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Kim Kardashian asks for compassion as Kanye West struggles with bipolar disorder

LOS ANGELES — Kim Kardashian on Wednesday asked for compassion and empathy for her rapper husband Kanye West’s struggles with bipolar disorder that have led to a series of rambling public remarks on subjects ranging from politics to his marriage.

Kardashian’s statement on her Instagram stories account was her first public comment on weeks of interviews, public appearances and Twitter comments by West that have raised concern about the Grammy-winning singer’s mental health.

“As many of you know, Kanye has bipolar disorder,” she wrote, calling him a “brilliant but complicated person.”

Kardashian did not mention West’s stated plan to run for the White House in the November 2020 election. West held a rally in South Carolina at the weekend under his self-styled Birthday Party banner but has not outlined any coherent political policies.

“Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words sometimes do not align with his intentions,” Kardashian wrote.

Kardashian’s comments followed another late-night series of tweets from West, including one where he said he was trying to divorce Kardashian. His tweet was swiftly deleted. The couple married in 2014 and have four children.

Earlier this week West tweeted that his family was trying to get him committed to a psychiatric institution.

West announced he had bipolar disorder in 2018 and has in the past lamented that he feels medication stifles his creativity. He was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment in 2016.

Bipolar disorder is a form of mental illness characterized by unusual mood swings between extreme energy and activity and depression, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. It can be treated with a combination of medication and therapy.

Kardashian, a cosmetics businesswoman who first found fame on the TV reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, said she and her family were trying to get help for West, and spoke about the stigma and misunderstandings around mental health.

“Those that understand mental illness or even compulsive behavior know that the family is powerless unless the member is a minor,” she said.

She said individuals themselves have to engage in the process of getting help, no matter how hard family and friends try.

“I kindly ask that the media and public give us the compassion and empathy that is needed so that we can get through this,” she added. — Reuters

SEC extends deadline for filing corporate annual reports anew

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is extending the deadline for submission of Integrated Annual Corporate Governance Reports (I-ACGRs) for another month due to the continuing effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a July 22 notice on its website, the regulator said it is allowing publicly listed companies to submit their I-ACGRs until Sept. 1, a month later than the originally adjusted deadline on July 30.

The extension will automatically apply without submitting a request with the SEC. But companies that choose to submit their I-ACGRs on or before July 30 will still be allowed to do so.

Originally, companies listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange are required to submit their I-ACGRs with the SEC every May 30 of each year.

But in April, the SEC extended the deadline to July 30 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic to business operations.

Aside from the I-ACGR, the SEC has moved several deadlines for other reportorial requirements over the past months to give leeway to companies that are struggling from the effects of the pandemic.

Among these is the deadline for submission of 2019 annual reports and audited financial statements, which was moved to June 30. The submission of annual financial statements and general information sheets is also allowed until August.

At the moment, the SEC is accepting submission of reports through e-mail, for soft copy, and courier, for hard copy, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus among its personnel. — Denise A. Valdez

InLife sees growth potential amid challenging conditions

INSULAR LIFE Assurance Co., Ltd. (InLife) has seen challenges amid the coronavirus pandemic, but its top official said the firm remained strong and will continue to modernize amid a shift in consumer behavior.

InLife Executive Chairman Nina D. Aguas said during the fifth part of BusinessWorld’s One-On-One online interview series on Thursday that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has presented the company and other businesses “unprecedented” challenges as it reshaped consumer behavior and the overall economic outlook, testing the insurance industry’s resilience.

“Economic compression resulting from lockdown limited our agency force as well as our bancassurance relationship managers to underwrite business despite our digital capability,” she said. “While we were very prepared for some degree of disruption, I must admit like everyone else globally that we did not foresee the complexity or the severity and the many layers of the pandemic.”

