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Philippine coronavirus cases near 317,000

By Vann Marlo M. Villegas, Reporter

The Department of Health (DoH) reported 2,611 coronavirus infections on Friday, bringing the total to 316,678.
The death toll rose by 56 to 5,616, while recoveries increased by 416 to 254,617, it said in a bulletin.

There were 56,445 active cases, 87% of which were mild, 8.8% did not show symptoms, 1.3% were severe and 2.9% were critical.

Metro Manila reported the highest number of new cases with 1,084, followed by Cavite with 202, Iloilo with 182, Bulacan with 163 and Rizal with 132.

Of the new deaths, 22 came from Metro Manila, seven each from Central Visayas and the Calabarzon region, six from Central Luzon and four from the Bicol region.

Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas and Northern Mindanao reported two deaths each, while Zamboanga Peninsula, the Davao region, Soccsksargen and Caraga region reported one each.

More than 3.5 million people have been tested for the COVID-19 virus, it said.

Meanwhile, more than 300 Filipinos in Japan have been infected with the coronavirus, the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo said.

None of them are in a serious condition, Deputy Chief of Mission Robespierre L. Bolivar told an online news briefing on Friday.

The migrant Filipino workers were being treated in various hospitals in Japan and more were expected to be discharged soon, he said.

Mr. Bolivar said about 335,000 Filipinos live and work in Japan, about 57,000 of whom were overseas workers. A big percentage of them live there permanently.

About 35,000 Filipinos live in Tokyo, where the rate of infection is the highest in Japan, he said. Japan remains closed to tourists.

Also on Friday, DoH said coronavirus cases have been increasing due to the country’s expanded testing capacity. The capacity of the health system has also improved, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire told an online news briefing.

The Philippines ranked 20th among countries with the most cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

But Ms. Vergeire said researchers should look at a country’s health system capacity, not just the number of cases, in evaluating its response.

She also said contact tracing efforts have become more efficient, with workers now required to complete tracing all contacts of a confirmed patient within 48 hours.

The Philippine recovery rate for the coronavirus was about 80%, while the death rate was at less than 2%.
Meanwhile, the government approved a program that provides dietary supplements to infants and pregnant women who are at-risk.

Presidential spokesman Harry L. Roque said the program will cover children aged six to 23 months and pregnant women who are nutritionally at risk. They will get the aid through cash or food packages, he said in a statement.

“This forms part of improving the healthcare of citizens and a means to eliminate hunger, which has been aggravated by the pandemic,” he added.

More than 7.6 million Filipino households went hungry at least once in the past three months, according to a September poll by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The hunger rate reached a record 30.7% or about 7.6 million families, exceeding the 23.8% in March 2012. It also rose by 9.8 points from 20.9% in July.

Speaker risks post being declared vacant

Allies of Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco have threatened to declare the speakership vacant if Speaker Alan Peter S. Cayetano clings to the post after Oct. 14, a lawmaker said on Friday.

Party-list Rep. Michael T. Defensor, a known ally of Mr. Cayetano, earlier challenged congressmen to declare the speakership post vacant to see how other lawmakers would still back Mr. Cayetano’s leadership.

Party-list Rep. Sharon S. Garin, who supports Mr. Velasco, accused the speaker’s camp of defying President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s reported order to honor the term-sharing deal that he brokered between the two last year.

Ms. Garin, along with other key House allies, was present during an earlier meeting with the President to settle the speakership row.

“It was clear to me that what the President said is to pass the budget on time and honor the term-sharing deal,” she told BusinessWorld.

“Do we want an opposition Congress or do we want a Congress that works with the President?” Ms. Garin asked. “When you contradict the President, it means that the members of the House want a Speaker who is an oppositionist.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

PhilHealth officials face graft at Ombudsman

The National Bureau of Investigation (NB) on Friday filed corruption complaints against former Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) President Ricardo Morales and eight other officials, according to the Justice department.

They also face complaints at the Office of the Ombudsman for malversation, violation of the Tax Code and for failing to withhold taxes on payments to private corporations, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra told reporters in a Viber group message.

This was in connection with cash advances given to ineligible healthcare institutions in Metro Manila, among other things.

“More complaints will be filed in the next few days/weeks against erring PhilHealth personnel and their cohorts,” he said.

A task force headed by the Justice department earlier submitted its recommendation to President Rodrigo R. Duterte to sue PhilHealth officials for graft. It did not include Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who is PhilHealth chairman, in the charges.

