Hard hit by COVID-19, migrants seen facing ‘invisible wall’

March 10, 2021 | 5:38 pm

BOGOTA — From Australia to Egypt, migrants and refugees have been especially hard hit by job losses and economic pain during the coronavirus pandemic, with many struggling to access healthcare and state aid, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The survey, published in a report by the Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC) Global Migration Lab, included 3,250 interviews with migrants in eight countries — Australia, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Sudan, Sweden and Britain.

Migrant workers are over-represented in hard-hit sectors such as food production and hospitality, meaning they have been disproportionately affected by layoffs and wage losses linked to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the report said.

Migrants also make up a significant share of key workers in healthcare, scientific research, food supply chains, and those making personal protective equipment (PPE).

Yet the pandemic has led to the “intentional exclusion of migrants from COVID-19 prevention and support programmes,” such as government cash transfers, the report said.

In Australia, nearly 90% of migrants surveyed online said they were financially worse off because of the pandemic, while in Egypt, nearly 80% said their income had fallen by between 70% and 100% due to COVID-19 restrictions.

In Africa’s Sahel region, some migrants without work prior to the pandemic have resorted to begging and most were not able to make enough money to cover their basic needs, the survey found.

“Our research reveals what we are calling an ‘invisible wall’ that has blocked migrants — particularly those undocumented or in an irregular situation — from accessing basic services,” Jagan Chapagain, secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, (IFRC) said in a statement.

Some nations, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Britain, have introduced measures to ensure migrants — regardless of their immigration status — have free access to COVID-19 testing and screening, the report noted.

But elsewhere, migrants have been unable to access COVID-19 care because they do not have a national identity or social security number.

This barrier is likely to also affect access to vaccinations even if migrants are eligible by law to receive coronavirus jabs, the report warned.

“The inclusion of migrants into national COVID-19 policies does not necessarily translate into inclusive and effective access in practice,” Mr. Chapagain said.

In some countries, migrants need to register online to get COVID-19 vaccinations, which can exclude some due to their limited internet access and language barriers, the report said.

It also said migrants reported being hesitant to consult a doctor, seek treatment, and register for the COVID-19 vaccine due to fears of disclosing information which may be shared with immigration authorities to arrest, detain or deport them. — Thomson Reuters Foundation

Meghan and Harry’s revelations not yet fatal for British monarchy

March 10, 2021 | 5:36 pm

LONDON — Prince Harry and Meghan’s TV interview in which they talked of racism, neglect and feuding inside the royal family is the biggest challenge to the British monarchy this century, but supporters say it will survive, at least while Elizabeth is queen.

Meghan and Harry’s accusations underscore just how hard the taxpayer-funded institution, which traces its roots through 1,000 years of British and English history, has found it to adapt to a meritocratic world and intense media scrutiny.

The monarchy, headed by Queen Elizabeth, will try to ride out the turmoil and then quietly reform — as it did in the abdication crisis in 1936 when Edward VIII gave up his throne for American divorcee Wallis Simpson, or in the public anger following the death of Harry’s mother Princess Diana in 1997.

But there may be lasting damage, and with Britain nearing the end of its second Elizabethan age, a looming conflict of generations.

“This is a grim moment, there’s no doubt, for the family,” a former senior royal aide told Reuters.

“It’s very easy in these moments — and we are in a moment — to think dark thoughts about the future of the monarchy. I think it’s pretty secure, but there’s no denying that this is a meaningful blow and a difficult crisis for them to navigate.”

Plotting a path out of the crisis will fall to Elizabeth, 94, her son and heir Prince Charles, 72, and his eldest son Prince William, 38, plus a small group of advisers such as the queen’s private secretary Edward Young, 54, and Charles’ private secretary Clive Alderton, 53.

Ultimately the final decision will rest with Elizabeth — effectively chairman of “the Firm” — with input from Charles and William, though they will also have guidance from advisers and could consult Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Those top three royals gathered at Sandringham, the monarch’s country retreat, in early 2020 to hash out a possible compromise for Harry and Meghan as they stepped back from official duties.

FAMILY MATTER
Around 40 hours after the interview aired, Elizabeth issued a statement to say the royals were saddened by the challenging experiences of Harry and Meghan and promised to privately address revelations about a racist remark about their son.

Throughout its history, the monarchy has had to cope with wars, revolution and civil strife. But in the last century, the greatest threat has come from within its own ranks.

The abdication crisis unexpectedly propelled George VI, a shy man who had a stammer, onto the throne in a turn of events which ultimately led to his daughter Elizabeth II, now 94, becoming queen, a role she has held for a record 69 years.

