Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube
Home Blog Page 9503

Paving the path towards recovery and resiliency

By Adrian Paul B. Conoza
Special Features Writer, BusinessWorld

MBC forum focuses on recovering post-COVID and resiliency against future disasters

The country’s fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) does not only drive the government, sectors, and communities to create solutions to recover from the crisis. It is also teaching them how to make the country more resilient to disasters of various kinds, as the recent roundtable discussion hosted by the Makati Business Club (MBC) and the National Resiliency Council (NRC) revealed.

The digital forum held last May 22, with the theme “Recovery & Resilience: Rethinking Growth Post-COVID”, highlighted insights from BangkoSentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno, the forum’s keynote speaker, and Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chief executive officer (CEO) of Ayala Corporation and co-vice chairman of MBC.

The forum was also participated by Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana; Ambassador Roberto R. Romulo, governor of NRC and chairman emeritus of Zuellig Family Foundation; Nestor Tan, president and CEO of BDO Unibank; Gerardo Borromeo, vice chairman and CEO of Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc. (PTC); and Ignacio Mijares, president and CEO of CEMEX Holdings Philippines.

Fast, fact-based response
Providing a perspective from the private sector, Mr. Zobel de Ayala highlighted the value of collaboration and data-based decisions, as well as the need to provide efficient solutions at a fast pace in dealing with the current crisis.

He noted a parallel between how the NRC pursues climate resiliency and how the country combats the COVID-19 crisis as both involve public-private partnerships and the use of data and science.

The Ayala Corporation CEO pointed out that the private sector has working hand-in-hand with the government and local government units in terms of helping vulnerable individuals, protecting frontliners, and sharing data and analyses with key government agencies.

He further noted that data and science are very helpful at a time when both sectors have big and unfamiliar decisions to make.

“The data we use is far from perfect, but it is reassuring to know that we’re making decisions based on facts and not just suppositions,” Mr. Zobel de Ayala said.

The MBC vice-chairman also stressed that employment should remain among the top priorities in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, adding that programs and proposals relevant to the crisis should eventually preserve or create jobs.

Mr. Zobel de Ayala also suggested that the government should formalize a structured wage subsidy program at a time when businesses hardly can pay their employees further and might be forced to lay them off or close down completely.

“The government gives money to those companies that keep their employees,” he explained. “This does not have to be a one-to-one subsidy. For many MSMEs, it is a maximum of just 8,000 per employee per month, for just two months. But that help may be enough to help companies just to keep their employees.”

Furthermore, he emphasized that the speed of execution is key to successfully address the crisis and hasten the path to recovery and resilience.

“We are no longer in a position to hesitate, and an important momentum will be lost if we don’t execute fast,” Mr. Zobel de Ayala said.

Need for structural reforms
For his keynote presentation on macroeconomic recovery and national resilience after the pandemic, Mr. Diokno laid out the big picture of the country’s economic situation during the crisis and stressed certain reforms necessary for the country to thrive from it.

He noted that out of the exogenous shocks in the first quarter—which includes the Taal Volcano eruption, the tensions between the United States and China, and African Swine Fever—nothing comes close to the COVID-19, which has brought the economy to a standstill.

“The confluence of these shocks resulted in the contraction of the economy by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2020,” he added.

On the other hand, Mr. Diokno spotted a positive note on the peso’s performance compared to the depreciation of regional currencies against the US dollar, as well as the reform agenda that the government has pursued across administrations, which he finds has allowed the country to achieve growth.

In terms of how the BSP has tackled the COVID-19 crisis, Mr. Diokno pointed out the measures it promptly implemented to ease liquidity and sustain flow of credit. He also highlighted the Central Bank’s support for the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as it allowed banks to create new loans to the sector.

He nonetheless recognized that there is still much work to be done. “The crisis has exposed the vulnerabilities and gaps in existing processes and systems that we need to swiftly deal with to cover lost momentum because of the COVID-19,” Mr. Diokno pointed out.

The BSP governor shared four structural reform imperatives that are critical as the country recovers from the crisis.

First, Mr. Diokno highlighted the need for modernizing the country’s health system.

“This would require giving incentives to the use of science and technology in health policy decision-making. It would require overhauling of healthcare supply chain management,” he explained. “The government must also initiate the formulation of a national preparedness and response framework for disease outbreaks and pandemics, taking into account coordination gaps across different levels of government.”

The country’s information and computer technology (ICT) system and processes must be massively upgraded, Mr. Diokno added. For the BSP governor, technology will play a pivotal role in reshaping the means of production and delivery of goods and services in the post-COVID world, and the demand for digital technology will be heightened.

He also pointed out that digital technology will be critical in enabling simpler and more efficient transactions with government agencies, and will also serve as a key to the government’s monitoring and evaluation systems for policy responses and action.