The Senate committee of the whole had sought graft and malversation charges against Mr. Duque, Mr. Morales and other high-ranking PhilHealth officials for corruption.

Mr. Morales has denied any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, a plan to abolish corruption-laden PhilHealth could lead to more Filipinos being poor, according to a congressman.

The law on universal healthcare provides a 30% health subsidy “for every poor individual’s hospitalization, which is a big amount for every household near the poverty threshold,” Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo told BusinessWorld on Friday.

“If the expense would now shift from PhilHealth to the family, will they now fall below the poverty line?” she said. “Clearly, if your expenses will increase, there is more possibility that you will fall below the poverty line.”

Ms. Quimbo, who is also an economist, said at least 20.9 million Filipinos are at risk of falling below the poverty line.

Based on her conservative estimate, 14.2 million Filipinos belonging to the bottom income decile spend P15,000 for hospitalization, while those with level two to three income deciles or about 24 million Filipins spend P23,000.

“It will be the first to third income deciles who will be the most vulnerable,” she said. “That’s about 20 millon Filipinos.”

The lawmaker said the President should instead privatize PhilHealth. “Whether we privatize it entirely or by segments, it should be a careful study,” she added.

Newly appointed PhilHealth chief Dante A. Gierran earlier said that the privatization of PhilHealth could send a wrong signal that the government could no longer be trusted.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque on Friday said PhilHealth’s privatization “goes against the very principle of universal healthcare.”

But Ms. Quimbo said the public has lost confidence in the state insurer.

She has filed House Bill 7429, otherwise known as the Social Health Insurance Crisis Act of 2020, which seeks to empower the President to privatize the agency. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas and Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Lawmaker wants Beep cards suspended

A lawmaker on Friday asked the government to suspend its cashless payment system for public utility buses after reports of long queues at several bus stops at the capital region’s main highway system.

The bus stops had long lines of commuters trying to get so-called Beep cards worth P180 to ride buses, Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said in a statement.

“Just imagine, commuters, mostly low-income workers were forced to pay P80 for a beep card, P100 for load with a maintaining balance of P65 and a P5 convenience fee per load for third-party service providers,” she said.

“Not only commuters are being placed at the receiving end, but also some 300 payment collectors and ticketing inspectors who lost their jobs because of this cashless payment,” she added.

Ms. Brosas said the government should manage the ticketing aspect of transport systems, not private companies.

The payment system Beep is implemented and operated by AF Payments, Inc., which is a joint venture of Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

Ms. Brosas said private corporations have benefited from an instant implementation of cashless payment.

Transport Secretary Arthur P. Tugade wants the reloadable card at Metro Manila’s busway and railway systems to be given for free to commuters amid a coronavirus pandemic. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Ex-mayor appointed OMB chief

President Rodrigo R. Duterte appointed a former mayor of Malolos City in Bulacan province as chairman of the Optical Media Board (OMB).

Named OMB chief was former Mayor Christian D. Natividad, who took his oath before Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi on Thursday, presidential spokesman Harry L. Roque said in a statement on Friday.

“We hope the appointment of Mr. Natividad would lead the OMB to greater heights, particularly in fighting optical media piracy and protecting intellectual property rights in digital form,” he said.

The OMB is under the Office of the President and is mandated to regulate the “mastering, manufacturing, importation and expropriation of optical media products and manufacturing material.” — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Uy says ‘all systems go’ for Cebu casino as PSE clears fund-raising

PH Resorts Group Holdings, Inc. (PHR) is set to list its follow-on offer of P1.125 billion shares after securing the approval of the bourse.

In a disclosure, Friday, the gaming and hospitality unity of the Udenna Group said the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) board greenlighted the listing of its share offer, the proceeds of which will partially fund the completion of the first phase construction of Emerald Bay, an integrated casino resort in Mactan Island, Cebu.

“It’s all systems go. Despite the on-going COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic we are playing our long game and our objective of delivering a world-class integrated resort in Cebu remains unchanged,” PH Resorts Chairman Dennis A. Uy said.

The first phase construction of the casino-resort is expected to be done by the second quarter of 2022. It will run with 122 gaming tables for mass, premium mass, and junkets, 600 slot machines, and 270 hotel room bays.

A soft opening, though, is being pushed by end-2021.

The company tapped Unicapital, Inc. and Abacus Capital and Investment Corp. as lead and co- lead underwriters, respectively, for the follow-on offer. It has also secured the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission for fund-raising.

