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Deterrent value of wildlife smuggling laws limited — DENR

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said wildlife smugglers are not deterred by the current set of penalties prescribed for them because violations are prosecuted as if they were “second-class crimes.”

Undersecretary Ernesto D. Adobo, Jr., a lawyer, said societal attitudes towards wildlife smuggling are unhelpful because they do not recognize the urgency of the issue.

“It is a victimless crime. People do not think about wildlife trafficking too much because they are just animals. Moreover, smugglers take the risk… because the illegal wildlife trade is just a second-class crime,” he said Tuesday.

Mr. Adobo was speaking to mark World Wildlife Day at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center in Quezon City.

He said a bill that is pending in Congress that addresses the weaknesses of the wildlife regulatory regime.

“We already have a bill pending that we hope to be certified soon. It will institutionalize law enforcement (practices) against the illegal wildlife trade,” Mr. Adobo said.

Assistant Secretary Ricardo L. Calderon said that the DENR is being assisted by the Asian Development Bank and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in the amendment of the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act or Republic Act (RA) 9147.

At the event, the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) and USAID unveiled a new digital tool to combat wildlife trafficking, with the soft launch of the beta test version of the WildALERT system.

The system consists of a mobile interface, a species library with 480 entries, and a report management platform to help users identify wildlife species to help them better fight wildlife crimes.

The system’s senior developer Fheter John B. Calanday said the testing process seeks to ensure that the Android-based app can work even on older-model phones.

“Very challenging sa amin na gumana ’yung app sa mga lumang phone pero napagana namin (It was very challenging for us to make an app that even old phones can run), but we did it so that it can be more accessible to law enforcers,” Mr. Calanday added.

App users can take photos and provide key information via the app’s reporting feature, which will then be sent to the WildALERT report management platform.

Reports can be accessed by the nearest DENR field units such as City Environment and Natural Resources Offices, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office and the BMB for appropriate action.

The system will be officially turned over to DENR by the end of March or early April. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Corporate fraud still high amid limited use of AI detection — PwC

FRAUD AND ECONOMIC crime in Philippine businesses fell but remained high in the last two years with the deployment of AI-based fraud detection systems remaining limited, PwC Philippines said in a report released Tuesday.

The 2020 Isla Lipana & Co./PwC Philippines Economic Crime and Fraud Survey found that 42% of respondents said their companies experienced incidents of fraud between 2018 and 2020.

The report, which is part of a global survey, found that the percentage fell from 54% in the 2018 report, though the new study’s sample size has grown to 101 from 63.

PwC views the rate as “remaining the same,” PwC Philippines Technology and Risk Consulting Partner Roberto C. Bassig told reporters at a news conference.

PwC’s survey took in respondents from across industries, including managers, chief executive officers, and chief financial officers, among others.

According to the global report, fraud incidents resulted in average losses of $100,000 per business over the past two years, with 31% of incidents costing between $50,000 and $100,000.

The top economic crime in the Philippines remained asset misappropriation, with 52% of respondents saying their companies have experienced such incidents.

Bribery and corruption, and customer fraud, were both at 42%.

Some forms of fraud declined significantly since the 2018 report, with incidence of procurement fraud falling to 21% from 35% and deceptive business practices falling to 19% from 38%.

Cybercrime jumped to 19% from 9% in the 2018 report.

Some 21% of respondents said their organization has been asked to pay a bribe, and 14% said that they lost an opportunity because they believe a competitor paid a bribe.

PwC Philippines Chairman and Senior Partner Alex B. Cabrera said that companies should have risk-management officers to identify problems, whether traditional or digital.

“If you have a dedicated risk-management person that also takes care of that, then I think you can avoid the habit of presumption. There is a lot of presumption because the president sees things in the ordinary course of business and doesn’t really do a deep dive on the details (to) find out what’s wrong,” he said.

The report said that the main perpetrator is usually an insider, accounting for 38% of incidents. Collusion between internal and external actors make up 21% of incidents.

In Southeast Asia, 39% of internal perpetrators are in the operations staff, and 38% are in middle management while 17% are in senior management. There are no available Philippine data due to the size of the survey sample, PwC said.

The “tip-off” remains the main source of fraud detection in an organization, as 25% of respondents say costs are preventing companies from upgrading technology to combat financial crime.

Only a small percentage of companies is currently using artificial intelligence to counter fraud, with 40% of companies planning on using voice recognition in the next 12 months and 39% planning on using natural language generation-based systems.