Mr. Diokno also recommended the modernization of the country’s agriculture and government’s supply chain management system, with the help of digital technology, which he finds will help ensure that food and essential goods and services will be available, accessible, and affordable.

An efficient logistic system for farmers, for instance, will ensure that farm produce are made available to Filipino consumers and provide Filipino farmers the right full share in the gains from production.

Developing a highly skilled and resilient workforce is also another reform Mr. Diokno finds vital as the country bounces back from the crisis. He suggested strengthening the educational system and providing adequate health protection to workers to future-proof the country’s workforce, which is one of the youngest labor forces relative to other Southeast Asian countries, according to the United Nations.

Furthermore, the BSP governor observed that as the preference for electronic payment and financial services is set to heighten, there is a need to increase contact-less payment facilities such as PayMaya and GCash. He also sees the need to quicken the adoption of a national quick response code standard to enable interoperable payments from person-to-person and person-to-merchant transactions.

Mr. Diokno also noted that the national ID system will enable inclusive and innovative digital finance and ensure a reliable database for the design and impact assessment of policies.

Resilient industries
In response to Mr. Diokno’s keynote presentation, Mr. Tan of BDO Unibank, Mr. Borromeo of PTC, and Mr. Mijares of CEMEX Holdings expressed their support for the governor’s initiatives and added their respective insights on moving towards resiliency.

Mr. Tan expressed his support for the national ID system, regarding it as the cornerstone of financial inclusion. He suggested that this system should be biometric-based, federated instead of centralized, self-sovereign, enabled with audit trails, and accessible yet secure.

He also noted that a challenge lies in creating a COVID-safe and controlled operating economic communities. “How do we create self-contained communities that operate with very limited chance or risk of getting infected or infecting others?” he asked.

Mr. Borromeo, meanwhile, stressed that the maritime industry should prioritize preserving the jobs of seafarers as well as shifting towards an innovative and creative way of developing talent.

“This industry is no longer just about putting people on ship,” he said. “It is about putting the type of people who have the skill sets necessary to work in a more digital and technologically-advanced industry, and at the same time to continue to promote digital transformation not only in the way we work but in our ability to handle transactions.”

Mr. Mijares, for his part, anticipates infrastructure to be a crucial part of new fiscal measures to help revitalize the economy in terms of creating jobs and moving towards inclusive sustainable development.

He also sees an opportunity to reduce population density through infrastructure. “The pandemic has highlighted even more the need for accessibility networks, healthcare infrastructure, rethinking urbanization, technology investment, and the need to redistribute growth outside Luzon, particularly Metro Manila,” he said.

House panel OK’s P1.3-T stimulus bill

THE House of Representatives’ Defeat COVID-19 Committee on Tuesday approved a P1.3-trillion economic stimulus package that aims to help industries affected by the coronavirus crisis.

Aside from the Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA), the House panel also approved the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act and a bill seeking to prohibit discrimination against health workers and COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) patients.

The three measures were s taken up at the House plenary on Tuesday.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez called for the immediate passage of the economic stimulus measure, saying there is a need to sustain worker income and help businesses that have been affected by the pandemic.

“By providing working capital assistance, technical and entrepreneurial education and financial management, among others, we will be able to protect Filipinos by ensuring businesses will continue operating post-lockdown and help turn the tide for businesses and workers affected by the health crisis,” he said.

Under the proposed stimulus package, P650 billion will go to the government’s flagship infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program for three years starting 2021. The projects will involve building new facilities for health, food security and education.

For this year, P568 billion will be allocated for mass testing (P10 billion); wage subsidies (P110 billion); cash-for-work program (P30 billion); assistance to students (P15 billion); loans for micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs through Small Business Corp.(P50 billion); loan guarantees (P40 billion); zero interest loans from Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines (P50 billion); and funding for the National Development Corp. (P25 billion).

This year’s allocation also includes assistance to various sectors such as MSMEs (P10 billion); tourism (P58 billion); industry and services (P44 billion); transportation (P70 billion); and agri-fishery (P56 billion).

For 2021, P80 billion will be allocated for loans for MSMEs through SB Corp.(P25 billion) and P25-billion funding for the National Development Corp.

Meanwhile, the House committee approved House Bill 6622, which aims to encourage banks to transfer their bad loans to asset management companies in expectation of a spike in bad loans in the wake of the health crisis.

Also approved was House Bill 6676 or the Anti-Discrimination Bill, which seeks to protect healthcare workers and persons who are declared confirmed, suspect, probable and recovered cases of COVID-19 against prejudice and discrimination.

