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BPOs scale back upskilling program to 1,000 trainees

THE business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is scaling down its upskilling program to about 1,000 employees this year as it shifts to online training sessions due to disruptions caused by the pandemic.

The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) still hopes to train a million employees over five years, but acknowledges the funding is not yet available.

IBPAP Chief Executive Officer and President Rey E. Untal said in an online interview Wednesday that the pilot program will be launched by late July or early August. The original launch date in May was postponed because of the lockdown.

“We also had to taper (the scale) down a bit because now the modality of teaching will be online versus our original plan (of) combined online and classroom.”

He said the pilot program was scaled back from the original 4,000 to 5,000 participants. This includes employees already in the industry, or prospective outsourcing workers.

The pilot program is funded by the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

“The intent, really, when this goes full blast is a very ambitious program (of) more than 100,000, and it increases every year. But… the need for funding is very critical and this is not something that is available right now,” Mr. Untal said.

He said a proposal to reduce corporate income tax rates and overhaul fiscal incentives could have generated P5 billion yearly for the industry’s skills upgrade program.

“Unfortunately we don’t see that right now in the (CREATE) bill.”

The repackaged Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) bill aims to offer tailored incentives for investors and accelerate the timeline for reducing corporate income tax.

IBPAP estimates that the upskilling and reskilling of 1 million workers will require P40 billion in funding from the government, possibly supplemented by overseas assistance. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Grab to spare riders from cost of canceled orders

GRAB Philippines (Grab) is developing a new model to avoid “no-show” incidents in its food delivery service, the ride-hailing company said on Thursday.

“We are moving towards a system around August, ‘yun po ang ating (that’s our) target, whereby payment will not have to be advanced by the rider anymore,” Nicka Hosaka, Grab Philippines (MyTaxi.PH) public affairs manager, said during the hearing of the House committee on trade and industry.

“Moving towards August, we will be implementing this model whereby pagdating po sa (upon arrival at the) restaurant, the delivery-partner will not need to bring out any cash or pay any cash. He will simply pick up the order and the restaurant po already receives the payment straight via the app,” she added.

Currently, Grab’s system of food delivery requires the driver to advance the payment for the food ordered by a customer. The driver will then be paid by the customer after the food is delivered.

In case of no-show incidents, Grab has a 100% reimbursement process wherein riders are paid only after reporting cancellations of customers.

Ms. Hosaka said that the new system would provide a digital “driver wallet” amounting to P1,500 to P2,000 paid by Grab for delivery-riders.

“Meron tayong mine-maintain na driver wallet. So kung ano po ‘yung kokolektahin niya from the eater, ‘yun naman po ang made-debit sa kanyang wallet. If they’re not able to collect any payment from the eater or the customer dahil nagkaroon ng no-show incident, wala pong nababawas sa kanilang wallet,” she said.

(We are maintaining a driver wallet. What is to be collected from the eater will be debited from the wallet. If they’re not able to collect any payment from the eater or the customer because of a no-show incident, there will be no deduction from their wallet.)

“We are just reversing. It is already Grab who will advance it. One-hundred percent of the monetary liability will now be on Grab,” Ms. Hosaka added.

The committee was discussing House Bill 6958, which seeks to protect food delivery riders from cancelled orders.

The bill prohibits customers from canceling confirmed orders for the delivery of food and grocery items when the order has been paid by or is in the possession of the delivery rider, or in transit to the customer.

The measure also covers instances where customers order food and grocery items as a prank, which causes financial loss to the delivery riders and their service providers.

Violators are to be fined P100,000, directed to reimburse the value of the food and grocery items, and pay the service provider double the value of the canceled transaction.

The panel created a technical working group to further discuss the bill. — Genshen L. Espedido

Disneyland’s July reopening delayed indefinitely

Walt Disney Co. indefinitely delayed the reopening of its theme parks in Anaheim, California, because it didn’t think it could get approvals from the state and reach agreements with its unions in time. The company still plans to open its Downtown Disney shopping district on July 9, but it is no longer moving ahead with the planned July 17 reopening of its Disneyland and California Adventure parks. A new date wasn’t given. “Given the time required for us to bring thousands of cast members back to work and restart our business, we have no choice but to delay the reopening of our theme parks and resort hotels until we receive approval from government officials,” the company said in a statement. The Downtown Disney district reopening remains on track under state guidelines for restaurant and retail openings, the company said. And the Master Services Union, which represents the district’s retail workers, previously signed an agreement to return to work. Opening the theme parks themselves has proven more contentious. A union representing hotel and restaurant workers at Disneyland had planned to protest the reopening, saying it isn’t yet satisfied that it’s safe to return to the resort. Disney, which has already reopened its resorts in Shanghai and Hong Kong, put in place a number of safety measures. In a blog post, Chief Medical Officer Pamela Hymel said she’s been working with a team of experts on enhanced cleaning, social distancing and other precautions. The company said it had reached agreements with unions representing a large part of its workforce. — Bloomberg