During that time, the greatest existential threat came in the tumult of the 1990s, when the institution struggled to cope with scandals and wrecked marriages, not least that of Charles to the late Diana.

After the death of Diana, then-Prime Minister Tony Blair convinced Charles to persuade the queen to come to London to be seen to address the nation, though there were tensions then between the PM’s team and the Palace’s advisers.

Mr. Blair felt the Palace had been slow to respond and parachuted his own PR chief in to help it deal with the crisis.

There are concerns the monarchy is again being pushed to the precipice — this time due to accusations of racism and neglect by Meghan and Harry, the sixth-in-line to the throne and younger brother of future king, William.

“The royal family has faced far greater challenges in its existence and although front pages are fulminating with the hype that this is the greatest crisis that’s hit the royal family, that’s tosh,” Mark Borkowski, one of Britain’s leading public relations experts, told Reuters.

ROYALS LIKE PANDAS?
Novelist Hilary Mantel, whose trilogy about the court of Tudor King Henry VIII garnered two Booker prizes, likened the royal family to pandas, “expensive to conserve and ill-adapted to any modern environment.”

“But aren’t they interesting? Aren’t they nice to look at?” Mantel wrote in a 2013 essay. “Some people find them endearing; some pity them for their precarious situation; everybody stares at them, and however airy the enclosure they inhabit, it’s still a cage.”

Harry admitted he had felt confined.

“I was trapped but I didn’t know I was trapped,” he said. “Trapped within the system, like the rest of my family are. My father and my brother, they’re trapped. They don’t get to leave and I have huge compassion for that.”

Polls show the British public overwhelmingly support the queen, and even republicans admit there is absolutely no prospect of any constitutional upheaval while Elizabeth is monarch.

But approval for Charles — who Harry said he felt had let him down — is much lower.

The furore comes in the midst of a “culture war,” often portrayed as a rift between an older generation wishing to protect Britain’s history and heritage from a “woke” youth, who see their elders as blocking moves to end racial and social injustice.

A snap survey carried out after the interview indicated that the British public’s sympathies lay more with the queen and other royal family members than with Harry and Meghan, but were split on whether the couple had been treated unfairly, with younger people tending to take the couple’s side while those over 65 did not.

Mr. Borkowski said the generation who grew up when Elizabeth came to the throne were dying out and the monarchy had to think about its future.

“This throws up many, many questions that need to be answered because of what Meghan and Harry have unveiled by opening up some wounds and pitching a battle in the heat of the culture wars,” he said. — Reuters

Brands hope to cash in on Clubhouse audio app frenzy

March 10, 2021 | 4:48 pm

Last month, during a live game show on audio-chat app Clubhouse, tech entrepreneur and investor Noah Lichtenstein and his co-hosts handed out $3,200 in prizes funded by Square Inc.-owned payment company Cash App, which sponsored the event.

Days later, top executives from Restaurant Brands International, owner of fast-food chains Burger King and Popeyes, created their own Clubhouse room to let people quiz them on anything they wanted after their quarterly financial report in an event billed as “Open Kitchen.”

The invite-only app, which launched last March, does not currently offer paid advertising. But the service that regularly draws big crowds into audio chat rooms lured by surprise appearances by the likes of musician Drake and billionaire Elon Musk, is also quickly attracting big companies hoping to reach the estimated 8 million users who have downloaded the hottest new digital platform since TikTok.

Brands are experimenting on Clubhouse in wide-ranging ways without a playbook. Some companies are offering money to well-known Clubhouse creators to sponsor their audio rooms. Others see opportunities to generate free buzz or get live feedback on their products, Clubhouse hosts said.

So frenzied is the business interest that “It’s getting to the point where brands are investing and paying for people to advise them on how to use Clubhouse effectively,” said Kat Cole, a business adviser, investor, and host of a weekly Clubhouse room called “Office Hours.”

Companies have long nurtured corporate profiles on Facebook , which boasts 2.8 billion users, or Twitter with 192 million users. On Clubhouse accounts must be tied to an individual with their real name, though brands may create a Clubhouse room and host content from them, said a Clubhouse spokeswoman.

Restaurant Brands International (RBI) Chief Executive Jose Cil used the app to take questions ranging from how he entered the restaurant business to the similarities between fast-food chains and fine-dining establishments, all while in the back of an Uber, said Duncan Fulton, chief corporate officer at RBI.

Mr. Cil and other executives enjoyed Clubhouse so much that RBI’s global Popeyes team plan to host their own session, Mr. Fulton added.

Clubhouse stands out from other platforms because it gives users a shot at speaking with a major CEO or celebrity, said Ishan Goel, a brand strategist and founder of Goel Strategies, which has worked with clients like Colgate and Darden Restaurants.

