The country’s monetary authorities approved more foreign borrowings by the national government in the third quarter of 2020, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday.

In a statement, the central bank said its policymaking Monetary Board (MB) greenlighted an aggregate $3.91 billion in foreign borrowings in July to September.

The amount was a $1.26-billion or 47.69-percent increase from the $2.654 billion borrowed in the third quarter of 2019.

These borrowings consisted of five project loans worth $1.979 billion and six program loans amounting to $1.940 billion. The BSP did not specify them.

The borrowed funds will finance the government’s funding requirements for infrastructure development ($1.45 billion); response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic ($1.24 billion); agrarian reform and agriculture development ($770 million); financial inclusion programs ($417.42 million); and local governance reforms ($26.53 million).

The Bangko Sentral said its prior approval through the Monetary Board was required for all foreign loans to be contracted or guaranteed by the Philippine government, as mandated by the 1987 Constitution.

Similarly, Letter of Instructions 158, dated Jan. 21, 1974, also requires all foreign borrowing proposals by the national government, government agencies and state financial institutions to be submitted for approval in principle by the Monetary Board before actual negotiations begin, it added.

“The BSP promotes the judicious use of the resources and ensures that external debt requirements are at manageable levels, to support external debt sustainability,” the central bank said.

Earlier, the Bureau of the Treasury reported that the government’s foreign debt eased by 0.2 percent to P2.90 trillion at end-August, which it attributed to the P37.36-billion net effect of the peso’s appreciation.

“Net availment of external loans added P27.07 billion, alongside the P4.64-billion effect of [the] appreciation on third-currency-denominated external loans,” it added.

The government’s foreign financing posted an inflow of P509.69 billion in January to August against a debt repayment of P117.04 billion.

Project loan availments in the first eight months reached P17.09 billion while program loans amounted to P306.54 billion. Offshore bond issuances reached P186.06 billion.

With an increasing reliance on digital platforms, Filipinos face more incidents of phishing attacks, online scams and other cybersecurity threats. There is also the rise of digital piracy. Legitimate content producers and original copyright owners would be denied their share of income, which could discourage them from generating more content. Spreading of malware gives a negative impact on the creative economy and slows down network performance. Digital piracy could also have ramifications on cybersecurity since networks could get exposed to potential virus infection or malware. Hackers could use such infected systems to launch an attack.

Cybersecurity is a top concern among business leaders, based on The CrowdStrike 2020 Asia Pacific and Japan State of Cybersecurity Report. Seventy percent of survey respondents expressed more concern now about cyberattacks than before the pandemic.

Conducted from May 26 to June 7, 2020, the report covered over 2,000 business leaders in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand about their cybersecurity practices during the coronavirus pandemic.

From March to June, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines documented piracy activities accounting for most intellectual property rights violations. Piracy activities covered 42 percent or 28 of the total reports over the period, including illegal streaming and illegal reproduction of copyrighted content. A survey, commissioned by Asia Video Industry Association’s (AVIA) Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) and conducted by British market research firm YouGov, disclosed that 66 percent of online Filipino consumers admitted having accessed piracy streaming sites and torrent sites, the highest percentage among eight Southeast Asian countries included in the survey. Does online piracy have negative consequences for the Philippines? Based on the YouGov survey, 55 percent said online piracy results in people making profits from content that is not theirs, 50 percent answered that it results in the loss of jobs in the creative industry, 49 percent mentioned it increased the risk of malware infections, while 44 percent revealed that they were aware that pirates do not pay tax and therefore all of society is being defrauded.

To reduce piracy behavior, 53 percent of online Filipino consumers agreed that the most effective measure in the Philippines was a government order or law for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block pirated websites. According to Neil Gane, general manager of AVIA’s CAP, “Site blocking is both an effective and a commonly used disruptive tool in the fight against online piracy.”