“Everything will be guesswork if we say a number out there right now. That said though, if this is any metric at all, we’re keeping our staff. They are being paid full salaries, whole benefits. We’ve been able to give assistance to our agency force. It’s not even a loan — they were assistance to support them during the lockdown,” Ms. Aguas said when asked for how much the pandemic has affected InLife’s business.

The official said amid the varied levels of community quarantine in the country, only a limited number of InLife’s staff are reporting for work in their offices and branches.

“And I think this will continue…until the end of the year and we are not in a rush to reopen primarily because of the uncertainty of the pandemic.”

She, however, said they expect the industry and demand for life insurance products to remain resilient amid the pandemic.

Ms. Aguas said “a rainbow in the horizon” is how the pandemic has fueled demand for their healthcare business, particularly for its prepaid insurance products, as virus fears have highlighted the importance of healthcare coverage.

She added that InLife did not see a surge in insurance claims even as they included coronavirus coverage in their products, contrary to expectations that payouts may escalate amid the ongoing public health emergency.

“I think they (consumers) are more particular on something to rely on in case they are infected, so if they have to save for something…, they have set aside and bought insurance [instead].”

“(Moving forward), we have to accelerate even more the modernization of our technology platform as well as our digitalization. We are in the journey since three to four years ago in a rather aggressive way, but I think we need to even intensify the way we do things and that will require us to revisit our business models and see how we can streamline even more. We also need to train and skill up our people,” Ms. Aguas added.

She also urged consumers to buy insurance from Filipino firms to support them amid the entry of foreign players in the market.

“I’d like to say to our countrymen to buy Filipino. We are at par with any other foreign player. In fact, when you look at it, in the last three years, we have been awarded by international awarding bodies as the best domestic insurance company. That alone puts us head to head with any other foreign player in the country,” Ms. Aguas said.

She noted that InLife earned lower premiums last year partly due to more foreign players entering the market. Insurance Commission (IC) data showed InLife’s total premiums dipped to P12.67 billion in 2019 — the eighth highest in the life insurance sector — from P13.98 billion in 2018.

Ms. Aguas said despite its flat premium income, InLife still retained its high rankings in other metrics such as net income, net worth and total assets last year to “signal to everyone that we’re here and we’re able to pay claims as they come, going forward.”

The life insurer recorded a P2.94-billion net income last year, P1.91 billion in new business annual premium equivalent and P133.02 billion in total assets, making it part of the top ten insurance firms in all of the three metrics.

BusinessWorld’s One-On-One online interview series is made possible by BDO Unibank, Inc.; Manila Electric Co.; PLDT; Smart Communications, Inc.; Globe Telecom, Inc.; and San Miguel Corp. in partnership with Ayala Corp.; Ayala Land, Inc.; InLife; J&T Express; Metro Pacific; MG Philippines; Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp.’s Strada Athlete; PayMaya Philippines, Inc.; UDENNA Corp. and Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc.; with the support of the Management Association of the Philippines, Asia Society Philippines, Olern and The Philippine STAR. — BML

Watch the one-on-one interview with Ms. Nina D. Aguas at <bit.ly/NinaAguas072420>.

Forgive or forget Johnny Depp? Jury is out on his post-trial career

LOS ANGELES — From a severed finger to defecation pranks and graffiti written in blood, the Johnny Depp libel case in London has exposed the kind of dirty laundry that Hollywood usually loves to hide.

Yet whoever wins or loses, Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard may find it easier than expected to resume their acting careers after the lurid headlines generated by the three-week trial.

“We are used to celebrities doing crazy, off-the-beaten path types of things. I think as a society we are a little immune to it at this point,” said Danielle Rossen, president of crisis PR firm Rossen Media.

Depp, best known for playing the swaggering Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, is suing News Group Newspapers, publishers of Britain’s Sun newspaper, over a 2018 article which labeled him a “wife beater.”

Heard, 34, the star of Aquaman, says Depp attacked her on at least 14 occasions, fueled by excessive drinking or drug-taking. Depp denies hitting Heard and says he was the victim of her assaults.