“I’m telling (executives) to just jump on,” Mr. Goel said. “Gen Z and younger millennials want to know who’s behind the scenes at these companies.”

Last week, a group of Clubhouse’s top 40 creators, who were brought together to advise the app’s founders, launched a new company called Audio Collective to create a more formal structure to match brands with hosts. The company will help decide on sponsorship pricing and assist hosts with planning their events, said Catherine Connors, one of the founders of Audio Collective and a former Disney executive.

While the app lacks advertising formats, some hosts are experimenting with inserting information about sponsors into the conversations. Shondra Washington, an Audio Collective founder and president of investment firm TBC-Capital, said she discussed her need for a new computer to incorporate mention of Upsie, a startup that provides warranties for tech devices and recently sponsored her Clubhouse room called “CrowdHouse.”

Upsie’s sponsorship was disclosed verbally and in the title and description of the Clubhouse room.

The sponsorship took place during the holidays around the launch of the highly sought-after Sony PlayStation 5, and led to an uptick in the number of visits to Upsie’s website, Washington said. “It was the perfect time to talk about it.”

Some brands that missed the boat on hot services like TikTok, a short form video-sharing app, are trying to get ahead of the curve by diving into Clubhouse, even as the platform currently lacks analytics that help companies measure how well their marketing worked, Mr. Lichtenstein said.

The largest prize to date that was awarded by Mr. Lichtenstein’s Clubhouse room called “I AM WOW $” which is sponsored by Cash App, was $1,600 to a musician from Texas who was out of work, he said.

“I can’t say for Cash App how they measure (the effectiveness) of this, but delivering this much joy to people has to have a lot of value,” Mr. Lichtenstein said. — Sheila Dang/Reuters

Coalition eyes 100-day target for new vaccines against disease epidemics

March 10, 2021 | 4:25 pm

LONDON — An international coalition set up to prepare for future infectious disease threats set out what it called its “moonshot” plan on Wednesday to ensure new vaccines against emerging disease epidemics are developed within 100 days.

Launching a $3.5 billion five-year strategy to tackle future pandemic risks, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) said more needs to be done urgently to mitigate the threat posed by new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) variants, and to prepare for new infectious diseases.

Compressing vaccine development timelines to 100 days would make them around a third as long as it took the world to develop the first COVID-19 vaccines, CEPI said in a statement.

It called on governments, global health organizations, and other partners to back what it said was a “critical investment in global health security” and to take advantage of “the revolution in vaccinology that has been catalyzed by COVID-19.”

“We now have the tools to dramatically reduce or eliminate the risk of future epidemics and pandemics,” CEPI’s chief executive Richard Hatchett said. “We must invest now in the vaccines and biologic countermeasures that we need, while linking these investments with commitments to equitable access.”

CEPI, which was created in 2017 with initial donor funding from Germany, Japan, and Norway and from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust global health charity, has played a key role in funding the early development of a range of candidate vaccines against COVID-19.

Its plan for 2022–2026 is now focused on honing and adjusting vaccines for use against the SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses, as well as preparing for as yet unknown emerging disease threats.

To be able to squeeze vaccine development timelines down to 100 days, CEPI said, researchers and drug developers would need to exploit the capabilities of so-called rapid response platform technologies, such as the mRNA approach used in COVID-19 shots developed by Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna for example.

It would also involve working with global drug regulators to streamline the requirements needed for vaccines to be approved, and linking up manufacturing facilities to enable rapid production of pandemic vaccines, CEPI said. — Kate Kelland/Reuters

From land of promise to pariah state: Myanmar coup rattles foreign firms

March 10, 2021 | 2:56 pm

SINGAPORE — Shortly after the military seized power, 55 foreign investors in Myanmar from Coca-Cola to Facebook signed a statement committing to the country and employees there during developments of “deep concern.”

A month on, those pledges are being sorely tested with Myanmar’s economy all but paralyzed by massive anti-coup protests, widespread strikes, and the junta’s killing of dozens of protesters drawing calls for boycotts and sanctions.

A sudden about-turn from Australia’s Woodside Petroleum, one of the signatories to the statement, exemplifies the challenges. It said on Feb. 27 it was reducing its presence in the country amid concerns about violence and would pull its offshore exploration team—just one week after saying drilling would not be affected.

This week, fashion giant H&M, which has around 45 direct suppliers in Myanmar and is also a signatory to the statement, said it had paused new orders from the country due to transport and manufacturing disruptions.

H&M is not, however, taking any immediate decision on its long-term future in Myanmar.

“We fully recognize the complexities … in balancing different aspects to ensure that the people in Myanmar are not negatively affected,” said Serkan Tanka, Myanmar country manager at H&M.