45 countries around the world adopted site blocking provisions. Gane presented case studies of Indonesia and Malaysia. With 2,800+ streaming sites and APK domains blocked since July 2019 in Indonesia, a 55-percent reduction was seen in Indonesian consumers accessing piracy streaming websites over a nine-month period (Sept. 19, 2019 to June 20, 2020). As a result, 74 percent Indonesian consumers spend more time watching free (with advertising) international streaming services (e.g., VIU Free, Catchplay Free and YouTube).

Indonesia curbed online piracy by 69 percent and increasing legal platforms by 30 percent.

Site blocking requires an enabling legislation. The AVIA’s CAP is pushing for the passage of Senate Bill 497, or the “Philippine Online Infringement Act,” authored by Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd. If passed, the Intellectual Property Office, through the National Telecommunications Commission, would have power over ISPs to ensure that they take reasonable steps “to disable access to sites whenever these sites are reported to be infringing copyright or facilitating copyright infringement.”

Gane stressed that, “We all know that piracy impacts whether it’s the cable and satellite industry in the Philippines, certainly impacts those in front of the camera, behind the camera, those who are making television content and movie content in local platforms and the theaters, as well as international platforms.”

We must not abuse implementation of the law to block legitimate websites critical of the government as copyright infringement. I have seen a Facebook post taken down because of alleged copyright infringement but did not cite the particular content. Legislation would not be the only solution. IPO, creative content producers, and telecommunications industries must work together on a policy framework that enables ISPs to block pirated websites. By reducing the demand and supply of infringing websites, we would protect both consumers and legitimate content producers.

The Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) said on Friday it planned to raise P3 billion from its maiden offer of sustainability bonds.

In a statement, the state-run lender said it would tap and access the capital markets for the peso-denominated fixed-rate bonds, which have a two-year tenor and are due in 2024.

These will be issued in minimum denominations of P50,000 and in multiples of P10,000 thereafter.

Their interest rate is expected to be set on October 23 while the offer period is from October 26 to November 6. They would be listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) on November 17.

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) is the sole lead arranger and bookrunner. It and LandBank are the selling agents.

“With the pandemic posing both as a pressing challenge and opportunity, it strengthens LandBank’s commitment all the more, with a sharpened focus in supporting sectors and activities for sustainable recovery,” LandBank President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia Borromeo said in the statement.

Proceeds from the issuance would be used to finance various loan programs that support sustainable projects, such as green and social projects, as identified in the Sustainable Finance Framework, which is the lender’s blueprint for developing sustainable financing instruments.

Green projects include those that contribute to environmental objectives, such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, natural resource and biodiversity conservation, and pollution prevention and control.

Social projects are those that help address a social concern and expected to have an impact on people’s lives. These include projects for basic infrastructure, food security, essential services, affordable housing, employment generation, and food security.

The framework is aligned with the sustainable finance principles listed in the Sustainability Bond Guidelines 2018 by the International Capital Market Association and the Asean Sustainability Bond Standards 2018 by the Asean Capital Markets Forum, among others.

Asean stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It is made up of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) gave a positive outlook on the nonstock savings and loan association (NSSLA) industry this year despite the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

In a virtual briefing on Thursday, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno cited the sector’s “stable performance, sustained profitability, and opportunities for growth and improvement” for the outlook.

NSSLAs are nonstock corporations that aim to promote the economic well-being of their members. They accumulate the savings of their members and use this to extend loans to members for home building and development, and personal finance.

These firms also accept deposits from and grant loans to their members and do not transact with the general public.

NSSLAs’ resources are projected to pick up by about 5 percent at the end of the year, according to Diokno.

“Loans and net income are also projected to rise, although at a slower pace due to a slowdown in lending activities,” he said.

The Bangko Sentral chief also said the industry’s financial condition and operations remained strong and stable.

By making financial products and services affordable and accessible to its 1.4 million members, the industry also serves the needs of the underbanked and those underserved by other financial institutions, he added.

At present, 63 NSSLAs cater to the needs of well-defined individuals, including military and uniformed personnel, public and private school teachers, public- and private-sector employees, and market vendors.

“The industry has 291 branches nationwide and have also initiated the use of technology in their transactions,” Diokno said.