Crisis manager Matthew Hiltzik said Hollywood, and the general public, had bigger things to worry about as the world struggles to get back to business after a prolonged coronavirus shutdown.

“It’s actually really sad for everyone involved. Hopefully people will contextualize this properly in light of the real human suffering surrounding the pandemic right now,” said Hiltzik, chief executive of Hiltzik Strategies.

Others are not so convinced, pointing to a momentum around believing women who bring allegations of abuse in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

“Can Johnny Depp ever star in another family-friendly movie again as a hero? I doubt it,” said celebrity branding expert Jeetendr Sehdev.

“The drug and alcohol abuse allegations are just as damaging for him as those of domestic abuse. It’s a lose-lose situation for him,” Sehdev said.

Yet Depp, 57, who has often played offbeat or maverick characters in movies, has an army of fans using social media hashtags like #JusticeForJohnnyDepp and #WeAreWithYouJohnnyDepp. Many of the accusations against him were previously aired, in the couple’s vitriolic 2016 divorce case.

“Depp has a fanbase that likes his acting and who he portrays in movies, and off the screen it really doesn’t bother them about this marital dispute,” said Rossen.

“There are embarrassing things that came out about Amber Heard as well. For her, the trial doesn’t help and it doesn’t hurt,” Rossen said.

Depp’s next major slated film is the third in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, which is in pre-production. Aquaman 2, due to star Heard, was in development before the coronavirus that shut down Hollywood in mid-March. Warner Bros., the studio behind both movies, did not respond to a request for comment about Depp’s or Heard’s future with the projects.

Disney began working some two years ago on a reboot of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and did not respond to queries about whether Depp would play any role in the upcoming movies.

Hiltzik felt the details of the allegations would be largely forgotten in the post-pandemic world.

“Hopefully, when this passes, they can each go back to doing what they do very well and continue their careers and go back to telling other people’s stories instead of their own,” he said. — Reuters

BSP requires LANDBANK to allocate 5% of loans for socialized credit

THE MONETARY BOARD has approved the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 10878 which looks to boost direct credit support to farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries through the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK).

Circular No. 1090 signed by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno amended the Manual of Regulations for Banks to require LANDBANK to allot at least five percent of its regular loan book for socialized credit meant for qualified small farmers and fisherfolk and agrarian reform beneficiaries.

“LANDBANK shall have a period of six months from the effectivity of the IRR to monitor its compliance with the provisions provided in the Act,” the circular said.

The base amount to gauge the five percent compliance will be the regular loan portfolio reported by the bank as of the end of the preceding quarter.

The guidelines said the socialized credit facility will be used exclusively for the financing of agricultural projects part of the provisions of the Republic Act No. 10000 or The Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009.

These activities include agricultural production, promotion of agri-business and exports, acquisition of work animals, machinery, seeds and agricultural land, among others.

“All loans extended through this special socialized credit facility shall qualify as part of LBP’s direct compliance with the mandatory agricultural and agrarian reform credit pursuant to R.A. No.10000,” the circular said.

The grant of loans under the facility will be based on the project’s feasibility and client’s paying capacity, estimated production, as well as assets eyed to be acquired from the loans, it added.

The facility will be exclusively funded by LANDBANK operations and will not tap additional government funding.

Credit will be extended through conduits such as cooperatives; organizations of farmers and fisherfolks; countryside financial institutions such as thrift, rural and cooperative banks; agri-business firms; and accredited microfinance non-government organizations.

Loans secured under the program will have a tenor of up to one year while term loans will have a maturity of up to 10 years. There will also be a rediscounting line to supplement the working capital requirements of borrowers.

Aside from the credit facility, LANDBANK may also offer and issue common and preferred shares of stocks to agrarian reform beneficials and workers in the agriculture sector through their organizations, cooperatives and rural banks

“Provided, however, that the national government shall maintain, at all times, at least two-thirds (2/3) ownership of the total outstanding common shares of LBP,” it said.

