e-mail and internet research 63.6%, and newspapers 63.3%.

Urban residents posted a TV-viewing rate of 97.3%, compared with 94.4% for those living in rural areas.

Metro Manila had the highest proportion of residents using the internet for research/work as well as social media (82.4% and 90%, respectively). In the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) the rates were 39.2% and 52.9%.

The top internet-use age bracket was 15-24.

In a phone interview, Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication President-on-Leave Ramon R. Tuazon said the urban-rural disparity is expected due to the disparity in access to online resources.

“Although TV (has the highest rate) of exposure, I expect it to fall due to technology convergence,” Mr. Tuazon said.

Mr. Tuazon noted that it is possible consumers are accessing online content through TV or the so-called “over-the-top” media services.

“That needs to be redefined by the PSA also before the next survey as it will be very difficult for them to distinguish platforms because of the convergence,” he added.

Mr. Tuazon expects Filipinos to be even more exposed to the internet “in the next two years or so” as distance learning is likely due to the pandemic.

About 96.1% of Filipino households owned at least one ICT (information and communication technology) device for use in learning (73.8%), the PSA said.

“Moreover, about six out of 10 (66.2%) households had at least [one] household member familiar with distance learning…. about eight out of ten (82.4%) households expressed willingness to engage in this learning system, if given the chance without restrictions,” it added.

FLEMMS is conducted every five years with the latest edition, the sixth in the series of literacy surveys that began in 1989. The 2019 edition was conducted in November and December 2019. — Ana Olivia A. Tirona

Manila widens travel ban amid new coronavirus strain

By Charmaine A. Tadalan, Reporter

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday broadened a travel ban to 20 countries, where a more infectious coronavirus strain first reported in the United Kingdom is causing havoc.

The ban that initially covered Britain was applied to Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Israel, Lebanon, Canada, South Africa, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Australia, France and Iceland, according to the presidential palace.

The ban that only covers foreigners takes effect on Dec. 30 and will run until Jan. 15, presidential spokesman Harry L. Roque said in an e-mailed statement.

The Manila International Airport Authority first announced the wider ban in a Facebook post, but deleted it hours later after the palace said there was no such ban.

The travel ban was only “highly recommended” by an inter-agency task force (IATF) made up of Cabinet officials and the Department of Health (DoH), presidential Mr. Roque told an online news briefing earlier on Tuesday.

“The President will issue a decision in writing,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.

Mr. Duterte was concerned about returning migrant Filipino workers, who should be allowed to come home, Mr. Roque said.

Under the latest presidential order, passengers in transit or coming from any of these countries in the past two weeks and who arrive before Dec. 30 would be allowed to enter the Philippines, subject to quarantine and testing.

Filipino citizens coming from these countries will be allowed entry, also subject to quarantine and testing, the palace said.

“Outbound travel to countries with reported new variants shall be subject to the existing protocols of the Philippines and the entry protocols of the respective countries,” it said.

VIRUS TALLY
DoH reported 886 coronavirus infections on Tuesday, bringing the total to 471,526.

The death toll rose by 38 to 9,162, while recoveries increased by 253 to 439,016, it said in a bulletin.

There were 23,348 active cases, 80% of which were mild, 10.6% did not show symptoms, 3.1% were severe and 5.9% were critical.

Davao City reported the highest number of new cases at 61, followed by Pampanga at 58, Bulacan at 45, Quezon City at 45 and Cavite at 37.

Ten duplicates had been removed from the tally, while eight cases tagged as recovered were reclassified as deaths, it said. Nine laboratories failed to submit data on Dec. 28.

Meanwhile, one of 85 passengers who recently arrived from the UK had tested positive for the coronavirus, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire told a separate news briefing.

She said 81 were negative and the results for the remaining three passengers were pending.

The Philippine Genome Center (PGC) had started receiving samples from positive travelers from the UK and other affected countries to test for the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) strain, Ms. Vergeire said.

The center would look at more than 700 specimens from laboratories and other hospitals going as far back as November, she added.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier said the new virus strain had led to spiraling infection numbers.

Europe has closed its doors to British travelers after the UK tightened its COVID-19 restrictions for London and nearby areas, and reversed plans to relax restrictions during the Christmas holiday.

France said it would bar all people coming from the UK for 48 hours, including freight carriers, whether by road, air, sea or rail, according to a Reuters report.

Germany, Italy and the Netherlands suspended flights from Britain, while Ireland said it would restrict  flights and ferries from its neighbor.

Belgium said it would close its borders to flights and trains  — including the popular Eurostar service — coming from the UK. — with Norman P. Aquino and Gillian M. Cortez

Unauthorized COVID-19 vaccinations under probe

THE PHILIPPINE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday said it was investigating the inoculation of some Cabinet officials and military officers against the coronavirus.

The regulator wanted to know how the vaccination occurred and which vaccine was used, FDA Director General Rolando Enrique D. Domingo told an online news briefing. The people who got vaccinated won’t be charged, he added.

He said the investigation would only look at the importation, distribution and administration of the unregistered vaccine.

The law prohibits the manufacture, importation, exportation, sale and distribution of unauthorized health products.

Unregistered products with emergency use authorization from the FDA are exempted, Mr. Domingo said, even as he noted that they had received only one such application from Pfizer, Inc.

He added that China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), which made the vaccine used by the officials, had neither applied for emergency use nor clinical trials.

Meanwhile, the FDA would likely finish its evaluation of Pfizer’s emergency use application in the next two weeks, Mr. Domingo said.

The regulator would focus on the quality, efficacy and safety of the vaccine, he added.

The Pfizer application, submitted on Dec. 23, “has been distributed already to our reviewers and regulators and we hope to complete the preliminary evaluation within two weeks,” he said. The FDA expects more applications next month.

Also on Tuesday, Senator Franklin M. Drilon said people who violate the FDA law could face fines of P50,000 to P500,000 or one to 10 years of jail time.

The law also imposes stiffer penalties of five to 10 years in jail and a fine of as much as P5 million on manufacturers, importers and distributors who violate the law.

“What was done completely dismissed the well-entrenched public safety and health protocols,” Mr. Drilon said in a statement.

“It further undermined the regulatory authority of the FDA with regard to the inspection, licensing and monitoring of establishments, and the registration and monitoring of health products,” he added.

Meanwhile, the FDA has approved the application of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson to conduct local clinical trials, according to the regulator.

The trial, the only one approved so far out of three applicants, would likely start next month, Mr. Domingo said at the same briefing.

“The next step now would be for the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) expert panel to assign the area where the trial will take place,” he said. The recruitment of patients would follow, he added.

Mr. Domingo said the application of China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. was still being reviewed after some minor changes in its research design, while that of Clover Biopharmaceuticals was pending due to some documentary requirements.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire told the same briefing the solidarity trials for coronavirus treatment led by the World Health Organization (WHO) would start later next month.

“They have committed to us that by January, maybe third week of January, we can start,” she said. WHO wanted to keep details of the trial confidential until these are finalized, she added.

Ms. Vergeire said the Health department was preparing the sites for the solidarity trials. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

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