The industry’s assets rose by 14.9 percent to P260.2 billion at end-2019 from P226.4 billion at end-2018. These are composed mainly of loans, which soared by 16.1 percent to P205.5 billion from P177.1 billion year-on-year.

At end-2019, 86.8 percent of these assets came from MUP NSSLAs, which continue to have the biggest contribution to the industry’s resources.

As part of their strategic priorities, Diokno announced that NSSLAs have expressed interest to invest in digitizing their operations.

The “BSP encourages this, as technological advancement in their processes is seen to lead to improved, continuous and seamless delivery of financial services to their members,” he said.

The government’s fiscal deficit slimmed to P138.5 billion in September as revenues and spending both declined by double digits in the month, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed on Friday.

The shortfall was smaller than the P178.6-billion deficit a year earlier, but higher than the P40.1-billion gap in August.

“The budget gap narrowed as the 10.19-percent year-over-year decline in revenue collections was matched by a 15.45-percent dip in public spending,” the Treasury bureau said in a statement.

Revenues slid to P212.4 billion in the ninth month from P236.5 billion year-on-year while expenditures dropped to P350.9 billion from P415.1 billion a year earlier.

In August, revenues decreased by 13.05 percent and spending expanded by 0.38 percent.

The September shortfall brought the year-to-date deficit to P879.2 billion, wider than the P299 billion in the first nine months of 2019. It is, however, 32.30-percent lower than the government’s revised program of a P1.298-trillion fiscal gap for the period.

In September alone, the Bureau of Internal Revenue contributed the bulk of revenues with P140.6 billion, a 6.56-percent reduction from P150.5 billion a year ago and a 25.17-percent slide from the August amount.

The Bureau of Customs contributed P50.8 billion, a 13.69-percent slip from P58.8 billion in September 2019.

Other offices posted P1.7 billion in tax revenues last month. As a result, total tax revenues fell by 8.51 percent to P193 billion, better than August’s 13.05-percent decrease.

Nontax earnings settled at P19.4 billion, with the Treasury contributing P8.6 billion, shrinking by 19.35 percent year-on-year. The bureau traced this to the 87.40-percent contraction in the national government’s share from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s income and the timing of remittance of interest on advances from government-owned and -controlled corporations offsetting the higher dividend collection from the national government’s shares of stocks.

Revenues from other offices hit P10.8 billion, 27.57 percent lower than the year-earlier’s P14.9 billion, “due to the impact of the pandemic,” the Treasury said, referring to the coronavirus crisis, which disrupted government and business operations.

The BTr said state spending in September was smaller “due to the timing of subsidy releases and the base effect of higher infrastructure spending in the same month last year.”
The bulk of government spending — P307.6 billion — was for primary expenditures, which dove by 17.32 percent from P372 billion a year earlier.

Interest payments, settling at P43.4 billion, accounted for the rest. The BTr said this figure, up 0.63 percent from the September 2019 amount, came as favorable foreign exchange rates for foreign interest payments “offset the marginal increase in domestic payments for reissued bonds.”

Netting out interest payments, the primary balance reached a budget shortfall of P95.2 billion in September, bringing the nine-month tally to a P566.2-billion deficit.

This year’s budget shortfall is seen to reach P1.81 trillion, or 9.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to latest estimates from the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee.

Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic began, routine doctor visits have become an unnerving task for many patients. This has led to the unusual increase in patients turning to telemedicine services in Asia. In the Philippines, for instance, the number of contactless consultations at KonsultaMD, a 24/7 subscription-based telemedicine service, surged by 450 percent last April.

Telemedicine is defined by the World Health Organization as “the delivery of health care services, where distance is a critical factor, by all health care professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation, and for the continuing education of health care providers, all in the interests of advancing the health of individuals and their communities.”

The Philippine Medical Association has issued the Telemedicine: Guidance for Physicians in the Philippines to address how the Covid-19 pandemic has transformed medical practice in the country. It is worth noting that https://atozmarkets.com/brokers/deltamarket/ even before the current pandemic hit, interest in telemedicine was rising. Filipinos today enjoy a high level of digital literacy and mobile adoption, creating the perfect conditions for online medical services to be accepted by locals via their mobile phone.