LANDBANK is required to assess its compliance with the IRR on a quarterly basis and report it to the BSP. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Insular Life provides digital platform, online payment capability to clients in pandemic

INSULAR LIFE (InLife) has combined what it calls “technological breakthroughs” to sell insurance policies while serving the needs of its customers during the pandemic.

The insurer said it had launched a platform named virtual business enabler (ViBE) that allows its financial advisers to complete insurance selling without any face-to-face interactions with the client.

“ViBE is a multiplatform system hinged on digital tools and innovative procedures,” said Raoul Littaua, InLife senior executive vice-president and chief distribution officer, in a statement.

InLife said it had started as early as 2015 to put in place the necessary technologies, such as the automated underwriting system, to enable the transition of its business model into the digital age. It said the system allows InLife to render underwriting decisions to life insurance applications in less than 30 minutes.

In a regular insurance sales cycle, the financial adviser physically meets the client, and secures a physical signature attached to the application. With ViBE, clients are able to sign their policies electronically and pay for their dues digitally or through online bank transfer.

InLife also announced that payments for new policies may now be made through policyholders’ mobile phones or gadgets using their Mastercard or Visa credit/debit cards.

Called the new business bills presentment, transactions through the said channels may be made without physically swiping the cards.

“The common means of transacting via credit or debit card for insurance policies is having to physically swipe the card in a machine. InLife brings this convenience further by allowing the policyholder to key in his own card details through a secured link sent to the client,” said Diana Rose A. Tagra, InLife first vice-president and insurance operations head.

Once the payment is done, the customer receives an acknowledgment of the transaction via SMS/e-mail. The policy is then delivered to the policyholder via the customer portal.

Depp threw bottles ‘like grenades’ in fight where he severed finger, Heard tells UK court

LONDON — US actress Amber Heard on Wednesday denied severing the tip of ex-husband Johnny Depp’s finger during a violent argument, saying that the Hollywood star had been throwing bottles at her “like grenades.”

Heard was giving evidence at London’s High Court for a third day on behalf of the publishers of Britain’s Sun newspaper, which Depp is suing for libel after it labeled him a “wife beater” in a 2018 article.

The actress, who accuses the 57-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star of physical abuse on at least 14 occasions, was questioned about an incident in Australia in March 2015.

Depp has told the court the tip of his finger was severed during an argument when Heard, 34, threw a vodka bottle which struck his hand.

“I only threw things to escape Johnny when he was beating me up,” Heard said.

She said she had taken a bottle from Depp from which he was drinking and smashed it on the floor, saying “it snapped something in him” leading him to hurl about 30 bottles at her.

“He picked them up and started using them like grenades or bombs… throwing one after another in my direction.”

Depp’s lawyer Eleanor Laws said Heard’s account that the actor had severed his finger by smashing a phone against a wall and then continued to assault her was a lie.

“No it’s not,” she replied. “I don’t think he meant to sever the finger, but, yes, he carried on attacking me.”

Laws also accused Heard of stubbing a cigarette out on Depp’s cheek. “No, Johnny did it right in front of me. He often did things like that,” she said. She later told the court Depp’s body was covered in scars and burns caused by his self-harming.

THREATENED MANY TIMES
In her testimony so far, Heard has said Depp threatened to kill her many times while the violence she suffered included being slapped, headbutted, and throttled.

She has also denied accusations that she was making up her account as she went along, such as a claim she made on Tuesday that she had been told Depp once pushed his ex-girlfriend Kate Moss downstairs.

Heard was questioned about the aftermath of another incident in December 2015 when she says Depp headbutted her, breaking her nose, leaving her with two black eyes, bruised ribs and a cut lip while he pulled out clumps of her hair.

The following day she appeared on James Corden’s TV show but Laws said her stylist reported she had seen the actress without make-up and she had no injuries.