The resilience of remittances

In the World Bank’s 2019 Migration and Development Brief, the Philippines ranked as the world’s fourth-largest remittance destination after India, China, and Mexico, while among the top originating countries of senders were the US, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Our economy is being propped up partly by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who contribute about 10% of the annual gross national income. According to the latest statistics from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), personal remittances from OFWs amounted to $8.2 billion in the first quarter of 2020, 1.5% higher than the year-ago level. This was on top of the $33.5-billion all-time high recorded in 2019, up by 3.9% from the previous year.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno expects OFW remittances to grow by 2% in 2020 despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global labor market. BSP’s original growth forecast of 3% has been tempered though, due to the repatriation of OFWs from host countries highly affected by the coronavirus.

This is validated by a study conducted by international payments company UniTeller that showed remittances remaining resilient, being a vital lifeline for many low-income families back home. “Recent government subsidies and lifting of lockdowns have eased the impact of the pandemic,” UniTeller CEO Alberto Guerra said during a Zoom webinar.

The study titled “Both Sides of the Coin” looked into the behavior of regular low-income remittance recipients in the Philippines, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Findings revealed that half of OFW remittances received by Filipino households were used for day-to-day family needs combined with bill payments and loan repayments.

Nearly 20% of these recipients admitted they regularly ran out of money before the next anticipated date of remittance. Noel Cristal, UniTeller’s business development head for Asia, lamented that those remitted funds are not being used efficiently. The average monthly remittance value of $446 per OFW sender exceeded by two and a half times the average household income of recipients in the Philippines per month.

The report uncovered the Asian remittance trail from Singapore, Hong Kong, and America that found its way mostly to the sender’s spouse, parents, and children across the markets studied. One out of every three senders expressed misgivings about remittance payments causing them emotional stress, especially with regard to the expectations generated among the recipients. Indeed, the globalization of work has affected family ties — with main senders still wanting to live overseas even if they did not really need the money themselves.

Messrs. Guerra and Cristal highlighted the importance of embracing the digitalization of remittances. They noted that digital channels for international money transfers are becoming more popular, with 97% of Filipino respondents disclosing they own smartphones and 78% have mobile wallet accounts.

As the reliance on remittances increases, a key challenge is ensuring this income translates to building sustainable growth. After all, remittances can alleviate poverty and would become more efficient when migrant workers and their families are educated on digital remittance solutions that could bolster financial literacy and economic inclusion.

COVID-19 may have had a negative impact on the global remittance industry, but for a recipient nation like the Philippines, the so-called “padala” from abroad will continue to be a major driver and significant pillar of the economy in the coming years.

 

J. Albert Gamboa is the CFO of Asian Center for Legal Excellence and chairman of FINEX Publications.

Safe form of UV light kills airborne coronavirus

CEILING fixtures emitting a safe form of ultraviolet light called far-UVC would be very efficient at killing airborne coronaviruses, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University. “A very low exposure to far-UVC light killed well over 99.9% of the exposed virus,” lead researcher Dr. David Brenner told Reuters.

The researchers put coronavirus particles into little droplets and floated them in the air in front of far-UVC lights, then collected the viruses and tested them to see how many were still active.

The study, published on Wednesday in Scientific Reports, used coronaviruses that cause common colds.

“But in our subsequent ongoing studies we have found that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is killed in just the same way by far-UVC light,” Dr. Brenner said.

The idea would be to install overhead far-UVC lights in public locations, where they would be “continuously killing microbes, including the COVID-19 virus — and so limiting the spread of the virus,” Dr. Brenner said, adding that far-UVC manufacturers are already ramping up production.

“We don’t see far-UVC light as an alternative to masks and social distancing,” Dr. Brenner said.

