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Stuff to do at home (05/07/20)

Bayanihan Musikahan

Catch the rerun of #TaumbayanToTheRescue! A Bayanihan Musikahan Special on May 9, 9 p.m., with Filipino musical artists. Bayanihan Musikahan is a fundraising campaign aimed at addressing the needs of communities affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Watch the concert at https://www.facebook.com/bayanihanmusikahan/ To donate, visit https://www.bayanihanmusikahan.org/.

PETA Let’s Get Creative


Catch the PETA’s Let’s Get Creative series with Isprikitik’s Musical Improv class on May 8, 3 p.m., at https://www.facebook.com/PETATHEATER/. Meanwhile, the children’s play Ang Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang is currently streaming at PETA Theater’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/results?search_query=peta+theater+online.

CCP Online

The following shows are premiering online this week: the play Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady, written by Carlo Vergara and directed by Chris Martinez for Virgin Labfest 9, on May 7, 3 p.m., and the concert of actress-singer Bituin Escalante who belts out well-loved Filipino songs in Triple Threats: Everything in Bituin on May 9, 3 p.m. Access the shows through bit.ly/CCPOnlineYT.

Repertory Philippines’ REPisodes

The leading actresses of Repertory Philippines’ REP Theater for Young Audiences are holding a livestream performance in the first installment of “REpisodes” with A Tea Party with Quarantined Princesses on May 7, 4 p.m. Sing along with Shiela Valderrama-Martinez as Cinderella, Becca Coates as Snow White, Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante as Sleeping Beauty, Cara Barredo as Princess Jasmine, Jillian Ita-as as Beauty, and Justine Narciso as Rapunzel. The project is in support of the Open House fundraiser. To watch, visit https://www.facebook.com/repertoryphilippines/. Donate at http://bit.ly/DonateOpenHouse.

National Library of the Philippines

The National Library of the Philippines offers free access to eResources which includes research related to COVID-19. The 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.

Upstart 10 for 10

Upstart Productions presents Upstart 10 for 10, an online mini-concert fundraiser on May 9, 8 p.m., on its Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/upstartproductionsinc). It will feature the following artists: Topper Fabregas, Rony Fortich, Jenny Jamora, Carla Guevara-Laforteza, Lorenz Martinez, Shiela Valderrama-Martinez, Jill Pena, Felix Rivera, Ice Seguerra, and Reuben Uy. The show is for the benefit of theater professionals affected by the COVID-19 crisis. To donate, visit bit.ly/Upstart10for10.

POC’s Crescendo

Philippine Opera Company presents Crescendo, an online fundraising concert featuring classical music on May 9, 8 p.m. This online concert features some of the country’s top and upcoming classical singers: Alexa Kaufman, Andrea Manuel, Renz Nathaniel Cruz, Lawrence Jatayna, Cloi Sugano, Jack Salud, Jennifer Uy, Miguel Lobato, Stefanie Quintin-Avila, Arthur Espiritu, Andion Fernandez-Ching, and Gerphil Flores. The concert is part of the Open House fundraising campaign for the benefit of displaced performing arts workers who were affected by the ECQ. To donate, visit http://bit.ly/DonateOpenHouse. Watch the concert at https://www.facebook.com/lovephilstage/.

Ang Huling El Bimbo: The Musical online

Full House Theater Company’s Ang Huling El Bimbo: The Musical will be streaming for free on May 8 and 9. The show will be on view for 48 hours. Watch the show at https://www.facebook.com/ABSCBNnetwork/ or at https://www.youtube.com/abs-cbnentertainment.

MegaMoveTunaMax

To keep its promise of encouraging a healthy lifestyle, Mega Tuna launches #MegaMoveTunaMax, a series of Facebook Live events featuring fitness classes. The fitness sessions will run for all Mondays of May via its official Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/megapuretuna/). Week 1: HIIT; Week 2: Pop Dance (tentative); Week 3: Total Body Workout; and Week 4: Hip Hop Dance (tentative).

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.

Silverlens Galleries’ At Home With series

To keep in touch with art lovers, Silverlens presents Art Boost, an online drive to maintain engagement with art through social media, exhibition catalogues, and videos. The current At Home With series features Bernardo Pacquing, Hanna Pettyjohn, and Chati Coronel. Revisit contemporary artist Gary-Ross Pastrana’s notes on collage making; and Mit Jai Inn’s use of light, color, and structure in his Actantis exhibit. Visit Silverlens’ official social media accounts and its website (https://www.silverlensgalleries.com/) to view the exhibitions.