A nurse, a friend who saw her two days later, said Heard had a bleeding lip but did not report any bruising nor see any injuries to her scalp when she looked.

However, Heard’s make-up artist Melanie Inglessis said the actress told her Depp had “beat on her,” and that he had dragged her by the hair pulling some out from her crown, tried to suffocate her with a pillow and attempted to kill her.

Inglessis told the court she had used a concealer to cover up “minimal discoloration” around Heard’s eyes and the bridge of her nose, which was red and swollen, for her TV appearance.

Laws also accused Heard of trying to make staff members take the blame when the couple took their dogs to Australia without the proper paperwork when they returned there in April 2015.

Heard later pleaded guilty in Australia to a charge of lying on a passenger form, and was let off with a good behavior bond.

Concluding her cross-examination, Laws read out a statement from Tara Roberts, the estate manager of Depp’s private island in the Bahamas, who said she witnessed Heard berating him and then clawing at him.

Roberts said Heard had shouted: “No one is going to hire you and “You’re washed up.”

Roberts said Depp had an injury to his nose where Heard had thrown a can of lacquer thinner at him.

Heard told the court she had thrown the can to escape him. “He had threatened my life and sexually assaulted me,” she said.

The trial is set to conclude next week, although no ruling is expected immediately. — Reuters

Laguna court convicts former bank owner for estafa

A FORMER OWNER of a now-defunct Laguna rural bank has been convicted for estafa due to falsification of public documents and was sentenced to imprisonment and subject to fines.

In a statement on Thursday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the decision of the Regional Trial Court of Sta. Cruz Laguna dated June 30 found Rural Bank of Victoria (Laguna), Inc. (RB Victoria) owner Gregorio S. Aguado guilty of 12 counts of estafa through falsification of public documents as defined under the Revised Penal Code.

“The cases arose from a criminal complaint filed in 2002 by BSP before the Department of Justice against [Mr.] Aguado for causing the falsification of the loan and related documents of fictitious borrowers of RB Victoria, and rediscounting the same fraudulent loans with the BSP,” it said.

Republic Act No. 7653 or the New Central Bank Act allows the BSP to liquify banks’ loan portfolio through the rediscounting facility.

Given the findings, the court sentenced Mr. Aguado to imprisonment of two to six years for each count of estafa, to be served successively.

Mr. Aguado has also been ordered to pay P3.072 million in compensation to the BSP with interest of six percent per year until the amount has been fully paid from the time the cases were filed in May 2004.

Mr. Aguado was also the owner of three other banks that have closed shop including Countryside Rural Bank (Real, Quezon), Inc., Rural Bank of Agdangan (Quezon), Inc., and Rural Bank of San Narciso (Quezon), Inc.

“Said three banks are all closed and placed under receivership of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.,” the BSP said. — L.W.T. Noble

Globe, AC Health to launch mobile health app

Ayala Corp.’s (AC) healthcare unit and Globe Telecom, Inc. will soon offer their services in a single mobile health app called “HealthNow,” which they plan to launch in the next 30 days.

In a recent online interview with BusinessWorld, Globe Telecom President and Chief Executive Officer Ernest L. Cu noted the pandemic forces people to shift to digital platforms to access healthcare services.

“Most recently, Ayala Corp. and their Ayala Health (Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc.) or AC Health, and Globe had come together to create HealthNow,” he said.

“HealthNow is an app we will be launching where you will be able to access all AC Health and Globe services under one umbrella. This one allows you to consult, schedule labs, even be visited by a doctor, and have all records be stored and accessible to a healthcare professional all in one place,” Mr. Cu added.

To recall, AC Health launched in April a telemedicine website called HealthNow.ph in partnership with Globe Telecom’s 917 Ventures. It is handled by AC Health’s technology arm Vigos and allows people to digitally get in touch with a pool of about 80 doctors every day from Healthway and FamilyDoc.