“We see it as a new extra weapon that we can use in the battle against COVID-19.” — Reuters

Managing a stubborn, hard-working employee

I’m a 35-year-old department manager at a small enterprise with around 200 workers. I have a problem employee inherited from another manager who resigned late last year. Monique is in her 40s and prides herself as knowledgeable, getting things done in the way things have always been handled. I tried to introduce some changes but my proposals fell on deaf ears. According to my fellow managers, Monique is reliable, loyal and hard-working, except that I don’t see it when she works for me. I’ve talked to her many times to find out why we’re having issues, but nothing happened after several attempts. Do you have any idea how to resolve this issue? — Moon River.

Two young men went into a carnival. They were drawn to a booth with five plastic balls bobbing on top of a water jet. Customers won prizes for shooting any of the balls off the water jet. One of the men had already spent a substantial sum in a vain attempt to pick off even one ball.

Finally, his friend pushed him aside and picked up the rifle. “Watch how I do it,” he said. He took a single shot. All five balls disappeared. As they walked away from the booth with their prizes, his friend marveled at him and asked, “How did you do that?”

“I shot the man working the water pump,” his companion replied.

Of course, you should never do any shooting at the office. But the exaggerations in the story only emphasize the need to deal directly with the source. I know what you’ve done. You’ve spoken to Monique about your concerns. Nothing happened. She may not accept your input, but I suspect she’s hurting because of being bypassed for promotion.

Is it possible that she was expecting to be promoted as the department manager, instead of the company hiring an outsider like you? I’m sure it might have crossed your mind, except that it was not apparent in your story. So, no matter what the cause is, Monique has to toe the line as you’re the one responsible for the success or failure of your department.

Every step of the way, listen to her ideas and concerns, but don’t immediately jump to conclusions that she’s wrong and the old policies and procedures must be changed. Listen with an open mind and give her every chance to explain why the old rules must be sustained.

FOUR POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
One, consult all parties involved and seek the CEO’s approval. If you think drastic changes are needed without delay, then seek the consensus of all department managers who may be adversely affected by your new idea. Justify your actions, complete with facts and figures to support your position. Taking this approach gives you a good chance of approval from the CEO or your direct boss. If this happens, Monique may not be in a position to defy the new directive.

Two, discover the career interests of your direct reports. This must include Monique. Not doing so is the equivalent of a ship sailing without a compass. If you know the career objectives of your subordinates, it will be easy for you to understand the motives behind many issues. Of course, knowing about the workers’ interests and how you respond are two different things. The next step, therefore, is to provide opportunities for workers to meet their goals, and not just Monique.

Three, hand out challenging work assignments. This includes projects outside of the workers’ job description. However, make sure that you don’t create 3D (dirty, difficult, dangerous) jobs just to give workers the chance to prove their worth, especially if the jobs force them to go beyond the call of duty. Whatever special projects you may create, determine if they are still within the employee’s career interests.There is also a chance their preferences may have changed.

Last, monitor the results and adjust accordingly. You shouldn’t act briefly and go back to your comfort zone. You need to check Monique’s attitude and performance. Once in a while, offer assistance. Embrace every opportunity to talk to your workers, individually or through department meetings.

POSITIVE INTERACTIONS
Nobody enjoys working with negative people like Monique. But that doesn’t mean you play favorites with the positive people in your department. You just need to show that you’re a determined manager who is interested in making life better for everyone. This means taking the time to promote positive interactions with everyone, regardless of rank and career interests.

A friendly smile and occasional small talk will go a long way towards building comfortable working relationships. Avoid sensitive topics like religion, politics, race, or even gender orientation as they’re unnecessary irritants in the workplace.

Know a little bit about everyone and give them a fair share of information about your personal life. Who knows? You may even discover common interests. That’s the key to an exciting, long-term work relationship, which is often ignored by busy people managers.

 

Send anonymous questions to elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.consulting

St. Luke’s upgrades convalescent plasma collection machine

ST. LUKE’S Medical Center (St. Luke) received upgraded equipment for convalescent plasma therapy that will increase the hospital’s collection capacity.

In a statement, St. Luke’s said the two new convalescent plasma collection machines can significantly increase the amount of plasma collection and number of patients who can undergo the treatment.

The two donated Scinomed Plasma Collection Machines cut the time for collection of donor plasma from 1.2-1.5 hours to just 40 minutes.