Mr. Cabrera said that he expects the problem in the Philippines to get worse before it gets better.

“The willingness to invest and the preparedness to take on security costs is not yet there. And then probably corporates also needs to see the cost of security go down from these service providers,” he said.

“I still think there’s an inherent defect on how we treat it as a culture… how we handle those fraud incidents.”

PwC is advocating for the criminalization of corruption within private companies.

“Private corruption is technically not a crime,” Mr. Bassig said, even though there are financial implications.

“We’re pushing forward, of course, with this initiative to criminalize this aspect and hopefully it will also help decrease the financial crimes B2B.” — Jenina P. Ibañez

DoF defends deficit as needed stimulus, sees no sovereign ratings impact

THE Department of Finance (DoF) said the larger-than-expected 2019 budget deficit will not have a negative impact on sovereign credit ratings as government spending was needed to stimulate economic growth last year.

“The rise in the NG (national government) deficit beyond the target should not adversely affect the country’s credit rating as fiscal stimulus was needed to shore up the country’s growth to a level closer to its 6.3% 10-year GDP growth average,” the DoF said in an economic bulletin Tuesday.

The budget deficit widened to a record P660.2 billion in 2019, up 18.27% from a year earlier, after a P494.4 billion spending surge in December pushed overall expenditure beyond the P620-billion ceiling for the year.

The deficit was equivalent to 3.55% of gross domestic product (GDP), exceeding the 3.25% ceiling set for the year.

“The catch-up expenditure plan launched by government after the election ban has boosted expenditures by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, thus pushing the whole year NG expenditure program beyond the whole year program,” it said.

Government expenditure last year of P3.797 trillion exceeded the P3.769-trillion spending plan by 0.74% while overall revenue rose 10% to P3.137 trillion in 2019, 0.39% short of its P3.149 trillion target.

The Finance department added that last year’s deficit was “financeable” as local interest rates continue to decline as does the size of the NG’s outstanding debt relative to GDP.

Despite the nominal growth in outstanding debt to P7.771 trillion at the end of 2019, the debt-to-GDP ratio last year fell to 41.5% from 41.8% a year earlier. The year-end ratio was the lowest since 1986.

“Despite this development, public construction declined by 2.4% in constant terms, last year,” the DoF said.

Moving forward, it expects the early approval of the 2020 budget to enable projects in the public sector to be implemented on time this year, which will “moderate the negative impact of the Taal eruption and the global uncertainties arising from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.”

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said Monday that GDP growth could suffer as much as a one-percentage point reduction this year if the outbreak persists until the end of the year.

The assessments were made based on a scenario of inbound Chinese tourists dropping by 100% and overall foreign tourist arrivals declining 10%, and assuming a drastic reduction in trade.

The government is targeting 6.5-7.5% GDP growth this year. — Beatrice M. Laforga

FDI policy review urged amid workplace closures

A LEGISLATOR has asked the House committee on labor and employment to review foreign direct investment (FDI) policy amid the recent closures of multinational firms’ Philippine operations.

“Kailangan i-review talaga natin ’yung policies natin regarding sa investments… (Investment policy needs to be reviewed) We have been providing incentives for FDI and yet… we are seeing a downtrend. We should look into it. Representative Ferdinand R. Gaite of Bayan Muna Party List said during a committee hearing Tuesday.

The committee heard representatives from three multinational companies that announced closures or reductions in their Philippine operations — Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), Nokia Technology Center Philippines and Wells Fargo & Co.

The three multinational firms told the committee that they will provide appropriate separation benefits for their employees.

A lawyer representing HCPI, Ariss N. Santos, said the automaker will provide “separation pay under the law, plus a minimum of one month pay for every year of service,” adding that employees will also receive a one-time lump sum of P100,000.

All HCPI employees will also have their health benefits extended until the end of the year, even after the closure of the manufacturing plant in Laguna.

“I think the offer is quite generous, quite above what is prescribed by law,” 1-Pacman Rep. Enrico A. Pineda, the committee chairman, said during the hearing. — Genshen L. Espedido

Wells Fargo to maintain presence in Philippines

WELLS Fargo & Co. said it will maintain its presence in the Philippines with a staffing level of about 4,800 workers, following the relocation of Manila-based technology jobs to India.

In a statement, the US bank said the relocations are part of a consolidation of such jobs worldwide in major tech centers, and estimated the Manila job losses at 700.

