THE seafarer’s lone representation at the Lower House, MARINO Party-list, has asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to waive the 9(C) visa of foreign nationals performing crew change in the country’s designated ports.

It has been over six months since the pandemic has shaken the global economy, including realty business.

While many organizations have chosen the path of caution, Ovialand Inc., one of the fast-growing property developers in the country, has chosen the path of grit and courage.

Led by their promise of “Premier Living you Deserve,”  Ovialand Inc. is not slowing down even at the height of the coronavirus pandemic as it has a strong determination to deliver its commitment to its clients.

“We made commitments to our clients that we will provide their dream homes this year. We decided as a team that we will not let a pandemic prevent us from fulfilling our promises. Especially now that more families are deciding to stay home to keep their loved ones safe, we realized that we had to find safe ways to help them move to their new homes as soon as possible,” shares Pammy Vital, President of Ovialand Inc.

Merely five years since Ovialand launched its first premier project in the heart of Sto. Tomas, Batangas, Terrazza de Sto. Tomas, Ovialand has strived to keep its promise to provide its clientele with a premier living experience.

Since the Company launched its first project in 2015, Ovialand has launched four more premier residential projects during the first half of 2020, all located in the south of Luzon.

“To say that it has been a busy past five years is an understatement, but we are enjoying every minute of this journey. We are proud of our developments that provide more than adequate space not just inside the living spaces but the community as a whole. Our developments have wide-open spaces and each family unit has more than enough space to feel comfortable and secure especially during the times of the stringiest quarantine guidelines,” shares Vital.

Led by Leaders

Ovialand takes its success from its people who are mostly composed of disciplined managers and supervisors who are goal-driven and put the Company’s mission of giving its clients the “Premier Living Experience” as the center of all their tasks. Led by Vital, its president, OLI’s recipe for success includes the Company’s strong emphasis on working with values and consciously being aware of the company culture that every member is laying down.

“We know that the culture we build today will dictate the success of our company in the years to come; that is why our team strives to work together to give you the Premier Living Experience you deserve,” Vital added.

The COVID-19 pandemic truly put the team’s commitment to a test without sacrificing the health and safety of everyone.

The company set up a work-from-home for its employees. Team members who have to report to work are taken care of through provided daily shuttles as well as comfortable staff housing for easy and safe access to their offices and communities.

As for the construction workers, the Company provided free COVID-19 testing as well as additional allowances to ensure their and their families’ health and safety during the pandemic.

“We were surprised that even during Enhanced Community Quarantine, we received online inquiries about our developments, and we believe this is because the pandemic has reminded almost every one of the importance of having a safe, secure and relaxing home, and they think that this is something they can have within the areas of our premier developments,” Vital shared.

Further Delivering Premier Living to Every Family

Ovialand launched its fourth premier housing project in the Province of Quezon, bringing the Company’s total to 28 hectares of developments with 1,688 house and lot units.

The Company has sold 1,100 of these units and has completed 661 houses and lots over its five years of its operations.

These projects are Terrazza de Sto. Tomas in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, which is 100% completed and turned over as committed; Sannera in San Pablo Laguna, which currently stands at 70% completion for Phase 1 and 15% completion for Phase 2; Caliya Phase 1 in Candelaria, Quezon, with the initial turnover scheduled this coming October.

In the coming months, Ovialand will be launching as scheduled the second phase of its Caliya project in Candelaria, Quezon, as well as two more premier projects in Laguna and Quezon Province. These two new projects are expected to add eight hectares to the Company’s sprawling premier residential projects, which will provide an additional 650 house and lot units. More houses mean that more families can enjoy Ovialand’s Premier Living Experience.

THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries (PCCI), tapped by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to be its consultant with regards to COVID 19 pandemic response, has suggested opening more routes for jeepneys to aide more employees that are going to their workplaces during this general community quarantine (GCQ).

In a virtual media conference for the launch of the 46th Philippine Business Conference and Expo, slated to happen on 7-8 October this year, PCCI President, Ambassador Benedicto V. Yujuico urged the IATF to allow more jeeps to operate and open more routes to drivers and operators.

“The IATF should allow jeepneys to ply routes from secondary roads so our people can be brought to the main arteries like EDSA so that they can take buses. That will also help the jeepney drivers who, for more than 6 months without income,” according to Yujuico.

Yujuico added that besides jeepneys, their group is also asking the IATF to consider increasing the percentage capacity of buses to allow more workers to report to their respective workplaces.

A total number of 64,512 public utility jeepneys (PUJs) plying Metro routes are allowed to operate by the IATF as of June, with 50 percent passenger capacity, to augment for the gradual reopening of the economy amid COVID 19 pandemic.

“The IATF should consider the business aspect and the economic recovery and part of the economic recovery is we must allow employees to report to their workplaces for businesses to make money, otherwise they are going to close down. Baka pwede in accordance with what they think what’s right,” according to Yujuico.

He said the PCCI was allowed by the IATF to be observers of what the IATF is doing, and perhaps “little backdoor channeling in terms of some of their suggestions.”

Last August, the PCCI in a resolution, asked the IATF to include private sectors to its pandemic related decisions, as they will be able to use their on-the-ground experience to come up with a holistic approach that will make businesses easier to resume operation and for workers to return to work.

Yujuico maintained that they hope the government would recognize the vital role of businesses in creating jobs and providing income, as well as the need to address the issue of livelihood and poverty to avoid social unrest.

Subsequently, Malacañang had welcomed the group’s inclusion as resource persons and their inclusion, but only on matters related to trade, business, the economy, and policy discussions with regards to the country’s coronavirus response.

The Department of Trade and Industry is seeing close to 5.1 percent unemployment rate by the end of 2020, as the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) is into reopening the economy safely.

