Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube
Home Blog Page 8397

HK prepared to waive restrictions to host Asian tournaments

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s government is considering on waiving the city’s strict 21-day quarantine requirements in a bid to host soccer matches in the Asian Champions League and other continental club competitions, a local newspaper said on Sunday.

The city’s Home Affairs Bureau “fully backed” a proposal from the Hong Kong Football Association to bid to hold tournaments for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the South China Morning Post reported.

“It’s the right time to send a signal that Hong Kong is ready to resume international mega events in a controlled environment,” the Hong Kong daily quoted an unnamed source as saying.

The mandatory quarantine — one of the strictest in the world — and a travel ban now prevent players and officials from across Asia from travelling to the Chinese city.

Hong Kong is seeking to host games in the Asian Champions League and the AFC Cup, a second-tier club competition, after the AFC requested bids after deciding to play the early phase of the competition in a series of centralized groups due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year’s AFC Cup was canceled because of the global health crisis, while the Asian Champions League was played after a series of delays in a biosecure bubble in Doha, with South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai emerging as champions in December. Hong Kong champions Kitchee have qualified for the group phase of this year’s Asian Champions League, while Eastern and Lee Man are due to play in the AFC Cup. — Reuters

Brooklyn Nets topple Los Angeles Clippers to end perfect West Coast trip

JAMES Harden had 37 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as the Brooklyn Nets won their sixth consecutive contest with a 112-108 victory over the host Los Angeles (LA) Clippers on Sunday.

Kyrie Irving scored 28 points with eight assists as the Nets successfully completed a five-game road trip. They also improved to 7-0 against the Pacific Division this season.

Joe Harris, DeAndre Jordan and Bruce Brown scored 13 each for the Nets. Jordan also grabbed 11 rebounds and recorded four blocks, while Brown had four steals.

Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant (hamstring) missed his fourth straight game. The Nets lost forward Jeff Green with an apparent shoulder injury after a collision with Clippers guard Patrick Beverley with 2:50 remaining.

Paul George had 34 points and seven rebounds, but sat out the game’s crucial minutes down the stretch, possibly because he was on a minutes restriction. Kawhi Leonard had 29 points with five 3-pointers and 13 rebounds, while Ivica Zubac finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Leonard’s two free throws sliced the Nets’ lead to 107-103 with 1:53 left. After a free throw by Jordan gave Brooklyn a five-point advantage, a 3-pointer by Lou Williams and two more foul shots by Leonard tied the score at 108-all with 28.6 seconds left.

Jordan tipped in an Irving miss with 11 seconds remaining for a 110-108 lead. Leonard committed an offensive foul with 8.1 seconds on the clock before Harden sealed the win with two free throws with 7.3 seconds remaining.

The Nets led 89-79 heading into the fourth quarter. They increased the margin to 96-81 after two foul shots by Harden less than four minutes into the quarter before the Clippers rallied.

The Nets owned 58-51 lead at the break. — Reuters

Hong Kong leader gets China’s Sinovac vaccine to bolster public confidence

Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam appealed to all residents to take the vaccine following her vaccination. File photo/Reuters

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam received China’s Sinovac vaccine on Monday together with top officials at a live televised event to bolster public confidence ahead of the vaccine’s rollout in the global financial hub this week.

Sinovac is the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine to be introduced in Hong Kong, ahead of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine set to arrive in the Chinese special administrative region before the end of February.

The city’s vaccine rollout has lagged other developed cities and is far behind mainland China which started last July.

Ms. Lam, dressed in a white t-shirt, was filmed receiving the first vaccine in a center set up at Hong Kong’s central library. Her cabinet ministers including Health Secretary Sophia Chan and Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung lined up to get vaccinated after her.

Ms. Lam appealed to all residents to take the vaccine during a press briefing following her vaccination.

“This requires the full collaboration of the people of Hong Kong to help Hong Kong’s society to recover as soon as possible.”

Health Secretary Chan told Reuters the government was trying to reassure residents worried about taking Sinovac, stating that standards had not been lowered to accept the vaccine and that there was no pressure from Beijing to get it approved.

One million doses of the Sinovac vaccine arrived from Beijing in the former British colony on Friday. Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents can get vaccinated from Feb 26 after applying online.