One large global firm has already made a dramatic exit. Kirin Holdings Co. is winding up a beer alliance with a military-linked company after coming under pressure from activist groups.

Escalating violence, which has seen more than 50 protesters killed, is only adding to the uncertainty facing companies anxious about reputational risk.

“If this goes on for months, more would probably just totally leave,” said Murray Hiebert, senior associate of the Southeast Asia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

RISKY BUSINESS
Operating in Myanmar has long been a wrestle between high risk and potential high reward for foreign business.

The opening up of one of Asia’s last frontier markets in 2011 after half a century of military rule led to a surge in foreign direct investment. Net inflows peaked at $4.7 billion in 2017 compared with $900 million in 2010, according to the World Bank.

But even before the coup, firms were grappling with crumbling infrastructure, constant power disruptions, legal uncertainty, and an economy controlled in large parts by the military.

While all foreign firms will be assessing and will be assessed over their next moves, energy companies—some of the longest standing foreign investors in Myanmar—are particularly likely to come under further pressure.

The United Nation’s human rights investigator on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said in a report last week that countries should impose sanctions on Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), which is now controlled by the military and represents its largest source of revenue.

Total, which has been in Myanmar since 1992, and Chevron have a large offshore gas project in partnership with MOGE. A Chevron spokesperson said it will comply with all applicable laws and sanctions. Total declined to comment on the threat of sanctions.

Telecom and internet companies, too, are in a difficult position as they deal with intermittent shutdowns of services and new amendments to cyber laws that threaten human rights.

Norway’s Telenor, which has a mobile license in Myanmar, said on Monday that the amendments broaden the powers of the military and reduce civil liberties, calling for the restoration of a sound legal framework in Myanmar.

Facebook on Feb. 2 banned the Myanmar military from using its Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Just how corporates should respond to Myanmar’s challenges is a matter of hot debate.

Chris Sidoti, an expert on Myanmar who was part of a UN-led fact-finding mission in 2019, says all foreign firms should suspend their businesses in Myanmar because the military has taken over every facet of government.

Rights group Burma Campaign UK has called on Western brands to be diligent with who they work with but not to abandon Myanmar workers. Nearly half a million people in Myanmar are employed in factories producing textiles for retailers like H&M, Adidas, Gap, and Zara.

John Bray, director at business consultancy Control Risks, said that pressure on firms in Myanmar needed to be guided by an assessment of “complicity.”

“If you are providing a service for the Myanmar people, which they are paid for and which promotes the development of the economy, I don’t think you’re complicit in what is going on in the streets,” said Mr. Bray. — John Geddie and Joe Brock/Reuters

Mexico leans on China after Biden rules out vaccines sharing in short term

March 10, 2021 | 2:10 pm

MEXICO CITY — Mexico is turning to China to fill a vaccine shortfall with an order for 22 million doses, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday, a week after US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., ruled out sharing vaccines with Mexico in the short term.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador spearheaded efforts to attain more help from China, Mr. Ebrard said.

“As a result of a process personally led by the president of the republic, we have received the confirmation that we will have an expansion of up to 22 million doses,” Mr. Ebrard said during Lopez Obrador’s regular news conference.

Mexico’s vaccine rollout has been criticized as overly slow, though officials say they’ve been hampered by delays in receiving vaccines amid global shortages.

The Biden administration appeared to have turned down Mr. Lopez Obrador’s request, at least in the short term, for the United States to share its vaccines by saying the immediate priority is to inoculate American citizens.

Mexico is now pinning its hopes on receiving some vaccines from the United States once Biden meets his goal of inoculating 100 million Americans in 100 days, a deadline due in late April.

Mr. Ebrard said Mexico has placed an order for an additional 10 million doses of China’s Sinovac coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine to be delivered between May and July, on top of the 10 million already ordered, which are due to arrive between March and May.

Three million doses of China’s CanSino Biologics Inc. COVID-19 vaccine are set to arrive in Mexico on Wednesday and will be sent to Queretaro state where they will be packaged, Mr. Ebrard said in a Tweet.

Mexico will also order 12 million vaccine doses made by the state-backed China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) once it has been approved by its health regulator, Mr. Ebrard added. — Reuters

Saddened Queen Elizabeth will address Harry and Meghan’s racism accusation

March 10, 2021 | 1:47 pm

LONDON — Queen Elizabeth said on Tuesday the British royals were saddened by the challenging experiences of her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan and promised to privately address revelations about a racist remark about their son.

Meghan and Harry’s tell-all TV interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on US television on Sunday has plunged the monarchy into its biggest crisis since the 1997 death of Harry’s mother Diana.