BenCab Museum online

Azor Pazcoguin’s solo exhibition, TAYP. RAYT. ER, which features oil paintings of items such as typewriters, phones, cameras, is now online from the BenCab Museum’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pg/bencabmuseum/photos/?tab=album&album_id=3024306460961023&__tn__=-UC-R.

BioBalance Wellness consultation

The BioBalance Wellness Institute offers the following services and features: free online consultation with its clinical nutritionist and nurse practitioners, wellness expert psychologist; online health and immunity risk assessment; and more payment options for availed services and products. For more information, contact 0917-521-4860 or concierge@biobalanceinstitute.com.

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.

CAST recordings on Spotify

CAST PH offers CAST Recording, a collection of one act plays, recorded online and released as radio/audio drama. The first recordings are A Matter of Husbands by Ferenc Molnár, featuring Pinky Amador and Giannina Ocampo-Van Hoven; and Enemies by Neith Boyce and Hutchins Hapgood, featuring David Bianco and Jennifer Blair-Bianco. Listen at https://open.spotify.com/show/5bLSOsJPkZnlaEFDfSSHbl?si=fDsW-kNpT6iP89En-dWbog.

National Bookstore delivery

National Book Store has reopened its branch in Cubao, Quezon City and now offers delivery services for its supplies to selected areas around Metro Manila. For orders from Marikina, San Juan, and Quezon City, contact 0917-631-1374; Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pateros, and Taguig contact 0917-834-3224; Caloocan, Manila, Navotas, and Valenzuela, contact 0917-302-7475; Makati, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Pasay, and Las Piñas, contact 0917-791-0916. Orders are accepted on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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.

Fully Booked delivery

FULLY BOOKED is back in business for book orders (https://www.fullybookedonline.com/). In a Facebook post, Fully Book stated: “[O]ur Lazada and Shopee stores will be back online, too. Please do expect some delays and changes in our processes.” For advisories, visit bit.ly/fb-ecq-advisory.

English National Ballet shows online

ENGLISH National Ballet launched ENB at Home, releasing one show weekly for its Wednesday Watch Parties. The first in the lineup is Broken Wings, a Frida Kahlo-inspired production starring lead principal and ENB artistic director Tamara Rojo as Frida. It is available to stream for free for 48 hours. Watch at https://www.youtube.com/user/enballet or https://www.facebook.com/EnglishNationalBallet/.

The Royal House shows online

THE Royal House in London launched its #OurHouseToYourHouse series where shows can be streamed through its official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/royaloperahouse/. Watch Arthur Pita’s dance-theater adaptation of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis at https://www.facebook.com/royaloperahouse/videos/217068512883588.

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 benefitting the World Health Organization and other charities. The two-hour concert is currently available on his YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/user/davidguettavevo).

Josh Groban concerts

JOSH Groban brings his concerts to your home via online, streaming every Thursday on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/joshgroban). The second concert in the series, Stages: Live (2016), premiered on April 30. The singer has also includes commentary throughout each film. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/JoshGroban/.

Worldwide Concert for Our Culture

JAZZ at Lincoln Center’s annual Spring Gala: Worldwide Concert for Our Culture is now available to stream online. The honorees of the event are Clarence Otis and Jacqueline L. Bradley (Ed Bradley Award for Leadership in Jazz) and Phil Schaap (Jazz at Lincoln Center Award for Artistic Excellence). Performers at the gala include: Wynton Marsalis, Cecile McLorin Salvant and Sullivan Fortner, Chucho Valdes, Nduduzo Makhathini, and Baqir Abbas. For more information, visit jazz.org/gala2020. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IjJbZetCvGw.

Dior’s Designer of Dreams exhibition

DIOR’S exhibition titled Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams is now available to view online. Originally held at Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs from 2017 to 2018, the exhibition traces the evolution of the house of Dior from post-war Paris to the present through a behind-the-scenes in-the-making of the exhibition, plus a virtual tour of its rooms. Visit Dior’s YouTube channel to watch the documentary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1521&v=FLWDWzMrkBE&feature=emb_title).

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/.

Movie night with Jamie Lee Curtis

EVERY Saturday (in the Philippines) until May 8, Lionsgate and Fandango’s Movie Clips YouTube channels will be streaming films. On May 2, watch La La Land (2016) by Damien Chazelle, and John Wick (2014) by Chad Stahelski. Aside from the screening, Ms. Lee Curtis will also engage with the online audience via real-time chats and movie trivia.

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.

MoMA free courses online

After offering virtual tours, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is now offering free online courses. The courses include a series of five free classes for contemporary art, fashion, and photography. It includes readings and exercises which can be completed within 12 to 38 hours. For details, visit https://www.coursera.org/moma.