Residents will be allowed to choose the type of vaccine, the government said.

Anti-mainland sentiment has increased in Hong Kong since 2019 when protesters took to the streets to demonstrate against what they see as Beijing’s strengthening hold over the territory.

A January survey by the University of Hong Kong found that fewer than 30% of people questioned said they would accept the Sinovac vaccine.

Hong Kong has secured a total of 22.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Sinovac and AstraZenca. The city has recorded around 10,800 cases since last January and 197 deaths. — Reuters

New Zealand to push for tariff-free trade of COVID-19 essentials at APEC

Some APEC nations committed last year to keep COVID-19 supply chains open and remove trade restrictions on essential goods, especially medical supplies. But there has been no firm action since.

WELLINGTON — New Zealand will use its platform as host of an Asia-Pacific trade group in the coming months to seek a global approach to coronavirus vaccinations that would eliminate tariffs on goods needed to fight coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Amid concerns that smaller nations may be left behind in vaccinating their populations, New Zealand—one of the most successful countries in curbing the pandemic—will make the proposals at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which it will host virtually this year.

“Our message is that to deal with a global pandemic like this we need more global participation,” said Vangelis Vitalis, New Zealand’s deputy secretary for trade and economy, who chairs the APEC2021 Senior Officials’ Meeting.

“Trade is not going to solve the crisis but trade can help,” he told Reuters in an interview.

New Zealand proposes making shipments between the 21 APEC members of medicines, medical and surgical equipment, hygiene products, and other goods tariff-free and easing other restrictions on their movement across borders.

The proposal would have to be agreed on in the next couple of weeks to get approved at the APEC trade ministers’ meeting in May, Mr. Vitalis said.

Some APEC nations committed last year to keep COVID-19 supply chains open and remove trade restrictions on essential goods, especially medical supplies. But there has been no firm action since.

Only New Zealand and Singapore took this further, eliminating tariffs on more than 120 products they deemed essential.

“It’s worrying that only two small countries have done that,” Mr. Vitalis said. New Zealand wants a ministerial statement listing pandemic-essential products and services, he said.

It would also ease the movement of coronavirus vaccines through air and sea ports, which has been a growing concern amid smaller nations like New Zealand who fear larger economies will buy up and control medical supplies.

Despite efforts by the World Health Organization to ensure smaller nations get their share of vaccines, experts say richer nations have been hoarding vaccines and essential goods, leaving poorer and smaller nations at their mercy for these products.

New Zealand began vaccinating border workers on Saturday, but most of the country’s 5 million people are not expected to get inoculated until the second half of the year.

Mr. Vitalis said “vaccine nationalism,” which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned against last month, is in no one’s interest.

Mutation risks mean a need to avoid “parts of the global population not vaccinated,” he said.

Although vaccine tariffs are low, there are significant charges on equipment like syringes, needles and gloves, which may impede the inoculation process.

The consensus-based APEC has struggled to reach agreements in recent years amid then-President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump last month, has promised a more multilateral approach but is not expected to rush into trade deals with Beijing.

The trade-dependent host nation “would like to see APEC go broader on trade liberalization, but we have to be realistic on what is achievable this year,” said Alan Bollard, the New Zealand-based former executive director of the APEC Secretariat in Singapore.

“COVID-19 is an immediate concern—addressing it is also a chance to ride over ongoing trade barriers,” said Bollard, a former head of New Zealand’s central bank. — Praveen Menon/Reuters

Strike grips Myanmar, anti-coup protesters defy junta’s lethal warning

Businesses shut in Myanmar on Monday in a general strike called to oppose the military coup and thousands of protesters gathered in towns and cities despite a chilling message from the junta that confrontation would cost more lives.

On Sunday, hundreds of people attended the funeral in the capital Naypyitaw of Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, a young woman who became a symbol of resistance after being shot in the head on Feb. 9 while protesting.

On Saturday, two more protesters were killed when police opened fire in the city of Mandalay, marking the bloodiest day in the campaign for the restoration of democracy.

Yet, three weeks after seizing power, the junta has failed to stop daily protests and a civil disobedience movement calling for the reversal of the Feb. 1 coup and release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“Everyone is joining this,” said San San Maw, 46, at the Hledan junction in the main city of Yangon, which has become a rallying point for the protests. “We need to come out.”