In the two-hour show, Meghan accused Britain’s royal family of raising concerns about how dark their son Archie’s skin might be and ignoring her pleas for help while she felt suicidal.

Harry also said his father, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, had let him down and that he had felt trapped in his royal life.

“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement issued on behalf of Elizabeth.

“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

The Palace considered that this was a family matter, a royal source said, adding the royals should be given the opportunity to discuss the issues raised privately as a family.

The interview was watched by 12.4 million viewers in Britain and 17.1 million in the United States, triggering a crisis to which the monarchy had to respond, media said.

It has proved divisive among the British public, with some believing it showed how outdated and intolerant the institution was, while others decried it as a self-serving assault that neither Elizabeth nor her family deserved.

“It could hardly be more damaging to the royal family, not least because there is little it can do to defend itself,” The Times said in a lead article under the title “Royal Attack”.

“The key to the monarchy’s survival over the centuries has been its ability to adapt to the needs of the times. It needs to adapt again,” The Times said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Charles made no comment when asked by a reporter what he thought of the interview while visiting a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine pop-up clinic in London.

A royal source had said Elizabeth, 94, who has been on the throne for 69 years, wanted to take some time before the Palace issued a response, saying it needed careful consideration.

A former senior royal aide said it was likely that the three most senior royals—the queen, Charles, and Prince William, second in line to the throne and Harry’s elder brother, would have held meetings with their private secretaries and communications chiefs to decide on their response.

“This is pretty important and they’ve got to judge it right,” said the former aide, adding the queen would have had the final say.

TABLOID TORTURE?
In the interview, nearly three years since her wedding in Windsor Castle, Meghan gained sympathy in the United States by casting some unidentified members of the royal family as uncaring, mendacious, or guilty of racist remarks.

Meghan and Harry have also had a torrid relationship with the British press, successfully taking papers to court on occasions, and have repeatedly questioned what they say is reporting tainted by racist overtones.

Harry said in the interview he did not know where to turn when faced with such troubling media coverage and felt hurt when his family failed to call out racist reporting.

He said the royal family had an unhealthy silent agreement with the British tabloids and that the family was paranoid about the media turning on them.

“There is a level of control by fear that has existed for generations,” Harry said.

For the monarchy, which traces its history through 1,000 years of British and English history to William the Conqueror, Meghan’s bombshell has been compared to the crises over the death of Diana and the 1936 abdication of Edward VIII.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson watched the interview, his spokesman said, but would not be making further comment on it.

Johnson said on Monday he had the highest admiration for the queen but that he did not want to speak about the interview. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her nation was unlikely to stop having the queen as head of state soon.

‘TRAPPED’
Opponents of the monarchy said the allegations made by Meghan and Harry showed how rotten the institution was and that the Palace’s public relations machine had created a distorted image of the royals.

“Now people are getting a much clearer picture of what the monarchy is really like. And it doesn’t look good,” said Graham Smith, head of Republic, a campaign group which seeks to abolish the monarchy.

Royal supporters cast Meghan, 39, an American former actor, as a publicity seeker with an eye on Hollywood stardom.

A YouGov poll found a majority of young people thought the royals’ treatment of the couple was unfair, while half of older people said the opposite.

The gravity of the claims has raised questions about how the British monarchy, which survived centuries of revolution that toppled their cousins across Europe, could function in a meritocratic world.

Meghan, whose mother is Black and father is white, said her son Archie, who turns two in May, had been denied the title of prince because there were concerns within the royal family “about how dark his skin might be when he’s born”.

She declined to say who had voiced such concerns, as did Harry. Ms. Winfrey later told CBS that Harry had said it was not the queen or her 99-year-old husband Philip, who has been in the hospital for three weeks while the crisis unfolds.

Meghan’s estranged father Thomas Markle, who she has not spoken to since her wedding, said he did not think the British royal family was racist. — Michael Holden/Reuters

Patent protection barriers not holding back vaccine production — drug groups

March 10, 2021 | 12:26 pm

ZURICH — Manufacturing capacity and ingredients shortages are the main bottlenecks to expanding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine production, several global drug groups said on Tuesday, not patents that some critics are demanding be removed.

“IP (intellectual property) rights is not the issue,” said Thomas Cueni, who heads the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA).

“The bottlenecks are the capacity, the scarcity of raw materials, scarcity of ingredients, and it is about the know-how.”

Mr. Cueni, who represents large drugmakers, spoke after a virtual meeting organized partly by the World Health Organization-backed COVAX vaccine sharing program. It included manufacturers, suppliers, and international organizations seeking to boost vaccine supplies.