“This provides greater efficiency, increased donor comfort and safety, and increased plasma collection given the same timeframe,” it said.

The machines can also collect up to 1,000 milliliters (ml) of convalescent plasma instead of 500 ml.

“This increased volume of plasma can be easily transferred to smaller bags, providing treatment to two to three patients, instead of the current one patient,” St. Luke’s said.

Arturo De La Peña, president and chief executive of the hospital, said he was grateful to Getz Healthcare Philippines for its donation “since these machines will greatly help us extend the best treatment for our patients.”

Plasma, a component of the blood, from a coronavirus infection survivor is infused into patients with severe symptoms, giving them antibodies to reduce their load of the virus. — Vann Marlo Villegas

Stuff to do at home (06/26/20)

Earthday Jam Sessions

For the last 19 years, the Earthday Jam Foundation has staged the longest running Earthday tribute. This year however, its 20th year, will be a totally different celebration as it will go online because of the COVID-10 pandemic. The Earth Jam Sessions will be livestreamed on June 27, 8:30 p.m., on the Earthday Jam Foundation’s Facebook page. The online special will have live acoustic performances by top Filipino artists Autotelic, Jaya, Gloc-9, Karylle, Kiara (of Imago), Nyoy Volante, Sandwich, The Itchyworms, and Zsazsa Padilla. The event will also serve as a fundraiser, with all proceeds to sustain the campaign including the songwriting contests, art lessons, tree planting, and music jamming that the Earthday Jam Foundation has lined up for the year. For every donation, Earthday Jam T-shirts and bandanas will be given as memorabilia. For corporate and company support, donations can be deposited in the foundation’s official bank accounts. For more information, e-mail earthdayjamfoundation@gmail.com, or visit Earthdayjamfoundation.com. To watch the session, visit www.facebook.com/EarthdayJamFoundation.

PETA’s Storytelling Sundays

For June’s final episode of Storytelling Sundays, PETA revisits Christine Bellen’s “Batang Rizal” on June 28, 7 p.m. The story is a condensed adaptation for the digital platform with new animation. To watch, visit PETA’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/petatheater and YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/petatheateronline.

Changing Partners on iWant

The movie Changing Partners is now available on iWant. Directed by Dan Villegas, with book and music written by Vincent De Jesus, the movie features the same cast from the stage musical: Agot Isidro, Anna Luna, Jojit Lorenzo, and Sandino Martin. The film is available until July 20.

National Theatre at Home

The UK National Theatre at Home initiatives presents its adaptation of Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, the show stars Gwendoline Christie as Queen Titania, Oliver Chris as King Oberon, David Moorst as Puck, and Hammed Animashaun as Nick Bottom. To watch, visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDq1XzCY0NIOYVJvEMQjqw. The show is available until July 2.

Hamilton on Disney+

A recording of a live performance of the original Broadway musical Hamilton will be streaming on Disney+ beginning July 3. The Tony award-winning musical follows the story of America’s founding father Alexander Hamilton and his rise to and fall from power. The production includes cast members of the original Broadway musical including Lin Manuel-Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton; and Jonathan Groff as King George II. Order Disney+ at https://preview.disneyplus.com/ph.

Last week of VLF 2020 Kapit online

THE Virgin Labfest (VLF) is now on its last week on the virtual stage. Catch the free live online performances of the featured plays at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ official Facebook account and VLF official Facebook account until June 28. Virgin Labfest 2020: KAPIT is also available on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/ondemand/vlf2020kapit) until July 1. Watch at your own leisure with the regular package (P100) or the premium package (P200). Limited performances come with English subtitles. The Playwright’s Fair will be livestreamed on June 25 to 27, at 8 p.m. Meanwhile, the VLF Fellowship Program concludes with an online staged reading of the fellows’ works on June 28 at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. VLF 2020 Kapit: Lab in the Time of Covid (A Virtual Labfest Edition), the theater festival of untried, untested and unstaged plays features nine new works, three revisited plays, and six staged readings. For Festival Schedule and synopses, visit https://bit.ly/3bT6Y3y.

Zsazsa Zaturnnah ze Muzikal online

CARLO Vergara’s superhero comedy-musical Zsazsa Zaturnnah ze Muzikal which premiered online on June 20, is currently on view at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ YouTube channel (bit.ly/CCPOnlineYT). The musical stars Eula Valdez in the title role. It is online until June 27.