State-owned media MRTV warned protesters against action on Monday.

“Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a path of confrontation where they will suffer loss of life,” it said.

Htet Htet Hlaing, 22, said she was scared and had prayed before joining Monday’s demonstration, but would not be discouraged.

“We don’t want the junta, we want democracy. We want to create our own future,” she said. “My mother didn’t stop me from coming out, she only said ‘take care.’”

In a country where dates are seen as auspicious, protesters noted the significance of the date 22.2.2021, comparing it with demonstrations on Aug. 8, 1988, when a previous generation staged anti-military protests which were bloodily suppressed.

The response of security forces this time has been less deadly. Aside from the three protesters that have been killed, the army has said one policeman died of injuries in protests.

The deaths in Mandalay did not discourage protesters on Sunday, when they turned out again in tens of thousands there and in Yangon and elsewhere.

Author and historian Thant Myint-U said the window for a peaceful resolution was closing.

“The outcome of the coming weeks will be determined by just two things: the will of an army that’s crushed many protests before and the courage, skill and determination of the protesters (much of society),” he said on Twitter.

RESTAURANTS SHUT
As well as local stores, international chains announced closures on Monday, including Yum Brands Inc.’s KFC and delivery service Food Panda, owned by Delivery Hero. Southeast Asian company Grab stopped delivery services too, but left its taxis running.

Protesters were also out in various towns around the country including Myitkyina in the north, Bhamo near the Chinese border and in the central town of Pyinmana, according to media reports.

Authorities were “exercising utmost restraint,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. It rebuked some countries for remarks it described as flagrant interference in Myanmar’s internal affairs.

Several Western countries have condemned the coup and decried the violence against protesters.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter the United States would continue to “take firm action” against authorities violently cracking down on opponents of the coup in the Southeast Asian country that is also known as Burma.

“We stand with the people of Burma,” he said.

Britain, Germany, Japan, and Singapore have also condemned the violence and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said lethal force was unacceptable.

Residents in Yangon said roads to some embassies, including the US embassy, were blocked on Monday. The diplomatic missions have become gathering points for protesters calling for foreign intervention.

UN special rapporteur on human rights to Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said he was deeply concerned by the junta’s warning to protesters.

“Unlike 1988, actions by security forces are being recorded and you will be held accountable,” he said on Twitter.

The army seized power after alleging fraud in Nov. 8 elections that were swept by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), detaining her and much of the party leadership. The electoral commission dismissed the fraud complaints.

Myanmar’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said 640 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup—including former members of government and opponents of the army takeover. — Reuters

Japan vaccine supplies to be limited, delaying shots for elderly — minister

Japan has negotiated to receive more than 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Western drugmakers. But domestic regulators have only approved one vaccine so far, and the nation remains dependent on imported supplies that have been held up by production snags and export controls.

TOKYO — Japan will only receive limited doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines for the first months of the inoculation rollout and shots for the elderly will be distributed gradually, the country’s inoculation chief said.

Pfizer Inc., the maker of Japan’s only approved COVID-19 vaccine, is ramping up production in Europe, but those increased supplies are not likely to reach Japan until May, Administrative Reform Minister Taro Kono cautioned on Sunday in an interview with national broadcaster NHK.

“We would like to start vaccinations for the elderly in April, but unfortunately the number of doses allocated to them will be very limited at first, so we want to start slowly,” Mr. Kono said.

Japan has negotiated to receive more than 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Western drugmakers. But domestic regulators have only approved one vaccine so far, and the nation remains dependent on imported supplies that have been held up by production snags and export controls.

Since Mr. Kono, the minister for administrative reform, was tapped last month to lead Japan’s vaccination push, he has resisted giving firm timelines for when doses will arrive and be distributed. Even so, the government has stuck to a pledge to secure enough shots for the whole population of 126 million by June.

Japan has negotiated to receive 144 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine this year, and its second shipment of about 450,000 shots arrived on Sunday.

The inoculation campaign kicked off last week with doctors and nurses getting the first shots. The government is prioritizing vaccinations for around 4.7 million medical workers, about 1 million more than initially estimated. — Reuters

Strike threat by South Korean doctors fans fears of vaccine rollout disruption

SEOUL — Doctors in South Korea have threatened a protest strike against legislation to strip them of licenses following criminal convictions, sparking fears about possible disruption of a coronavirus vaccination effort set to begin this week.