“Relocation of these limited technology roles was never intended to imply that there was a larger planned withdrawal of Wells Fargo from the Philippines, as has been incorrectly represented by some media channels. Wells Fargo remains committed to operating in Manila as a strategic location and has no plans to close its Manila operations. In fact, Wells Fargo inaugurated a new 12-story structure at McKinley Hill, Bonifacio Global City on July 1, 2019. This location is primarily an extension of the operations, knowledge services, and corporate support teams of Wells Fargo. It facilitates international operations, knowledge support, and middle and back-end business process solutions for a wide spectrum of Wells Fargo needs,” it said.

“We value all of our employees’ contributions and will provide a notice period and, as required by local laws, separation benefits to those who are impacted by the change.”

Declining imports dent BoC revenue by P2.7B

THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said collections fell 2.58% in February on declining cargo volumes as the coronavirus outbreak continued to disrupt global supply chains.

The declining volumes are estimated to have resulted in around P2.7 billion worth of foregone revenue from Customs charges.

A BoC document obtained by Businessworld indicates that Customs revenue fell to P41.671 billion in February from P42.774 billion a year earlier, reversing the year-on-year gains made in January.

Cargo volumes processed by the BoC fell 6.67% year-on-year in February to 8.146 million tons.

Cargoes from China fell 34.67% to 936,246 tons over a period covering most of February.

“The volume of importation from China decreased by 34.67% for the period Feb. 1-28, 2020. This resulted in a revenue loss of P2.7 billion,” according to the document.

This was followed by a 29.92% drop in imports from Vietnam, as well as declines in volumes from Thailand (25.04%), South Korea (22.75%), Malaysia (17.79%).

Meanwhile, import volumes rose on cargoes from Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, the US and Saudi Arabia.

On the sidelines of an event in Makati City on Tuesday, Finance Undersecretary Antonette C. Tionko said separately that the department is seeing lower collections from the bureau as import volumes decline due to the outbreak of coronavirus, formally known as Covid-19.

Ms. Tionko said the reduction in revenues will be minimal this were likely offset by taxes from other goods such as fuel products.

In the two months to February, however, collections rose 5.01% year-on-year to P94.509 billion.

Import volumes for the period fell 5.34% year-on-year to 17.839 million tons.

By number of containers, imports from all countries fell 8.08% year-on-year in the first two months, with a 22.5% contraction in February overwhelming the 3.28% gain in January.

Containers from China and Hong Kong posted the largest year-on-year decline, dropping by 52.8% and 37.9% in February, respectively.

Meanwhile, Ms. Tionko said the government continues to monitor affected sectors and companies to evaluate how to help them cushion the blow on their businesses.

“We’re looking at ways to do that right now, not just the DoF, but through other agencies… let’s see how we can… maybe to waive fees, just to give them relief, in the event that this Covid-19 becomes very widespread,” she said.

At the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Ms. Tionko said tax collections will also likely fall as businesses reported lower sales during the period.

This year, the BIR is tasked to collect P2.576 trillion or 78% of the P3.3-trillion target set for the two biggest tax collection agencies, while the BoC is expected to collect P731.235 billion. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Ateneo and UP clash in UAAP volleyball today

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

IT will be an early “Battle of Katipunan” in UAAP Season 82 volleyball for the Ateneo Lady Eagles and University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons as they clash in a packed game date today at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Set for 3:30 p.m., the battle between defending women’s champion Ateneo and UP is part of a four-game schedule for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines that will also see the schools’ men’s teams taking on one another in the 2 p.m. match and National University and University of Santo Tomas men’s and women’s teams playing in the morning.

The Lady Eagles are to begin their quest for back-to-back UAAP titles bannered by a team that is welcoming back familiar faces.

Jhoana Maraguinot, Jamie Lavitoria and Kat Tolentino are once again taking the taraflex floor for Ateneo as it goes for a fourth women’s volleyball crown.

Maraguinot is back in the Eagles’ nest to play in her final year of eligibility after not playing in Season 81 while Lavitoria also returns following her stint in the Philippine Super Liga last year.

Tolentino, for her part, initially revealed she was foregoing her final year in the UAAP after their title conquest last season but had a change of heart.

The three are counted on to help cushion the departure of the likes of Bea De Leon and Maddie Madayag to graduation and the sidelining of setter Deanna Wong because of injury (shin).