The offer will also raise the company’s public ownership from 10%.

PH Resorts incurred P277.07 million in net loss during the first half of the year, extending from P169.15 million previously, as it suffered from the temporary closure of its Panglao resort due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Shares in PH Resort rose by 1.33% to close at P3.04 apiece on Friday. — Adam J. Ang

ICTSI unit starts 25-year commercial operations in Cameroon

International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) said Friday it started commercial operations at a port in Central Africa through its subsidiary, Kribi Multipurpose Terminal.

ICTSI said its multipurpose terminal at the port of Kribi, Cameroon is designed to handle “multipurpose shipping line services, including roll-on/roll-off ships, project and heavy lift cargo, forestry products, dry bulk and other general cargoes.”

The terminal also offers support services to the oil and gas industry, the listed firm said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

The terminal is capable of accommodating “the largest vessels plying the waters today,” it added.

The ICTSI’s subsidiary has a contract to operate the facility for 25 years until 2045.

The port is surrounded by the Kribi Industrial Area, which is seen to accommodate “new industrial and logistical developments” that would support Cameroon’s economy and the Cameroon-Chad Corridor.

ICTSI currently operates 30 terminals based on data from its website, spread across the Philippines, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

In Africa, ICTSI already operates Matadi Gateway Terminal in Congo and the Madagascar International Container Terminal Services Ltd. in Toamasina, Madagascar. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Now Corp. partners with Vietnam’s Viettel to offer ICT solutions in PHL

Now Corp. has partnered with Vietnam’s Viettel Business Solutions Corp. to offer information and communications technology (ICT) products and services in the Philippines.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, Now Corp. said it recently signed a memorandum of agreement with Viettel Business Solutions “to develop market opportunities in the Philippines.”

Now Corp. added the Vietnam-based technology firm wants to export ICT products and services to the Philippines.

“[Now Corp. will] support this process by developing the market and penetrate the enterprise IT market together with Viettel,” the listed company said.

The Philippines is Viettel’s 11th overseas market, according to Now Corp. Viettel currently operates in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Burundi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Cameroon, Peru, and Haiti.

“Notable ICT applications of Viettel include Study E-learning Social Network, Smart Cities Project and a citation for being the best Mobile Payment in Asia,” Now Corp. said.

The two firms will be exploring opportunities in digital transformation consulting services, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and cybersecurity.

“The cooperation will also include identification and development of solutions focusing on the essential needs of the target market segments, from government/public sector to small and mid- size enterprises,” Now Corp. said.

On Friday, shares in Now Corp. jumped 7.83% or 27 centavos to close at P3.72 each. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Oscar Lopez steps down from Lopez Holdings

Lopez Holdings Corp., the parent company of ABS-CBN Corp. and First Philippine Holdings Corp., announced on Friday a shakeup in its board composition after the resignation of its two top officials.

Chairman Emeritus Oscar M. Lopez and Vice Chairman Eugenio Gabriel “Gabby” L. Lopez III both stepped down from their respective positions due to “personal reasons.”

“The board of directors thanked them for their tremendous contribution to Lopez Holdings for 27 years,” the company said in a statement.

In a recent organizational meeting, the board installed Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel M. Lopez – the brother of Oscar and Gabby – as the new chairman emeritus, while Federico R. Lopez was voted chairman, and Martin L. Lopez as vice chairman.

Federico, Oscar’s son, is the company’s treasurer since 2010. He is now replaced by Miguel L. Lopez, the present executive vice president, who also serves as a member of the board of directors and treasurer of Rockwell Land Corp.

Gabby Lopez earlier resigned as chairman emeritus and director of ABS-CBN, three months after the media giant’s broadcast franchise application was denied by the House of Representatives.

Shares in Lopez Holdings inched down 0.44% to close at P2.27 each on Friday. — Adam J. Ang

Filinvest launches collaboration program with startups

Gotianun-led Filinvest Group has launched a program that connects its companies to various startups for their digital transformation.

The conglomerate through f(dev), its latest corporate innovation and ventures arm, put up Filinvent.io, an open innovation program that aims for greater collaboration between its 60 operating companies and technology startups.

“Our goal with Filinvent.io is to unlock innovations for companies through different forms of engagements with tech startups — whether that’s through product collaborations, operating partnerships, venture funding, and strategic alliances, among others,” f(dev) Head Xavier G. Marzan said.