Healthcare workers are set to receive the first batch of AstraZeneca’s vaccine from Friday, as South Korea looks to protect 10 million high-risk people by July, on its way to reaching herd immunity by November.

But over the weekend, the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the largest grouping of doctors, said it would go on strike if parliament passed the bill to revoke the licenses of doctors getting jail terms.

“The bill might result in ordinary, innocent doctors being stripped of their licenses and falling into hell because of an accident that has nothing to do with their job, or lack of legal knowledge,” spokesman Kim Dae-ha said in a statement on Monday.

Association president Choi Dae-zip has called the bill “cruel,” saying its passage into law would “destroy” current cooperation with the government to treat the virus and carry out the vaccine campaign.

No date has been set yet for the strike, the KMA told Reuters, however.

The standoff stoked concern that any strike of doctors could slow the rollout at a time when authorities are scrambling to allocate medical personnel to about 250 inoculation centers and 10,000 clinics nationwide.

Discord over the bill was undesirable ahead of the vaccine rollout, the health ministry said, adding that the doctors’ association was in the grip of a “misunderstanding” about it.

Parliament has been seeking to revise the Medical Service Act to ban physicians guilty of violent crimes, such as sexual abuse and murder, from practicing their skills.

Ruling party lawmakers pushing for the bill denounced the association, saying it was trying to “take public health hostage to maintain impunity from heinous crimes.”

The group of nearly 140,000 has a long history of medical policy disputes with the government.

Many hospitals were depleted of staff during the pandemic last year when it steered weeks-long walkouts over plans to boost the number of medical students, build medical schools, ease insurance coverage and increase telemedicine options.

That action spurred hundreds of thousands of Koreans to file presidential petitions urging punishment for the doctors, as polls showed 58% of respondents opposed the strike. There are no surveys yet on the latest stalemate.

Last week, a government poll showed almost 94% of 367,000 healthcare workers aged 64 or younger in priority groups said they were ready to take the AstraZeneca vaccine, despite concerns over its efficacy in older people. About 95% said they would accept Pfizer products.

South Korea reported 332 new virus infections by Sunday, taking its tally to 87,324, and a death toll of 1,562. —  Sangmi Cha/Reuters

US orders extra inspection of some Boeing 777s after United incident, Japan suspends use

US regulators announced extra inspections on Boeing Co. 777 jets using the same type of engine that shed debris over Denver on Saturday, while Japan went further and suspended their use while it considers what action to take.

The regulatory moves involving Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines came after a United Airlines 777 landed safely at Denver International Airport on Saturday after its right engine failed.

United said on Sunday it would voluntarily and temporarily remove its 24 active planes of the type from its schedule.

Images posted by police in Broomfield, Colorado, showed significant plane debris on the ground, including an engine cowling scattered outside a home and what appeared to be other parts in a field.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said its initial examination of the plane indicated most of the damage was confined to the right engine, with only minor damage to the airplane.

It said the inlet and casing separated from the engine and two fan blades were fractured, while the remainder of the fan blades exhibited damage.

Japan’s transport ministry ordered Japan Airlines Co. Ltd. (JAL) and ANA Holdings Inc. to suspend the use of 777s with P&W4000 engines while it considered whether to take additional measures.

The ministry said that on Dec. 4, 2020, a JAL flight from Naha Airport to Tokyo International Airport returned to the airport due to a malfunction in the left engine about 100 kilometers north of Naha Airport.

That plane is the same age as the 26-year-old United Airlines plane involved in Saturday’s incident.

United is the only US operator of the planes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The other airlines using them are in Japan and South Korea, the US agency said.

“We reviewed all available safety data following yesterday’s incident,” the FAA said in a statement. “Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes.”

Japan said ANA operated 19 of the type and JAL operated 13 of them.

Pratt & Whitney, owned by Raytheon Technologies Corp., was not available immediately for comment.

Boeing said its technical advisers are supporting the US National Transportation Safety Board with its investigation.

A spokeswoman for South Korea’s transport ministry said it was monitoring the situation but had not yet taken any action.