IP protections are being fiercely debated during the pandemic. Activists, including those from Doctors Without Borders, are pushing for temporary patent waivers on certain COVID-19 technologies, while accusing rich countries of blocking vaccine production in poorer nations.

On Wednesday, World Trade Organization member states open talks on a joint proposal by India and South Africa to waive such IP rules.

Mr. Cueni’s group, and many developed nations, oppose such steps.

Others in the two-day supply chain meeting also contended that freeing up IP for vaccines was a far different proposition than compulsory licenses issued decades ago for simpler, small-molecule drugs including treatments for HIV/AIDS.

Complex vaccines have hundreds of ingredients, from lipids to encase messenger RNA to modified viral vectors to deliver DNA.

Giving away IP will not solve these challenges, said Rajinder Suri, chief executive of the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network.

“There are so many issues which one has to really understand before getting into the tech transfer,” Mr. Suri said.

With the push on for 10 billion-plus COVID-19 vaccine doses in 2021, manufacturers and suppliers—and governments tempted to block exports—must coordinate and cooperate to avoid stumbling over each other, said Richard Hatchett, who leads the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

The meeting’s focus, Mr. Hatchett said, “was sorting out that problem and trying to create awareness among the different stakeholders about how we can successfully navigate these bottlenecks … rather than a conversation which was principally around intellectual property.”

“That’s not the acute problem,” he said. — John Miller and Stephanie Nebehay/Reuters

Ladies, unite! A pop-up market by women, for women opens at SM

March 10, 2021 | 10:58 am

In celebration of Women’s Month, beautiful treats await all women at SM! Get awesome finds while supporting female entrepreneurs with SM’s Women at Work Pop-Up Market happening until March 31 in SM Supermalls nationwide.

Discover women-led brands in fashion, food, beauty and, wellness as SM Supermalls uses its platform to support women-owned micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.

SM together with the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) and UN Women also brings budding women entrepreneurs to showcase their products in select SM malls. Not only do you get to shop new finds, you join others in uplifting women-owned businesses.

This comes after SM and UN Women joined hands to empower women at work. SM marked a milestone as the company becomes the largest homegrown company to sign the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) of the UN Women in the Philippines.

Women at Work Pop-up Market, SM CDO Uptown

Plus, as a yearly treat for all SM’s women customers, there will also be various deals and promos for women shoppers for the whole month of March! It’s going to be A Beautiful Women’s Month at SM with Women’s Wednesday Sale where shoppers can get up to 50% discount all Wednesdays of March on beauty, fashion, and wellness deals.

Women at Work Pop-up Market, SM City Rosales

To get all the latest updates this Women’s Month, make sure to visit www.smsupermalls.com or follow @smsupermalls on all social media platforms.

4 million Filipinos still jobless in Jan.

March 10, 2021 | 12:34 am

By Marissa Mae M. Ramos, Researcher

AROUND four million Filipinos remain jobless in January, as more reentered the labor force with the further easing of quarantine restrictions around the country, government labor data released on Tuesday showed.

Preliminary results of Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) January 2021 round of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) showed around 3.953 million unemployed Filipinos, up from 3.813 million in October 2020 and 2.391 million in January 2020.

This put the unemployment rate at 8.7% in January, unchanged from October 2020 but higher than 5.3% in January 2020. The January 2021 reading was the highest among January LFS rounds since the government adopted new definitions for the survey in 2005.

The quality of jobs also weakened as the underemployment rate — the proportion of those already working, but still looking for more work or longer working hours — worsened to 16% from 14.4% in October and 14.8% in January 2020. This translates to 6.589 million underemployed Filipinos, up from 5.747 million in the preceding survey round and 6.299 million last year.

Among the January rounds of the LFS, the latest underemployment rate was the highest since the 18% logged in January 2018.

“While the unemployment rate remains unchanged at 8.7%, more opportunities from the easing of restrictions meant that more people are rejoining the labor force. Between October 2020 and January 2021, some 1.4 million jobs were restored as the labor force participation rate (LFPR), or the proportion of the working-age population that is either working or actively looking for work, increased from 58.7% to 60.5% over that three-month period,” Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, and Budget and Management Secretary Wendel E. Avisado said in a joint statement.

The size of the working-age population was approximately 45.201 million in January, up from 43.649 million in October and 44.934 million in January 2020. While the LFPR of 60.5% in January was more than the 58.7% rate in October 2020, it was still below 61.7% in January 2020.

Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces noted more Filipinos participated in the labor market in January versus October 2020, “signaling some return in confidence for job-seeking activities.”

“(But) job recovery remains challenged with the prevailing community quarantine curbs and this also affected job-seeking behavior and the ability of employers to reopen,” he said in an e-mail.