They will join a roster that also has libero Dani Ravena, setter Jaja Maraguinot, Jules Samonte, Vannie Gandler, Ponggay Gaston, Erika Raagas and rookie Faith Nisperos.

While confident with the team they have, Ateneo coach Oliver Almadro said having an injury-free season would go a long way for them and their quest to maintain their position on top of the heap in UAAP women’s volleyball.

“We are prepared to take on the challenge as defending champions. We have stepped up our preparation and we’re hoping for an injury-free season so we can pursue our mission better especially against a competitive field,” said Mr. Almadro in the lead-up.

FIGHTING MAROONS
For the Fighting Maroons, who decided to drop “Lady” in their moniker starting this season, the mission is to make another spirited run to make the playoffs after missing the Final Four bus in the last three years.

Back for one last ride for UP are seniors Isa Molde, Tots Carlos and Justine Dorog. They join forces with fellow veterans Marist Layug, Jessma Ramos and Rosie Rosier in trying to lead the Maroons to improve on their 6-8 record in Season 81 and hopefully earn a spot in the semifinals, something they have not experienced since Season 78.

Coach Godfrey Okumu shared that he is confident of the team they have but admits they have to go out on the floor with more consistency in play and mindset if they are to achieve their goals.

The Ateneo and UP men’s teams, meanwhile, enter Season 82 off third-place and last-place finishes, respectively, last year.

In the morning, the NU Bulldogs start their journey to win a third straight UAAP men’s title albeit sans top dog and Season 81 most valuable player Bryan Bagunas, who has graduated.

But despite that, coach Dante Alinsunurin expressed their readiness to once again defend their title.

“We’ve lost some key players from last season to graduation, including Bryan (Bagunas). But even before they graduated, we were already preparing. And we are ready to defend the title,” said Mr. Alinsunurin.

The Bulldogs play the UST Growling Tigers at 9 a.m.

Playing after at 10:30 a.m. are the NU and UST women’s teams.

The NU Lady Bulldogs finished sixth in Season 81 with a 4-10 card while the UST Golden Tigresses were losing finalists last year on the final season of league MVP Sisi Rondina.

Team Tarlac’s Solis claims first victory lap as Oconer solidifies lead

VIGAN, ILOCOS SUR — Kenneth Solis of Team Tarlac claimed his very first lap victory even as George Oconer of Standard Insurance-Navy stayed firm and unflappable at the helm in the ninth and penultimate stage of the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 10th anniversary race on Tuesday.

Mr. Solis, 26, came from behind and edged Christopher Garado of South Luzon-Batangas and Mar Sudario of Bike Xtreme to top the 170.6-km Stage Nine that started in Pugo, La Union, and ended in front of the provincial capitol here for his most significant performance since joining here four years ago.

Bryant Sepnio of Celeste Cycles, Mervin Corpuz of 7Eleven Cliqq-Air21 by Roadbike Philippines and two-time champion Santy Barnachea of Scratch It were part in that first group that clocked four hours, 15 minutes and 27 seconds.

The Army man then dedicated his triumph to one-month-old daughter Brianna Kate.

“This is special to me and I’m dedicating it to my baby,” said an ecstatic Mr. Solis in Filipino.

It was the second lap triumph for Team Tarlac after Ryan Tugawin reigned supreme in Stage Two in Legazpi City.

Mr. Garado, despite finishing only second, likewise considered his feat exceptional since his team almost did not make the race after the fund intended for their campaign were used to help victims of the Taal eruption.

The day, however, belonged to the 28-year-old Oconer, who kept his iron grip on the individual general classification lead with an aggregate clocking of 31:50:52 ahead of teammates Ronald Oranza (31:52:07), Ronald Lomotos (31:52:10), John Mark Camingao (31:52:45), Junrey Navarra (31:53:09) and El Joshua Carino (31:54:43).

Rounding up the top 10 were the Go for Gold troika of Jonel Carcueva (31:56:16), Daniel Ven Carino (31:56:38) and Ismael Grospe, Jr. (31:56:40), and Bicycology-Army’s Marvin Tapic (31:59:38).

The final stage — a criterium — here will be Mr. Oconer’s coronation lap as he will finally end a long search for the title.

Mr. Oconer and the rest of the Navymen, who have also virtually sealed the overall team crown, dedicated their effort to Standard Insurance Group chairman Ernesto “Judes” Echauz.