Exhibit, playlist on Nat’l Artist Jose Maceda

The exhibit Attitude of the Mind was one of the activities included in the MACEDA 100 program that celebrated the birth centennial of National Artist for Music Jose Maceda (1917-2004). The exhibit catalog is now available for digital download on the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) website. Accompanying the text of the publication are nine audio tracks which were either based on actual pieces by Maceda or inspired by his musical practice. The exhibition catalog and audio playlist are also available online. Attitude of the Mind ran from Sept. 26 to Dec. 3, 2017 at the CCP’s Bulwagang Juan Luna (Main Gallery). To view the exhibition, visit https://www.culturalcenter.gov.ph/events/online/maceda-100-attitude-of-the-mind/detail.

Silverlens reopening

After three months of lockdown, Silverlens Galleries reopens with two exhibitions: Sustainable Anxiety by Pow Martinez and Little Blue Window by Corinne de San Jose on June 25. Sustainable Anxiety features eight new paintings that offer keen observations on living in this digital age. Little Blue Window features cyanotype prints depicting various aspects of our changing lifestyles. Gallery visits are limited and by appointment only (Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Walk-in visits will not be accepted. An online exhibition catalogue will be on view starting June 25. For more information, contact info@silverlensgalleries.com.

Tesoros goes online

Tesoros Philippine Handicrafts just opened its online store at https://tesoros.ph/ which includes food products, personal care items, fashion, accessories, and souvenir items.

Book celebrity greetings online

Fan mail, autographs, and signed posters are now a thing of the past with the release of CelebrityGreetings.PH, the Philippines’ first personalized celebrity shout out booking website. Through www.celebritygreetings.ph, Filipinos around the world can now request personal greetings from their favorite celebrities for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, or simple shout outs. The personal videos run for a minute.

Freelipiniana online

THE Likhaan: UP Institute of Creative Writing offers the Freelipiniana Online Library at bit.ly/Freelipiniana. It contains published literary works — novels, poetry, and anthologies — by Filipino writers and publishers. Read the introduction and how-to at bit.ly/FOLlaunch prior to your visit.

Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Swan Song Series

BALLET Manila presents Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s favorite roles from her Swan Song Series for streaming on its official social media pages, www.facebook.com/balletmanilaofficial and www.youtube.com/c/balletmanilaofficial. This week, Don Quixote which will be available until June 26, 10 p.m.

Walang Rape sa Bontok

THE LOCKDOWN Cinema Club initiative, the Habi Collective, and the Concerned Artists of the Philippines present free online streaming of documentaries, with Lester Valle’s Walang Rape sa Bontok on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/400805507. Password is: EndRapeCulturePH.

French film festival online

THE French embassy presents IFCinema a la carte, a festival of films from France and Africa, this month. While in normal years the films are shown in theaters across the country, this year the films will be shown online. Ten full features and 11 short films will be screened online at https://ifcinema.institutfrancaise.com/en/alacarte. All 21 films are subtitled in English and are available online until July 13.

BBC Shakespeare’s Macbeth

BBC Shakespeare presents the Royal Shakespeare Company staging of Macbeth featuring Christopher Eccleston in the title role. To watch, visit https://bbc.in/2YonTp.

National Theatre at Home

THE UK National Theatre at Home initiatives presents its 2019 production of Small Island. Based on Andrea Levy’s Orange Prize-winning novel, the show is directed by the National Theatre’s artistic director Rufus Norris. It stars Leah Harvey as Hortense, Aisling Loftus as Queenie, and Gershwyn Eustache Jr as Gilbert. To watch, visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDq1XzCY0NIOYVJvEMQjqw. The show is available until June 25.

TP’s Mabining Mandirigma

TANGHALANG Pilipino, through the Pantawid ng Tanghalan fundraising project, presents the award-winning steampunk musical Mabining Mandirigma until July 12 on iWant. To donate, visit https://bit.ly/KTXPantawidNgTanghalan. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/tanghalangpilipino/.

New show at BenCab Museum

JOHN Frank Sabado’s solo show, Distinction, which is up at BenCab Museum’s Gallery Indigo until Aug. 2, can be viewed online at the museum’s exhibit Facebook page (https://web.facebook.com/pg/bencabmuseum/photos/?tab=album&album_id=3113556848702650). The exhibit features Mr. Sabado’s new series of intricate pen and ink drawings that take a deeper look into the distinct ethnic markers of the peoples of the Philippine Cordillera. Also on view is Art Lozano’s show, Nesting Ground, which features one of the artist’s favorite subjects, the Volkswagen Beetle.