Print & Play activities for kids

Keep kids entertained with new curated Print & Play activities from HP. The activities from craft making, mazes, dot-to-dot drawing and puzzles are suitable for ages 2 to 12. With HP Print & Play, parents can choose from a range of activities that are best suited to their children’s needs to achieve the best possible learning outcomes. To try the activities, visit https://www8.hp.com/ph/en/printers/printandplay/index.html?jumpid=va_u19mhncewr.

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.

The Nanny’s Pandemic Table Read

The cast of the ‘90s comedy sitcom The Nanny reunites for The Pandemic Table Read of the show’s pilot episode. It stars Fran Drescher as Fran Fine who finds a job as a nanny to the three children of wealthy widower and theater producer Maxwell Sheffield (played by Charles Shaughnessy). To watch, visit Sony Pictures Entertainment’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3a6KuP1X14&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1eEwvK0A7lrLMnt2GTXBPoDR7y8_Q5TXMexTLIo9es9Gei4W1Yi-asITM.

Science experiments at home

Enjoy 44 science experiments with the kids at home with the James Dyson Foundation Challenge cards. To download the challenge cards, visit https://www.jamesdysonfoundation.co.uk/resources/challenge-cards.html.

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 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/.

Nestlé joins Red Cross in COVID-19 efforts

NESTLÉ Philippines, Inc. has turned over to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) P10 million to help the institution in the government’s efforts to provide for people in need of health care.

“The Nestlé purpose is enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future. Our first priority is the welfare of people, families, and communities. Therefore, it is only fitting for us to extend support to the Philippine Red Cross, as we have done time and again in the past,” said Kais Marzouki, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer.

The company said the donation is part of its program called Kasambuhay ng Pamilyang Pilipino to address COVID-19. It said the program includes assisting one million families and thousands of frontline workers, as well as its own employees and those of its business partners.

The company quoted Sen. Richard J. Gordon, PRC chairman and CEO, as saying: “The partnership with Nestle shows great corporate social responsibility at the height of our country’s fight against our invisible enemy, COVID-19.”

Citing Mr. Gordon, Nestlé Philippines said the PRC has two COVID-19 operating laboratories, located in its national headquarters and its multi-purpose center in Mandaluyong City, and expects to have three more laboratories up and running within two to three weeks.

It said the capabilities of the PRC will make it possible to test 2% of Metro Manila’s population of 12 million.

Yields on seven-day term deposits slip further

YIELDS ON the central bank’s term deposit facility (TDF) continued to slip amid higher bids and after slower inflation in April.

Total tenders for the seven-day term deposits of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) hit P181.221 billion on Wednesday, more than double the P70 billion auctioned off and also beating the P137.159 billion in bids logged last week for a P50-billion offer.

Yields sought by banks on the one-week papers came in at 2.25% to 2.29%, a slimmer band compared to the 2.25% to 2.375% range logged on April 29. This caused the average rate to settle at 2.2654%, down by 4.79 basis points (bps) from the 2.3133% fetched a week ago.

“The results in the TDF auction continue to indicate strong market interest for the BSP’s deposit facilities, supported by ample liquidity in the financial system,” BSP Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila, Jr. said in a statement.

The TDF is the central bank’s primary tool to shore up excess liquidity in the financial system and to better guide market interest rates.

Auctions for term deposits with longer tenors of 14 and 28 days have been suspended for nearly two months already since the BSP suspended TDF offerings at the onset of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon in March to support the banking system.

The EQQ was extended until end-April, with some parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila, still under ECQ until May 15, while some have since transitioned to general community quarantine (GCQ).

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said investors have been more prudent in spending and are parking their money in safer havens, which have led to higher bids and lower yields for the central bank’s TDF.

“The continued decline in the auction yield came as more businesses have been more conservative with more cash holdings amid the lockdowns, thereby making the TDF a source of relatively higher interest rate returns for excess cash holdings,” Mr. Ricafort said in a text message.

He added that yields went down due to slower inflation in April.

“The TDF yield continued to decline amid the latest easing of the inflation rate to a 5-month low of 2.2% in April 2020,” he said.

Headline inflation in April slowed from the 2.5% print in March as well as the three percent seen in the same month of 2019.

The April print was within the 1.9%-2.7% forecast range given by the BSP Department of Economic Research for the month. A BusinessWorld poll of 13 economists yielded a 2.1% median estimate for last month’s inflation.