Meanwhile, the Defeat COVID-19 Committee’s social amelioration cluster approved House Bill 6709 that sets a P1.5-trillion infrastructure spending program over three years to address slowing economic growth and create jobs.

Also known as the proposed COVID-19 Unemployment Reduction Economic Stimulus Act of 2020, the measure targets increased spending on readily implementable health, education, agriculture, local roads and livelihood spending items.

The Health department on Tuesday reported 14,669 infections to date, with 886 deaths. It said 3,412 patients have recovered. — Genshen L. Espedido and Jenina P. Ibañez

PHL gets $400-M loan for capital mart dev’t

THE Philippine government has secured a $400-million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that will strengthen the domestic capital market and boost infrastructure financing efforts.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Manila-based multilateral lender said it approved the $400-million policy-based loan, which will “address key constraints that have limited the growth of domestic capital markets, especially government and corporate bond markets.”

“It also focuses on building a vibrant domestic institutional investor base that will become a sustainable source of long-tenor infrastructure finance. By boosting infrastructure finance, the capital market development program will support higher public infrastructure spending for years to come,” the ADB said.

The government is banking on the P8-trillion “Build, Build, Build” program to help the economy bounce back from the coronavirus crisis. It had targeted to boost infrastructure spending to about 7% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2022, up from 5.4% in 2019. State spending on infrastructure projects averaged 2.8% of GDP in the past three decades.

This month, the economic team projected infrastructure spending to account for 3.8% of GDP in 2020, due to budget constraints.

“Resilient and vibrant capital markets are key to achieving economic development, growth, and poverty reduction as set out in the government’s long-term strategy AmBisyon Natin 2040. By developing domestic capital markets, funds are generated to support higher levels of long-term investments and sustainable quality job creation,” ADB Vice-President Ahmed M. Saeed said in the statement.

The ADB said the capital market development program had backed reforms on the domestic bond market and modernization of debt trading infrastructure.

The latest loan approval brought ADB’s total lending to the Philippines to $2.1 billion so far this year, after a $1.5-billion loan extended for the government’s pandemic response and $200 million in additional funding for the social protection program. — BML

Continued support for MSMEs, agri sector sought

THE government should continue to support small businesses and the agriculture sector even after lockdown measures are lifted, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

In a paper titled “We Recover As One,” the agency said micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as farmers and fisherfolk will continue to struggle and require help to sustain and restore their livelihood.

“Grants or soft loans should continue to be extended to farmers, fisherfolk and MSMEs to restore and sustain livelihood activities and businesses. Given that most of the losses are in terms of forgone incomes, a guarantee fund may be more adequate. The fund must be able to guarantee loans amounting to about P800 billion,” the NEDA said.

Affected farmers, fisherfolk and other enterprises involved in agriculture, forestry and fisheries should also be helped through zero interest, no collateral, and longer-term credit programs, it said.

NEDA also recommended additional support programs for businesses such as payment deferment to government and debtors, tax credits and low interest loans.

Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura Chairman Rosendo O. So said the zero interest loans will bring relief to agriculture industry players.

“The zero interest recommendation would be nice but the implementation on how it could reach the agri sector should be clear. It should be clear when they can secure loans,” Mr. So said in Filipino over a phone call.

Mr. So said farmers and agri-businesses would need the government’s aid to reach their market.

“End-users are having a hard time to buy from us so we don’t know how the government will address this. There is also a problem with the buying power of the government,” Mr. So said.

“More credit guarantees would also increase the access of SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises) and the agricultural sector to bank loans, at lower borrowing costs as well due to the guarantees,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

Alvin P. Ang, an economics professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, said more direct forms of support would be a better relief measure for small businesses and agri-enterprises.

“(Proposed guarantee fund) okay but why guarantee fund? Why not direct support? There should be direct assistance to retrofit their businesses,” he said by telephone.

Direct support could come in the form of training that will improve capacity and productivity to help businesses gauge how to do their operations in the new normal, Mr. Ang said.

“Operations for MSMEs such as barbershops and small restaurants for the new normal will have a larger cost to reopen because they will only be allowed to operate 50% facility. The cost of adjustment time will be really large,” he said. — L.W.T.Noble

NTC: No abuse in network’s halt order

By Vann Marlo M. Villegas, Reporter

THE NATIONAL Telecommunications Commission (NTC) asked the Supreme Court to deny for lack of merit the petition of broadcast network ABS-CBN Corp. to stop the implementation of the cease-and-desist order that forced it to go off air.

In a 98-page comment, the NTC argued that its issuance of the halt order to the operations of ABS-CBN is valid and it did not commit grave abuse of discretion.

The telecommunication regulator said that ABS-CBN cannot operate after its legislative franchise expired on May 4.