CAST Recording

CAST Recording’s third radio drama: Arnold Bennett’s A Question of Sex is now on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/5bLSOsJPkZnIaEFDfSSHbl?si=ndUICgUUQj-UKIjxEGbW6w&fbclid=IwAR06k5DEB0zRa4b1jCqeglmtENl3lTwCAwlcOiLltwcNGjg84r8qHdhmL-M). Directed by Nelsito Gomez, the reading features Reb Atadero, Sarah Facuri, Cathy Azanza-Dy, and Jeremy Domingo.

National Museum of the Philippines

THE National Museum of the Philippines has released a new coloring set with Larry Dianco’s illustrations of endemic orchids such as the waling-waling. To download, visit https://www.facebook.com/nationalmuseumofthephilippines/photos/a.195151237175869/3282991451725150/?type=3&theater.

J.K. Rowling’s The Ickabog

Best-selling author J.K. Rowling is releasing her new children’s novel The Ickabog online. Several chapters are currently available, with more chapters to be released over the next few weeks. The book is set for full release in November. Read the chapters for free at https://www.theickabog.com/.

Swans for Relief

Thirty-two premier ballerinas from 22 dance companies in 14 countries — including Ballet Philippines’ Denise Parungao and Jemima Reyes — dance in a video of Le Cygne (The Swan) to the music by Camille Saint-Saëns, performed by cellist Wade Davis. The video was done in support of Swans for Relief, a fundraising program organized by dancers Misty Copeland and Joseph Phillips. Funds will be distributed to participating dance companies as a COVID-19 relief fund. To watch performances, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT14o5Wq7gE/. To donate, visit https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/swansforrelief.

NCCA online

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) presents The National Artists series of Sagisag Kultura TV at the NCCA Youtube (https://tinyurl.com/NationalArtistSeries). Premiering episodes include videos of National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin, National Artist for Dance Leonor Orosa-Gocquinco, and National Artist for Music Lucrecia Kalisag.

Tanghalang Pilipino’s Pantawid ng Tanghalan

Tanghalang Pilipino launches the Pantawid ng Tanghalan fundraising project to sustain its commitment to providing the public with artistically excellent and socially relevant productions during the pandemic. Until June 30, the theater company is streaming six of its original plays through iWant. The streaming plays are Lam-ang: An Entho Epic Musical; Mabining Mandirigma; Coriolano; Pangarap sa Isang Gabi ng Gitnang Tag-araw; Der Kaufmann; and Sandosenang Sapatos. To donate, visit https://ktx.abs-cbn.com/events/25444/pantawid-ng-tanghalan.

NHCP Museums

LEARN about Philippine history by visiting various National Historical Commission of the Philippines museums across the country online. To do so, visit https://www.facebook.com/historymuseumsPH/photos/a.474072142988822/769005046828862/?type=3&theater.

Foo Fighters at the Wembley Stadium

THE Foo Fighters’ concert film Live at the Wembley Stadium is now available online at the band’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcwBsntqjmY&feature=emb_title). The show features guest performances by Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin.

Jerrold Tarog’s Senior Year

WRITTEN, directed, edited and scored by Jerrold Tarog, the film Senior Year (2010) is now streaming on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/404089376). Set in a Catholic school the story follows the struggles and anxieties of students during their final year in high school.

Dulaan UP’s Adarna

DULAANG UP’s play Adarna (2013) is now streaming online. Adapted by Vlad Gonzales and directed by José Estrella, the story is based on the narrative poem about three princes’ quest to save their ailing father by capturing the Adarna bird which is believed to have curative powers. To watch, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=hV2UPXi1wMA&feature=emb_title.

National Library of the Philippines

THE National Library of the Philippines offers free scholarly eResources including research related to COVID-19. The list of resources come from the National Emergency Library, Cochrane Library (Medical & Health Science), De Gruyter — Journals (Multidisciplinary), and more. To view access links to eResources, visit https://www.facebook.com/NLP1901/photos/a.375779479606724/912930019224998/?type=3&theater.

Guggenheim artbooks

THE Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum offers downloadable items from its archives for free. Titles include modern and contemporary art books about Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Vassily Kandinsky, Gustav Klimt and more. The archive is searchable by artist, year, medium and artistic style or movement. Visit the archives, https://archive.org/details/guggenheimmuseum.