In an interview with The Manila Times (TMT), Frederic Ho, vice president for Asia-Pacific Jumio Corp., discussed how telemedicine could help fill the gaps in the country’s shortage of health care professionals and overcome the lack of health facilities, especially in remote areas.

TMT: Why is telemedicine a particularly relevant and viable health care option for the Philippines?

HO: Foremost reason is the fact that telemedicine makes health care more accessible to patients with mobility issues or those residing in rural areas. This increased accessibility could be the key to driving early intervention and diagnosis, leading to better long-term outcomes for the patient and lower public health costs.

Patients, especially those residing in rural areas, may be hesitant to consult using new technology. What would it take for patients to get comfortable and be fully on board with telemedicine?

We understand that from the patient’s perspective, there are plenty of practical and emotional considerations before turning to online medical services. First and foremost, patients must be aware of the services offered and feel confident that the quality of care they get would not be compromised. Providers must also educate patients about services and treatments that are ideally suited for telemedicine versus those where an in-person clinical assessment is crucial.

Second, telemedicine services must be easy and convenient for patients to use. Once again, the onus is on health care providers to offer services that cater to a wide base of users with differing digital abilities. This applies particularly to older patients, who have the most to gain from access to remote health care services, but also tend to have the lowest levels of digital literacy.

Finally, to ensure greater trust in telemedicine, patients must also be assured that their medical data is being stored and used securely, and in compliance with local privacy legislation. Health care institutions must not only look into best practices for safeguarding patient information, but also communicate this data security commitment to patients.

TMT: Your company, Jumio Corp., provides facial recognition and artificial intelligence (AI) in its telemedicine service. To tap into your high-tech service, what would be the technology requirements from the side of the doctor and at the end of the patient? Additionally, what would be the minimum requirements so the patient’s records and the online consultation itself would be secure from possible data heist?

HO: Traditionally, the approach to verifying patients’ identities has been to require them to show their IDs over a video call. Unfortunately, this approach is less than ideal since it provides low levels of identity assurance. That is, it may be difficult for a health care administrator to discern between a legitimate government-issued ID and a fake one over a video call. Most practitioners are not trained to identify fake documentation.

This is where “know your patient” (KYP) processes come in. Similar to the banking industry’s “know your customer” process — which enables banks to verify a customer’s identity, assess risk and determine appropriate product offers — KYP is essential for the safe and accurate delivery of digital health care services. KYP leverages sophisticated technologies such as facial biometrics and AI for identity verification, allowing it to be the first line of defense against fraudsters who use stolen or fake identities to see a doctor, gain access to controlled substances or file unlawful insurance claims.

This approach would also enable providers to streamline the online process of telemedicine — from registration to scheduling appointments and filling prescriptions — while complying with existing regulatory guidelines. KYP could also now be conducted securely, allowing doctors to treat patients confidently and confidentially — secure in the knowledge that they have access to the right records. Beyond verifying patients for routine consults and prescription deliveries, KYP could also effectively verify third parties, for example when young children must have a parent or guardian present during consultations or to purchase medication.

TMT: What types of proactive policies would you suggest so the practice of telemedicine, a young industry, as you say could flourish especially in a developing economy like the Philippines?

HO: As with any new industry, governments and market innovators need to work together to better understand the benefits and limitations of telemedicine. This includes establishing best practices and standards of care that prioritize patient welfare and security, but also encourage innovation and ease-of-use.

The Philippines has made great strides in this regard since the start of the pandemic, with the Department of Health (DoH) and the National Privacy Commission having developed a framework for telemedicine services in a bid to improve accessibility to health care during the country’s enhanced community quarantine. Under the framework, the DoH partnered with several telemedicine providers to provide free telemedicine consultations to patients who would be needing medical advice from certified and licensed doctors.

Furthermore, it is important for the public and private sectors to continue collaborating to reimagine every step within the consultation and treatment process. This would help identify any risks and establish best practices early on, ensuring that telemedicine could flourish and positively impact those who need it most.