Year to date, inflation averaged at 2.6%, still within the BSP’s 2%-4% target band and above the revised two-percent forecast for the entire 2020.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the decline in transport prices caused by the drop in oil prices as well as the deceleration of nonfood commodities offset faster price uptick in food and non-alcoholic beverages.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno on Tuesday said the central bank “stands ready to deploy any available measures in its toolkit as we continue to assess the impact of coronavirus pandemic on the domestic economy.” — L.W.T. Noble

Microsoft to pitch new Xbox game console, services with monthly showcases

MICROSOFT CORP., gearing up for its biggest-ever year of launches for Xbox products and services in the middle of a global pandemic and economic recession, will replace its plan for a splashy public game-conference event with a monthly series of online showcases.

The virtual events start on May 7, with a look at third-party games planned for its new console, called Xbox Series X. In June, the company will highlight the Xbox platform and services, and July’s session is intended to cover games produced by Microsoft’s own 15 game studios, including the next iteration of its biggest franchise, Halo. The Redmond, Washington-based company had originally planned to unveil many of the details about the new products next month at the E3 conference, which has been canceled.

Gaming audiences “love the authenticity of us showing up in our sweatpants here in our home office and talking about what we are doing,” Xbox chief Phil Spencer said in an interview. This also seemed like a good time to eschew the typically flashy, celebrity-studded events the video-game industry is known for, he said. “We can all look at the unemployment numbers right now. We can also understand we’re in video games, while we have front-line medical workers out there that are keeping people alive.”

Microsoft is set to release the new console for the holiday season, and is planning its first game-streaming service, called xCloud, for later this year. Shifting events online and toning them down aren’t the only changes possible because of the COVID-19 virus that has disrupted workplaces and production schedules, as well as the global economy. While Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said last week the console launch is “on track” and device manufacturing in China is returning to normal, there may be delays in some outside developers’ games for the new device, Mr. Spencer said.

Microsoft has taken steps to make it easier for third-party game developers to work from home. For example, Microsoft gives these teams specialized development kits that let them simulate the environment of the unreleased next-generation console so they can build games for it. Normally those kits are closely guarded and have to stay in the office, but now the company is letting them be used from developers’ homes.

A lot depends on how far along in development games were when their studios were forced to move to remote work. Programming and some other tasks can be done from home offices, while complicated motion-capture of animation used for games is harder to do on the computing rigs most people keep at home. “That’s just not happening right now,” Mr. Spencer said.

“In terms of timelines, we’re finding now that game production is in some ways more challenging than hardware production,” he said. “You have one hardware timeline and then you’ve got all these games.”

Already some developers have announced delays for games intended to arrive this spring. Microsoft shifted Minecraft Dungeons to May from last month, and CD Projekt Red moved a game to September from April. Some games for Sony Corp.’s PlayStation, including The Last of Us and Ghost of Tsushima, have also been pushed back.

Because Microsoft now sells a video-game subscription called Game Pass, which gives customers access to more than 100 titles, Mr. Spencer said there’s less concern about what will be ready when the new console goes on sale. He is confident that there will be enough exciting new games ready when the Xbox Series X hits the market.

So far, the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has mostly been positive for Microsoft’s video-game sales, as stuck-at-home gamers of all ages turn to their consoles for entertainment and social engagement. Last week, Microsoft said Game Pass topped 10 million customers. But the longer-term economic impact and rising unemployment will probably affect how many people can afford to pony up several hundred dollars for a new machine later this year.

Still, Mr. Spencer — who joined Microsoft in 1988 as an intern and has been in consumer software for so long that he worked on things like the CD-ROM version of Encarta — said a lot remains unknown as Microsoft navigates its new-product push amid unprecedented global market forces. — Bloomberg

How PSEi member stocks performed — May 6, 2020

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, May 6, 2020.

Senate sees stimulus boosting 2021 budget to P5-T

THE Senate Committee on Finance said the 2021 spending plan will likely be a “stimulus budget” of about P5 trillion to revive the economy after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency.

“Palagay ko (I think) it will be a stimulus budget, so you’re talking of maybe close to P5 trillion,” Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, who chairs the committee, said in a virtual briefing Wednesday.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in December said it was looking at a P4.64-trillion national budget for 2021, more than 13% higher than the 2020 edition.

“One-third niyan for loan servicing (A third of the budget is for debt service),” he said.

“‘Yung non personnel items, palagay ko karamihan diyan even the infrastructure will be tied towards providing stimulus (Parts of the personnel and infrastructure budgets could be tied in some way towards providing stimulus),” he said.

Mr. Angara also said the 2021 General Appropriations Act will likely also prioritize government spending on the health sector, particularly on the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., as well as the improvement of health facilities nationwide.