IkotMNL tour from home

THE Museo de Intramuros, Ayala Museum, and Presidential Museum and Library in Malacañang Palace have partnered with Google to put their works online. Learn new things at home and visit the museums through a virtual tour: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/malacanang-presidential-museum-and-library; https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/ayala-museum; and https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/intramuros-administration.

Film masterclasses

LEARN film concepts through interviews and film retrospectives from more than 60 directors, producers, writers, and actors including Bong Joon-Ho, Abbas Kiarostami, Agnès Varda, Spike Lee, Werner Herzog (with Roger Ebert), Jane Campion, Jodie Foster, Todd Haynes, Ang Lee, Jessica Lange, and Clint Eastwood. To watch, visit https://walkerart.org/magazine/series/dialogues-film-retrospectives.

Radiohead Concerts

BRITISH rock band Radiohead has been uploading some of its concerts via its official YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/user/radiohead). Fans of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band, known for songs like “Creep” (1992) and “Fake Plastic Trees” (1995), can watch the concerts Live from a Tent in Dublin (2000) and Live in Berlin (2006).

David Guetta: United at Home

FRENCH DJ David Guetta, the man behind the song “Titanium” (2011) featuring singer SIA, held a live concert fundraiser inside his Miami home benefiting the World Health Organization and other charities. The two-hour concert is currently available on his YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/user/davidguettavevo).

Frank Lloyd Wright virtual tours

THE Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, in partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Unity Temple Restoration Foundation is offering #WrightVirtualVisits every Thursdays (1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific time) in participating sites. Check the participating sites at https://savewright.org/news/public-wright-sites-swap-virtual-visits/.

Color Tolkien characters

THE official Facebook page of the late author J.R.R. Tolkien has uploaded an illustration of Smaug the Magnificent from The Hobbit Movie Trilogy Colouring Book. Download the coloring sheet at https://bit.ly/2wKY3lp.

Harry Potter exhibit online

THE British Library’s Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibition is available online through Google Arts and Culture. Its features include video clips and sketches, a Q&A with exhibit curator Julian Harrison. To view, visit https://artsandculture.google.com/project/harry-potter-a-history-of-magic.

Hogwarts online

HOGWARTS Is Here, an online version of the Harry Potter series’ magical school by Harry Potter fans that allows visitors to take courses like the characters from J.K. Rowling’s book series. Various courses include Astronomy, Herbology, History of Magic, and Transfiguration. The website also includes a forum, groups, and library feature. Visit http://www.hogwartsishere.com/.

Color Manolo Blahnik designs

MANOLO Blahnik shares a selection of his original sketches for coloring. The shoe designs are downloadable at https://www.manoloblahnik.com/gb/smile.html.

Podcasts on Philippine crime

STORIES After Dark features podcasts on Philippine true crime and mystery stories. It currently has 14 episodes including The Maguindanao Massacre (2009), The Ozone Disco Fire (1996), and Pepsi Paloma: Rape or Publicity Stunt? Suicide or Murder? (1982/1985). To listen, visit https://www.facebook.com/storiesafterdarkph/.

Palacio de Memoria virtual tour

ART and history enthusiasts can now go on a virtual tour of Palacio de Memoria, the resplendent Colonial Revival mansion, and marvel at its luxurious facilities and hundreds of Euro-Filipino paintings, sculptures, art displays, and historical pieces online. It features the showroom of Palacio de Memoria’s auction house, Casa de Memoria or the Casa, which houses the Lhuilliers’ unrivalled collection of antiques, the Mosphil Lounge, and a passenger plane that was refitted to be a lounge for special occasions. To view the complete Palacio de Memoria’s virtual tour, visit https://www.palaciodememoria.com/tours. For more updates, follow @thepalaciodememoria on Facebook and @palacio.de.memoria on Instagram.

E-coloring books

THE Getty Museum and the Getty Research Institute of Los Angeles offers the Color Our Collections edition for 2020. To view, visit http://library.nyam.org/colorourcollections/page/11/.

How PSEi member stocks performed — June 25, 2020

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Thursday, June 25, 2020.

