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Retired and rehired

Kudos to McDonald’s Philippines for giving senior citizens, presumably retirees, a “second” chance. Golden Arches Development Corp. (which operates McDonald’s Philippines) has said it has signed agreements with the Manila and Pasay City governments for the employment of senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in McDonald’s branches in these cities.

The initiative, I believe, actually started in McDonald’s in the US last year and was carried over here. The US market was ripe for it, considering that younger people were reportedly no longer interested in working in fast food and similar industries, and that a lot of older people were looking for means to boost their pension and retirement savings.

In Pasay City, the company commitment was to hire at least two senior citizens and one PWD in all stores, after given them training as “order presenter, drink drawer, table manager or overall guest relations.” I believe the same commitment was made to Manila, and McDonald’s Philippines added that it was looking at similar agreements with more cities.

I have long been advocating for what I refer to as “anti-retirement,” or for people to retire not by age but by choice. This is considering that even at an advanced age, a lot of people are still interested, willing, and capable of productive work. Also, there is great pressure on the pension system now, which can be partly addressed by pushing back retirement age.

As I had noted in a previous column, for the Philippine military and police services, the mandatory retirement age is 56, or 35 years of service. On the other hand, the US Army has raised the retirement age from active service from 55 to 62, and the age limit for enlistment from 34 to 39. Retirement pay requires at least 20 years of active service. So, with the new age limits, one can still opt to enlist at 38 and then retire with a pension at 58. Can we not do the same here?

After all, we have no mandatory retirement ages for presidents, vice-presidents, senators, congressmen, and Cabinet members, or appointed heads of agencies. While in the Philippine judiciary, the mandatory retirement age is 70. But at the US Supreme Court, and all other US federal courts, there is no mandatory retirement age.

However, of those who decide to retire voluntarily, available online data indicate an average age of 78. In this line, can we not raise to at least 75 our own judiciary’s retirement age? Moreover, if we believe that members of our judiciary can still function productively and effectively until 70, why should the rest of the government bureaucracy retire at 65?

Of course, mandatory retirement age will have to depend on the type and volume of work required from an individual. In this line, studies and research should be done to help set a baseline as well as a standard that can be applied across the board in certain industries. Benchmarking will help in this regard, particularly in relation to professional or intellectual work.

Let us consider the practices in other countries, for this revolution of seniors is a worldwide phenomenon. In Australia, the retirement age is reportedly to be increased gradually to 67 from 65 by July 2023. In Belgium, the retirement age is also to be increased gradually to 67 by 2030. In France, the minimal retirement age has gradually increased from 60 to 62, and the full retirement age is to be increased gradually to 67 by 2023.

In Germany, the retirement age is to be increased gradually to 67 by 2029. In Denmark, the retirement age will be increased gradually to 67 by 2022. And from 2030 onwards, it will be increased a maximum of one year every five years, depending on increases in average lifespan. In Ireland, Taiwan, and Japan, the retirement age is to be increased gradually to 68 years.

European civil servants retire at the age of 66 since 2014. And in the United States, retirees are eligible to receive reduced Social Security payments by 62, while people 65 and over are eligible to receive some free Medicare benefits if they paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years. The full retirement age is to be increased gradually by 2023 and will be 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later.

As I had argued in a previous column, raising the retirement age can ease the pressure on public and private pension systems, as well as the pressure on the public welfare system. But more important is the fact that it can also improve independence and self-reliance as well as combat loneliness among the elderly, and boost their morale and the sense of self-worth.

When I was a teen and McDonald’s just newly opened in Makati, it was a source of pride for most of our peers to be working at McDonald’s as part-time crew. We would go into the store to eat, but also watch with envy our “working” friends who were earning money for themselves. That was then, when fast foods were populated mainly by teens.

Nowadays, places like McDonald’s are populated mostly by seniors, especially in the mornings. Mall-based stores, particularly on weekdays, rarely have students in them. Students are all in school. But seniors are all over the place, having meals, reading the newspaper, and hanging with other seniors. In this sense, I guess it is only appropriate that McDonald’s have more seniors working in the place.

Kudos again to McDonald’s for taking the initiative to employ particularly seniors and PWDs. These marginalized sectors need all the help they can get. But the question now is whether other cities will follow Manila’s and Pasay’s lead and sign a similar agreement with the chain. And, will other businesses also follow suit? Can we expect more companies and industries to start rehiring retirees?

 

Marvin Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council.

matort@yahoo.com

Business bureaucracies and regulations

“There is no art which one government sooner learns of another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.”