“Nakita natin medyo na-expose tayo sa capacity to test, to ramp up testing. Naging mabagal tayo kung ikumpara sa ibang bansa (Our inability to ramp up testing was exposed by the crisis. We were slow compared to other countries),” he said, adding that such capacity should not only be performed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

“I think we need that capacity in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.”

Mr. Angara backs a stimulus package for the next six months to one year, which will support hard-hit industries such as the tourism sector.

The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which granted a P5,000-8,000 monthly subsidy to low-income households for two months, expires after three months.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said in a separate briefing that the chamber will convene the Committee of the Whole on Monday to be briefed by economic managers and members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease.

He also plans to meet separately with the Departments of Health, Agriculture and Transportation on Tuesday. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

DoF sees P1-trillion budget deficit, 5.3% of GDP

THE Department of Finance (DoF) is projecting a P1-trillion budget deficit this year, equivalent to about 5.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), as the spending requirements for the pandemic bring deficit norms into uncharted territory.

“What is going to be our deficit for the year? Our estimate is around a trillion pesos (P1 trillion),” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said in a news conference Wednesday.

Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran told BusinessWorld in a mobile message that a P1-trillion deficit is equivalent to 5.3% of GDP.

Mr. Beltran also confirmed that the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) adopted the 5.3% upper limit for the deficit this year, against the 3.2% cap set before the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

In 2019, the budget deficit was P660.2 billion or 3.55% of GDP.

Mr. Beltran added that macroeconomic assumptions for the medium term are “still being formulated.”

Mr. Dominguez said the government is capable of financing such a deficit because of the Philippines’ strong fiscal position.

He also said there are no plans to ask Congress for a supplemental budget this year despite rising expenditures.

“We will strive to live with the P4.1-trillion budget this year and so far we’ve been okay with that. It has been difficult because we have to reallocate from past priorities to new priorities but that’s the reality of the situation,” Mr. Dominguez said, adding that the economic team is reviewing the budget plan for 2021.

The government plans to borrow around $5.7 billion from multilateral agencies including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Mr. Dominguez said the Department of Finance (DoF) will continue negotiating for project-based bilateral financing agreements committed by Japan, South Korea and China.

“In fact, there is also bilateral financing available from France, of I think $200-300 million,” he said.

Finance Undersecretary Mark Dennis Y.C. Joven, who also heads the DoF’s International Finance Group (IFG), said the group cannot disclose specific details of the agreements while negotiations are pending, saying only that the target is to obtain both project finance and budget-support facilities.

Mr. Joven noted that many countries expressed willingness to help the Philippines, “realizing that the coronavirus pandemic is a global problem and not limited by borders.”

“We are exploring, but we’re hoping that some of these (agreements) will mature this year,” Mr. Joven said in a phone interview Wednesday.

So far, multilateral lenders have approved a total of $2.1 billion worth of loans for use in the COVID-19 containment effort — $1.5 from the ADB and $600 million from the World Bank.

The government is seeking another $750 million from the AIIB to confinance programs with the ADB.

STIMULUS PACKAGE
Mr. Dominguez said the DBCC has also approved the outline for a stimulus package that will be discussed with Congress this week.

“We have prepared the outline of the economic stimulus package which has been approved by the DBCC. We will discuss this at length with the legislature, tomorrow or Friday, so that we can come up with a really responsive and responsible stimulus package,” he said.

Mr. Dominguez said the package will consist of three parts: direct support for the vulnerable population; the recovery plan for the economy; and measures that will “sustain and keep (the country) healthy” after the pandemic ends.

He said the recovery component will include “assistance to banks who support their clients and job creation,” which will involve measures to be implemented by the central bank.

Several stimulus package bills are being drafted by members of the House of Representatives including the proposed P1.3-trillion Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA) bill.

NEDA Acting Director-General Karl Kendrick T. Chua said in a text message that the size of the stimulus package will be determined after the economic managers’ meeting with the legislators. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Slow, U-shaped recovery shaping up behind Q2 rout — FMIC, UA&P

THE recovery will be slow and U-shaped with the dismal performance of the economy extending into the second quarter, according to First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P).

In the April issue of their Market Call, FMIC and UA&P said gross domestic product (GDP) will “contract severely” in the second quarter, when the Luzon lockdown was effective for all of April and half of May.

“Earlier optimism for a V-shaped recovery has dissipated as supply chains, both domestic and international, got disrupted,” according to the report, issued Wednesday.

“The economy may instead see a U-type recovery from a period of decline to a slow movement back to normalcy,” it added.

For the first quarter, FMIC and UA&P said they estimate negative to flat outcomes since the impact of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) came in late in the quarter.