“The NTC cannot authorize the petitioner to operate without a new franchise from Congress,” it said. “It is ineluctable that a legislative franchise is necessary before a broadcasting entity may start its operations.”

The commission also claimed that it has the power to stop broadcast operations due to lack of franchise under the 2006 NTC Rules of Practice and Procedure and its mandate under Executive Order No. 546

It also said that the Letter of the House of Representatives and Senate Resolution No. 40, which urged the commission to issue provisional authority to the network pending the renewal of the franchises, “merely express the sentiment” of the Congress.

“Hence, these issuances cannot amend the current law requiring a congressional franchise for the operation of broadcasting networks. As held by the Court, a resolution, not being a law itself, cannot amend prior laws,” it said. The NTC also maintained that it did not violate the equal protection clause of the company when it deviated from past practice of allowing other mass media entities to operate despite the expiration of their franchises, saying the “contention is misplaced.”

The commission said that the past practice of issuing provisional authority with pending application with the Congress “cannot be the source of a demandable right.”

“It is not hard to discern that what is being curbed by the NTC in issuing the assailed CDO is the erroneous past practice of passively allowing a mass media entity to continue its broadcast operations during the pendency of its franchise application in Congress,” it said.

It also said the network is not similarly situated with those who were granted provisional authority pending the franchise renewal and it enforced the order over the alleged violations of ABS-CBN.

The operations of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines does not involve commercial operations. The franchise of Iglesia ni Cristo was granted four days after the franchise expiration and Smart Communications, Inc.’s was approved one month after the lapse.

It also said that it did not violate the network’s right to due process as it can issue the cease-and-desist order on its own initiative upon the expiration of franchise.

With the order, the commission said it did not curtail the right to freedom of speech and of the press, and deprived the public of their right to information as it is only performing its mandate.

The NTC also cited procedural issues on the filing of ABS-CBN, saying the issuance of the order is a purely administrative act and that the filing of a motion for reconsideration is the proper remedy.

It said the network’s move also violated the doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies, primary jurisdiction and hierarchy of courts, adding that the issues raised are not of transcendental importance. It also said the grant of franchise is within the scope of the Congress.

The NTC also asked the court to drop the House of Representative and Senate as parties to the case.

The commission issued the order on May 5 after the franchise of ABS-CBN expired on May 4 while the process for renewal is pending with the Congress, forcing it to stop television and radio operations.

The network asked the court for a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction against the order saying the shutdown would cost the livelihood of its more than 11,000 employees and a loss of revenue for the government as the company paid P70.5 billion tax between 2003 and 2020.

It also would lose up to P35 million daily when off-air, it said.

ABS-CBN also asked the court to immediately act on its petition on May 18, saying it will take weeks or months before it would be allowed to operate through a measure by the Congress.

House panels want Calida at ABS-CBN hearings

TWO COMMITTEES at the House of Representatives are calling on Solicitor General Jose C. Calida to attend the next hearings on the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN Corp.

“The SolGen being absent in this hearing should be enjoined to attend future hearings and explain his side on why should he not be held in contempt,” House committee on good governance and public accountability chair and Bulacan Rep. Jose Antonio R. Sy-Alvarado said during the virtual joint hearing on Tuesday.

“We will ask them to give their side bago natin masabi na kung tunay nga bang may contempt na naganap laban sa komiteng ito, laban sa dignidad ng buong House of the people at kung may criminal cases ba na dapat isampa laban sa kanila o wala,” he added.

(We will ask them to give their side before we can say whether there was indeed contempt against this committee, against the dignity of the people’s House, and whether a criminal case should be filed against them.)

House committee on legislative franchises chair and Palawan Rep. Franz E. Alvarez said that the panels would “resort to compulsory processes” if Mr. Calida fails to join the succeeding hearings.

The committees will also amend and consolidate all 11 measures seeking to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise to House Bill 6694, which grants a new 25-year license to the media network. The two panels will convene again on Monday morning to resume their deliberations on the network’s franchise.

In a letter to the House legislative franchises committee on Tuesday, Mr. Calida said he would not attend the hearing due to the pending petitions he had filed before the Supreme Court against ABS-CBN.

On May 5, ABS-CBN went off-air after the cease-and-desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission. — Genshen Espedido

Petron suffers nearly P5B in losses

PETRON CORP. incurred a net loss of P4.9 billion in the first quarter, a reversal of its P1.3-billion income a year ago, as it noted “significant” inventory losses due to the price collapse in both local and international oil markets when demand contracted.

In a stock exchange disclosure on Tuesday, the Philippines’ largest oil refiner and marketing firm reported a 16% decline in overall revenues to P104.6 billion during the quarter brought down by lower sales, citing the “sudden and significant” drop in demand for petroleum products during the lockdown period.