The HealthNow website is currently accessible for free.
Mr. Cu said the mobile app version of HealthNow.ph will be operational “in the next 30 days.”

“We are coming up with more of these types of services that actually lend themselves well to the emerging habits of the Filipino consumer,” he added.

AC Health is one of AC’s newest investments which it projects as a long-term value driver to the company. Its primary businesses are in real estate, banking, telecommunications, power and water.

Globe has said the coronavirus pandemic had brought an increase in demand for its telemedicine service in May.
“On increase in consultations, it did by over 450% in May as compared to January,” Globe said in a recent statement.
Globe has been pushing for telemedicine via KonsultaMD, an affiliate of 917Ventures.

QualiMed Health Network, owned and operated by Mercado General Hospital, Inc., in partnership with Ayala Land, Inc., has teamed up with KonsultaMD to enable its telemedicine service called TeleCheQ.

According to Globe, it is currently working on another partnership. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Rice farmers want their children to take non-agri jobs

MORE THAN two-thirds of rice farmers want their children to take non-agricultural jobs, a finding which highlights the urgency of social measures to help preserve the farming sector, above and beyond the typical government programs focused on technological interventions, researchers said.

The Department of Science and Technology (DoST)-Science and Technology Information Institute said on Thursday in a statement that based on research done by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), “Around 65% of the farmers wanted their children to stay away from rice farming, while only more than a third of them (35%) wanted their children to be rice farmers too.”

The study “Aging Filipino Rice Farmers and Their Aspirations for Their Children,” written by UPLB Faculty Member Florencia G. Palis, was conducted on 923 farmers chosen at random from Isabela, Iloilo and Agusan Del Norte provinces. A farmer household survey, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to gather the data.

The study, published in the Philippine Journal of Science on June 2, revealed the rice farmers were concerned about the impact on their children of “physical, psychological and financial difficulties” which they experienced. The aging farmers instead aspired for their children to take non-agricultural jobs in the city or overseas, for income stability.

Ms. Palis said in the DoST statement: “The risk associated with rice farming as a means of livelihood further discourages parent farmers to aspire for their children to be like them. The uncertainty in yield and income is real to them and they attribute it to unpredictable weather, unstable output prices and input costs, and natural disasters like heavy rains, floods, drought, and pests and disease.”

The study recommended that the government and agricultural stakeholders come up with strategies to motivate rice farmers and their children about the importance of their work while inviting others to farm, including college scholarships in agricultural studies for farmers’ children; teaching agricultural courses in basic education; and encouraging farmers to become certified seed growers.

Access to capital, farming know-how and markets should also be a priority.

“Agricultural extension should not only focus on the development and dissemination of technological innovations but also on social innovations to achieve positive impacts on improving the lives of Filipino rice farming households and communities. In this manner, rice farmers and their children may aspire to rice farming occupations or businesses if they provide better payoff,” Ms. Palis said in the study. — Gillian M. Cortez

Rolling Stones jam with Jimmy Page in lost track from ‘hallowed era’

LONDON — The Rolling Stones on Wednesday released a previously lost track, “Scarlet,” recorded at guitarist Ronnie Wood’s house in 1974 and featuring Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.

The song combines Mick Jagger’s swaggering vocal with richly textured guitars and is described in a statement as “as infectious and raunchy as anything the band cut in this hallowed era, a holy grail for any Stones devotee.”

The long-lost track also features Blind Faith’s Rick Grech on bass.

“I remember first jamming this with Jimmy and Keith [Richards] in Ronnie [Wood’s] basement studio. It was a great session,” said Jagger.

“It’s an ultra-rare appearance by me outside of Led Zeppelin in the ‘70s,” said Page on his Twitter account, remembering how he had gone to Wood’s house to play some guitar solos.

“I arrived early on that evening and got to do it straight away within a few takes. It sounded good to me and I left them to it.”

Page added Jagger had contacted him recently and he got to hear the finished version.

“It sounded great and really solid.”

The Rolling Stones in April released a new track “Living in a Ghost Town,” part-recorded during the coronavirus lockdown.

That song, “Scarlet,” and two other previously unreleased tracks will appear on a new multi-format version of the Stone’s 1973 album Goats Head Soup in September. — Reuters

Urgent call for planetary health

“Responding to the urgent call for planetary health” was the topic for the FINEX July meeting organized by the Environment Committee. Timely, relevant, certainly very informative and more than a wake-up call for all of us.

Dr. Renzo Guinto showed us there is a close correlation between the planet’s health and our very own health — that the planet’s health is essential to prevent infectious diseases. Do we still wonder why there are many infectious diseases and we have the coronavirus today? With the shutdown due to the virus, there is a corresponding fall in pollution and global emissions.

He also talked about “Doughnut Economics” which is a virtual framework shaped like a donut that advocates balanced sustainable growth to ensure that both humans and the planet thrive. He reminded us: “We belong to earth and not earth belong to man. What we do to earth we do to ourselves.”

WWF-Philippines President and CEO Joel Palma told us in no uncertain terms that now is the turning point for the planet and that we only have a decade left. He showed the production and consumption capacity, and consumption exceeds production. As in a profit and loss statement, if we are spending more than what we earn, clearly there’s a deficit and that’s where we are right now. Unless we consume less or conserve what we have, we have only a decade left.

Very clearly, climate change is a terrible problem. We must solve it fast and now. Approximately three to four new infectious diseases have emerged each year originating from wildlife. What’s the anti-virus? Forests! He also showed global financing issuance, saying green bond financing is still so small and challenged finance executives to do more.

Atty. Romell Cuenca, deputy executive director of the Climate Change Commission, walked us through the government’s initiatives on climate emergencies and pandemic resilience which should be maximized by private sector. Now, we all know the government can only do so much so we in the private sector should do our part.

FINEX Environment Committee Chair Marivic Sugapong’s main takeaway from the discussion is that progress and sustainability are not opposing objectives but are in fact complementary. Collectively, the private sector can positively advance the planetary health agenda. As the earth’s capacity is fixed, it is the people who should adjust.

Vilma Cervantes, deputy GM of Mizuho, commented that protecting our planet and thus, our public health, should not be limited to corporate social responsibility or CSR activities of companies and organizations but should be part of the core strategy of businesses. Everyone has a role to play, from the basics of how we live and eat.

Other FINEX environment members which include Vice Chair Chito Oreta, Omy Yaptinchay, Tony Ongsiako and Adele Jaucian, among others, are all committed to do simple practical things to reduce their carbon footprint. Some examples of these are:

• Practice zero waste .

• Segregate biodegradable from non-biodegradable waste.

• Compost vegetable and fruit peelings, eggshells and coffee grounds to fertilize plants.

• Conserve water by watering plants with rice washing water (hugas bigas) and shampoo water, etc.

• Start gardening.

• Plant edible and medicinal plants. It is therapeutic and provides healthy nutritious food.

• Start planting a forest of native trees (no matter how small).

• Avoid use of plastics. Say no to plastic straws and one-time use of plastic.

• Use handkerchief instead of tissue paper. Always carry shopping bags.

• Change lights to LED and or use solar lights, even just in the garden.

Are you contributing to the health of planet earth or are you making it sick?  Are you a problem or helping with a solution? That is the question all of us should ask ourselves every day. I do hope and pray that we start taking care of planet earth and our environment starting today, before it is too late.

 

Ms. Flor Gozon Tarriela is chairman of the Philippine National Bank and PNB Capital. She is a former undersecretary of Finance and the first Filipina vice-president of Citibank N.A. She is a trustee of FINEX Foundation and FINEX Academy and an Institute of Corporate Directors fellow.

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