However, output and exports from other regions spared from strict lockdown measures, should have produced some growth, according to the report, which cited agriculture and mineral exports out of Mindanao.

“While we have a bit of hope for flat GDP in Q1 buoyed by exports and output in the Visayas and Mindanao, the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) from mid-March to end-April in Luzon will thrust GDP growth deep into negative territory in Q2,” it said.

PSA will report official first quarter GDP data on Thursday, May 7.

The report noted that lockdowns here and overseas caused unemployment to spike and production to be cut back severely, dampening the income and spending of both consumers and producers, with governments responding with “unprecedented deficit spending.”

The measures also disrupted supply chains due to factory shutdowns, temporary store closures and inventory buildups, adding to the series of issues faced by producers.

“On a quarterly basis, Q2 will likely see a bigger dip in manufacturing output since April has a full month of factory shutdowns and more lead time will be required to get supply chains to function effectively,” it said.

It said inflation “won’t be a concern” as global oil prices plummeted, pulling down prices of goods, which will offset the tax hikes that took effect this year for alcoholic drinks and tobacco products, and upticks in basic commodity prices caused by supply chain disruptions.

It added that crude oil prices are not likely to recover “anytime soon” as demand remains weak across the globe.

FMIC and UA&P also expect a budget deficit equivalent to 7-8% of GDP this year with tax revenue expected to drop on weak production and sales, while government expenditures will surge.

“Nevertheless, the government still has the ability to borrow more from both domestic and foreign sources in order to boost its COVID-19 response program,” it said.

The government estimates a budget deficit equivalent to 5.3% of GDP this year, up from a 3.2% ceiling projected earlier before the pandemic. — Beatrice M. Laforga

New House bill calls for P1 trillion in stimulus spending

A BILL providing for a P1-trillion post-pandemic economic stimulus package was filed in the House Wednesday by Albay Representative Edcel C. Lagman.

House Bill 6693, which if passed will be known as the COVID-19 Response Act, proposes to set aside P164 billion for the Department of Social Welfare and Development for its social amelioration program.

It also proposes P82.26 billion worth of funding for wage subsidy and livelihood financial assistance to displaced workers to be implemented by the Department of Labor and Employment and P110.51 billion for the Department of Health’s COVID-19 containment efforts.

The bill also allots P100 billion to the Department of Trade and Industry for financial assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises, manufacturing enterprises, and export-oriented companies; P50 billion to the Department of Agriculture for financial assistance to farmers; and P71.61 billion for the Department of Tourism’s Tourism Recovery Program.

About P90.31 billion will be allotted to the Department of Transportation to support the aviation and maritime sectors; P200 billion to the Department of Public Works and Highways for the construction of health facilities and implementation of infrastructure projects; and P100 billion for assistance to local government units to be implemented by the Department of Interior and Local Government.

The measure also seeks to allocate about P4 billion to upskill workers through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s programs.

Mr. Lagman said funding sources include measures to be implemented by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; grants and concessional loans from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank; government bond issues; the sale and privatization of government assets; and the extension of tax amnesty programs.

“In order to continue the various emergency assistance to the marginalized sectors as well as to the adversely affected members of the middle class, and to bail out businesses which are reeling from the onslaught of the evolving severest recession since the Great Depression, the enactment of this bill for continued emergency response and economic stimulus package is of critical immediacy,” he said in the bill’s explanatory note.

Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo and Albay Rep. Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda earlier proposed their own versions of an economic stimulus bill which were consolidated into the proposed Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA).

According to AAMBIS-OWA Party-List Rep. Sharon S. Garin, who co-chairs the House’s Defeat COVID-19 committee economic stimulus cluster, the latest draft of the PESA proposes about P475 billion in the first year of the intervention period of 2020-2022 and is currently pending at committee. — Genshen L. Espedido

March port revenues drop 79% on COVID-19 disruptions

REVENUE earned by ports nationwide fell 79% in March due to disruptions to the supply chain caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said.

In a briefing Wednesday, PPA Vice Chairman and General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago said revenue

took a hit from the enhanced community quarantine imposed on Luzon in the middle of March.

“Sa buwan ng Marso ng 2019 year on year kung ikokompara sa Marso ng 2020, bumagsak ang revenues ng ating pantalan ng halos 79% (in March port revenue dropped 79% year on year),” he said.

Though port operations were exempt from the quarantine, many cargo owners could not take out their shipments because their own operations were affected by the lockdown, while inbound shipping also declined because factories in China were still not at full production.

According to guidelines of the Inter-Agency task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, cargoes of critical goods are exempt from the quarantine restrictions.

The PPA said the March result brought the agency’s net profit in the first quarter down 25% year on year. — Gillian M. Cortez

Tax consequences of retrenchment due to COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has significantly impacted the global economy and sent it into a slowdown. The Philippines is no exception.

With public health at stake, the government imposed necessary measures to mitigate the spread of the disease, suspending mass transportation, shutting down most businesses, and declaring lockdowns. The loss of earnings and the significant costs incurred by businesses have brought the economy to a level that no one could have foreseen.

Employers have had to find ways to make ends meet. Alternative work methods were adopted to sustain operations, and to the extent possible, cut down on costs. However, despite all efforts to mitigate losses, many enterprises, large or small, could have no option but to downsize their work forces or permanently close the business.

RETRENCHMENT
Under Article 283 of the Labor Code, the employer may terminate an employee for the installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment, or the closure or cessation of operations of the establishment or undertaking.

In the Supreme Court decision G.R. No. 174214 dated June 12, 2012, the term retrenchment was defined as “the termination of employment initiated by the employer through no fault of and without prejudice to the employees.” It can only be resorted to prevent a substantial or reasonably imminent loss, say during a recession, depression, seasonal fluctuations in business activity, or during lulls occasioned by lack of orders, shortages of material, or conversion of the plant to a new production system, the introduction of new methods or more efficient machinery, or automation. In other words, business losses, lack of work, or considerable reduction in the volume of business are valid reasons for termination of employment.

In such cases, the law requires employers to pay separation benefits to the impacted employees equivalent to one month’s pay or at least half a month’s pay for every year of service. A fraction of at least six months is to be considered a full year.

IS THE SEPARATION PAY OF A RETRENCHED EMPLOYEE SUBJECT TO TAX?
Under Section 32(B)(6)(b) of the Tax Code, any amount received by an official or employee or by his heirs as a consequence of separation from the service of the employer because of death, sickness or other physical disability or for any cause beyond the control of the said official or employee shall be exempt from tax.

As confirmed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in several rulings, any payment to the employees, due to their involuntary termination for grounds beyond their control, is exempt from taxation, regardless of the amount.

Such exemption, however, does not extend to remuneration not relating to the retrenchment per se such as earned salary, government-mandated 13th month pay and other benefits on account of employment that are in excess of the P90,0000 tax-exempt threshold. These items are subject to income tax, and consequently, to withholding tax on compensation regardless of the retrenchment.

Therefore, it is important to segregate or distinguish separation pay from the regular salaries and other compensation items reported in the income tax return (ITR), audited financial statements (AFS) and in the Alphalist of Employees (alphalist). This is because in the event of an audit, the BIR normally compares salaries reported in the ITR/AFS and the alphalist. If there is a discrepancy in the amounts reported in these documents, the BIR will likely assess the employer for deficiency withholding tax on compensation and disallow the related expense for income tax due to under-withholding, or attempt to assess deficiency income tax on the ground of undeclared expense resulting in undeclared revenue. Recording the separation pay to an account other than salaries or disclosing it under the relevant notes to financial statements could help address the issue.

ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENT FOR EXEMPTION
To confirm the eligibility for tax exemption of the separation pay, the BIR issued Revenue Memorandum Order No. 66-2016 to guideline the securing a Certificate of Tax Exemption (CTE) from Income Tax and Withholding Tax. For retrenchment, the BIR requires the following documents:

1. Copies of the written notices served to the employee and the appropriate Regional Office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) at least 30 days before the intended date of termination, specifying the grounds for separation; and

2. A board resolution, in case of a juridical entity, or sworn statement to be executed by the owner, in case of a sole proprietor, stating that:

a. the retrenchment is reasonably necessary and likely to prevent business losses;

b. the losses, if already incurred, are not merely de minimis, but substantial, serious, actual and real, or if only expected, are reasonably imminent, with appropriate supporting evidence of said losses;

c. the retrenchment is made in good faith for the advancement of its interests and not to defeat or circumvent the employees’ right to security of tenure; and

d. the selection of employees to be terminated has been made under fair and reasonable criteria.

Applications for the issuance of a CTE for separation pay must be filed with the appropriate BIR office, where the employer is registered.

In times of economic hardship where businesses and employees are short of funds, it is crucial to implement the rules correctly. To a breadwinner, a paycheck will sustain the family. To a company, erroneous withholding may expose itself to BIR scrutiny, which may lead to an assessment. During times of austerity, there is little room for error where every peso counts.

The views or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Isla Lipana & Co. The content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for specific advice.

 

Nelson V. Soriano is a Director at the Tax Services Department of Isla Lipana & Co., the Philippine member firm of the PwC network.