The listed unit of San Miguel Corp. said its combined sales volume for its businesses in the Philippines and Malaysia was at 24.7 million barrels, lower compared to the 26.3 million barrels recorded in the same quarter in 2019.

“The entire industry is going through a rough phase because of COVID-19’s (coronavirus disease 2019) impact on oil demand and prices. As expected, domestic consumption has gone down particularly in retail and aviation which is understandable because of travel bans and restrictions,” Petron President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Ang said.

The oil company has implemented “strict” cost-saving and cash conservative measures to respond to such a financial situation.

Since the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in the country, Petron has temporarily shut some of its refilling stations or shortened operating hours as lesser cars are traveling during the period.

On May 5, Petron closed its Bataan refinery for maintenance activities on its major process units. It expects that the shutdown will help reduce the impact of low fuel demand and poor refining margins.

The company has assured it has enough inventory to meet the local market requirements, which will be replenished through the importation of finished products.

“Business is challenging. We have to be more prudent in managing our resources while ensuring that the needs of our customers are still met,” Mr. Ang said.

“Demand recovery will depend upon the lifting of quarantine measures and ultimately, finding a vaccine to fully restore mobility. While we are hopeful for a swift recovery, we know that these are things we cannot rush. The health and safety of the people is still the most important,” he added.

The oil refiner has a capacity of 268,000 barrels per day, while it operates about 40 terminals in Southeast Asia. It has over 3,000 service stations selling gasoline and diesel.

On Tuesday, shares in Petron were down 1.01% to close at P2.93 apiece. — Adam J. Ang

5 tips for keeping sane while working at home during this pandemic

THE COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has up-ended schedules of work, sleep, meals, and everything else you thought was normal.

To help us cope with the changes, we attended a webinar by mental health service Flourish Circle called “Flourishing in the Digital Workspace Amid the Pandemic.”

Christopher Lagman, a life and executive coach from the Hudson Institute of Sta. Barbara and HR head of a market research and business intelligence company, gave the talk. Addressing those who were watching and presumably working from home, he said, “Some of us have been quite fortunate.” The talk breaks down the tools for succeeding at work and keeping yourself mentally fit into five tips.

Mr. Lagman started by addressing employers: “I would like to talk to your leaders right now and say, ‘Manage your expectations.’ This is not the time to expect [a lot from] your employees, even if you have provided them with the resources they need to work from home. We cannot expect everyone to be at their usual 100%. Simply put, this is not the usual time. Everyone is really struggling.”

Addressing employees, he said, “Let me also say that I hope this does not become an excuse for us to throw all cares to the wind. It’s not really healthy for us just to blame COVID-19 for everything. We still want to thrive and flourish.”

“We still want to do great things,” he said. “The center of it all is well-being.”

1.) Be Active. “Even just moving, it can produce the healthy hormones in our body to improve our mind,” he said. Short walks, stretching, standing up, and simple yoga exercises are things one can do, he said. He also says that being active isn’t limited to physical motion. “Engage in calls, make your presence felt,” he said. “Being active means speaking up. I would recommend that you speak up [at conference calls] at least once or twice.”

2.) Take Notice. “Taking notice means listening,” he said. “As much as I recommend you to speak up, you also [must], in equal measure, listen.” He said to take notice when someone speaks up in a call. “Acknowledge and build up on their ideas. Appreciate the contribution of people.” The good feeling this generates flows down to yourself and the team, according to Mr. Lagman. “To be heard and to be listened to; to be acknowledged, is something nice. When you know that you have made somebody feel validated… it makes you feel good as well. You energize them, and you also get energized.” He also says that “taking notice” means having an attitude of gratitude: taking notice, for example, of the small mercies granted one during a pandemic.

3.) Connect. “We are wired as human beings to connect with other people,” said Mr. Lagman. However, social distancing measures, quarantines, and curfews, prevent us from doing so at this time. “That doesn’t mean we should be socially disconnected. We still should be emotionally connected with other people.” He tells us to check up on people, make small talk, and ask how people are — “In a sincere and genuine way,” he emphasized. He also says that this is a time to join a community. In the absence of one, make one. He gave his own situation as an example: joining a Facebook group in his condominium enabled him to not only expand his circle, but also made doing chores such as the grocery shopping easier, thanks to online marketplaces.

4.) Keep Learning. While he acknowledges that some people are just trying to survive, he addressed the more fortunate when he said, “We have resources; we have time. Use it well.” Of course, joining classes and webinars and reading books were brought up, but also says that meditation and knowing oneself can also be a goal. “Have a goal, carve out time for it.”