In January 2021, the employment rate — the proportion of the employed to the total force — was 91.3%, unchanged from October 2020 but lower than 94.7% in January 2020. This is equivalent to approximately 41.248 million Filipinos, up from 39.836 million in October 2020, but still down from 42.543 million last year.

“The biggest improvement is seen in the National Capital Region (NCR), where some 269,000 jobs were restored. As the economy was further reopened, the unemployment rate decreased from 12.4% in October 2020 to 8.8% in January 2021. Likewise, the underemployment rate dropped from 11.1% to 8.2% in the same period,” the economic managers said.

However, there was an increase in unemployment and underemployment rates outside of NCR to 8.7% and 17.1% in January 2021, respectively, from 8.2% and 14.9%. The government attributed these to several factors such as the loss of jobs and reduction in income from weather disturbances, the outbreak of the African Swine Fever that adversely affected livestock production, and “continued mobility restrictions” that affected travel and domestic tourism around the holiday season.

By sector, the employment rate in the services sector decreased to 57.2% in January from 58.6% in the same survey round last year. Agriculture climbed to 24.4% from 22.6%, while the industry sector slid to 18.4% from 18.8%.

OUTLOOK
“While the data show that across sectors, we are gradually getting back the jobs we lost due to the [pandemic], the smaller progress in the past quarter suggests that we still need to address the remaining restrictions before the economy can get closer to normal,” government economic managers said.

To address high unemployment, they proposed the “gradual and safe relaxation” of quarantine restrictions along with the implementation of “localized quarantine” when necessary; the expansion of age groups allowed to go out to boost consumer demand; and the further opening of public transportation while supporting active transport such as more protected bicycle lanes.

“All these will provide Filipinos with more job opportunities, as well as safer and more convenient options to go to work,” the country’s economic managers added.

In a separate statement sent to reporters via Viber, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III expects a “better and more improved employment performance in the coming months” as more vaccines become available and that more Filipinos are getting vaccinated.

On the other hand, ING Bank N.V. Manila Branch Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa expects the unemployment rate to remain at 8-9% “for perhaps the next two years.”

“Relatively high levels of unemployed and underemployed point to subdued access to income and likely muted purchasing power, now all the more problematic given the rise in inflation,” Mr. Mapa said in a note sent to reporters.

“The high level of unemployment will be around even if we relax quarantine measures as the scarring effects of closed businesses and jobs lost become more entrenched and the economy slowly spirals into lower levels of GDP (gross domestic product),” he added.

The LFS, which is conducted quarterly by the PSA in previous years, will now be published on a monthly basis this year to closely monitor the current job situation in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, the government will not roll out cash-based interventions even as joblessness persists.

“Hindi pa po kasama sa option ang pamimigay ng ayuda (Distribution of cash aid is not one of the options),” Presidential Spokesperson Herminio “Harry” L. Roque, Jr. told a televised press briefing on Tuesday.

Mr. Roque said the first step to address the high unemployment rate is to allow the further reopening of the economy as well as expand public transport capacity.

Part of the government’s strategy is the full implementation of recovery packages under the country’s stimulus laws and 2021 General Appropriations Act, as well as the implementation of the vaccination program, he said.

Mr. Roque reiterated that another lockdown would not be good for the economy. He said there is no need to place the country under a stricter quarantine status because the heathcare system can still handle the current number of coronavirus infections.

At the same time, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles urged businesses to reopen in order to generate jobs and drive economic recovery.

“Help us by reopening your business, employing more workers, infusing more capital, investing in our infrastructure development mainly through the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program, as well as in helping generate 1.1 million direct and indirect jobs and catalyzing business activities all over the country,” he said in forum organized by Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) on Tuesday.

Mr. Nograles said the country needs additional investments to generate at least two million jobs in the next two years.

Meralco Powergen Corp. President Rogelio L. Singson said if unemployment is addressed properly, “will naturally provide more money to the pockets of workers to have better access to food, reduce malnutrition and basic needs.” — with inputs from Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Gillian M. Cortez, Beatrice M. Laforga and Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Factory output slumps for 11^thmonth in a row

March 10, 2021 | 12:33 am

THE COUNTRY’S FACTORY output extended its losing streak to 11 months in January, amid soft global demand and supply disruptions caused by the pandemic, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.

Preliminary results of the PSA’s latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) showed factory output, as measured by the volume of production index (VoPI) fell by 16.7% year on year in January, faster than the 12% drop in December 2020 and a reversal of the 1.9% growth a year earlier.

Manufacturing has been on a decline since March last year when strict lockdown restrictions were implemented to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The January MISSI marked the first time the statistics agency used 2018 prices compared with 2000 prices used in the previous surveys.