+63 (2) 8845-2728

nelson.soriano@pwc.com

Malaysia will be crucial to Asia’s COVID-19 damage control

By Daniel Moss

ASIA has a new public emergency: breathing life into moribund economies.

Months after severely curtailing social and commercial activity in a bid to contain COVID-19, governments are scrambling to reboot activity. They confront a coronavirus that isn’t out of business but economies that very nearly are. The policy priority is shifting from suppressing infections at almost any cost to combating truly awful scenarios for jobs, prices and gross domestic product.

Malaysia has often been a poster child for Southeast Asia’s booms and busts. The nation is again at the confluence of powerful trends. Its experience in the pandemic illustrates conditions around the region, and the choices that it now makes may be instructive. In times of tumult, the country has usually been a source of stability. Malaysia tends to avoid the sudden swerves in policy and coups that have characterized many of its neighbors. The route that Malaysia takes to recovery will be closely watched. A crash-and-burn here would bode poorly for the region.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has declared that nearly all curtailed activities can resume, rightly fearing a deep recession will be exacerbated every day the country is mothballed. But some powerful provincial administrations are balking. State leaders fret about a spike in infections. Should life return too quickly to a semblance of normality, there’s a legitimate concern that the lid keeping cases under control will be quickly blown. But should a nation wait to reopen for business until there is little or no chance of a renewed viral spread? That could take years.

Malaysia’s thankless equation is part of a global conundrum. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Morgan Stanley economists said in recent days that there’s evidence that worldwide activity has bottomed and is starting to recover. But the rebound from a shockingly poor first-half is predicated, at least in part, on lockdowns easing. A jump in new cases from folks getting together again would prompt new closures.

Policy makers are contending with this great circularity. Vietnam called off its stay-at-home order last week. Singapore plans to gradually lift a few restrictions imposed during its “circuit-breaker” period. Indonesia, which for months denied the pandemic could penetrate its borders, has more COVID-19 deaths than anywhere in Asia outside China and India. Jakarta is taking a big hit to growth and may be running out of time to get ahead of the downturn.

For Malaysia, there are also homegrown political challenges. Just as the pandemic was rippling through the region, coalition intrigue felled Mahathir Mohamad’s government, the first led by a long-suffering opposition since independence. The new cabinet restores much of the old power structure but has yet to face a session of parliament; its claims of having majority-backing have yet to be tested on the floor. These are consequential times for a team that lacks the stable mandate of a general election.

In a nod to the dire circumstances, Malaysia’s central bank axed its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point Tuesday, the biggest reduction since the Great Recession. Bloomberg Economics foresees the economy shrinking 6.7% this year. The bank said conditions will be “particularly challenging.” Together with fiscal stimulus, officials aim to “offer some support to the economy.’’ Bank Negara has monetary space — the main rate stands at 2% after the cut — so why not use it? This isn’t the time to fret about the approach of zero. Across the world, borrowing costs are being pushed to rock-bottom levels.

The bank doesn’t just have to worry about growth vanishing; consumer prices fell in March for the first time in a year. Malaysia could be heading for its first annual deflation since 1969, according to economists at United Overseas Bank Ltd. Presenting Bank Negara’s annual report last year, Governor Shamsiah Yunus told journalists to put deflation out of their minds. It shows how the unlikely has become entirely plausible in the COVID-19 era.

The year 1969 was a defining moment in Malaysia’s history. Communal violence devastated Kuala Lumpur and gave birth to policies that became a bedrock: The majority Malays would receive an array of preferences, especially in the public sector and education, over ethnic Chinese, who long controlled the bulk of private wealth. The framework has persisted, though critics contend it fosters rent-seeking and saps aspiration.

It hasn’t been tested by economic circumstances like these. As in other countries, Malaysia’s pre-existing conditions look more serious under COVID-19 pressure. A lot rides on how they’re handled. This government wasn’t voted into office, but it’s the one Malaysia has. Reaching across the aisle to create a national unity team — Mahathir’s cabinet, for all its shortcomings, did have physicians in its top two slots — would show seriousness. Few things matter now more than judgment and experience.

Huge forces are reshaping the global economy in which Malaysia has mostly prospered the past few decades. At the least, the pandemic will accelerate trends already in place. Long reliant on manufacturing exports, oil, and tourism, the country needs to retool, all the while managing an ethnically and geographically diverse populace. Does China, Asia’s most recent commercial patron, become emboldened or retreat? How does Malaysia handle that shift?

If the right choices are made, Malaysia lives to fight another day. If not, Southeast Asia loses another piece of stability in a world that needs it.

 

BLOOMBERG OPINION

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