Just the same, to keep such a young industry nimble, more must be done. The government must implement proactive policies and measures to encourage more health care institutions, such as hospitals and clinics, to transform digitally and revamp their delivery of medical services. More public education campaigns encouraging the adoption of telemedicine and outlining its safety and benefits must also be undertaken.

Jumio is a global leader in AI-powered identity verification and authentication against government-issued IDs (passports, identity cards and drivers’ licenses) from over 200 countries. This is an especially critical function today, as movement restrictions are bringing volumes of critical transactions online, from contact tracing and telemedicine, to financial services and retail.

STRONG macroeconomic fundamentals will keep to offer the peso the stableness a currency wishes, in step with government economic managers, but an analyst believes financial authorities will must faucet its dollar reserves to preserve the currency stable.

On Wednesday, the peso lower back to a seven-yr low of P48.25:$1 after gaining a few floor on Tuesday at P48.17:$1. The Philippine foreign money first hit its weakest degree is seven yr on Monday.

The peso is to date the worst appearing foreign money inside the area, but the us of a’s fundamental have not moved one or some other, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said.

“It is the equal macroeconomic rules that produced a resilient economic system inside the final so many years. It is the uncertainty, the terrible marketplace sentiments this is bringing the peso down,” he said at the Stratbase-ADR Institute (ADRi) for Strategic and International Studies forum on Wednesday.

The ITGA said the FCTC has already banned tobacco farmers, tobacco producers, reputable worldwide regulation enforcement organizations which include Interpol, the media and the majority from previous CoP conferences and is now applying this undemocratic technique to sovereign kingdom states as nicely.

ITGA President Francois van der Merwe stated that FCTC’s selection to exclude various groups and usa delegates worried inside the tobacco industry, impinges at the right of the affected events for democratic consultation and undermines the nation and livelihood of extra than 30 million tobacco farmers and their dependents who will be immediately suffering from selections made in CoP7.

“Decisions taken at CoP7 will immediately have an effect on the livelihood of more than 30 million tobacco farmers, in addition to rural workers and their households in Africa and round the world. They make an crucial contribution to their international locations’ economies. It is apparent that this proposed ban is a flagrant breach of the democratic precept of session with affected events, “ the two ITGA officials stated.

They asked, “how can it’s proper that negotiations are being conducted via public health officers, who’ve very little real knowledge of tobacco growing, the tobacco zone, social and economic importance in sovereign nations,?”

The ITGA is also referring the problem to the Governance Department of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to analyze this clear breach of international law.

The 24 member countries of ITGA, which turned into prepared in 1984, are South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Croatia, Korea, USA, Philippines, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Malawi, Mexico, Pakistan, Kenya, Dominican Republic, Thailand, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

In addition, Van der Merwe said that the FCTC additionally breached Article eight of the UN Charter, which states that it “shall place no regulations at the eligibility of men and women to take part in any capacity and below situations of equality in its fundamental and subsidiary organs”.

They also harassed that Article 43 of the Vienna Convention on the Representation of States of their Relations with International Organizations expressly said that during admire of worldwide organs and conferences, “the sending state can also freely hire the members of the delegation”.

The ITGA hereby kindly and respectfully requests which you exercise your authority, as Secretary General of the United Nations and mother or father of the UN Charter, to make certain that the FCTC fulfils its duties underneath the Charter and operates in an inclusive and transparent way, “ITGA President Francois van der Merwe and CEO Antonio Abrunhosa wrote in a letter dated September 21, 2016.

They noted the institution’s “deep subject” over the WHO-FCTC plan to ban dozens of “appointed and elected officials” from the government, legislative and judicial branches of tobacco-growing international locations from participating inside the next CoP7 of the WHO-FCTC in November.

They agree with this is in direct contravention of Article 2 of the UN Charter, which states that “[t]he Organization is primarily based on the precept of the sovereign equality of all its Members.”

The ITGA reiterated that underneath the UN Charter, sovereign international locations have a proper to select their personal representatives to the UN without going through the threat of exclusion or intimidation from a UN employer.