5.) Give. “Giving means being generous. Giving one’s self means creating value for others; creating positive outcomes for others, and actively exploring the ways of doing this,” he said. One can donate to charity, of course, or maybe even send care packages. He does say there are other things one can donate — “It could be time; it can be positive words. It can be just your listening presence.” — Joseph L. Garcia

Meralco targets to install smart meters for 3.3M customers

MANILA ELECTRIC Co. (Meralco) plans to install more prepaid electricity meters by the middle of next year to far exceed new installations of postpaid meters as the country’s largest power distribution utility targets 3.3 million of its customers to enjoy the benefits of smart meters, its top official said on Tuesday.

“Meralco has already deployed 102,000 smart meters for its prepaid electricity service and by the first half of 2021 we would have installed a total of 145,000 smart meters, 38,000 more for the PRES or the prepaid electricity service and 5,000 for postpaid,” Meralco President and Chief Executive Officer Ray C. Espinosa told the company’s shareholders during their annual meeting yesterday.

“All of these services provide real-time data for the benefit of the customers,” he said during the event, which was witnessed by stockholders through a live feed from the company’s premises.

Prepaid or smart meters allow electricity consumers to monitor their power consumption as they receive a daily text message of their usage and remaining load value.

Mr. Espinosa said that beyond the mid-2021 target installation, the utility is working with the Energy Regulatory Commission for the approval of 1 million more smart meters. The new meters will be deployed over a period of three years, he said.

“Meralco’s roadmap is actually to have 3.3 million customers on smart meters over the next eight years,” Mr. Espinosa said.

As of last year, Meralco had a total of 6.88 million customers, up 4% from 6.62 million in 2018. Of the customer count, households made up 92%, while commercial and industrial users had a share of 8% and 0.2%, respectively.

Of its 46,871 gigawatt-hour electricity sales last year, 31% were taken up by residential users, while industrial users accounted for 29% and commercial customers by 40%. Of the three, residential customers recorded the biggest growth rate at 8%.

Mr. Espinosa also said during the meeting that Meralco’s energy development unit targets to generate a third of its output from renewable energy.

“We are targeting around 3,000 megawatts (MW) within the next five years, with 1,000 MW allocated entirely to renewable energy projects,” he said.

On Tuesday, shares in Meralco slipped by P2 or 0.72% to close at P274 each.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.

Adapting to the pandemic: LSGH goes online, accepts girls

EVERY organization has had to adjust to the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, including La Salle Greenhills (LSGH). Not only is it getting ready for a new school year by figuring out how to offer a blend of online and physical classes, the pandemic has served as the impetus for the all-boy’s school to finally open its doors to girls — albeit in a limited manner.

For more than 60 years, La Salle Greenhills has been an exclusive all-male private elementary and secondary school — but that will all change this year as the school announced that it will now accept female students for grades 11 and 12. It was a decision that took years of discussion but it was spurred into action this year by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the school’s president.

“This has been on the table for years now… we’ve always discussed it and then end up deferring the decision, but we thought that given the current crisis, it was the right time to do it,” Bro. Edmundo Adolfo L. Fernandez, FSC, president of La Salle Greenhills, told BusinessWorld in a Zoom interview last week.

The school had to “pivot and innovate” because of the pandemic crisis which meant shifting to a more flexible learning experience (a mix of online and face-to-face learning) and the admission of female students in some of the grade levels.

The shift was also “partly in response” to declining enrollment, and because Bro. Fernandez believes “having girls [in campus] will be greatly beneficial to the growth and development of our gentlemen.”

“[Our enrollment] used to be about 5,000 but in the past 10 years we’ve declined.” He said that last year, they had about 4,000 enrollees. Among the reasons for the decline is the heavy traffic as the campus is located along busy Ortigas Avenue in Mandaluyong.

GOING CO-ED
Since its establishment in 1959, La Salle Greenhills — run by the Brothers of Christian Schools — has been an all-male private school. Back then, the main campus, De La Salle Grade School in Manila, was very popular and slots were hard to come by, so a satellite school was set up at Greenhills to accommodate more students. Eventually, the grade school and high school were moved to Greenhills, and the main campus was dedicated to the college.

The main college campus along Taft Avenue, De La Salle University, also started as an all-male school in 1911 but it opened its doors to women in 1973, with 38 female students during its first year of co-education. Today, half of the student body is female.

So why did it take so long for La Salle Greenhills to turn co-ed? Bro. Fernandez admitted that it was because the “alumni are fiercely protective of the all-boys status of our school.”

“It wasn’t an easy decision for me because I knew it would generate a lot of buzz and a part of me wants to keep [the school] all-boys, but I think the educator part of me realizes that going forward, this is the way to go,” Bro. Fernandez said. He himself is an alumnus having graduated high school in 1981.