— Adam Smith,
The Wealth of Nations (1776),
Book V, Chapter II, Part II

Last week, on Nov. 28, I attended a conference on Cutting Red Tape for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) organized by the AIM Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center for Competitiveness and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) held at Discovery Primea in Makati. A very interesting paper, “Cost of Regulatory Compliance for SMEs in the Philippines: Methodology and Survey Results,” was presented by the authors Jamil Paolo Francisco and Georgina Gonzales.

The authors and their team made a survey and they covered 300 SMEs from Metro Manila, 145 each from Cebu and Davao cities, for a total 590 SMEs, with average employment of 29 for Metro Manila, and 18 for Cebu and Davao. The survey was done from August to October this year.

The study had some interesting or troubling results. I summarize many charts and sub-topics into a table which accompanies this column.

The study made the following Summary from their survey results:

• SMEs find regulatory compliance, on average, moderately burdensome and they consider compliance as a concern as soon as the business is being established.

• Tax and local government regulations are perceived as most burdensome, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and local government units (LGUs) as most difficult to deal with.

• On average, SMEs spent 30 hours to comply with regulations, about a third of which was spent on tax compliance.

• The burdens on SMEs are more on time and effort, so to save time and effort, almost a fifth of SMEs surveyed reported making informal payments of an average of 2% of their total expenses.

• When it comes to monetary costs, businesses spend around 17% of their total expenses for regulatory compliance and 20% for tax requirements. Figures include both direct and indirect payments such as salaries, transportation, supplies, etc.

There, Adam Smith’s words from some 243 years ago are still spot on.

Bureaucracies in SMEs can expand as companies become large. Take the case of transport network companies (TNCs). Recently, PBA Partylist Jericho Nograles unleashed a political attack on one private company, saying that “Grab owes government P15 billion in fines for overcharging 3 million riders.”

Again, the term “overcharging.” When people fly business class or first class instead of economy class, they do so voluntarily and pay for the ticket, do not cry about being over-charged. When people watch a concert or sports game with a ringside ticket instead of lower box or upper box, they just pay and do not cry that they are being over-charged.

So when people take an expensive ride, the fare they already know before clicking “Book a ride,” they just pay for reasons of safety and comfort and do not cry about being over-charged. Otherwise they can take the ordinary taxi, or motorcycle taxi, or an aircon van, jeepney, bus, the MRT/LRT and save money. A person carrying six or seven-digits in cash, or important documents, or rushing to the airport and paying P500 for a safe TNC ride instead of P300 for a regular taxi or P150 for a motorcycle taxi will not cry that they are being over-charged. People decide what rides are important for them, not politicians or bureaucrats.

So when politicians like Mr. Nograles charge billions of pesos that a private company “owes” to the passengers they have safely and comfortably served, there is clear malice.

The more political harassment from politicians, the more restrictions from agencies like the LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board) on expanding the supply of accredited cars or players, then the more public suffering via long waiting time for the few accredited cars, or shorter waiting times but more expensive rides.

Can new government regulations like the Anti-Red Tape Act address problems that government agencies themselves created? Perhaps yes.

Methinks that one lasting solution is to limit government people from staying in government, for a maximum of 20 years combined work in local and national agencies, appointed and elected positions. Many government officials intend to be regulators and politicians until retirement, meaning the hardships they create and implement will not apply to them and their friends. If they know that their taxation, regulations, and prohibitions will apply to them someday, they will think two times or ten times about crafting legislation for irrational taxation and regulations.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Crab mentality

The performance evaluation has been the traditional way a superior gives feedback to staff. But as I have observed, this evaluation sheet is not the true representation of one’s work. It is either very subjective or objective depending on the situation or on the superior’s opinion. Yes, it is not only a tool to evaluate one’s performance but also a measure of one’s motivation and productivity. However, I find it odd that rank and file employees, even if they worked hard and persevered, may not get the credit for their work. We want to believe that our work speaks for itself. But then, in reality, someone else gets the credit.

Often times, we attribute such behavior to crab mentality. One of the definitions of crab mentality in Definitions.net is that it is a phrase popular among Filipinos, and was first coined by writer Ninotchka Rosca, in reference to the phrase “crabs in a bucket.” It describes a way of thinking best described by the phrase “if I can’t have it, neither can you.” The metaphor refers to a pot of crabs. Individually, the crabs could easily escape from the pot, but instead, they grab at each other in a useless “king of the hill” competition which prevents any from escaping and ensures their collective demise. The analogy in human behavior is that members of a group will attempt to “pull down” any member who achieves success beyond the others, out of envy, conspiracy or competitive feelings.

Crab mentality is common not just in the workplace, but in our everyday lives. There is always someone who treats us as competition and would not like to see us grow in our craft.