PHL among simpler jurisdictions to do business globally — TMF

PHL among simpler jurisdictions to do business globally — TMF

Peso moves sideways ahead of BSP policy meeting

THE PESO closed sideways versus the greenback on Thursday as investors awaited the central bank’s monetary policy decision, which came after the market’s close.

The local unit finished trading at P50 per dollar on Thursday, depreciating by two centavos from its P49.98 close on Wednesday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

The peso opened the session at 50.05 per dollar, which was also its weakest showing for the day. Meanwhile, its intraday best was at P49.95 against the greenback.

Dollars traded reached $848.93 million on Thursday, higher than the $671.3 million seen on Wednesday.

The peso moved sideways yesterday as investors were on the lookout for leads from the Monetary Board’s policy-setting meeting, a trader said.

“Basically, the range was very tight. I think a lot of market players were awaiting the result of the policy meeting, people are speculating what will be done and it depends on the comments that will be made and if there will be changes in the rates,” the trader said in a phone call.

Ten out 13 economists polled by BusinessWorld earlier this week expected the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to keep rates steady on Thursday, saying it is likely to wait to better gauge the impact of the pandemic on the economy.

The BSP had cut rates by 125 basis points so far this year, bringing the overnight reverse repurchase, lending and deposit rates to record lows of 2.75%, 3.25% and 2.25%, respectively.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said earlier this month they are “happy” with where the policy rates are but said the BSP continues to have ammunition if the situation gets worse.

Aside from the policy decision, investors were also cautious amid the rise of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections in the US, another trader said.

“The peso depreciated amid increasing concerns about the strong resurgence of new COVID-19 cases in various US states and some caution ahead of the BSP policy meeting,” the second trader said in an e-mail.

The first trader expects the peso to play around the P49.90 to P50.20 band versus the dollar today while the second trader sees the local unit moving around the P49.90 to P51.10 levels. — L.W.T. Noble

Stocks drop further on virus, economic worries

THE LOCAL MARKET closed lower on Thursday amid investor concerns over climbing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and a dimmer outlook for the Philippine economy.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 70.57 points or 1.14% to close at 6,118.26. The broader all shares index lost 42.45 points or 1.16% to 3,600.98.

PNB Securities, Inc. President Manuel Antonio G. Lisbona in a text message blamed the market’s close on investor concern that the country’s COVID-19 cases may also increase after reports of rising infections in the United States.

“The market continued its downward trek today, closing below our first support level at 6,130, as investors chose to cash in on their positions out of COVID-19 concerns,” Mr. Lisbona said on Thursday.

As of June 25, total COVID-19 cases in the United States reached 2.38 million, with 121,979 people dying from the virus, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering COVID-19 dashboard.

Aside from rising COVID-19 cases, for Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Claire T. Alviar, the market’s performance was heavily affected by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) revised Philippine economic outlook.

“(The) IMF projected the Philippine economy to shrink by 3.6%, from April’s forecast of 0.6% growth. Sentiments were dented as the figure is worse than the World Bank’s 1.9% contraction estimate and the government’s estimate of 2 — 3.4% decline,” Ms. Alviar said in a mobile phone message.

All sectoral indices fell on Thursday except for property, which rose 6.74 points or 0.22% to close at 3,033.84.

“Property sector is the sole gainer today due to bargain hunting after the sell-off on Wednesday,” Ms. Alviar said on Thursday.

Mining and oil dropped 154.04 points or 2.92% to 5,119.32; financials retreated 31.96 points or 2.54% to 1,225.07; holding firms went down 93.48 points or 1.44% to 6,358.63; services shrank 17.32 points or 1.25% to 1,366.84; and industrials fell 54.54 points or 0.71% to 7,575.52

Value turnover stood at P6.75 billion with 1.34 billion issues switching hands, versus the P6.64-billion worth of 3.8 billion issues on Wednesday.

Decliners outpaced advancers, 139 to 58, while 38 names remained unchanged. Net foreign selling on Thursday narrowed to P662.42 million compared to P2.07 billion the previous day.

“We are looking at some psychological support at 6,000 though if things worsen, we might find ourselves back at 5,700 to 5,800,” Mr. Lisbona said.

Timson Securities, Inc. Head of Online Trading and Trader Darren Blaine T. Pangan said in a text message that the next major support area is around the 6,000 level while resistance remains at the 6,600 level.

“Tomorrow (Friday) being the last day of the week, we may have to observe if investors would be comfortable holding positions through the weekend,” Mr. Pangan said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

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