There were reservations about the shift, yes, but Bro. Fernandez noted that the response has been “very, very encouraging.” After announcing they would be going co-ed in early May and offering a tuition subsidy for the first 20 female applicants, the slots were filled quickly.

“The more I think about it, the more I realize that it’s the right way to go for the school,” he said.

It’s going to be slow going, he admitted — De La Salle University also had very few female enrollees in the first few years that it started admitting women — but he expects it to gain traction. “Look at [De La Salle] now, almost half [of the students] — maybe more now — are female,” he said.

AN END TO EXCLUSIVE SCHOOLS?
Will La Salle Greenhills’ shift to co-education mean that exclusivity is coming to an end? Not quite, according to Bro. Fernandez.

“There will still be some schools I think that will continue to hold out as an exclusive boys or girls schools because that’s their worldview,” he said, noting that the PAREF schools (all 11 of them) are still exclusive, and La Salle Greenhills’ neighbors — Xavier School in San Juan City (boys) and Saint Pedro Poveda College in Quezon City and Immaculate Conception Academy in San Juan (girls) — still are.

La Salle Greenhills itself will only be partly co-ed as only two grades are open for female enrollees. Bro. Fernandez said they are still discussing when (and if) to open other grades to girls. “At the moment, I can only answer [that] it’s only for senior high school, for now. I can’t say for sure when in the next few years we will fully open for co-ed,” he said.

As they will now be accepting girls on the campus, Bro. Fernandez said that there will be changes in the campus facilities — but the curriculum will still largely remain the same.

“We’ll have to repurpose some of the toilets and probably some locker rooms, but we have time between now and if we open in September. We’ll try as much as possible to welcome our female students with open arms,” he said.

GOING ONLINE
The biggest changes, he said, will not come from physical facilities as they shift to co-ed — they will come from tackling the new school year using mostly online facilities. While Bro. Fernandez is optimistic about the shift, he has a more measured opinion on how the school year will turn out with the pandemic hanging over everyone’s head.

La Salle Greenhills will be adopting a “flexible education system” which is a mix of face-to-face education and home-based learning called Flexible Lasallian Education through Technology and Collaboration at Home or FLETCH. Classes are set to open between July and August.

The Department of Education has set the opening of the 2020 school year for Aug. 24.

“We’ve been preparing, we will begin simulation because there’s going to be a lot of issues that’s going to come out from online learning. It’s a whole new ballgame, it’s uncharted territory,” said Bro. Fernandez, noting that one of their bigger challenges is getting children to learn even if there’s a lack of internet-connected devices in the house (e.g. if four children share a computer in one family, etc.).

But even if schools will be allowed to hold face-to-face classes in August, Bro. Fernandez said that there may be some families who worry that this is not totally safe for their children, so they will continue on a full-online course instead of a hybrid one.

“So that’s where the word ‘flexibility’ comes in,” he said.

Of the 4,000 students enrolled last year, Bro. Fernandez said that he doesn’t expect everyone to return this school year. “In fact, I heard that some are willing to forego the year,” he said, before adding that they have had to let go of their trial and probationary teachers and focus on “re-tooling” their regular 470 teachers to adapt to the new online learning system.

The pandemic, he said, has pushed education to become more flexible.

“If you asked me how [the pandemic] will affect school and how schools will look like after a year or two, I won’t be able to answer you. I think we need to be open to what comes. We need to be adaptable. I don’t think schools will disappear. It’s really a matter of adjusting to the situation and how we are able to deliver or facilitate learning to our students in the best possible way. I think the schools that will succeed, or survive and do well, are the schools that will learn how to adapt properly,” he explained. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Cement producers resume operations

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

CEMENT MANUFACTURERS are back to work as the relaxed quarantine measures in parts of the country have started allowing construction work to resume.

Listed companies Holcim Philippines, Inc. and Cemex Holdings Philippines, Inc. told the exchange in separate disclosures that they have restarted operations in their manufacturing plants in Luzon and Davao.

Holcim Philippines, in a statement on Tuesday, said its plants and terminals in La Union, Bulacan, Manila, Batangas and Davao had resumed work following the imposition of a relaxed quarantine.

These facilities were closed since mid-March after the government imposed strict home quarantine measures with the rising cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country. Holcim Philippines’ plant in Lugait, Misamis Oriental maintained its operations to support construction activities in north Mindanao.

“We are ready to continue supporting our partners nationwide as they build important structures and contribute to reinvigorating the economy,” Holcim Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer John Stull said in the statement.

“Our company is also ready to share our expertise (in health and safety) to government and private sector partners to further contribute to the recovery efforts,” he added.

Earnings of Holcim Philippines in the first quarter declined 29% to P501.54 million due to operational disruptions caused by the lockdown.