The PSA noted annual decreases in 18 out of 22 industry divisions in January led by the manufacture of wood, bamboo, cane, rattan articles and related products (-53.4%), manufacture of machinery and equipment except electrical (-48.9%), and manufacture of tobacco (-42.6%).

The capacity utilization — the extent to which industry resources are used in producing goods — averaged 46.1% in January, down from 49.1% the previous month. Of the 22 sectors, only seven averaged a capacity utilization rate of at least 50%.

This was in stark contrast to the 72.8% utilization rate for December 2020 that was reported last month. According to the PSA, the revision was due to the increase in responding establishments as well as the adoption of a new methodology.

In comparison, the IHS Markit Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which uses a different set of parameters, posted a 52.5 reading in January, above the neutral 50 mark which separates expansion from contraction and an improvement from the 49.2 figure in December 2020 and 49.9 in November. This was the highest expansion compared with 52.1 posted in January 2020.

In an e-mail, UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said the latest VoPI result may be “a momentum of decline” given the expansionary trend shown in the country’s PMI during the same month.

“It may be that the increasing economic activity and demand may have not been translated yet to increasing factory output,” he said.

Mr. Asuncion said there may be a lag between the uptick in PMI and VoPI, but cautioned to wait and see how the February data would look like for the latter.

“If [the] decline [in VoPI] is arrested, then the lag is confirmed… Otherwise, that’s when we start to worry,” he said.

Speaking for the electronics industry, Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. President Danilo C. Lachica attributed the sector’s decline to the ongoing pandemic-related disruptions in the supply chain and operations.

“Our industry is highly dependent on China for the import of raw materials, so when the air and sea logistics were shut down, obviously we don’t have raw materials. We just started to pick up the slack when commerce reopened,” Mr. Lachica said in a Zoom call interview.

Mr. Lachica also pointed to the January PMI result, which indicated that the manufacturing sector is recovering.

Asked on their outlook for factory production, Mr. Lachica said: “We cannot speak for the whole manufacturing industry, but for electronic exports, we project a 7% growth for 2021 [from the actual 8.8% decline in 2020].”

PSA trade data as of December 2020 showed electronic products accounting for 70% of the country’s manufactured goods exports and 58% of total merchandise exports last year. Semiconductors alone accounted for 44% of last year’s sales in goods abroad. — Ana Olivia A. Tirona

March power bills to drop as Meralco implements refund

March 10, 2021 | 12:32 am

TYPICAL HOUSEHOLDS in Metro Manila can expect to see a P72 drop in their power bills this month, after Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) on Tuesday announced it will start implementing refunds for its customers.

In a statement, the distribution utility said the overall power rate stands at P8.3195 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in March, P0.3598 per kWh lower than the February rate. This is the lowest overall power rate since August 2017, and the second straight month of the downward adjustment.

Typical households are those that consume 200 kWh, according to Meralco.

This month, those consuming 300 kWh, 400 kWh and 500 kWh would see a P108, P144 and P180 drop in their power bills, respectively.

“Meralco will start implementing the Distribution Rate True-Up refund this month, which is the primary reason for this month’s rate reduction,” the company said.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has directed Meralco to refund its customers P13.89 billion in over-recoveries based on its actual weighted average tariff charges (AWAT) from July 2015 to November 2020. The amount would be returned to its customers over a 24-month period or until it has been fully refunded.

“For residential customers, the refund rate is P0.2761 per kWh and will appear in customer bills as a line item called Dist True-Up,” Meralco said.

At the same time, Meralco said the generation charge dipped by P0.0403 per kWh to P4.3749 in March due to lower charges from the spot market.

“The reduction was due to the higher share of supply from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which registered the lowest charge among suppliers. Despite an increase in Luzon peak demand…charges from the WESM remained relatively stable at P2.4609 per kWh,” the company said.

Meanwhile, the costs of power supply agreements (PSA) and independent power producers (IPP) increased to P0.0175 per kWh and P0.1338 per kWh, respectively, due to lower average plant dispatch and the depreciation of the peso against the dollar.

Meralco explained that the low WESM charges offset the rise in PSA and IPP costs in March. This month, PSAs and IPPs accounted for 52.5% and 35.8%, respectively.

In March, transmission charges for residential customers inched up by P0.0022 per kWh, while taxes and other charges went down by P0.0456 per kWh.

Meralco’s collection of the universal charge-environmental charge of P0.0025 per kWh remains suspended, in line with a mandate from the ERC.

The utility said that its distribution, supply and metering charges have remained unchanged for 68 months since July 2015. Meralco reiterated that it does not earn from pass-through charges, such as the generation and transmission charges.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Angelica Y. Yang

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