The group has been investing in and raising new technology-driven ventures through f(dev). Its various segments have also been placing their bets on digital infrastructure and green technologies.

“We believe that having an active engagement strategy with the digital startup ecosystem — both locally and globally — is an important capability of large organizations moving forward,” said Josephine Gotianun-Yap, Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) president and chief executive officer.

f(dev) is building a network of startup accelerators, venture capital firms, and innovation platforms.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, the business continues to source and engage with expanding startups.

“Our immediate priority is to work with Series B & C startups in specific verticals but generally look at a broad range of startups on an ongoing basis,” Mr. Marzan said.

Recently, property developer Filinvest Land, Inc. teamed up with Visoplan, a German tech startup, for a product development initiative. The latter developed Building Information Modelling (BIM), a cloud-based platform which centralizes construction planning.

Filinvest’s banking arm EastWest Bank is improving its banking experience with the aid of Brankas, an Indonesia-based financial technology startup.

The conglomerate sets its eyes for more startup partnerships in different business areas in the coming months.

On Friday, shares in FDC inched down 0.34% to close at P8.72 each, while those of Filinvest Land rose 1.09% to P0.93 apiece. — Adam J. Ang

SM Investments issues P10-B bonds

SM Investments Corp. on Friday issued P10-billion fixed-rate bonds, the first tranche of its three-year debt program.

The conglomerate told the stock exchange that it listed the bonds with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx).

The said bonds are expected to yield 3.3613% annually. These will mature in 2024.

It is expected that the proceeds from the issued debt papers will generate P9.89 billion, which will be used to refinance its existing loans.

SMIC tapped BDO Capital, China Bank Capital, BPI Capital, First Metro Investment Corp., and Security Bank Capital as joint lead underwriters.

Two weeks ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the shelf registration of the company’s P30-billion debt program.

On Friday, shares in SMIC inched down 0.45% to close at P886 each. — Adam J. Ang

PSEi climbs on investor bargain hunting

LOCAL shares ended in positive territory on Friday, marking its third consecutive climb as the market rallied on investor bargain hunting.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 54.53 points or 0.91% to 5,999.4 while the broader all-shares index climbed 23.99 points or 0.67% to 3,586.27.

In a mobile phone message, Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Piper Chaucer E. Tan said the market’s three-day rally can be attributed to the bargain hunting of local equities and the recent announcement of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to maintain holding rates.

On Thursday, the Monetary Board announced their decision to keep the rates on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase, lending, and deposit facilities at 2.25%, 2.75%, and 1.75%, respectively.

“Major emerging markets are somehow more attractive than developed economies. Add to that the BSP’s holding rates that signals attractiveness towards Philippine equities for a much higher return, compared to fixed income equities,” Mr. Tan said.

However, Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan noted that the local market already closed before the announcement that United States President Donald J. Trump and his wife have tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“Local investor reaction did not reflect the news. But upon release, US futures have already tumbled by 400 points as of this writing,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

In the midst of his re-election bid, Mr. Trump announced in a tweet on Friday that he and his wife would go into quarantine after contracting the said virus.

Back home, Timson Securities, Inc. Head of Online Trading and Trader Darren Blaine T. Pangan said the local market ended higher as investors continue to be optimistic due to the improved manufacturing activity in the country.

On Thursday, IHS Markit said the Philippine purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.2 in September, compared with 47.3 in August, marking the first time since February that it breached the 50-neutral level which outlines expansion from contraction.

Meanwhile, all sectoral indices closed in green territory during Friday’s close.

Property improved 27.55 points or 0.99% to 2,800.06; holding firms went up 60.07 points or 0.97% to 6,199.82; industrials increased 67.73 points or 0.85% to 7,973.54; financials picked up 9.28 points or 0.79% to 1,172.42; services advanced 3.6 points or 0.24% to 1,479.19; and mining and oil edged up 7.79 points or 0.13% to 5,857.92.

Trading value was at P4.91 billion on Friday with 1.47 billion issues switching hands, against Thursday’s P5.43 billion worth of 1.96 billion shares.

Advancers outpaced decliners 93 against 92, while 57 names ended unchanged.

Foreigners remained as sellers, logging a net outflow of P268.64 million, less than the P545.80 million during the previous trading day.

“Next week, the market’s support may be placed at the 5,750 level while resistance is pegged at 6,200,” Timson’s Mr. Pangan said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

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