Cemex, in a disclosure to the exchange on May 20, said it had also resumed operations at its Solid Cement plant in Antipolo City.

“Subject to applicable restrictions that may be imposed by government, (Cemex) shall continue operating within appropriate health and safety guidelines and applying strict hygiene and social distancing protocols across its operations and throughout its value chain,” it said.

The company suspended cement production and delivery of cement products from its Antipolo plant in mid-March due to the lockdown. Its earnings in the first quarter slumped 47% to P89.12 million as a result.

Shares in the two listed companies closed lower on Tuesday: shares in Holcim Philippines shed 17 centavos or 2.19% to P7.60 each, while shares in Cemex slipped four centavos or 2.70% to P1.04 each.

Meanwhile, the local unit of Thailand-based Siam Cement Group (SCG) said its revenues from sales in the first quarter dropped 25% to P3.36 billion due to the Philippines’ lockdown measures.

In a statement, the company said it was able to keep operating despite the pandemic, but global demand was weaker due to lower chemicals prices. SCG’s primary businesses are in cement-building, chemicals and packaging.

Group-wide revenues slipped 6% to P171.69 billion, as better performances from its cement-building and packaging businesses softened the decline in the chemicals business. Group-wide profit dropped 40% to P11.32 billion.

“SCG is able to maintain company operations and production during the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing a full-blown business continuity management plan… The company also leveraged digital infrastructure such as a cloud-based tool to assist employees working from home,” it said.

SCG President and Chief Executive Officer Roongrote Rangsiyopash said the company is now looking at new opportunities in shifting sales to online platforms and using blockchain for procurement, invoicing and payment with partners.

“As the society, our partners and employees face these difficult times, SCG hopes to contribute to the economy by maintaining its strong market performance,” he was quoted as saying.

VLF 2020: It begins with understanding

HOW a family deals with mental illness is the theme behind one of the entries in this year’s Virgin Labfest (VLF), the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ festival of new, unstaged one-act plays, which is going online this year because of the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.

Floyd Tiogangco’s featured play, Pilot Episode, revolves around a young gay man and how his parents attempt to de-escalate his extreme manic-depressive episode after he quits his job.

Director Giancarlo Abrahan said that the play is semi-autobiographical.

“The playwright based the [story’s] situation on quitting a job through text and being so guilty about it. And then, having his parents deal with the situation. He wanted to [be left] alone, but also wanted people to talk to [about the situation],” he told BusinessWorld in a Zoom interview on May 21.

Bipolar disorder (formerly called manic depression), as defined in the National Institute of Mental Health website, “is a mental disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, concentration, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.” Signs and symptoms of the disorder include episodes of intense emotion (https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml)

“We want to look into how [you] dissect a situation wherein [you] do not fully understand what your loved one is going through, meanwhile they cannot make others understand what they are going through,” he added.

The Virgin Labfest team is arranging to have mental health professionals available for an online discussion after the show.

The need for understanding and the desire to organize complexities are the two messages the play hopes to bring to audiences.

“It is not something that you must fix. [But] you can find ways to put order in it and ways to help support the situation,” Mr. Abrahan said. “You try to be there but sometimes you don’t want people to be there. It’s that complex idea. How are you there for the people you love?”

Phi Palmos takes on the role of the young gay son, while Missy Maramara and Jojit Lorenzo play his parents.

ADJUSTING TO THE VIRTUAL STAGE
Thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Virgin Labfest is going online this year, with live streamed performances and readings, among others.

Because of the need to maintain social distancing amid the quarantine, the production of Pilot Episode has turned to Zoom as their main platform for rehearsals. For the show, they are working on a two-camera setup — a front camera, and phone camera on either the actor’s left or right.

“We figure out their interactions based on those two cameras. Even though I’m a film director, I tell you, it’s a different animal,” Mr. Abrahan said of the challenge in bringing live theater online.

He added that instead of directing and having full control of the camera, he is also instructing the actors to set up cameras, microphones, and props.

“If there’s something that I would take away from [this experience], it is the idea that we’re not afraid to try again and test something new,” Mr. Abahan said.

Pilot Episode will stream live on June 13, 5 p.m., and June 24, 2 p.m.

Aside from the plays and staged readings, viewers can also catch the VLF Playwright’s Fair online with this year’s playwrights talking about their work on June 11-14, 17-20, 25-27 at 8 p.m. Meanwhile, the Virgin Labfest 2020 Writing Fellowship Program will culminate in an online staged reading of the fellows’ works on June 28 at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

For more details and show schedules, visit https://www.facebook.com/culturalcenterofthephilippines/ and https://www.facebook.com/thevirginlabfest/. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

1...9,5029,5039,504...14,237Page 9,503 of 14,237
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube