First Times online business forum tackles the ‘new normal’
THREE business management experts shared their vision of the new realities being shaped by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic in the first TheManilaTimes online business forum on Thursday.
Karl Kendrick Chua, Acmad Rizaldy Moti and Sheila Lobien were the speakers at the “Business Forum 2020: Business As Usual Under The New Normal,” broadcast live on the Times’ Facebook page and streamed on its YouTube channel and moderated by Times President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dante Francis “Klink” Ang 2nd and Times columnist Ben Kritz.
Chua, the acting secretary of the National Economic Development Authority, said amid the health crisis the country was facing, the priorities of the government were clear — to protect lives and health of the Filipino people.
He said if it were not for the timely declaration of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), there would have been 100,000 Covid-19 deaths in the country by now.
The senior country economist of the World Bank for the Philippines before joining government as Finance undersecretary, Chua was the author of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law, which raised taxes on luxury and nonessential items like liquor,
cigarettes and sweetened beverages to support the Build, Build, Build program of the Duterte administration.
Chua said in the “new normal” setting, structural reforms are needed to improve the country’s resiliency to prepare for similar challenges in the future, especially the nation’s health system capacity and the transition to a digital economy.
He urged everyone to continue what has been placed during ECQ — physical distancing, proper personal hygiene and health etiquette, frequent sanitation and disinfection protocols — in order not to squander the gains in minimizing the transmission of the disease.
Chua said the nation could rise above the temporary setback with socioeconomic policies that were adaptive and responsive to evolving realities.
Moti , Pag-IBIG Fund CEO, said despite the crisis severely affecting the figures in the month of April, allayed concerns about raising interest rates on housing or salary loans.
He added that Pag- IBIG disbursed as much as P30 billion in calamity loans during the onslaught of Typhoon “Ondoy” (international name: “Ketsana”) in 2009 and it had enough funds to cover the P60 billion worth of loans during the Covid-19 crisis.
An expert in digital technology, Moti managed the Software Development and Maintenance Group of Chinatrust (Philippines) Commercial Bank Corp. before joining Pag-IBIG as senior vice president for the information technology services sector in 2008. In 2011, he led the agency’s Home Lending Operations Cluster.
The launch in December of Virtual Pag-IBIG — an online portal of the agency’s services making its services available to members anytime, anywhere — gave an idea
of what was to become the new normal amid the pandemic.
Lobien remains optimistic that the Build, Build, Build program augurs well for the office space sector since business outsourcing firms, offshore gaming operators and other offshore businesses continue to consider the Philippines as an ideal location with its young workforce for global expansion.
Although there are no immediate figures of office and infrastructure rentals going down since the lockdown was declared mid- March, the founding CEO of Lobien Realty Group believes the pandemic has opened many opportunities, like the building of more townships outside Metro Manila and the increase of warehouse rentals around the country.
Holding a master’s degree in business management from the University of the Philippines Manila and having attended a management executive program at the National University of Singapore and Insead Business School, Lobien emphasized that work from
home was not always feasible as there were businesses who put premium on data security.
Sponsoring this first of a series of TheManila Times online fora are Lobien Realty Group, Megaworld, SM, Globe, Pag-IBIG Fund, SM Supermalls and Suntrust.
The forum had the highest viewership so far since the Times started holding business discussion conferences on Oct. 28, 2014.
The next forum will be in the last week of June, with bankers and executives from financial institutions as leading participants.
The forum was well-received by netizens.
Among the observations: @ Joyce Dayanghirang: “Thank you, ManilaTimes, for organizing this! Very interesting insights. Will you be making the recording available after? Would definitely want to go back to the discussions and share to colleagues.” @Juliet P. Arriola: “Congratulations ManilaTimes and Mr. Dante Ang for informing the common people about the state of our economy
in this time of pandemic.”
@Renato Palenzuela: “Thank you, Mr. Moti, for helping our people. Congrats and more power to Pag-IBIG Fund.”
@El Ti: “Good forum! Worth attending. Let us have more events like this one.”
@ John Lee: “Wages subsidy didn’t include a lot of workers who paid into the system and are frustrated that those who didn’t pay into the system are given subsidy.”
@Pert Ilagan: “Very good presentation... very good data and storytelling. Good job!”
@ Edith D. Dychiao: “Thanks, Klink and TheManilaTimes Forum team, special mention to [ Times Chief Operating Officer] Blanca [Mercado] and [Advertising Director] Roda [Zabat].”
@Yannie Tan-Dela Cruz: “Great presentation. Speakers make a lot of sense, factual and wellresearched. Thank you.”
@Grethel Cobankiat: “Thank you, Manila Times, for this forum, very helpful to business owners. Can we request presentation of
Sec[retary] Karl Chua?” @Airene Agustin Gregorio: “Can I request also copies of presentation of Sec[retary] Chua and Mr. Moti? Thank you, ManilaTimes.”
@Brenda Canoner: “How do you think the real estate business will perform this post-pandemic?”
@Godfrey Paraiso: “So many unknowns, obsolete laws and outdated and impractical laws, yet unclear GCQ guideline effective June 1st.”
@ Bingle Picache- Chuidian: “Very insightful presentation, Secretary Chua. Hoping for the best for the Philippines!”
@ Shiela dela Torre: How do we deal with companies who do not have a work from home policies but are part of the essential sector?”
@Emmanuel Datu Evangelista: “Contribute to solutions reather than dwell on the past is the way to go. Congratulations!” @Reynold Munsayac: “Mabuhaypo ang Pag-IBIG Fund atangkanilang mahusaynapinunonasi PresidentCEO Acmad Moti! Maramingsalamat