But inspite of that, we all should be motivated to improve our performance in the workplace. We should try our best to improve ourselves professionally, to move up. While there are factors that hinder us from performing well, including lack of growth, lack of benefits, low compensation, cultural differences, and poor working environment, I believe that it is in the person’s mindset if these factors will indeed hinder them from moving forward.

I think that a poor working environment, for example, a very bureaucratic or seniority-based system, is the biggest factor that hinders growth. How can we, the millennials, prove that we can also have an idea or a message that can contribute to the growth of our organizations? Often, if we lack seniority, it is very difficult to get our opinions heard. As a result, the traditional performance evaluation with its very general criteria to evaluate the quality of work, does not reflect the value or the results of our work.

My friends reflect the same sentiments. But they don’t think that there is a quick solution to this problem. Senior staff come first, they have more experiences and knowledge about the work. Traditional top-down management styles reinforce this fact in the way decisions are made.

However, if a bottom-up management style is adopted, it can challenge the younger staff to share and collaborate, resulting in higher employee involvement and increased job satisfaction. Because employees are treated as partners who are involved in decision making, their motivation and commitment is increased, ensuring their contribution to the organization’s well-being. Overall, employees feel appreciated.

Management can initiate this bottom-up approach irrespective of organizational size. Being given a voice and being respected for their opinions is important to every employee. It is an important step to eliminating crab mentality. When people are treated fairly, instead of pulling others down, they will, instead, lift each other up, ensuring not just growth for the employees but allowing for the flourishing of the entire organization.

 

Noellen DelosSantos is an MBA student at De La Salle University’s Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This essay was written as part of the requirement in her Strategic Human Resource Management class.

noellen_delossantos@dlsu.edu.ph

This brewing habit

By Tony Samson

Rising coffee consumption and the proliferation of coffee shops have little to do with nutrition or the alleviation of hunger. Coffee is seldom the main course, even when accompanied by chocolate chip cookies.

What brings people to coffee shops? And why do they stay longer there than in restaurants where they don’t tarry after finishing a meal?

An unpublished survey whose validity we cannot vouch for examines the behavior patterns and inclinations of coffee drinkers and provides insights into the human psyche and its ties with the bitter brew.

Most respondents (62%) state that lunch is usually over too fast and needs to be extended to coffee to prolong a meeting where business is not necessarily discussed since this part is already done before soup is served. The invitation to move to a coffee shop offers the advantage of allowing certain parties to go back to the office. Of the sample that extends the lunch meeting this way, over half (51%) convince the targeted counter-party to take coffee and dessert in another place within walking distance from the lunch venue.

The intent in this reduction of the attendees to just a couple and moving to another venue becomes clear as a non-related agendum is proposed with the coffee mate, hence the expression — Do you want to have coffee? This invitation for sharing a brew has Freudian overtones as coffee is considered both a stimulant and a diuretic. All coffee places are therefore near toilets or have one in the premises which is usually open to all gender classifications, though not at the same time.

Coffee by itself is a drink that is bitter which later describes how a relationship turns, even when sweeteners such as doughnuts are added to the mix. In most of these bonding coffee moments, the couple are work mates and seldom have coffee together in the office. Seventy-one percent of such pairings have a ready template for text messages: Do you want another cup?

What about solo coffee drinkers? This significant segment of the “true brew” accounts for 17% of the sample. It is useless to check if these percentages add up to 100% even with a margin of error of plus or minus 3%, since the categories sometimes overlap. It is possible that certain coffee couples are reduced to becoming solos with either a late cancellation (sorry, I am switching to tea) or even a walkout, usually by the female. (I’m not comfortable with the way you look at me when you sip your coffee, especially the way you hold the stirrer.)

As for determined soloists, 42% camp out at a table in the coffeeshop, working on their notebooks or phones. They choose a location near an electric plug. Most (53%) use the coffee place with its available wi-fi as an office where they answer e-mails and send out job applications. Their average stay in the shop is two hours and 13 minutes. Their orders are usually calibrated to the minimum amount needed for wi-fi access, consisting of plain coffee (small) and a bagel or corned beef croissant. These food items serve as props to show that they are paying customers. They avoid locking eyes with the plate clearers.

A minority of soloists (12%) emulate coffee drinkers who merely want to sit back and relax like those who sip coffee at the Champs Elysees in Paris. They sit outside the air-conditioned store where human traffic is higher. They observe the ebb and flow of varied characters as they meditate on the drug menace (26%), safety of bonds (12%), and the keto diet (3%).