“We are dedicating this to him (Echauz) because without his full support, we wouldn’t have achieved any of this,” said Oconer.

Stocks rise ahead of G7 call on virus response

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

THE MAIN INDEX closed higher on Tuesday as investors across the world anticipate new measures from intergovernmental economic organization Group of Seven (G7) to address the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) picked up 41.26 points or 0.61% to end 6,790.54 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index added 18.56 points or 0.45% to 4,062.25.

“Local and regional (stocks) recovered as the G7 leaders are planning on leading a global teleconference tonight to discuss actions against the coronavirus outbreak,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message yesterday.

The G7 — comprised of advanced economies Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States — are taking a more active role in addressing the threat on global markets and economies due to COVID-19 with a conference call scheduled at 8 p.m. last night, Philippine time.

Asian markets ended mixed on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix indices lost 1.22% and 1.36%, respectively, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.03%.

But China’s Shanghai SE Composite and Shenzhen CSI 300 indices gained 0.74% and 0.53%, respectively, and South Korea’s Kospi index advanced 0.44%.

AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun and Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Claire T. Alviar said the rise in Asian equities was driven by the upswing in Wall Street on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices grew 5.09%, 4.60% and 4.49%, respectively.

Sectoral indices at the PSE were mostly gainers yesterday: financials by 22.63 points or 1.43% to 1,604.12; holding firms by 49.04 points or 0.74% to 6,625.54; property by 18.36 points or 0.49% to 3,707.18; and mining and oil by 16.38 points or 0.25% to 6,359.53.

Closing in red territory were industrials, which lost 37.78 points or 0.46% to 8,122.16; and services, which shed 0.37 point or 0.02% to 1,345.49.

Despite yesterday’s gains, Philstocks Financial’s Ms. Alviar said the rally might be short-lived, noting value turnover stood at P5.83 billion which was “weaker compared with the past sessions of around P8 billion.”

“This shows that most investors are still on the sidelines worrying the impact of the virus in the Philippine economic growth,” Ms. Alviar said in a text message.

But for AAA Southeast Equities’ Mr. Mangun, it appears the worst is over for the PSEi and investors are regaining confidence in the market. “If the main index ends the week above this support line, we may see a reversal and see it start going higher,” he said.

Advancers outpaced decliners, 108 against 82, while 46 names closed the session unchanged.

Net foreign selling dropped to P915.46 million yesterday from Monday’s P1.53 billion.

Peso drops on weak data

THE PESO declined versus the dollar on weak data due to the virus outbreak. — BW FILE PHOTO

THE PESO dropped against the greenback on Tuesday amid softer manufacturing data in key markets due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak and amid hints of possible rate cuts to cushion the impact of the outbreak on the economy.

The local unit ended trading at P50.69 per dollar on Tuesday, depreciating by six centavos from its close of P50.63 on Monday, according to data from the website of the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

The peso opened at P50.65 against the dollar. Its weakest showing for the session was at P50.78, while its intraday best was at P50.55 versus the greenback.

Dollars traded dropped to $1.239 billion from $1.468 billion on Monday.

A trader said the local unit weakened as markets priced in lower-than-expected data in key markets abroad.

“The peso weakened as safe-haven demand for the greenback ensued following the release of softer-than-expected US and Euro zone manufacturing reports overnight,” the trader said in an e-mail.

Reuters reported that the US factory manufacturing activity eased in February as orders contracted, reflected worries on supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity slipped to a reading of 50.1 from 50.9 in January. The pace was lower than the 50.5 forecast yielded from a Reuters poll.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector, which accounts for 11% of the US economy.

Meanwhile, the downturn in the Euro zone manufacturing eased despite the outbreak and how it could hit supply chains.

IHS Markit’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) inched up to 49.2 in February from January’s 47.9, pipping a preliminary estimate of 49.1 and chalking up its highest reading in a year.

Meanwhile, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the peso’s performance came after signals of possible easing from central banks around the world to guard against economic risks that could stem from the COVID-19 outbreak.

“The peso closed slightly weaker amid possible coordinated move by central banks to counter adverse effects of the coronavirus on the global financial markets…and after the BSP recently signalled preference for fiscal policy measures than monetary policy easing,” Mr. Ricafort said.

On Monday, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said another rate cut is still on the table and they could push for more rate cuts depending on their updated assessment of the outbreak which they will consider at the next policy-setting meeting on Mar. 19.

The rates on the BSP’s reverse repurchase, overnight lending and deposit facilities now stand at 3.75%, 4.25%, and 3.25%, respectively.

For today, the trader sees the peso trading at the P50.65-P50.85 levels, while Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P50.55 to 50.80. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

Manila eases Korea ban, vows not to restrict travel

THE Philippines has partially lifted its travel ban on South Korea and won’t restrict travel to other countries amid a novel coronavirus outbreak, according to the presidential palace.

An inter-agency task force met on Tuesday and agreed to allow Filipinos to go to South Korea except to North Gyeongsang province, where infections have multiplied in the past weeks, presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement on Tuesday.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday placed all government agencies on a 24-hour emergency alert as the country’s total cases — the largest in the world outside China — neared 5,000.

Worldwide, more than 3,100 people have died, while infection cases have passed 90,000, mostly in China, according to the World Health Organization.

“All Filipinos who intend to visit other parts of South Korea shall execute and sign a declaration, signifying their knowledge and understanding of the risks involved in their trip,” he said.

“A health advisory pamphlet shall likewise be handed out to them upon their departure,” he added.

The ban on foreigners traveling from North Gyeongsang Province, including Daegu City and Cheongdo County, to the Philippines stays, Mr. Panelo said.

The task force also agreed that “there are to be no new imposition of travel restrictions or lifting of the same as regards other countries or jurisdictions, the spokesman said.

The Philippines will regularly review travel restrictions and protocols to and from the Philippines, he added.

The government also expanded travel exemptions, allowing dependents of permanent residents of South Korea, Hong Kong and Macau to travel to these areas as long as they sign the risk declaration.

The Tourism department had estimated P42.9 billion in losses from February to April as flights got canceled and events were postponed.

South Korea has enforced stringent infection control measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said in a separate statement. He also said South Korea had reported a fatality rate of only 0.5%.

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it was preparing for the return of 148 Filipinos from Macau via a chartered flight, while the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration was arranging to repatriate 48 members from there through a commercial flight.

Authorities are “on top of the situation” as the country aims to “protect the safety and health of our people,” Mr. Panelo said.

The Philippines has not reported a coronavirus infection for weeks and only three people have been confirmed to have been infected, all Chinese nationals from Wuhan City, where the virus was first detected.

Two of the patients have recovered and one has died, according to the local Health department.

There are 6,139 Filipinos in South Korea, 161,885 in Italy and 1,181 in Iran. No Filipino had been infected in any of these countries, according to DFA.

Also yesterday, a third case involving a Filipino was confirmed in Singapore.

Singapore’s Ministry of Health in a report said a 34-year old Filipina with a work pass was confirmed to have been infected on March 2. — NPA and CAT

Immigration chief given chance to fix mess — Panelo

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte is giving his Immigration commissioner a chance to fix corruption at the agency after the Senate uncovered a bribery scheme involving Chinese nationals working at local offshore gaming companies.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente attended the Cabinet meeting on Monday night and introduced an executive order to address the anomaly, presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said at a briefing on Tuesday.

“He’s giving Commissioner Morente a chance to do something about the problem in Immigration,” he said, referring to Mr. Duterte. He added that the President trusts the Immigration chief.

The Immigration bureau earlier said it had revamped workers at Terminals 1 to 3 of the international airport in Manila after the “recent resurgence of unauthorized activities and irregularities” there.

The agency relieved 19 officials and employees allegedly involved in a bribery scheme that allowed the illegal entry of Chinese nationals who end up working in offshore gaming companies here.

Senator Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel earlier showed a video of incoming Chinese nationals being escorted to an office at the international airport in Manila.

She also showed screenshots of Viber messages among Immigration officers discussing the bribery scheme, as well as a worksheet containing the P10,000 paid by each of the tourists.

An immigration officer earlier told a Senate committee some blacklisted foreigners had been granted entry for as much as P200,000.

The bureau earlier asked the Justice department and National Bureau of Investigation to probe corrupt practices at the airport, including human trafficking and escort services.

Immigration officials have denied knowledge of the illegal scheme.

Also yesterday, the bureau said it had barred 242 foreign nationals alleged to be working illegally in the country from Feb. 21 to 28.

In a statement, the agency said some of the foreigners who had been denied entry at the international airport in Manila were Cambodians, Vietnamese, Indonesians, Myanmars, Malaysians and Chinese. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas and GMC

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