“We’re seeing our unemployment rate going down from the worst rate of 17.7 percent last April to 10 percent in July. We hope to get back closer to our pre-pandemic 5.1%-level before yearend,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in his report to the members of Franchise Asia Philippines (FAP) Monday.

Lopez said that in the 3-run surveys in three periods done by the department to over 2,000 MSMEs nationwide, it showed that 38 percent of companies were closed and about 50 percent partially operating during the height of the ECQ last April-May.

“This went down to 11 percent (from 38 percent) in June-July, and to 6 percent in August-September as we were reopening the economy,” according to Lopez.

He also noted that the country’s manufacturing climbed back closer to the benchmark 50 index, up to 49.7 in June, from its record-low of 31.6 in April.

“The Philippines has always been posting 50 indexes. Above 50 suggests an increase in manufacturing activities and below 50 suggests a contraction—so we are about to surpass the 50 indexes. This reflected a recovery in our manufacturing indices as we eased down the community quarantine in several regions across the country. Furthermore, our Output Index has been climbing from 10.2 last April to 51.1 last June,” said Lopez.

The DTI chief also relayed that exports that declined by 49% in April, has now recovered to just -9 percent in July this year.

“We are hoping to recover to positive growth territory by yearend, in the same way, that they have been posting positive growth rates in 2019, as well as in January and February before the lockdown this year. We are one of the few countries that have been posting positive growth last year and early this year prior to the pandemic

Lopez also hopes that the reported recovery momentum will lead our country towards full recovery by early next year.

“Remember that we were the second-fastest growing economy in the region before the pandemic, ranging consistently at 6-7.5% GDP growth, low unemployment rate, lower poverty rate, Investment grade and ranking high, Top 6 on financial and fiscal stability among many countries. We were already there before, and we can be back at those growth planes again,” according to Lopez.

The European Chamber of Commerce (ECC) has aired its concern over the European Union Parliament’s threat to revoke the Philippines export tariff incentives, as it will aggravate the situation of low-income sectors, its members, and the country’s economic situation.

In an interview, ECC President Nabil Francis emphasized that his group strongly calls for the retention of the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) grant in the Philippines, threatened to be withdrawn by the European Parliament in a resolution last 17 September mainly because of the deteriorating human rights violations happening in the Philippines.

“The EU is among the largest trading partners of the Philippines. The year after qualifying for the GSP+, Filipino exports to the EU expanded by 27 percent according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The removal of the GSP+ will put at risk thousands of jobs generated in both the agriculture and manufacturing sectors,” according to Mr. Nabil, who governs more than 200 predominantly European businesses venturing in the country for years.

The ECC reiterated that the EU’s mull revocation of the country’s tariff benefits in the midst of a pandemic will also exacerbate the economic situation of the country.

“The International Trade Centre has estimated that the total export and import loss of the Philippines from its EU trading partners could reach $300 million and $175 million, respectively, due to COVID-19 supply chain disruptions,” Francis told the Daily Tribune.

The ECC in its July survey said 91.8 percent of its members have significantly been affected by the pandemic, and cancellation of the GSP+ rating will add another burden to its members.

“The Chamber’s membership roster widely varies in terms of industry and company size. A considerable number of them are GSP+ beneficiaries. Among the top Philippine exports under the EU GSP+ to the EU are agricultural oil products, electrical machinery, processed meat & fish, optical products, processed vegetables, and fruits and nuts,” Francis emphasized.

He added that the revocation of the GSP+ in the midst of a pandemic will surely aggravate the situation of low-income sectors, and the country by and large.

“Furthermore, current investor confidence among the European-Philippine business community remains dampened due to the uncertain business landscape in the country as revealed in a recent study conducted by the ECCP,” according to Francis.

On its 17 September decision, the EU legislative assembly ruled “given the seriousness of the human rights violations in the country, calls on the European Commission, in the absence of any substantial improvement and willingness to cooperate on the part of the Philippine authorities, to immediately initiate the procedure which could lead to the temporary withdrawal of GSP+ preferences.”

The GSP+ status of the Philippines covers 6,274 locally-made products, including those manufactured by the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Last Friday, 18 September, Malacanang, through Spokesman Harry Roque, berated EU’s Parliament move and even provoked the EU to go on with its economic sanctions, even as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic which plunged the economy into a recession, the worst in three decades.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas fully supports the bill that seeks to establish a separate regulatory authority for virtual-only banks.

Governor Benjamin Diokno said the central bank welcomes House Bill (HB) 5913, or the Virtual Banking Act, as “the creation of a regulatory framework for digital banks promotes a level playing field by allowing new entrants to credibly compete with existing banks, as well as prevents regulatory arbitrage.”

“This will reinforce the provisions of the General Banking Law with respect to the proposal of the BSP which introduces digital banks as a new bank classification, distinct from the existing categories of banks, i.e., universal and commercial banks (U/KBs), thrift banks (TBs), rural banks (RBs), cooperative banks, and Islamic banks,” Diokno stated in a letter to the House of Representatives and bill author Albay Representative Joey Salceda.

Under the proposal, which also gained the support of the Cebu Bankers Club, virtual-only banks will be a separate classification of banks and will be encouraged to pursue financial inclusion initiatives.

HB 5913 also outlines the minimum macro-prudential standards for virtual-only banks, and opens the virtual banking sector to some degree of foreign ownership. It is expected to attract some of the financial technology know-hows of other countries and ensure adequate capital.

The bill may also incorporate measures to further develop financial technology to help modernize payment systems in the country.

The BSP assured regulatory “sandboxes” are in place to help financial technology companies thrive.

Regulatory sandboxing is a practice of piloting a new sector or technology within a limited scope to protect the wider economy from the risks of the novel sector.