In Feb. 2018, a 777 of the same age operated by United and bound for Honolulu suffered an engine failure when a cowling fell off about 30 minutes before the plane landed safely. The NTSB determined that incident was the result of a full-length fan blade fracture.

Because of that 2018 incident, Pratt & Whitney reviewed inspection records for all previously inspected PW4000 fan blades, the NTSB said. The FAA in March 2019 issued a directive requiring initial and recurring inspections of the fan blades on the PW4000 engines. — Jamie Freed and David Shepardson/Reuters

China calls for reset in Sino-US relations

BEIJING — Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said on Monday the United States and China could work together on issues like climate change and the coronavirus pandemic if they repaired their damaged bilateral relationship.

Mr. Wang, a Chinese state councillor and foreign minister, said Beijing stood ready to reopen constructive dialogue with Washington after relations between the two countries sank to their lowest in decades under former president Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Wang called on Washington to remove tariffs on Chinese goods and abandon what he said was an irrational suppression of the Chinese tech sector, steps he said would create the “necessary conditions” for cooperation.

Before Mr. Wang spoke at a forum sponsored by the foreign ministry, officials played footage of the “ping-pong diplomacy” of 1972 when an exchange of table tennis players cleared the way for then US President Richard Nixon to visit China.

Mr. Wang urged Washington to respect China’s core interests, stop “smearing” the ruling Communist Party, stop interfering in Beijing’s internal affairs and stop “conniving” with separatist forces for Taiwan’s independence.

“Over the past few years, the United States basically cut off bilateral dialogue at all levels,” Mr. Wang said in prepared remarks translated into English.

“We stand ready to have candid communication with the US side, and engage in dialogues aimed at solving problems.”

Mr. Wang pointed to a recent call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as a positive step.

Washington and Beijing have clashed on multiple fronts including trade, accusations of human rights crimes against the Uighur Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region and Beijing’s territorial claims in the resources-rich South China Sea.

The Biden administration has, however, signaled it will maintain pressure on Beijing. Mr. Biden has voiced concern about Beijing’s “coercive and unfair” trade practices and endorsed a Trump administration determination that China has committed genocide in Xinjiang.

However, Mr. Biden has also pledged to take a more multilateral approach and is keen to cooperate with Beijing on issues like climate change and persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. — Reuters

Philippines approves Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use

MANILA (UPDATE) – The Philippines has approved Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, but will not give it to healthcare workers at risk of exposure due to its varying levels of efficacy, its Food and Drugs Agency (FDA) said on Monday.

Late-stage trial data of Sinovac’s vaccine showed it had a lower efficacy when used for healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19 compared with healthy individuals age 18-59, said FDA chief Rolando Enrique Domingo.

The Philippines has about 1.4 million health workers.

“According to our experts, (Sinovac’s) vaccine is not the best vaccine for them,” Domingo said in a briefing, referring to health workers.

He cited results of clinical trials of Sinovac’s CoronaVac in Brazil, Turkey and Indonesia.

CoronaVac is the third candidate to get emergency approval for use in the Southeast Asian nation of over 108 million.

That clears the way for the delivery of 600,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccines that China has agreed to donate, which were due to arrive on Tuesday but had been delayed because of the absence of the authorisation.

The Philippines, which has the second highest of coronavirus infections and deaths in Southeast Asia, has yet to begin its immunisation campaign.

It was banking on 117,000 Pfizer-BioNTech shots secured through the international vaccine sharing facility COVAX to kick off its vaccine programme.

However, the unresolved question of who would pay for claims for damages in the event of adverse effects from the inoculations has delayed the delivery.

A bill is pending in Congress that seeks to grant indemnity to coronavirus vaccine makers.

“We ask for your patience because the vaccines were delayed by a few days, but we can finally begin the vaccination,” Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a separate briefing. — Reuters

[B-SIDE Podcast] No vaccine, will travel?

Follow us on Spotify BusinessWorld B-Side

The tourism and hospitality industry is focusing on the domestic market since pandemic-related restrictions have hamstrung international travel. While the Philippines waits for vaccines, hotel operators—and other stakeholders—are finding ways to assure people that it’s safe to venture out. “We’re still hopeful that we can rely on local travel but it will take time. We need to get people back on their feet,” Cinty R. Yniguez, director of sales and marketing at Seda Vertis North, tells former BusinessWorld senior reporter Zsarlene B. Chua. “A lot of destinations have been successful at reeling in travelers and [helping them] surpass their anxiety and paranoia.”