Most male solo drinkers not busy with computers are just watching out for svelte ladies in short skirts, and below the age of 30. Many of them (38%) are retired and unemployed and easily mistaken for predatory old men, who may or may not be morally upright. There’s nothing wrong with longevity, except for the absence of appointments.

Coffee is ritualistic more than nutritional, though the brew is thought to have medicinal properties to prevent throat cancer but possibly harmful to pregnant women as the unborn babies may be affected by the brew’s attribute of preventing drowsiness and stimulating alertness. (Stop kicking.)

The brewing habit may move back to the home… as the traffic gets worse.

 

Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda.

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Ayala Malls and MRM//McCann awakens amazing in small moments

The “Small Moments” campaign of Ayala Malls produced by MRM//McCann is a brave material. The whole set is taped on miniature-scale models of the Ayala Malls making it an adventure visual eye candy.

The campaign launches the newest tagline of Ayala Malls: “Awaken Amazing.” It conveys that small moments do not necessarily equate to insignificance but it has all the potential to be extraordinary and amazing. The work, while brave and fresh, also follows in the footsteps of Ayala Malls’ history of beautiful visual campaigns set against timeless music, dating back to their “Waters of March” piece.

“Ayala Malls’ Awaken Amazing campaign is an invitation to everyone, encouraging them to rediscover how small moments can make life amazing. The kind that one can only experience within the world of Ayala Malls.” Shares Eunice Velasco, Ayala Malls Marketing Director. “This charming film hopes to bring these moments to life in a fresh new way.”

This world-class material was directed by Joel Limchoc. Each miniature that went into individual scenarios were brilliantly crafted and shot by the Cirkus New Zealand team. The song, “God Only Knows” by the beach boys was rendered beautifully by Hit Productions.

“More than anything, we wanted to capture the innocence of simple situations,” mentions Film Pabrika director Joel Limchoc. “We opted for simple snippets of life that represent joy in its magical realism form. By using miniatures, we eliminated variables otherwise present in usual spots and stripped them down to their most basic message.”

MRM//McCann is known to simplify the complex but still standing out from what is usual. Manny Fernando, MRM//McCann Managing Director shares, “The team was really excited working on this new campaign. We had to ensure that the image of an established brand like Ayala Malls can be seen in a very refreshing way. Our client was brave in allowing us to do a different story telling which aims to connect to its audiences. This is a start of a new way to experience the brand moving forward. There is more to come as we roll out the efforts in the next few months.”

Watch the video here:

 

The Nutella All Day Breakfast Truck: spreading joyful mornings to Filipinos

Nutella®, The Original Hazelnut Spread®, is going to new lengths to inspire as many Filipinos as possible to enjoy Nutella in new creative ways in the morning.

The unique taste of Nutella – made from the highest quality ingredients is a perfect complement to bread.

With the Christmas season rapidly approaching, there is exciting news for the Filipino food enthusiast. The globally popular hazelnut spread, Nutella, is bringing inspiration to the breakfast experience of Pinoys with The Nutella All Day Breakfast Truck.

The All Day Breakfast Truck will introduce delicious ways to incorporate this delicious product with local foods. In Europe, Nutella is enjoyed with French croissants, in the U.S. and Australia it’s spread on waffles and pancakes, and now it’s arrived here in the Philippines! This will be the first stop in the food truck’s Southeast Asian tour, and the good news is that our very own pandesal perfectly complements the taste of Nutella.

“Our mission is to inspire Filipino families to start their day happy with a bit of taste of Nutella”. We see a lot of growth potential here in the Philippines, because of the growing breakfast culture among Filipinos. There’s heightened enthusiasm and appreciation about the fusion of global and local flavors so we see an opportunity to become a part of it,” comments Cheryl Que, Cluster Brand Head of Nutella.

“We are happy to be present here in the Philippines and aim to become a part of the delightful Filipino All-Day breakfast culture. Our products are present and sold in more than 160 countries and most of them, like Nutella, have become part of the collective memory and lifestyles of many countries where they are truly loved and often considered as cultural icons” adds Fabrizio Barbin, Ferrero Sales Manager.

The Nutella All Day Breakfast Truck provides a unique experience to people from the moment they step into the space. Visitors get to choose from a variety of all-day breakfast menu items designed to take their taste experience to new and delicious heights.

The whole family will enjoy putting together fun breakfast creations and can discover how Nutella can help make a breakfast into something exciting and memorable. Adding a little something new to traditional breads across the globe is a great way to reinvent breakfast and making meals tasty and exciting is what Nutella is all about.

The best thing about the arrival of the Nutella All Day Breakfast Truck is the ability to take fun snapshots while enjoying the food. Snap a photo of the Nutella All Day Breakfast Truck or the food, upload it on your instagram, include the hashtag #nutellaPH and tag @NutellaSEA to be in with a chance of snagging some cool Nutella items.

The Food truck will make its exclusive and limited appearance in Metro Manila at a series of different Bazaars, Valle Verde Christmas Bazaar at Valle Verde 1 on December 7-8 and Minkle Bazaar at The Grove on December 14-15. To follow the truck’s journey and updates, follow Nutella on Instagram @NutellaSEA and like the Facebook page – http://www.nutella.com or NutellaPH.

 

PH Startup Week concludes with signing of the Innovative Startup Act’s IRR

Last week, Nov. 22, key stakeholders of Republic Act No. 1137 (or the Innovative Startup Act) came together at Crowne Plaza to cap off the first Philippine Startup Week with a signing of the act’s Implementing Rules and Regulations.

The signing was led by representatives from the act’s three host agencies: Sec. Fortunato dela Peña from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Sec. Ramon Lopez from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Sec. Gregorio Honasan II from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). Butch Meily, president of partner organization QBO Innovation Hub, was also present.

The Innovative Startup Act Law, which was signed last April 26 by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, aims to foster an innovative entrepreneurial culture in the Philippines by encouraging the operation and establishment of innovative new businesses.

This will be done in two ways: first, by providing benefits and incentives to startups and startup enablers; and second, by removing constraints to their growth and development.

Among the programs under the act are the organization of startups into Philippine Startup Ecozones by the three host agencies and local government units; provision of subsidies for business registration application costs; and the establishment of a Startup Grant Fund and Startup Venture Fund for startups and venture capital firms, respectively.

Through these efforts, the government hopes to provide a special boost not only to the economy but also to the country’s new generation of entrepreneurs.

“This is a manifestation of our president’s commitment to really level up the production of goods and services being provided, and really creating more innovation and solutions to problems,” said Sec. Lopez. “[It’s also] encouraging the youth to adopt such mindset: the can-do, winning attitude of the Filipinos.”

Six tips to landing corporate clients for your startup

Corporate clients can make or break a startup struggling towards profitability. Logistics providers can struggle for months building a big enough user base for their on-demand delivery platform. But all it takes is one major retailer to take you on as a service provider and you can ride that partnership all the way into your Series A.

So how exactly can a B2B startup successfully secure a corporate client? Three startup founders share their tips to help you help seal that deal.

1. Ensure that your business model is suited for B2B.

First things first: assess your business and conclude if it’s really suitable for B2B. If B2C allows for a business model where customers can learn the product by themselves, corporate clients will expect full service.

With this in mind, it’s necessary to take extra steps such as hiring account managers who can really focus on your clients and preparing technical support for your users. These may be challenging, but it will pay off big time in the end.

“It’s hard to get a client, that’s true, but once they’re in, they’re in for the long-term,” said Rio Ilao, founder and CEO of Tarkie, a field force automation solutions platform.

“Based on our experience, B2B customers are not promiscuous like B2C customers, who will switch brands just because of the price.”

“So long as the service is reliable and they’re happy with you, and it’s within the budget, they will not easily switch clients.”

2. In finding initial clients, maximize your own network.

Sometimes what you need could be right in front of you. The right connection could be a former colleague looking to address a particular pain point, or even a friend whose business needs a little boost.

“When you’re in the B2B space, it’s not easy to get clients as opposed to B2C. You can’t just walk into a company and then have them use your product the next day. The sales cycle for B2C is very long,” said Ilao.

“So when you’re a new startup and you don’t have any case study yet, your best bet of getting your first client is really through your own network. Make sure that you exhaust that.”

3. Tailor your presentation to your market…

Not every client is the typical portrait of a polished businessperson. For Au Soriano, co-founder and CEO of online bus booking platform PinoyTravel, she had to deal with a lot of traditional companies whose leaders couldn’t understand why they had to include technology in their operations.

Soriano understood that they had a different culture, so she decided to speak a different language. She used printouts instead of Powerpoint slides and even spoke their native tongue whenever possible. This way, she made her business appear more accessible, and established a deeper level of trust with the client.

4. … but first, find out who the decision makers are.

However, you also have to be strategic about whom you spend your time with. Chino Atilano, founder and CEO of virtual queuing solutions platform TimeFree Innovations, believes there are three types of people that you come across when doing sales: the zombie, the influencer, and the king.

When shown the product, the zombie will tell you that they like it, but they’re probably just doing it out of politeness and therefore have no interest in pushing your services within their organization. The influencer will delve deeper and ask how your product works. This is the person that you want to meet with.

Through the influencer, find out more about the business so that you know how to pitch to the king. Ask if they’ve tried similar solutions before and what pain points they badly need to be addressed.

“If you have that ammunition and you go to the king… [they] will not spend one hour talking to you about how your system works,” said Atilano. “They just want to know, ‘How much does this cost?’”

5. Offer a risk-free way for clients to experience your product.

Presentation is one thing. Execution is another thing entirely. When you finally get a foot in the door, it might be better to show rather than tell. And if possible, try to do so without demanding a fee.

“Back then, we were offering an obligation-free trial,” said Tarkie CEO Ilao. “We needed actual test cases, feedback, and a way to get in, we were offering these things. And it worked for us.”

6. Fix your accreditation documents.

As in relationships, wooing a client is only partly romance. Once the fireworks of the presentations are over, it’s time to deal with the inevitable: tons of paperwork for the accreditation of your startup.

Given this, it’s wise to work on these documents as early as possible. Small partners may require only a simple proposal, but these requirements will get more complicated the bigger the companies that you work with become.

By being organized and prepared with your accreditation documents, it’ll make the process as smooth for you and your client as possible. And that’s sure to help set the tone for your partnership, one that will hopefully last for the long haul.

Toward a data-driven Philippines

Data-Driven Philippines: 2019 PH Data Leaders Summit. held

By Mark Louis F. Ferrolino, Special Features Writer

The pivotal role of digital transformation in realizing the country’s full economic potential is increasingly more evident. Among others, it allows organizations to operate at lower costs, provides better communication for all, improves the quality of life, and brings higher standards for business.

The full adoption of digital transformation, however, is not an easy road to take; it requires the involvement of organization leaders from different sectors, working together in actualizing a data-driven country.

In the Philippines, the journey of achieving such vision is already in progress. Just recently, Cobena Business Analytics & Strategy Inc., together with Analytics Association of the Philippines, and Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines, organized the Data-Driven Philippines: 2019 PH Data Leaders Summit.

The landmark event gathered around 100 C-suite organization leaders from the different sectors – the government, academe, private enterprises, technology companies, and media – to discuss ways to accelerate the awareness, education, and adoption of data analytics in the country.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES ON DATA ANALYTICS

Speaking on behalf of the government was Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, who shared recently enacted key legislations that will provide further impetus for data analytics to gain ground in the country.

Some of them are the Philippine Innovation Act, which seeks to address the current gaps in the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) ecosystem governance framework; and the Philippine Innovative Start-up Act, which will be of great help in the establishment of innovative and technology-based startups in the country.

National Statistician and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Head Claire Dennis S. Mapa also shared some of the data analytics initiatives of his office, including the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), and the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS).

The PhilSys is a foundational identification system that aims to provide a valid proof of identity for all citizens and resident aliens as a means of simplifying public and private transactions. The CBMS, on the other hand, is an organized technology-based system of collecting, processing, and validating necessary disaggregated data that monitoring at the local level while empowering communities to participate in the process.

Mr. Pernia believes that the country can garner huge benefits from the adoption of digital technology such as data analytics, which can help organizations efficiently identify problems, solutions, and create new goods and services.

Moreover, Mr. Pernia discussed that data analytics can be applied in different fields, including health, agriculture, business, and government in general. For instance, it can improve patient care and farming methods, make data-driven business decisions, and change the way public goods and services are delivered, he said.

“We in the government recognize our primary role of providing an enabling environment for the private sector so that industries, such as the data analytics industry, can flourish,” Mr. Pernia said.

THE NEED FOR COLLABORATION

Similarly, Cobena Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Francis del Val said that digital transformation is crucial to nation-building. Citing the Digital Economy Report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released last September, he shared that countries who least likely to take advantage of digital data and convert them into business opportunities are those countries positioned at the greatest disadvantage.

“It is absolutely clear that digital transformation is going to be critical to nation-building,” Mr. del Val said. In the Philippines, in particular, the impact of such transformation is expected to accelerate even more in the coming years.

Meanwhile, for the government to succeed in its digital transformation journey, Mr. del Val said that it needs the support of the private sector. In fact, based on the 2019 PH Digital Transformation Survey, he shared that the government is the sector most behind in digital transformation journey.

Barriers most cited include lack of resources, lack of adoption guidance, and digital transformation not seen as urgent.

As a whole, Mr. del Val emphasized the importance of data in digital transformation and the need to convert them into information and insights. “With digital transformation, there’s a lot of data. What we need to do is to be able to convert the data to information, and information to insights,” he said.

Moreover, aside from addressing the digital transformation gaps in the country, Mr. del Val said that collaboration among organization leaders from different sectors of the country is needed to make the Philippines a fully data-driven nation.

“It’s not going to be easy and we need to be able to work with an ecosystem. No one company can do it on its own… it got to be multisectoral, it got to be an ecosystem of like-minded individuals who are committed to make it happen,” he said.

LOOKING AT THE FUTURE

Meanwhile, in her talk during the event, Kerry Lau, head of marketing for Acoustic across Asia Pacific and Japan, shared some of the trends on data and artificial intelligence (AI) coming forward in the next few years.

Among others, she said that marketing data director will become the hottest new role; while digital marketing agencies will transform into consulgencies who will be equally adept in creative, strategy and technology. She also said that AI and machine learning will make hyper-personalization a reality.

Moreover, Ms. Lau said that customer centricity will what drive constant transformation in the coming years. “IDC (International Data Corporation) predicted that by 2022, companies focused on customer experiences are predicted to generate 50% of their revenue through contextual discovery,” she shared.

With regards to data privacy, Ms. Lau said that General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will help marketers tighten up data hygiene and build more customer trust. “Data matters. But trust determines its value,” she explained, noting that consumers will more likely trust the organization who will be able to take care of their data.

Tisoy leaves trail of destruction

TYPHOON Kammuri, locally named Tisoy, left a trail of destruction as strong winds and heavy rain battered the Bicol region in central Philippines on Tuesday, leaving at least two people dead.

A 59-year-old man died in Baco town in Oriental Mindoro after he was hit by a fallen tree, provincial Governor Humerito Dolor told DZMM radio. Another man died after he was hit by a torn metal roof sheet in the municipality of Pinamalayan, he added.

The victims were clearing their homes when they were hit, Mr. Dolor said. There would have been more deaths “if there was no preemptive evacuation,” he added.

At least 20,000 people were evacuated even before the typhoon struck the province, the governor said.

Legazpi Airport in Albay province was heavily damaged, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said in an emailed statement. Legazpi flights were expected to resume today.

Busuanga Airport in Palawan province also suspended operations due to strong winds and heavy rain, it said.

Thousands were stranded in the Bicol region, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Meanwhile, three people were hurt as the storm hit Samar province and nearby areas, ABS-CBN News reported, citing local officials.

Two residents were injured by storm debris in Santa Margarita town, while another was trapped in a collapsed wall. All three were safe, the ABS-CBN news website said.

Landslides and floods also hit Motiong and Jiabong towns in Samar, and Lapinig and Mapanas in Northern Samar, it added. About 200 families were evacuated from the coastal areas of Calbayog town.

The Agriculture department said more than 200,000 hectares of rice land and almost 26,000 hectares of corn areas were at risk in regions affected by Typhoon Kammuri.

Crops at their reproductive and maturing stages were the most vulnerable due to strong winds and floods. These cover 156,594 hectares of rice land worth P11.6 billion, the agency said.

The department has set aside P250 million to help the agriculture sector, 104,984 bags of rice seeds, 10,811 bags of corn seeds and another P65 million in recovery assistance.

The storm was expected to pass south of Metro Manila, home to about 13 million people and which is hosting thousands of athletes competing at the 30th Southeast Asian Games, according to the local weather bureau.

The storm was seen off the coast of Occidental Mindoro as of 6 p.m. on Tuesday and continued to weaken as it moved west toward the South China Sea, it said.

Weather was expected to improve on Wednesday and the typhoon will be out of the Philippine area of responsibility by Thursday afternoon, it said.

Kammuri made landfall near the city of Gubat in Sorsogon province on Monday evening, clocking maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, making it a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.

It also made landfall over Naujan, Oriental Mindoro at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday. — with reports from Vincent Mariel P. Galang and Emmanuel Tupas, Philippine Star

BSP watches inflation for policy cue

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) will watch inflation data set to be reported on Dec. 5 to see whether the economy will be ripe for another cut in benchmark interest rates and banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) next monthy, BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno told reporters last Monday.

Mr. Diokno had said early last month that the BSP was done with its policy easing cycle for this year after cutting benchmark interest rates by a total of 75 basis points (bps) and banks’ RRR by a total of 400 bps.

“When I said we’re done, we were not expecting na ’yung inflation namin will be very very low. Nag-0.8 (%) tayo (We had a 0.8% inflation in October). So let’s see what will be the actual [inflation for November],” he told reporters on the sidelines of the BSP’s Christmas lighting ceremony on Monday evening.

While October inflation was the slowest in nearly three-and-a-half years, the BSP now expects November inflation to have picked up to 0.9-1.7%, while a poll BusinessWorld conducted late last week yielded a 1.2% median.

“Siguro we’ll look at December and then maybe early January mare-resume namin ‘yung monetary easing,” Mr. Diokno added, saying he was referring to “both” interest rates and RRR.

“Pwedeng by January. We’re looking at the December data. November December [inflation data].”

Benchmark interest rates now stand at 3.5% for overnight deposit, four percent for overnight reverse repurchase and 4.5% for overnight lending, while the RRR is now at 14% for universal and commercial lenders as well as nonbank financial institutions with quasi-banking functions, four percent for thrift banks and three percent for rural lenders.

The BSP’s Monetary Board will hold its eighth and last policy review for this year on Dec. 12.

BUT RRR CUTS DONE FOR 2019
Asked about the possibility of another RRR cut towards yearend, however, Mr. Diokno told reporters: “Closed na ’yun (It’s closed).”

“I’m ahead of schedule… [to cut the RRR by] 2023 to single digit,” he said, referring to the end of his term in July that year.

He added that monetary authorities are now watching how the economy has so far been absorbing RRR cuts, saying: “… we don’t know the impact yet” and noting that the latest cut of 100 bps that was announced late in October and which took effect at the start of this month “will effectively release about a hundred billion” into the system.

Latest BSP data showed that money supply in October edged up by 8.5% to P12.1 trillion, picking up from September’s 7.7% expansion.

Credit growth, however, slowed to 9.3% in October from September’s 10.5%.

Mr. Diokno said that the slower loan growth might be due to policy tightening done by the BSP last year in a bid to rein in successive multiyear-high monthly inflation rates.

“’Yung growth kasi siguro partly ‘yung tightening nung 2018 (Slow loan growth could be partly due to the tightening in 2018 totaling 175 bps)… As I said, monetary policy works with a lag. So may impact talaga ’yun, kaya nga we started unwinding (It really has an impact, that’s why we started unwinding),” he explained. — LWTN

Gov’t hints of changes to water service deals

CHANGES could be in the offing for contracts between Metro Manila’s water service concessionaires and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra signaled on Tuesday.

Mr. Guevarra told reporters via Viber message that the contracts contained some provisions “onerous” for the government.

The review followed President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s order in April for the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to look into all government contracts with companies and other countries.

Mr. Guevarra had said then that “priority contracts for review include concession agreements on public utilities and foreign loan contracts,” adding that “target provisions are those perceived to be onerous, one-sided, disadvantageous to the government, and/or contrary to public order or public policy.”

“Upon instructions of the President, the DoJ reviewed the 1997 water concession agreements of the MWSS with Maynilad (Water Services, Inc.) and Manila Water Company (Inc.) and found a dozen provisions that were deemed onerous or disadvantageous to the government and the consuming public,” Mr. Guevarra said on Tuesday.

“Most notable were the prohibition on government interference in rate-setting and the provision on indemnity for possible losses in the event of such government interference.”

Last Friday, a Manila Water disclosure announed the ruling of the Permanent of Court of Arbitration in Singapore for the government to indemnify the company some P7.39 billion “for actual losses suffered by it” from June 1, 2015 to Nov. 22, 2019 “on account of the Republic’s breach of its obligations” in not implementing tariff increases.

The government was also ordered to pay 100% of the amount paid by Manila Water to the court and 85% of the company’s other claimed costs.

The OSG in a statement last Friday said the award to Manila Water “is not yet final and executory.”

“The OSG is studying all the remedies available to the Republic in assailing the Award,” it said.

In October last year, the Singapore High Court upheld the arbitral award of at least P3.4 billion to Maynilad for losses from March 11, 2015 to Aug. 31, 2016 due to the refusal of MWSS to implement Maynilad’s tariff adjustment for 2013 to 2017 which included recovery of corporate income tax payments.

“The DoJ also found the extension of these contracts to 2037 irregular, considering that the extension was granted 12-13 years before the original expiration of the 25-year concession agreements in 2022,” Mr. Guevarra said on Tueday.

He said certain recommendations to the President were adopted by the Cabinet in its meeting last Monday and that “the president will make his public statement on this matter very soon.”

MWSS in October 2009 and April 2010 has approved the 15-year extension of the Concession Agreement of Manila Water and Maynilad, respectively, or until 2037, years before their 25-year contracts expire in 2022.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo on Tuesday confirmed in a statement that Mr. Guevarra gave an update on his review of government contracts in Monday’s Cabinet meeting.

Manila Water declined to comment while Maynilad officials did not respond to requests for comment. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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