Business NEWS

Over the past three years, there were three domestic industries that sought protection under an old law, Republic Act No. 8800 or the Safeguard Measures Act. The primary objective of that law is to save the economic viability of a domestic industry as well as save local jobs. The process s litigious, technical and involves the analysis and evaluation of economic data on supply and demand of the products subject matter of the investigation over the last 5 ears, as well as the forecast for the next 3 years.

Papa Ben tells me  that the selection procedure of the next president of the Bankers Association  of the Philippines (BAP)  is a “fascinating process,” this year. The nomination forms were farmed out to the 45 member-banks on the day I wrote about the leadership succession in the BAP.

Among the big issues during this pandemic is the loss of family income, either due to loss of jobs / employment as a result of company closure or stoppage of the source of livelihood. To fill in the need of families for cash, LGUs have adopted distribution of amelioration funds, distribution of food / groceries, support to the seniors and in other cases, educational funds to students from low-income groups. Admittedly though, it does not solve the problem completely as LGU funds are also limited.

Packard’s book was published in 1957, but the hidden persuaders are still within our midst.  Aside from advertisers, they now include politicians who play on our subconscious.  I cannot but think of the 70 million supporters of President Trump and the 91% approval rating of President Duterte.  People ardently listen to them and faithfully believe what they say.

Blended learning may be part of the new normal as educators and pupils will continue to use online learning even when face to face classroom instruction will already be permitted once the pandemic is put under reasonable control.  For those belonging to the and D and E households (about 60 percent of the population), because of lack of internet facilities, much of the work at home may still be done through printed modules which may actually help some of the parents (and grandparents) in these households improve their own literacy and numeracy as they struggle to assist their respective children (grandchildren) cope with their homework. For those households belonging to the A, B, C market segments (with monthly family income of P20,000 or more), there will be a greater challenge to help children moderate their use of all types of digital devices as they progress in the educational ladder from elementary to high school.  Especially for these more  economically endowed families, it should be considered that childhood is the time to begin practising the virtues and the right use of freedom to help them derive the greatest benefit from the new technologies and avoid the pitfalls.  I summarize below some very important guidelines found in the e-Book entitled “New Technologies and Christian Life” found in the website opusdei.org. 

Dignity and Compassion: The Life Story of Jejomar C. Binay was one of the books I received during the holiday season that has just ended. Fresh off the press, the 320-page biography is co-authored by Joey Salgado and Krip Yuson.

Republic Act No. 11371, or known as the Murang Kuryente Act, was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on August 8, 2019, and became effective fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette on August 23, 2019.

 I read  in  Facebook post of Finance Undersecretary Tere Habitan that she  tendered a “despedida” party for Finance Assistant Secretary Tony Lambino, who has joined the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

We start the new year with renewed hope and with the realization that we are now living in a new normal, which is a redefinition of how we do things, how we communicate and socialize, and how we take care of ourselves. This new normal cannot be solely attributed to the COVID – 19 pandemic. After all, this is the direction to which we are headed, particularly the now prevailing work culture, and the pandemic merely accelerated it.

Internet connectivity is a necessity in most Filipino homes nowadays, and the importance of online activity has become even more heightened because of the pandemic. For the typical family, a good Wi-Fi speed averages 25-30 Mbps to support web browsing, file transmission, music downloads, and video streaming.

The merry-month of December started with sad news.  Filipino students ranked lowest in an international assessment for mathematics and science for grade 4 in 58 countries.  Countries like Pakistan, Morocco, and South Africa ranked higher.  The study noted that only 1% of grade 4 students are able to apply conceptual understanding to solve problems in math.

The Philippines may have one of the lowest GDP per capita figures in East Asia (higher only than Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia).  What is amazing is that Filipinos spend the most time using social media, according to a recent report of Stastista, a German market and consumer data company.   Among 46 markets, the Philippines spent the most time connected to social networks, devoting an average of four hours daily to digital social space.  Nigeria comes second with 3.75 hours, India 2.5 hours and China 2 hours.  It is interesting to note that people in developed countries spend less hours on the average, principally because they are rapidly ageing.  Countries like the Philippines with a young and growing population  have a much larger segment of their population who are from 16 to 24 years old, the ones who drive the growth of demand for social media.  One would be hard pressed  to find more than 3 out of 100 Filipinos who do not have a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account!

It’s finally over, 2020 that is. Everyone has been eagerly waiting to send it off. I guess that just being able to say goodbye to the past year gives a lot of people a sense that all the trials of the last 10 months will fade along with it. I suppose that’s enough consolation.

Our consumer advocacy group Laban Konsyumer Inc. (LKI), reassures the consumers that the group’s mission to protect and ensure consumer welfare will continue in full force in 2021. We will begin 2021 by putting consumer advocacy in the international environment.

When I started wearing eyeglasses to correct my astigmatism and near-sightedness, my ophthalmologist told me some people are just “fortunate”  to have this defect. I asked my eye doctor for an explanation as I’ve always had this notion that those of  relatively young age, are supposed to have good vision?

Our tradition has always been to write resolutions for the New Year.  We keep a wish list of what we intend to do to make our lives more meaningful.  Some prefer to do a bucket list of places to see or things to do.  But this year is different.  Difficult as the year 2020 was, we pause and reflect on lessons we have learned and those we can keep.

In a few days, we bid adieu to 2020, arguably a very bad start for a new decade.

Filipino workers abroad have once again saved the day for the Philippine economy during the ongoing pandemic.  As they did during the Great Recession of 2008 to 2012, they are softening the blow of the world-wide depression caused by COVID-19 by continuing to send a good portion of their earnings to their loved ones in the Philippines.  Already in September and October 2020, the remittances they sent home had started to climb despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of them were forced to return home as they were laid off from work, especially in the Middle East.  Thanks to the land-based  OFWs who have kept their jobs, their extra generosity during these hard times is limiting the decline of remittances to less than one percent decline on  a year to year basis.   In fact, they may still surprise us during the months of November and December since as Christmas approached,  their generosity could even prevent an actual decline of remittances for the whole year.  There is no question that without them, the GDP of the Philippines would have suffered worse declines, not only for the entire year of 2020, but even in the first quarter or so of 2021 when second or even third waves of the virus are expected to  lead to more economically paralyzing lockdowns.