TAKEAWAYS

With health as their priority, businesses are reimagining their product offerings.

The buffet at Misto, Seda Vertis North’s all-day dining restaurant, reopened in December 2020 albeit with changes to the experience. The revamped “new normal” Misto buffet allows its diners to go to the buffet stations and see the spread—behind plexiglass. The restaurant’s culinary team then gets the food for them.

“You can enjoy and indulge in a spread of dishes without having so many people touch the dishes,” said Ms. Yniguez. “We have a feast for the eyes and for the senses by actually seeing the buffet spread but we have the safety by having the culinary team actually serve the dishes to you.”

It’s better for businesses to think of ways to move forward, with or without the vaccine.

The imminent arrival of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in the Philippines has everyone excited but Ms. Yniguez prefers to be pragmatic. “To see is to believe,” she said of the local inoculation drive. “In the meantime, … we need to keep moving forward and take this time to hone our skills and train up, to diversify and improve our product and service offerings. So that when the recovery happens, we are more than well prepared.”

Multitasking is the name of the game.

“You need to be able to do other jobs so that you’ll survive, so that you can contribute significantly to the success of whatever establishment you’re in,” said Ms. Yniguez,  but at the same time, she emphasized maintaining healthy boundaries between work and home.

This B-Side episode was recorded remotely on Feb. 2, 2021. Produced  by Nina M. Diaz, Paolo L. Lopez, and Sam L. Marcelo.

Follow us on Spotify BusinessWorld B-Side

 

SM Prime through SM Foundation donate school building to GenSan school

Amid the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, SM Foundation (SMFI) remains a catalyst for change in the education sector as it turns over its 103rd SM school building to Banisil National High School (BNHS) on February 19 in General Santos City.

Through the support from SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime), this effort was made possible to better equip the teachers and students of BNHS with quality academic facilities once the conduct of face-to-face classes are permitted.

In 2012, the BNHS received its first SM school building – but being the only secondary school in Barangay Tambler, BNHS recorded a significant increase in their enrollment per year. With this challenge, the SM Foundation decided to provide another edifice of hope for the sub-urban Muslim community, addressing the growing needs of BNHS learners and teachers.

Consistent with the disaster resilient design of an SM school building, the newly constructed two-story, four-classroom school building has 200 armchairs with specially made chairs for left-handed students, four sets of teacher’s table/chair, 16 wall fans, eight concave panoramic whiteboards, four wall clocks, and four washrooms with flush toilets and washbasins. A new-persons-with disability (PWD) ramp leading to a spacious PWD washroom complete with handrails, flush toilet, washbasin and a concrete tiled bench have been added for the comfort of PWDs.

The SMFI also installed a 10-faucet handwashing facility, with a 500-liter water tank, to promote proper hygiene. Moreover, a dedicated green space (with concrete tables and benches) for learners were also provided to promote environmental consciousness.

The SM School building also has a dedicated room for each of the following: a clinic cum isolation room, a book corner, and a guidance room.

SGV & Co, through SM Foundation, donated laptops to BNHS teachers.

In addition to the facility, SGV & Co., through SM Foundation, donated 10 laptops for the teachers of BNHS for use in holding their virtual classes which are considered important digital tools to ensure the delivery of quality education.

BNHS principal ShielaBalbon expressed her sincerest gratitude to SM, “Our salute to our longtime partner, SM Foundation and SM Prime, for being so generous and proactive in providing us with school buildings that are conducive to learning. We are so grateful for your extended support to our school amidst the pandemic.”

Meanwhile, SM Foundation School Building Program head Juris Soliman reaffirmed the organization’s commitment in bringing social good projects, especially in terms of education, to SM’s host communities, “Just like all of us, SM recently braved the obstacles of six strong typhoons, Taal Volcano eruption and the most turbulent, the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these hardships, we will continue to bring our school building program to our host communities.”

SM Foundation, through its School Building Program, is an active partner of DepEd’s Adopt-a-School program which aims to promote quality public education by building classrooms nationwide. To date, it has turned over more than 100 school buildings to grassroots communities nationwide.

1...8,3968,3978,398...14,181Page 8,397 of 14,181
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube